Android versions with release date and features
Android 1.0 - Alpha 23 Sept 2008 1. Android Market application download and updates through the Market app. 2. Folders allowing the grouping of a number of app icons into a single folder icon on the Home screen. 3. Access to web email servers, supporting POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP. Gmail synchronization with the Gmail app. 4. Google Contacts synchronization with the People app. 5. Google Calendar synchronization with the Calendar app. 6. Google Maps with Latitude and Street View to view maps and satellite imagery, as well as find local business and obtain driving directions using GPS. 7. Google Sync, allowing management of over-the-air synchronization of Gmail, People, and Calendar. 8. Google Search, allowing users to search the Internet and phone apps, contacts, calendar, etc. 9. Google Talk instant messaging.
10. Instant messaging, text messaging, and MMS. 11. Media Player, enabling management, importing, and playback of media files – however, this version lacked video and stereo Bluetooth support. 12. Notifications appear in the Status bar, with options to set ringtone, LED or vibration alerts. 13. Voice Dialer allows dialing and placing of phone calls without typing a name or number. 14. Wallpaper allows the user to set the background image or photo behind the Home screen icons and widgets. 15. YouTube video player. 16. Other apps include: Alarm Clock, Calculator, Dialer (Phone), Home screen (Launcher), Pictures (Gallery), and Settings. 17. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. 18. Camera support – however this version lacked the option to change the camera’s resolution, white balance, quality, etc. 19. Web browser to show, zoom and pan full HTML and XHTML web pages – multiple pages show as windows.
Android 1.1 - Beta 9 Feb 2009 1. Details and reviews available when a user searches for businesses on Maps. 2. Longer in-call screen timeout default when using the speakerphone, plus ability to show/hide dialpad. 3. Ability to save attachments in messages. 4. Support added for marquee in system layouts.
Android 1.5 - Cupcake 30 Apr 2009 1. Support for third-party virtual keyboards with text prediction and user dictionary for custom words. 2. Support for Widgets – miniature application views that can be embedded in other applications (such as the Home screen) and receive periodic updates. 3. Video recording and playback in MPEG-4 and 3GP formats. 4. Auto-pairing and stereo support for Bluetooth added (A2DP and AVRCP profiles). 5. Copy and paste features added to web browser. 6. User pictures shown for Favorites in Contacts. 7. Specific date/time stamp shown for events in call log, and one-touch access to a contac card from call log event. 8. Animated screen transitions. 9. Added auto-rotation option. 10. Added the current stock boot animation. 11. Ability to upload videos to YouTube. 12. Ability to upload photos to Picasa.
Android 1.6 - Donut 15 Sep 2009 1. Voice and text entry search enhanced to include bookmark history, contacts, and the web. 2. Ability for developers to include their content in search results. 3. Multi-lingual speech synthesis engine to allow any Android application to “speak� a string of text. 4. Easier searching and ability to view app screenshots in Android Market. 5. Gallery, camera and camcorder more fully integrated, with faster camera access. 6. Ability for users to select multiple photos for deletion. 7. Updated technology support for CDMA/EVDO, 802.1x, VPNs, and a text-to-speech engine. 8. Support for WVGA screen resolutions. 9. Speed improvements in searching and camera applications. 10.Expanded Gesture framework and new GestureBuilder development tool.
Android 2.0 - Eclair 26 Oct 2009 1. Expanded Account sync, allowing users to add multiple accounts to a device for email- and contact-synchronization. 2. Exchange email support, with combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts in one page. 3. Bluetooth 2.1 support. 4. Ability to tap a Contacts photo and select to call, SMS, or email the person. 5. Ability to search all saved SMS and MMS messages, with delete oldest messages in a conversation automatically deleted when a defined limit is reached. 6. Numerous new camera features, including flash support, digital zoom, scene mode, white balance, color effect and macro focus. 7. Improved typing speed on virtual keyboard, with smarter dictionary that learns from word usage and includes contact names as suggestions. 8. Refreshed browser UI with bookmark thumbnails, double-tap zoom and support for HTML5.
9. Calendar agenda view enhanced, showing attending status for each invitee, and ability to invite new guests to events. 10. Optimized hardware speed and revamped UI. Support for more screen sizes and resolutions, with better contrast ratio. 11. Improved Google Maps. 12. MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events. 13. Addition of live wallpapers, allowing the animation of home-screen background images to show movement.
Android 2.2 - Froyo 20 May 2010 1. Speed, memory, and performance optimizations. 2. Additional application speed improvements, implemented through JIT compilation. 3. Integration of Chrome‘s V8 JavaScript engine into the Browser application. 4. Support for the Android Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM) service, enabling push notifications. 5. Improved Microsoft Exchange support, including security policies, auto- discovery, GAL look-up, calendar synchronization and remote wipe. 6. Improved application launcher with shortcuts to Phone and Browser applications. 7. USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality. 8. Added an option to disable data access over mobile network. 9. Updated Market application with batch and automatic update features.
10. Quick switching between multiple keyboard languages and their dictionaries. 11. Voice dialing and contact sharing over Bluetooth. 12. Support for Bluetooth-enabled car and desk docks. 13. Support for numeric and alphanumeric passwords. 14. Support for file upload fields in the Browser application. 15. Support for installing applications to the expandable memory. 16. Adobe Flash support. 17. Support for extra-high-PPI screens (320 ppi), such as 4″ 720p. 18. Gallery allows users to view picture stacks using a zoom gesture.
Android 2.3 - Gingerbread 6 Dec 2010 1. Updated user interface design with increased simplicity and speed. 2. Support for extra-large screen sizes and resolutions (WXGA and higher). 3. Native support for SIP VoIP internet telephony. 4. Faster, more intuitive text input in virtual keyboard, with improved accuracy, better suggested text and voice input mode. 5. Enhanced copy/paste functionality, allowing users to select a word by press- hold, copy, and paste. 6. Support for Near Field Communication (NFC), allowing the user to read an NFC tag embedded in a poster, sticker, or advertisement. 7. New audio effects such as reverb, equalization, headphone virtualization, and bass boost. 8. New Download Manager, giving users easy access to any file downloaded from the browser, email, or another application. 9. Support for multiple cameras on the device, including a front-facing camera, if available.
10. Support for WebM/VP8 video playback, and AAC audio encoding. 11. Improved power management with a more active role in managing apps that are keeping the device awake for too long. 12. Enhanced support for native code development. 13. Switched from YAFFS to ext4 on newer devices. 14. Audio, graphical, and input enhancements for game developers. 15. Concurrent garbage collection for increased performance. 16. Native support for more sensors (such as gyroscopes and barometers). 17. Support for voice or video chat using Google Talk. 18. Improved Gmail application. 19. Shadow animations for list scrolling. 20. Camera software enhancements. 21. Google Wallet support for the Nexus S 4G.
Android 3.0 - Honeycomb 22 Feb 2011 1. Optimized tablet support with a new virtual and “holographic” user interface. 2. Added System Bar, featuring quick access to notifications, status, and soft navigation buttons, available at the bottom of the screen.. 3. Added Action Bar, giving access to contextual options, navigation, widgets, or other types of content at the top of the screen 4. Redesigned keyboard, making typing fast, efficient and accurate on larger screen sizes. 5. Simplified, more intuitive copy/paste interface. 6. Multiple browser tabs replacing browser windows, plus form auto-fill and a new “incognito” mode allowing anonymous browsing. 7. Quick access to camera exposure, focus, flash, zoom, front-facing camera, time lapse, and other camera features. 8. Ability to view albums and other collections in full-screen mode in Gallery, with easy access to thumbnails for other photos. 9. Hardware acceleration.
10. New two-pane Contacts UI and Fast Scroll to let users easily organize and locate contacts. 11. New two-pane Email UI to make viewing and organizing messages more efficient, allowing users to select one or more messages. 12. Support for multi-core processors. 13. Ability to encrypt all user data. 14. HTTPS stack improved with Server Name Indication (SNI). 15. Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE; kernel module). 16. Connectivity for USB accessories. 17. Expanded Recent Apps list. 18. Resizable Home screen widgets. 19. Support for external keyboards and pointing devices. 20. Support for joysticks and gamepads. 21. Support for FLAC audio playback.
22. High-performance Wi-Fi lock, maintaining high-performance Wi-Fi connections when device screen is off. 23. Support for HTTP proxy for each connected Wi-Fi access point. 24. Increased ability of apps to access files on the SD card, e.g. for synchronization. 25. Compatibility display mode for apps that have not been optimized for tablet screen resolutions. 26. New display support functions, giving developers more control over display appearance on different Android devices. 27. Update to Android Market with automatic updates and easier-to-read Terms and Condition text. 28. Update to Google Books. 29. Improved Adobe Flash support in browser. 30. Improved Chinese handwriting prediction. 31. “Pay as You Go� support for 3G and 4G tablets.
Android 4.0 – Ice Cream Sandwich 19 Oct 2011 1. Separation of widgets in a new tab, listed in a similar manner to apps. 2. Easier-to-create folders, with a drag-and-drop style. 3. A customizable launcher. 4. Improved visual voicemail with the ability to speed up or slow down voicemail messages. 5. Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar. 6. Integrated screenshot capture (accomplished by holding down the Power and Volume- Down buttons). 7. Ability to access apps directly from lock screen. 8. Improved copy and paste functionality. 9. Better voice integration and continuous, real-time speech to text dictation.
10. Face Unlock, a feature that allows users to unlock handsets using facial recognition software. 11. New tabbed web browser under Google’s Chrome brand, allowing up to 16 tabs. 12. Automatic syncing of browser with users’ Chrome bookmarks. 13. Data Usage section in settings that lets users set warnings when they approach a certain usage limit, and disable data use when the limit is exceeded. 14. Ability to shut down apps that are using data in the background. 15. Improved camera app with zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, panorama mode, and the ability to zoom while recording. 16. Built-in photo editor. 17. New gallery layout, organized by location and person. 18. Android Beam, a near-field communication feature allowing the rapid short-range exchange of web bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos and other data. 19. Support for the WebP image format.
20. Hardware acceleration of the UI. 21. 1080p video recording for stock Android devices. 22. Android VPN Framework (AVF), and TUN (but not TAP) kernel module. Prior to 4.0, VPN software required rooted Android. 23. New APIs for developers, including a social stream API in the Contacts provider. 24. Improvements to graphics, databases, spell-checking and Bluetooth functionality. 25. Calendar provider enhancements. 26. Accessibility refinements such as improved content access for screen readers. 27. New camera apps enhancing video stabilization and QVGA resolution. 28. Smoother screen rotation. 29. Improved phone number recognition. 30. Stability improvements.
Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean 9 July 2012 1. Vsync timing across all drawing and animation done by the Android framework, including application rendering, touch events, screen composition and display refresh. 2. Bi-directional text and other language support. 3. Expandable notifications. 4. Ability to turn off notifications on an app specific basis. 5. Shortcuts and widgets can automatically be re-arranged or re-sized to allow new items to fit on home screens. 6. Bluetooth data transfer for Android Beam. 7. Google Wallet (for the Nexus 7). 8. High-resolution Google+ contact photos. 9. Google Now search application.
10. Multichannel audio. 11. USB audio (for external sound DACs). 12. Audio chaining (also known as gapless playback). 13. Stock Android browser is replaced with the Android mobile version of Google Chrome in devices with Android 4.1 preinstalled. 14. Ability for other launchers to add widgets from the app drawer without requiring root access. 15. Lock/home screen rotation support for the Nexus 7. 16. One-finger gestures to expand/collapse notifications. 17. Photo Sphere panorama photos. 18. Keyboard with gesture typing. 19. Lock screen improvements, including widget support and the ability to swipe directly to camera.
20. Notification power controls. 21. “Daydream� screensaver, showing information when idle or docked. 22. Multiple user accounts (tablets only). 23. Accessibility improvements: triple-tap to magnify the entire screen, pan and zoom with two fingers. Speech output and Gesture Mode navigation for blind users. 24. New clock app with built-in world clock, stop watch and timer. 25. All devices now use the same interface layout, adapted from phones on 4.1 for smaller tablets (with centered software buttons, the system bar at the top of the screen, and a similar home screen), regardless of screen size. 26. Increased number of extended notifications and Actionable Notifications for more apps, allowing the response to certain notifications within the notification bar and without launching the app directly. 27. Premium SMS confirmation. 28. Added Bluetooth gamepads and joysticks as supported HID devices.
Android 4.4 – KitKat 31 Oct 2013 1. Google implement behind-the-scenes improvements to Android 4.4′s memory management, these memory improvements are expected to lead to smoother multitasking as well. 2. You can now activate Google Now by simply saying "OK Google". Google Now cards will try to predict information you need based on your location, favorite sites or TV programs. 3. It will consolidate all of your SMS , MMS, video calls, and Google Hangouts chat messages into one convenient location. 4. The dialer now has a search field that you can use to search for a business’s contact info listed in Google Maps. This will pull up contact info for businesses near your area. 5. KitKat comes with a feature that hides everything while reading or watching a movie. 6. Support for cloud storage solutions such as Google Drive built into the operating system.
7. Google is making it much easier to print documents or photos on your phone by building support for Google Cloud Print directly into Android 4.4. This will allow you to print documents over WiFi or Bluetooth. 8. Built-In Sensors - Android 4.4 adds operating system support for two new composite sensors: step counter and step detector. 9. Android 4.4 improves user accesibility by adding support for system-wide closed captioning settings. 10. KitKat allows not just full-screen album and movie art to appear, there’s also controls that let users play, pause, skip ahead, or lock the device’s screen. 11. Emojis - Here’s another fun feature Google added into the Android KitKat’s Google Keyboard. 12. KitKat will prioritize your contact list by sorting by the people who you chat with the most often.
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