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All the different Android versions through the years

From Cupcake to Pie, Android has acquired many tastes and features since its launch.

Lynn La
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
James Martin Managing Editor, Photography
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
Expertise photojournalism, portrait photography, behind-the-scenes Credentials
  • 2021 Graphis Photography Awards, Gold Award, Journalism, 'The Doorway' Graphis Photography Awards, Silver Award, Portrait, 'Cast of film '1917'' Graphis Photography Awards, Silver Award, Environmental, 'Upper Lola Montez' ND Awards, Architecture, 'Taj Mah
Lynn La
James Martin
The simplicity of the Android brand name and mascot is at odds with the diverse, fragmented Android device market.
1 of 17 Stephen Shankland/CNET

Android through the years

It's been more than 10 years since Google rolled out the first version of Android to consumers in 2008. Since then, the mobile OS has blasted past the 2 billion device mark and powers almost nine out of every 10 smartphones shipped globally. With the introduction of Android Q at Google I/O 2019, it shows no sign of slowing down. We take a look at how the OS has evolved over time.

Originally published on Feb. 22, 2016.

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2 of 17 Angela Lang/CNET

1.0 G1 (2008)

Android 1.0 debuted on the HTC Dream (aka T-Mobile G1) and served up apps through Android Market with 35 apps at launch. Its Google Maps used the phone's GPS and Wi-Fi, and it had an Android browser built right in.  

3 of 17 James Martin/CNET

1.5 Cupcake (2009)

As the first major update of Android, Cupcake added widgets for the home screen, an onscreen keyboard, video recording in the camera and a copy-and-paste function to the web browser.

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4 of 17 Screenshot by CNET

1.6 Donut (2009)

Android Donut brought search capabilities for everything on your phone, introduced the Android Market (the precursor to the Google Play store) and additional battery usage info.

OVR
5 of 17 James Martin/CNET

2.0 Eclair (2009)

Microsoft users rejoiced at Eclair's support for Exchange. The OS also supported multiple Google accounts and let you search within text and SMS messages. It also added multitouch support and the camera improved with flash and digital zoom.

FT
6 of 17 James Martin/CNET

2.2 Froyo (2010)

Froyo introduced Flash Player 10.1, which bridged gaps by allowing phones to play video and stream audio. The camera flash now worked on video, Bluetooth compatibility was boosted and you could use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Samsung Nexus S (T-Mobile)
7 of 17 Corinne Schulze/CNET

2.3 Gingerbread (2011)

With Gingerbread, the world got to know near-field communication (NFC), which allowed phones to connect with other nearby devices. The OS also allowed video calling using the front-facing camera and added a download manager.

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8 of 17 James Martin/CNET

3.0 Honeycomb (2011)

Honeycomb was the first update for tablets only. It included 3D graphics support, side-by-side browser tabs, video chatting with Google Talk, Bluetooth tethering and full-screen mode within the photo gallery.

Three views of Ice Cream Sandwich
9 of 17 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (2011)

With its clunky name, ICS merged the phone and tablet operating systems. It added face recognition for unlocking phones, canned text responses to declined calls and live video effects in the camera.

Google Nexus 4
10 of 17 Josh Miller/CNET

4.1 Jelly Bean (2012)

Jelly Bean had faster, smoother performance thanks to "Project Butter." It let you interact more with expandable notifications, the Chrome browser became the default, widgets became resizable and Google Now came preinstalled.

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11 of 17 James Martin/CNET

4.4 KitKat (2013)

Google partnered with an actual food company to create the KitKat OS. As for the software itself, it added emojis to the Google Keyboard, had a smaller memory footprint to support lower-end phones and let you print on the go with Google Cloud Print.

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12 of 17 Josh Miller/CNET

5.0 Lollipop (2014)

Google overhauled its aesthetic completely with a flat interface known as Material Design. Notifications came in banners across the lock screen or as pop-up alerts. The OS also had priority mode, multiuser support, screen pinning and recent apps were renamed Overview.

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13 of 17 Juan Garzon/CNET

6.0 Marshmallow (2015)

Marshmallow introduced Doze Mode to save on battery life. It also added built-in support for a fingerprint reader, USB Type-C and 4K mode for apps.

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14 of 17 Josh Miller/CNET

7.0 Nougat (2016)

With Nougat, you could finally clear all your apps in Overview with a single tap. It let you adjust the skin tone of your emojis and tap through more Quick Setting options. It also supported Google's VR endeavor, Daydream.

google-android-o-preview-1449-1000.jpg
15 of 17 Jason Cipriani/CNET

8.0 Oreo (2017)

Timed to launch right alongside the 2017 US solar eclipseAndroid Oreo served up picture-in-picture apps for even more multitasking. There was also a better copy-and-paste experience, improved security and better battery management.

androidp-xiaomi-4
16 of 17 CNET

9.0 Pie (2018)

Android Pie focused on behind-the-scenes improvements that made Android phones work faster and save battery life. That included AI tools that suggested apps and shortcuts you might want to use, and it loaded "slices" of an online page that gave precise information, without the need to download an app search through a webpage.

android-q
17 of 17 Juan Garzon/CNET

10.0 Q (2019)

This year's Android Q, which hasn't been named or rolled out in full yet, introduces the beloved Dark Theme, a new pop-up notifications style called Bubbles and live captioning on videos that are being played for more accessibility.

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