Android versions

Year by year, Android has increased its maturity level with each new version. Every version introduced new set of features from the user interface to customizations to flexibility to security. In terms of names, these versions are based on names of candy, chocolates, and other sweet stuff, such as Kitkat, Lollipop, and Marshmallow, but that's what makes Android a little more understandable to consumers and developers as well.

It is an interesting fact that the versions of Android are in alphabetical order. Starting off from Apple Pie 1.0 and then Banana Bread 1.1, it made its way towards Nougat with a completely coherent of alphabetical sequence maintaining the legacy.

The following table highlights the main features of the different Android versions with their API levels as well:

Table 1.1: Era of operating systems from Android Cupcake to Lollipop

The table only shows the changes made by Android operating system's developer, Google Inc. But due to Android's open source nature, other mobile manufacturing companies have also changed and introduced new features and modifications into Android. For example, Samsung has made a custom touch interface called TouchWiz, and HTC has made a custom user interface called HTC Sense. Similarly, Sony has introduced a custom user interface called TimeScape.

Figure 1.1 Latest Android phones launched in year 2014

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Android versions