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103-504: ChatON served more than 120 countries in 62 languages. ChatON was available on Android , iOS , BlackBerry , Windows Phone (Samsung Zone), Windows Mobile (Korea), and Bada smartphones. Additionally, a web client was offered for access to the service via web browsers. Users could invite and register buddies via Facebook and Twitter as well as share ChatON content on Facebook. Among ChatON's unique features were allowing users to create Animation messages, Broadcast to send personal notices in

206-410: A native development kit (NDK) for applications or extensions in C or C++, Google App Inventor , a visual environment for novice programmers, and various cross platform mobile web applications frameworks . In January 2014, Google unveiled a framework based on Apache Cordova for porting Chrome HTML 5 web applications to Android, wrapped in a native application shell. Additionally, Firebase

309-408: A weather forecast , the user's email inbox, or a news ticker directly on the home screen. A home screen may be made up of several pages, between which the user can swipe back and forth. Third-party apps available on Google Play and other app stores can extensively re- theme the home screen, and even mimic the look of other operating systems, such as Windows Phone . Most manufacturers customize

412-399: A PC and mobile operating system, based on Android, to "compete directly with Microsoft Windows and Google Android". The Chinese Academy of Engineering noted that "more than a dozen" companies were customizing Android following a Chinese ban on the use of Windows 8 on government PCs. Android is developed by Google until the latest changes and updates are ready to be released, at which point

515-694: A choice of non-default runtimes that allow better C++ support. The SDK includes a comprehensive set of development tools, including a debugger , software libraries , a handset emulator based on QEMU , documentation, sample code, and tutorials. Initially, Google's supported integrated development environment (IDE) was Eclipse using the Android Development Tools (ADT) plugin; in December 2014, Google released Android Studio , based on IntelliJ IDEA , as its primary IDE for Android application development. Other development tools are available, including

618-402: A fluid touch interface, often using the vibration capabilities of the device to provide haptic feedback to the user. Internal hardware, such as accelerometers , gyroscopes and proximity sensors are used by some applications to respond to additional user actions, for example adjusting the screen from portrait to landscape depending on how the device is oriented, or allowing the user to steer

721-797: A group chat room , and the Trunk which stores media files shared in chats. When a user logs in ChatON, the user's buddy list is available on any connected device. ChatON was viewed as an alternative to WhatsApp . ChatON was introduced at IFA on August 29, 2011, in Berlin, Germany, with initial service for iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Samsung phones. Support was expanded to include Android tablets, Windows Phone, and Bada phones. The ChatON mobile application could be downloaded from Samsung Apps & Google Play for Android, Apple AppStore for iOS, App World for Blackberry, and Microsoft Market for Windows Mobile. On March 31, 2015,

824-569: A keyboard and mouse. In addition to their availability on commercially available hardware, similar PC hardware-friendly versions of Android are freely available from the Android-x86 project, including customized Android 4.4. Using the Android emulator that is part of the Android SDK , or third-party emulators, Android can also run non-natively on x86 architectures. Chinese companies are building

927-596: A niche role outside of the mainstream of private software development. However the success of FOSS Operating Systems such as Linux, BSD and the companies based on FOSS such as Red Hat , has changed the software industry's attitude and there has been a dramatic shift in the corporate philosophy concerning its development. Users of FOSS benefit from the Four Essential Freedoms to make unrestricted use of, and to study, copy, modify, and redistribute such software with or without modification. If they would like to change

1030-564: A press conference in a New York City subway station . Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which have incrementally improved the operating system, adding new features and fixing bugs in previous releases. Each major release is named in alphabetical order after a dessert or sugary treat, with the first few Android versions being called " Cupcake ", " Donut ", " Eclair ", and " Froyo ", in that order. During its announcement of Android KitKat in 2013, Google explained that "Since these devices make our lives so sweet, each Android version

1133-632: A range of other electronics, such as game consoles , digital cameras , portable media players , and PCs , each with a specialized user interface. Some well-known derivatives include Android TV for televisions and Wear OS for wearables , both developed by Google. Software packages on Android, which use the APK format, are generally distributed through proprietary application stores like Google Play Store , Amazon Appstore , Samsung Galaxy Store , Huawei AppGallery , Cafe Bazaar , GetJar , and Aptoide , or open source platforms like F-Droid . Android has been

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1236-568: A single unified term that could refer to both concepts, although Richard Stallman argues that it fails to be neutral unlike the similar term; "Free/Libre and Open Source Software" (FLOSS). Richard Stallman 's Free Software Definition , adopted by the FSF, defines free software as a matter of liberty, not price, and that which upholds the Four Essential Freedoms. The earliest known publication of this definition of his free software definition

1339-469: A split-screen view mode are the 2012 Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2 , the former of which received this feature with the premium suite upgrade delivered in TouchWiz with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. When connecting or disconnecting charging power and when shortly actuating the power button or home button, all while the device is powered off, a visual battery meter whose appearance varies among vendors appears on

1442-467: A user deleted his account, his or her devices that were connected through the account are initialized and all data of chat room and server was deleted. The ChatON service has been discontinued by Samsung since 2015. When it was still available, it provided services such as voice/video chatting, translation, PostON, Anicon , Animessage, SMS/MMS exchanging feature, as well as basic services such as buddy registration, chatting and multimedia sharing. An API

1545-430: A vehicle in a racing game by rotating the device, simulating control of a steering wheel . Android devices boot to the home screen , the primary navigation and information "hub" on Android devices, analogous to the desktop found on personal computers. Android home screens are typically made up of app icons and widgets ; app icons launch the associated app, whereas widgets display live, auto-updating content, such as

1648-516: A website client to enable users without a supported smartphone platform to chat via desktop and mobile web browsers. Multiple windows on PC screen, which is wider than mobile, facilitated chat with buddies and share contents. Usage of the web client was tied to a Samsung account instead of a phone number, and buddy lists from mobile accounts could be imported to the web client. Users received the same messages regardless of version while they maintained their web and mobile version's profiles independently. If

1751-507: A whole lot like the program has wrapped up". From 2008 to 2013, Hugo Barra served as product spokesperson, representing Android at press conferences and Google I/O , Google's annual developer-focused conference. He left Google in August 2013 to join Chinese phone maker Xiaomi . Less than six months earlier, Google's then- CEO Larry Page announced in a blog post that Andy Rubin had moved from

1854-573: Is also to set up an Open Source Programme Office in 2020 and in 2022 it launched its own FOSS repository https://code.europa.eu/ . In 2021, the Commission Decision on the open source licensing and reuse of Commission software (2021/C 495 I/01) was adopted, under which, as a general principle, the European Commission may release software under EUPL or another FOSS license, if more appropriate. There are exceptions though. In May 2022,

1957-893: Is an inclusive umbrella term for free software and open-source software . FOSS is in contrast to proprietary software , where the software is under restrictive copyright or licensing and the source code is hidden from the users. FOSS maintains the software user's civil liberty rights via the " Four Essential Freedoms " of free software. Other benefits of using FOSS include decreased software costs, increased security against malware , stability, privacy , opportunities for educational usage, and giving users more control over their own hardware. Free and open-source operating systems such as Linux distributions and descendants of BSD are widely used today, powering millions of servers , desktops , smartphones , and other devices. Free-software licenses and open-source licenses are used by many software packages today. The free software movement and

2060-664: Is another FOSS compiler but is under a permissive license . LWN speculated that Apple was motivated partly by a desire to avoid GPLv3. The Samba project also switched to GPLv3, so Apple replaced Samba in their software suite by a closed-source, proprietary software alternative. Leemhuis criticizes the prioritization of skilled developers who − instead of fixing issues in already popular open-source applications and desktop environments − create new, mostly redundant software to gain fame and fortune. He also criticizes notebook manufacturers for optimizing their own products only privately or creating workarounds instead of helping fix

2163-664: Is available from Samsung for developing software that communicates with ChatON over an HTTPS connection. Android (operating system) Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen -based mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets . It is the world's most widely used operating system due to it being used on most smartphones and tablets outside of iPhones and iPads , which use Apple 's iOS and iPadOS , respectively. As of October 2024 , Android accounts for 45% of

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2266-640: Is expanding its low-cost Android One program into the United States, although The Verge notes that the company will presumably not produce the actual devices itself. Google introduced the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones in October 2016, marketed as being the first phones made by Google, and exclusively featured certain software features, such as the Google Assistant , before wider rollout. The Pixel phones replaced

2369-529: Is known as the Android Open Source Project ( AOSP ) and is free and open-source software (FOSS) primarily licensed under the Apache License . However, most devices run the proprietary Android version developed by Google, which ships with additional proprietary closed-source software pre-installed, most notably Google Mobile Services (GMS), which includes core apps such as Google Chrome ,

2472-438: Is low, the system will begin invisibly and automatically closing inactive processes, starting with those that have been inactive for the longest amount of time. Lifehacker reported in 2011 that third-party task-killer applications were doing more harm than good. Some settings for use by developers for debugging and power users are located in a "Developer options" sub menu, such as the ability to highlight updating parts of

2575-426: Is named after a dessert", although a Google spokesperson told CNN in an interview that "It's kind of like an internal team thing, and we prefer to be a little bit—how should I say—a bit inscrutable in the matter, I'll say". In 2010, Google launched its Nexus series of devices, a lineup in which Google partnered with different device manufacturers to produce new devices and introduce new Android versions. The series

2678-512: Is the latest version and includes improvements specific to foldable phones , tablets, desktop -sized screens , and Chromebooks . Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California , in October 2003 by Andy Rubin , Rich Miner , Nick Sears, and Chris White. Rubin described the Android project as having "tremendous potential in developing smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences". The early intentions of

2781-693: Is the primary application store installed on Android devices that comply with Google's compatibility requirements and license the Google Mobile Services software. Google Play Store allows users to browse, download and update applications published by Google and third-party developers; as of January 2021 , there are more than three million applications available for Android in Play Store. As of July 2013 , 50 billion application installations had been performed. Some carriers offer direct carrier billing for Google Play application purchases, where

2884-530: Is today better known as Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird . Netscape's act prompted Raymond and others to look into how to bring the FSF's Free software ideas and perceived benefits to the commercial software industry. They concluded that FSF's social activism was not appealing to companies like Netscape, and looked for a way to rebrand the Free software movement to emphasize the business potential of sharing and collaborating on software source code. The new name they chose

2987-470: Is used by default), and adoptable storage. Portable storage is treated as an external storage device. Adoptable storage, introduced on Android 6.0, allows the internal storage of the device to be spanned with the SD card, treating it as an extension of the internal storage. This has the disadvantage of preventing the memory card from being used with another device unless it is reformatted . Android 4.4 introduced

3090-630: Is used by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) to determine whether a software license qualifies for the organization's insignia for open-source software . The definition was based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines , written and adapted primarily by Bruce Perens . Perens did not base his writing on the Four Essential Freedoms of free software from the Free Software Foundation , which were only later available on

3193-638: The Amazon Appstore , GetJar , and SlideMe. F-Droid , another alternative marketplace, seeks to only provide applications that are distributed under free and open source licenses . In October 2020, Google removed several Android applications from Play Store , as they were identified breaching its data collection rules. The firm was informed by International Digital Accountability Council (IDAC) that apps for children like Number Coloring , Princess Salon and Cats & Cosplay , with collective downloads of 20 million, were violating Google's policies. At

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3296-536: The Android software development kit (SDK) and, often, Kotlin programming language, which replaced Java as Google's preferred language for Android app development in May 2019, and was originally announced in May 2017. Java is still supported (originally the only option for user-space programs, and is often mixed with Kotlin), as is C++ . Java or other JVM languages, such as Kotlin, may be combined with C /C++, together with

3399-691: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Free Software Foundation released version 3 of its GNU General Public License (GNU GPLv3) in 2007 that explicitly addressed the DMCA and patent rights. After the development of the GNU GPLv3 in 2007, the FSF (as the copyright holder of many pieces of the GNU system) updated many of the GNU programs' licenses from GPLv2 to GPLv3. On the other hand,

3502-588: The European Commission stated that "EU institutions should become open source software users themselves, even more than they already are" and listed open source software as one of the nine key drivers of innovation, together with big data , mobility, cloud computing and the internet of things . In 2020, the European Commission adopted its Open Source Strategy 2020-2023 , including encouraging sharing and reuse of software and publishing Commission's source code as key objectives. Among concrete actions there

3605-775: The Expert group on the Interoperability of European Public Services came published 27 recommendations to strengthen the interoperability of public administrations across the EU. These recommendations are to be taken into account later in the same year in Commission's proposal of the "Interoperable Europe Act" . While copyright is the primary legal mechanism that FOSS authors use to ensure license compliance for their software, other mechanisms such as legislation, patents, and trademarks have implications as well. In response to legal issues with patents and

3708-581: The Open Handset Alliance , a consortium of technology companies including Google, device manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung, wireless carriers such as Sprint and T-Mobile , and chipset makers such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments , unveiled itself, with a goal to develop "the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices". Within a year, the Open Handset Alliance faced two other open source competitors,

3811-556: The Symbian Foundation and the LiMo Foundation , the latter also developing a Linux -based mobile operating system like Google. In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony. On September 23, 2008, Android was introduced by Andy Rubin, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Cole Brodman, Christopher Schlaeffer and Peter Chou at

3914-729: The Windows 11 announcement event in June 2021, Microsoft showcased the new Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) to enable support for the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), but it has since been deprecated. It was meant to allow users running Android apps and games in Windows 11 on their Windows desktop. On March 5, 2024, Microsoft announced deprecation of WSA with support ending on March 5, 2025. The storage of Android devices can be expanded using secondary devices such as SD cards . Android recognizes two types of secondary storage: portable storage (which

4017-400: The digital distribution platform Google Play , and the associated Google Play Services development platform. Firebase Cloud Messaging is used for push notifications. While AOSP is free, the "Android" name and logo are trademarks of Google, which imposes standards to restrict the use of Android branding by "uncertified" devices outside their ecosystem. Over 70% of smartphones based on

4120-566: The global operating system market , followed by Windows with 26%. Android has historically been developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance , but its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google . It was unveiled in November 2007, with the first commercial Android device, the HTC Dream , being launched in September 2008. At its core, the operating system

4223-587: The hacker community at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory , announced the GNU project , saying that he had become frustrated with the effects of the change in culture of the computer industry and its users. Software development for the GNU operating system began in January 1984, and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) was founded in October 1985. An article outlining the project and its goals

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4326-609: The open-source software movement are online social movements behind widespread production, adoption and promotion of FOSS, with the former preferring to use the terms FLOSS , free or libre. "Free and open-source software" (FOSS) is an umbrella term for software that is simultaneously considered both free software and open-source software . The precise definition of the terms "free software" and "open-source software" applies them to any software distributed under terms that allow users to use, modify, and redistribute said software in any manner they see fit, without requiring that they pay

4429-523: The source code is made available to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), an open source initiative led by Google. The first source code release happened as part of the initial release in 2007. All releases are under the Apache License . The AOSP code can be found with minimal modifications on select devices, mainly the former Nexus and current Android One series of devices. However, most original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) customize

4532-515: The Android Open Source Project run Google's ecosystem (which is known simply as Android), some with vendor-customized user interfaces and software suites, such as TouchWiz and later One UI by Samsung and HTC Sense . Competing ecosystems and forks of AOSP include Fire OS developed by Amazon , ColorOS by Oppo , OriginOS by Vivo , MagicUI by Honor , and custom ROMs such as LineageOS , as well as Meta Horizon OS for VR headsets . Android's source code has been used to develop variants on

4635-531: The Android division to take on new projects at Google, and that Sundar Pichai would become the new Android lead. Pichai himself would eventually switch positions, becoming the new CEO of Google in August 2015 following the company's restructure into the Alphabet conglomerate, making Hiroshi Lockheimer the new head of Android. On Android 4.4 , KitKat , shared writing access to MicroSD memory cards has been locked for user-installed applications, to which only

4738-514: The Android version and manufacturer. Many early Android OS smartphones were equipped with a dedicated search button for quick access to a web search engine and individual apps' internal search feature. More recent devices typically allow the former through a long press or swipe away from the home button. The dedicated option key, also known as menu key, and its on-screen simulation, is no longer supported since Android version 10. Google recommends mobile application developers to locate menus within

4841-754: The ChatON service was discontinued in all markets. ChatON was installed by default on Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablet PCs, such as Galaxy Pocket 2 and Galaxy Young 2 and Galaxy S Duos 3, Galaxy Gear, Galaxy Star 2, S5 Mini, and S5, and Galaxy Camera. It was also available on other devices depending on the installed operating system. For mobile devices, ChatON was available on Android (v2.2 or higher), Bada (v2.0 or higher), iOS (v4.3 or higher), BlackBerry (touch devices with v6.0 or higher, non-touch devices with v5.0 or higher), and Windows Mobile (v6.5 only for Omnia 2, and v7.0 for devices made by Samsung). For Windows PC, ChatON runs on PCs with Windows XP or higher. For Macs, it runs on OS X 10.6 or higher. ChatON offered

4944-634: The Nexus series, with a new generation of Pixel phones launched in October 2017. In May 2019, the operating system became entangled in the trade war between China and the United States involving Huawei , which, like many other tech firms, had become dependent on access to the Android platform. In the summer of 2019, Huawei announced it would create an alternative operating system to Android known as Harmony OS , and has filed for intellectual property rights across major global markets. Under such sanctions Huawei has long-term plans to replace Android in 2022 with

5047-493: The SAF to access any other part of the filesystem. Since Android devices are usually battery-powered, Android is designed to manage processes to keep power consumption at a minimum. When an application is not in use the system suspends its operation so that, while available for immediate use rather than closed, it does not use battery power or CPU resources. Android manages the applications stored in memory automatically: when memory

5150-479: The Storage Access Framework (SAF), a set of APIs for accessing files on the device's filesystem. As of Android 11, Android has required apps to conform to a data privacy policy known as scoped storage , under which apps may only automatically have access to certain directories (such as those for pictures, music, and video), and app-specific directories they have created themselves. Apps are required to use

5253-453: The ability to adjust the flashlight brightness. Notifications are "short, timely, and relevant information about your app when it's not in use", and when tapped, users are directed to a screen inside the app relating to the notification. Beginning with Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" , "expandable notifications" allow the user to tap an icon on the notification in order for it to expand and display more information and possible app actions right from

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5356-402: The actual causes of the many issues with Linux on notebooks such as the unnecessary power consumption. Mergers have affected major open-source software. Sun Microsystems (Sun) acquired MySQL AB , owner of the popular open-source MySQL database, in 2008. Oracle in turn purchased Sun in January 2010, acquiring their copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Thus, Oracle became the owner of both

5459-608: The adoption of the new GPL version was heavily discussed in the FOSS ecosystem, several projects decided against upgrading to GPLv3. For instance the Linux kernel , the BusyBox project, AdvFS , Blender , and the VLC media player decided against adopting the GPLv3. Apple , a user of GCC and a heavy user of both DRM and patents, switched the compiler in its Xcode IDE from GCC to Clang , which

5562-470: The author(s) of the software a royalty or fee for engaging in the listed activities. Although there is an almost complete overlap between free-software licenses and open-source-software licenses, there is a strong philosophical disagreement between the advocates of these two positions. The terminology of FOSS was created to be a neutral on these philosophical disagreements between the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Open Source Initiative (OSI) and have

5665-479: The company in July of that year for at least $ 50 million; this was Google's "best deal ever" according to Google's then-vice president of corporate development, David Lawee , in 2010. Android's key employees, including Rubin, Miner, Sears, and White, joined Google as part of the acquisition. Not much was known about the secretive Android Inc. at the time, with the company having provided few details other than that it

5768-513: The company were to develop an advanced operating system for digital cameras , and this was the basis of its pitch to investors in April 2004. The company then decided that the market for cameras was not large enough for its goals, and five months later it had diverted its efforts and was pitching Android as a handset operating system that would rival Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile . Rubin had difficulty attracting investors early on, and Android

5871-434: The concept of freely distributed software and universal access to an application's source code . A Microsoft executive publicly stated in 2001 that "Open-source is an intellectual property destroyer. I can't imagine something that could be worse than this for the software business and the intellectual-property business." Companies have indeed faced copyright infringement issues when embracing FOSS. For many years FOSS played

5974-495: The copyright law was extended to computer programs in the United States —previously, computer programs could be considered ideas, procedures, methods, systems, and processes, which are not copyrightable. Early on, closed-source software was uncommon until the mid-1970s to the 1980s, when IBM implemented in 1983 an "object code only" policy, no longer distributing source code. In 1983, Richard Stallman , longtime member of

6077-555: The cost of the application is added to the user's monthly bill. As of May 2017 , there are over one billion active users a month for Gmail, Android, Chrome, Google Play and Maps. Due to the open nature of Android, a number of third-party application marketplaces also exist for Android, either to provide a substitute for devices that are not allowed to ship with Google Play Store, provide applications that cannot be offered on Google Play Store due to policy violations, or for other reasons. Examples of these third-party stores have included

6180-511: The dedicated directories with respective package names, located inside Android/data/ , remained writeable. Writing access has been reinstated with Android 5 Lollipop through the backwards-incompatible Google Storage Access Framework interface . In June 2014, Google announced Android One , a set of "hardware reference models" that would "allow [device makers] to easily create high-quality phones at low costs", designed for consumers in developing countries. In September, Google announced

6283-567: The display, show an overlay with the current status of the touch screen, show touching spots for possible use in screencasting , notify the user of unresponsive background processes with the option to end them ("Show all ANRs", i.e. "App's Not Responding"), prevent a Bluetooth audio client from controlling the system volume ("Disable absolute volume"), and adjust the duration of transition animations or deactivate them completely to speed up navigation. Developer options are initially hidden since Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean", but can be enabled by actuating

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6386-523: The first set of Android One phones for release in India. However, Recode reported in June 2015 that the project was "a disappointment", citing "reluctant consumers and manufacturing partners" and "misfires from the search company that has never quite cracked hardware". Plans to relaunch Android One surfaced in August 2015, with Africa announced as the next location for the program a week later. A report from The Information in January 2017 stated that Google

6489-562: The functionality of software they can bring about changes to the code and, if they wish, distribute such modified versions of the software or often − depending on the software's decision making model and its other users − even push or request such changes to be made via updates to the original software. Manufacturers of proprietary, closed-source software are sometimes pressured to building in backdoors or other covert, undesired features into their software. Instead of having to trust software vendors, users of FOSS can inspect and verify

6592-416: The goal of developing the most efficient software for its users or use-cases while proprietary software is typically meant to generate profits . Furthermore, in many cases more organizations and individuals contribute to such projects than to proprietary software. It has been shown that technical superiority is typically the primary reason why companies choose open source software. According to Linus's law

6695-567: The government charged that bundled software was anticompetitive. While some software was still being provided without monetary cost and license restriction, there was a growing amount of software that was only at a monetary cost with restricted licensing. In the 1970s and early 1980s, some parts of the software industry began using technical measures (such as distributing only binary copies of computer programs ) to prevent computer users from being able to use reverse engineering techniques to study and customize software they had paid for. In 1980,

6798-491: The historical potential of an " economy of abundance " for the new digital world , FOSS may lay down a plan for political resistance or show the way towards a potential transformation of capitalism . According to Yochai Benkler , Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School , free software is the most visible part of a new economy of commons-based peer production of information, knowledge, and culture. As examples, he cites

6901-437: The issue. Android's default user interface is mainly based on direct manipulation , using touch inputs that loosely correspond to real-world actions, like swiping, tapping, pinching, and reverse pinching to manipulate on-screen objects, along with a virtual keyboard . Game controllers and full-size physical keyboards are supported via Bluetooth or USB . The response to user input is designed to be immediate and provides

7004-480: The level of interest in a particular project. However, unlike close-sourced software, improvements can be made by anyone who has the motivation, time and skill to do so. A common obstacle in FOSS development is the lack of access to some common official standards, due to costly royalties or required non-disclosure agreements (e.g., for the DVD-Video format). There is often less certainty of FOSS projects gaining

7107-559: The look and features of their Android devices to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Along the top of the screen is a status bar, showing information about the device and its connectivity. This status bar can be pulled (swiped) down from to reveal a notification screen where apps display important information or updates, as well as quick access to system controls and toggles such as display brightness, connectivity settings ( WiFi , Bluetooth, cellular data), audio mode, and flashlight . Vendors may implement extended settings such as

7210-481: The mobile communications market continued to build through December 2006. An early prototype had a close resemblance to a BlackBerry phone, with no touchscreen and a physical QWERTY keyboard , but the arrival of 2007's Apple iPhone meant that Android "had to go back to the drawing board". Google later changed its Android specification documents to state that "Touchscreens will be supported", although "the Product

7313-545: The more people who can see and test a set of code, the more likely any flaws will be caught and fixed quickly. However, this does not guarantee a high level of participation. Having a grouping of full-time professionals behind a commercial product can in some cases be superior to FOSS. Furthermore, publicized source code might make it easier for hackers to find vulnerabilities in it and write exploits. This however assumes that such malicious hackers are more effective than white hat hackers which responsibly disclose or help fix

7416-607: The most common screen. Android supports all versions of OpenGL ES and Vulkan (and version 1.1 available for some devices ). Android devices incorporate many optional hardware components, including still or video cameras, GPS , orientation sensors , dedicated gaming controls, accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, magnetometers , proximity sensors, pressure sensors , thermometers, and touchscreens . Some hardware components are not required, but became standard in certain classes of devices, such as smartphones, and additional requirements apply if they are present. Some other hardware

7519-477: The most popular proprietary database and the most popular open-source database. Oracle's attempts to commercialize the open-source MySQL database have raised concerns in the FOSS community. Partly in response to uncertainty about the future of MySQL, the FOSS community forked the project into new database systems outside of Oracle's control. These include MariaDB , Percona , and Drizzle . All of these have distinct names; they are distinct projects and cannot use

7622-475: The most used operating system worldwide on smartphones since 2011 and on tablets since 2013. As of May 2021 , it has over three billion monthly active users , the largest installed base of any operating system in the world, and, as of 2024 , the Google Play Store features 1.7 million apps; a decline from its of peak of over 3 million apps in April 2021. Android 15 , released on October 15, 2024,

7725-513: The new operating system, as Harmony OS was originally designed for internet of things devices, rather than for smartphones and tablets. On August 22, 2019, it was announced that Android "Q" would officially be branded as Android 10, ending the historic practice of naming major versions after desserts. Google stated that these names were not "inclusive" to international users (due either to the aforementioned foods not being internationally known, or being difficult to pronounce in some languages). On

7828-409: The notification. An "All Apps" screen lists all installed applications, with the ability for users to drag an app from the list onto the home screen. The app list may be accessed using a gesture or a button, depending on the Android version. A "Recents" screen, also known as "Overview", lets users switch between recently used apps. The recent list may appear side-by-side or overlapping, depending on

7931-546: The official support. Since 2012, Android devices with Intel processors began to appear, including phones and tablets. While gaining support for 64-bit platforms, Android was first made to run on 64-bit x86 and then on ARM64 . An unofficial experimental port of the operating system to the RISC-V architecture was released in 2021. Requirements for the minimum amount of RAM for devices running Android 7.1 range from in practice 2 GB for best hardware, down to 1 GB for

8034-526: The operating system's build number in the device information seven times. Hiding developers options again requires deleting user data for the "Settings" app, possibly resetting some other preferences. The main hardware platform for Android is ARM (the ARMv7 and ARMv8-A architectures), with x86 and x86-64 architectures also officially supported in later versions of Android. The unofficial Android-x86 project provided support for x86 architectures ahead of

8137-526: The parties stipulated that Google would pay no damages. Oracle appealed to the Federal Circuit , and Google filed a cross-appeal on the literal copying claim. By defying ownership regulations in the construction and use of information—a key area of contemporary growth —the Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) movement counters neoliberalism and privatization in general. By realizing

8240-418: The required resources and participation for continued development than commercial software backed by companies. However, companies also often abolish projects for being unprofitable, yet large companies may rely on, and hence co-develop, open source software. On the other hand, if the vendor of proprietary software ceases development, there are no alternatives; whereas with FOSS, any user who needs it still has

8343-467: The right, and the source-code, to continue to develop it themself, or pay a 3rd party to do so. As the FOSS operating system distributions of Linux has a lower market share of end users there are also fewer applications available. "We migrated key functions from Windows to Linux because we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable -- one that would give us in-house control. So if we needed to patch, adjust, or adapt, we could." In 2017,

8446-520: The same day, Android Police reported that Google had commissioned a statue of a giant number "10" to be installed in the lobby of the developers' new office. Android 10 was released on September 3, 2019, to Google Pixel phones first. In late 2021, some users reported that they were unable to dial emergency services. The problem was caused by a combination of bugs in Android and in the Microsoft Teams app; both companies released updates addressing

8549-419: The screen, allowing the user to quickly assess the charge status of a powered-off without having to boot it up first. Some display the battery percentage. Most Android devices come with preinstalled Google apps including Gmail, Google Maps, Google Chrome, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, and others. Applications (" apps "), which extend the functionality of devices (and must be 64-bit ), are written using

8652-521: The source code themselves and can put trust on a community of volunteers and users. As proprietary code is typically hidden from public view, only the vendors themselves and hackers may be aware of any vulnerabilities in them while FOSS involves as many people as possible for exposing bugs quickly. FOSS is often free of charge although donations are often encouraged. This also allows users to better test and compare software. FOSS allows for better collaboration among various parties and individuals with

8755-435: The source code to run on their hardware. Free and open-source software This is an accepted version of this page Free and open-source software ( FOSS ) is software that is available under a license that grants the right to use, modify, and distribute the software, modified or not, to everyone free of charge. The public availability of the source code is, therefore, a necessary but not sufficient condition. FOSS

8858-459: The trademarked name MySQL. In August 2010, Oracle sued Google , claiming that its use of Java in Android infringed on Oracle's copyrights and patents. In May 2012, the trial judge determined that Google did not infringe on Oracle's patents and ruled that the structure of the Java APIs used by Google was not copyrightable. The jury found that Google infringed a small number of copied files, but

8961-495: The user interface. On more recent phones, its place is occupied by a task key used to access the list of recently used apps when actuated. Depending on device, its long press may simulate a menu button press or engage split screen view, the latter of which is the default behaviour since stock Android version 7. Native support for split screen view has been added in stock Android version 7.0 Nougat . The earliest vendor-customized Android-based smartphones known to have featured

9064-837: The vulnerabilities, that no code leaks or exfiltrations occur and that reverse engineering of proprietary code is a hindrance of significance for malicious hackers. Sometimes, FOSS is not compatible with proprietary hardware or specific software. This is often due to manufacturers obstructing FOSS such as by not disclosing the interfaces or other specifications needed for members of the FOSS movement to write drivers for their hardware - for instance as they wish customers to run only their own proprietary software or as they might benefit from partnerships. While FOSS can be superior to proprietary equivalents in terms of software features and stability, in many cases it has more unfixed bugs and missing features when compared to similar commercial software. This varies per case, and usually depends on

9167-485: The web. Perens subsequently stated that he felt Eric Raymond 's promotion of open-source unfairly overshadowed the Free Software Foundation's efforts and reaffirmed his support for free software. In the following 2000s, he spoke about open source again. From the 1950s and on through the 1980s, it was common for computer users to have the source code for all programs they used, and the permission and ability to modify it for their own use. Software , including source code,

9270-575: Was "Open-source", and quickly Bruce Perens , publisher Tim O'Reilly , Linus Torvalds, and others signed on to the rebranding. The Open Source Initiative was founded in February 1998 to encourage the use of the new term and evangelize open-source principles. While the Open Source Initiative sought to encourage the use of the new term and evangelize the principles it adhered to, commercial software vendors found themselves increasingly threatened by

9373-434: Was acquired by Google in 2014 that provides helpful tools for app and web developers. Android has a growing selection of third-party applications, which can be acquired by users by downloading and installing the application's APK (Android application package) file, or by downloading them using an application store program that allows users to install, update, and remove applications from their devices. Google Play Store

9476-447: Was commonly shared by individuals who used computers, often as public-domain software (FOSS is not the same as public domain software, as public domain software does not contain copyrights ). Most companies had a business model based on hardware sales, and provided or bundled software with hardware, free of charge. By the late 1960s, the prevailing business model around software was changing. A growing and evolving software industry

9579-462: Was competing with the hardware manufacturer's bundled software products; rather than funding software development from hardware revenue, these new companies were selling software directly. Leased machines required software support while providing no revenue for software, and some customers who were able to better meet their own needs did not want the costs of software bundled with hardware product costs. In United States vs. IBM , filed January 17, 1969,

9682-490: Was described as having "played a pivotal role in Android's history by introducing new software iterations and hardware standards across the board", and became known for its " bloat-free " software with "timely ... updates". At its developer conference in May 2013, Google announced a special version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 , where, instead of using Samsung's own Android customization, the phone ran "stock Android" and

9785-472: Was designed with the presence of discrete physical buttons as an assumption, therefore a touchscreen cannot completely replace physical buttons". By 2008, both Nokia and BlackBerry announced touch-based smartphones to rival the iPhone 3G , and Android's focus eventually switched to just touchscreens. The first commercially available smartphone running Android was the HTC Dream , also known as T-Mobile G1, announced on September 23, 2008. On November 5, 2007,

9888-432: Was facing eviction from its office space. Steve Perlman , a close friend of Rubin, brought him $ 10,000 in cash in an envelope, and shortly thereafter wired an undisclosed amount as seed funding. Perlman refused a stake in the company, and has stated "I did it because I believed in the thing, and I wanted to help Andy." In 2005, Rubin tried to negotiate deals with Samsung and HTC . Shortly afterwards, Google acquired

9991-528: Was in the February 1986 edition of the FSF's now-discontinued GNU's Bulletin publication. The canonical source for the document is in the philosophy section of the GNU Project website. As of August 2017 , it is published in 40 languages. To meet the definition of "free software", the FSF requires the software's licensing respect the civil liberties / human rights of what the FSF calls the software user's " Four Essential Freedoms ". The Open Source Definition

10094-586: Was initially required, but those requirements have been relaxed or eliminated altogether. For example, as Android was developed initially as a phone OS, hardware such as microphones were required, while over time the phone function became optional. Android used to require an autofocus camera, which was relaxed to a fixed-focus camera if present at all, since the camera was dropped as a requirement entirely when Android started to be used on set-top boxes . In addition to running on smartphones and tablets, several vendors run Android natively on regular PC hardware with

10197-466: Was making software for mobile phones. At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel . Google marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on the promise of providing a flexible, upgradeable system. Google had "lined up a series of hardware components and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various degrees of cooperation". Speculation about Google's intention to enter

10300-683: Was promised to receive new system updates fast. The device would become the start of the Google Play edition program, and was followed by other devices, including the HTC One Google Play edition, and Moto G Google Play edition. In 2015, Ars Technica wrote that "Earlier this week, the last of the Google Play edition Android phones in Google's online storefront were listed as "no longer available for sale" and that "Now they're all gone, and it looks

10403-517: Was published in March 1985 titled the GNU Manifesto . The manifesto included significant explanation of the GNU philosophy, Free Software Definition and " copyleft " ideas. The FSF takes the position that the fundamental issue Free software addresses is an ethical one—to ensure software users can exercise what it calls " The Four Essential Freedoms ". The Linux kernel , created by Linus Torvalds ,

10506-643: Was released as freely modifiable source code in 1991. Initially, Linux was not released under either a Free software or an Open-source software license. However, with version 0.12 in February 1992, he relicensed the project under the GNU General Public License . FreeBSD and NetBSD (both derived from 386BSD ) were released as Free software when the USL v. BSDi lawsuit was settled out of court in 1993. OpenBSD forked from NetBSD in 1995. Also in 1995, The Apache HTTP Server , commonly referred to as Apache,

10609-460: Was released under the Apache License 1.0 . In 1997, Eric Raymond published The Cathedral and the Bazaar , a reflective analysis of the hacker community and Free software principles. The paper received significant attention in early 1998, and was one factor in motivating Netscape Communications Corporation to release their popular Netscape Communicator Internet suite as Free software . This code

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