Whichever you preferred, rarely was there 100% agreement in your techy social circles. 11: Android 7.0 Nougat Image used with permission by copyright holderĪndroid 7 Nougat has the dubious honor of having the codename that caused the most disagreements over its pronunciation, as some want to sound the T at the end, while others read it the French way and consider it silent. Without this, smartphones would have still required a physical keyboard to type out messages and use the browser, leaving Android phones stuck in the past when the all-touchscreen iPhone was already making waves. The first Android version with a (publicly known) codename, Cupcake’s main claim to fame that puts it so high on our list is the introduction of a software-based keyboard. 12: Android 1.5 Cupcake Image used with permission by copyright holder Google later released a single update that added another useful new feature - the double-press of the power key to launch the camera from the lock screen. It’s hard to imagine a modern Android phone without either of these features. These include Do Not Disturb, support for fingerprint sensors, USB Type-C compatibility, and Android Pay which would eventually be rebranded to Google Pay. 13: Android 6.0 Marshmallow Image used with permission by copyright holderĭefinitely not one of the biggest Android releases, but Android 6.0 Marshmallow did introduce some very interesting features. Honeycomb risks being forgotten because it was for tablets, but adapting Android for different screens and devices is key to the software’s success, and it predates the same process used in Android 12L. Notably, external keyboards and mice could be connected using USB or Bluetooth, and the Media Transfer Protocol came along to make it easy to sync a device with a computer. It also added several important connectivity features. It adapted Android for devices with big screens, for example, adding in the System Bar so there was no need for physical navigation keys, and the Action Bar for easy access to other controls when using apps. In an unusual step, Google released Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets only, and it launched on the Motorola Xoom. For example, the chance to use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, 720p screen support, Adobe Flash support, and crucial improvements to overall performance. This marks the biggest change in Android 2.2, but it also represented Android becoming more mature as an operating system, with various changes that made the software more rounded and usable. 15: Android 2.2 Froyo Image used with permission by copyright holderĪ seriously important feature arrived with Froyo, and it’s one we absolutely take for granted today: push notifications. One of the most memorable is the version used to advertise the Nexus One, with Tron-style Lightcycle lines streaking across the screen. A smaller, but equally key change was the introduction of pinch-to-zoom.Įclair launched on the Nexus One, the first smartphone to use the Nexus name, and it came with the software’s Live wallpapers. 16: Android 2.0 Eclair Image used with permission by copyright holderĮclair is one of the more important early updates for Android, and although there wasn’t one major alteration, it built on Donut by introducing navigation to Google Maps, a feature that has likely changed all of our lives since, whether it’s on our phones, the web, or in a car. These included enhanced search, a faster camera app, updated carrier support, and the chance to put a WVGA resolution - that’s 768 x 480 pixels - screen on future Android phones. It was still early days for Android, and this interim update polished the software and added several features to improve on Android 1.5 Cupcake. Problems around over-the-air updates weren’t uncommon at the time, but this one came after similar problems with Android 2.2 Froyo, meaning patience had already worn thin. Worse than the lackluster features, the update was delayed and even suspended during what should have been a grand launch on the Samsung Galaxy S phone. It was found by repeatedly tapping on the Android version number under the About Phone menu and was a piece of art showing the Android Bugdroid mascot next to a zombified gingerbread man. It did introduce NFC support to read tags (although globally, NFC wasn’t particularly common), SIP internet calling, and more refined copy/paste features - plus, it was the first time you could find the popular Android easter egg. If Android 2.2 wasn’t very exciting, Android 2.3 Gingerbread didn’t spice the operating system up much either. HMD Global’s Nokia 7.1 smartphone is only $250 from Best Buy right now The 6 best LG smartphones of all time, ranked All the best new smartphones from MWC 2022
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