Last updated on March 23rd, 2018 at 07:41 am
A Comparison of All the Android Versions Ever Released
Google’s Android’s popularity is only going uphill. It’s probably the most popular and most commonly used mobile operating system.
Android seemingly offers the perfect smartphone experience to its users. More importantly, even smartphones costing just around $100 or so can run the Android operating system, so this definitely adds to its popularity.
Different Android versions
Many different Android versions have been released in the past. Initially, there used to be different Android versions for smartphones and tablets. However, with Android Ice cream Sandwich, this was changed, as the version covered both smartphones and tablets.
However, Google went the extra mile with Android Lollipop, which even targeted other devices like smart watches, car media center, TV player and so on. It allowed even devices with just 512 of RAM to run Android smoothly.
Android versions comparison
We will now be comparing all the Android versions ever released, and the important updates they came with.
Update Version | Version | Important new users features added | Important new developer features added | Date of release | API Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android 6.0.1 | Marshmallow | Pretty much the same as the last version, but just added more emojis | 7-Dec-15 | 23 | |
| Android 6 | Marshmallow | Major update, with a lot of new features | -Custom Chrome tabs for better browsing | 5-Oct-15 | 23 |
| -Now on Tap feature offering a much higher level of user-friendliness and saving a lot of time | -Being able to manage app permissions better | ||||
| -Fingerprint scanner | |||||
| -Reverse-charging, USB Type C-support | |||||
| -Features like Doze, App standby, increasing the battery life significantly | |||||
| -More control over permissions granted to the apps installed | |||||
| -Google voice search and voice commands becoming an integral part of Android | |||||
| -Android Pay | |||||
| Android 5.1.1 | Lollipop | This was the last Lollipop update, and it didnt change anything much except fixing some bugs and trying to improve the speed. | 21-Apr-15 | 22 | |
| Android 5.1 | Lollipop | This was a major update, it came with many improvements and changes. | 9-Mar-15 | 22 | |
| -Supporting more than 1 SIM card | |||||
| -A quick option in the notifications bar to connect via WiFi and manage Bluetooth devices | |||||
| -Better voice calling | |||||
| -More security to ensure misuse on phone getting stolen | |||||
| -Some significant performance improvements | |||||
| Android 5.0.2 | Lollipop | Just like the last Lollipop update, nothing major in this one too. Came with changes similar to the last update. | 19-Dec-14 | 22 | |
| Android 5.0.1 | Lollipop | Fixed some specific issues related to video playback and password failures | 2-Dec-14 | 22 | |
| Android 5 | Lollipop | Android Lollipop was rolled out for the first time, coming with a completely different look and feel. It got quite popular fairly quickly. | -An app that would track battery consumption and provide relevant information | 17-Oct-14 | 21 |
| -Paved way for a speedy user experience | -Many new API | ||||
| -Specific changes that made battery life last longer | |||||
| -Completely new design | |||||
| Android 4.4.4 | KitKat | Last KitKat update, so nothing major but fixed certain issues and vulnerabilities were taken care of. | 23-Jun-14 | 19 | |
| Android 4.4.3 | KitKat | Apart from bug fixes, just enabled Sprint Spark band 26 and band 41 | 14-Apr-14 | 19 | |
| Android 4.4.2 | KitKat | Fixed some issues and came with a better level of security | 9-Dec-13 | 19 | |
| Android 4.4.1 | KitKat | Improved the camera quality on Nexus 5, and came with bug fixes | 5-Dec-13 | 19 | |
| Android 4.4 | KitKat | A major and highly popular Android version, KitKat, was released. Its still quite popular, and is used by well over one third of all Android devices. | Long list of updates on this front too. | 31-Oct-13 | 19 |
| -New and better system UI | -A Public API being made available for SMS management | ||||
| -Major performance improvements | -A better level of security | ||||
| -A new-look notifications area | -Better memory usage and management | ||||
| -Screen recording | -Printing support | ||||
| -System-wide setting that paved way for closed captioning | -Audio monitoring | ||||
| -An improved Wi-Fi support | |||||
| -Several tools being made available for analyzing memory usage | |||||
| Android 4.3 | Jelly Bean | Surprisingly, there were many changes in this update despite it being the last one for the version. | -An API that would allow WiFi- scanning | 24-Jul-13 | 18 |
| -Dial pad suggestions | -Better graphics support | ||||
| -An update UI for camera | -Improved DRM API | ||||
| -Better security management and improved performance | |||||
| -Enhance Bluetooth support | |||||
| Android 4.2.2 | Jelly Bean | Overall, this update brought about changes that would lead to a better user-interface and offer some innovative features such as wireless charging | -Secure USB debugging | 11-Feb-13 | 17 |
| Android 4.2.1 | Jelly Bean | Bug fixes and enhanced Bluetooth support | 27-Nov-12 | 17 | |
| Android 4.1 | Jelly Bean | Many welcome changes, such as introducing Google Now, voice search, gesture mode, and so on. | -App stack navigation | 9-Jul-12 | 16 |
| Similarly, there were significant speed and camera app improvements | -Detailed notifications | ||||
| Android 4.0 | Ice Cream Sandwich | Notable changes: Improved lock screen, WiFi direct, better control over network data, typing and spell-checking made easy and more convenient | -API for VPN clients | 18-Oct-11 | 14 |
| -Introduction of spell-checking | |||||
| -Better and user-friendly layout | |||||
| Android 3.0 | Honeycomb | Introduction of new features such as Google eBooks, Talk video chat, private browsing mode, HTTP live streaming, and so on | Hardware, graphics, and performance improvements | 22-Feb-11 | 11 |
| Android 2.3 | Gingerbread | A better UI, improved keyboard, text-input, social networking functions, and video calling. | Performance improvements, as well as an improved camera and audio support | 6-Dec-10 | 9 |
| Android 2.2 | Froyo | Speed and performance improvements, better browsing and memory, as well as the introduction of USB Tethering | 20-May-10 | 8 | |
| Android 2.0 | Eclair | Updated UI, better Bluetooth support, live wallpapers, HTML, and so on, were the highlighting points of this version | 26-Oct-11 | 5 | |
| Android 1.6 | Donut | Ensuring a higher level of user-friendliness through features like gesture framework and ensuring a better navigation | 15-Sep-09 | 4 | |
| Android 1.5 | Cupcake | Launched video recording, soft-keyboard, and came with a better Bluetooth support | 30-Apr-09 | 3 | |
| Android 1.1 | Banana bread | Users allowed to save MMS messages and as well as offered a better numeric keyboard while calling | 9-Feb-09 | 2 | |
| Android 1.0 | Apple pie | The start of real Android, with a web browser, Android market, camera support, Google Maps, and other Google apps | 23-Sep-08 | 1 | |
| Android 0.9 | 22-Aug-08 |
Just recently, I posted my complete review on Android version 6.0 Marshmallow and now realized that It would be helpful to make this post for a wider reference. I wonder what kind of sweet will be released for the next months! Android has truly changed our mobile lives. If you got questions and comments please leave it below and will attend as soon as possible. I hope this research helps you in some ways. Thanks for reading. Like and Share!
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great read… im excited on androids future updtaes too!