CASE STUDY

Topic: Android Operating System

Name: Rinkesh S Kore
Roll No.: 37
Introduction:
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources
and provides common services for computer programs.
Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a computer – from cellular phones and video
game consoles to web servers and supercomputers. The dominant desktop operating system
is Microsoft Windows with a market share of around 82.74%. macOS by Apple Inc. is in second place
(13.23%), and the varieties of Linux are collectively in third place (1.57%).[3] In
the mobile (smartphone and tablet combined) sector, use in 2017 is up to 70%
of Google's Android[4] and according to third quarter 2016 data, Android on Smartphone’s is dominant
with 87.5 percent and a growth rate 10.3 percent per year.

Android Operating System:

Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google. It is based on a modified version of the Linux
kernel and other open source software, and is designed primarily for touch screen mobile devices such
as smartphones and tablets. In addition, Google has further developed Android TV for
televisions, Android Auto for cars, and Wear OS for wrist watches, each with a specialized user interface.
Variants of Android are also used on game consoles, digital cameras, PCs and other electronics. Initially
developed by Android Inc., which Google bought in 2005, Android was unveiled in 2007, with the first
commercial Android device launched in September 2008.

History:
The name Andrew and the noun Android share the Greek root andros, which means man. Andy Rubin
picked android.com as his personal website, and his colleagues used Android as his nickname at work.
That eventually became the name of the company he founded, and the name of the operating system
they developed. Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, in October 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich
Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White.
In July 2005,[14] Google acquired Android Inc. for at least $50 million. [19] Its key employees, including
Rubin, Miner and White, joined Google as part of the acquisition. At Google, the team led by Rubin
developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel. The first commercially available
smartphone running Android was the HTC Dream, also known as T-Mobile G1, announced on September
23, 2008.
Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which have incrementally improved the operating
system, adding new features and fixing bugsin 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 is
named after a dessert".
Features:
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.
Android devices boot to the homescreen, the primary navigation and information "hub" on Android
devices, analogous to the desktop found on personal computers. Android homescreens are typically
made up of app icons and widgets. A homescreen may be made up of several pages, between which the
user can swipe back and forth.
Applications ("apps"), which extend the functionality of devices, are written using the Android software
development kit (SDK) and, often, the Java programming language. The Go programming language is
also supported, although with a limited set of application programming interfaces (API). In May 2017,
Google announced support for Android app development in the Kotlin programming language.
In January 2014, Google unveiled an framework based on Apache Cordova for
porting Chrome HTML 5 web applications to Android, wrapped in a native application shell.  Google Play
Store 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
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 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.

Updates:
Android updates typically reach various devices with significant delays. Except for devices within the
Google Nexus and Pixel brands, updates often arrive months after the release of the new version, or not
at all.This was partly due to the extensive variation in hardware in Android devices, to which each
upgrade must be specifically tailored, a time- and resource-consuming process. Manufacturers often
prioritize their newest devices and leave old ones behind.
The extensive variation of hardware in Android devices causes significant delays for software upgrades,
with new versions of the operating system and security patches typically taking months before reaching
consumers. In 2012, Google began decoupling certain aspects of the operating system (particularly its
core applications) so they could be updated through the Google Play store independently of the OS. One
of those components, Google Play Services, is a closed-source system-level process providing APIs for
Google services, installed automatically on nearly all devices running Android 2.2 "Froyo" and higher.
With these changes, Google can add new system functionality through Play Services and update apps
without having to distribute an upgrade to the operating system itself. As a result, Android 4.2 and 4.3
"Jelly Bean" contained relatively fewer user-facing changes, focusing more on minor changes and
platform improvements.
Kernel:
Android's kernel is based on the Linux kernel's long-term support (LTS) branches. As of 2018, Android
targets versions 4.4, 4.9 or 4.14 of the Linux kernel. The actual kernel depends on the individual device.
Android's variant of the Linux kernel has further architectural changes that are implemented by Google
outside the typical Linux kernel development cycle, such as the inclusion of components like device
trees, ashmem, ION, and different out of memory (OOM) handling. Certain features that Google
contributed back to the Linux kernel, notably a power management feature called "wakelocks", were
initially rejected by mainline kernel developers partly because they felt that Google did not show any
intent to maintain its own code.
The flash storage on Android devices is split into several partitions, such as  /system  for the operating
system itself, and  /data  for user data and application installations. In contrast to desktop Linux
distributions, Android device owners are not given root access to the operating system and sensitive
partitions such as /system are read-only.

Security threat:
Research from security company Trend Micro lists premium service abuse as the most common type of
Android malware, where text messages are sent from infected phones to premium-rate telephone
numbers without the consent or even knowledge of the user. Other malware displays unwanted and
intrusive advertisements on the device, or sends personal information to unauthorized third parties.
[202]
 Security threats on Android are reportedly growing exponentially; however, Google engineers have
argued that the malware and virus threat on Android is being exaggerated by security companies for
commercial reasons, and have accused the security industry of playing on fears to sell virus protection
software to users.
The study by Fraunhofer AISEC, examining antivirus software from Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, ESET, F-
Secure, Kaspersky, Lookout, McAfee (formerly Intel Security), Norton, Sophos, and Trend Micro,
revealed that "the tested antivirus apps do not provide protection against customized malware or
targeted attacks", and that "the tested antivirus apps were also not able to detect malware which is
completely unknown to date but does not make any efforts to hide its malignity".

Version:

Code Version Linux kernel Initial release

name number version date

No codename 1.0 -------- September 23, 2008

Cupcake 1.5 2.6.27 April 27, 2009

Donut 1.6 2.6.29 September 15, 2009

 Eclair 2.0 – 2.1 2.6.29 October 26, 2009

Froyo 2.2 – 2.2.3 2.6.32 May 20, 2010

Gingerbread 2.3 – 2.3.7 2.6.35 December 6, 2010

Honeycomb 3.0 – 3.2.6 2.6.36 February 22, 2011

Ice Cream 4.0 – 4.0.4 3.0.1 October 18, 2011

Sandwich

Jelly Bean 4.1 – 4.3.1 3.0.31 to 3.4.39 July 9, 2012

KitKat 4.4 – 4.4.4 3.10 October 31, 2013

Lollipop 5.0 – 5.1.1 3.16 November 12, 2014

Marshmallow 6.0 – 6.0.1 3.18 October 5, 2015

Nougat 7.0 – 7.1.2 4.4 August 22, 2016

Oreo 8.0 – 8.1 4.10 August 21, 2017

Petit Four 1.1 2.6 February 9, 2009

Pie 9.0 4.4.107, 4.9.84, and 4.14.42 August 6, 2018

The first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released on September 23, 2008. Versions 1.0 and 1.1
were not released under specific code names, although Android 1.1 was unofficially known as Petit Four.
Android code names are confectionery-themed and have been in alphabetical order since 2009's
Android 1.5 Cupcake. The most recent version of Android is Android 9 Pie, which was released in August
2018.

Version: 1.0
Release Date: September 23 2008
Features:
 Android Market allowed application downloads and updates through the Market application
 Web browser to show, zoom and pan full HTML and XHTML web pages – multiple pages show as
windows ("cards")
  Camera support – however, this version lacked the option to change the camera's resolution,
white balance, quality, etc.
 Folders allowing the grouping of a number of application icons into a single folder icon on the
Home screen [38]

 Access to web email servers, supporting POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP

 Gmail synchronization with the Gmail application
 Google Contacts synchronization with the People application
 Google Calendar synchronization with the Calendar application
 Google Maps with Street View to view maps and satellite imagery, as well as find local business
and obtain driving directions using GPS
 Google Sync, allowing management of over-the-air synchronization of Gmail, People, and
Calendar
 Google Search, allowing users to search the Internet and phone applications, contacts, calendar,
etc.
 Google Talk instant messaging
 Instant messaging, text messaging, and MMS

Version: 1.1
Release Date: February 9 2009
Features:
 Details and reviews available when a user searches for businesses on Maps
 Longer in-call screen timeout default when using the speakerphone, plus ability to show/hide
dial pad
 Ability to save attachments in messages
 Support added for marquee in system layouts

Version: 2.0
Release Date: October 26 2009
Features:
 Expanded Account sync, allowing users to add multiple accounts to a device for synchronization
of email and contacts
 Microsoft Exchange email support, with combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts
in one page
 Bluetooth 2.1 support
 Ability to tap a Contacts photo and select to call, SMS, or email the person
 Ability to search all saved SMS and MMS messages, with delete oldest messages in a
conversation automatically deleted when a defined limit is reached
 Numerous new camera features, including flash support, digital zoom, scene mode, white
balance, color effect and macro focus
 Improved typing speed on virtual keyboard, with smarter dictionary that learns from word usage
and includes contact names as suggestions
 Refreshed browser UI with bookmark thumbnails, double-tap zoom and support for HTML5
 Calendar agenda view enhanced, showing attending status for each invitee, and ability to invite
new guests to events
 Optimized hardware speed and revamped UI
 Support for more screen sizes and resolutions, with better contrast ratio
 Improved Google Maps 3.1.2
  MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events
 Addition of live wallpapers, allowing the animation of home-screen background images to show
movement

Version: 2.2
Release Date: May 20 2010
Features:
 Speed, memory, and performance optimizations
 Additional application speed improvements, implemented through JIT compilation
 Integration of Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine into the Browser application
 Support for the Android Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM) service, enabling push
notifications
 Improved Microsoft Exchange support, including security policies, auto-discovery, GAL look-
up, calendar synchronization and remote wipe
 Improved application launcher with shortcuts to Phone and Browser applications
 USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality
 Option to disable data access over mobile network
 Updated Market application with batch and automatic update features
 Quick switching between multiple keyboard languages and their dictionaries
 Support for Bluetooth-enabled car and desk docks
 Support for numeric and alphanumeric passwords
 Support for file upload fields in the Browser application
 The browser now shows all frames of animated GIFs instead of just the first frame only
 Support for installing applications to the expandable memory
 Adobe Flash support
 Support for high-PPI displays (up to 320 ppi), such as four-inch 720p screens
 Gallery allows users to view picture stacks using a zoom gesture

Version: 3.0
Release Date: February 22 2011
Features:
 Optimized tablet support with a new “holographic” user interface (removed again the following
year with version 4.2)
 New easter egg, an image of a Tron-themed bumblebee
 Added System Bar, featuring quick access to notifications, status, and soft navigation buttons,
available at the bottom of the screen
 Added Action Bar, giving access to contextual options, navigation, widgets, or other types of
content at the top of the screen
 Simplified multitasking – tapping Recent Applications in the System Bar allows users to see
snapshots of the tasks underway and quickly jump from one application to another
 Redesigned keyboard, making typing fast, efficient and accurate on larger screen sizes
 Simplified, more intuitive copy/paste interface
 Multiple browser tabs replacing browser windows, plus form auto-fill and a new “incognito”
mode allowing anonymous browsing
 Quick access to camera exposure, focus, flash, zoom, front-facing camera, time-lapse, and other
camera features
  Ability to view albums and other collections in full-screen mode in Gallery, with easy access to
thumbnails for other photos
 New two-pane Contacts UI and Fast Scroll to let users easily organize and locate contacts
 New two-pane Email UI to make viewing and organizing messages more efficient, allowing users
to select one or more messages
 Hardware acceleration
 Support for multi-core processors
 Ability to encrypt all user data
 HTTPS stack improved with Server Name Indication (SNI)
 Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE; kernel module)
 Disallows applications from having write access to secondary storage (memory cards on devices
with internal primary storage) outside of designated, application-specific directories. Full access
to primary internal storage is still allowed through a separate application-level permission.

Version: 4.0
Release Date: October 18 2011
Features:
 Major refinements to the "Holo" interface with new Roboto font family
 Soft buttons from Android 3.x are now available for use on phones
 Separation of widgets in a new tab, listed in a similar manner to applications
 Easier-to-create folders, with a drag-and-drop style
 Improved visual voicemail with the ability to speed up or slow down voicemail messages
 Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar
 Integrated screenshot capture (accomplished by holding down the Power and Volume-Down
buttons)
 Improved error correction on the keyboard
 Ability to access applications directly from lock screen
 Improved copy and paste functionality
 Better voice integration and continuous, real-time speech to text dictation
 Face Unlock, a feature that allows users to unlock handsets using facial recognition software [83]

 Automatic syncing of browser with users' Chrome bookmarks

 Data Usage section in settings that lets users set warnings when they approach a certain usage
limit, and disable data use when the limit is exceeded
 Ability to shut down applications from the recent apps list with a swipe
 Improved camera application with zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, panorama mode, and
the ability to zoom while recording
 Built-in photo editor
 New gallery layout, organized by location and person
 Refreshed "People" application with social network integration, status updates and hi-res
images
 Android Beam, a near-field communication feature allowing the rapid short-range exchange of web
bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos and other data [83]

 Support for the WebP image format

 Hardware acceleration of the UI
 Wi-Fi Direct
 1080p video recording for stock Android devices
 Android VPN Framework (AVF), and TUN (but not TAP) kernel module. Prior to 4.0, VPN
software required rooted 
Version: 4.1
Release Date: July 09 2012
Features:
 Enhanced accessibility
 Bi-directional text and other language support
 User-installable keyboard maps
 Expandable notifications
 Ability to turn off notifications on an application-specific basis
 Shortcuts and widgets can automatically be re-arranged or re-sized to allow new items to fit on
home screens
 Bluetooth data transfer for Android Beam
 Tablets with smaller screens now use an expanded version of the interface layout and home
screen used by phones.
 Improved camera application
 Multichannel audio [

 The Fraunhofer FDK AAC codec becomes standard in Android, adding AAC 5.1 channel
encoding/decoding
 USB audio (for external sound DACs)
 Audio chaining (also known as gapless playback)
 Ability for other launchers to add widgets from the application drawer without requiring root
access

Version: 4.4
Release Date: October 31 2013
Features:
 Refreshed interface with white elements instead of blue
 Clock no longer shows bold hours; all digits are thin. The H, M, and S markings for the stopwatch
and timer have been removed, leaving just the numbers.
 Ability for applications to trigger translucency in the navigation and status bars
[148]

 Ability for applications to use "immersive mode" to keep the navigation and status bars hidden
while maintaining user interaction
 Action overflow menu buttons are always visible, even on devices with a "Menu" key, which was
officially deprecated by Android 4.0.
 Restriction for applications when accessing external storage, except for their own directories
 Optimizations for performance on devices with lower specifications, including zRAM support
and "low RAM" device AP
 Wireless printing capability
 NFC host card emulation, enabling a device to replace smart cards
 WebViews now based on Chromium engine (feature parity with Chrome for Android 30)
 Expanded functionality for notification listener services
 Public API for developing and managing text messaging clients
 Storage Access Framework, an API allowing apps to retrieve files in a consistent manner. As part
of the framework, a new system file picker allows users to access files from various sources
(including those exposed by apps, such as online storage services)
 New framework for UI transitions
 Sensor batching, step detector and counter APIs
  Settings application now makes it possible to select default text messaging and home (launcher)
application
 Audio tunneling, audio monitoring and loudness enhancer
 Built-in screen recording feature (primarily for developers, as usage of ADB is required)
 Native infrared blaster API
 Verified boot
 Enforcing SELinux
 Expanded accessibility APIs and system-level closed captioning settings

Version: 5.0
Release Date: November 12 2014
Features:
 Android Runtime (ART) with ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation and improved garbage collection
(GC), replacing Dalvik that combines bytecode interpretation with trace-based just-in-time (JIT)
compilation
 Support for 64-bit CPUs
 OpenGL ES 3.1 and Android Extension Pack (AEP) on supported GPU configurations
 Recent activities screen with tasks instead of applications, up to a configured maximum of tasks
per application
 Vector drawables, which scale without losing definition
 Support for print previews
 Material design, bringing a restyled user interface
 Refreshed lock screen, no longer supporting widgets
 Refreshed notification tray and quick settings pull-down
 Project Volta, for battery life improvements
 Searches can be performed within the system settings for quicker access to particular settings
 Lock screen provides shortcuts to application and notification settings
 Guest logins and multiple user accounts are available on more devices, such as phones.
 Audio input and output through USB devices
 Third-party applications regain the ability to read and modify data located anywhere on external
storage, such as on SD cards.
 Pinning of an application's screen for restricted user activity
 Recently used applications are remembered even after restarting the device.
 WebViews receive updates independently through Google Play for security reasons, instead of
relying on system-wide vendor updates
 Addition of 15 new languages: Basque, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese (Hong Kong), Galician,
Icelandic, Kannada, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sinhala, Tamil and Telugu
 Tap and Go allows users to quickly migrate to a new Android device, using NFC and Bluetooth to
transfer Google Account details, configuration settings, user data and installed applications
 A flashlight-style application is included, working on supported devices with a camera flash.
 User-customizable priorities for application notifications.
 Smart lock feature

Version: 6.0
Release Date: October 05 2015
Features:
 Contextual search from keywords within apps.
 Introduction of Doze mode, which reduces CPU speed while the screen is off in order to save
battery life
 App Standby feature
 Alphabetically accessible vertical application drawer
 Application search bar and favorites
 Native fingerprint reader support
 Direct Share feature for target-specific sharing between apps
 Renamed "Priority" mode to "Do Not Disturb" mode
 App Linking for faster instinctive opening of links with corresponding applications
 Larger Application folders with multiple pages
 Post-install/run-time permission requests
 USB-C support
 Demo Mode feature for screenshot-capture usage
 Automatic full data backup and restore for apps
 4K display mode for apps
 Adoptable External storage to behave like Internal Storage MIDI support for musical
instruments

Version: 7.0
Release Date: August 22 2016
Features:
 Unicode 9.0 emoji and skin tone modifier support (and exposes a subset of ICU4J APIs).[223]
 Ability to display color calibration
 Ability to screen zoom
 Ability to switch to the last opened app by double tapping the overview button
 Added Emergency information part
 Added the "Clear All" button in Overview screen
 Another system partition, which gets updated when not in use, allowing for seamless system
updates
 Daydream virtual reality platform (VR interface)
 Improved Doze functionality, which aims to prolong battery life
 Improvements to file browser
 More Quick Settings options
 Multi-window support, which supports floating apps on a desktop layout
 New Data Saver mode, which can force apps to reduce bandwidth usage
 New JIT Compiler, making for 75 percent faster app installations and a 50 percent reduction in
compiled code size
 Just in Time (JIT) compiler with code profiling to ART, which lets it constantly improve the
performance of Android apps as they run
 Picture-in-picture support for Android TV
 Redesigned notification shade, featuring instant access to certain settings
 Redesigned Overview screen
 Replaced notification cards with notification sheets
 Settings app navigation drawer
 Vulkan 3D rendering API
  Multiple Device Locales

Version: 8.0
Release Date: August 21 2017
Features:
 Project Treble, the biggest change to the foundations of Android to date: a modular architecture
that makes it easier and faster for hardware makers to deliver Android updates
 Picture-in-picture support
 Support for Unicode 10.0 emoji (5.0) and replacement of all blob-shaped emojis by round ones
with gradient and outline
 Redesigned Quick Settings and Settings with white background and respectively black and
Accent font color
 Restructured Settings by regrouping in sections similar entries
 Adaptive icons
 System-wide Autofill framework
 Sony LDAC codec support
 App-specific unknown sources
 Multi-display support
 2 times faster boot time
 Apps background execution and location limits
 Google Play Protect
 Downloadable fonts
 Integrated printing support
 Color management (deep color and wide color gamut)
 Wi-Fi Assistant

Version: 9.0
Release Date: August 06 2018
Features:
 New user interface for the quick settings menu
 The clock has moved to the left of the notification bar.
 The "dock" now has a semi-transparent background .
 Battery saver no longer shows an orange overlay on the notification and status bars .
 A "screenshot" button has been added to the power options. [
 A new "Lockdown" mode which disables biometric authentication once activated
 Rounded corners across the UI
 New transitions for switching between apps, or activities within apps
 Richer messaging notifications, where a full conversation can be had within a notification, full
scale images, and smart replies akin to Google's new app, Reply
 Support for display cutouts
 Redesigned volume slider
 Battery percentage now shown in Always-On Display
 Lock screen security changes include the possible return of an improved NFC Unlock.
 Experimental features (which are currently hidden within a menu called Feature Flags) such as a
redesigned About Phone page in settings, and automatic Bluetooth enabling while driving
 DNS over TLS
 A new optional gesture-based system interface, allowing users to navigate the OS using swipes
more often than the traditional UI
 Redesigned multitask app switcher with Google search bar and app drawer built in.
 Android Dashboard, which tells the user how much time you're spending on your device and in
apps, and allows the user to set time limits on apps
 "Shush", an enhanced version of Do Not Disturb mode activated by placing the phone face
down, which mutes standard notifications
 "Adaptive Battery" prediction, which makes use of Doze to hibernate user apps the OS
determines the user will not use
 Auto Brightness feature modifies screen brightness based on user habits
 Wind Down option lets Android users set a specific bed time that enables Do Not Disturb and
turns the entire phone's interface gray to discourage further use at night