FYP 1 - Week 6

Title: Research about Android

What is Android?
Android is a mobile operating system (os) currently developed by Google, based on Linux kernel and design primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

History of Android
The version history of the Android mobile operating system began with the release of the Android alpha in November 2007. The first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released in September 2008. Android is continually developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), and has seen a number of updates to its base operating system since the initial release. 

The most recent major Android update is Android 6.0 "Marshmallow", which was released in October 2015. Since April 2009, Android versions have been developed under a confectionery-themed code name and released in alphabetical order, beginning with Android 1.5 "Cupcake". 

The main hardware platform for Android is the ARM architecture (ARMv7 and ARMv8-A architectures), with x86[d] and MIPS[e] architectures also officially supported in later versions of Android. Since Android 5.0 "Lollipop", 64-bit variants of all platforms are supported in addition to the 32-bit variants. Unofficial Android-x86 project used to provide support for the x86 and MIPS architectures ahead of 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.

Some applications may explicitly require a certain version of the OpenGL ES, and suitable GPU hardware is required to run such applications. 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 (except for smartphones) when Android started to be used on set-top boxes.