Google’s Android is a mobile operating system that powers hundreds of millions of devices around the world. This open source software package provides a highly customizable user experience. Besides smartphones, you’ll find it on tablets and smartwatches.
When you first boot your device, the OS displays a home screen. The home screen includes app icons, widgets, and an informational display. You can also customize your home screen with third party apps from Google Play.
The Android platform is a flexible environment for developers. You can create your own apps for the platform. In addition, you can link to other Google products. It’s easy to experiment, and you can create applications for many different devices.
The home screen features multi-touch gestures. For example, you can pinch to zoom. However, there are limitations to this feature. Also, if your phone doesn’t have a touchscreen, you won’t be able to use this feature.
Android’s UI is a bit different from iPhone’s. Android doesn’t have an iPhone-style’swipe to navigate’ feature. Instead, it supports swiping.
Most Android phones have two-factor authentication, meaning you can set a password to unlock your phone. Some also have a lock screen with security options. These include tracing a pattern over dots or inputting a PIN code.
As an open source platform, Android is free for everyone to use. Developers can make use of Android’s features, but they must follow the terms of the licensing.
The Android ecosystem is growing. There are more than 2.6 million applications available on the Google Play store. You can also download apps from other sources.
