118-532: Notification Center is a feature in iOS , iPadOS , macOS and watchOS that provides an overview of alerts from applications. It displays notifications until the user completes an associated action, rather than requiring instant resolution. Users may choose what applications appear in Notification Center, and how they are handled. Initially released with iOS 5 in October 2011, Notification Center
236-405: A digital zoom shortcut ( iPhone 7 Plus , iOS 10 ). Some camera settings such as video resolution and frame rate are not adjustable through the camera interface itself, but are outsourced to the system settings. A new feature in iOS 13 called "context menus" shows related actions when you touch and hold an item. When the context menu is displayed, the background is blurred. To choose from
354-400: A modal window and could not be viewed after being dismissed. In iOS 5, Apple introduced Notification Center , which allows users to view a history of notifications. The user can tap a notification to open its corresponding app, or clear it. Notifications are now delivered in banners that appear briefly at the top of the screen. If a user taps a received notification, the application that sent
472-410: A native development kit (NDK) for applications or extensions in C or C++, Google App Inventor , a visual environment for novice programmers, and various cross platform mobile web applications frameworks . In January 2014, Google unveiled a framework based on Apache Cordova for porting Chrome HTML 5 web applications to Android, wrapped in a native application shell. Additionally, Firebase
590-408: A weather forecast , the user's email inbox, or a news ticker directly on the home screen. A home screen may be made up of several pages, between which the user can swipe back and forth. Third-party apps available on Google Play and other app stores can extensively re- theme the home screen, and even mimic the look of other operating systems, such as Windows Phone . Most manufacturers customize
708-399: A PC and mobile operating system, based on Android, to "compete directly with Microsoft Windows and Google Android". The Chinese Academy of Engineering noted that "more than a dozen" companies were customizing Android following a Chinese ban on the use of Windows 8 on government PCs. Android is developed by Google until the latest changes and updates are ready to be released, at which point
826-454: A basic human right. Building into the core of our products supports a vision of an inclusive world where opportunity and access to information are barrier-free, empowering individuals with disabilities to achieve their goals". Criticism has been aimed at iOS depending on both internet connection (either WiFi or through iTunes) and a working SIM card upon first activation. This restriction has been loosened in iOS 12, which no longer requires
944-710: A choice of non-default runtimes that allow better C++ support. The SDK includes a comprehensive set of development tools, including a debugger , software libraries , a handset emulator based on QEMU , documentation, sample code, and tutorials. Initially, Google's supported integrated development environment (IDE) was Eclipse using the Android Development Tools (ADT) plugin; in December 2014, Google released Android Studio , based on IntelliJ IDEA , as its primary IDE for Android application development. Other development tools are available, including
1062-403: A dock at the bottom where users can pin their most frequently used apps. iOS home screens are typically made up of app icons and widgets ; app icons launch the associated app, whereas widgets display live, auto-updating content, such as a weather forecast , the user's email inbox, or a news ticker directly on the home screen. The home screen appears whenever the user unlocks the device, presses
1180-468: A few months after the release of iPhone OS 3.2, which brought the feature to all iPhone and iPod Touch models that could run the operating system, with the exception of the iPhone 3G and the iPod touch (2nd generation) due to performance issues with icon animations. iOS 7 introduced a parallax effect on the Home Screen, which shifts the device's wallpaper and icons in response to the movement of
1298-505: A few options, a selection control is used. Selectors can appear anchored at the bottom or in line with the content (called date selectors). Date selectors take on the appearance of any other selection control, but with a column for day, month, and optionally year. Alerts appear in the center of the screen, but there are also alerts that scroll up from the bottom of the screen (called "action panels"). Destructive actions (such as eliminating any element) are colored red. The official font of iOS
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#17327650365951416-402: A fluid touch interface, often using the vibration capabilities of the device to provide haptic feedback to the user. Internal hardware, such as accelerometers , gyroscopes and proximity sensors are used by some applications to respond to additional user actions, for example adjusting the screen from portrait to landscape depending on how the device is oriented, or allowing the user to steer
1534-586: A keyboard and mouse. In addition to their availability on commercially available hardware, similar PC hardware-friendly versions of Android are freely available from the Android-x86 project, including customized Android 4.4. Using the Android emulator that is part of the Android SDK , or third-party emulators, Android can also run non-natively on x86 architectures. Chinese companies are building
1652-449: A notification is read, it is removed from the panel. Users may also remove notifications without reading them by deleting individual alerts, or dismissing all of an application's alerts from within the application that is generating them. When an iOS device is locked, new notifications appear on the lock screen, and users may access the application generating the alert by swiping the application's icon with their finger from left to right along
1770-564: A press conference in a New York City subway station . Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which have incrementally improved the operating system, adding new features and fixing bugs in 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
1888-812: A press event, announcing the iPhone SDK. The iOS App Store was opened on July 10, 2008, with an initial 500 applications available. This quickly grew to 3,000 in September 2008, 15,000 in January 2009, 50,000 in June 2009, 100,000 in November 2009, 250,000 in August 2010, 650,000 in July 2012, 1 million in October 2013, 2 million in June 2016, and 2.2 million in January 2017. As of March 2016 , 1 million apps are natively compatible with
2006-635: A range of other electronics, such as game consoles , digital cameras , portable media players , and PCs , each with a specialized user interface. Some well-known derivatives include Android TV for televisions and Wear OS for wearables , both developed by Google. Software packages on Android, which use the APK format, are generally distributed through proprietary application stores like Google Play Store , Amazon Appstore , Samsung Galaxy Store , Huawei AppGallery , Cafe Bazaar , GetJar , and Aptoide , or open source platforms like F-Droid . Android has been
2124-422: A single app that looks the same on any iOS device. In addition to defining the iOS interface, UIKit defines the functionality of the application. At first, Apple did not intend to release an SDK to developers, because they did not want third-party apps to be developed for iOS, building web apps instead. However, this technology never entered into common use, this led Apple to change its opinion, so in October 2007
2242-474: A split-screen view mode are the 2012 Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2 , the former of which received this feature with the premium suite upgrade delivered in TouchWiz with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. When connecting or disconnecting charging power and when shortly actuating the power button or home button, all while the device is powered off, a visual battery meter whose appearance varies among vendors appears on
2360-406: A user is directed to the home screen, which is the primary navigation and information "hub" on iOS devices, analogous to the desktop found on personal computers. iOS home screens are typically made up of app icons and widgets ; app icons launch the associated app, whereas widgets display live, auto-updating content, such as a weather forecast , the user's email inbox, or a news ticker directly on
2478-434: A user's ears. Additional customization available for Made for iPhone products include battery tracking and adjustable sound settings for different environments. Apple made further efforts for accessibility for the release of iOS 10 in 2016, adding a new pronunciation editor to VoiceOver, adding a Magnifier setting to enlarge objects through the device's camera, software TTY support for deaf people to make phone calls from
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#17327650365952596-430: A vehicle in a racing game by rotating the device, simulating control of a steering wheel . Android devices boot to the home screen , the primary navigation and information "hub" on Android devices, analogous to the desktop found on personal computers. Android home screens are typically made up of app icons and widgets ; app icons launch the associated app, whereas widgets display live, auto-updating content, such as
2714-463: A whole lot like the program has wrapped up". From 2008 to 2013, Hugo Barra served as product spokesperson, representing Android at press conferences and Google I/O , Google's annual developer-focused conference. He left Google in August 2013 to join Chinese phone maker Xiaomi . Less than six months earlier, Google's then- CEO Larry Page announced in a blog post that Andy Rubin had moved from
2832-420: Is San Francisco . It is designed for small text readability, and is used throughout the operating system, including third-party apps. The icons are 180x180px in size for iPhones with a larger screen, usually models over 6 inches, including iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 8 Plus , while they are 120x120px on iPhones with smaller displays. The home screen, rendered by SpringBoard , displays application icons and
2950-508: Is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen -based mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets . It is the world's most widely used operating system due to it being used on most smartphones and tablets outside of iPhones and iPads , which use Apple 's iOS and iPadOS , respectively. As of October 2024 , Android accounts for 45% of
3068-609: Is based on macOS . Like macOS, it includes components of the Mach microkernel and FreeBSD . It is a Unix-like operating system. Although some parts of iOS are open source under the Apple Public Source License and other licenses, iOS is proprietary software . In 2005, when Steve Jobs began planning the iPhone , he had a choice to either "shrink the Mac, which would be an epic feat of engineering, or enlarge
3186-467: Is completely free, aimed at acquiring specific technical skills on the creation and management of applications for the Apple ecosystem platforms. At the academy there are also issues of business administration (business planning and business management with a focus on digital opportunities) and there is a path dedicated to the design of graphical interfaces . Students have the opportunity to participate in
3304-609: Is expanding its low-cost Android One program into the United States, although The Verge notes that the company will presumably not produce the actual devices itself. Google introduced the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones in October 2016, marketed as being the first phones made by Google, and exclusively featured certain software features, such as the Google Assistant , before wider rollout. The Pixel phones replaced
3422-547: Is known as the Android Open Source Project ( AOSP ) and is free and open-source software (FOSS) primarily licensed under the Apache License . However, most devices run the proprietary Android version developed by Google, which ships with additional proprietary closed-source software pre-installed, most notably Google Mobile Services (GMS), which includes core apps such as Google Chrome ,
3540-438: 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. Lifehacker reported in 2011 that third-party task-killer applications were doing more harm than good. Some settings for use by developers for debugging and power users are located in a "Developer options" sub menu, such as the ability to highlight updating parts of
3658-426: Is named after a dessert", although a Google spokesperson told CNN in an interview that "It's kind of like an internal team thing, and we prefer to be a little bit—how should I say—a bit inscrutable in the matter, I'll say". In 2010, Google launched its Nexus series of devices, a lineup in which Google partnered with different device manufacturers to produce new devices and introduce new Android versions. The series
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3776-421: Is possible to interact directly, for example by replying to a message directly from it. Notifications are sent in two modes, critical alerts that are displayed on the lock screen and signaled by a distinctive sound and vibration (e.g. emergency alerts or severe weather alerts), accompanied by a warning banner and the app badge icon, and standard alerts which use a default sound and vibration. Both can be found in
3894-517: Is the latest version and includes improvements specific to foldable phones , tablets, desktop -sized screens , and Chromebooks . Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California , in October 2003 by Andy Rubin , Rich Miner , Nick Sears, and Chris White. Rubin described the Android project as having "tremendous potential in developing smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences". The early intentions of
4012-709: 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; as of January 2021 , there are more than three million applications available for Android in Play Store. As of July 2013 , 50 billion application installations had been performed. Some carriers offer direct carrier billing for Google Play application purchases, where
4130-473: Is used by default), and adoptable storage. Portable storage is treated as an external storage device. Adoptable storage, introduced on Android 6.0, allows the internal storage of the device to be spanned with the SD card, treating it as an extension of the internal storage. This has the disadvantage of preventing the memory card from being used with another device unless it is reformatted . Android 4.4 introduced
4248-645: The Amazon Appstore , GetJar , and SlideMe. F-Droid , another alternative marketplace, seeks to only provide applications that are distributed under free and open source licenses . In October 2020, Google removed several Android applications from Play Store , as they were identified breaching its data collection rules. The firm was informed by International Digital Accountability Council (IDAC) that apps for children like Number Coloring , Princess Salon and Cats & Cosplay , with collective downloads of 20 million, were violating Google's policies. At
4366-544: The Android software development kit (SDK) and, often, Kotlin programming language, which replaced Java as Google's preferred language for Android app development in May 2019, and was originally announced in May 2017. Java is still supported (originally the only option for user-space programs, and is often mixed with Kotlin), as is C++ . Java or other JVM languages, such as Kotlin, may be combined with C /C++, together with
4484-599: The Open Handset Alliance , a consortium of technology companies including Google, device manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung, wireless carriers such as Sprint and T-Mobile , and chipset makers such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments , unveiled itself, with a goal to develop "the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices". Within a year, the Open Handset Alliance faced two other open source competitors,
4602-571: The Symbian Foundation and the LiMo Foundation , the latter also developing a Linux -based mobile operating system like Google. In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony. On September 23, 2008, Android was introduced by Andy Rubin, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Cole Brodman, Christopher Schlaeffer and Peter Chou at
4720-692: The Windows 11 announcement event in June 2021, Microsoft showcased the new Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) to enable support for the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), but it has since been deprecated. It was meant to allow users running Android apps and games in Windows 11 on their Windows desktop. On March 5, 2024, Microsoft announced deprecation of WSA with support ending on March 5, 2025. The storage of Android devices can be expanded using secondary devices such as SD cards . Android recognizes two types of secondary storage: portable storage (which
4838-694: The Worldwide Developer Conference , the annual Apple Developer Conference held annually in California in early June. On June 3, 2019, iPadOS , the branded version of iOS for iPad, was announced at the 2019 WWDC; it was launched on September 25, 2019. The iOS user interface is based upon direct manipulation , using multi-touch gestures such as swipe , tap , pinch , and reverse pinch . Interface control elements include sliders, switches, and buttons. Internal accelerometers are used by some applications to respond to shaking
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4956-400: The digital distribution platform Google Play , and the associated Google Play Services development platform. Firebase Cloud Messaging is used for push notifications. While AOSP is free, the "Android" name and logo are trademarks of Google, which imposes standards to restrict the use of Android branding by "uncertified" devices outside their ecosystem. Over 70% of smartphones based on
5074-468: The global operating system market , followed by Windows with 26%. Android has historically been developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance , but its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google . It was unveiled in November 2007, with the first commercial Android device, the HTC Dream , being launched in September 2008. At its core, the operating system
5192-457: The iPad tablet computer. These apps have collectively been downloaded more than 130 billion times. App intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimated that the App Store would reach 5 million apps by 2020. In September 2007, Apple announced the iPod Touch , a redesigned iPod based on the iPhone form factor. On January 27, 2010, Apple introduced their much-anticipated media tablet ,
5310-415: The iPhone 4 and its Retina Display , and retained Helvetica as the system font for older iPhone devices on iOS 4. With iOS 7, Apple announced that they would change the system font to Helvetica Neue Light, a decision that sparked criticism for inappropriate usage of a light, thin typeface for low-resolution mobile screens. Apple eventually chose Helvetica Neue instead. The release of iOS 7 also introduced
5428-534: The source code is made available to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), an open source initiative led by Google. The first source code release happened as part of the initial release in 2007. All releases are under the Apache License . The AOSP code can be found with minimal modifications on select devices, mainly the former Nexus and current Android One series of devices. However, most original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) customize
5546-489: The "Enterprise Track", an in-depth training experience on the entire life cycle of an app, from design to implementation, to security, troubleshooting , data storage and cloud usage. As of 2020, the academy graduated almost a thousand students from all over the world, who have worked on 400 app ideas and have already published about 50 apps on the iOS App Store . In the 2018–2019 academic year, students from more than 30 countries arrived. 35 of these have been selected to attend
5664-633: The "IOS" trademark from Cisco. The Apple Watch smartwatch was announced by Tim Cook on September 9, 2014, being introduced as a product with health and fitness-tracking. It was released on April 24, 2015. It uses watchOS as its operating system; watchOS is based on iOS, with new features created specially for the Apple Watch such as an activity tracking app. In October 2016, Apple opened its first iOS Developer Academy in Naples inside University of Naples Federico II 's new campus. The course
5782-515: The Android Open Source Project run Google's ecosystem (which is known simply as Android), some with vendor-customized user interfaces and software suites, such as TouchWiz and later One UI by Samsung and HTC Sense . Competing ecosystems and forks of AOSP include Fire OS developed by Amazon , ColorOS by Oppo , OriginOS by Vivo , MagicUI by Honor , and custom ROMs such as LineageOS , as well as Meta Horizon OS for VR headsets . Android's source code has been used to develop variants on
5900-536: The Android division to take on new projects at Google, and that Sundar Pichai would become the new Android lead. Pichai himself would eventually switch positions, becoming the new CEO of Google in August 2015 following the company's restructure into the Alphabet conglomerate, making Hiroshi Lockheimer the new head of Android. On Android 4.4 , KitKat , shared writing access to MicroSD memory cards has been locked for user-installed applications, to which only
6018-514: The Android version and manufacturer. Many early Android OS smartphones were equipped with a dedicated search button for quick access to a web search engine and individual apps' internal search feature. More recent devices typically allow the former through a long press or swipe away from the home button. The dedicated option key, also known as menu key, and its on-screen simulation, is no longer supported since Android version 10. Google recommends mobile application developers to locate menus within
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#17327650365956136-472: The App Store, iTunes Library, iBookstore , Contacts, and Notes. Content is downloadable via Wi-Fi and optional 3G service or synced through the user's computer. AT&T was initially the sole U.S. provider of 3G wireless access for the iPad. In June 2010, Apple rebranded iPhone OS as "iOS". The trademark "IOS" had been used by Cisco for over a decade for its operating system, IOS , used on its routers. To avoid any potential lawsuit, Apple licensed
6254-690: The Apple Developer Program. Over the years, the Apple Store apps surpassed multiple major milestones, including 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, 500,000, 1 million, and 2 million apps. The billionth application was installed on April 24, 2009. App Library automatically categorizes apps into folders based on their function or type and incluses an alphabetical list of all installed apps. For example, it might group all social media apps into one folder and productivity apps into another. Users can quickly find and access apps by using
6372-581: The Document Picker and Document Provider extensions as part of the document interaction controller. This allows apps to open, save, and interact with documents stored in a central location or cloud storage services. With iOS 11, Apple introduced the Files app and the File Provider extension, providing a central location for users to manage and organize their files. Apps can integrate with
6490-511: The Files app to make their documents accessible and editable directly from the Files app. The storage of iOS devices can be expanded through iCloud , the Apple's cloud-based storage solution that provides 5GB of storage for free to all users, while other plans require a paid subscription. iCloud Drive allows users to store various types of files, such as documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, in
6608-578: The Home screen is granted. In iPhone OS 3, Spotlight was introduced, allowing users to search media, apps, emails, contacts, messages, reminders, calendar events, and similar content. In iOS 7 and later, Spotlight is accessed by pulling down anywhere on the home screen (except for the top and bottom edges that open Notification Center and Control Center). In iOS 9, there are two ways to access Spotlight. As with iOS 7 and 8, pulling down on any homescreen will show Spotlight. However, it can also be accessed as it
6726-638: The Nexus series, with a new generation of Pixel phones launched in October 2017. In May 2019, the operating system became entangled in the trade war between China and the United States involving Huawei , which, like many other tech firms, had become dependent on access to the Android platform. In the summer of 2019, Huawei announced it would create an alternative operating system to Android known as Harmony OS , and has filed for intellectual property rights across major global markets. Under such sanctions Huawei has long-term plans to replace Android in 2022 with
6844-443: The Notification Center panel, which can be displayed in iOS by dragging down from the status bar, and in macOS by clicking on the notification center icon to the very right on the menu bar at the top of the screen (or using track-pad gestures, swiping from right to left). Notifications may be selected by the user, which redirects the user to the application where the notification was initially created, and marking that alert as read. Once
6962-484: The Notification Center panel. A similar service is included in iOS 6 as part of the Do Not Disturb feature. IOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS ) is a mobile operating system developed by Apple exclusively for its devices . It was unveiled in January 2007 for the first-generation iPhone , which launched in June 2007. Major versions of iOS are released annually; the current stable version, iOS 18 ,
7080-422: The Notification Center, and show for a set amount of time on the lock screen (unless the user has Notification Center allowed when locked). On iPhones with Touch ID, screenshots can be created with the simultaneous press of the home and power buttons. In comparison to Android , which requires the buttons to be held down, a short press does suffice on iOS. On iPhone with Face ID, screenshots are captured using
7198-496: The SAF to access any other part of the filesystem. Since Android devices are usually battery-powered, Android is designed to manage processes to keep power consumption at a minimum. 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
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#17327650365957316-455: The SDK for developers was announced, finally released on March 6, 2008. The SDK includes an inclusive set of development tools, including an audio mixer and an iPhone simulator. It is a free download for Mac users. It is not available for Microsoft Windows PCs. To test the application, get technical support, and distribute applications through App Store , developers are required to subscribe to
7434-543: The Settings. It is possible to manage brightness, volume, wireless connections, music player, etc. Scrolling from the top left to the bottom (or top to bottom on iPhones with Touch ID) will open the Notification Center , which in the latest versions of iOS is very similar to the lock screen. It displays notifications in chronological order and groups them by application. From the notifications of some apps it
7552-489: The Storage Access Framework (SAF), a set of APIs for accessing files on the device's filesystem. As of Android 11, Android has required apps to conform to a data privacy policy known as scoped storage , under which apps may only automatically have access to certain directories (such as those for pictures, music, and video), and app-specific directories they have created themselves. Apps are required to use
7670-453: The ability to adjust the flashlight brightness. Notifications are "short, timely, and relevant information about your app when it's not in use", and when tapped, users are directed to a screen inside the app relating to the notification. Beginning with Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" , "expandable notifications" allow the user to tap an icon on the notification in order for it to expand and display more information and possible app actions right from
7788-409: The ability to scale text or apply other forms of text accessibility changes through Settings. With iOS 9, Apple changed the font to San Francisco , an Apple-designed font aimed at maximum legibility and font consistency across its product lineup. iOS 4 introduced folders, which can be created by dragging an application on top of another, and from then on, more items can be added to the folder using
7906-451: The ability to use custom prompts for encouraging users to leave reviews for their apps. IOS applications can also be installed directly from an IPA file provided by the software distributor, via unofficial ways. They are written using iOS Software Development Kit (SDK) and, often, combined with Xcode , using officially supported programming languages, including Swift and Objective-C . Other companies have also created tools that allow for
8024-582: The app clears the badge. iOS devices come with preinstalled apps developed by Apple including Mail, Maps, TV, Music, FaceTime, Wallet, Health, and many more. Applications (" apps ") are the most general form of application software that can be installed on iOS. They are downloaded from the official catalog of the App Store digital store, where apps are subjected to security checks before being made available to users. In June 2017, Apple updated its guidelines to specify that app developers will no longer have
8142-483: The background can perform to a limited function set and requires application developers to add explicit support for it. Before iOS 4, multitasking was limited to a selection of the applications Apple included on the device. Users could however " jailbreak " their device in order to unofficially multitask. Starting with iOS 4, on third-generation and newer iOS devices, multitasking is supported through seven background APIs : Android (operating system) Android
8260-642: The center, or sending alerts to their screen. macOS users may also disable alerts and banners for a day, stopping notifications appearing on the screen. This can be achieved by either opening the Notification Center panel, scrolling upward, and toggling Do Not Disturb on, by holding the Option key while clicking on the Notification Center icon in the Menu Bar , or in System Preferences . However, any notifications sent during this time are still visible in
8378-411: The cloud. These files can be accessed across multiple devices as long as the user is signed in with the same Apple ID. iOS offers various accessibility features to help users with vision and hearing disabilities. One major feature, VoiceOver , provides a voice reading information on the screen, including contextual buttons, icons, links and other user interface elements, and allows the user to navigate
8496-432: The company in July of that year for at least $ 50 million; this was Google's "best deal ever" according to Google's then-vice president of corporate development, David Lawee , in 2010. Android's key employees, including Rubin, Miner, Sears, and White, joined Google as part of the acquisition. Not much was known about the secretive Android Inc. at the time, with the company having provided few details other than that it
8614-517: The company were to develop an advanced operating system for digital cameras , and this was the basis of its pitch to investors in April 2004. The company then decided that the market for cameras was not large enough for its goals, and five months later it had diverted its efforts and was pitching Android as a handset operating system that would rival Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile . Rubin had difficulty attracting investors early on, and Android
8732-555: The cost of the application is added to the user's monthly bill. As of May 2017 , there are over one billion active users a month for Gmail, Android, Chrome, Google Play and Maps. Due to the open nature of Android, a number of third-party application marketplaces also exist for Android, either to provide a substitute for devices that are not allowed to ship with Google Play Store, provide applications that cannot be offered on Google Play Store due to policy violations, or for other reasons. Examples of these third-party stores have included
8850-511: The dedicated directories with respective package names, located inside Android/data/ , remained writeable. Writing access has been reinstated with Android 5 Lollipop through the backwards-incompatible Google Storage Access Framework interface . In June 2014, Google announced Android One , a set of "hardware reference models" that would "allow [device makers] to easily create high-quality phones at low costs", designed for consumers in developing countries. In September, Google announced
8968-499: The development of native iOS apps using their respective programming languages. Applications for iOS are mostly built using components of UIKit , a programming framework. It allows applications to have a consistent look and feel with the OS, nevertheless offering customization. Elements automatically update along with iOS updates, automatically including new interface rules. UIKit elements are very adaptable, this allows developers to design
9086-464: The device (one common result is the undo command) or rotating it in three dimensions (one common result is switching between portrait and landscape mode). Various accessibility described in § Accessibility functions enable users with vision and hearing disabilities to properly use iOS. iOS devices boot to the lock screen. The lock screen shows the time and a user's lock screen widgets, which display timely information from apps. Upon unlock,
9204-419: The device, creating a 3D effect and an illusion of floating icons. This effect is also visible in the tab view of Mail and Safari. Researchers found that users organize icons on their homescreens based on usage frequency and relatedness of the applications, as well as for reasons of usability and aesthetics. iOS originally used Helvetica as the system font. Apple switched to Helvetica Neue exclusively for
9322-567: The display, show an overlay with the current status of the touch screen, show touching spots for possible use in screencasting , notify the user of unresponsive background processes with the option to end them ("Show all ANRs", i.e. "App's Not Responding"), prevent a Bluetooth audio client from controlling the system volume ("Disable absolute volume"), and adjust the duration of transition animations or deactivate them completely to speed up navigation. Developer options are initially hidden since Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean", but can be enabled by actuating
9440-527: The first set of Android One phones for release in India. However, Recode reported in June 2015 that the project was "a disappointment", citing "reluctant consumers and manufacturing partners" and "misfires from the search company that has never quite cracked hardware". Plans to relaunch Android One surfaced in August 2015, with Africa announced as the next location for the program a week later. A report from The Information in January 2017 stated that Google
9558-457: The folders with pages similar to the home screen layout, allowing for a significant expansion of folder functionality. Each page of a folder can contain up to nine apps, and there can be 15 pages in total, allowing for a total of 135 apps in a single folder. In iOS 9, Apple updated folder sizes for iPad hardware, allowing for 16 apps per page, still at 15 pages maximum, increasing the total to 240 apps. Before iOS 5, notifications were delivered in
9676-420: The home screen. Along the top of the screen is a status bar, showing information about the device and its connectivity. The Control Center can be "pulled" down from the top right of the notch or Dynamic Island (on iPhones with Face ID ) or can be "pulled" up from the bottom to top of the screen (on iPhones with Touch ID ), giving access to various toggles to manage the device more quickly without having to open
9794-439: The iPad, featuring a larger screen than the iPhone and iPod Touch, and designed for web browsing, media consumption, and reading, and offering multi-touch interaction with multimedia formats including newspapers, e-books, photos, videos, music, word processing documents, video games, and most existing iPhone apps using a 9.7-inch (25 cm) screen. It also includes a mobile version of Safari for web browsing, as well as access to
9912-538: The iPhone with minimal retraining. Forstall was also responsible for creating a software development kit for programmers to build iPhone apps, as well as an App Store within iTunes . The operating system was unveiled with the iPhone at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 9, 2007, and released in June of that year. At the time of its unveiling in January, Steve Jobs claimed: "iPhone runs OS X" and runs "desktop class applications", but at
10030-550: The iPhone, and giving tutorials and guidelines for third-party developers to incorporate proper accessibility functions into their apps. In 2012, Liat Kornowski from The Atlantic wrote that "the iPhone has turned out to be one of the most revolutionary developments since the invention of Braille ", and in 2016, Steven Aquino of TechCrunch described Apple as "leading the way in assistive technology", with Sarah Herrlinger, Senior Manager for Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives at Apple, stating that "We see accessibility as
10148-505: The iPod". Jobs favored the former approach but pitted the Macintosh and iPod teams, led by Scott Forstall and Tony Fadell , respectively, against each other in an internal competition, with Forstall winning by creating iPhone OS. The decision enabled the success of the iPhone as a platform for third-party developers: using a well-known desktop operating system as its basis allowed the many third-party Mac developers to write software for
10266-437: The issue. 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 . The response to user input is designed to be immediate and provides
10384-406: The latter. Multitasking for iOS was first released in June 2010 along with the release of iOS 4 . Only certain devices— iPhone 4 , iPhone 3GS , and iPod Touch 3rd generation—were able to multitask. The iPad did not get multitasking until iOS 4.2.1 in that November. The implementation of multitasking in iOS has been criticized for its approach, which limits the work that applications in
10502-559: The look and features of their Android devices to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Along the top of the screen is a status bar, showing information about the device and its connectivity. This status bar can be pulled (swiped) down from to reveal a notification screen where apps display important information or updates, as well as quick access to system controls and toggles such as display brightness, connectivity settings ( WiFi , Bluetooth, cellular data), audio mode, and flashlight . Vendors may implement extended settings such as
10620-486: The mobile communications market continued to build through December 2006. An early prototype had a close resemblance to a BlackBerry phone, with no touchscreen and a physical QWERTY keyboard , but the arrival of 2007's Apple iPhone meant that Android "had to go back to the drawing board". Google later changed its Android specification documents to state that "Touchscreens will be supported", although "the Product
10738-607: The most common screen. Android supports all versions of OpenGL ES and Vulkan (and version 1.1 available for some devices ). Android devices incorporate many optional hardware components, including still or video cameras, GPS , orientation sensors , dedicated gaming controls, accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, magnetometers , proximity sensors, pressure sensors , thermometers, and touchscreens . Some hardware components are not required, but became standard in certain classes of devices, such as smartphones, and additional requirements apply if they are present. Some other hardware
10856-483: The most used operating system worldwide on smartphones since 2011 and on tablets since 2013. As of May 2021 , it has over three billion monthly active users , the largest installed base of any operating system in the world, and, as of 2024 , the Google Play Store features 1.7 million apps; a decline from its of peak of over 3 million apps in April 2021. Android 15 , released on October 15, 2024,
10974-513: The new operating system, as Harmony OS was originally designed for internet of things devices, rather than for smartphones and tablets. On August 22, 2019, it was announced that Android "Q" would officially be branded as Android 10, ending the historic practice of naming major versions after desserts. Google stated that these names were not "inclusive" to international users (due either to the aforementioned foods not being internationally known, or being difficult to pronounce in some languages). On
11092-433: The notification will be opened. Users can also choose to view notifications in modal alert windows by adjusting the application's notification settings. Introduced with iOS 8, widgets are now accessible through the Notification Center, defined by 3rd parties. When an app sends a notification while closed, a red badge appears on its icon. This badge tells the user, at a glance, how many notifications that app has sent. Opening
11210-409: The notification. An "All Apps" screen lists all installed applications, with the ability for users to drag an app from the list onto the home screen. The app list may be accessed using a gesture or a button, depending on the Android version. A "Recents" screen, also known as "Overview", lets users switch between recently used apps. The recent list may appear side-by-side or overlapping, depending on
11328-507: The notification. Notification Center on macOS also includes Weather and Stocks widgets, displaying information on the weather at the user's current location, and any stocks that the user has selected in the Stocks application. This feature was not available on iPad or macOS until the release of iOS 7, which added the Weather widget to the iPad 's Notification Center. Users could also select
11446-550: 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 . An unofficial experimental port of the operating system to the RISC-V architecture was released in 2021. Requirements for the minimum amount of RAM for devices running Android 7.1 range from in practice 2 GB for best hardware, down to 1 GB for
11564-529: The operating system through gestures. Any apps with default controls and developed with a UIKit framework gets VoiceOver functionality built in. One example includes holding up the iPhone to take a photo, with VoiceOver describing the photo scenery. As part of a "Made for iPhone" program, introduced with the release of iOS 7 in 2013, Apple has developed technology to use Bluetooth and a special technology protocol to let compatible third-party equipment connect with iPhones and iPads for streaming audio directly to
11682-530: The operating system's build number in the device information seven times. Hiding developers options again requires deleting user data for the "Settings" app, possibly resetting some other preferences. The main hardware platform for Android is ARM (the ARMv7 and ARMv8-A architectures), with x86 and x86-64 architectures also officially supported in later versions of Android. The unofficial Android-x86 project provided support for x86 architectures ahead of
11800-584: The option to display Twitter and Facebook buttons, allowing them to send tweets or update their status directly from Notification Center. In iOS 7, however, the option to send tweets or update Facebook statuses has been removed, and replaced with widgets. Any application that uses the Push Notifications system provided by Apple, or local notifications, may use Notification Center. Users may customise what they want to appear in Notification Center, and may opt to stop certain applications appearing in
11918-462: The physical "Home" button while in an app, or swipes up from the bottom of the screen using the home bar. The screen has a status bar across the top to display data, such as time, battery level, and signal strength. The rest of the screen is devoted to the current application. When a passcode is set and a user switches on the device, the passcode must be entered at the Lock Screen before access to
12036-527: The same day, Android Police reported that Google had commissioned a statue of a giant number "10" to be installed in the lobby of the developers' new office. Android 10 was released on September 3, 2019, to Google Pixel phones first. In late 2021, some users reported that they were unable to dial emergency services. The problem was caused by a combination of bugs in Android and in the Microsoft Teams app; both companies released updates addressing
12154-515: The same procedure. A title for the folder is automatically selected by the category of applications inside, but the name can also be edited by the user. When apps inside folders receive notification badges, the individual numbers of notifications are added up and the total number is displayed as a notification badge on the folder itself. Originally, folders on an iPhone could include up to 12 apps, while folders on iPad could include 20. With increasing display sizes on newer iPhone hardware, iOS 7 updated
12272-419: The screen, allowing the user to quickly assess the charge status of a powered-off without having to boot it up first. Some display the battery percentage. Most Android devices come with preinstalled Google apps including Gmail, Google Maps, Google Chrome, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, and others. Applications (" apps "), which extend the functionality of devices (and must be 64-bit ), are written using
12390-627: The search bar at the top of the App Library. Users can choose to hide specific app pages from the home screen, making it easier to focus on the apps they use most frequently. iOS enforces strict sandboxing to maintain security and privacy. Apps are generally limited to accessing their own containers and specific system-provided directories, such as the Photos library. To access files outside of their sandbox, iOS uses mechanisms like document pickers, file providers, and app extensions. iOS 8 introduced
12508-607: The time of the iPhone's release, the operating system was renamed "iPhone OS". Initially, third-party native applications were not supported. Jobs' reasoning was that developers could build web applications through the Safari web browser that "would behave like native apps on the iPhone". In October 2007, Apple announced that a native software development kit (SDK) was under development and that they planned to put it "in developers' hands in February". On March 6, 2008, Apple held
12626-495: The user interface. On more recent phones, its place is occupied by a task key used to access the list of recently used apps when actuated. Depending on device, its long press may simulate a menu button press or engage split screen view, the latter of which is the default behaviour since stock Android version 7. Native support for split screen view has been added in stock Android version 7.0 Nougat . The earliest vendor-customized Android-based smartphones known to have featured
12744-558: The volume-up and power buttons instead. The camera application used a skeuomorphic closing camera shutter animation prior to iOS 7. Since then, it uses a simple short blackout effect. Notable additions over time include HDR photography and the option to save both normal and high dynamic range photographs simultaneously where the former prevents ghosting effects from moving objects (since iPhone 5 on iOS 6 ), automatic HDR adjustment (since iOS 7.1 ), "live photo" with short video bundled to each photo if enabled ( iPhone 6s , iOS 9 ), and
12862-434: Was acquired by Google in 2014 that provides helpful tools for app and web developers. Android has a growing selection of third-party applications, which can be acquired by users by downloading and installing the application's APK (Android application package) file, or by downloading them using an application store program that allows users to install, update, and remove applications from their devices. Google Play Store
12980-498: Was described as having "played a pivotal role in Android's history by introducing new software iterations and hardware standards across the board", and became known for its " bloat-free " software with "timely ... updates". At its developer conference in May 2013, Google announced a special version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 , where, instead of using Samsung's own Android customization, the phone ran "stock Android" and
13098-472: Was designed with the presence of discrete physical buttons as an assumption, therefore a touchscreen cannot completely replace physical buttons". By 2008, both Nokia and BlackBerry announced touch-based smartphones to rival the iPhone 3G , and Android's focus eventually switched to just touchscreens. The first commercially available smartphone running Android was the HTC Dream , also known as T-Mobile G1, announced on September 23, 2008. On November 5, 2007,
13216-432: Was facing eviction from its office space. Steve Perlman , a close friend of Rubin, brought him $ 10,000 in cash in an envelope, and shortly thereafter wired an undisclosed amount as seed funding. Perlman refused a stake in the company, and has stated "I did it because I believed in the thing, and I wanted to help Andy." In 2005, Rubin tried to negotiate deals with Samsung and HTC . Shortly afterwards, Google acquired
13334-417: Was in iOS versions 3 through 6. This endows Spotlight with Siri suggestions, which include app suggestions, contact suggestions and news. In iOS 10, Spotlight is at the top of the now-dedicated "Today" panel. With the release of iPhone OS 3.2 , users gained the ability to set a wallpaper for the Home Screen. The feature was initially only available on the iPad (1st generation) until the release of iOS 4
13452-586: Was initially required, but those requirements have been relaxed or eliminated altogether. For example, as Android was developed initially as a phone OS, hardware such as microphones were required, while over time the phone function became optional. 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 when Android started to be used on set-top boxes . In addition to running on smartphones and tablets, several vendors run Android natively on regular PC hardware with
13570-506: Was made available on Macs as part of OS X Mountain Lion in July 2012. Notification Center was released in iOS 5 to replace the previous system for dealing with push and local notifications. Instead of interrupting the user with an alert, Notification Center instead displays a banner at the top of the screen. This allows the user to continue using their device, and disappears after a set period of time. All previous notifications are collated into
13688-466: Was making software for mobile phones. At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel . Google marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on the promise of providing a flexible, upgradeable system. Google had "lined up a series of hardware components and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various degrees of cooperation". Speculation about Google's intention to enter
13806-708: Was promised to receive new system updates fast. The device would become the start of the Google Play edition program, and was followed by other devices, including the HTC One Google Play edition, and Moto G Google Play edition. In 2015, Ars Technica wrote that "Earlier this week, the last of the Google Play edition Android phones in Google's online storefront were listed as "no longer available for sale" and that "Now they're all gone, and it looks
13924-586: Was released to the public on September 16, 2024. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone , and is the basis for three other operating systems made by Apple : iPadOS , tvOS , and watchOS . iOS formerly also powered iPads until iPadOS was introduced in 2019, and the iPod Touch line of devices until its discontinuation. iOS is the world's second most widely installed mobile operating system , after Android . As of December 2023, Apple's App Store contains more than 3.8 million iOS mobile apps . iOS
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