what is the android operating system 
the android operating system is a mobile operating system that was developed by google googl to be primarily used for touchscreen devices cell phones and tablets its design lets users manipulate the mobile devices intuitively with finger movements that mirror common motions such as pinching swiping and tapping google also employs android software in televisions cars and wristwatches each of which is fitted with a unique user interface understanding the android operating systemthe android operating system was first developed by android inc a software company located in silicon valley before google acquired it in 2005 investors and electronics industry analysts have questioned google s true intentions for entering the mobile market space since that acquisition but in any case soon thereafter google announced the impending rollout of its first commercially available android powered device in 2007 although that product actually hit the marketplace in 2008 2since then software and application developers have been able to use android technology to develop mobile apps which are sold through app stores such as google play and because it is developed as a google product android users are given the opportunity to link their mobile devices to other google products such as cloud storage email platforms and video services the android source code is released in an open source format to help advance open standards across mobile devices however despite being released as open android is still packaged with proprietary software when sold on handset devices 1according to research from bitdefender downloader dn is the most common type of android trojan as of february 2022 it involves repacked applications taken from google app store and bunded with aggressive adware 3android operating system vs apple iosthe emergence of android created a new rivalry between smartphone manufacturers with apple aapl serving as google s chief competitor to some this competitive dynamic mirrors that of the cola wars between coca cola ko and pepsi pep over the past 40 years where no clear winner or loser has emerged android was the most popular operating system on mobile devices as of q1 2022 with 23 7 of the global market share while apple s ios was in second place with 18 according to international data corporation 4the increased popularity of the system has also led to a number of patent related lawsuits including a lawsuit brought forth by oracle orcl in 2010 the company alleged that google unlawfully used java apis to develop its android software in april 2021 the case was decided with the supreme court ruling 6 2 in google s favor 5limitations of the android operating systemwhile android offers users a viable alternative to other mobile operating systems several limitations still remain on the developer side coding complex user experiences and interfaces is an often difficult task that demands a greater reliance on java than objective c 6 for users the apps on the android market tend to have lower standards than comparable app stores in other words the apps have lower security profiles and make users more susceptible to data breaches 7 meanwhile android s lack of a voice controlled assistant and its heavy dependence on advertising can repel some users 