The source code has been used to develop variants of Android on a range of other electronics, such as game consoles, digital cameras, portable media players, PCs, each with a specialized user interface. However, 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. Competing Android ecosystems and forks include Fire OS (developed by Amazon), ColorOS by OPPO, OriginOS by vivo and MagicUI by Honor or custom ROM such as LineageOS. Over 70 percent of Android smartphones run Google's ecosystem some with vendor-customized user interface and software suite, such as TouchWiz and later One UI by Samsung, and HTC Sense. Most Android devices ship with additional proprietary software pre-installed, most notably Google Mobile Services (GMS) which includes core apps such as Google Chrome, the digital distribution platform Google Play, and associated Google Play Services development platform.

When Android is installed on devices, ability to modify the otherwise FOSS software is usually restricted, either by not providing the corresponding source code or preventing reinstallation through technical measures, rendering the installed version proprietary. The core components are taken from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which is free and open-source software (FOSS) primarily licensed under the Apache License.

Most versions of Android are proprietary. It was unveiled in November 2007, with the first commercial Android device, the HTC Dream, being launched in September 2008. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance and commercially sponsored by Google. GNU GPL v2 for the Linux kernel modificationsĪndroid is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.Apache License 2.0 for userspace software.

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