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It's been 10 years since Google launched the Android mobile OS and it's come a long way. This is especially compared to its early days when it struggled to convince the world that its friendly green extraterrestrial could make applesauce of the revolutionary iPhone.

In truth, Google's first Android phone, the HTC-made T-Mobile G1, wasn't much to look at when it debuted in 2008. The phone had a trough for a keyboard and its chin bizarrely jut outward. It also didn't help that barely anyone knew the HTC brand, and we weren't sure if this was the start of a single Google phone or an entire operating system. Still, the humble G1 -- with its ugly design and scarce amount of apps -- kicked off an Android avalanche just the same.

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Currently, Android and iOS both command the phone market (you can read CNET's history of iOS here). Android, however, is in a class of its own. In 2016, nine out of 10 smartphones ran Android and in 2017 Google announced that more than 2 billion devices ran the OS. It's not only the most popular mobile OS, but it surpassed Windows as the most popular OS, period.

But Android didn't reach these milestones by sitting around. Over the years, it went through significant makeovers. The most prominent was in 2015, when Google overhauled its design language and named it Material. Since that debut in Android 5.0 Lollipop, Material made the entire operating system feel like it fits together from top to bottom.

Android went from a quirky piece of software to a full-fledged operating system and powerful brand. Here's a look at the major breakthroughs for the operating system, from its small beginnings to its current ambitions in mobile domination.

Editors' note: This article was originally published Aug. 4, 2010, and is periodically updated to include new versions of Android.

The evolution of Android Android version SDK release* Notable updates 1.0 G1 February 2008 GPS and Bluetooth (but not stereo Bluetooth)

Multitasking

Tight integration with Google services like Gmail, Google Maps (with Street View), and Google Calendar

Apps: Amazon MP3 Store; YouTube

Android Market (about 35 apps at launch)

No Microsoft Exchange Server; no camcorder 1.5 Cupcake April 2009 Universal search box (search had been limited to the Web)

Revamped Android Market: Browsing categories (Apps, Games, Downloads) and filters (Top Free, Top Paid, Just In)

Camera: Toggle between camera and video modes; integrated photo gallery and camera with bulk photo deleting

SDK expands support for gestures, voice-to-text 1.6 Donut September 2009 Virtual onscreen keyboard

Camcorder mode for recording (and watching) video

Stereo Bluetooth

Home screen widgets and folders

Copy/paste and search within the browser

Direct upload to YouTube and Picasa 2.0 Eclair October 2009 Multiple user accounts

Exchange support; universal email inbox

Quick Contact pop-up widget to launch communications with friends in the address book

Search saved SMS and MMS messages

Camera improvements include support for flash and digital zoom

Bluetooth 2.1

Keyboard improvements: Adaptive dictionary that includes contact names in suggestions 2.1 Eclair January 2010 Live wallpaper; five home screens

Speech-to-text added to any text field; microphone icon for voice dictation in emails, texts, and so on 2.2 Froyo May 2010 Speedier OS

USB tethering and hotspot support

Android Market update: Batch and automatic updates; installing apps to the SD card

Adobe Flash 10.1

File uploading in the browser

Improved Microsoft Exchange support: Security policies, global address lookup, calendar sync, remote wipe

Bluetooth support for voice dialing and contact sharing 2.3 Gingerbread December 2010 Redesigned copy/paste

WebM video compression support

NFC (near-field communication) support

Switch to front-facing camera from camera app

Virtual keyboard shortcuts 3.0 Honeycomb February 2011 3D graphics support

Side-by-side browser tabs; private browsing

Dual-pane modes for address book, email

Redesigned UI includes program thumbnails

Video chatting with Google Talk

Full-screen-mode photo gallery

Bluetooth tethering 3.1-3.2.6 Honeycomb May 2011-February 2012 Support for peripherals like keyboards and game pads

Resizable widgets

"Pay as you go" support for 3G, 4G tablets

Various bug fixes and enhancements 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich October 2011 Support for virtual buttons in addition to touch-sensitive buttons

Create folders by dragging apps on top of each other

A new app tray tab for thumbing through widgets

Calendar app now supports pinch-to-zoom

Gmail gets new design, offline search, swiping between conversations

New Chrome browser syncs with your bookmarks, saves pages offline, supports 16 browser tabs

More keyboard error correction, inline spell check

Customizable lock screen, launcher

Recent applications icon

Roboto typeface

New swipe/delete behavior

Improved voice integration and copy and paste

Face Unlock security feature

Data Usage tracking

Hide unwanted app icons

Shut down apps that are using background data

Native camera features include zero shutter lag, continuous focus, zoom while recording, taking a still photo while recording, panorama photos, time lapse settings, 1080p recording

Face detection in the camera integrated photo editor

New gallery layout, organized by location and person

Phone app lets you swipe between favorite friends with integrated visual voice mail

Speed up and slow down voice mails

Quick message sends canned response text message when you decline a call

Android Beam, an NFC feature for exchanging information between two phones by tapping them

Wi-Fi Direct support 4.1 Jelly Bean July 2012 Faster, smoother performance with "Project Butter"

Expandable notifications with greater interaction

Voice search access by swiping up from bottom of the screen

Voice actions engine replies to some queries

Google Now

Offline dictation

Default Chrome browser

Resizable app widgets

Android Beam support for transferring larger files, like photo and video

New filmstrip view of recent shots in the camera app

Applications update in Google Play with just the changed code

Sound search widget for music ID

Higher-resolution contact photos

Greater accessibility options

Expanded language support, especially for Arabic and Hebrew

Interface tweaks 4.2-4.3 Jelly Bean November 2012-October 2013 Lock screen widgets, and the ability to open the camera from the lock screen

Quick Settings in the notification menu to toggle Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and more

"Daydream" screensavers, which show time and other information when the screen is locked or device is docked

Multiple user accounts on tablets only

Support for wireless display (such as Miracast)

Accessibility features, including triple-tap to magnify the entire screen, pan and zoom with two fingers, speech output for blind users

Unified interface layout for all devices, with system bar at the top of the screen, and a home screen dock

More Actionable Notifications, which let you respond to the notification without opening the app

Bluetooth Low Energy support

Location tracking with Wi-Fi -- your device can track your location without turning on Wi-Fi

Support for 4K resolution phones 4.4 KitKat October 2013 Major design interface update, especially for new Nexus devices

Translucent status bar in the OS and in apps

New "immersive mode" where apps can hide navigation and status bars

The size of the operating system shrunk so it can run on lower-end devices with small amounts of RAM and internal storage

Wireless printing using Google Cloud Print 5.0 Lollipop October 2014 Completely redesigned UI called Material

Notifications on the lock screen and new pop-up alerts

Priority mode silences less important notifications

Multiple user accounts for both phones and tablets

New recent apps menu called Overview

Guest mode

Screen pinning

Battery Saver mode

Default device encryption

Smart lock unlocks devices with Bluetooth device or NFC tag 5.1 Lollipop March 2015 Join Wi-Fi networks and pair Bluetooth devices through Quick Settings menu

Support for multiple SIM cards

Device protection

Built-in Wi-Fi calling support 6.0 Marshmallow October 2015 Doze mode for better power efficiency

Built-in fingerprint reader and USB Type-C support

Automatic data backup and app restore

4K display mode

Multi-window support

Double-tap power button to launch camera 7.0 Nougat August 2016 Screen zoom

Switching between apps

Clear All recent apps

Debut of Daydream VR platform

Picture-in-picture for Android TV

Redesigned notifications shade and Overview screen 7.1 Nougat October 2016 New emojis with different skin tones

Native GIF support in keyboard

Long-press apps for dynamic actions 8.0 Oreo August 2017 Project Treble enabled device makers to send Android updates more efficiently

Redesigned Quick Settings, Settings and Notifications 8.1 Oreo December 2017 First to have Android Go edition, a version of Android for low-tiered devices that required less memory

Light and dark themes

Battery indicator for connected Bluetooth devices 9.0 Pie August 2018 More messaging options within Notifications



Support for onscreen notches

Updated volume indicator

Gesture navigation

Android Dashboard to limit user time with apps

Wind Down to limit phone use before sleeping

Android 9.0 Pie

Claudia Cruz/CNET

Google unveiled its latest version of Android, Pie, on March 2018. With the update came several features to curb phone addiction, including Dashboard (which let's you know how much time you're spending on your phone) and Wind Down to limit phone usage before going to sleep. Pie also offered support for gesture navigation and onscreen notches -- two features that inch it closer to 2017's iPhone X from Apple.

Pie isn't a massive shift for Android, but it does help make it more modern. It feels like a refreshed chapter for Google, one where more gadgets run on Android and they all work in harmony.

Android's future

Though Android has improved significantly since its unveiling, there's still room to be better. The major issue is its fragmentation problem, wherein many Android devices don't receive prompt software updates. As a result, users are on older versions of the OS and they can't access new features. With the launch of Project Treble in 2017 though, the company is working on changing that.

Another exciting development is Android phones featuring foldable screens. On Nov. 7, Samsung teased its forthcoming foldable phone and soon after, Google officially announced it is adding support for foldable devices to accommodate screen continuity.

We just announced support for foldables at #AndroidDevSummit, a new form factor coming next year from Android partners.



Android apps run seamlessly as the device folds, achieving this form factor's chief feature: screen continuity. pic.twitter.com/NAfOmCOY26 — Android Developers (@AndroidDev) November 7, 2018

In addition, Huawei confirmed it is developing a foldable phone too and a small startup is already selling its bendable Royole FlexPai in China that you can pre-order it in the US and UK.

Other ways Android can push further is consolidate its messaging apps, incorporate a more intuitive interface and innovate beyond phones. At this rate, however, Google's only just getting started -- so here's looking at the next 10 years.