It’s no secret that about 85% of smartphones sold in the world now run Android. Today, Android is no longer just an operating system for a smartphone, but an entire infrastructure. The “green robot” runs phones, tablets, TVs, smart watches, and other gadgets, and soon cars will be controlled using Android. Also, an interesting fact is that Andy Rubin, one of the founding fathers, left the company and created his own smartphone, which, after being shown to the world, aroused a lot of interest. It was the Essential Phone. Android continues to evolve and offer new versions of its operating system, as well as maintain an ecosystem of applications for mobile devices.
Meaning and History
Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White co-founded Android Inc. in 2003. Its primary objective was to build an OS for mobile devices. The business was bought by Google in 2005. This was a turning point in the history of Android. It started making significant investments in the Android system’s development. The operating system’s initial prototype was unveiled to the public two years later. Google first announced the release of the Android Market, which is now Google Play, in 2008 as a way to distribute apps. Android rose to prominence as the most widely used mobile operating system everywhere in just seven years after its founding.
What is Android?
Android is one of the most successful and well-known technology companies in the world. The history of its formation goes back several decades. During this time it has experienced many important milestones in its development, including becoming one of the most popular mobile OS across the globe.
2008 – 2014
From the very beginning, the company went for a clean and simple look. The logo consisted of only the name printed in blue, which is closely associated with trustworthiness and reliability. All the characters were the same size, but some of them had no vertical lines and instead used the letter next to them for an illusion of a complete letter. The fluent and smooth curves of each character presented the brand as user-friendly and at the same time technologically advanced as it had a futuristic touch. This logo could be seen on Android Jelly Bean as well as KitKat smartphones after first being introduced with the first version of Android.
2014 – 2019
During the Google I/O in 2014, the company introduced a new logo version. It was during this update that the logo got its green color. In this version, it is a friendly light green color. The company went for a smooth, sans-serif font that was similar in style to the earlier version. However, this time it features only lowercase characters, making the brand seem more approachable and affordable. Even after the company introduced a modified version in 2017, this logo was used on some phones until 2019.
2017 – 2019
In 2017, the company decided to make the delicate strokes thicker. This made this wordmark, which was used on the boot screen as well as the website and ads, look more solid.
2019 – 2023
The cute robot head many closely associate with the Android brand appeared in the logo in 2019. It was done in neon green and featured a half circle with two antennas for the ears and two small white dots for the eyes. As for the name, the company chose a different sans-serif font that looked more like a basic sans-serif font. It also went for a black color for the inscription, which balanced out rather bright and unnatural green. The introduction of this version coincided with the release of Android 10.
2023 – Today
The company decided to return to a more rounded font seen in earlier versions as it was closely associated with the brand. It did keep the black color for the inscription but capitalized the first letter. When it comes to the robot head, it acquired a more voluminous shape and black eyes. The green was also replaced by a more natural shade of this color. Although seeing the capital “A” was quite unexpected, the brand has not lost its identity.
Font and Color
The latest Android logo features a modified version of the Product Sans font, which can also be seen in some of the earlier logo versions. Besides one logo introduced in 2019, the company always went for fonts with a fluent, smooth font that had many characters resembling the “U” shape.
Most people associate Android with green color and lately, a black was added to the color palette. However, some might remember that originally the logo was done in rather dark blue. The latter is associated with reliability and stability, which is exactly what people are looking for in an operating system. The green, however, made the company appear more environmentally and user-friendly, while the black added a touch of professionalism and sophistication.
