Android is an open-source, Linux-based operating system primarily designed for touchscreen mobile devices. It was developed by Android Inc, which was later acquired by Google in 2005. Key points about Android include:
- It uses the Linux kernel as its core with additional software libraries for handling things like graphics, media playback, databases, and more.
- Applications run in a Java-like environment using the Dalvik virtual machine rather than a classic Java virtual machine.
- The software stack has seen many updates over the years through periodic version releases named after desserts or sweets.