I don’t believe that Android requires an introduction, it is the most popular mobile operating system and also the active operating system in the most number of devices. One of the best parts of the Android operating system, we can customize it according to our liking. Having said that, Android operating system comes in different flavors, and all of them have common things but has big differences. So, in this article, I will explain all the differences between the Android flavors and clear all the confusions about the Android.
The Android comes in three major flavors but the smartphone brands can able to customize the system according to their choices, as the operating system exists on the open source and that’s why anyone can edit the operating system. Which creates the difference between the different flavors of Android.
How many Android flavors are there?
Well, Android is the most using operating system, however, many people may unaware of their Android version and the flavor. So, let’s start with the names of the different Android flavors. There are mainly three type of Android:-
- Stock Android
- Android One
- Android Go (which is the latest addition by the tech giant Google)
Apart from the above mentioned Android flavors, there is a normal Android which the smartphone brands customize, I will explain that in detail.
Normal Android
As I mentioned above that Android is an open source, and when Google publishes the source code for Android as part of Android Open Source project, anyone can able to build the operating system in their way. Smartphone brands like Samsung, do this kind of customization in the Android operating system for their device and that’s why we can see a completely different setup of the Android in the phones of Samsung or LG device than a pure Android.
Stock Android
The stock Android means the actual version of Android which Google develops, and this version of Android is only loaded in the devices which are made by Google i.e. Nexus and Pixels. The beauty of the stock Android is that it does not come with any bloatware for example than normal Android like which a smartphone brand customize for a brand (to say Samsung) you can see lots of preloaded applications which may be developed by Samsung or others. But stock Android gives you clean and best as well as fastest experience and it also provides Android updates without any delay.
Android One
This type of Android launched in 2014 in the Indian market, and it was meant for the low-end devices. Moreover, it also gives updates timely. Over the years, Android One has actually grown and it started powering the devices which have high-end features, for example, the latest Nokia 5.1. The Android One also gives a stock Android experience and the devices which come with Android One gives two years of Android update and three years of security updates. Moreover, the Android One program is a paid service by Google, which means the smartphone brands which partners Google for the Android One program, the OEMs have to pay an amount as a fee. Having said that, with Android One, Google provides software development services to the brands who are not good in software building.
Android Go
This flavor is the latest one from the search engine giant Google and it replaces the Android One program. The Android Go is meant for the entry-level smartphones and it was launched in last year. Android Go is a trimmed version of Android and it is optimized for the devices which have low processing power, RAM, and storage. Moreover, Google has also launched Go version applications like Google Go, Maps Go, YouTube Go, Assistant Go, and the Go version means lite version. Having said that, Android Go is not coming directly from Google, as Google send it to a maker (to say Nokia) and then the maker releases release the update when they are rolled out from Google.
So, now I hope that you have a decent idea about the different flavors of Android. If you have any kind of doubts then drop it in the comments section below, I will be happy to help you.
