How it evolved
Evolution
The Time Machine, every version, and the API explorer.
4 pages50 min4 interactive7200 words
- 01How Android evolvesAndroid changes on a schedule, not a whim: an annual release train, three independent modularity seams, and feature flags that let one codebase produce many releases. Learn the machinery and the version history stops looking like a list of surprises.intermediate13 mininteractive
- 02Reading the SDKAn API level is a boundary in a very large surface. This page teaches the four primary sources — the reference, the API diff, the platform source and the behaviour notes — and how to read each one without being misled by what it leaves out.intermediate12 mininteractive
- 03The behavior change archiveAndroid's real compatibility story is not the API — it is the gated behaviour change. This page explains the two scopes, the migration ladder, and how to use the archive and targetSdk to predict what a platform upgrade will do to an app.intermediate13 mininteractive
- 04Android beyond phonesWatches, televisions, cars and headsets all run Android, and none of them is a phone with a different screen. This page explains what each form factor changes in the platform, what it reuses, and why 'adaptive' became the platform's default posture.intermediate12 mininteractive
Test yourself
Test yourself: Evolution
What does an API level identify?