What was the first smartphone to run the Android operating system?

The HTC Dream was the first commercially released smartphone to run the Android operating system.

Announced in September 2008 and released by T-Mobile as the T-Mobile G1 on October 20, 2008, the Dream introduced Android 1.0 to consumers. It combined a 3.2-inch touchscreen with a slide-out five-row QWERTY keyboard, trackball, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Google services such as Gmail, Maps, and YouTube.

The Dream followed Google’s acquisition of Android Inc. in 2005 and the creation of the Open Handset Alliance in 2007. Android had originally been designed around a non-touch prototype called Google Sooner, but Google shifted toward a touchscreen design after Apple unveiled the iPhone.

The Nexus One was an important later Google phone, but it launched in 2010 as the first Nexus device—not the first Android smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Droid also came after the Dream.