Which Android version introduced Material Design?

Android 5.0 Lollipop introduced Material Design. Released in 2014, Lollipop gave Android a major visual overhaul built around layered surfaces, depth, responsive motion, bold color, and consistent interface components.

Google first presented Material Design at Google I/O in June 2014, during the preview period for Android's “L” release. The design language was intended to make digital interfaces feel more tangible while creating a common visual system across phones, tablets, watches, televisions, and the web. Android 5.0 made those ideas part of the operating system and expanded the tools developers could use in their apps.

Material Design included concepts such as elevation, which allowed interface elements to appear at different depths and cast shadows. It also emphasized animated touch feedback, screen transitions, cards, floating action buttons, navigation drawers, and a refreshed version of Google's Roboto typeface.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow followed Lollipop and focused more heavily on permissions, battery management, and fingerprint support. Android 7.0 Nougat added features such as split-screen mode. Those later versions refined Material Design, but they did not introduce it.