Google owns the Android mobile operating system and acquired Android Inc. in 2005.
Android Inc. was founded in 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White. Google acquired the company in 2005, bringing Rubin and his team into Google. Android was developed as a mobile operating system based on the Linux kernel and other open-source software.
The first commercial Android device was the HTC Dream, also sold as the T-Mobile G1, released in 2008. Android later became the world’s most widely deployed mobile operating system by supporting phones from many manufacturers.
Google’s Android business differs from Apple’s iOS model. Google develops Android and licenses or distributes it across a broad hardware ecosystem, while Apple controls both iOS and the iPhone hardware. Android is also distinct from Google’s ChromeOS, which is designed primarily for computers such as Chromebooks.