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Android (operating system)

Operating system for mobile devices

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authoritySource title only
Source-derived summary

Android is an operating system developed by Google, designed primarily for smartphones and tablets, based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software. First released in 2008, Android is the world's most widely used operating system with 3.9 billion users, and the most used operating system for smartphones. The latest version, released on June 16, 2026, is Android 17.

Editorial summary

“Android (operating system)” enters the record as operating system for mobile devices. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Android, operating and system can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2008, 2026—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Android, operating and system.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Android (operating system)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Android, operating and system provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The first chronological checks are 2008 and 2026.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Android (operating system)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Android (operating system) primary sources, Android (operating system) archive and Android research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Android (operating system)”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Android (operating system)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.