Pitting the G1 against what would ultimately end up being Android's main competitor, the iPhone (with the first iPhone launching in 2007), Android offered a customizable home screen, widgets, a proper notification drawer, and copy-and-paste. Furthermore, in contrast with iOS (then known as iPhone OS), Android was fully open-source — anyone who wanted to launch their own Android-powered phone could do so. Android started putting pressure on Apple the moment it went out of the door, with Steve Jobs famously vowing to "destroy Android" and "go thermonuclear" before his passing in 2011.
I had an iPhone 3 when I first saw and heard about Android. I was instantly sold on those widgets, real copy-and-paste everywhere, and the open source concept. It was not 'better' than iPhone, just very different in its philosophy. I'm grateful for that as the two OS's helped drive better improvements on both sides over the years, and although more similar today, the fundamental philosophies are still different and offer those options to users.
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The first Android phone was announced 13 years ago today#
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mobilephonesAndroid has changed a lot in the past few years. Regular annual releases, some of them good and some of them not amazing, have helped the