What Android looked like in 2008 vs. today

The first Android device, the HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1), launched in September 2008 with Android 1.0 “Cupcake,” lacking an on-screen keyboard, copy-paste, and multitouch, but featuring the now-ubiquitous notification shade and the Android Market (later Google Play). Google acquired Android for $50 million in 2005, formed the Open Handset Alliance to compete with iPhone and BlackBerry, and the platform has since become the world’s most widely used operating system.