This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2012)
SMS and
MMS are available forms of
messaging, including threaded
text messaging and Android Cloud To Device Messaging (C2DM) and now enhanced version of C2DM, Android Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) is also a part of Android Push Messaging services. Android phones also have the ability to send and receive
RCS via the messages app (if supported by the carrier).
Autocorrection and Dictionary
Android has an feature called
autocorrection. When any word is misspelled, then Android recommends the meaningful and correct words matching the words that are available in dictionary. Users can add, edit, and remove words from dictionary as per their wish.[4]
Web browser
The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source
Blink (previously
WebKit) layout engine, coupled with
Chromium's
V8 JavaScript engine. Then the WebKit-using Android Browser scored 100/100 on the
Acid3 test on
Android 4.0
ICS; the Blink-based browser currently has better standards support. The old web browser is variably known as 'Android Browser', '
AOSP browser', 'stock browser', 'native browser', and 'default browser' (from the time it was always the default). Starting with
Android 4.2, this browser was deprecated in favor of
Google Chrome for Android.[5] Since
Android 5.0 Lollipop, the WebView browser that apps can use to display web content without leaving the app has been separated from the rest of the Android firmware in order to facilitate separate security updates by Google.
Voice-based features
Google search through voice has been available since initial release.[6] Voice actions for calling, texting, navigation, etc. are supported on
Android 2.2 onwards.[7] As of
Android 4.1, Google has expanded Voice Actions with ability to talk back and read answers from Google's
Knowledge Graph when queried with specific commands.[8] The ability to control hardware has not yet been implemented.
Multi-touch
Android has native support for
multi-touch which was initially made available in handsets such as the
HTC Hero. The feature was originally disabled at the kernel level (possibly to avoid infringing Apple's patents on touch-screen technology at the time).[9] Google has since released an update for the
Nexus One and the
Motorola Droid which enables multi-touch natively.[10]
Multitasking
Multitasking of applications, with unique handling of memory allocation, is available.[11]
Screen capture
Android supports capturing a
screenshot by pressing the power and home-screen buttons at the same time.[12] Prior to Android 4.0, the only methods of capturing a screenshot were through manufacturer and third-party customizations (apps), or otherwise by using a PC connection (DDMS developer's tool). These alternative methods are still available with the latest Android.
TV recording
Android TV supports capturing and replaying TV recordings. [13]
Video calling
Android does not support native video calling, but some handsets have a customized version of the operating system that supports it, either via the
UMTS network (like the
Samsung Galaxy S) or over IP. Video calling through
Google Talk is available in
Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) and later. Gingerbread allows
Nexus S to place Internet calls with a SIP account. This allows for enhanced
VoIP dialing to other SIP accounts and even phone numbers. Skype 2.1 offers video calling in Android 2.3, including front camera support. Users with the
Google+ Android app can perform video chat with other Google+ users through
Hangouts.
Built-in text-to-speech is provided by TalkBack for people with low or no vision. Enhancements for people with hearing difficulties are available, as are other aids.
Supports voice dialing and sending contacts between phones, playing music, sending files (
OPP), accessing the phone book (
PBAP),
A2DP and
AVRCP. Keyboard, mouse and joystick (
HID) support is available in Android 3.1+, and in earlier versions through manufacturer customizations and third-party applications.[15]
Tethering
Android supports
tethering, which allows a phone to be used as a wireless/wired
Wi-Fi hotspot. Before Android 2.2, this was supported by third-party applications or manufacturer customizations.[16]
Ethernet
Supports connecting internet to a phone via
ethernet cable using a USB Type-C adapter.[17]
Media
Streaming media support
RTP/RTSP streaming 3GPP PSS,
ISMA, HTML progressive download (
HTML <video> tag). Adobe Flash Streaming (RTMP) and HTTP Dynamic Streaming are supported by the
Flash plugin.[18] Apple HTTP Live Streaming is supported by
RealPlayer for Android,[19] and by the operating system since Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).[20]
Most Android devices include ultraSD card slots and can read microSD cards formatted with the
FAT32,
Ext3 or
Ext4 file systems. To allow use of external storage media such as
USB flash drives and
USB HDDs, some Android devices are packaged with
USB-OTG cables. Storage formatted with
FAT32 is handled by the
Linux Kernel vFAT driver, while 3rd party solutions are required to handle some other file systems such as
NTFS,
HFS Plus and
exFAT.
While most Android applications are written in
Java, there is a
Java virtual machine in the platform and Java byte code is not executed. Java classes are compiled into Dalvik executables and run on using
Android Runtime or in
Dalvik in older versions, a specialized virtual machine designed specifically for Android and optimized for battery-powered mobile devices with limited memory and CPU.
J2ME support can be provided via third-party applications.
Handset layouts
The platform works for various screen sizes from smartphone sizes and to tablet size, and can potentially connect to an external screen, e.g. through
HDMI, or wirelessly with
Miracast. Portrait and landscape orientations are supported and usually switching between by turning. A
2D graphics library,
3D graphics library based on
OpenGL ES 2.0 specifications is used.
Android apps are hosted on a specific website path and load instead of the website itself. They are part-apps and load almost instantly without the need for an installation. One of the first apps being developed with such functionality is the
B&H app.[21][22][23]