Recognizing the 21st Century Inventors IV

Recognizing the 21^st Century Inventors IV

In the late part of 2017, Apple played its ace; the magic wand that made it maintained the lead in the global cutthroat competition among the smartphone producers. That magic was unveiling of iPhone X. As expected, when leading and trying to keep the lead, then one has do something different, thus, Apple tried another thing different in iPhone X. Apple ditched the home button in order to make the phone nearly all screen and bet on facial recognition as the key to both your phone and a whole new set of apps and features. Again, cameras are optimally utilized by making the phone to recognize your face, for more personalized security of your phone your documents. If the phone is lost or got stolen, the phone will be useless to other people as it can be traced whether on or off and will only function with biometric data of the original owner. Thus, Apple augmented reality into mainstream existence while making the phone and data more secure than ever. The iPhone X marked Apple’s first venture into an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, and it immediately set the bar for everyone else. Then enter 2018, Apple made yet another spectacular outing with debut of iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

During the unveiling of these phones; iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, at Apple's launch event, Apple executive Phil Schiller said the company's goal with the iPhone XS was to "take the iPhone X to the next level." The physical appearance of X and XS are similar but the other features of XS have undergone a noticeable change. From the display to the processor to the cameras, Apple has made adjustments big and small so that its latest iPhone X models stand out from the version that came before. It is simply beyond the addition of a latter “S” or “Max” to “X”, it is clear Apple's latest phones do more than just add some extra latters to the iPhone X's name. The most tangibly feature among the differences is Apple’s addition of dual SIM support - a first for the iPhone range. The first one is a standard nano-SIM slot while second SIM is not physical but an eSIM. However, the two SIMs work simultaneously allowing to share work/home or home/roaming numbers in a single device. The eSIM is a fully digital alternative. One can use second SIM when travelling instead of roaming; one can use the foreign number. In Nigeria and other countries in Asia, where dual SIM technology is already very popular, iPhone XS and XS Max can be attractive. A more subtle change is both the iPhone XS and XS Max have louder external speakers than the iPhone X (itself 25% louder than the iPhone 7) and stereo support. Lastly on the XS and XS Max, both models have improved IP68 water resistance (up from IP67 in the iPhone X), which allows the phones to be submerged in up to three meters of water without complication.

 Generally, there are several improvements from the display to the processor to the cameras; Apple has made adjustments big and small so that its latest iPhone X models stand out from the version that came before. Speed, functionality, beauty, security and efficiency are the key words that make the differences for the users to go for the latest iPhones.  Although, Apple is no doubt, leading in the smartphone production that can meet the needs and even imaginations of the phone users. Apple is not alone; its closed rival Google, which produced Android operation system. This operating system has allowed several phone producers to produce smartphones and sale at comparatively lower prices than iPhones. What is the origin of Android?

The company Android Inc was founded in 2003 in Palo Alto, California. At that time, the word “smartphone” was yet to be concocted, and was thus, unknown to the general public, and it was four years before Apple announced its first iPhone.  The founders of the company were four; Rich Miner, Nick Sears, Chris White, and Andy Rubin. At the time of its public founding, Rubin was quoted as saying that Android Inc was going to develop “smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner’s location and preferences.” This prophecy has certainly come to pass. Google bought Android Incorporation in 2005 developed the Android OS, which was unveiled in 2007. Even after Google acquired Android Inc, Rubin and other founding members stayed on to continue to develop the OS under their new owners. The Android operating system was developed based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open source software and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The decision to use Linux as the basis for the Android OS meant that Android itself could be offered to third-party mobile phone manufacturers for free. Google and the Android team felt the company could make money offering other services that used the OS, including apps.

 In addition to mobile phone, Google had further developed Android TV for televisions, Android Auto for cars, and Wear OS for wristwatches, each with a specialized user interface. Variants of Android are also used on game consoles, digital cameras, PCs and other electronics. The operating system has since gone through multiple major releases, with the current version being 9.0 "Pie", released in August 2018. The core Android source code is known as Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and is primarily licensed under the Apache License. Google’s decision to make Android an open source OS allowed it to become highly popular with third-party phone makers.

Narrating the history of Android, Rubin, one of the founders revealed in a 2013 speech in Tokyo that Android OS was originally meant to improve the operating systems of digital cameras. “The original dream was to create a world of ‘smart cameras’ connected to Persona Computers wirelessly” for direct transfer of pictures. This effort was shown to the potential investors back in 2004 when Android Inc was desperately looking for investment. The demonstration showed how Android, installed on a camera was used for connecting PC wirelessly. That PC would then connect to an ‘Android Datacenter,’ where camera owners could store their photos online on a cloud server. As Google acquired the company, the dream became bigger and the Android OS was reworked for mobile handsets at the time the smartphone market began to explode.  Rubin stayed at Google as head of the Android team until 2013, when he left Google in late 2014 and launched a startup business incubator. In 2017, Rubin returned to the smartphone industry with his company’s announcement of the Android-based Essential Phone. What makes Android OS fundamentally different from iOS of Apple?

When in 2007, Apple launched the first iPhone and ushered in a new era in mobile computing. At that time, Google was absolutely working on Android in secret, but the company realized the challenge posed by the entry of a big competitor, Apple. Then, Google strategically started revealing its plans to fight back Apple and other mobile platforms. It used the formation of what was called the Open Handset Alliance, which included phone makers like HTC and Motorola, chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, and carriers including T-Mobile. Then Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt was quoted as saying, “Today’s announcement is more ambitious than any single ‘Google Phone’ that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we’re unveiling will power thousands of different phone models.” Ten years after, Apple is still secretive and only allow few Apps makers without giving chance to any mobile maker to use its OS while Android accommodates all comers; new and olds. This is the fundamental difference.

Android being a subsidiary of Google Inc, it uses all the apps created by Google. At the time of releasing the first Android 1.0 OS, it had the trademarks of Google’s business plan for the OS. It integrated a number of the company’s other products and services, including Google Maps, YouTube, and an HTML browser (pre-Chrome) that, of course, used Google’s search services. It also had the first version of Android Market; the app store that Google proudly stated would have “dozens of unique, first-of-a-kind Android applications.” All of these features sound pretty primitive today, but this was just the beginning of Android’s rise in the mobile device market. How far has Android gone to? (To be continued next week)