Google announced the application development platform for the Android Things operating system (yes for the Internet of Things or IoT) three years ago. Today the platform is reportedly ready for the first final release, with the release of Android Things 1.0. The update brings increased hardware compatibility and long-term support for the devices that will use it.
But what is Android Things.
It's an operating system for IoT devices, that is, smart lamps, thermostats, Wi-Fi cameras, smart refrigerators, toasters, or anything else you can imagine.
Unlike the main version of Android, it runs with less hardware requirements and can comfortably work with 32MB of RAM. Nevertheless, it has a common origin with the Android operating system running on your phone. IoT encoders can develop applications with Java and Kotlin and will use the same development tools they use today.
Briefly: If you know how to create a phone or tablet app, you don't need to know too much about creating an Android Things product. In theory at least.
Android Things will be able to connect to Google's cloud services, such as Google Assistant and Google Machine Learning.
Google reports that the Android Things SDK has been downloaded 100.000 times, and that over 10.000 developers have helped develop the new operating system.
The new operating system extends operating system support to even more System-on-Module (SoM) boards. Android Things will work on everything based on the NXP i.MX8M, Qualcomm SDA212, Qualcomm SDA624 and MediaTek MT8516 platforms.
In addition, it will run on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and NXP i.MX7D.
In terms of security, Android Things is bringing innovation. For a very long time, device manufacturers have been providing IoT products with unsafe default settings and no long-term security outlook.
The consequences of this can be summarized in one word: Mirai (and not only).
Mirai used standard IoT devices and turned them into a huge botnet. But because Android Things is a managed operating system, developers don't need to think much about system security and maintenance. It does the job itself, which is very important.
The new functionality gives device makers and therefore buyers the comfort of knowing that they will have updates for at least three years, which could be the life cycle of a device.
Android Things 1.0 is available today. You can read the release notes from here. To start hacking, you can go to developer site, and you will find what you need.
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