Android Things

Android Things was created to make Android suitable for dedicated connected devices rather than general-purpose phones and tablets. Google announced the project in 2016 under the name Brillo, then presented Android Things as its successor with a more familiar Android development model. The platform targeted appliances, kiosks, displays, sensors, and other embedded products that could benefit from Android APIs and Google's development ecosystem.

Its design separated the device operating system from the application's user interface. Developers could write ordinary Android applications, package them for a supported board, and connect peripherals through standard interfaces such as GPIO, I2C, SPI, and UART. The approach lowered some hardware-software barriers, although it remained more demanding than deploying an application to a conventional Android handset.

Android Things combined an Android-based device image with tools for building, provisioning, and updating embedded products. Devices ran a purpose-built Android release, while applications could use familiar Android components, Android Studio, and Kotlin or Java. Google also supplied Peripheral I/O APIs for controlling hardware that is normally outside a phone's built-in sensor model.

The platform's management layer was particularly significant for manufacturers. The Android Things Console allowed teams to create product configurations, produce system images, provision devices, and distribute over-the-air updates. This was intended to address a recurring IoT problem: maintaining fleets of devices after deployment. Android Things was therefore not merely a small-board operating system; it was an attempt to provide a product-development and lifecycle service around one.

Android Things supported a limited set of reference boards rather than every Android-compatible device. Early development commonly used the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, while production-oriented hardware included boards based on NXP processors and Google's certified hardware partners.¹ The restricted hardware list helped Google control driver support, boot behavior, security, and update compatibility.

Examples of intended applications included smart displays, home-automation controllers, point-of-sale terminals, industrial interfaces, and educational prototypes. Android Things could also work with the Google Assistant ecosystem, making voice-controlled appliances a prominent demonstration category.² It was not designed primarily for extremely small battery-powered sensors; Linux distributions and real-time microcontroller platforms were often better suited to devices with severe memory, power, or timing constraints.

The platform's most consequential feature was its update model, not its Android branding. Google sought to make security and system maintenance a managed service, an especially difficult task in consumer IoT where devices can remain installed for years without regular owner attention.³ This emphasis distinguished Android Things from hobbyist images that typically leave updating and fleet administration to the developer.

Android Things nevertheless changed direction during its short life. Google narrowed the platform from a broad embedded-IoT ambition toward smart speakers and displays, and later announced that the Android Things Console would be shut down in January 2022. The shutdown made the platform's tooling and update service unavailable for new product development, leaving Android Open Source Project derivatives, conventional embedded Linux, and microcontroller operating systems as practical alternatives. Its legacy lies in demonstrating both the appeal and the operational difficulty of extending a mobile operating system into long-lived connected hardware.

Internet of Things

A network of physical objects equipped with computing, sensing, communication, or control capabilities.

Over-the-air update

A software or firmware update delivered remotely through a device's network connection.

Peripheral I/O

Input and output operations that let software communicate with external electronic components and buses.

Embedded Linux

A Linux-based operating environment adapted for dedicated hardware rather than general-purpose computers.