Top 30 Best Cloud Storage Services Reviews 2020

As the use of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets increase every day, the need for cloud storage services has also been growing rapidly. Mobile devices with their small and sleek form factors have limitations on the internal storage available on them. This has made cloud storage services a necessity even to the common man. Vying the huge potential in online storage space, many cloud storage services are providing free storage to lure new customers.
With free cloud storage services, you can store your videos, music, movies, photos, and files in the cloud for free and access them from anywhere on the go through the Internet. Your data is safe with the cloud storage providers and you don’t run the risk of a crashed or stolen hard disk.
Free cloud storage is all the rage. If you want to upload a school or work document or share a simple family photo album, there’s no need to spend money on an expensive paid service. Most people don’t need terabytes of storage to sync and share files. Many cloud services can fit your needs, with a cost of zero.
Free space offered
Speed and performance
Features (some services severely limit their free accounts)
Bonus space
You’ll generally want to avoid services with file size limits. They’re not worth the hassle. Many free accounts also have daily transfer limits for shared links, which you’ll want to keep in mind if you share lots of files. I’ll mention these limitations for each service if they apply.

1.ADrive

Free Space: 50 GB

Bonuses:  None
ADrive gives you an impressive 50 GB of free cloud storage with personal accounts. But, with the free account, you miss out on the best features of ADrive like 16 GB file uploads and also have to bear with the ads on Android and IOS apps.

2.ASUS Web Storage

Free Space: 8 GB

Bonuses: 512 MB per friend referral. 10 GB max bonus.
Web Storage offers 8 GB for free, with an additional 512 MB for each referred friend. The free plan supports one PC, and there’s a 500 MB file size limit.

3.Bitcasa

Free Space: 20 GB

Bonuses:  None 
Bitcasa is a cloud storage service that lays emphasis on the privacy of your data. All data you store on Bitcasa is encrypted before upload and only you can view them. Bitcasa provides 20 GB of free cloud storage and you can access your data from 3 different devices.

4.Box

Free Space: 10 GB

Bonuses: None
Box offers 10 GB of free cloud storage space. I think their free account falls short of Dropbox and Google Drive. There’s a 250 MB file size limit on it, as well as no file version history.

5.CloudMe

Free Space: 3 GB

Bonuses: 500 MB per friend referral. 16 GB max bonus.
Cloud Me is a Swedish cloud storage service that gives you 3 GB of free space. You can earn up to 19 GB by referring friends. Each friend will get 500 MB for using your invitation.
There’s a 150 MB file upload limit with the free account, which is pretty bad.

6.Cubby

Free Space: 5 GB

Bonuses: 1 GB per friend referral. 20 GB max bonus.
Cubby is a cloud storage service from LogMeIn. It offers 5 GB of free space, although you can increase it to a hefty 25 GB by referring friends (+1 GB each).

7.Degoo

Free Space: 100 GB

Bonuses: 3 GB per friend referral. 500 GB max bonus.
Degoo is a small Swedish startup that is giving away an unheard-of 100 GB of free cloud storage. That’s 50 times more than Dropbox, and it trounces MEGA with double the space offered.The desktop software is simple and easy to use. There’s no file sync and share, however. There’s also no Linux client or web interface to access to your files. You can access your backed up files on mobile devices, but the experience is not as seamless as other cloud providers.

8.Dropbox

Free Space: 2 GB

Bonuses: 500 MB per friend referral. 125 MB for connecting Facebook/Twitter. 16 GB max bonus.
Dropbox has held steady over the years with their 2 GB of free storage offer. It’s tiny compared to some other services, but Dropbox makes up for it with simple and reliable file synchronization. The apps are easy to use, and files sync quickly across devices (even faster when devices are on the same WiFi network, due to LAN sync). Dropbox has clients for every major operating system including Linux.With shared links, Dropbox has a traffic limit of 20 GB per day for free accounts. If you go over this limit, Dropbox will temporarily suspend any links you’ve created.

9.FlipDrive

Free Space: 10 GB

Bonuses:  None
New Flip Drive users get 10 GB of initial storage with an opportunity for more for each friend they can refer to start using Flip Drive.
There aren't any mobile or desktop programs that can be installed for uploading files to Flip Drive, so the web version must suffice. Though you can upload whole folders using the website, which is nice.
You can share files with anyone, even if they don't have a Flip Drive account. However, accessing shared folders requires a registered Flip Drive account. Recipients can be given to write, edit, delete and share permissions in addition to read rights for folders.You can create up to 10 shared links and upload files that are as large as 25 MB.The Flip Drive website isn't the easiest to use when compared to most other cloud storage services, which is a bummer, but it still manages to function if you can work through it.

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64 SAR

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10.Google Drive

Free Space: 15 GB

Bonuses: None
Google Drive is arguably the best free cloud storage service. It offers the freest space of all the major cloud providers (15 GB versus OneDrive’s 5 GB, Dropbox’s 2 GB, and iCloud’s 5 GB).There are no bandwidth limits, unlike many other free services. Syncing is fast and reliable. It supports file version's for all files, unlike One Drive which can only undo changes to Office files.On the downside, there are better options for privacy (such as Sync.com and MEGA). And even though 15 GB is a lot, it’s shared with your Gmail and Google Photos accounts. There’s also no Linux client.

11.HiDrive

Free Space: 5 GB

Bonuses: 5 GB per friend referral. 10 GB max bonus.
Get 5 GB of free online storage space with Hi Drive. If you refer friends to join, you can increase your storage up to 10 GB.If you're a Windows or Mac user, you can connect to your account over Web DAV, which makes it really simple to drag and drop new files to your account.Apps are available for ISO, Android, and Windows Phone users, which support mobile photo and video uploads.When sharing files, you're required to set the URL to expire after a certain number of days and also set a maximum number of allowed downloads before the link becomes invalid.You can also share folders, and recipients, even non-users, can download all the files at once in an archive.

12.hubiC

Free Space: 25 GB

Bonuses: 5 GB per friend referral. 25 GB max bonus.
hubiC is a French cloud storage service that gives you 25 GB to start with, with the option to earn up to 50 GB total by referring friends. It has great operating system support, with desktop sync clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux.On the downside, performance is slow outside of Europe. Download speeds were under 2 Mbps in our tests.

13.iCloud

Free Space: 5 GB

Bonuses: None
Apple’s iCloud gives you 5 GB of space for free. This is probably enough to back up your iPhone’s settings, contacts, and maybe photos (but probably not videos). You can sync files across devices with iCloud Drive, a Dropbox-like folder on your hard drive. The software works on Mac and Windows desktops.There’s no link-based sharing option, however. The web apps are also quite limited.

14.IDrive

Free Space: 5 GB

Bonuses: None
IDrive offers 5 GB of free cloud storage to sync, share, and back up files. You can also use the free plan to back up contacts, photos, and text messages on your mobile devices.

15.Jottacloud

Free Space: 5 GB

Bonuses: None
Jottacloud is a Norweigan cloud storage service that gives you 5 GB for free. Desktop sync clients are available for Windows and Mac. There are also Android, ISO, and Windows Phone apps.

16.Jumpshare

Free Space: 2 GB

Bonuses: refer friends and get18 GB free!
Over 200 file types can be uploaded to Jump share, with a total of 2 GB of free storage for every user. If you refer friends to join Jump share, you can get up to 18 GB for free!A downloadable program is available for Windows and Mac users that allows really simple drag and drop and hotkey file sharing capabilities. There's also an ISO app here.

17.MediaFire

Free Space: 10 GB

Bonuses: 1 GB per friend referral. 2 GB to install desktop/mobile apps. 1 GB to connect Facebook/Twitter. 1 GB to post to Facebook/Twitter. 40 GB max bonus.
Mi Media starts at 10 GB for free, with the option to grow to 50 GB by referring friends and completing other tasks. Unfortunately, some users have complained about the ad-supported nature of this service. Ads appear on shared links, which is an annoyance that the major cloud services don’t have.

18.MEGA

Free Space: 50 GB

Bonuses: None
MEGA is one of the most popular free cloud storage services. It offers a massive 50 GB of free space. It also claims to offer zero-knowledge privacy with client-side encryption so not even the NSA can view your files. This also means there is no “password reset” (don’t forget your password).Sync clients are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There are also mobile apps for IOS and Android. There’s a 10 GB bandwidth limit, which resets every 30 minutes. This is much higher than Dropbox and other free services. I can’t fault them for it.On the downside, not everyone believes MEGA is secure. Even the founder Kim Dotcom doesn’t trust the service, after shares of the company were apparently seized by the New Zealand government. Also, some users have complained that the sync client is buggy and will lose your data.

19.MiMedia

Free Space: 10 GB

Bonuses: NoneMi Media gives users 10 GB for free. It’s primarily geared towards storing photos, videos, music, and documents. It doesn’t give any extra space for referrals, so you’re stuck at 10 GB.

20.OneDrive

Free Space: 5 GB

Bonuses: 500 MB per friend referral. 10 GB max bonus.
Ever since Microsoft downgraded free plans from 15 GB to 5 GB, they’ve been playing catch up to Google Drive. There’s still no file version's support for non-Office files.However, One Drive will be attractive to those who want an easy-to-use cloud service that is fast and reliable. It comes free with your Windows account, which is a plus. One Drive also offers plenty of sharing and collaboration options to share and edit files as a team.

21.OpenDrive

Free Space: 5 GB

Bonuses: 500 MB per friend referral. 15 GB max bonus.
When you refer others to Open Drive, you’ll get an extra 500 MB and they’ll get 5 GB.On the downside, there’s a 100 MB max file size for free accounts. There’s also a 1 GB per day bandwidth limit and a 200 KB/s speed limit. I can’t see anyone using the free plan unless it’s just to try out the service.

22.pCloud

Free Space: 10 GB

Bonuses: 1 GB per friend referral. 500 MB to back up Facebook/Instagram. 500 MB to connect Facebook account. 10 GB max bonus.
pCloud promises their 10 GB plan is free forever. You can share folders, listen to your music with their web-based media player, and even back up data from other cloud services. The desktop software can create a virtual drive on your computer. This can be a 100% pure cloud drive, or it can sync files to your computer. There are no bandwidth limits for shared links as far as I can tell.

23. Qihoo 360 Yunpan (Cloud Drive)

Free Space: 36 TB

Bonuses: None
 Qihoo 360 is a reputed Chinese Internet security company that offers loads of free cloud storage space. The Qihoo 360 Cloud Drive used to offer a whopping 36 TB (36864 GB!) free cloud storage space. It stills offers huge Terabytes of free cloud storage. Stop worrying about privacy and use this Chinese cloud storage service to dump non-private stuff.

24.SpiderOak

Free Space: 2 GB

Bonuses: 10 GB by referring friends(you get 1 GB for every friend you refer to the service).
This is one more cloud storage service that lays more emphasis on your data privacy. Spider Oak provides a meager 2 GB of free cloud storage which can be expanded up to 10 GB by referring friends (you get 1 GB for every friend you refer to the service).

25.Symform

Free Space: 10 GB

Bonuses: Half the amount of hard drive space you contribute. 5 TB max bonus.
Symform is a peer-to-peer cloud storage service. It offers 10 GB for free to start with. You can earn up to 5 TB more by contributing excess hard drive space on your computer. When you contribute space on your hard drive, you get half the amount you contribute in free cloud storage. There is no file sharing, so you’ll want to use another service if you need that feature. Also, contributed devices must be online 24/7.

26.Syncplicity

Free Space: 10 GB

Bonuses: None
Syncplicity offers 10 GB of free cloud space. They used to offer a refer-a-friend program, but not anymore. The service has no bandwidth restrictions and great mobile apps, however.

27.Sync

Free Space: 5 GB

Sync.com is a newer cloud storage service that offers better privacy than traditional cloud storage. Their free plan gives you 5 GB of cloud storage space. For each friend you refer, you’ll get an extra 1 GB. Your friend will also get 1 GB.

Bonuses: 1 GB per friend referral.

28.Tencent Weiyun

Free Space: 10 TB

Bonuses: None
Ten cent is a very huge Chinese Internet company that is offering a whopping 10 TB of free cloud storage to every new user! Yes, you heard it right. That is 10240 GB of free cloud storage! you can claim your 10 TB right now.

29.Tresorit

Free Space: 3 GB

Bonuses: None
Tresorit is another zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage service (like MEGA and Sync.com), which offers better privacy than the major services. You can synchronize files on up to 3 devices with the free Basic plan, as well as send encrypted share links to others. Unfortunately, the free account has a 500 MB file size limit and no file version recovery, so I tend to not recommend it.

30.Yandex.Disk

Free Space: 10 GB

Bonuses: 500 MB per friend referral. 10 GB max bonus.
Yandex. The disk is Russia’s answer to Google Drive. It offers 10 GB of free cloud storage with the option to grow to 20 GB by referring friends. Each person you invite gets 1 GB of extra space

Your opinion!

What’s your favorite free cloud storage service ? Let me tell in the comments below.

What Does Google Know About You??? And How To Remove All

1. Find out what Google thinks about you

In order to serve relevant ads, Google collects data about you and creates a profile. You can control and review the information Google has on you here: 
http://www.google.com/settings/ads/
Google also has a tool called Google analytics that helps publishers see what pages you have viewed on their website, how many times you have visited it, how long did you stay etc. You can opt out if you don’t want this type of data to be collected:
http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

2. Find out your location history

If you use Android, your mobile device may be sending your location to Google. You can see your entire location history here:
https://maps.google.com/locationhistory

3. Find out your entire Google Search history

Google saves every single search you have ever done. On top of that, they record every Google ad you have clicked on. This log is available in Google web history controls:
https://www.google.com/history/

4. Get monthly security and privacy report from Google

Google offers an Account activity page that tells you about all the Google services you are using. You can even enable a monthly report that will be sent to your email:
https://www.google.com/settings/dashboard

5. Find out all the apps and extensions that are accessing your Google data

The Account activity page also offers a list of all the apps that have any type of access to your data. You can see the exact type of permissions granted to the app and revoke access to your data here:
https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions

6. Export all of your data out of Google

Google lets you export all your data: bookmarks, emails, contacts, drive files, profile info, your YouTube videos, photos and more here:
https://www.google.com/takeout 

BONUS

Google also keeps a history of your YouTube searches. You can find it here:
https://www.youtube.com/feed/history/search_history
Source: http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/online-safety/security-tools/

How TO Delete This

But fear not, as there is a way to delete everything Google knows about you. Here's how...
1. Log into your Google account
2. Go to 'https://history.google.com/history/' - This is your 'Web & App Activity' page

3. Change the history from 'last week' to 'all time'

This brings up a list of all the web pages you've ever searched. Yes, ALL of them.

4. Select 'Today' and press 'Delete'

Unfortunately, Google only lets you delete your history day by day, so while it will take a while to delete your entire web history, it's worth knowing that you can.
AND if you want to know what types of ads Google targets for you...
1. Log into your Google account
2. Go to 'https://myaccount.google.com/'
3. Click on 'Ads settings' under 'Personal info & privacy'

4. Click on 'Manage ad settings'

And everything Google thinks they know about your interests is there, including the types of ads they would show you.

5. You can then deselect your interests or even turn off the ads based on your interests.
6. If you want to go even further, click on 'Control signed out ads' to turn off any and all interest-based ads.

you have officially deleted yourself off the face of the Internet... At least for advertisers.

Android Version History With Detail

In October 2003, a group of young computing experts came together to establish a software development company that would go on to revolutionize the cellular mobile phone as we knew it. The product they would create would establish incredible dominance in the field of mobile computing. In the third quarter of 2014, global shipments of Android-based mobile devices reached 268 million, greatly outpacing the rate of sales for iPhone's, Android’s closest competitor. By the end of 2014, sales of Android devices this year alone could exceed one billion. During the second quarter of 2014, Android controlled an incredible 84.7 percent market share of the global smartphone industry, well ahead of iPhone, Windows Phone and the BlackBerry. Android has even been dominating in the sphere of tablet computers; about 62 percent of the nearly 195 million tablet computers sold during 2013 were Android devices.

Many Devices on One Android System

Although Android was commercially released for mobile electronic devices in October 2008, the first device manufactured by Google wouldn’t be available on consumer markets until 2010. Until the release of the Google Nexus device, a series of smartphones developed by other manufacturers carried the Android banner successfully and largely continue to do so regardless of Google’s flagship device.
As we noted, the HTC Dream, also known as the T-Mobile G1, was the very first Android smartphone which was commercially available. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard and device chin for supporting hardware buttons are both Android features which are part of the distant past, even if that distant past is less than a decade ago. HTC would go on to develop a number of popular smartphones for the Android operating system, including the HTC One, the HTC One X and the HTC Magic.
Samsung is perhaps the greatest developer of Android smartphones, releasing a greater variety of models than Sony, HTC or LG. The Galaxy line of Samsung smartphones is perhaps the best Android smartphone available on the market currently. It’s certainly the best selling; in the first quarter of 2014 alone, Samsung shipped 85 million smartphone units, a total which exceeded the combined sales of Apple, LG, Huawei and Lenovo smartphones in that same quarter.
Samsung may also be the best example of the dichotomy between the Android and iOS systems and offers some clues on why the Android system has been so wildly successful. Of course, Samsung’s marketing budget and global presence already give it a leg up on a great majority of the world’s corporations. However, it also manufactures a lot of variant devices which focus more on the camera’s resources on accomplishing specific jobs for certain people. As of the early months of 2014, Samsung was selling its flagship S5 smartphone and the Note tablet under the Galaxy brand, as well as the cost-effective Mega, the K Zoom which offers an optical zoom lens, and much more. By contrast, Apple releases one major version of the iPhone or iPad at a time without any significant variants. Apple enjoys a much greater rate of market capitalization as Samsung in mobile computing fields, up to as much as three times Samsung’s market capitalization. However, at the end of the day, Samsung sells the most smartphones and tablets of any corporation, period.
Motorola also deserves some mention as an important early developer of Android smartphones. The Motorola Devour was released along with the 1.6 Eclair update for Android, although the model still featured a slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard. The first significant touchscreen Motorola smartphone was the Motorola Droid, also known as the Motorola Milestone in some markets. First released in October 2009, this device directly challenged the dominance that Apple’s iPhone was gaining in the smartphone market with some special help from Verizon Wireless’s “iDont” marketing campaign.
By January 2010, Google was selling its Nexus line of consumer electronic devices on the Android platform. The most significant development of the Nexus may be that Google now has its own hardware device to profit from and the added ability to ensure that its Android devices offer the most up-to-date version of the operating system. This could help Google increase its market presence in smartphone technologies even further, although some critics have noted issues with naming different generations of Nexus devices which may become confusing to consumers. A little notice should be given to Sony for its popular Xperia smartphone, but earlier generations of this device utilized a mobile operating system developed by Windows before switching to the Android OS.
As we look ahead to 2015, it is not much of a stretch to say that we are in the Android era: mobile computing devices have captured the public’s admiration and have permeated daily lives and work routines, and Android leads the charge in terms of this technology. Although Apple and even the Windows Phone format are likely going nowhere anytime soon, it would take a gargantuan development to shift the tide of the marketplace in favor of these players and away from Google’s Android. True to the original vision of the Android OS developers, Android owners can enjoy the use of their system with a digital camera. The breadth of functionality currently offered by these devices, however, is one of the most astounding technological evolution's in our world over the past decade.

Android and Dessert Names

Revised 03SEP-2013
Google's Android division certainly has a sense of humor: It named all of its version code names after desserts (just as Intel names all of its CPU's after rivers). To celebrate a new version, a giant mock-up of the dessert that matches the code name is usually delivered to the Google Campus and put on display.
So what are the different versions of Android OS and the desserts associated with them? Let us go over a short history.

Android 1.0 and 1.1: Unnamed

 There appears to be no code name assigned to versions 1.0 and 1.1 of Android OS.

Google bought a company called Android back in July 2005. Android was headed by several mobile big shots, including the former head of a big carrier, ex-owner of a phone maker, and more. After their buyout, Android went into stealth mode, and rumors spread that Google was working on a mobile phone.
The dam finally broke in November 2007, when Google suddenly announced that they were indeed working on a phone (Google Phone). More than that, they were also working on a brand-new mobile operating system called Android, based on the Linux kernel, to be used by the Open Handset Alliance, a group of 65 different hardware makers, carriers, and other mobile-related companies.
HTC was the first phone maker to get a real consumer phone out, the T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream outside of US), on October 2008.
An update of Android, version 1.1, was released in February 2009. However, the first significant version of Android OS that really showcased the power of the platform was V1.5, code-named "Cupcake."
As Cupcake starts with letter "C", many have suspected that 1.0 had a code name starting with "A" and 1.1 had one starting with "B," but no actual code names were ever assigned.

Android 1.5: Cupcake

Technically Android 1.5 wasn't the first version, but versions before it don't seem to have received any code names. Stories were told that it was supposed to be version 1.2, but Google decided to make it a major revision and made it 1.5 instead. Among the many changes with Cupcake, third-party keyboard and Widgets were enabled and phone could upload directly to YouTube and Picasa. The company code-named the version "cupcake," which is how the trend of dessert names began.
A cupcake is a small, individually-sized cake baked in a cup-shaped mold. It is usually served with frosting on top.

Android 1.6: Donut

Android V1.6, codenamed "Donut," was released in September 2009. It fixed reboot errors in the OS, revamped photo and video features (i.e. camera interface), and featured better search integration. It also added support for larger screen sizes and is the first version to offer Google's turn-by-turn navigation feature.
A donut is a small ring-shaped friedcake. The ring is made of rich, light dough and deep-fried. Various sweet coatings can be added. Donuts are not to be mistaken for bagels, which are baked, much denser, and usually salty.

Android 2.0 and 2.1: Eclair

Android 2.0 was released in October 2009, with a bug fix version (2.0.1) coming out in December 2009. Android 2.1 was released January of 2010. Most people consider them a single release. Added features include Blue tooth 2.1 support, flash and digital zoom for the camera, multi-touch support, live wallpapers, and more.
Eclairs are usually described as oblong cream puffs. They are baked pastries with cream filling and chocolate coating on top.

Android 2.2: Froyo

Android 2.2 mainly improved speed by adopting the Javascript "just-in-time" compiler engine from Google's browser, Chrome. It also improved browser support by adding animated GIF support and Flash 10.1 plug-in support, along with USB tethering and Wi-Fi Hot spot capability (for those with supported hardware).
Froyo is short for "frozen yogurt." It is a frozen dessert made from yogurt, so it is slightly more sour than soft serve but also lower in fat. 

Android 2.3, 2.4: Gingerbread

Gingerbread was officially released in December 2010.
On December 6th, 2010, Google officially announced the first phone with Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread. The phone was the Nexus S, which Google co-developed with Samsung. The phone was originally only available for T-Mobile, but was later made for Sprint and AT&T as well.
Gingerbread supports SIP Internet calling, NFC wireless transaction capability (if hardware is present), more than one camera, and gyroscopes and other sensors (barometers, gravimeters, and others are possible). It also features a download manager, some tweaks to allow usage on Tablets, and other system level tweaks for programmers.
As a dessert, gingerbread is basically a ginger-flavored cookie. It is often made to celebrate end-of-year holidays in the US. The cookies are cut into festive shapes—often the shape of a man—and decorated with icing and candy.

Android 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2: Honeycomb

Honeycomb was released in February 2011, and was rapidly followed by 3.1 and 3.2 in July and August of 2011. Google posted a lot of previews and highlights on Honeycomb.
Honeycomb was made for tablets, which implied that Android OS 2.X was not. That did not stop Samsung and a slew of smaller manufacturers from putting out an army of Android 2.X tablets of various sizes before the end of 2010 as they tried to ride the wave of the iPad's success in time for the Christmas shopping season.
Motorola Xoom was the first Android 3.X tablet to be released. It has since been followed by many others.
Dessert-wise, honeycomb is a sheet of hexagonal cells bees build out of wax and fill with honey. Fresh honeycomb can be consumed as a dessert—some people chew or even consume the wax with the honey.

Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice Cream Sandwich was Google's attempt to synthesize Honeycomb, it's tablet-only platform, with its mobile platform. Released in October 2011, it featured a new design and default font, as well as the ability to monitor and limit mobile data usage and other upgrades. Many devices were slow to adopt Ice Cream Sandwich. Three months after Ice Cream Sandwich, only one phone (Samsung Galaxy Nexus) had been released to run it.
In real life, an ice cream sandwich is a layer of ice cream, usually vanilla, sandwiched between two cookies, usually chocolate. They are often rectangular in shape.

Android 4.1: Jelly Bean

Jelly Bean came out in 2012. Biggest changes included "Google Now," an AI assistant that anticipates your needs and better, more interactive notifications. Jelly Bean also allows "voice typing," a built-in speech-to-text engine that does not rely on Internet or data.

Android 4.4: KitKat

Google announced that Android 4.4 would be named KitKat on September 3, 2013. KitKat's parent company, Nestlé, was fully on board with the naming of operating system and launched an advertising campaign during KitKat's release. As part of the campaign, specially marked packages of KitKat with Andy the Green Android on the package each contained a sweepstakes code that could win a new Nexus 7 Android tablet or Google Play store credit.
KitKat took the Google Now feature and took it a step further with "OK Google." OK Google allows people to access Google Now without even touching their phones—just verbally saying the phrase opens up the artificial intelligence assistant. KitKat also introduced Emoji to Google's keyboard.

Android 5.X: Lollipop

Android 5 is called Lollipop, and it featured a brand new run time called ART that no longer relies on the older DALVIK run time (which is somewhat based on Sun/Oracle specs). Lollipop also contains other UI improvements and has excellent battery life on some devices.

Android 6.X: Marshmallow

Android 6: Marshmallow is already out for the Nexus devices and is believed to be coming soon to all flagship devices before the end of the year, and to other devices by mid-2016.
Marshmallow introduced several changes that can have significant impact. App permission model is now opt-in (grant specific permission as requested) rather than opt-out (all is permitted, then use App Ops to run off individual permissions). Doze mode allows the device to go into hibernation when idle, cutting power consumption to virtually nil. Fingerprint sensor support is now baked into the OS rather the vendor support, and USB C is now fully supported. Finally, Marshmallow allows one to format a micro SD card and adopt it as if it's internal storage and share the same internal security level. 

Android versions 7.0 and 7.1: Nougat

Google's 2016 Android Nougat releases provided Android with a native split-screen mode, a new bundled-by-app system for organizing notifications, and a Data Saver feature. Nougat added some smaller but still significant features, too, like an Alt-Tab-like shortcut for snapping between apps.

Perhaps most pivotal among Nougat's enhancements, however, was the launch of the Google Assistant — which came alongside the announcement of Google's first fully self-made phone, the Pixel, about two months after Nougat's debut. The Assistant would go on to become a critical component of Android and most other Google products and is arguably the company's foremost effort today.

biggest new features in Android N

• Multitasking
• Notifications
• Settings
• Virtual reality
• Keyboard themes!
• Performance
• New emoji
• Easter egg

Android version 8.0 and 8.1: Oreo

Android Oreo added a variety of niceties to the platform, including a native picture-in-picture mode, a notification snoozing option, and notification channels that offer fine control over how apps can alert you.

The 2017 release also included some noteworthy elements that furthered Google's goal of aligning Android and Chrome OS and improving the experience of using Android apps on Chromebooks, and it was the first Android version to feature Project Treble — an ambitious effort to create a modular base for Android's code with the hope of making it easier for device-makers to provide timely software updates.

Android version 9: Pie

The freshly baked scent of Android Pie, a.k.a. Android 9, wafted into the Android ecosystem in August of 2018. Pie's most transformative change was its hybrid gesture/button navigation system, which traded Android's traditional Back, Home, and Overview keys for a large, multifunctional Home button and a small Back button that appeared alongside it as needed.

Pie included some noteworthy productivity features, too, such as a universal suggested-reply system for messaging notifications, a new dashboard of Digital Wellbeing controls, and more intelligent systems for power and screen brightness management. And, of course, there was no shortage of smaller but still-significant advancements hidden throughout Pie's filling, including a smarter way to handle Wi-Fi hotspots, a welcome twist to Android's Battery Saver mode, and a variety of privacy and security enhancements.

Android version 10: Quince Tart

Google released Android 10 — the first Android version to shed its letter and be known simply by a number, with no dessert-themed moniker attached — in September of 2019. Most noticeably, the software brings about a totally reimagined interface for Android gestures, this time doing away with the tappable Back button altogether and relying on a completely swipe-driven approach to system navigation. (If you so choose, that is; unlike Pie, Android 10 also includes the traditional Android three-button navigation system as an option on all phones.)

Under the hood, Android 10 introduces a new setup for hot-fix-style updates that'll eventually allow for faster and more consistent rollouts of small, narrowly focused patches. And the software has plenty of other quietly important improvements, including an updated permissions system that gives you more control over exactly how and when apps are able to access location data as well as an expanded system for protecting unique device identifiers (which can be used to track a device's activity over time).

Beyond that, Android 10 includes a system-wide dark theme, a new Focus Mode that lets you limit distractions from specific apps with the tap of an on-screen button, and a long-overdue overhaul of Android's sharing menu. It also introduces a new Live Caption feature that allows you to generate on-the-fly visual captions for any media playing on your phone — videos, podcasts, or even just regular ol' voice recordings. The feature debuted initially on Google's own Pixel phones and has slowly made its way to more devices from there.

Android version 11 : Red Velvet Cake

Android 11, launched at the start of September 2020, is a pretty substantial Android update both under the hood and on the surface. The version's most significant changes revolve around privacy: The update builds upon the expanded permissions system introduced in Android 10 and adds in the ability for users to grant apps certain permissions — those related to location access, camera access, and microphone access — only on a limited, single-use basis.

Android 11 also pushes the background location permission even deeper into the system and makes it more difficult for apps to request (and thus less likely for users to activate inadvertently). And it introduces a new feature in which apps that have gone unopened for a matter of months will automatically have their permissions revoked unless you actively opt to reauthorize them.

Beyond that, Android 11 removes an app's ability to see what other apps are installed on your phone — something that was actually possible up until this release — and it limits the ways apps are able to interact with your local storage in order to better protect your information.

Importantly but invisibly, Android 11 more than doubles the number of once-OS-bundled elements that now exist as their own standalone modules — like apps in the Play Store, basically — and thus can be updated directly by Google, frequently and universally and without the need for any carrier or manufacturer involvement. And as for the more visible, user-facing features, Android 11 refines the system notification area to emphasize and simplify conversation-related alerts; it introduces a new streamlined media player that contains controls for all audio- and video-playing apps in a single space; and it adds in a new contextual menu of connected-device controls for any smart products associated with your account (though some of those features require a bit of manual adjustment in order to work optimally).

Last but not least, Android 11 marks the long-awaited debut of Bubbles — a new kind of multitasking system first discussed in 2019 but then put on the back burner until now. With apps that support the system, Bubbles allows you to pop conversations out into floating windows that appear on top of whatever else you're doing and can be condensed down into small, floating bubbles that remain easily accessible for expansion.

Android 11 has plenty of other small but significant improvements — including a new Notification History section, a native screen recording function, and an automated scheduling system for the system-wide Dark Theme.

Android version 12 : Snow Cone

Google officially launched the final version of Android 12 in October 2021 and started rolling the software out to its own Pixel devices soon after — alongside the launch of its new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones.

In a twist from the last several Android versions, the most significant progressions with Android 12 are mostly on the surface. Android 12 features the biggest reimagining of Android's interface since 2014's Android 5.0 (Lollipop) version. That version, as we discussed a moment ago, was the first to showcase Google's then-new Material Design standard. And this one is the first to integrate an updated and completely overhauled take on that standard — something known as Material You.

Material You brings a dramatically different look and feel to the entire Android experience, and it isn't limited only to system-level elements, either. Eventually, Android 12's design principles will stretch into both apps on your phone and Google services on the web. The same principles will show up on Chromebooks, Smart Displays, and Google-associated wearables as well. And since a huge part of the Material You concept is allowing you (get it?) to customize the palette and other specifics of the interface's appearance — even having your phone generate dynamic personalized themes for you on the fly, based on the colors of your phone's wallpaper at any given moment — the changes run deep and will absolutely be noticeable.

Notably, most of Material You's most meaningful design advancements will likely be available only on Google's own Pixel phones, at least to start. After years of having third-party device-makers muck around with the Android interface and introduce all sorts of arbitrary change for the sake of change, Google finally seems to be embracing the fact that its own Android design choices are not going to be universal — and in doing so, it's turning the limited availability of that interface and everything around it into a Pixel feature instead of a Google liability.

Surface-level elements aside, Android 12 brings a (long overdue) renewed focus to Android's widget system along with a host of important foundational enhancements in the areas of performance, security, and privacy. The update provides more powerful and accessible controls over how different apps are using your data and how much information you allow apps to access, for instance, and it includes a new isolated section of the operating system that allows A.I. features to operate entirely on a device, without any potential for network access or data exposure.