Do you know how to check the Android version on your smartphone or tablet? On some devices, it seems like Android is getting a new update every day, and it’s hard to keep up with the changes, while on others, you barely get any updates. Therefore, if you need help using your device or want to see if a cool new app or feature is available, you may struggle to remember: “What Android version do I have?”. Well, you don’t have to guess anymore because this tutorial illustrates how to check the current Android version on all devices, including Samsung Galaxy:
First things first: What is the current Android version?
If you’re reading this article, Android is the operating system that’s probably running on your smartphone or tablet, and it’s important to know which one you’re using. That’s because the Android version affects the features available on your device and its compatibility with the apps you want to install. At the time of writing, the latest Android version is Android 14, and it was released for Google Pixel smartphones on October 4th, 2023. Starting with this date, Android 14 is slowly rolling out to smartphones and tablets from all vendors (Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Realme, Motorola, OnePlus, etc.), each on its release schedule.
While Android 14 doesn’t have a marketing name like older Android versions, it does have an internal codename used by Google during its development process: Upside Down Cake. Funny, isn’t it? 🙂
1. How to check the Android version you have from Settings
Unfortunately, figuring out what version of Android you have on your device differs slightly from brand to brand. I wish it were as simple as asking Google Assistant to share the Android version, but the virtual assistant is incapable of providing you this information. Read the next section if your phone is made by Google or another manufacturer like Motorola, Realme, Xiaomi. If you have a Samsung device, read section 1.2.
1.1. How to check the Android version from Settings
Start by opening the Settings app on your Android phone or tablet. Because the app is organized differently depending on your device, its manufacturer, and Android version, I’ll first show you how to do things on a Google Pixel smartphone with the stock version of Android 14 installed:
In the Settings app, scroll down the list of categories until you see About phone and tap on it. If you’re using a tablet, look for About tablet instead.
Now, you see the information you sought, starting with the device name. One of the information fields displayed on this screen is the Android version. In this field, you see the version installed on your Android phone or tablet. In my case, it is Android 14. On yours, it will likely be different. Therefore, don’t hesitate to read the Android version names section later in this article to see how old your version is and when it was released.
If you want further information about the software installed on your device, tap on Android version. This action opens a new screen where you can see the Android security update last installed on your device and the Google Play system update installed.
Lastly, you also have the Build number, another piece of information that might be useful to those looking for the exact firmware version installed on their phones or tablets.
1.2. How to check the Android version on Samsung Galaxy from Settings
The Settings app on Samsung Galaxy devices, like my S23, looks different than on standard Android. To help you out, here’s how to check the Android version on Samsung phones:
Open Settings and scroll down the list of settings to its end. Then, tap on About phone. If you’re on a tablet, tap About tablet.
You see a picture of your phone or tablet, its device name, phone number (if any), the product name, serial number, and IMEI numbers. To get to the Android version, tap on Software information.
You finally see all the software information you need:
- One UI version - the installed version for Samsung’s custom firmware and user interface built on top of Android.
- Android version - the actual version of Android you’re using.
- Google Play system update - available as of Android 10 onwards, these updates are handled by Google and delivered to your phone(s) or tablet(s) through Google Play. These updates can improve the security of your device or fix annoying bugs identified by Google across the Android ecosystem.
- Android security patch level - when the latest security update was installed on your device. These updates are delivered by the manufacturer of your device. While you can’t see this field in the screenshot below, you have it on your Samsung Galaxy, and you’ll see it if you scroll down to the end of the Software Information page.
2. How to check the Android version using Search
If the methods shared earlier don’t work for you because the user interface on your Android device is a lot different, you can use Search to get the information you need.
2.1. How to find the Android version using Search in the Apps list
On the Home Screen of your Android device, swipe up to open the Apps list.
TIP: Here’s how to add Home Screen shortcuts on Android.
At the top of the Apps list, you see a Search box. Tap inside the search box.
Type “about phone” or “about tablet” (depending on your device) and tap the result associated with Settings. You may also see about phone for Call settings, the Phone app, and other places in the Android operating system. Pay attention and tap on the About phone search result associated with Settings.
You will see the About phone page from the previous sections, with the information I already described.
2.2. How to find the Android version using Search in the Settings app
Open the Settings app on your phone or tablet. It should have a Search box or a Search icon at the top, as it does on my Samsung Galaxy S23. Tap inside the Search box or tap the Search icon.
Then, write “about phone” or “about tablet” and tap the appropriate search result.
You will then see the About phone (or About tablet) page described earlier in this tutorial, where you can find the Android version installed on your device.
Making sense of Android versions and names
You might have encountered the name Android, followed by your favorite dessert. Maybe you read somewhere about Android Oreo, or perhaps, at some point, your friends were discussing Android Pie or Marshmallow while you were eating salad. 🙂 What’s that about? Well, it turns out that Google used names of desserts (in alphabetical order) for major Android versions. The cutesy codenames have stopped with the launch of Android 10, as you can see in the following list, which includes all the Android version names released to date, starting with the most recent:
- Android 14 - released on October 4th, 2023
- Android 13 - released on August 15th, 2022
- Android 12 - released on October 4th, 2021
- Android 11 - released on September 8th, 2020
- Android 10 - was supposed to be called Queen Cake, but the final product name is Android 10. It was released on September 3rd, 2019.
- Android 9 - Pie. This is the last version of Android to use the confectionery theme for its name. All the versions that followed it switched to numerical ordering. It was released on August 6th, 2018.
- Android 8 - Oreo
- Android 7 - Nougat
- Android 6 - Marshmallow
- Android 5 - Lollipop
- Android 4.4 - Kit Kat
- Android 4.1 - Jelly Bean
- Android 4.0 - Ice Cream Sandwich
- Android 3.0 - Honeycomb
- Android 2.3 - Gingerbread
- Android 2.2 - Froyo
- Android 2.0 - Eclair
- Android 1.6 - Donut
- Android 1.5 - Cupcake
While writing this article, Google works on Android 15, which has the internal codename Vanilla Ice Cream. It will probably be released sometime in Quarter 3 of 2024.
What name would you choose for an Android version, or, simply put, what’s your favorite dessert?
While removing the confectionery theme for naming Android versions does avoid confusion, some users had fun with the sweet nicknames given to each Android release. Luckily, Google still uses sweet-inspired Internal codenames, as you can learn from the chart on this page. And my personal favorite in that list is Tiramisu, which was used to refer to Android 13. Therefore, let’s close this tutorial on the same sweet tone: comment using the options below to share what dessert name you’d choose to name an Android version.🙂