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Android Eclair

2009 Android mobile operating system

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated May 9, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Android Eclair is the codename of the fifth version (and second major release) of the Android mobile operating system. Eclair spans the versions 2.0.x and 2.1. Unveiled on October 26, 2009, Android Eclair builds upon the significant changes made in Android 1.6 "Donut". The first phone with Android Eclair was the Motorola Droid. Google ceased support for the Android Market on Android 2.1 and older on June 30, 2017. Meanwhile, it was the first Android operating system to have ads.

01Features

User experience

The default home screen of Eclair displays a persistent Google Search bar across the top of the screen. The camera app was also redesigned with numerous new camera features, including flash support, digital zoom, scene mode, white balance, color effect, and macro focus. The photo gallery app also contains basic photo editing tools. This version also added live wallpapers, allowing the home-screen background images to animate. Speech-to-text was first introduced, replacing the comma key.

Platform

Android Eclair inherits platform additions from the Donut release, including the ability to search all saved SMS and MMS messages, improved Google Maps 3.1.2, and Exchange support for the Email app. The operating system also provides improved typing speed on virtual keyboard, along with new accessibility, calendar, and virtual private network APIs. For internet browsing, Android Eclair also adds support for HTML5, refreshed browser UI with bookmark thumbnails, and double-tap zoom.

Watch videos about Android EclairExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Android Eclair”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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