What is Android Skin? What you need to know about Android Skin

You must have noticed that the functions of a Samsung Android smartphone and a Xiaomi Android smartphone are not the same. Even after the same Android version has an operating system, there is a very visible difference between them. What is the reason for this?

Not just Samsung or Xiaomi, the phone functions of any company big to use the same Android version are not exactly the same. This is because all big companies themselves make Android skins and use them on their devices. So that even if the operating system is Android, it maintains a uniqueness. 

Some things need to be known before going into detailed discussions on Android skin. This will make it quite easy to understand the matter. So, we'll get into the main discussion about what android skin really is,  why device manufacturing companies can modify android operating systems. 

Android is basically an open-source operating system based on Linux. Which means anyone can see and use its code. You can also use modified if necessary. It's like Ubuntu or Debian. The difference is that Ubuntu or Debian is made for computers, and Android is made for phones. 

Google maintains and updates android's main operating system. They open the code to all through the Android Open Source Project. This is the most basic form of the Android operating system. This is mainly called "stock" or "vanilla" Android.

Anyone can copy and modify this stock code and use it. Don't think Google does this for a very generous,  selfless free. Google has a lot of big profit space here. But that's not today's discussion. 

However, Android device manufacturers like Samsung or Xiaomi take the original Android code from here. And then they modified it in their own way and used it on their devices.

Android skin is in very simple language,  this modified version of stock Android. That is, when companies modify stock Android in their own way, it is called Android Skin.

All big companies use these Android skins in not directly using stock Android to give their device users a little unique experience and extra benefits in the field. There are some very popular Androidskins,

Each Android skin looks different from the other i.e. the user interface is different. That is why (UI) is added at the end of them.  But is that the only feature of Android skin? Not at all.

As I said earlier,  each company modifies stock Android to provide a slightly different experience and benefit to their device users. As a result, users of each Android skin get extra features in addition to the user interface.

For example,  Xiaomi MIUI can be talked about here. Users get a chance to use the split-screen feature from Android 7. But Xiaomi had no way to install this Android 7 version on several old phones (Redmi 3S).

This problem arises as these phones do not have the hardware required to install Android 7. Xiaomi then added this feature to their Android Skin MiUI 10. Which was created based on the Android 6 version. Old phone users get a chance to use the sleep screen feature through MIUI 10 without its Android 7.

Samsung's OneUI or OnePlus has many other features in OxygenOS which are available on stock Android. Not only Samsung,  Xiaomi, or OnePlus but almost all Android skins have something like this. So,  android doesn't have the ability to underestimate skin.

Despite being very different from the user interface and features, the main reason why they are called Android skins rather than separate operating systems is that all of them are made from stock Android. As a result, some basic features are one of them.

You can use the same Android app in all Android skins. All of them have almost the same security quality. The operating system's main structure is similar. You can use any skin Android phone comfortably even if there are differences in options. Even if you are a user of Samsung, you will have no problem using a OnePlus phone.

In the discussion so far, hopefully, we have understood the benefits of Android skin. The difference in seclusion of the user interface, different unique features is all possible for Android skin. You don't have to worry too much about android versions when it comes to Android skin.

Whether your phone is useful in supporting the updated version of Android,  there is a very good chance that your Android skin is updated to get the features of updated Android. Which is a good thing for any user.

However, many complain that it takes a long time to get the latest features of Android skin stock Android. The allegation is not entirely false. Google releases version updates of stock Android mainly in the last quarter of every year. Since the stock googles android works, it is first available on their Pixel phone.

This update comes much later than that on other Android phones. Because companies update their skin by modifying the update released by Google in their own way.

As a result, it takes quite some time for major updates to come on these phones. One of the disadvantages is android skin. After a company creates Android skin using stock Android, it has to be certified by Google. 

Google stipulates certain conditions to developers even if anyone has the freedom to make Android skins. Those who customize stock Android in accordance with those conditions are certified by Google. And these skin-installed devices are called Android-certified devices.

A few years ago, a kind of Android skin called Custom ROM was very popular. Which were made by one or more developers together in a personal venture. Most of these things were flaws. As a result,  Google could not meet all the conditions. Would have been much weaker in terms of security.

At present, smartphone manufacturing companies research and officially manufacture these Android skins. As a result, they hardly have such problems. Moreover,  almost all Android skins are now Google Certified.

So there's no reason to worry about which Android skin you're using. All Android skins have their own features. There's no chance to say one to the other is good at all. It's good if you like it. And yes,  don't forget to comment on which Android skin you like.