---
title: "Which came first, Android or Harry Potter?"
description: "Android vs Harry Potter: Harry Potter came first, by 11 years — 1997 against 2008. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/android-vs-harry-potter/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Android or Harry Potter?

**Which came first, Android or Harry Potter?: Harry Potter**

1997 — 11 years before Android

Harry Potter came first, by 11 years. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in the UK.

## Side by side

|  | Android | Harry Potter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 2008 | 1997 |
| Date | 2008-09-23 | 1997-06-26 |
| Category | technology | media |
| What happened | The HTC Dream, the first Android phone, was announced. | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in the UK. |

## Android

Android as a company was founded in October 2003 — four years before the iPhone — originally to build an operating system for digital cameras. Google bought it in 2005 and the first Android phone shipped in October 2008, fifteen months after the iPhone went on sale. So Android is older than the iPhone as a project and younger as a product, which is why the question needs the distinction stated.

## Harry Potter

Bloomsbury published the first book in June 1997 with a print run of 500 copies, most of which went to libraries, after twelve other publishers had rejected the manuscript. The company's chairman gave the first chapter to his eight-year-old daughter, who demanded the rest. It came out the same year as Netflix was founded and a year before Google.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Android or Harry Potter?

Harry Potter, by 11 years — 1997 against 2008.

### When did Android start?

2008. The HTC Dream, the first Android phone, was announced.

### When did Harry Potter start?

1997. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in the UK.

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## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]