---
title: "Which came first, Android or Python?"
description: "Android vs Python: Python came first, by 17 years — 1991 against 2008. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/android-vs-python/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Android or Python?

**Which came first, Android or Python?: Python**

1991 — 17 years before Android

Python came first, by 17 years. Guido van Rossum released version 0.9.0 publicly.

## Side by side

|  | Android | Python |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 2008 | 1991 |
| Date | 2008-09-23 | 1991-02-20 |
| Category | technology | technology |
| What happened | The HTC Dream, the first Android phone, was announced. | Guido van Rossum released version 0.9.0 publicly. |

## 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.

## Python

Python was started as a hobby project over Christmas 1989 and first released publicly in February 1991 — four years before Java, JavaScript, PHP and Ruby, all of which arrived in 1995. Most people assume it is much newer because its popularity arrived twenty years after it did. It is named after Monty Python, not the snake.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Android or Python?

Python, by 17 years — 1991 against 2008.

### When did Android start?

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

### When did Python start?

1991. Guido van Rossum released version 0.9.0 publicly.

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## Sources

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