Android Ice Cream Sandwich

Android Ice Cream Sandwich (or Android 4.0) is the fourth major version of the Android mobile operating system developed by Google. Unveiled on October 19, 2011, Android 4.0 built upon the significant changes made by the tablet-only release Android Honeycomb, in an effort to create a unified platform for both smartphones and tablet computers. The first phone with Android Ice Cream Sandwich was the Galaxy Nexus.

Android 4.0 focused on simplifying and modernizing the Android experience through a new set of human interface guidelines. As part of these efforts, it introduced a new visual appearance codenamed "Holo", which was built around a cleaner, minimalist design, and a new default typeface named Roboto. It also introduced several other new features, including a refreshed home screen, near-field communication (NFC) support and the ability to "beam" content to another user using the technology, an updated web browser, a new contacts manager with social network integration, the ability to access the camera and control music playback from the lock screen, visual voicemail support, face recognition for device unlocking ("Face Unlock"), the ability to monitor and limit mobile data usage, and other internal improvements.

Android 4.0 received positive reviews from critics, who praised its cleaner, revamped appearance compared to previous versions, along with improved performance and functionality. However, critics still felt that some of Android 4.0's stock apps lacked quality and functionality compared to third-party alternatives. They regarded some of the operating system's new features, particularly the "face unlock" feature, as gimmicks.

As of January 2025^[update], only 0.01% of all Android devices run Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Following the tablet-only release "Android Honeycomb", it was announced at Google I/O 2011 that the next version of Android, code named "Ice Cream Sandwich" (ICS), would be emphasized providing a unified user experience between both smartphones and tablets. In June 2011, details also began to surface surrounding a then-new Nexus phone by Samsung to accompany ICS, which would notably exclude hardware navigation keys. Android blog RootzWiki released photos in August 2011 showing a Nexus S running a build of ICS, depicting a new application menu layout resembling that of Honeycomb, and a new interface with blue-colored accenting. An official launch event for Android 4.0 and the new Nexus phone was originally scheduled for October 11, 2011, at a CTIA trade show in San Diego. However, out of respect for the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Google and Samsung postponed the event to October 19, 2011, in Hong Kong. Android 4.0 and its launch device, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, were officially unveiled on October 19, 2011. Andy Rubin explained that 4.0 was intended to provide an "enticing and intuitive" user experience across both smartphones and tablets.

Matias Duarte, Google's vice president of design, explained that development of Ice Cream Sandwich was based around the question "What is the soul of the new machine?"User studies concluded that the existing Android interface was too complicated, thereby preventing users from being "empowered" by their devices. The overall visual appearance of Android was streamlined for Ice Cream Sandwich, building upon the changes made on the tablet-oriented Android 3.0, his first project at Google; Duarte admitted that his team had cut back support for smaller screens on Honeycomb to prioritize sufficient tablet support, as he wanted Android OEMs to "stop doing silly things like taking a phone UI and stretching it out to a 10-inch tablet." Judging Android's major competitors, Duarte felt that the interface of iOS was too skeuomorphic and kitschy, Windows Phone's Metro design language looked too much like "airport lavatory signage", and that both operating systems tried too hard to enforce conformity, "[without] leaving any room for the content to express itself." For Ice Cream Sandwich, his team aimed to provide interface design guidelines that would evoke a modern appearance, while still allowing flexibility for application developers. He characterized the revised look of Ice Cream Sandwich as having "toned down the geeky nerd quotient" in comparison to Honeycomb, which carried a more futuristic appearance that was compared by critics to the aesthetics of Tron.

In January 2012, following the official launch of Ice Cream Sandwich, Duarte and Google launched an Android Design portal, which featured human interface guidelines, best practices, and other resources for developers building Android applications designed for Ice Cream Sandwich.

The initiatives by Duarte evolved into a unified design language, for subsequent Android versions across different device types, called Material Design, starting with Android Lollipop, version 5.0.