Android uses the Linux kernel under the hood. Because Linux is open-source, Google’s Android developers could modify the Linux kernel to fit their needs. Linux gives the Android developers a pre-built, already maintained operating system kernel to start with so they don’t have to write their own kernel.

Is Android same as Linux?

In Conclusion. Android is not a GNU/Linux distro but its Kernel (its powerhouse) is Linux and since it is the convention that a collection of software put together around the Linux Kernel is referred to as Linux, Android is Linux. Android is an open source OS that was first created by Android Inc.

Is Android Unix or Linux?

Android is based on Linux, but it’s visibly quite different both from other Linux-based operating systems and from other UNIX and UNIX-like systems.