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Which file system does Android use? I have read both ext4 and YAFFS2.
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In many ways, Android's filesystem resembles that of a desktop operating system like Windows and macOS. This is not too surprising — Android is based on a modified version of the Linux kernel. Like most desktop operating systems, Android also bundles a native file manager application.
Android has always supported the FAT32, Ext3, and Ext4 file system formats, but external drives are often formatted in exFAT or NTFS if they're over 4GB in size or use files that are over 4GB in size.
NTFS is newer than FAT32 and has many advantages over the latter including support for files over 4GB in size. Sadly, Android devices don't support this file format by default.
Android originally used YAFFS2 as the file system. After Android 2.3, the file system became ext4 . YAFFS2 is usually used for NAND flash in embedded systems such as mobile phones.
Android originally used YAFFS2 as the file system. After Android 2.3, the file system became ext4.
YAFFS2 is usually used for NAND flash in embedded systems such as mobile phones. It includes wear-leveling and a GC mechanism specifically for NAND flash, but it is only single-threaded.
According to an ARS Technica article, the reason that Android switched to ext4 from YAFFS2 for its file system is because YAFFS2 is single-threaded, and "would likely have been a bottleneck on dual-core systems." Android, even back in 2010 was looking forward when many cores could be used in Smartphones. Looking back, it was obvious that this was the right decision. Smartphones went to Dual Core around the time of Galaxy S2. More recently most Smart Phones are released in Quad-Core configuration, with 6 and 8 core configurations on the horizon.
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