Ending the 10-year history of naming releases after desserts, the company is bailing on providing a codename beginning with a subsequent letter of the alphabet (in this case, Q), which is the way we’ve been referring to Android up to now. This year is Android 10, next year will be Android 11, and so on.
It seems that Google is growing old, getting fat and is starting to watch the scale. Of course, this has nothing to do with the age of the company itself (20) but with their ideas of naming the Android software after sweets.
The company just announced the next version of its mobile operating system will be called, just, Android 10. Google released the first beta of Android Q in March, and has recently released the sixth and final beta before the official launch.
For a long time Google had been naming its Android software after treats. There was Android Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jellybean, KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow, Nougat, Oreo and Pie.
However, even though naming tradition was a fun part of the release each year from the company that said they’ve heard feedback over the years that the names weren’t always understood by everyone in the global community.
From the company they explained:
“We also know that pies are not a dessert in some places, and that marshmallows, while delicious, are not a popular treat in many parts of the world.
As a global operating system, it’s important that these names are clear and relatable for everyone in the world. So, this next release of Android will simply use the version number and be called Android 10.
We think this change helps make release names simpler and more intuitive for our global community. And while there were many tempting “Q” desserts out there, we think that at version 10 and 2.5 billion active devices, it was time to make this change.”
Google’s VP of product management Sameer Samat wrote in the blog post that they it has been hard for new Android users, who are unfamiliar with the naming convention, to understand if their phone is running the latest version.
Android is currently running on 2.5 billion active devices including Google Pixel phones, Samsung, Nokia and many other brands.
It’s Decided – Robot Stays
The Android logo also got refreshed as well. The green Android mascot only shows the top of its head and not the full body anymore.
Aude Gandon, global brand director for Android, said that the new logo has a “more modern” wordmark. It still includes the little green robot that is, by her words, what makes Android special. “It makes it human, fun, and approachable”.
Android will be represented by more than “green and gray,” and Gandon added that these changes were important to make the wordmark more accessible and readable – especially on smaller screens.
She said:
“In all honesty, when we did the acid test of doing it in really small spaces [like a screen or phone boxes], the current lettering was really a challenge. Most importantly, the wordmark is no longer green; it’s black, which makes it much more readable in more contexts.”
There’s also a Bubbles notification feature, full-on gesture navigation, improved privacy settings and a slick Live Caption feature. Google however warned developers to be careful of which kind of apps use Bubbles simply because a flow of notifications showing up on the screen, notwithstanding of what you’re doing, could be pretty irritating.
At the time of writing, Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) stock went down by 0.005% to $1,191.52.
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