ISSUE 66 • ANDROID ADVISOR 5NEWSdumped its sweet treat naming scheme altogether,
falling back on numbers as identifiers. This year’s
release will be Android 10. That’s it.
Google isn’t saying that it was just too hard to
come up with a pronounceable dessert that begins
with Q. Rather, it’s saying that this development was
a longtimecoming,astherestoftheworldwas
sometimesconfusedwithUS‑centric branding. As
Google explains: “Pies are not a dessert in some
places, and that marshmallows, while delicious, are
not a popular treat in many parts of the world.”
Its coincidental that the naming change is being
implemented when one of the hardest letters in
alphabet rolls along. And while R, S, and T would
have been easy, U, V, and Z are no picnic either. So
Google cut its losses and dumped the whole thing.
Once Android 10 lands, we’ll all get over it, of
course, but deserting the desserts is sure to be a
sad day for longtime Android fans. While there was
technically never an ‘A’ or a ‘B’ version (at least as
far as we know), Android 1.5 started the ball rolling
with Cupcake, followed by Donut, Eclair, and Froyo,
and leading all the way up to 2018’s Pie.
Along with the name change, Google is also
tweaking Android’s logo to give it a ‘more modern,
accessible look’. The letters in the logo are no
longer green, and the classic robot head makes
an appearance in an official capacity.
Android 10 will be rolling out to Pixel phones and
other early devices in the coming weeks, bringing
dark mode and changes to gesture navigation,
among other tweaks and features.