Google revealed Thursday that the next iteration of Android will be called Android 10. Though the tech giant has been using the place holder Android Q since the software’s unveiling at Google I/O in May, there will be no official tasty treat nickname for Android 10 as there has been for prior system versions.
Google explained in a blog post that it has decided to ditch its alphabetical desserts naming convention due to a number of cultural complications that may be confusing as Android’s global user base grows beyond 2.5 billion active devices. The company has taken into consideration that some letters may sound the same in certain languages, which could lead to users not understanding the reasoning behind a name if the English phonetics do not match their own.
Additionally, many newer Android users may not understand the origin behind the nicknames and may be confused as to whether they are running the latest system versions (pro tip: you’re probably not).
Android’s tasty treats nicknames are an homage to the snacks that Android developers might like eating during long days and nights of coding. Over the years, the Android team has had lots of fun trolling fans on what the nickname for new system versions might be called while keeping the actual name eerily secret.
For example, at Google I/O 2018, the year of Android P, there were several P-named snacks offered during the conference, including Pop-Tarts, pretzels, and popcorn. Ultimately, that version of Android was called Android Pie.
While we are sad to see Android’s tasty treats go, Google’s reasoning does make sense as the Android operating system becomes increasingly more popular around the world. Google has taken on a major commitment to getting mobile access to people in developing countries. Making Android more accessible does mean taking into consideration our many differences.
Industry insiders have noted that Google will continue its tasty treats naming tradition internally, so the fun will continue in some ways. Android 10 or Android Q is supposedly referred to as Queen Cake within the Android team. So we super fans may still be able to look forward new adages as Android continues to develop and may stubbornly refer to new versions by their internal nicknames. We put in our vote for Android Rocher as the 2020 system version.
Perhaps there will be opportunities in the future for Google to start up a new naming convention, much like Apple did with its naming of the MacOS system versions from large cats to California landmarks.
The official version of Android 10 has not yet been released to the public, but Google has mentioned that the new software will be available in the coming weeks. Google has also unveiled its new branding logo, which will begin using ahead of the official release of Android 10.
Meanwhile, device manufacturer, Nokia, has shared its own update timeline, indicating that its device models, including the Nokia 9 PureView, Nokia 8.1, and Nokia 7.1 are set to update to Android 10 during the fourth quarter of 2019.
