Google ditches desserts, Android 10 is now the official name for Android Q

Ditching its decade long tradition, Google on Thursday announced the name for its upcoming Android operating system and its not any of the delicious dessert-theme name which Google previously used to give to its operating system to tempt its users. The new Android operating system of Google will only be called Android 10.

The names have progressed in alphabetical order since the release of Android Cupcake, which was followed by Donut, then Eclair, then Froyo, all the way up to this year's Pie. But with the upcoming launch of its latest mobile OS, that reign of sweetness comes to an end.

The latest operating system currently known as Android Q has been in public beta since March. There has been much online speculation about what Q-themed dessert Google might use as the official name—Quindim! Queen’s cake! Quiche!—but a Google announcement made it clear that it won’t be any of those and will be a simple number based name -- Android 10.

Google explained in its blog that Android's dessert names were not being properly understood by the global community. Google gave examples of the letters L and R which were not distinguishable when spoken in some languages.

A spokesperson for Google said 10 refers to Android Q's version number, saying it "felt like the right time to make this change."

What this means is that when someone heard the Android Lollipop it was not always clear in these dialects that it was the Android version after Kitkat. Google also mentions that Pies are not popular in many parts of the world and neither are marshmallows. Numbers, on the other hand, are universal and are recognised in every part of the world.

Android is currently running on 2.5 billion active devices, Samat said. That includes not only Google Pixel phones, but Samsung, Nokia and many other brands.

The Android logo also got a slight refresh. The green Android mascot only shows the top of its head rather than a full body. The text, which says Android, under the face is now black rather than green.

Android 10 name, logo

Android 10 also comes with a refreshed logo with the Android robot sitting on top. The colour has also been changed from green to black for better visibility. It's a small change but Google found the green was hard to read, especially for people with visual impairments. Google will officially start rolling out the updated logo with the final release of Android 10 in the coming weeks.

"First, we're changing the way we name our releases. Our engineering team has always used internal code names for each version, based of tasty treats, or desserts, in alphabetical order," said Sameer Samat, VP of Product Management, Android, in a statement.

The naming tradition has become a fun part of the release each year externally too, like Android Lollipop or Marshmallows.

"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," Samat explained.

"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," he added.

Now, this year is Android 10 and next year will be Android 11, and so on.

To recall, the first publicly available version of Android – 1.5 – was known as Cupcake.

Here's a list of past Android versions with their names:

·         Android 1.6 – Donut

·         Android 2.0, Android 2.1 – Éclair

·         Android 2.2 – Froyo

·         Android 2.3, Android 2.4 – Gingerbread

·         Android 3.0, Android 3.1, Android 3.2 – Honeycomb

·         Android 4.0 – Ice Cream Sandwich

·         Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean

·         Android 4.4 – KitKat

·         Android 5 – Lollipop

·         Android 6 – Marshmallow

·         Android 7 – Nougat

·         Android 8 – Oreo

·         Android 9 – Pie