Written by: Murali K Menon
3 min readMumbaiJul 3, 2016 10:45 AM IST
First published on: Jul 1, 2016 at 10:48 AM IST
The next version of Android software dubbed ‘Nougat’ is scheduled to be released in new smartphones in the fall of 2016. It’s new features will include the ability to run apps without actually installing them on a device. (Source: AP)
By now, you’d all be aware — even die-hard iPhone users — that the latest version of Android, Google’s operating system, is called Nougat.
But, what we want to know the reason behind this pleasant practice? Are Google’s engineers candy fiends? Or, is just an inside joke? There have been many discussions on the interweb about this, and it turns out that Google is not very forthcoming about its naming convention. In an interview with CNN, a company spokesperson said that, “It’s kind of like an internal team thing, and we prefer to be a little bit — how should I say — a bit inscrutable in the matter, I’ll say.”
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About three years ago, when Google launched Kitkat, it released this statement that sheds a little more light on the naming convention than the spokesperson’s explanation: “Android is the operating system that powers over 1 billion smartphones and tablets. Since these devices make our lives so sweet, each Android version is named after a dessert: Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean. As everybody finds it difficult to stay away from chocolate we decided to name the next version of Android after one of our favorite chocolate treats, Kitkat.”
Google, of course, is not unique when it comes to naming important stuff after a certain category of things. Apple’s OSs are named after cats, and the Italian supercar company Lamborghini has a long tradition of naming its cars after fighting bulls, but Mountain View really does go all the way when it comes to naming their operating systems and celebrating them.
There are actual statues of each of these sweet treats at Googleplex, and we are pretty sure a huge block of nougat is probably greeting visitors even as we speak.
The next version of Android software dubbed ‘Nougat’ is scheduled to be released in new smartphones in the fall of 2016. It’s new features will include the ability to run apps without actually installing them on a device. (Source: AP)
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