Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Google exec teases Android N’s possible name in a not-so-subtle way

By

android n name tease
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Nutella, nougat, Nerds, neyyappam, New York cheesecake — there’s a surprisingly high nymber of desserts that begin with the letter N. Why’s that important? One of those desserts will take up the mantle of distinguishing Google’s next operating system version — and a Google executive just teased a potential name.

Google has been naming every Android OS update after a different dessert, following an alphabetical order. After alpha, and beta, the first Android version was called Android 1.5 Cupcake. It was followed by Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jellybean, KitKat, Lollipop, and the current version: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

Recommended Videos

Google usually announces the name by unveiling a new statue of the dessert with the “bugdroid” Android mascot, and the naming process is usually handled behind closed doors. This year, Google is trying something different. At its developer conference, Google announced that it was letting people throw in their ideas on what Android N should be named. The company still reserves the final say on the name, though.

android n
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The naming website has stopped taking submissions for the past few weeks.

Related

“We’re poring over the submissions and will announce the name of Android N soon,” the website states. We may have just been treated to a potential name, though — a chocolate spread that seems to have overwhelming support.

Hiroshi Lockheimer is the senior vice president of Android, Chrome OS, and Google Play at the Mountain View, California, company, and in his tweet where he says he is just “testing some stuff out,” you can see Microsoft Word, the Google Play Store, a tweet celebrating the OnePlus 3 launch, and — tucked away in the background — a Google search for “Nutella.”

The Play Store is set to come to Chrome OS some time this year, bringing along the plethora of Android apps to the Chromebook operating system. More importantly, will Android Nutella be the name of the next version? The company’s executives have always teased names before the official announcement, but usually they’re not accurate.

For example, a Google executive wore an Android Wear watch with a milkshake as the watch face during Google I/O 2015 — that clearly wasn’t the final moniker.

This tease by Lockheimer is hardly subtle, which could very well mean that Nutella isn’t going to make the cut. The company isn’t shy of using branded names though, as seen with Android 4.4 KitKat. We’ve got a few months before Android N drops, likely along with two Nexus devices. So for right now, there’s nothing we can do but wait to see what Google chooses.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Julian Chokkattu
Julian Chokkattu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…
These are the best Android 15 features you need to know about
Android 15 logo on a Google Pixel 8.

Android 15 has entered its latter leg of testing among developers, and in the coming months, a beta build will finally be released for the masses. So far, across the two Developer Preview builds that Google has released, we’ve encountered a handful of new features that will make life easier for smartphone users in meaningful ways.

Among them is a notification cooldown system that shields you from a barrage of audio alerts from your apps. Google has already detailed the changelog to a healthy extent, but not all new tricks have been implemented yet. But there’s still enough to unpack in Android 15, and some of those notable additions are detailed below:
Partial screen sharing

Read more
Google Pixel 9: news, rumored price, release date, and more
Front and rear profile of leaked Google Pixel 9 renders.

The Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are Google's latest and most powerful devices, but it won't be that way for long. Rumors of the Google Pixel 8a mean this pair of flagships will be supplanted as the latest Google phones fairly soon — but they'll be able to hold on to the title of "most powerful" for a little while longer. The Google Pixel 9 range, while definitely on the way, isn't due to arrive any time soon.

But when it does, it's sure to be a pair of blockbusters. Leaks for the Pixel 9 family are a little thin on the ground at the moment, but it seems as if Google is planning on making some big changes this time around. If leaks are correct, we expect a new look and some exciting new AI features that go beyond what we've seen before.

Read more
When is my phone getting Android 14? Here’s everything we know
Android 14 logo on the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Android 14 is out now, and as usual, the first to get it was Google's own Pixel phone family. Not to be undone, Samsung pushed out its version of Android 14 — One UI 6 — after a relatively short beta period and has seemingly now completed its Android 14 rollout. Nothing, the new phone company on the block, has done the same. Now, we're just waiting for more news from Motorola, who has become the stick in the mud holding everyone up.

If you're rocking an Android phone that is still stuck on an old build, here's everything we know about official Android 14 rollout plans for all major brands available in the U.S. market. We recommend using your device's Find on page function to pinpoint your device on this list.

Read more