As part of a major rebranding, Google has announced that its fun dessert names for Android versions are gone. Android Q has a name, and it's just plain old Android 10.
It goes further than that too. It isn't just because it was almost impossible to find a popular dessert name beginning with the letter Q for the latest update. Going forward, Google says it's only going to use numbers. And that means we already know what next year's is going to be called - Android 11.
For virtually as long as Android has been in existence, the company has used tasty treats as names for its major smartphone refreshes. Whether it was Android Cupcake, KitKat, Lollipop or Pie, there was always an element of interest surrounding what Google might use in the next version.
It was a fun, light-hearted element of an upgrade which was otherwise largely quite techie. In fact, Google even placed statues representing the latest version outside its HQ in Mountain View.
While we all enjoyed the naming, and guessing what the next one might be, Google had some sensible reasoning behind this latest move.
We in the west may have had a good time with the names, and generally, we know how to pronounce all the names, except maybe Nougat, which different regions seem to have a different take on.
Going global means safe numbers for everyone
While Donut, Honeycomb or Key Lime Pie have been fun, I can see Google's point here, and let's face it, the back end of the alphabet for desserts is really hard. Android upside-down cake anyone?
I remember around the time of Android Kit-Kat, the company enjoying the full swing of the process. At the time, a friend of mine worked at Nestlé, who make Kit-Kat, and he told me a story about how Google marched in, said Android Kit-Kat was happening, and didn't want anything in return, but felt the company should be prepared for the sales to sky-rocket and the confusion over chocolate or OS to get a bit haywire for a while.
With Android now in it's tenth iteration, it's time to grow up. Let's hope that the fun doesn't get taken out of the OS at the same time though.
For Android's big markets outside of the western markets however, it wasn't always easy. For instance, in some languages - Google notes - Lollipop was a difficult one, because L and R aren't easily distinguishable.
What's more, many regular consumers found it difficult to see if know if their phone was running the latest version of software. With a simple number-based system like iOS, it's far easier to understand and - of course - isn't subject to the same issues of translation and pronunciation.
As part of this rebrand and new direction, Android's logo has been simplified too, but thankfully not so drastically that we don't still recognise what it is. The green colouring of the robot head has been changed, and the font/typeface of the text has been updated to be more modern and a little softer around the corners.
We're expecting Android 10 to be released to the public over the next few weeks, hitting Google Pixel and Android One devices first, with others to follow shortly after.