Google’s Dessert Theme Meets Bittersweet End As Android Q Officially Becomes Android 10

Google’s Dessert Theme Meets Bittersweet End As Android Q Officially Becomes Android 10

After more than a decade of sugary monikers, Google is finally ending Android’s dessert-themed naming scheme now that Android Q has officially become Android 10. 

For some, it may be a bit disappointing to see Google sidestep the task of finding an appropriate confection that starts with the letter Q before the next version of Android gets released later this fall, but it’s not entirely without reason. In a recent blog post, Google cited that its naming scheme often felt unintuitive, particularly for newer Android users not familiar with Google’s previous naming convention.

Google also mentioned that some languages don’t have the same distinction between L and R sounds, which sometimes made it confusing to determine where versions of Android like Lollipop fell in Google’s larger update cycle. So instead of dealing with something like Android Quince or Android Queen of Puddings, Google is keeping things simple by going with Android 10.

Thankfully, not all the excitement about the next version of Android is gone, because alongside upcoming features like a system-wide dark mode and focus mode, Google is also updating Android’s look with a new, more modern logo and updated colour palette.

Now, the Android robot (which still doesn’t have an official name) will be featured more prominently in the Android logo, while the colour of the logo text itself has been changed from lime green to black to promote better readability.

However, before we finally let go of Android’s dessert-based naming scheme, we thought it might be nice to finish off the rest of the Android alphabet and put forward some potential names for the sweet Android names we’ll never get.

Android Q: Quince, there aren’t a lot of options out there, so quince will have to do.

Android R: Red Velvet, because after Quince, we’ll need something decadent and luxurious.

Android S: S’mores, a callback to Android 6 Marshmallow, because what goes better with marshmallows than some chocolate and graham crackers?

Android T: Tapioca Pudding, Android has been a doughnut, an eclair, and even froyo, so it’s natural that Android pays homage to one of the most underappreciated desserts out there.

Android U: Upside Down Cake, this is will be the version where Google flips everything around and puts the notification bar at the bottom of the screen, bans sideloading, switches the logo colour from green to red.

Android V: Vanilla, by this time, we’ll be so fed up with the dessert-based naming scheme, we’ll just want something easy.

Android W: Whopper or Warheads, still undecided. Warheads work if society seems like it’s on the brink of self-destruction, while Whopper is the safer option in case people are more in the mood for a delicious, malted treated.

Android X: Xanthan gum, a staple of molecular gastronomy and an additive often found in things like ice cream and syrup that helps improve texture and shelf-life. But we’re grasping at straws here, so if you have any better ideas for the letter X, leave us a comment.

Android Y: Youtiao, we going international with this one. Youtiao is like a mix between a churro and a cruller and can be featured in both sweet or savoury dishes, or dipped in soy milk and eaten for breakfast. Yum.

Android Z: Zero, not only is this the name of a fantastic candy bar, with all the tech companies reverting back to simple number-themed names like the Xbox One and Sonos One, Android Zero seems like a fitting choice.

OK, after coming up with all these names, maybe switching to numbers for Android is actually a pretty good idea.


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