Google announces Android Nougat, unveils statue

Well, well, well — who knew that we’d see an announcement of Google’s next major Android update so soon? The time has come, and after all the input from diehard Android fans and “Googlers” as to what the search engine giant should name the next major update beyond Marshmallow, Google has finally selected a name: Android Nougat.

The Android Nougat statue was unveiled at the company’s Mountain View headquarters, with a bugdroid standing above some chewy, nutty dessert bars (the dessert bars are present to help each leg and prop the bugdroid up). Android 7.0 Nougat is the full name, keeping account of the numerical scheme: after Android 6.0 Marshmallow is Android 7.0 Nougat.

Google has unveiled Android Nougat in official capacity, with its now 12th statue outside of company headquarters, but the company took time to unveil the new mobile goodness of the upcoming update at Google I/O 2016. Android Nougat will bring new features such as a multi-window mode (which Google says is being introduced due to “high consumer demand,” rather than the company’s own decision), Vulkan gaming graphics (to match Samsung’s own commitment in the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge), an Android N JIT Compiler that will be responsible for 75% faster installs from Google Play and a 50% reduction in code size (something akin to Apple’s App Thinning feature in iOS 9), file-based encryption, seamless updates that let you update in the background while continuing on-screen activities, texting notifications that let you reply from the drop-down window so as to not distract you from the current activity, more customizable notifications that either disturb you or don’t disturb you at all, more diverse gender emoji (for women in the workplace, for example) and more Unicode 9 Emoji, Lock screen wallpaper support, Direct boot, Freeform mode, split-screen mode, visual voicemail improvements, additional language support, and more.

Android Nougat follows a long list of dessert names for Google’s mobile OS: Cupcake, Doughnut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop, and Marshmallow. Each dessert has a statue at Mountain View, and each statue is a living reminder to Android fans of the mobile OS’s long history and just how far Android has come in the 8 years it’s been alive and kicking.

What do you think of the name, Android Nougat? Are you thankful that it isn’t Android Nutella, or would you have rather seen it be named “Nutella” instead? What do you think Android O should be named? Any ideas for the next several letters of matching desserts?

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