Android 7.0 Nectar, Neopolitan, Nacho or Nougat (not Nugget)? We round up the rumours on the next version of Android, including the Android 7.0 N UK release date, name and new features.
Android 7.0 Nectar, Neopolitan, Nacho or Nougat (not Nugget)? We round up the rumours on the next version of Android, including the Android 7.0 N UK release date, name and new features.
Android N name: What will Android 7.0 be called?
Following Android Alpha and Android Beta, Google has always named its Android OS updates after sweet treats, and in alphabetical order. So far we've had Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop and Marshmallow.
Next in line is Android 'N', sure to be a sweet treat, but Google won't reveal the operating system's full name until the second half of 2016.
Google's major Android OS upgrades haven't always come annually, but in May 2015 Google VP of engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer told Fast Company that "As we've grown as a platform, we realize that to some extent predictability is important for the whole industry: developers, manufacturers, operators, and consumers, frankly. So we've landed with sort of a yearly cadence of big releases, so, for instance, one year we release J, the next year we release K, and then the year after that L, and then this year we'll launch M, and so you can predict what will happen next year.
You can expect Android O in 2017, Android P in 2018, Android Q - that's going to be difficult to name - in 2019 and so forth.
With the exception of KitKat, the naming schemes of all previous Android OS updates have been food stuffs rather than brands. But this naming scheme may create a problem for Android N. How many food stuffs can you think of that begin with N?
For now, our money is on Android 7.0 Nectar. It's sweet, it begins with an N, and it's already the stuff of goodness as the name of a UK-based loyalty scheme for shoppers of Sainsbury's, eBay, Argos, BP and more.
But that's just our guess. Some other suggestions include Android Nacho, Android Nougat (Android Nugget anyone?), Android Neopolitan and Android Nuts (probably a no-go). And if Google does once again go down the branded route, we love Android Nutella and Android Nerds.
Add your own Android N naming ideas in the comments below this article.
Android 7.0 N poll
Android N UK release date: When is Android N coming out?
Android N will get its first outing at Google I/O 2016, the date of which has not yet been confirmed but it will likely be toward the end of May/beginning of June 2016. Google will offer an Android N Developer Preview, which you will be able to install on its current Nexus devices for early testing.
Later in the year, most likely October 2016 (although in 2015 we saw Google announce Android Marshmallow early at the end of September), the final version of Android N will be announced. It will ship preinstalled on whichever new Nexus devices Google creates for 2016, most likely sticking to new Nexus phones, and will be available to download to older Nexus devices soon after. Other flagship Android devices will get the upgrade toward the end of the year or early 2017.
Some time between the Developer Preview going live and the final version of Android N being announced Google will confirm the new operating system's name and number, revealing a new Android lawn statue at the US Googleplex. And we will find out exactly how far off the mark is our guess of Android 7.0 Nectar. Also see: ZTE's Android phone with 3D Touch
Android N features: What to expect from the next Android OS
It's been rumoured that the next version of Android will 'kill' Chrome OS, and that the two operating systems will become one with Chrome folded into Android. This is something Google has aparently been working on for a long time and, while it has recently made some progress, the single OS isn't expected to be ready until 2017, making it more likely that if any Android OS is to kill off Chrome OS it will be Android 8.0 O. Google will want to increase its market share with laptops (proper laptops rather than tablet hybrids) running Android, but for now the company has confirmed that both operating systems will continue to exist.
But Google wants to do more than put Android on more devices, Lockheimer revealed during his Fast Company interview. Google wants smart Android devices to talk to each other better in order to offer new features that right now aren’t possible.
In terms of actual new features in Android N it's a bit too early too tell, especially given that most Android users are still waiting for the Marshmallow upgrade. However, we will continue to update this article until Android 7.0 N's release, including new rumours and information as we hear it.
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