Those who are up to date know that the latest developer preview of Android O has been out for a couple of days now. This is actually the last preview update before the final release and it is safe to assume that most of the things will remain unchanged.
Android O shares a lot visually with Android Nougat, as we have only seen slight visual changes with the notification shade animations and lock screen clock font change.
Read More: Android O is Around the Corner as Google Rolls Out Developer Preview 4
Away from the design, the name of Android O is yet to be known. We have a version number, Android 8.0, but not a name.
Traditionally, Google gives Android names based on treats; Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jellybean, KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow, Nougat and now we have Octopus?
In September last year, Google turned 18 and maybe, just maybe the company has outgrown sweet treats and decided to eat healthy.
Anyway, bad jokes aside. Developer Preview 4 comes with a new easter egg which features an egg-shaped octupus that is just floating around. This easter egg has led to many speculating that Android O might be Android Octopus. Yuck!
The speculation does hold water though, Android O is version number 8 and an Octopus does have 8 tentacles. So why would Google go with Octopus? Because they can – Octopus is a food, served as Sushi, fried or… OK, I don’t know how else its cooked but you get the point.
However, the Android community is not buying into the Octopus narrative. A Reddit user, CoolCoolCoool, has edited the easter egg to highlight certain areas of the Octopus that add weight to the notion that Android O will be named Oreo. Interestingly, looking at the highlighted areas you can clearly see the Oreo shapes. (Hint: eyes and mouth area)
I am inclined to believe that Google is trolling everyone and there is overwhelming evidence (sort of) that O should be Oreo. Google did announce a partnership with Oreo to launch a game known as “Space Dunk” early this year. Secondly, as far fetched as this may be, John Anon from Android Headlines pointed out that the blue background, black and white colors of the Octopus are in line with Oreo’s branding, not an exact match but they point to the same direction.
As impatient as I can be when it comes to such things, we will have to wait and see what Google has in store in regard to Android O’s name.
For now, that Octopus easter egg leaves more questions than 18 year old google.com can have answer to.
