Get Ready For Google's New Sugary Treat, Android Nougat

Nougat is a chewy sweet of Italian origin made of honey/sugar and nuts, but that’s “foodology.”

When it comes to technology, Nougat is Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) latest version of Android. The company announced the name on Snapchat Thursday.

Google has been playing with Android names since the rollout of Android 1.5 in 2009. The company has given dessert-themed names to its Android versions and that too in alphabetical order (Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, Kitkat, Lolipop, Marshmallow and Nougat).

There has been a slight shift from tradition this time around. Unlike the previous versions, Nougat is a crowd sourced name and Google did not wait for Google I/O to release the test version called Android N. Google released the test version and offered a developer preview in March.

The version is currently into its second beta and is slated to release later this year, possibly in the third quarter.

Nougat will come with a range of new features such as split-screen multitasking, improved notification shade, quick setting menu, enhanced doze mode, support for daydream and virtual reality.

Google was seeking an expansion of “N” for its latest Android version and welcomed suggestions from the user community at its I/O conference held in May, opening up an online poll.

In response, the company received many suggestions from home and abroad. Some interesting suggestions from home included Nutella, New York Cheesecake and Neapolitan Ice-cream.

India, the CEO’s home put up a massive response with suggestions like Nariyal Laddoo, Nankhatai, Ney Payasam and the most talked about Neyyappam.

Android lovers in India may be a bit disappointed but never mind. Android P is on its way and Peda, Puran Poli and Payasam could still make it.

CEO Sundar Pichai has tweeted a thank you note to the Android user community for suggesting names.

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