I often wondered what would have happened once Android Z launched on the Pixel 13. Would we ever get there with Android, or would Fuchsia take over with a better naming scheme? It turns out that Google didn’t have the patience to deal with the entire alphabet — no pun intended — and moved to a more user-friendly naming scheme for Android. Either that, or desserts that start with the letter Q just weren’t good enough.
Android Q is no more, starting today, as Google is rebranding its OS to Android 10, which was Android Q’s other name, anyway. We also have a new logo and font to go with the name change.
The reason why Google is going for a numbering scheme is that letters can be confusing in certain parts of the world, and the chosen dessert names might not be familiar to some people. Also, Google explained that it’s harder for some users, especially younger ones, to understand if their phone is running the latest version of Android.
Of course, if you’re a loyal Android user, you know your phone rarely runs the latest version of Android, unless you’ve just bought a brand new handset. It’s really all downhill from there. Other than Pixel phones, which receive OS updates immediately, everyone else has to wait for several months.
The other thing that Google is changing when it comes to Android branding is the logo and color. The word “Android” gets a new font and will always appear in black instead of green, for accessibility reasons. The robot will join the wordmark, and its design and color system has been slightly tweaked as well, as you’ll see in the following clip. The new logo will be found on future products going forward and should be easier to spot and read.
