Androidâs ditching the carbs and saying farewell to sugar. The latest update to the brand, unveiled today by Google, introduces a new logo and style language, and ditches the iconic dessert-themed OS codenames.
So, letâs talk about the logo. The old-school âbugdroidâ robot has had a bit of surgery and now only shows its head, rather than the entire body and the requisite appendages.
Similarly, the Android wordmark is slightly more svelte. As with the previous two revisions, each character is lowercase. However, when examining the new logo, youâll notice that each character has been thinned somewhat, and thereâs now added serifs.
Crucially, the new Android wordmark will always come attached with the updated logo and will never be displayed on its own. At least, not in an official context.
If youâre curious about whatâs changed, Andrew Martonik at Android Central has written an incredible deep-dive into this new rebrand, and itâs the most thorough and authoritative bit of writing on the subject. Itâs really worth reading, particularly if youâre a design nerd whose heart palpitates wildly for subtle typographical changes.
And yes, letâs touch on the forthcoming Android nomenclature. Starting from Android 10, Google will cease using the dessert-themed names itâs renowned for.
Thatâs arguably for the best. Although food-name codenames are more meaningful (and memorable) than generic version numbers, like 4.4 or 7.1, thereâs obviously a finite number of names that have the cross-cultural recognition required for a globally successful product like Android.
Sadly, thereâs nothing to replace them. Google states that the next version of Android (codenamed Android Q) will merely be known as Android 10.
Thatâs a bit boring, but I understand it. If it replaced dessert names with something else, itâd eventually run into the same problems: namely, thereâs a finite number of terms that are recognized across the diverse melting pot we call the world.
Those sad about the change will take solace in the fact that Google plans to keep its Android food statues that dominate the entrance to the âGoogleplex,â as reported by Android Policeâs David Ruddock. These statues are genuinely iconic, and itâd be sad to see the company remove such an important piece of tech history.
Google has also commissioned a giant â10â thatâll sit in the lobby of the main Android office. Thatâs a bit less whimsical than a giant jellybean robot, but Iâll take it, I guess.
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