Oreo Or Orellette? Android O Name To Be Revealed Today

Google is launching the Android O on Monday, but instead of it being named after the Oreo cookie, it might be called Orellete after the Catalan pastries, which are often served at weddings.

This was revealed by Nova Launcher customer product manager Cliff Wade in his Google+ post Sunday.

“Tomorrow is the day boys and girls. Android 8.0 Orellete will be made public during the Solar Eclipse. Hope everyone enjoys the new name as I think it's the best one they could have chosen!” Wade said in his post.

Wade claimed his information came from an anonymous source.

When it comes to naming new Android iterations, Google has been very secretive. Since the end of last year, Android O was expected to be called Android Oreo. In fact, a now deleted Google+ post by the company had an attachment with the name "GoogleOreo_Teaser."

The reason that Google would go for Orellete instead of the well-known Oreo might be related to the company which makes the cookies, Nabisco. Lack of an agreement with Nabisco and its parent company Mondelēz International, Inc., which owns the intellectual property rights to the Oreo brand, might have prodded Google to go for Orelette.

Earlier, Google had set up a brand partnership for its Android 4.4 — KitKat OS release with Nestle, and the company made special Android-themed chocolate bars at the time.

However, according to VentureBeat reporter and renowned phone leaker Evan Blass, it might still be called Android Oreo.

While the naming is ardently awaited, Google is instead focusing more on the fact that the Android iteration is being launched on the day of the total solar eclipse.

“On August 21st, a solar eclipse will sweep across the entire United States for the first time since 1918. Android is helping you experience this historic natural phenomenon so you can learn more about the eclipse and count down to the big day—when you’ll meet the next release of Android and all of its super (sweet) new powers, revealed via livestream from New York City at 2:40PM ET,” the company said on its webpage for the launch.

There may be uncertainty over the right name, but what is certain is that the Android O is loaded with new features, as revealed in the Android O preview in March.

These include:

Limiting location availability: Indefinite location tracking is available to many apps in the current Android iteration. This means that an app which requests for location tracking can do so indefinitely unless the user switches it off. In the Android O, location tracking by background apps is expected to be restricted to a few hours.

Autofill APIs: Filling up forms online might become easier with new auto fill APIs, which will help users easily fill passwords. The software will be built into apps directly, so that the user can log in with minimum effort.

Picture-in-picture mode: Picture-in-picture mode will help users multi-task better. Users will be able to run a video in a minimized window, while using the larger screen area for accessing apps.

Multi-display support: The new update will add multi-display support to Android devices — users will be able to use a large mirrored display on a TV or a large monitor for tasks such as playing videos, while using the primary smartphone screen for other tasks.

New notifications: Android O will have new notification channels and will be able to club notifications according to category, priority or preference.