Traditionally, Google names its Android versions after sweet treats; from Gingerbread, Jelly Bean, KitKat to Marshmallow and Nougat. The company is preparing to soon roll out its next Android version 8 and by the alphabetical order, it will be called ‘Android O’. This week, one of the senior Google executives Hiroshi Lockheimer shared a tweet of an Oreo cake, suggesting the next Android OS could be named after the popular Oreo biscuits. Today, we have a web game which has been developed by Oreo in partnership with Google, further hinting that the next version will indeed be called ‘Android 8.0 Oreo.’
The Oreo Space Dunk game uses Google Maps and asks users to scan their Oreo cookie. Once you do that, it throws the cookies in the virtual space based on your dunking power and you can watch your virtual cookie reaching all the way to space and getting dunking back on Earth in a glass of milk at varied places across the globe. To play the game, open your mobile web browser and go to oreospacedunk.com and simply follow the steps to scan and launch the cookie. Although the game asks you to scan a real cookie, we tried scanning an image of an Oreo cookie and the game worked absolutely fine. You will also be asked to share your location for the cookie launch site. Once you dunk it on Earth, you can share the distance your cookie travelled on Facebook and Twitter.
In the past, Google has teased its upcoming Android versions in similar fashion. Prior to the launch of Android N, Lockheimer had dropped hints suggesting it could be called Nutella. CEO Sundar Pichai also launched an online voting poll to ask users to help decide onto a name. While many assumed Pichai would go for an Indian sweet name, given his roots in the country, the final name was ‘Nougat’.
What is particularly interesting this time with the game is that the collaboration between Google and Oreo appears more like an official confirmation. According to Android Headlines, building the game also involves Google’s in-house advertising and marketing outfit – The Zoo. Now this might be indicative of something big on lines with the next Android version or could simply be a trick to let fans guessing for more.
Name of the next iteration of Android is expected to be announced sometime before the Google I/O 2017 which is scheduled to take place from May 17 – May 19. At the California event, Google is likely to demonstrate the new operating system alongside the next version of Android Wear, and it could possibly showcase the next-gen Pixel hardware.
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