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Updated on December 10, 2021
Google’s latest Android operating system, until now named “Android N” (version 7.0), now has an official dessert-themed name like all previous Android versions: “Android Nougat.” For some reason, Google opted to reveal this new name initially via Snapchat, not through Twitter or even their own Google+. For those of us who don’t use (or have never used) Snapchat, the news did eventually get released to Twitter:
Introducing #AndroidNougat. Thank you, world, for all your sweet name ideas! #AndroidNReveal pic.twitter.com/7lIfDBwyBE
— Android (@Android) June 30, 2016
Of course, many online were holding out hope that the new mobile OS version would be named “Nutella.” As for myself, I’m OK with Nougat, but I don’t think of nougat as a dessert item on its own. For me (and I suspect many others), it’s an ingredient one finds in candy bars or other desserts/snacks, not as something on its own to eat. Wikipedia‘s entry on nougat lists desserts primarily made with the stuff, including the form of nougat bars. Most of these desserts come from outside North America.
CNET suggested eight alternative names to “nougat,” though they’re mostly brand names (Nerds, Nutella) or probably obscure to most Americans (such as nuomici). For myself, my favorite nougat-containing candy bars are Milky Way and Three Musketeers. For non-Americans reading this, Three Musketeers are basically the American version of non-US Milky Ways, while Milky Ways here are similar to Mars bars, only containing caramel. As for Mars bars, they haven’t been sold here in the US since the 90s (save a very short-lived revival a few years ago), but the widely-available Snickers with Almonds is very similar to the Mars bars we had.
As for Android Nougat, I await seeing my Moto G smartphone upgraded to the newer OS. Nougat is also supposed to be incorporated into the Android support all recent Chromebooks will receive, so that’s another plus.
