Android’s latest operating system, 4.4, has finally been given a name: KitKat. Yeah, like the candy bar. What is up with really weird technology names lately? First Nintendo puts out the 2Ds and now this?
The announcement became official when Google senior vice president and head of Android Sundar Pichai tweeted the following this afternoon:
We now have over 1 Billion Android activations and hope this guy in front of the building keeps that momentum going pic.twitter.com/V0VovgmObl
— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) September 3, 2013
In addition to being named after desserts, Android’s operating system names follow the alphabet — Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, and now KitKat. This is the first operating system to have a name that’s also a completely different brand, however — a lot of people had assumed it was going to be Key Lime Pie. Come on, guys, no love for Krullers?
Of course, it’s not as if the Kit Kat’s (note that the candy name has a space; the operating system doesn’t) parent company, Nestle, is up in arms about this new Android name or anything. The two companies have actually started a cross-promotional partnership: the Android robot will appear on Kit Kat packaging soon, and Android users who buy the candy will be entered to win a Nexus 7 or Google Play credit.
Heck, they’re even making Android shaped Kit Kats:
More than 50 million of these Android Kit Kat bars will be available in 19 different countries, the joint press release says. Gosh, I know its a shameless marketing ploy but I really want one of those candy bars right now.
“We’re excited to announce this partnership with Android, the world’s most popular mobile platform, which will help us to enable even more KitKat fans to enjoy their break,” Nestlé’s Head of Marketing, Patrice Bula said in a statement. Yup, there it is! There’s the joke. Expect to see that joke made so many times that you’ll actually want to break a piece off of someone.
The new system is expected to be a more substantial upgrade to the last three iterations of Jelly Bean (4.1, 4.2, and 4.3). It is set to launch in October of this year.
(via Gizmodo, images via Nestlé)
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