Android M's Official Name Is Marshmallow

An anonymous reader writes: As they've done in the past, Google has revealed the name for the upcoming version of Android with a new statue in front of its headquarters. Android's sixth version will be called Marshmallow. Dave Burke, Android's VP of engineering, unveiled the statue on Twitter. Google has also released the Android 6.0 SDK and the final M preview.

Comments

Missed opportunity

[jandrese]

I was really expecting the statue to be an androided version of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man. The statue is a little disappointing.

Perfect Name

[bughunter]

'Marshmallow' is the perfect word for a label that carries no content, is all fluff, and whose sole purpose is to appeal to people with simple tastes.

(Note that I'm not talking about the OS, but the practice of giving each version a cute name. Android is not alone in this practice, but with 'Marshmallow' they seem to have achieved the pinnacle of its banality.)

Re:Perfect Name

[serviscope_minor]

I don't mind cute names, and I don't mind version numbers.

What I can't stand is the arbitrary mixing of the two, especially as sometimes minor versions get a name bump and sometimes they don't. I seem to continually have to keep refering to a list of "version name versus number" lists when it's stated that the feature is new in KitKat and I'm wondering if it's there (oh no wasn't in Jellybean, but was in KitKat but only fixed in the second, unnamed release).

Re:Perfect Name

[Kjella]

'Marshmallow' is the perfect word for a label that carries no content, is all fluff, and whose sole purpose is to appeal to people with simple tastes.

Maybe I have simple tastes, but I like the idea of relatively unique and absurd version names. If you search for "debian 8 <my issue here>" I could get any kind of old crap, because the number eight has so many other uses like that this page was made the 8th of August 2008 or whatever. If I search for "debian jessie <my issue here>" it's extremely likely the page has been updated with information relevant to my version. Simply because prior to the announcement, there was very little if any reason to use "jessie" on any debian-related page and it's fairly memorable as a unique version identifier for both writers and readers.

TL;DR don't confuse nonsensical with useless

Bah

[Godai]

Milkshake would have been more fun, if only for the image of an Android filled with chocolatey goodness and a pair of straws for antennae.

Re:That's amazing

[Archangel Michael]

It usher in the age of Gozer!

Fast adoption certain!

[Just Some Guy]

Its predecessor, Lollipop, clawed it way to 18.1% share in just 9 short months! In fact, Android versions released since October 2013 (KitKat) account for a whopping 57.4 share! With quick adoption like that, you should plan to upgrade your current phone to Marshmallow any day now.

(Achievement unlocked: I typed that whole thing with a straight face.)

Name schname. They're at letter 13 out of 26!

[Sloppy]

Android's total history has reached the half-way point, unless you know the name of something sugary that starts with a left bracket.