Google Reveals What N In Android N Stands For -- Nougat

We finally know what N in Android N stands for: Nougat. Google made the announcement on Thursday. The Android maker always names smartphone operating system updates after candies and other sweet treats. The past few versions, for instances, are named Marshmallow, Eclair, Lollipop, and Marshmallow. Naming aside, Android N brings with it a range of interesting features such as multi-window support, better battery efficiency, and the ability to reply to messages straight from the notification. Enthusiasts who own a Nexus 6 or a newer Nexus device, can give a whirl to the preview of Android N on their device. The final version of Android N will be made available later this year.

Comments

Two marshmallows?

[Anonymous Coward]

How quaint.

Re:Two marshmallows?

[frovingslosh]

Two marshmallows, no editor.

Re:Two marshmallows?

[sconeu]

To misquote Blazing Saddles...

"You listed Marshmallow twice."
"I LIKE Marshmallows"

Re:Two marshmallows?

[Anonymous Coward]

Naming aside, Android N brings with it a range of interesting features such as multi-window support, better battery efficiency, the ability to reply to messages straight from the notification, and multi-window support.

Re: Two marshmallows?

[Anonymous Coward]

Replying straight from the notification is nice. Ubuntu touch already does this, and I like it. However, I doubt Android will be able to win me back now that I have real Firefox working with xmir. Having uMatrix in my pocket is killer app.

As T.I. says:

[Anonymous Coward]

"Better get on yo' job, tell 'em. Haters get on yo' job, nougats." At least I *think* he said "nougats."

Re:As T.I. says:

[Anonymous Coward]

Nou-gat pleez!

Nerds

[Vireo]

I guess Android Nerds was too obvious...

Re:Nerds

[ArhcAngel]

KitKat was a marketing tie-in with Nestle. To do Nerds they would need to do another tie-in with Nestle. Perhaps they (Google or Nestle) decided the ROI wasn't there.

Re:Nerds

[FatdogHaiku]

I guess Android Nerds was too obvious...

Not to mention trademarked by Nestlé...

Re:Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

I fail to understand your point.

Kit Kat?!?

Re:Nerds

[swillden]

KitKat was a marketing tie-in with Nestle. To do Nerds they would need to do another tie-in with Nestle. Perhaps they (Google or Nestle) decided the ROI wasn't there.

The rumor I've heard is that the tie-in with Nestle was complicated and imposed too many constraints on the software release process, making it unattractive to repeat it. Not because Nestle was bad about it, just the nature of collaboration between two very different sorts of companies.

Re:Nerds

[Solandri]

Well, the other aspect of it was that there just aren't many well-known dessert-type foods which start with K. Their name for it in beta was Key Lime Pie. And while I like key lime pie, I know many people do not. So they sought something with a more universal appeal, and KitKat bars fit the bill.

Nougat works just fine though. O is the next letter without a well-known dessert (at least not that I can think of, aside from anything starting with Orange) which has an extremely popular trademarked brand - Oreo (Nabisco).

Re:Nerds

[PCM2]

But does anyone -- seriously, anyone -- claim to like nougat? We're talking about that weird foam that's inside a Three Musketeers bar, here.

Re:Nerds

[Quirkz]

I like nougat. I don't know that I'd eat it entirely on its own, but Three Musketeers is one of my favorite candy bars, and nougat is part of that.

I like key lime pie better, though.

Re:Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, the other aspect of it was that there just aren't many well-known dessert-type foods which start with K. ....
O is the next letter without a well-known dessert (at least not that I can think of, aside from anything starting with Orange)

WTF is wrong with ontbijtkoek? Surely all android customers know (and can pronounce) ontbijtkoek.

Re:Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

There's more than 1 kind of nougat. German-style nougat basically tastes like Nutella, which most people seem to like...

Re:Nerds

[Threni]

I don't understand this at all. As far as I could tell, Google used the string "kitkit" instead of "kandy" or whatever, and Nestle paid Google some money for this. Why would there be any interplay between software or anything else?

Re:Nerds

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

I like nougat. I don't know that I'd eat it entirely on its own, but Three Musketeers is one of my favorite candy bars,

Stop right there, you demented bastard. The "Three Musketeers" bar isn't known as "the candy bar that isn't a candy bar" for no reason. It's not called "The Bullshit Bar" just because it trips lovingly off the tongue.

Every time I ate a Three Musketeers bar I felt like I was being ripped off. No nuts inside, no cookie inside, no chocolate inside, no nothin' inside. It's like chocolate-covered Styrofoam without the delicious Styrofoam part.

It's as if they said, "How cheaply can we make something covered in chocolate and still call it a 'candy bar'? I know- let's just fill it with fucking nougat! ha ha ha!"

When I become Planetary Dictator, the makers of the "Three Musketeers" bar will be executed on national TV as a warning to other confectioners around the globe. Some might say that's a bit harsh, but I say "no half measures ever won a war". Heinous crimes like the "Three Musketeers" bar call for swift and brutal punishment, lest the infection spread.

Although I admit that when they're frozen they're not half bad.

Re:Nerds

[SeaFox]

Android Nougat

I guess Android Nerds was too obvious...

[Insert joke about Android nerds creaming themselves over new OS release.]

Re: Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

I hear it unlocks your taste buds

Re: Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

I presume P will be named after the Penguin chocolate biscuit...

Calling it, say, peanut brittle might imply it was less than robust.

Re:Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

>Three Musketeers is one of my favorite candy bars

Milky Way is a Three Musketeers with caramel and Snickers is a Milky Way with peanuts. Milky Way is literally better than Three Musketeers and Snickers is literally better than both of them.

Re:Nerds

[FatdogHaiku]

Just because Hersheys chooses not to enforce their trademarked product name does not mean Nestlé would take the same stand.
It is also possible that there were talks about the Kit Kat usage, who knows...

Re:Nerds

[ChunderDownunder]

What you're referring to is made with hazelnuts.

For an almond based sweet, try turron (Spain) or torrone (Italy).

Re: Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

Kit Kat is Nestlé too.

Re: Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, really? *a lot* of people know, and if you bothered to look, you would see all android branding with Kit Kat had a tm after it.

Re:Nerds

[martas]

Basing your opinion of nougat on the Three Musketeers bar is like basing your opinion of air travel on 9/11.

Re:Nerds

[ArhcAngel]

There was a substantial tie in beyond just the naming rights. There were contests, videos, and a host of cross-licensed merchandise.

Re:Nerds

[Quirkz]

If you don't like caramel or peanuts, neither of those is better, they're worse. Literally != subjectively.

Re:Nerds

[RockDoctor]

I suspect that you're talking about Mega-corp's Nougat-a-like Nougat Substitute sludge. Bear the same resemblance to real nougat that chocolate (e.g. Belgian or Swedish 75%+cocoa chocolate) bears to the chocolate flavoured milk-solids and vegetable fat confection which goes by the name of "milk chocolate".

I'm not great one for sweets, and generally I've remembered some horrible nougat-like concoctions from 40+years ago and just avoided it. But I also remember a concoction introduced to me while climbing in the Alps by a couple of French guys I met on the mountain, which they called nougat and was wonderful. From a country with 200 types of cheese, what would you expect but variety?

(While not really going for sweets, salmiak is an experience to be tried. Projectile vomiting may be your personal response, but some whole nations like it.)

Re:Nerds

[allo]

Nerds aren't sweets.

Promoting Diabetes

[Anonymous Coward]

-- Google always names smartphone operating system updates after candies and other sweet treats. --
Android is not a healthy choice.
Maybe they should start funding diabetes research.

Re:Promoting Diabetes

[Anonymous Coward]

I suppose they do... in the same way that Apple naming their OS after wild cats promotes exotic pet adoption?

I think it stands for "Nutbutter".

[Anonymous Coward]

Personally, I think that the "N" stands for "Nutbutter".

NOUGAT

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

Nougat- Now with 50% more baked in tracking and monitoring!

Nougats new features include:

- toilet detection algorithms and might need to see an ad for toilet paper
- wallet thickness detection, just in case you might have more money to spend
- in-store-tracking to provide you with more relevant advertising for whatever, just in case
- vehicle detection routines to provide you with more relevant automotive advertising
- restaurant detection algorithms to provide you with more relevant food advertising
- I'm-on-a-date detection routines to provide you with more relevant condom advertising (probably never used)
- at-home-on-couch detection routines to provide you with more relevant television advertising
- baby-crying sound detection routines to provide you with more relevant infant product advertising
- enhanced voice parsing to detect what products you might be talking about for better product advertising
- oh yeah and some minor changes to shit about security or whatever, just trust us

Re:NOUGAT

[Anonymous Coward]

Dammit, CyanogenMod 14 will be missing all of these! Why, oh why, did I ever unlock the bootloader?

Re: NOUGAT

[Anonymous Coward]

U butt hurt that your just an ad pusher?

Re: NOUGAT

[Anonymous Coward]

U also can haz h1b ad pushing job?

Re: NOUGAT

[Anonymous Coward]

When you use "u" like it's a word all I see is a drooling idiot lacking in even the most basic education.

Human garbage like you should be purged.

Re:NOUGAT

[Anonymous Coward]

You know what's cute about young fucktards like you? They lack any sense of humor and get all butt hurt as soon as someone pokes fun at "their" operating system or gadget of choice. Oh noes he made fun of something I like, wah wah wah!

Now text your mommy and ask her to bring some more Cheetos and Mountain Dew to your basement lair.

Re:NOUGAT

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

You know what's great about old people? You wait a little while and they'll be dead people. All their bigotries, all their ignorance, all of their backwards, self-important ideals will be bug-food like the rest of them.

You seem a little tightly-wound. Are you okay? I mean that in all seriousness- your response just seems way out of band for a silly comment like mine. It seems like the response an unhappy, stressed out person would make, not someone who would be able to chuckle at something that most people find funny. So really, are you bent out of shape about something today, or are you always this touchy?

-

Sleep tight, old fuck.

Thanks. I will unless you wet the bed again, Junior. lol

Re:NOUGAT

[tsqr]

You know what's great about old people? You wait a little while and they'll be dead people.

You know what's great about young people? With a little luck, they grow up and become useful members of society.

Re:Nougat

[Anonymous Coward]

So it stands for nougat AND looks like nougat. Got it!

Re: NOUGAT

[Anonymous Coward]

I think they already do sound recognition. I was trying to remove some kind of metal dog leash clip off a metal bar. Soon started getting ads for mountaineering equipment. Dogs starting barking on the bus. I get adverts for dog food and training courses.

Sony

[Anonymous Coward]

Also available for select Sony mobiles.

http://developer.sonymobile.co...

M, E, L, M, N?

[Anonymous Coward]

The last few letters before N of which alphabet?

Re: M, E, L, M, N?

[Anonymous Coward]

El em en OP

Re:Android stands for "get a job"

[Anonymous Coward]

If you had a proper job, you wouldn't have all this time to spend trolling on slashdot. Trust me, I know.

...huh

[Anonymous Coward]

"candies and other sweet treats" --- overly cliche

"Marshmallow, Eclair, Lollipop, and Marshmallow" --- ...

I don't know what I expected really...

[Anonymous Coward]

but that wasn't it.

Don't forget about Kitkat and Marshmallow.

[Anonymous Coward]

And Jellybean and Marshmallow too.

Re:Android stands for "get a job"

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

I'm pretty sure most of us post on Slashdot at work. There's a reason we choose jobs that have internets.

I thought the 'N' stood for...

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought the 'N' stood for NSA as in this is the NSA spymaster edition

This wouldn't be news

[Anonymous Coward]

if Slashdot shills weren't getting paid by Big Google.

Re:This wouldn't be news

[Coren22]

Are you jealous you aren't making any money from the deal?

Actual designation

[ThatsNotPudding]

Never getting it on your phone, prole; buy a new one.

Re: Actual designation

[Anonymous Coward]

You're right about that... I won't let anything Google near my iPhone.

Re: Actual designation

[Coren22]

I am so sorry you let Apple spy on you. Also, you spent how much on that piece of shit?

Nougat - meh

[Kevoco]

In candy making, nougat is cheap filler instead of a better more costly ingredient

Re: Nougat - meh

[Anonymous Coward]

Well done sir! Theyre coming at us with a whole lot of not much

Re:Nougat - meh

[Threni]

I'll take that over the foul, foul sugary shit that passes for chocolate in America. Seriously, you add stuff that smells (and tastes) like vomit to your chocolate...on purpose? What is that about?

Re:Nougat - meh

[Coren22]

Cocoa, Sugar, Milk?

Not sure what smells and tastes like vomit to you.

https://www.thehersheycompany....

Re:Nougat - meh

[Threni]

> Cocoa, Sugar, Milk?
> Not sure what smells and tastes like vomit to you.

Butyric acid.

Re:Nougat - meh

[Dogtanian]

I've never tried Hershey's chocolate, but I've heard a lot of people from the United Kingdom really don't like the flavour.

There are a number of explanations, most of which do involve butyric acid as Threni has already mentioned. Specifically:-

Another key difference between US and UK chocolate is that much US chocolate uses milk that has undergone lipolysis, a process that partially breaks down the fatty acids in milk. This is another historical anomaly in the evolution of chocolate production. In the early 20th century, the process of partially souring milk through lipolysis was used to stabilize milk chocolate, as the resulting milk chocolate could be stored for longer periods of time before its taste changed for the worse. [..] The advantage of the process is that further breakdown of fats in milk is slowed, and subsequent fermentation is reduced. The "milk" taste also lasts longer, before either fading or turning into bad-tasting compounds. The down-side is that the process releases butyric acid [my emphasis], one of the fatty acids present in milk. Butyric acid is the fat component responsible for the smell of parmesan cheese and baby vomit.

See also this article or Google American chocolate butyric.

In short, US production techniques improve the long life stability at the expense of producing compounds that- to those not used to them- smell like baby sick et al, but to those brought up on baby-sick-flavoured-"chocolate" since childhood probably seems normal.

I guess I was lucky when I tried some imported Reese's peanut butter "Christmas tree" confectionery, and the "chocolate" coating- can't even remember for sure if it was "chocolate" (by the US definition of the word!) or "chocolate flavor"- merely tasted like sweetened wax.

Re:Nougat - meh

[Anonymous Coward]

Hipster detected!

Re:Nougat - meh

[Coren22]

I wasn't aware of all of that, thank you for the education.

I guess I was lucky when I tried some imported Reese's peanut butter "Christmas tree" confectionery, and the "chocolate" coating- can't even remember for sure if it was "chocolate" (by the US definition of the word!) or "chocolate flavor"- merely tasted like sweetened wax.

Yeah, Reese's chocolate is pretty much a waxy brown substance entirely different from chocolate. It doesn't even taste as far as I have noticed.

Re:Nougat - meh

[RockDoctor]

News to me too, though I do actually understand the chemistry involved.

Surely, the obvious answer to the problem of your "chocolate" rotting in storage is to make a product that tastes good enough that it sells before it rots on the shelves. But for corporate sludge-making entities, that doesn't seem to be profitable enough.

I'd long ago stopped buying the products of American sludge corporations (greatly helped by the spread of European retail companies into Britain over the last few years - they greatly increase the diversity of shopping choice), but I didn't know why, in this case. Now I do.

a minor correction:

[Anonymous Coward]

The article should read: "The past few versions, for instances, are named Marshmallow, Marshmallow, Marshmallow, and Lollipop."

Now with extra marshmallows

[valley]

"Marshmallow, Eclair, Lollipop, and Marshmallow." News from the Department of Redundancy Department...

Re:Now with extra marshmallows

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, someone just REALLY likes marshmallows.

Nutella :(

[DiSKiLLeR]

We were all hoping for Nutella :(

Fuck Nougat.

Re:Nutella :(

[Anonymous Coward]

The co-marketing disaster for KitKat probably killed all hope for Nutella, Oreo, etc...

Re:Nutella :(

[desdinova 216]

there were probably trademark issues with that.

Re:Nutella :(

[gweilo8888]

I'm genuinely curious: What disaster? As far as I was aware, Google and Nestle both got boatloads of publicity out of that naming choice. I don't remember any headlines suggesting otherwise. Where was the disaster?

Re:Nutella :(

[mobby_6kl]

We've already had Kit Kat so I'm sure google could manage to work it out somehow.

Re:Nutella :(

[desdinova 216]

not being part of the negotiations, I'm guessing the Nutella people wanted more money than what Google was willing to pay.

Re: Nutella :(

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd just ask to be paid in nutella....

Re: Nutella :(

[Coren22]

I would rather the money...nutella is gross.

Re:Nutella :(

[guises]

Nutella may still be trying to push the idea that's it's healthy, so wouldn't want to be labeled as a desert.

Also: nougat can be pretty great in the right context. I love that someone made a website just to explain what nougat is. A question we've all asked at some point.

Re:Nutella :(

[RockDoctor]

Nutella may still be trying to push the idea that's it's healthy, so wouldn't want to be labeled as a desert.

I've never read the label of the stuff - though my step-daughter insists on it being in the house when she visits - but apparently it is (1) 54.4% by weight sugar, and (2) Nutella Corp are not keen on disclosing this.

(Also, 30% w/w fat, 13% nuts, and 7% cocoa solids. Just to make sure you've got a good picture.)

As in the Honeyed Nougat Miracle

[Anonymous Coward]

Test run

Python?

[Comboman]

"Do you have any without Marshmallow?"

"Well there's Kitkat, Marshmallow, Honeycomb and Marshmallow. That hasn't got that much Marshmallow in it."

Re:Python?

[Yvan256]

Thank you.

when they roll around to B again

[fche]

BEEFY MIRACLE

Re:when they roll around to B again

[Coren22]

Meaty Marvel?

Missed opportunity

[SuperKendall]

Plainly should have been Android McAndface.

Or I guess just Android NotEvenGoingToPretendYouHavePrivacy.

News for nerds...

[wonkey_monkey]

...stuff that literally does not matter in any way at all.

Re:News for nerds...

[Anonymous Coward]

hey, are you saying marketing for google doesn't matter? I bet they get paid nicely for it...

Fanboi!

[mrops]

Is that you?

Re:Fanboi!

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

Is that you?

No, phone is an Android-based device (Samsung Rugby Pro) and I like it a lot, but that doesn't prevent me from shooting at any juicy target that traverses my field of fire.

O for

[rossdee]

Oreos

Yeah its trademarked so there would have to be some negotiation

Bluetooth Problems

[normandr]

I don't care very much about most new features. I wish more energy was spent getting Bluetooth working better. Lots of people seem to be having issues with car audio in Marshmallow including me (Nexus 5X). My Nexus 4 was solid.

Re:Bluetooth Problems

[Coren22]

What problem do you have? I have the Nexus 5X, and the only issue that I have worth complaining about is Maps being like twice as loud as the other party when I answer a call, but that is a general Maps issue on every Android phone I have had.

I run Amazon Prime Music (radio stations) for music, and have never had any exceptional issues over my Toyota Tundra 2012 stereo's Bluetooth connection.

Re:Bluetooth Problems

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't care very much about most new features. I wish more energy was spent getting Bluetooth working better. Lots of people seem to be having issues with car audio in Marshmallow including me (Nexus 5X). My Nexus 4 was solid.

Sadly, Bluetooth as a platform is *always* flaky here and is just as low-reliability as printers when your computer recognizes that you're trying to print something important with home equipment during a deadline.

I have been playing with it casually for years and have seen issues for
* iPads years apart failing to even to *list* different Android phones
* No support on ScientificLinux 6 with various OSS applications (apparently it'll be better on 7 from what my liveUSB test showed)
* Crashy Windows 7 drivers for two different USB BT dongles (one of them only works on one machine, and apparently has stopped working altogether) and failures among 2 android phones.
* Unstable situation between Android and Windows transfers on said machines, or even from one windows machine to another --you can't re-send some stuff when a connection mysteriously fails and must reboot Windows or just forget it and pick up the file via Wifi. On android this alternative requires Wifi file transfer apps, of course.
* Unannounced Smartphone-to-headphone connection drops ocasionally, where android will not even blink to alert you that the lack of caller feedback in your ears comes together with a shift in perspective where the phone some feet away from your mouth is now the mic for the call.
* Headphones have annoyingly bright LEDs flashing every few seconds so your screen reflects them when you're trying to watch a movie in the dark.
* interference-cy BT headphones (very cheap so I had no idea what to expect on my first-ever purchase)
* Somewhat subtle but noticeable latency when you pair your home phone to your smartphone to make a call and mask your home number while enjoying the feel of gripping your home phone.
* VERY crappy reliability well-within spec range between the USB-BT laptop and my printer (I sometimes need line of sight and less than 4 feet of separation).
* No real Bluetooth keyboards with actual Windows and Function keys --not the gimmicky cut-copy-paste garbage you can get in stores... you can't even get the current fake keyboards in full Windows sizes so you can *comfortably* type texts and use SSH, pipe symbols, @signs, etc.

BT under linux is not far from winModem-levels of compatibility, and reminds me of pre-2007 levels of Wifi support. It won't be ready for another 5 years.

Re: Bluetooth Problems

[Anonymous Coward]

I have had car Bluetooth audio problems with my Nexus 6p for a couple of months. Sometimes it thinks out of still connected, but audio goes back to the phone. Disabling WiFi fixes the problem for me. It seems like when Wi-Fi connection changes while driving around, Bluetooth audio gets messed up somehow.

Multi-window support? Straight from notification?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dudes... my Blackberry OS has been doing this for years now. Can have 6 or 8 or 10 windows open simultaneously. If one app crashes, no impact upon the other one (what with having a real-time OS, right?) I can be browsing the internet, get a notification of, say, an email or sms, answer it in-notification, and continue browsing. Where's the magic ?

Good presentation

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for the non-clickbait headline. Even though the content of this story is basically contained within the headline.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned...

[vell0cet]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that their naming convention is alphabetical. Jellybean, KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow and now Nougat. Next will probably be Oreo.

Neapolitan (ice cream)

[Anonymous Coward]

Can't believe they passed that one up, unless someone was worried about confusion with Ice Cream Sandwich.

People who annoy you

[Anonymous Coward]

People who annoy you

N_GGERS

Savoy truffle

[swell]

Creme tangerine and Montelimar
A ginger sling with a pineapple heart
A coffee dessert, yes, you know it's good news
But you have to have them all pulled out
After the Savoy truffle

Nothing Compares 2 Murderous Spelling Fanatics

[Dogtanian]

When you use "u" like it's a word all I see is a drooling idiot lacking in even the most basic education. Human garbage like you should be purged.

Watch out- he means it.

Prince's death a couple of months back? Not an accident as some people think- this guy really hated him for some reason I can't put my finger on.

Not Very Clever Nickname:

[Hartree]

I suspect Android "Nougat" will start being called "noogie".

I like Turtles

[taxciter]

Because nougat.

back to the future

[allo]

nougat was announced like 3 month ago or more. Slow slashdot is slow.