On Monday, the day of the solar eclipse, Google used the opportunity to host a unique eclipse-themed party. It introduced its latest Android operating system and revealed its name, the Android 8.0 Oreo.
The operating system was first released as a developer preview in March. From then, up to its launch, it was only known as "Android O." Google adopted Nabisco's trademarked "Oreo" as Android's latest iteration.
The company also released a video introducing its new operating system as a superhero Android Oreo who arrives on the day of the eclipse, and who is ready to save the day. According to the video, Android Oreo is "safer, smarter, more powerful, and sweeter than ever."
This will mark the second time Google has gone commercial with its use of sweets as alphabetical version names of its mobile operating system. In 2013, the company released Android KitKat as that year's update.
One of the issues that Android 8.0 Oreo will tackle is the inability of android phones to apply updates as soon as Google releases them due to complications with the hardware vendor. With its Project Treble, Oreo separates vendor-specific software from the Android OS Framework to allow updates without waiting for hardware makers to release a compatible driver.
As of August 2017, Android Nougat, the version preceding Oreo only accounts for 13.5 percent of android users. The bulk of android devices are still running the older versions namely Marshmallow at 32 percent and Lollipop at 29 percent.
Additionally, Oreo will include a big revamp of the notification panel, introducing a new layout, colors and features. The update will also come with new security features, including the new Google Play Protect anti-malware system.
Updating to Oreo will also significantly reduce the phone's startup time and provide users with a new set of updateable emoji.
