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Android Lollipop: Google practically makes it official

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Yesterday was Google’s 16th birthday. To celebrate, they topped a birthday cake with lollipops. Anyone remotely interested in Android would know that “Android L” – the upcoming version of Android that follows Kit Kat – has yet to officially get its dessert name. Although “Lollipop” was considered a strong favorite, some still held on to the notion that Lemon Meringue Pie would… take the cake.

android-lollipop-layer-cake

Nobody tops cakes with lollipops, so this is a pretty obvious tipping of the hand. Unless, of course, the lollipops are a diversion to take our focus off the actual official name… “Layer Cake”? We’re pretty sure it’s going to be Android Lollipop, but feel free to leave your guesses and speculation in the comments!

Rob Jackson
I'm an Android and Tech lover, but first and foremost I consider myself a creative thinker and entrepreneurial spirit with a passion for ideas of all sizes. I'm a sports lover who cheers for the Orange (College), Ravens (NFL), (Orioles), and Yankees (long story). I live in Baltimore and wear it on my sleeve, with an Under Armour logo. I also love traveling... where do you want to go?

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122 Comments

  1. Sure beats that Lion™ rumour that went around. Nestlé is a company whose business practices I don’t agree with.

  2. Isn’t that red arch at the top, Licorice?

  3. Awesome. Suck on it.

    (and good job calling it / reporting it first, at least among all the other sites I read (verge, engadget, androidpolice/central/etc.))

    1. I used to like the verge. Now its just unbearably bad.

      1. “hey look… we can bend a banana too! #applepaidus”

      2. With the return of Nilay, all objective pretense has been dropped…

  4. Also it may be a coincidence but look at what shirt the person is wearing at the end….looks like a matias Duarte shirt

  5. Remember how, weeks/months before the release of Kit Kat, everyone “knew” the K release would be Key Lime Pie? Yeah, until I hear it from Google, I don’t believe any of it. For all we know, it could be Lemonhead, Lifesaver, Laffy Taffy, or any other trademarked L candy/dessert name.

  6. Yeah, the lollipops are more prominent, but there also appears to be Licorice (the red arch) and maybe even some Laffy Taffy thrown in at the bottom.

    What ever it is, just hurry up and release L!

    1. Android 5.0 Laffy Taffy. That would be hysterical.

  7. I’m going with Android L. Brought to you by Lowes Home Improvement.

    1. Android L, brought to you by NFL Super Bowl 50.

      1. Android L, Brought to you by Live Life Long.

        1. I say “L” for Lick Me All Over.. “Lollipops”!!!

    2. Your expectations will reach all-time Lowe’s if you shop there.

  8. I really wonder if Google spends even 1/100th of the time thinking of the name as we do trying to figure it out, or if they just like to troll us.

    1. They could careless about us.

      1. That means they do care (at least a little).

  9. Lemonade mmmm sweet lemonade.

  10. Your stupid clickbait title needs to get lost

    1. Why? The title is appropriate. There is a cake topped with lollipops which makes it almost certain that Lollipop will be the next Android name.
      Almost, not 100%, because of the possibility that they are playing it on us. But the word almost is in the title, so I don’t see your point. Unless the title has changed since your comment. In that case – what was it before?

    2. If this article title is clickbait I’m the Queen of England. Go troll/flame/rage somewhere else, douchefag.

  11. Lollipop ain’t good :(

  12. It’s clearly Android “Lemon Layered Meringue Lolipop Cake” ;)

    1. You forgot the licorice! Lol

    2. Only if Sprint names it.

      -Sent from my EVO 4G LTE.

  13. Andriod L is Life Savers bc you cant live life without them Savers hahah.

  14. I feel like “Lollipop” will be about 500 times easier to market than “Lemon Meringue Pie”.

  15. layer cake would make a lot of sense considering the layered look of the material ui

  16. But what if it sucks?

    1. Herpes.

      1. Cacti.

  17. Key Lime Pie anyone. We thought that was official, too

    1. It was… until it wasn’t.

  18. Will the nexus 6 be able to work on Metro?

    1. Any reason why it wouldn’t?

      1. Just making sure

        1. Absolutely nobody in these comment sections can know for sure, not even that there will be a nexus 6 lol so you can’t make sure, but as DurteeDee said, there’s no reason to believe otherwise.

  19. It’s gotta be lollipop…Google would never troll the internet…

    1. Try typing “I hate it when” into Google with search suggestions enabled and try telling me the company wouldn’t troll the internet. Bahaha.

  20. Lion Bar. They had Kit Kat, and that’s a trademark name, promo tie-ins.

    Could be liquorice .

    I don’t think it’ll be lollipop (it sucks etc).

  21. Most android smartphone users don’t care. Why ? Morons, we not going to get it on our just year old android phone. We need to buy new phones for new android “L” OS. I assure you Google is not going to pitch in $$$. Who cares if it’s “L” or “ASS” release. For my android phone, it is dead on arrival.

    1. Yet I will get it within weeks because I have a nexus despite it being 2 years old.

      1. I agree if you have Nexus but over 90% of android smartphone users have non-nexus phones and you know in most cases those phones are better and cheaper than Nexus. So, what about android “L” upgrade for those millions of android users ?

        1. What about it? That’s all resting on the manufacturer’s or carrier’s shoulders. I got stuck when I had the moto Atrix 4G. They told us the were going to update for a whole year. Once that year came to an end they said no. After that, I’ve bought Nexus and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

          If you care about updates and you’re buying anything other than Nexus, you’re doing it wrong.

        2. Where in the world do you get off saying “in most cases those phones are better and cheaper than nexus”?!? Have you been living under a rock? One of the huge benefits of Nexus phones (other than the aforementioned updates) is the price. The Nexus5 is $349 compared with $749 for an S5 or iPhone 6.

        3. I can’t think of a single Android Flagship phone released over the past 3 years that didn’t get a major update. Either way, I would rather run an older OS version than to have the newer OS version slow my phone down while draining more battery power. Yes, I’m talking to you Apple.

        4. Keep beating that dead horse.

        5. I completely understand the frustration, I really do, I would hate it. But one has to understand who is at fault. There is three choices. Google (as they provide the software), manufacturers (as they make the phone), and service providers because apparently for some reason they have a say. Out of all of them only manufacturers have the motivation of making you buy a new phone as a reason to delay updates. Google just wants you to use their phones so you use them for search results. Even off the sale of Nexus phones, they get little profit. So for all the people that buy non nexus phones and want to upgrade, they really need to put pressure on their manufacturers. And if they won’t listen show them that updates are important by buying Nexus phones. *Just as a side most phones are not better or cheaper than Nexus phones. The Nexus phone is about 350-400 off contract, so you would compare that to other off contract phones. On contract phones are only cheaper up front and you pay for it during the course of the contract. The nexus components are on par with other flagship phones released during the same time period, and typically gets great reviews.

        6. http://www.xda.com

          So quit whining.

      2. My galaxy nexus won’t :’^( but im a cheap bastard.

        1. Still using my Nexus 4, luckily it will still be updated. Waiting to see what the next Nexus will be :-). I’m cheap too but I love my tech.

    2. Sounds like a personal problem.

      1. Oh ya ! if you have money like Bill Gate or Warren Buffett or any billionaires, give it out to 100s of millions of android users to upgrade to new phones to just receive android “L” update. Are you in sane to not see that Apple supports all the way upto iphone 4s(and how old is that ? ) and how many of older version android phones have even Katkat update ? Denial is not blessings or intelligent… But, unfortunately human race has plenty of stupid people.

        1. You call me stupid but you’re the one who choose to get a phone that wouldn’t receive the L update. Plenty of phones have received the KK update even if they were updated extremely untimely for users. They’re a good # of phones one my purchase if they want to receive updates first and foremost.

        2. And Apple updates on older phones are notorious for bringing them to a crawl as well as missing lots of features.

        3. May I ask what phone you purchased that isn’t going to see an update? Not judging but if you buy a cheap $50 walmart phone from a company that no one has ever heard of…you’re probably
          not going to see an update. I think users should do their research and purchase a phone that is going to get updated. It’s not always black and white but it’s pretty reasonable what to expect from who. . If you pay for a nice phone, you’ll usually get updates. (i.e. Galaxy S/Note series, Moto X/G even the E, LG g3/g2,any recent HTC phone etc.) and yes I know even some flagships are ignored (looking at you Sony.)

          Yes, Apple is updating their phones all the way back to the 4s but let me point out a few things that most people seem to forget when complaining about this. Apple now has six phones to keep updated…most of which are very similar with minimal inner hardware changes…relatively minor incremental updates. Since
          most of the updates on the older Apple phones that effect the end user are mostly cosmetic (changing some icons etc.) while
          also slowing their down phone. Everyone I know with a 4s hates updating their phone because it always makes it slower and things crash etc. Apple designs their own software, doesn’t sell their phones for cheap and it doesn’t cause them much of a headache to update them so why wouldn’t they? If iOS was open sourced, it would have the same problem. Compare this with Android…not android itself but manufacturers as that is what Apple is – a manufacturer of phones (not just software like Google..who makes Android for free for manufacturers to use). I don’t know why you expect Google to pay for all phones to get updated. Do you see Microsoft updating all Dell/Sony/HP computers to the newest windows for free or well at all? Hell no. Sure, you can pay $100+ for the newest version but why not just buy a new computer or say a phone because by the time it comes out, your piece of tech is most likely obsolete anyways.

          Motorola as of late has updated all of their
          phones (X, G, E etc.) and promises to keep updating them – Samsung has updated the S3 to 4.4.2, a phone that is now over 2 and half years old. How old is the 4s? Three years. How many people still have 4s’s? Millions!! As a lot of users don’t seem compelled to update/can’t afford to. How many 4 year old android phones do you see being used? Not many. Just my 2 cents.

          If you want updates, stick with a manufacturer that will provide them.

          1. I don’t think your second paragraph is forgotten by anyone, it’s kind of the whole point. People who prefer Apple prefer them for precisely the reasons you gave – simply, there are a lot of benefits to buying a product where the software and hardware are made by the same company. There are also a lot of problems with the other model which you also point out.

            I wouldn’t expect the Android rollout to happen the same way it does with apple, and that has been one of my big frustrations as an Android phone user for several years now.

          2. In that case, buy a Nexus phone. Problem solved.

            Note: If you’re on Verizon, that’s on you.

          3. As long as you go with the Z series of smartphones updates have been great with Sony by the way. The low end phones from what I read not so much but like you said. That’s expected. My original Z which is 18 or more months old is 4.4.4 and still runs great.

        4. Sounds like the pot calling kettle black.A android phone running an older os is better than a update iphone any day.

        5. They may support the 4S…but that does not mean the 4S will have all of the features of the 6….

    3. Or… you could buy a Nexus 4. Which is 2 years old and will still be running Lollipop. Yes, there are issues with manufacturers updating older phones, but if you’re willing to run CM or AOSP, you can run it as well a few months after launch.

    4. My phone will get it. Maybe you’re the moron for not buying a Nexus phone. Enjoy your Galaxy Avant.

    5. Look up the definition for DOA. It doesn’t mean what you think it means.

  22. Uh huh…and a few weeks ago it was Lion…HONEST!

    1. That was done by a Twitter account with no credible leaks in the past.

      1. True, but it was picked up by the Android blogs and reported as a plausible name. Besides, my original comment was sarcasm.

        1. Not all of them, and even the top ones were in doubt of the Twitter account.
          And sorry, I can’t detect sarcasm on the internet (or even in real life,) if it’s not pointed out.

    2. Wouldn’t it be a little odd for them to name it after a version of OS X?

      1. It was a Lion candy bar, not OS X.

  23. Yah but then again, in android 4.4.4 in the dessert box easter egg, if u click many times a key lime pie will pop up. This image is from my nexus 5. It could be google tricking us though but this is so obvious and in ones face that it might be true

    1. Android Kit-Kat already exists though. They’re hardly going to release a new version with the letter K in it again.

      1. apparently Google was set to name android 4.4 Key Lime Pie and had the whole operating system set up with that name but then all of a sudden the Kit Kat deal came through so they switched everything to kit kat in the last minute.

        1. Yeah I know that lel.

    2. The pie in that picture could also be a Key Lime Pie as a nod to the original name of 4.4. References to the KLP name was also found in the 4.4 code.

    3. Explore the SystemUI apk, go to res folder, go to drawable-nodpi folder and you’ll find various images for images for the past Android versions.

  24. i don’t care what they call it, install it on a nexus 6 and ill buy 2, one for me and one for my wife.

    i can still vividly remember RC-29 om my G-1 and how cool it was to get a pushed update.

  25. Android laggypop

    1. Apple flaccid pop

      1. Hahaha lol those iPhones screwed it big time didn’t they

    2. Go bend your phone, man.

      1. I can’t, I don’t use an icrap

        1. So u use Windows Phone 4.5?

          1. Nope, 8.1 ,something more original than the average green trash bin full of lag

          2. Sounds like you have never used a nexus device. My mom uses a windows phone. It’s garbage.

          3. I´ve used a nexus phone, like most androids, It starts great, a few months later, it was unbearable

        2. Wow… someone who actually uses Windows phone? I didn’t know they actually existed. I thought they were like the unicorn: imaginary and only for virgins.

          1. Try again

          2. You lagdroid fans are so easy to troll, keep using your malware and virus nest, I’m sure you love licking Google’s ass

          3. Says a fan of an OS whose browser is the biggest bug ridden, weak security, easily hackable, mess in the entire history of browsers. Its so bad that more than 90% of Windows PC users, me included, use different browsers. Ya know what most of us use ? Chrome. Now go back to watching porn for the 4th time today….i guess you would call it a 4-Fer.

          4. Ok, I invite you to show me a single virus for windows PHONES

          5. Yeah yeah.. enjoy your Ballmer juice. I’m sure you smear it all over your face at your city’s Windows User Group Meetups… all by yourself…. in your mom’s garage… because nobody else has one of those sad little uglyphones… and nobody cares… and stop ordering cookies for 20 for the event… You’re just going to eat them all yourself. Quit trying to eat away the sad, little fellah! Be proud that your chosen device has a market penetration that falls within the margin of error! Keep telling yourself that NEXT time, they’ll sell more! And be proud that you’re the ugly girl at the dance that nobody even notices. Keep screaming that you’re here while almost everyone else ignores your dumb ass.

  26. So does this mean they’ll have a endorsement with young money aka Lil Wayne and when you boot it up it’ll play Wayne’s song lollipop?

  27. Isn’t there also a yellow Lemon Drop on the top of that cake as well?

  28. Lemon drops always turn me on.

    1. As does your mom…

      1. She’s hawt!

  29. needs 5 layers

    1. Not at all… look at the gif again. Four layers: red, yellow, blue, green. Google’s colors….

      1. Android 5.0 was what I was thinking.

  30. Totally missed that, oh well.

  31. Lions and tigers and ad-spamming, oh my!

  32. Lasagna

  33. Liquorice

    1. Gross.

      1. No way. Red’s gross.

    2. Or just Liquor.

  34. lava cake

    1. the statue can look like a cake sponge with chocolate or chocolate looking liquid flow like a fountain from the antennas

  35. It’s gotta be Layer Cake, especially with what we have seen of the Material design being layered tiles etc. The lollipops are a decoy and I doubt Google will want to open themselves up to the ‘it sucks’ jokes which will most definitely be used by the media.

  36. O dont care what it’s called. Release it

  37. i wanted lumpy space princess, oh well I can live with lolipop.
    Just hope they do no tie it into Dum Dum’s this Halloween like they did with kit kat last year, the verge and fanboys will have too much ammo.

  38. has anyone tried saying “ok google, why do we put candles on birthday cakes” ? im just curious i cant try it im at work

    1. Yes, *spoiler alert* it says something about Greeks (history)

  39. Android Lemonade

  40. Every OS mobile and desktop is capable of getting virus’s. Whats “sad” is that you think WP is immune.

  41. FWIW, new employees are given those giant spiral lollipops on their first day.

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