Google today announced that Oreo will be the full name of Android version 8. Google has made a tradition of giving each major version of the OS an official nickname, in alphabetical order.
The previous three versions were named Lollipop, Marshmallow, and Nougat. Before that was KitKat, the last time a trademarked brand name was used. Android 8.0 “Oreo” was announced earlier this year and has been available in beta since May.
Google’s own Nexus and Pixel phones are expected to be the first to receive the software update.
New versions of Android can be slow to roll out, and just 14% of Android devices run the previous OS, Nougat.
Android Oreo introduces measures to help people manage the volume of notifications on their devices, which has been described as “notification diarrhoea”.
App developers will now be able to split notifications into categories, so people can block some types of alert while still receiving others.
Previously, Android users could only allow all or block all notifications from each app.
It’s expected to be available to the public soon.
