Ahead of Google’s inevitable (but still missing-in-action) launch ofAndroid 14, the company is also working to bring its brand up to par with its mobile OS’s look and feel. A couple of months after a redesigned Android logo —complete with a fresh take on the classic bugdroid— leaked onto the internet, we’re finally seeing the finished product. Today,Android’s identity is getting refreshed, and it looks more like a Google product than ever before.
Let’s start with the typeface, because that’s easily the place where the goals here are most apparent. In its blog post highlighting these changes, Google overlaid its own logo with the one it’s previously used for Android. While the actual font still looks noticeably different from the typical Google logo — with curvier sans serif looks for the ‘r’ and the ‘n’ — it’s now using a capital A, rather than the all-lowercase lettering we’ve seen in the past.
Jason Fournier, Google’s director of Android Consumer Brand Management, says it’s an effort to better pair the two brands together when placed next to each other, delivering more weight to the word “Android” than it previously had when stylized in lowercase. The message is obvious: Android might be open-source, but it’s still aGoogleproduct, and the apps and services offered by the Mountain View giant are just as important as the underlying operating system. Hell, just ask Huawei.
Okay, so the lowercase ‘a’ is gone — thankfully, the bugdroid isn’t going anywhere.Google last refreshed its branding over four years ago, and in that shift, it made everyone’s favorite mobile mascot a member of the official logo. We’re happy to report that the bugdroid has survived yet another overhaul, with the company even calling its robot the “most recognizable non-human member of our Android community.” (Apologies to my cat, who, despite appearing in every phone review I’ve done for this site, has yet to crack the top spot.)
This time around, the bugdroid is leaving behind its previous 2D plane for the futuristic realm of 3D artwork. Google says this should deliver the robot a lot more character going forward, turning the bugdroid into a playful — though still mute — mascot always associated with Android. With this swap, it feels like we’re just weeks away from the company delivering its first 3D animated short; I hear Illumination is always looking for another project.
Google says this new look for Android will appear on devices and in other places later this year, presumably just in time for the back-to-back launches of Android 14 and thePixel 8. Today’s news arrives as the company also rolls out itsQuarterly Feature Drop for Android, which includes a new Assistance At a Glance widget for all Android phones and the ability to add QR code and barcode passes to Wallet.
