After Google’s deep dive intoAndroid 14at this year’s I/O, the burning question isn’t what new features will land in the update. With all major new functionality revealed, the biggest question mark remaining was how Android 14’s official statue would look. Last year’s statue sureresembled a butt, but this time around, Bugdroid looks like it’s headed to space.
The statue popped up at Google’s Mountain View campus with a software engineer taking a picture right next to it (viaMishaal Rahman), and from the photo, it looks like the space-bound Bugdroid is just as tall as a real person. While it has yet to make its way to its final location outside the Android offices near the Googleplex, there’s reason to believe this is indeed the official Android 14 mascot. In his digging, Rahman alsosays he found a 3D modelof the astronaut mascot which came out about a year ago.
If you’re wondering why the mascot is dressed up like an astronaut, then there’s a good reason for that. The logo Google has been using for Android 14 heavily borrows from the Apollo 14 mission patch. Given the inspiration, it only makes sense that the Bugdroid looks like it’s stepping on craters on the moon.
Now that Google is at the fourteenth edition of Android, it’s understandable that it hadto repair its older statues.
Android 14 is shaping up to be an update that is more focused on refinement than overhaul, however. Taking a page out of the iOS book, lock screens protected by a PIN willno longer require usersto hit enter to confirm. Even if the operating system’s design isn’t changing drastically, there arejust enough visual tweaksto make the experience all the more enjoyable.
The second beta for the yearly software refreshlaunched yesterday, squashing numerous bugs along the way. The beta alsoopened up to more phonesincluding Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Nothing.
If the final build of Android 14 drops around the same time as previous versions, we could be looking at a late summer launch, which could precede the release of thePixel 8 series and the Pixel Watch 2.
