Vishnu Sarangapurkar
·2 min read
What you need to know
Android 14 statue was unveiled after the launch of the Pixel 8 series and the release of the software.
It features a Bugdroid doing a handstand on what appears to be a piece of cake.
It complements the Android 14's codename, which was discovered to be "Upside Down Cake."
Google has this tradition of putting up Android statues at its Mountain View campus every year to complement its latest Android version release. It's no different this year, as the search giant has unveiled the Android 14 Droid statue.
Like last year, which featured a play swing in the shape of Android 13, this time, Google has created an Android 14 Bugdroid that does a handstand on a dessert. And for those wondering why the handstand, it's to complement the codename of Android 14, which is dubbed Upside Down Cake.
Dave Burke, VP of Engineering at Google for Android, has shared the unveiling of the Android 14 statue at the campus.
The design team of the sculpture has further illustrated the idea behind making the handstand Bugdroid. They explained that there are multiple easter eggs incorporated into the sculpture for users who get to visit it on campus.
The statue was earlier spotted back in May but under wraps in a space suit, without any dessert in place, and placed "upright."
Although last year's sculpture was in place by August 2022, the Android 14 update came a little later, thus the statue unveiling coincided with the launch.
Unveiling the statue symbolizes the release of the fourteenth edition of Android 14, which has just begun to roll out to Pixel devices ranging from Pixel 4a to Pixel 7 series and the Pixel Fold. The Pixel 8 series, meanwhile, ships with the Android 14 version right out of the box.
The latest Android 14 release brings tons of customization, albeit being a modest update. It has generative AI wallpapers, new lock screen templates, monochrome theming options, a newly integrated Health Connect hub, and more. Alongside the update, it also features a host of bug fixes and improvements coupled with the October 2023 security patch.
