Android O tipped to arrive on August 21

Android O was unveiled by Google in March and we've had several public betas since then, but we're still waiting for an official launch date for the finished version. That date could be August 21 according to two well-placed sources in the Android community.

Seasoned mobile tipster Evan Blass and Android Police editor David Ruddock both say August 21 is likely to be the day that Android O finally gets pushed out into the world, which is just about as good a confirmation as you're going to get without an official Google blog post attached.

That's a week on Monday, which happens to be solar eclipse day in the US - very smart of Google to organize a celestial show of wonder to help celebrate the launch. If it doesn't show up on Monday, it will be sometime later that week, Blass says (Android O, not the solar eclipse).

Give me an O

Of course unless you have a Pixel or Nexus phone you're unlikely to see Android O for a good while yet - get in touch with your Android phone manufacturer to see if and when you can expect to see the latest version of the mobile OS on your own handset.

And what of the name? Google has been tight-lipped so far about what the successor to Android 7.0 Nougat will get as its full name, with speculation about Oatmeal, Oreos and so on. The inclusion of an octopus as an Easter egg inside the latest Android O beta suggests Google might be ditching desserts and moving to underwater molluscs instead.

Speaking of Nougat, it officially saw the light of day as a finished release on August 22 2016, so the pattern fits if August 21 is indeed going to be the day for Android O. We will of course bring you the news as it happens.