The cycle is starting over again. According to a benchmark test spotted on Geekbench, Android R has surfaced running on a Pixel 4. Now you might wonder why, if Google has dropped the dessert naming tradition, the OS would be referred to as Android R; that raises the suspicion that the test is a fake. But one theory which we had mulled around in our mind (yes, we actually think about things like this) is that Google would continue to refer to the developer preview by the appropriate letter and switch back to the numerical system when the final version is dropped. This is what happened last year with the Android Q developer preview giving way to the launch of Android 10. So under this theory, the next developer preview would be called Android R and switched to the Android 11 moniker when the final version of the next build is officially released.

Google first announced the Android Q developer preview last March and released six beta versions before dropping Android 10 on September 3rd. So we might be just six to eight weeks away from the first appearance of Android R. Pixel users had the first crack at joining the beta program last year and eventually, a number of other Android phones became eligible. We should expect the same for 2020.