Google on Monday commemorated the launch of Android 8.0 Oreo with two statues which the company unveiled in New York City and its campus in Mountain View, California. The Bugdroid mascot which appeared at the tech giant’s headquarters was built by one Giovanni Calabrese, also known as Themendous. The artist with 23 years of experience has been crafting Google’s statues for many years now and his latest creation is in line with his previous work, being depicted while performing an action — raising a hand, in this instance — amidst some lively surroundings, with Mr. Calabrese now opting to place the Bugdroid in the middle of a stack of Oreos. This particular sculpture is more rounded than the one seen at Google’s Android 8.0 Oreo launch event in New York City and is also perfectly stationary, having been built without any use of electronics.
Another key difference is the overall design of the two, with the one in New York City having a more angular look that’s ideally meant to be seen from up front, whereas Mr. Calabrese’s sculpture was meant to be circled and wasn’t presented on a stage which can only be seen from a limited number of angles. While there are fewer ways in which the mechanical statute can be experienced, it’s still unique in its own regard, featuring a more rectangular design with moving parts and glowing eyes that aren’t characteristic for Google’s commemorative Bugdroids, in addition to being displayed in what was likely envisioned as a position of power, appearing to victoriously hover above ground. The New York City mascot can be seen above, whereas the one sculpted by Mr. Calabrese is embedded below.
The Alphabet-owned tech company already started rolling out the Android 8.0 Oreo over-the-air (OTA) update to devices enrolled in its Developer Preview program and will expand the availability of the new OS to all Pixel and compatible Nexus smartphones and tablets in the coming days. Those who aren’t keen on waiting for the OTA to hit their mobile companion and aren’t too attached to their locally stored data and warranty are also able to experience the stable version of Android 8.0 Oreo right now by downloading one of its system images and manually flashing it onto their device.
Unveiling of the Android O statue. It’s Oreo! pic.twitter.com/xlwq2c1jop
— Tako Hisada 🐙 (@takoloco) August 21, 2017