Let the Android P name guessing begin! It is 2018 and while Google hasn’t firmly committed that there will be a version 9.0 of Android, it is pretty much a given that we will see it late this year and likely will see the first beta builds as soon as May, around Google I/O.
The question, as it is every year, is what will the official name of Android P be when it is released? Well, we may have gotten a hint. Or not. Who knows? There is a new commit in the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) Gerrit that refers to “Pi”, which is likely the internal name for Android v9.0.
The particular commit is around where persistent data is stored for apps and a movement in location starting with the next version of Android.
Move persistent data to /data/vendor.
HALs are only allow to access files in /data/vendor starting in Pi. Change SELinux policy to move data from /data/mediadrm to /data/vendor/mediadrm.
The comments suggest that the testing of this move of data is happening on a Pixel XL and with apps like Netflix and Google Play Movies & TV to assure that offline viewing works after the change.
At this early stage, the reference to “Pi” could be a clue or it could be absolutely nothing. Google historically has named Android builds after sweet treats like Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and so forth. So for P, could it be Pie?
