Android 2.0 Donut Doesn’t Have Multitouch, Not Officially Android 2.0

It was fun while it lasted. The interwebs were a tizzy over rumored Android 2.0 multitouch support but sadly it looks like it won’t be made available. How do we know this? Android Framework Engineer Romain Guy said as much in the official Android Developers Google Group. He dropped another bomb that clarified Donut as NOT being Android 2.0.

What does this all mean? Well, first of all, not having multitouch in Android will continue to weaken the user experience. Multitouch has become the benchmark for touchscreen browsing. The iPhone has it, the Pre has it, Android should definitely have it. Why it’s not there? We have no clue, but we’re hoping to hear more from Android developers in the near future.

The reveal that Android 2.0 isn’t Donut? Not too big of a deal. We’ve had the same reports pop up regarding Cupcake and Android 1.5. The dessert themed codenames are merely a developmental branch for future versions of Android. Thusly, Cupcake and Donut weren’t and aren’t official releases of Android but they’re what future versions of Android will draw from. So though Android 2.0 isn’t quite Donut, Android 2.0 will likely consist of improvements made in the Donut developmental branch.

It’s still fairly early in the Donut developmental process so expect to hear more about Android 2.0 Donut and what it is and isn’t, or what it has or doesn’t have in the future—Donut will change. We’re pretty sure anticipation for Donut will surpass the excitement for Cupcake. What do you guys think?

[googlegroups via gizmodo]