Still months away but leaks and rumors about the Google Pixel 2 release date continue on a downpour mode, and the latest suggest the next-generation Pure Android flagship will remain a production responsibility of HTC. And when the devices jump out of the box, it will be Android Oatmeal Cookie to run the show.

Like Us on Facebook

That's right, version 8.0 of Google's mobile OS will not be called Android Oreo as earlier rumored. Most likely, O in Android O stands for Oatmeal Cookie, according to blog site Myce. The claim was based on an unearthed Android source code that carried the references "oc-dev" and "OC-MR1." The branch labels, the report said, seem consistent with the naming conventions used by Google in the past.

To be clear, Oatmeal Cookie is far from confirmed as official name of the next Android but like Oreo the label is in line with Google's tradition of using sweet names for its mobile operating system. Oatmeal Cookie also appears the easier choice as the brand is generic as opposed to Oreo.

In order to use Oreo, Google will need to strike a partnership with the cookie maker to legalize everything, something that is not required when the choice turns out to be Oatmeal Cookie.

As for the first bunch of handsets that Android O will power, there is no contest they will be the 2017 upgrades of Google Pixel. According to BGR, freshly discovered proofs have indicated the two Pixel models expected to be released in the coming months could still come from HTC. The Taiwan-based maker was tapped by Google to supply the Pixel and Pixel XL last year.

Citing a finding made by Japanese blog Soku, the same report said the 2017 Pixel phones that HTC will assemble are codenamed S2 and M2. Apparently the codes were lifted from "a system file within the HTC U11 that launched in Taiwan," the report added.

Now S2 and M2 make sense as the Pixel 2017 codenames as the original models, BGR said, were internally known as S1 and M1. That is if the rumors will prove correct that HTC still has a tight grip on the Pixel 2017 project by Google.

The report belies earlier information for this year Google has decided to split the Pixel manufacturing duties. The regular Pixel 2 codenamed Walleye will remain with HTC while the Pixel XL 2 will be awarded to LG, formerly maker of Nexus devices.

If LG will indeed take charge of the larger Pixel, the South Korean device maker is believed to deliver a super phablet model with hybrid smartphone and tablet functions. The Pixel XL 2 is thought to be codenamed Taimen.

The Google Pixel 2 release date is expected no later than October 2017.