Earlier, we said there was no new easter egg in the Android 7.0 Nougat Developer Preview 5. We were totally wrong; sorry about that.
In our defense, though, this thing is pretty hard to spot. In fact, the entire game — if one can call it that — is basically a giant test of patience.
What is the new Easter Egg?
Like previous incarnations of the Android Easter Egg, to activate the new one you must open Settings, head to About phone, find the Android version number and tap several times until a cartoon "N" appears.
Unlike the last few versions, though, tapping several times on that cartoon depiction doesn't enter a game (which is a Flappy Bird knock-off in Android 6.0 Marshmallow), but if you press and hold the N it shows a small cat emoji underneath. Tapping that again reveals a "No entry" emoji, which is, earlier, where we thought it ended.
Turns out that's just the beginning. Once that "No entry" emoji is present, swipe down your notification quick settings, tap Edit and find the ???? Android Easter Egg quick setting then drag it to your quick settings.
After it's moved, tapping on the new "Empty dish" quick setting toggle begins a game where you have to entice a cat to feed from an empty plate using either "Bits," "Fish," "Chicken," or "Treats." Should a feline take the bait, which isn't guaranteed, you'll receive a notification with a cat and a number. Tapping on it reveals a new window with a smiling cartoon cat that, when long-pressed, can be shared as an image.
That's it?
Yep, that appears to be it. The game draws inspiration from the popular Japanese cat "collector" game, Neko Atsume (opens in new tab). The word "neko" also happens to be Japanese for "cat," which keeps with the N theme of the latest Android version.
It's a cute, creative, and well-hidden Easter Egg. Kudos, Google.
Thanks to Blake Bryant for providing us with initial screenshots and cats.
Daniel Bader was a former Android Central Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor for iMore and Windows Central.
