Android 16’s codename could break Google’s longstanding OS naming pattern

Google has long followed a playful naming convention for its operating systems. Starting off with Android 1.5 in 2009, the tech giant has codenamed all subsequent Android versions with a dessert-themed name.

Further, each version’s codename follows the English alphabet. For example, Android 1.5 was Cupcake, 1.6 was Donut, 2.0 was Eclair, 2.2 was Froyo, and so on until Android 15‘s Vanilla Ice Cream. Considering the naming pattern, we’d expect Android 16‘s codename to begin with the alphabet W, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Although Android 16 will retain its predecessors’ dessert-themed naming convention, code found in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) hints at it being named Baklava rather than a dessert that starts with the letter W (think Wafer, Waffle, or Walnut pie), as highlighted by Mishaal Rahman in a report for Android Authority, via teamb58.

According to the report, references to “Baklava” were found in various parts of the code where Android 15’s AOSP had previously referenced “VanillaIceCream,” including the minimum SDK version and platform SDK codename checks.

It’s worth noting that during the development phase of a new OS, Google uses the dessert codename as the Android Version value in Settings → About phone up until the point the SDK is finalized. Hence, in Android 15 Beta 3, which brought the OS to Platform Stability, the version’s name was changed from Android VanillaIceCream to Android 15. Similarly, early builds of Android 16 code display the codename Baklava instead of the platform SDK version 36, which will be the SDK version corresponding to Android 16.

A change in Google’s Android development process might be to blame

If Google were to reset the naming pattern, it would have made sense to start with the alphabet A, or resume with C in honor of Android 1.5 Cupcake. It’s decision to go with the alphabet B has been attributed to a change in Google’s Android development process.

According to Rahman, with the introduction of Google’s trunk stable project, the tech giant changed the way release builds are named. Android 14 was codenamed Upside Down Cake, but its QPR2 builds started with the prefix “A” instead of “U.” As a cascading effect, Android 16’s build IDs will start with the alphabet “B,” and Google could have abandoned the one-and-a-half decade long naming tradition to reach parity with the upcoming build IDs.

The change likely marks a new era for Android development, and we might see the tech giant deviate from other pre-existing patterns with subsequent releases. All we’re hoping for is the continuation of the dessert-themed Android versions.