Report: Android 16 is Baklava

It appears as though Google is getting ready to start over, folks. Or maybe more appropriately, they already did and we’re all just behind the times. Details are out, pointing to Android 16 being codenamed Baklava, a flaky layered dessert that originated in 8th century BC Assyria, according to a brief Googling on the subject.

Newly shared code points to Android 16 not featuring a dessert that starts with W, which would have seemed like a safe bet. We started at Android 1.5 as Cupcake, and since then, we’ve been going smoothly in alphabetical order, obviously getting towards the end of letters. Something needed to be done.

As a stroke of good timing, which is why I mentioned this move should have been foreseen, Google’s own naming system for Android builds changed during Android 14’s development. This news comes from Mishaal Rahman and he does a good job of explaining Google’s scheme here, so I’ll let him explain it.

If you’ve been following Android platform development news lately, you may have heard of something called the trunk stable project. Without getting too technical, the way that Google develops Android has significantly changed. The first Android version to be released as part of the trunk stable project was Android 14 QPR2 back in March, which is why that release used a very different build ID naming scheme. Instead of having build IDs that started with the letter “U” for Upside Down Cake, Android 14 QPR2 had build IDs that started with the letter “A.”

With this new scheme, it’s expected that Android 16 builds will start with the letter B, hence the starting over at the beginning of the alphabet and now arriving at the letter B. That makes enough sense, yeah? Google doesn’t make a big deal about the codename anymore like it used to. Heck, we used to have actual brand partnerships, like we did with KitKat and Oreo. Those were good times.

I’ve maybe had baklava twice in my life? I’ll need to go search for some soon and familiarize myself with it. What’s your take on the name?

// Android Authority | Image: Modern Honey