In the early days of Android, their engineers named each new update after their favourite sweet treats. What started as in-office fun led to a core part of Android’s brand identity throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Though they still use sweet nicknames internally, they don’t make it to the official release anymore, since Android 10 in 2019. Here’s how this trend happened in the first place.
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Why the Mouth-Watering Names?
Codenames aren’t exactly new, especially in software development. While Apple flipped from big cats to Californian landmarks, Android started and stuck with sweet things for a whole decade, from 2009 to 2019.
We don’t know if it was conscious or not, but it’s actually a shrewd marketing tactic to use edible, sweet things to market non-edible products, especially digital ones. It happens a lot in tech, with everything from the Raspberry Pi to themed sweet slots made for iGaming. That’s why there are so many games themed after fruit, like the Even Bigger Bananas 2 slot, or other sweet treats. Even through inference, sweet names and styles catch the eye and appeal to the taste buds all at once.
What we do know is that Android’s sweet nomenclature started under project manager Ryan Gibson. Their first confected codename was Petit Fours, for Android 1.1, but it never made it to public release. That only happened with Cupcake (v.1.5). Then, to officialise the pattern, all the other sweet names went in alphabetical order from there – Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, etc.
Android’s Sweet Names Became a Brand Signature
As Android went from strength to strength in the early 2010s, we actually see a switch away from the codenames used during development. That is, the team would settle on one sweet treat as a codename, only for the higher-ups to decide they need a new label for the public release. In 2013, Android devs worked hard to make Key Lime Pie (v.4.4), but it’d later release as KitKat.
There are several reasons why. First, we’d bet you’ve eaten more KitKats than key lime pie. It’s a regional dessert, put forward to represent a now global company. So, in the interest of including everyone, the names would change to more common, accessible desserts. Another reason is that it’s short and simple. The company that brought us Ice Cream Sandwich (v.4.0-4.04) decided that longer product names were too wordy. Future codenames like Lemon Meringue Pie and Macadamia Nut Cookie would also change to Lollipop and Marshmallow.
Why They Stopped Using Sweet Names Publicly
After Android Pie (v.9) in 2018, affectionately called Pistachio Ice Cream behind the scenes, Android decided to ditch the naming scheme in 2019. The codenames are still used by engineers, however, and continue to this day. Android 10 was Quince Tart, 11 was Red Velvet Cake, 12 was Snow Cone, 13 was Tiramisu, 14 was Upside Down Cake, 15 was Vanilla Ice Cream. Then, coming near to the end of their alphabet, they reset to Baklava for Android 16 and Cinnamon Bun for the latest, Android 17.
By Android 10, their ecosystem had grown to billions of people. That made localised sweet treats a nightmare for those not in the know. Whether it was knowing which one is the new one, or just pronouncing the word correctly, Android realised it had to rein in its dev department’s sweet tooth. That’s how we ended up with the foolproof Android 10 name and onwards.
