This is Android 16's codename — and it's not what you're expecting

Although Google hasn’t publicly referred to Android versions by dessert names for a couple of years now, that doesn’t mean it’s stopped using them entirely. In fact, the codename it uses for each new Android version is still based on desserts, such as Vanilla Ice Cream for Android 15. Ever since Google released Android 1.5 with the codename Cupcake back in 2009, the company started a pattern of basing the next version’s codename on a dessert that starts with the following letter in the English alphabet. For example, Android 1.6 was codenamed Donut. However, that pattern might end with next year’s Android 16 update, which might not have a codename that starts with the letter “W.”

Developer teamb58 sent us a tip over the weekend about some interesting code changes he spotted in AOSP. The first change adds code allowing any APEX module that launches with next year’s Android release to be compressed. What’s interesting about the code is how it refers to next year’s Android release. Particularly, the min_sdk_version field is set to Baklava. In contrast, the min_sdk_version field for this year’s release is set to VanillaIceCream.

In another code change, a Google engineer brings up how an additional check should be added to see if the build’s platform SDK codename matches Baklava. The reason they gave is that a previous version of the patch checked if either the SDK version is greater than or equal to 35 — which is the SDK version corresponding to Android 15 — or the platform SDK codename matches VanillaIceCream.

During development on a new Android version, Google sets the platform SDK version to the codename until the SDK is finalized, which is why in Android 15 Beta 3 — Android 15’s first Platform Stability milestone — the Android version name was changed to 15 from VanillaIceCream. Since development on Android 16 is underway, the same is true for that release, i.e., early builds will show the platform SDK codename (Baklava) instead of the platform SDK version (36).

So, that’s two pieces of evidence that suggest the Android 16 codename is Baklava. According to a source we spoke with, Baklava has indeed been set as Android 16’s dessert name. If you were expecting the Android 16 codename to reference a dessert that starts with the letter “W,” you’re not alone. Pretty much everyone, myself included, thought this would be the case given prior history.

After all, if you look at the history of Android versions and their codenames, there’s no reason to think that the pattern Google started back in 2009 would end next year, especially since there are still a few more letters left in the English alphabet to base names on.

However, 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.”

For example, the build ID for the Pixel Tablet’s March update was AP1A.240305.019.A1. The build ID for the device’s June update based on Android 14 QPR3 was AP2A.240605.024. And the build ID for the device’s upcoming October update based on Android 15 will be something like AP3A.241005.0XX. The Android 15 QPR1 update for the device will be something like AP4A.241205.0XX, assuming it indeed releases in December.

The build IDs for next year’s Android releases, though, will all start with the letter B, so Android 15 QPR2 build IDs will be something like BP1A and so on. That’s why the dessert name Google is going with for Android 16 is Baklava and not something that starts with the letter “W.”

If you’re wondering why Android 15’s codename is Vanilla Ice Cream and not something that starts with the letter “A,” I can’t say for sure. It’s likely because Google had already chosen Vanilla Ice Cream as the internal codename for Android 15 before the first trunk stable release, so it didn’t want to go back and change every mention of the codename, especially since that could break some build flows.

Regardless, I’m sure the idea that Baklava is Android 16’s codename will surprise many of you, but if you dig deeper into why it was chosen, you’ll learn some interesting facts about how Android platform development has dramatically changed in the past few months.