Why did Android stop using dessert names for new OS versions?

If you were around for previous versions of Android software, you remember how much smoother they once were. After the pre-release alpha and beta releases, each major Android release was named after a dessert, in alphabetical order. Android 1.5 was called Cupcake, then 1.6 was Donut and 2.0 was Eclair. These versions were followed by Froyo (2.2), Gingerbread (2.3), Honeycomb (3.0), Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0), Jelly Bean (4.1), KitKat (4.4), Lollipop (5.0), Marshmallow (6.0), Nougat (7.0) and Oreo (8.0). But after the launch of Android 9.0 in 2018, called Android Pie, Google stopped using these delicious names.

Why did Android stop using dessert names for new OS versions? While it might be easy to assume that Google suddenly banned all desserts on its campus and moved away from delicious foods and snacks, the real reason is pretty simple and makes a lot of sense.

In a blog post published when Google launched Android 10, the first version released without a soft name, the team explained that the change was being made in the interest of global parity. To become more inclusive and accessible to the rest of the world, Android would now follow base version numbers, like Android 10, 11, 12, etc. As for why this was an inclusive change, the names of the desserts weren’t always understood by the international community: some places simply don’t have the same desserts or call them differently (the team also pointed out that pies aren’t a dessert in some places). Somehow, though, the dessert names nevertheless endured.

Although the public names of modern Android versions don’t have unique or colorful titles, each working version of the operating system has an internal name that the team uses to differentiate the versions. These internal names, or code names, tend to perpetuate the legacy dessert naming convention. Android 10’s internal codename, for example, was “Quince Tart.” Android 11 was “Red Velvet Cake”, 12 was “Snow Cone”, 13 was “Tiramisu”, and 14 was “Upside Down Cake”. Android 15 was codenamed Vanilla Ice Cream.

Rather than completing the alphabet, Google started again with Android 16, which was internally codenamed “Baklava.” According to Android Authority, this change coincided with Google moving to a “Trunk Stable” release model for Android, with the new codenames now matching the first letter of the release’s build ID. Perhaps one of the most delicious treats was reserved for the latest version of Android at the time of this writing, Android 17 codenamed Cinnamon Bun. Also relevant, Android 17 will significantly change Android phones in 2026.

Ultimately, one could argue that the tasty names are hidden in the cake batter since the Android team still uses them in the office, and for literally every release since Android Pie. Due to the open source nature of Android, we’re still learning what the team unofficially calls each version through AOSP code commits, which is always a nice little surprise.