Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These: Android OS Dessert Names

by: IVY MG
[updated April 18, 2024]

Smartphone Android users probably won’t get a sugar rush every time they’re engrossed in their phones. But they do have one sweet thing making their phones run as smoothly and seamlessly as possible, in addition to managing all its elements into an organised whole onscreen. We’re talking about the Operating Systems and OS versions that sound like awesome and dandy dessert treats.

One thing that separates the Android OS from the iPhone and other OS’s available out there are the unique and crave-inducing OS names that instantly plant images of colorful pure diabetes sugar waves and rainbow colours on anyone. And to think that the first two versions were named quite blandly, at least for foodies, as Alpha and Beta.

First there was Donut, Éclair, Froyo, followed by the later editions and versions like Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jellybean, KitKat and the just released Lollipop 5.0 version. It just makes everyone get the sweet tooth just saying these things, right?

Smartphone owners can use it, but not eat it

The Operating System is responsible for providing a user friendly interface and organised system onscreen to facilitate use of all the apps, features and functions on the smartphone. It works intuitively with the owner of the phone, and presents notifications and manages all activities onscreen, including multi-tasking.

The extra cool thing about Android is that it is open source, and developers and programmers can create their own modified versions for use opening it to many great possibilities.  Android regularly gets updated with tweaks, improvements and internal additions, and puts them into versions which are named from these popular sweet treats.

In 2008, a Google Project manager named Ryan Gibson named the Android OS 1.5 version as Cupcake, starting off a trend of alphabetical-order-named sweet treats for each succeeding OS version. As a general rule, the OS names need to be general tasty treats, as the company avoids any legal entanglements with candy companies, with the exception of KitKat’s exclusive collaboration.

It’s a win-win collaboration of sorts for both parties, however no other companies have formed a sweet tooth alliance like this with Google Android yet. There are some people who might be waiting for Pop Rocks, Gummi Bears or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but Black Forest Cake might have a better chance in the future.

Here are the OG list of these Android digital OS desserts:

Android 1.6: Donut
Android 2.0: Eclair
Android 2.2: Froyo
Android 2.3: Gingerbread
Android 3.0: Honeycomb
Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich
Android 4.1: Jelly Bean
Android 4.4: KitKat
Android 5.0: Lollipop
Android 6.0: Marshmallow
Android 7.0: Nougat
Android 8.0: Oreo
Android 9: Pie

So cool and wonderful are these treats that they exist as iconic statues outside Google’s offices. It has been reported that at one time the Jellybean toy sculpture’s plastic top fell off after a part was melted by the sun, after which someone stole some of the cool and colorful giant jellybeans. Another report had some people biting directly into the giant KitKats, Ice Cream Sandwiches and the Gingerbread man. We don’t remember that happening either.

More Smartphone treats

So far, most of the phones that we have are running on a latest version of the tasty Android OS, usually Jellybean or KitKat, which are the premiere OS versions doing their thing right now and operating quite lovely and efficiently on many satisfied owners’ phones. And while everything is running with a cool sugar-rush, the next level of sweetness (and OS version) is already being proliferated with the Lollipop 5.0 version. What’s the next dessert treat? Everyone’s guess is as good as ours.

Maybe they might run out of tasty dessert names in the future, and try say, burgers, steaks or deli meats? How about some refreshing drinks? Sushi anyone?

As to a concrete explanation on why Google Android produced these versions and named them after some sugar rush sources (the only crash that one will get would be after the sugar high has been depleted) well apparently we haven’t heard from them, or some spokesmen just don’t have direct replies. Some Google searches later and there hasn’t been any one solid and direct answer why.

And they seem to thrive on that and the fact that it is quite catchy and awesome. What goes on in internet circles is that it reportedly is a cool treat that the coders and programmers get as a reward after finishing the OS version update. A few interviews just say that it’s like an in-joke among their team. Whatever.

What the public knows is that it’s a genius idea for marketing and brand consciousness, and very effective, infectious and kind of produces weird cravings all from an OS from a phone.

KitKat and Google Android did announce the team-up officially, and they said there’s no money involved. Android gets to keep a super catchy name that sticks and gives it a really cool and easily-recognisable-everywhere branding and name, while at the same time sending people flocking for a sweet chocolate treat after getting the name and the dessert treat embedded in in everyone’s heads.

The limited edition android-shaped KitKat version, limited only to select markets and everyone involved, looks like some Holy Grail thing for KitKat fans, only propels the buzz further. Sigh, if that thing was only available commercially, if only every tasty update comes with a free treat of the same name.

Sadly, the dessert naming thing for Android OS versions came to an end in 2019 when Android 10 came out. But only the public name ended; Google’s internal name for these OS versions still continued with the dessert names.

Android 10 Quince Tar – September 3, 2019
Android 11 Red Velvet Cake – 30 September 8, 2020
Android 12 Snow Cone – October 4, 2021
Android 12 Snow Cone v2 – March 7, 2022
Android 13 Tiramisu 1- August 15, 2022
Android 14 Upside Down Cake – October 4, 2023
Android 15 Vanilla Ice Cream – April 11, 2024