Android 16 is codenamed ‘baklava’ in early alphabet reset

While we wait for the public launch of Android 15, Google’s work on the next version continues. Android 16 looks to be codenamed “Baklava.” 

While Google no longer attaches a dessert to the public Android release, such a name still exists internally for the development process. Android 15 was “vanilla ice cream” or “VIC” and Android 16 is rumored to be codenamed “baklava,” according to Android Authority. That is a flaky pastry associated with Armenian, Greek, Iranian, Turkish, and other cuisines.

It surprisingly is not something that starts with the letter “W.” “Waffle” would have been the obvious choice, while there’s also “whoopie pie.”

Googlers are still referring to it as “Android W” in various places, while we should expect “baklava” to be reflected in next year’s statue.

An alphabet reset was always inevitable, but there are still obvious choices for X, Y, and Z. Rather, this change happening four letters early could be related to how Google changed the build ID starting with Android 14 QPR2:

• The last build of QPR1 in May was UD2A.240505.001
• The next build of QPR2 in June was AP2A.240605.024

That “U” was in reference to Upside Down Cake, but moving forward Google adopted a more unified development method for Android that switched the first letter to “A” and that’s seemingly in accordance with the year. In 2025, builds will start with the letter “b.” These changes have yet to be officially detailed.