Android 12's dessert codename might be Snow Cone

Google didn’t stop internal use of dessert names for Android when it dropped them for the public, and that’s apparently true for Android 12. According to XDA‘s sleuthing, the next version of Android is codenamed Snow Cone — appropriately refreshing for an OS likely to be released in the heat of late summer.

The company’s internal development branches reportedly hint at Android 12’s name. Sift through the eventual source code and you’ll find branches prefaced with “sc,” or Snow Cone. Android 11’s nickname, Red Velvet Cake, manifested in an “rvc” prefix and even an augmented reality statue with a cake recipe.

See also: The history of Android

You likely won’t see Google use Android 12’s name in a consumer-facing way, at least not directly.  The company switched to a numerical naming scheme with Android 10 for the sake of international accessibility, as some dessert names are either unfamiliar or don’t ‘click’ in some parts of the world. Snow cones, as common as they are, wouldn’t likely change Google’s mind.

Even so, it’s good to know that Google might keep up the naming tradition that started with Cupcake. The codenames served as a more whimsical way to remember an operating system than the dry numbers typically associated with software. The real question may be the name Google uses after Android 12. Tiramisu? Toffee? Toblerone?