Everyone knows that OS X has code names, and how they work: each version of OS X comes branded as a carnivorous big cat, ranked from smallest to largest. Likewise, Android’s got code names up their wazoo, twee little monikers taken from the realm of desserts like Gingerbread, Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich.
But did you know that iOS has code names too? They aren’t publicized, but internally, Apple refers to the latest version of iOS by a number of cool monikers.
Over the weekend, developer Steve Troughton-Smith took to Twitter to hand out the code names for all past and present versions of iOS, as used internally at Apple.
– 1.0: Alpine (1.0.0 – 1.0.2: Heavenly)
– 1.1: Little Bear (1.1.1: Snowbird, 1.1.2: Oktoberfest)
– 2.0: Big Bear
– 2.1: Sugarbowl
– 2.2: Timberline
– 3.0: Kirkwood
– 3.1: Northstar
– 3.2: Wildcat (iPad only)
– 4.0: Apex
– 4.1: Baker
– 4.2: Jasper (4.2.5 – 4.2.10: Phoenix)
– 4.3: Durango
– 5.0: Telluride
– 5.1: Hoodoo
The common theme here seems to be outdoorsy terms that evoke skiing. They don’t exactly have marketing pizazz like “Lion” or “Jaguar” but I like them. What do you think?
[via tipB]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
19 responses to “Apple Uses Cool Code Names For iOS Internally; Here’s The Full List”
More specific than “outdoorsy” or “national parks,” all of the names referred to seem to be ski resort mountains. I know for sure that Heavenly, Sugar Bowl and Northstar are as I’ve skiied at these mountains before and Big Bear and Telluride I know from reputation. It appears that the others are as well.
Perhaps Scott Forstall is an avid skiier?
The most infamous internal code name that Apple used was “Carl Sagan” who sued Apple because he said the internal name might go public and be misconstrued as a product endorsement. So Apple changed the code name to “BHA” for “Butt-Head Astronomer”, and upon learning of it, Sagan promptly sued Apple for defamation. Of course the judge tossed out the silly suit.
where da f… did they get Durango from? lol lol lol thats cute X)
#AppleFan
I am glad Apple doesn’t name its iOS any of these names publicly. I think Google’s naming is so stupid and confusing. There’s no real logic behind “Ice Cream Sandwich” or other sweets naming.
Google’s naming is relatively simple to decode!
Eclair – Tastes better in a frozen state
Honeycomb – Do not handle without proper care and knowledge
Gingerbread – Even fresh out of the oven, no one wants to bite into one
Ice Cream Sandwich – No matter what people say, it isn’t real chocolate
All others can be explained with three simple letters…. WTF?
Hope this helps your confusion. : )
There is.
A: (Android 1.0) B: (Android 1.1) C: Cupake D: Donut E: Eclair F: Froyo G: Gingerbread H: Honeycomb I: Ice Cream Sandwich J- K- L- M- And so on.
It’s the same theme that Linux (Ubuntu) uses for their naming schemes. Gutsy Gibbon, Hardy Heron, Intrepid Ibex, Jaunty Jackalope, Karmic Koala, Lucid Lemur, and so on. I don’t need to list ALL of these for the full effect.
It’s a city in Colorado with ski resorts.
Yes – these are all ski resorts – including Durango and Hoodoo
This is great. Thanks for sharing
I think Steve Troughton-Smith has likely violated his NDA. Jackass.
The old iPhone simulator was called Aspen Simulator.