You don't have to be an Android user to know Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich are codenames for Google's Android platform just as you don't have to be a Windows Phone user to know that NoDo and Mango are the two updates for the Redmond-platform. But how about Apple's iOS?
Unlike with new builds of Mac OS X, where Apple makes the software's code name part of its branding, the company sticks with a numeric approach for new iOS builds. But internally, the company has used a series of ski resorts across North America to identify each version of iOS. This is unveiled by developer Steve Troughton-Smith.
Begin with the first version of iOS in 2007, when version 1.0 was known as "Alpine," in reference to California's Alpine Meadows.
iOS 2.0 is internally known as "Big Bear," recalling Big Bear Lake, Calif. Another California resort, Kirkwood Mountain, also inspired the codename for iOS 3.0.
The iPad-only iOS 3.2 release came to the east coast to find a resort to inspire its "Wildcat" name, referencing a mountain in New Hampshire. And Apple went across the border, to British Columbia, Canada, for iOS 4.0 "Apex," named for the Apex Mountain Resort.
The latest major release of iOS, version 5.0, carries the codename "Telluride," taken from a ski resort in Colorado. Even Apple's next operating system release, iOS 5.1, has a codename: "Hoodoo." The secret title for iOS 5.1, currently in beta, is inspired by an Oregon ski resort.
Here are the codenames listed right next to the version number:
iOS 1.0: Alpine (1.0.0 – 1.0.2: Heavenly)
iOS 1.1: Little Bear (1.1.1: Snowbird, 1.1.2: Oktoberfest)
iOS 2.0: Big Bear
iOS 2.1: Sugarbowl
iOS 2.2: Timberline
iOS 3.0: Kirkwood
iOS 3.1: Northstar
iOS 3.2: Wildcat (iPad only)
iOS 4.0: Apex
iOS 4.1: Baker
iOS 4.2: Jasper (iOS 4.2.5 – 4.2.10: Phoenix)
iOS 4.3: Durango
iOS 5.0: Telluride
iOS 5.1: Hoodoo