Apple Code Names for iOS Firmware Revealed: They’re Named After Ski Resorts

Developer Steve Stroughton-Smith has revealed Apple’s code names for iOS firmware all the way back from iPhone OS 1.0. The code names are from the book iOS Forensic Analysis:

• 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

These names appear to be references to the names of mountains and their respective ski resorts. Here’s the names of the mountains and where they are located:

• Alpine is in Pennsylvania
• Heavenly is in Lake Tahoe
• Little Bear is in Colorado
• Big Bear is in California
• Snowbird is in Utah
• Timberline is in Oregon
• Kirkwood is in Lake Tahoe
• Northstar is in California
• Wildcat is in New Hamshire
• Apex mountain is in B.C. (go Canada!)
• Baker is in Washington State
• Jasper is in Alberta (Canada, again!)
• Durango and Telluride are in Colorado
• Hoodoo is in Oregon.

Compare these with the names of version of Android OS, which represent snacks in alphabetical order:

Astro
Bender
Cupcake
Donut
Eclair
Froyo
Gingerbread
Honeycomb
Ice Cream Sandwich

At this point in time, I am going to conclude Scott Forstall and his iOS team are in in love with skiing and winter sports. Whereas, if we compare these iOS code names to Android OS, Googlers are just addicted to snacking.

[@stroughtonsmith via TiPB]