by Connor Stokes

All but one of the images in this puzzle are confectionery items, and in fact they correspond to the confectionery-themed code names used for various versions of the Android API. At the time of writing this puzzle, Android API level 28 was the latest public release, and there were 15 code names for the various android APIs including Petit Four, which had only been used internally within Google. Some code names, like Cupcake, were used for a single API level (3) whereas others, like Jelly Bean, spanned multiple levels (16–18). Mapping from image to API level and then to the corresponding letter of the alphabet, you get an encoding where an image of a cupcake represents a C, and an image of a jelly bean could represent a P, Q, or R. To represent the letter A, a “broken image”/“404 error” picture is used, because no code name existed for API 1.

Code Name API Level
Petit Four 2
Cupcake 3
Donut 4
Eclair 5–7
Froyo 8
Gingerbread 9–10
Honeycomb 11–13
Ice Cream Sandwich 14–15
Jelly Bean 16–18
KitKat 19–20
Lollipop 21–22
Marshmallow 23
Nougat 24–25
Oreo 26–27
Pie 28

Each set of images represents a famous android (from all manner of media) with one letter deleted. The androids, in order, preceded by their deleted letters, are:

  • A: (A)STRO BOY
  • P: HEL(P)ER
  • I: THE (I)RON GIANT
  • F: JOHNNY (F)IVE
  • O: BISH(O)P
  • U: OPTIM(U)S PRIME
  • R: MA(R)VIN
  • T: DA(T)A
  • E: B(E)NDER
  • E: NUMB(E)R TWO
  • N: ZE(N)YATTA
  • O: TAL(O)S
  • R: (R)OSIE
  • C: BRAINIA(C)
  • A: H(A)DALY
  • N: THE TERMI(N)ATOR
  • A: MEG(A) MAN
  • D: (D)OLORES
  • I: T(I)K-TOK
  • A: BAYM(A)X
  • N: CLA(N)K
  • R: (R)OY BATTY
  • I: L(I)BERTY PRIME
  • V: (V)ISION
  • E: CHAPPI(E)
  • R: GO(R)T

The deleted letters spell out API FOURTEEN OR CANADIAN RIVER. Android's API FOURTEEN is ICE CREAM SANDWICH—ICE CREAM SANDWICH OR CANADIAN RIVER clues KLONDIKE, the answer to this puzzle.