There is a saying in these parts, “nobody likes a counter.” I always argue that whether we like the counter or not, in the end, we love to have the numbers. This time around, Google is the counter and the numbers are the Android platform version distribution numbers.
As always, the Android distribution numbers are tracked by logging users that ‘check in’ to Google services with devices running the new Google Play Store app. If you do not read anything more on the topic this month, the highlights include Honeycomb being removed from the list, we presume that means the old tablet specific version of Android clocked in under the 0.1 percent it was when we saw it last. Second, KitKat is up to almost 14 percent, from just 5 percent two months back.
As you can see, Jelly Bean is installed on the vast majority of machines, running on a commanding 58.4 percent of Android devices. Froyo should eventually follow Honeycomb into the un-tracked status, as it too is being run by just a fraction of a percent of users.
We are excited to see KitKat on so many devices, however, we are still waiting for the major leap where the now 6+ month old OS makes its way to devices on a major scale. The current 13.6 percent is healthy, and represents a significant increase over months past, but still suffers from a slow adoption rate by manufacturers and carriers.
Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich both see a small decrease, but hold strong with percentages in the teens.
These numbers come in the midst of the roll out of Android 4.4.3 KitKat to Nexus and GPE devices. Add this to the far fetched dream of a major Android upgrade release coming at Google I/O at the end of the month, and we could see a significant change in these numbers come next month. Of course, it is reasonable to assume that Nexus and GPE devices are already on the latest Android OS, so maybe there will be little change after all.
With nothing earth shattering or altogether surprising about the new Android distribution numbers, what take-away did you find most interesting?
from Android Authority http://ift.tt/1md3qYd
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