Android OS 2.2, also known as Froyo, has been appearing on more devices. Google’s Android Developers Blog has been keeping track of how many Android smartphones are running each version of the operating system. Their September 1st report showed surprising growth for the latest release. 28.7 percent of all Android phones are running Froyo.
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That’s a fairly high number when you realize that Android 2.2 was released to the Google Nexus One starting in late May, with an earlier leak to manually install it. Other devices upgraded to Froyo included the Motorola DROID, the HTC DROID Incredible, and the HTC Evo 4G. Then the Motorola DROID 2 was released with Froyo out of box. The next two Froyo devices to hit the market would be the T-Mobile G2 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
When you consider the sheer number of Android devices sold in the past 12 months, that 2.2 was only available for 3 of those months, that only five smartphones have been officially upgraded or released with 2.2, that Froyo share is astounding. Here’s how the platform share has changed over time:
Both the current distribution in the pie chart at the top and the historical distribution above were determined by the number of devices running each platform that accessed Android Market within a 14 day period.
Within the past month, Eclair’s distribution dropped from 59.7% to the current 41.7% (a drop of 18 percentage points), Donut lost 2.8 points, and Cupcake lost 3.3. So Froyo’s gain has come primarily from its predecessor.
Android OS 3.0 (Gingerbread) may be released in the next two to three months, and supposedly only higher performing devices will receive it (or even be capable of running it). That means mid and low-range Android phones may never move past Froyo, or even Eclair. We still do see entry level devices released with Donut. Manufacturers and carriers have stated that some of their devices will not ever receive a Froyo update, and others are still being considered with no decision made yet.
Source: Android Central, Android Developers (including graphics)