It is that time of the month when as a monthly ritual, Google releases Android distribution numbers which tell developers which versions of Android are in circulation and what percentage they hold vis- -vis the total pie. The details also provide insights into the problem of Android fragmentation. However, this time as well the numbers are not beyond expectations – basically the older versions of Android are on a decreasing trend and the newer version is steadily climbing higher, helped along by the launch of new devices running on the latest version and the fact that older devices are getting software updates from the manufacturers.
In terms of absolute numbers, April saw Kit Kat climbing up to 8.5% from 5.3% last month. All the other older Android versions right from Android 2.2 ‘Froyo’ to Android 4.1.x and Android 4.2.x ‘Jelly Bean’ have received drops compared to last month. Android 2.2 Froyo had a 0.1% drop (from 1.1% to 1.0% this month), whereas Android 2.3.x Gingerbread fell by 1.6% (from 17.8% to 16.2%). Android 4.0.x Ice Cream Sandwich and Android 4.1.x to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean fell by 0.9 and 0.6 percentage points respectively. The older versions of Android – Froyo (Android 2.2.X) and Honeycomb (3.X) have been on a steady decline and we would definitely expect them to be phased out in a few short months. For the foreseeable future, we would speculate that Android 4.1.x to 4.3.x Jelly Bean would remain the reigning king, until last year devices start getting official updates to Android 4.4 Kit Kat. Visit this link for the March distribution numbers.
With rumors of an impending Android 4.4.3 Kit Kat release around the corner and the expectancy of an Android version bump during the upcoming Google Developer Conference – Google I/O, we would expect to see an addition to this list soon. Has your beloved Android been updated to Android 4.4 Kit Kat yet? Or have you chosen a custom ROM to get Kit Kat or are you planning to? We love to hear from you, let us know in the comments below.