Gingerbread is Still the Most Popular Flavor of Android
Another month is in the books (September), and that means it's time to examine the state of Android. What did we find? Well, according to data posted on the Android Developers blog, Gingerbread (Android 2.3 to 2.3.2) is still the most widely used version of Google's mobile operating system and is installed on more than half of all active Android devices (55.8 percent). The next closest build is Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.3 to 4.0.4), which has been unwrapped on less than half as many devices, accounting for 23.7 percent.
Where things get interesting is if you throw Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) in the mix, which accounts for 1.8 percent. Between the two latest builds, more than a quarter of active Android devices are rocking current or near-current versions of Google's little green software machine.
Source: Android Developers
So why are so many users still stuck on Gingerbread? The Android Developers page doesn't break down Android distribution by handset, but it's a safe bet that the vast majority of those Gingerbread installs are represented by dated, unsupported hardware. It's the nature of the game in Google's open source space; if you want the latest and greatest, you either have to invest in a new handset, or take matters into your own hands by rooting and installing a custom ROM. Thankfully, the latter has, for the most part, gotten easier and easier as time goes on.
Do you own an Android device? If so, which one(s) and what OS(es) are you running?
Where things get interesting is if you throw Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) in the mix, which accounts for 1.8 percent. Between the two latest builds, more than a quarter of active Android devices are rocking current or near-current versions of Google's little green software machine.
Source: Android Developers
So why are so many users still stuck on Gingerbread? The Android Developers page doesn't break down Android distribution by handset, but it's a safe bet that the vast majority of those Gingerbread installs are represented by dated, unsupported hardware. It's the nature of the game in Google's open source space; if you want the latest and greatest, you either have to invest in a new handset, or take matters into your own hands by rooting and installing a custom ROM. Thankfully, the latter has, for the most part, gotten easier and easier as time goes on.
Do you own an Android device? If so, which one(s) and what OS(es) are you running?
