With over a billion devices sold in 2014, Android is properly ubiquitous. And behind that success? The open nature of the software — everyone, including you and me, can download the core code and fiddle with it and then sell it. You only pay for a license to use Google's suite of apps (like the Play Store).
Naturally, this means that pretty much every phone maker does mess with the code, and in result we've got hundreds upon hundreds of variations of Android, all requiring specific attention and very real work when a new update knocks on the door. And that's why in the context of Android, you'll often see the word 'fragmentation' thrown around. And it's true enough — even a year after Android Lollipop was released, the majority of the population is still stuck on an older build. But which one in particular? That's what we wanted to know, so we asked you!
According to the finalized results, a whopping 65.51% of our readers (who participated) are already on one of the Lollipop builds, which is a nice, 20% jump compared with the results from our identical March poll. With a little over 16%, Android 6.0 Marshmallow is second — which is kind of impressive, even suspect — followed by KitKat with about 10%. Alas, even at the end of 2015, we still have a few dozens of people stuck in time, rocking an Android Froyo or Gingerbread device. A moment of silence, everyone.
Anwyays, here are the results from today and back in March, side-by-side, followed by an official chart detailing the global split:
Which version of Android is your smartphone running on? (December 2015)
Android 2.2 Froyo
0.8%
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
1.16%
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
0.94%
Android 4.1--4.3 Jelly Bean
4.93%
Android 4.4 KitKat
10.37%
Android 5.0 Lollipop
65.52%
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
16.28%
Which version of Android is your smartphone running on? (March 2015)
Android 2.2 Froyo
1.21%
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
2.15%
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
1.74%
Android 4.1-4.3 Jelly Bean
10.98%
Android 4.4 KitKat
45.42%
Android 5.0 Lollipop
38.5%
Official version distribution data courtesy of Google. Current as of 3 days ago.
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Chris Panayotov is a former mobile tech reviewer of phones, tablets and wearables at PhoneArena. However, his contribution to PhoneArena content includes not just reviews, but all kinds of regular and experimental features, such as news stories, buying guides, and an exclusive column on the most notable phones out of Asia.
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