Android Versions Visualized In Graphs By Google [STATISTICS]

You’ve got an old version of Android and you’re dying to have that crucial upgrade beamed down to you. How many others are like you? How many users are running Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, or 2.2, and how many have thus far been blessed with Android 2.3? Google answered that question in a couple charts showing the current and historical distribution of Android versions.

Looks like the majority of users are on Android 2.2 which is a great sign and Android 2.1 is in a second place landslide. Just over 10% of users still run Android 1.X. Now take a look at how these numbers have changed over time, since August:

 

So in August, it looks like less than 5% of Android users had 2.2 while a massive amount had Android 2.1. How would you explain this graph and it’s implications?
For the most part, I’d say this is a good indication that despite all of the complaints about individual devices not getting their updates, carriers and manufacturers are doing a pretty good job as a whole in terms of adopting the newest versions of Android. It’s interesting to point out that most of the new Android 2.2 users probably came from one of two places:

• Those upgrading from 2.1 to 2.2
• New users buying 2.2 phones out of the box

While being stuck on 1.X stinks, you can see they’re slowly fading out. I’d bet that a large chunk of this population doesn’t even realize or really care they don’t have the latest update. Still, over 30% of users had 1.X devices in August and now that numbers is around 10%. I’d say that indicates a pretty good push towards new versions.
The other interesting point to note is how numbers can be misleading. A few of examples:

• The data only counts unique devices that have been to Android Market in the previous 14-days and folks on 1.X who have had their device a long time probably don’t check Android Market as often as people who have recently purchased a phone
• Similar to above, tech enthusiasts are more likely to have devices with more recent versions and also more likely to check Android Market
• Perhaps the biggest wrench to throw into all of this is the number of devices. If millions of Android 2.2 phones have been sold recently, it may appear that the historical graph is showing Android Updates when in reality it’s simply showing that lots of new phones with Android 2.2 were sold.

Make of the data what you will. There are a lot of ifs, ands, ors and buts, but I think that in the end this illustrates that manufacturers and carriers should get a little more credit for embracing newer versions of Android.

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