Friday, January 17, 2014

22 percent of Android users are still on very old software


android version numbers january 8th 500x238 22 percent of Android users are still on very old software
Android 4.4 Kitkat debuted in Android and has so far been made available only on 1.4 percent of Android smartphones and tablets. While that seems like a very small number, here's a big number - 22 percent of Android devices are running software released more than three years ago. Google's latest stats show that Android 2.2 Froyo accounts for 1.3 percent of of active devices, putting in line with what's running Kitkat. Android 2.3 Gingerbread has 21.2 percent of active Android use, despite being released in 2010.
You might wonder why the distribution is so high for outdated software. The answer is that Gingerbread was the operating version of choice for companies developing entry-level phones. Up until 2013, there were still devices being released running that outdated software because it handled low-power resources more effectively. On the bright side, Google made Android 4.4 Kitkat suitable for entry-level phones, so new low-end devices released won't have to rely on old software. Millions of the existing devices will not be updated to Kitkat, and they never had a realistic shot at running newer versions of Android, so the Gingerbread share of active devices will remain for a long time until people begin upgrading to a new phone.

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