Google has been quiet over Android Distribution numbers for longer than expected. The company did not update the distribution numbers for March 2018, maybe because there was nothing to write home about.
In the latest Android stats, for April 2018, the numbers show a disturbing trend. Despite Android Oreo being around for around 8 months, there are still manufacturers releasing phones running on Android Nougat which is almost clocking two years. I do realize that these distribution numbers pieces are turning into rants on how Android has a huge fragmentation problem but what else is there to say?
In April, Android Nougat’s distribution increased from 28.5% to 30.8%, something we fail to understand. Despite my disappointment, Android Oreo did gain some weight, with a reach of 4.6% up from 1.1% back in February. All other Android version either lost market share or remained the same.
Below you can find Android distribution numbers for February 2018:
| Android Version | Codename | API | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.3.3-2.3.7 | Gingerbread | 10 | 0.3% |
| 4.0.3-4.0.4 | Ice Cream Sandwich | 15 | 0.4% |
| 4.1.x | Jelly Bean | 16 | 1.7% |
| 4.2.x | " | 17 | 2.2% |
| 4.3 | " | 18 | 0.6% |
| 4.4 | KitKat | 19 | 10.5% |
| 5.0 | Lollipop | 21 | 4.9% |
| 5.1 | " | 22 | 18.0% |
| 6.0 | Marshmallow | 23 | 26.0% |
| 7.0 | Nougat | 24 | 23.0% |
| 7.1 | " | 25 | 7.8% |
| 8.0 | Oreo | 26 | 4.1% |
| 8.1 | " | 27 | 0.5% |
Why is Android Nougat still Gaining 20 Months Later?
Trying to understand why Android Nougat is still gaining more users faster than Android Oreo, which is the newer version, leads me to two conclusions:
- OEMs updated their older devices running on Android Marshmallow to Android N. Which is much welcome but shouldn’t this have happened back in 2016 or beginning of 2017?
- There is a significant amount of Android devices being launched running on Android Nougat in 2018, which is scary and unacceptable, at least to me.
There’s also the possibility that Android users are just not buying new smartphones because how else would you explain three-year-old Android Marshmallow and four-year-old Android Lollipop commanding 48.9% of the Android pie despite being what we would now call, legacy software. Case in point, our very own @Kiruti is running on Android Jelly Bean!
