Google has released its monthly Android user statistics and for the first time since its release, the latest version of the Google OS, Jelly Bean, has taken over Ice Cream Sandwich in terms of overall users.
It helps that Jelly Bean has been the most sought after update for most manufacturers and networks, but Android’s continued improvement has seen two key versions released (4.1 and 4.2) and the jump from ICS to JB has been pretty much demanded by most smartphone customers.
The statistics reveal that the 4.1 and 4.2 versions of Android now account for 28.4% of global devices and that the 4.0 versions of Ice Cream Sandwich is now down, accounting for 27.5% of devices.
However, Gingerbread (2.3) is still the leader of the pack in terms of usage, being installed on over 38.5% of all Android devices worldwide. Many legacy devices will be stuck on the OS as specifications have limited further movement and with budget Android handsets still popular in the emerging markets Gingerbread looks set to stay.
The other Android versions equate to just 5.6% overall with the original ‘Donut’ version covering 0.1% of devices, Éclair 1.7%, FroYo 3.7% and the black sheep Honeycomb hanging in on 0.1%.
The report also shows us what is popular in terms of screen size also, with the 79.7% majority of Android phones currently in use sitting in the “normal” bracket of screen sizes (at least 470dp x 320dp) which is followed by small (at least 426dp x 320dp). Finally, devices with ‘Xlarge’ screens (at least 960dp x 720dp) are at 4.9%.
This shows the rise in Android tablet usage against the smartphone, and also shows that a lot of people are adopting the new generation of smartphones with large displays, such as the Samsung Galaxy Note II.
