KitKat Now On 1.4 Percent Of Android Devices

Google has released the latest set of reports concerning the usage statistics of the various version of its Android operating system software.

According to data collected during a 7-day period ending on January 8, 2014 using the Google Play Store app, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is the most widely used version of the OS currently available, being installed on 35.9 percent of devices. However, when combined with all its various updates, the proportion of total users on Jelly Bean, which was first released in July 2012, totals 59.1 percent.

Slow and steady…for now

The latest version of Android, 4.4 KitKat, makes up just 1.4 percent of all Android installations since its release in November, a 0.3 percent increase from the previous month, where it was 1.1 percent. This does, however, include several of the latest high-profile devices available, including the Google Nexus 5, Nexus 7 2013 tablet, and the Motorola Moto G, with this number soon to be increased when several major manufacturers announce their latest devices. Many devices using Jelly Bean may also be able to upgrade to KitKat soon, which should boost its market share even more.

The second most-used version was Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which runs on 21.2 percent of smartphones and tablets. This was followed by Android 4.0.3/4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was installed on 16.9 percent of devices. However, the single 3.x version of Android, 3.0 Honeycomb, has seen its market share shrink to just 0.1 percent. There was also a fall in Android 2.2 Froyo usage, with its market share deteriorating to a 1.3 percent market share.

Google also noted that it has stopped including versions older than Android 2.2, such as Android 1.6 Donut and Android 2.1 Éclair, in its statistics, due to their lack of support for the latest Google Play Store app.

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