Android Jelly Bean Share Surpasses Ice Cream Sandwich

The number of Android devices running the Jelly Bean variety of the Google operating system is now greater than those running Ice Cream Sandwich, according to data from the tech titan.

The search giant says 28.4 percent of all Android smartphones and tablets run either versions 4.1 or 4.2 of the operating system, compared with 27.5 percent using version 4.0.

This means Jelly Bean’s market share has more than doubled since February, when it was present on 13.6 percent of all Android devices.

Android Jelly Bean share

However, Google has changed the way it collects user data. From April 2013, its charts are built from users who visit the Google Play digital marketplace, rather than the previous method, which only required users to check into Google’s servers.

Jelly Bean’s gains have not been enough to displace Gingerbread from the top spot, with version 2.3 still used by 38.5 percent of all Android devices, although its dominance has been reduced from 45.6 percent last time round.

Other versions have negligible share. Froyo is used by 3.7 percent, Éclair 1.7 percent, Donut 0.1 percent and Honeycomb 0.1 percent.

Jelly Bean was first rolled out in July 2011 and features simplified voice search, improved widgets, image viewing controls and text-to-speech capabilities along with a smarter keyboard. It promises effortless switching between apps and the home screen as well as expandable notifications that let you take actions such as call, text or email.

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