The term "fragmentation" has followed Android around for a few years even though Google has repeatedly promised to get their software partners to provide updates to the latest version of Android. That pledge has not materialized, as evidenced by today's release of Android distribution numbers. As you can see more than 50% of all Android users are on Android 2.3 Gingerbread which made its debut over 2 years ago. Ice Cream Sandwich which was released over a year ago accounts for 27.5% of all Android users. Android Jelly Bean was released 6 months ago and only accounts for 6.7% of Android users. This is a stark contrast to Apple's iOS which is released on a yearly schedule and is made available directly to the user all on the same day. This is very different from how Google's partners release major Android versions. They must first test out a new version of Android on their devices, decide which devices they will allow to upgrade, and then go through carrier testing and approval which can take months to achieve. It's pretty clear that the adoption rate growth of Android's most recent versions is not working in Google's favor. Google needs to figure out a way to make their distribution numbers more closely resemble Apple's. A smartphone OS that is over 2 years old and yet is the leading version by a long shot is an embarrassment for a major tech company like Google.

Labels: android, apple, google, ios

¶ posted by James Geddes @ 12/03/2012 09:36:00 PM