Consistency has always been a problem for Google’s Android operating system. Open by its very nature, the OS can be found on a huge range of devices, leading to a notable versioning fragmentation. This not only leads to potential security issues, but it also causes headaches for developers, who can’t be assured that their apps will find a consistent feature set on customers’ devices.
While Google can’t boast the adoption rates of competitors like Apple, it can at least celebrate a relatively important milestone. Now, over 16 months after its release, Google’s current version of Android – “Jelly Bean” – can be found on more than 50 percent of devices. Although an alarming number of Android devices still run a version of the operating system that’s more than two years old, 52.1 percent are running version 4.1, 4.2, or 4.3, the versions comprising the Jelly Bean APIs.
The data was collected by monitoring visits to the Google Play Store app during a 7-day period ending November 1st. Google notes that the app only supports Android version 2.2 and higher so, while devices running older firmware are admittedly not included, these comprise less than 1 percent of all Android devices according to an August study.
If Google wants to celebrate, however, it had better be quick about it. The company’s next major Android version, “KitKat,” is about to start rolling out to users as version 4.4, and will likely cause major fragmentation yet again.
