Android 4.4 KitKat still has the biggest install base two years after launch
Based on Google Dashboards, 36.1% of Android devices which visited the Google Play Store last week were installed with Android 4.4 KitKat. This makes the two-year-old Android version the biggest install base ahead of Android 5.0 Lollipop and Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Image source: Android.com
Platform fragmentation remains a key problem for Google Android.
Based on the latest distribution numbers for each Android version, Android 4.4 KitKat - which was launched two years ago - remains the biggest install base of devices with 36.1%. It is followed closely by Android 5.0 - 5.1 Lollipop with 32.6%. The latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow sits at a mere 0.7%!
In comparison, more than 50% of devices were already running on iOS 9 in the first three days of its release. In November, the number climbed to 66%. As of 14th December, 71% of devices were using iOS 9.
Android fragmentation poses great risks to consumers; it was estimated in October 2015 that more than 1.4 billion Android devices remained vulnerable to Stagefright 2.0 bugs due to lack of software updates from Android vendors. More work has to be done by Google and Android vendors to keep devices updated with the latest versions.
Source: Android Developer via Android Central
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