Nearly a year after it was made available to the general public, Google has revealed that Lollipop is now distributed to just over 23 percent of Android devices. That sounds like a lot, but when you consider Android Marshmallow is now available for Nexus devices, it once again highlights how difficult it is to keep the millions of Android phones up to date. At this rate, Android 6.0 will just barely crack the 20 percent mark by this time next year.
Comparatively, Apple has said that consumers are adopting its latest release, iOS 9, faster than any previous release. At the end of last month, the Cupertino company said more than 50 percent of devices were already using iOS 9—that figure has likely gone up over the last few weeks, which completely decimates the distribution of Google’s Android.
According to Google’s data, Jelly Bean and KitKat still own the lion’s share of distribution, while versions as old as Froyo still register. Granted, most of the devices running older software won’t be updated at all, but it’s wild that such old Android devices are out there somewhere. It’s also unfortunate that many phones running Lollipop likely won’t get updated to Marshmallow, which includes features like Doze and Now on Tap, at least for another few months, probably more.
You can see the figures for yourself. If you own a Nexus device, you don’t have to worry about getting left behind. Heck, with the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P coming out this month, now’s a pretty good time to get on the Nexus train—at least if you want to use the latest version of Android.
