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Just 1.6 per cent of Android devices are running Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system. Meanwhile Gingerbread is still ruling the roost, running on a whopping 62 per cent of Android devices.
The stats come courtesy of Android’s developer site, which monitors devices that have accessed the Android Market Google Play (this time in a 14-day period ending 5 March), and checks what version of the operating system they’re running.
After Gingerbread, Froyo is the most popular version, squatting on 25.3 per cent of Android gadgets.
The reason for the skew towards Gingerbread will be because of the number of phones sold that launched running this version, and the number of mobiles that arrived running Froyo that have since received the (relatively minor) upgrade to version 2.3.
But I’m dismayed to see Ice Cream Sandwich hasn’t become much more popular since early January, when I reported that devices running Android 4.0 or higher made up just 0.6 per cent of the robot-powered pool.
Two months on, and I’d hoped to see Ice Cream Sandwich on more mobiles. I don’t think this is the operating system’s fault, but manufacturers don’t seem to be stepping up to the plate and delivering updates, even though Ice Cream Sandwich has been available to phone-makers since mid-November.
At Mobile World Congress last week, I was dismayed at how many new phones were being launched running Android Gingerbread. The Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, for example, is bound to be a popular mobile, but it isn’t running the latest version of Android.
It could get updated later on, but with Android Jelly Bean rumoured to be arriving in the second half of this year, Ice Cream Sandwich could end up being a version of Android that many manufacturers skip.
The HTC One X is a notable device that will be rocking Ice Cream Sandwich when it goes on sale in April, and the fabled Samsung Galaxy S3 will almost certainly have the latest version of Android when it launches. The perennially popular Galaxy S2 could bolster the numbers when it gets its Ice Cream Sandwich update — rumoured to be arriving next Thursday.
What version of Android are you sporting? Are manufacturers too slow with updates? Hit me with your musings in the comments below, or over on our Facebook wall.
