Google’s latest Android distribution stats show another increase in Oreo usage

Google normally gives us an update on the distribution numbers of the various version of Android at the start of each month, but there was no word from the company in March or early April. Today Google has broken its silence.

Google measured which versions of Android were used to access the Play Store during the 7-day period ending on April 16, 2018, and found that usage of Android Oreo (8.0 and 8.1) had grown 4.6 percent from 1.1 percent in early February.

Android Nougat (7.0 and 7.1) usage grew as well, going from 28.5 percent in February to 30.8 percent in April. The other versions of Android weren’t so lucky, though, with all other flavors either holding steady from their February usage or dropping slightly.

For example, usage of Android Marshmallow (6.0) dropped from 28.1 percent in February to 26.0 percent in April, while usage of Android Lollipop (5.0 and 5.1) slipped from 24.6 percent to 22.9 percent. Usage of Android KitKat (4.4) fell from 12.0 percent in February to 10.5 percent in April and usage of Android Jelly Bean (4.1-4.3) slipped from 5.0 percent to 4.5 percent.

Finally, Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) and Android Gingerbread (2.3) both held steady at their usage numbers from February, which are 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

These numbers don’t come as a surprise, as we’ve seen several phones get updated to Android Oreo in the last couple of months while many more devices were launched with Android Nougat in tow. It’s kind of disappointing that Android Marshmallow is still being used on a quarter of devices, but at least that number continues to decline while usage of newer versions grows.

Which version of Android are you currently using?

source: androidandme