KitKat adoption past 5 percent in latest Android distribution as Jelly Bean use falls

Time for another Android platform distribution update! Google has posted the results from its 7-day survey that observed the versions of Android that were present on devices that accessed the Play Store during the week ending on April 1, and the exciting news is that KitKat’s install base is now double what it was last month.

Android 4.4 finished the end of the data collection period with a 5.3 percent share of all devices, which is quite a bit higher than the 2.5 percent slice of the Android pie that it claimed in March. Meanwhile, Android 4.1-4.3 Jelly Bean fell just a bit by managed to hold on to its first place position with a 61.4 percent share. Rounding out the Android 4.x versions is 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with a 14.3 percent install base.

Android 3.2 Honeycomb has held onto the same 0.1 percent share of devices for the past several months, and its grip on that slice of the pie chart continues this month. The once might Android 2.3 Gingerbread is down to 17.8 percent in the April stats, and Android 2.2 Froyo finished out April with a 1.1 percent share of all devices.

It’s kind of surprising to see Jelly Bean lose some of its install base, but when you remember that major devices like the Note 3, HTC One and Galaxy S 4 have all been getting bumped up to KitKat in recent months, JB’s slight drop also makes some sense. Speaking of KitKat, it’s great to see Android 4.4 experiencing such a large jump in market share, even if it’s still a relatively small slice of the Android pie. Here’s to hoping that the launches of the HTC One (M8) and Samsung Galaxy S5 can give KitKat another boost in next month’s results.

source: androidandme