Google has stopped communicating to developers on a monthly basis the percentage data of which Android version is running on the devices used in the world. The last report was last May via Android Studio, shortly before the release of Android 13. And now, five months after the launch of the latest major version, Google has released new data. According to them, system 13 has an installed base of 5.2%, while the share of systems 12 and 12L also increased, measured together to 18.9%. The list probably includes devices that used the Google Play Store at least one week before the measurement date. Presumably, this is because Google does not disclose the exact basis on which they measure and publish the percentage of installed systems for developers, but previously the public statistics were prepared based on the use of the Play Store.
Percentage share of installed major versions. (source: 9to5Google)
It is interesting that the share of 2017 8.0 (Oreo) has only recently reached below 10%, and the almost ten-year-old 4.1 Jelly Bean has only just dropped out of the list, although with its 0.3% share it was no longer pressing last summer a lot in lat. The number of phones running the 4.4 (KitKat) main version in active use also decreased (from 0.9% to 0.7%), to a quasi-insignificant number. Most of the Android devices in use currently run the 11 main version (24.4%), followed by the 10 system (19.5%), and then the 12 system (18.9%).
Distribution of API levels on January 6, 2023. (source: 9to5Google) [+]
By the fact that several of the manufacturers turned to long-term and regular software product support in the past year, they helped the relatively fast spread of Android 13, and the new devices arriving in the first quarter of the year can increase the pace. But it’s also worth considering that while various brands are trying to work with the latest systems in the mid- and high-end categories, the entry level is very neglected in this area, and at the end of 2022, the beginning of 2023, you can still buy a mobile phone that runs Android 11 from the factory , and the fate of its updates is full of question marks.
