The distribution numbers for Google's Android operating systems for the month of January are out and as they seem to suggest there is still some time before user share for the new version of the OS, Android 4.4 KitKat, becomes impressive enough.
On the other hand, the numbers for Google's older operating system, Android 4.x Jelly Bean, have been rising and currently encompass over 60 percent of the total users of the Android devices.
For the devices that do log in onto the Google Play Store, Android versions 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 enjoy a majority of the user-base share. According to the Android Developers
webpage the data, which was
collected in December from the devices that are supported on the Google Play Store (Android versions 2.2 and higher), showed the combined Jelly Bean users made up 59.1 percent of the Android ecosystem. In January, the numbers have risen to 60.7 percent.
The page also mentions that within Android Jelly Bean, version 4.1 had a share of 35.5 percent, version 4.2 had a share of 16.3 percent and version 4.3 had a share of 8.9 percent. Notably, user share for all the versions prior to Android version 4.2 had lost shares except for 2.2 and 2.3 which were same.
Android 2.2 Froyo had a share of 1.3 percent, while Android 2.3 Gingerbread had a share of 20 percent . Android Honeycomb was 0.1 percent and Android Ice Cream Sandwich had a share of 16.1 percent. On the other hand, Android 4.4 KitKat formed only 1.8 percent of the share, moving up only 0.4 percent from
last month's 1.4 percent.
Google also listed the version distribution numbers for Open GL, with most devices sporting Open GL 2.0, which had the dominant share of 92.3 percent. Open GL 1.0 had a 0.1 percent share, and Open GL 3.0 had a 7.6 percent share.
It is not very surprising to see that Android 4.4 KitKat has not yet gained market share, given that there are very few devices that are currently available with the new version (only the Google Nexus devices, a few Motorola mobiles, top-end Samsung phones, amongst others), and that few manufacturers are releasing new devices preloaded with the new operating system. Till then, it is time for Jelly Bean to rule the roost.