Google has updated the graph displaying the percentage of Android smartphones running various OS versions, but the adoption rate for Android 12 has not been updated.
In the past, Google openly provided this information online in the form of a pie chart that was constantly updated and assigned a proportion to each version of Android. However, when used to contrast Google’s far slower adoption rate for new iOS versions, this data ultimately worked against Google. This chart was eventually removed after becoming much less regularly updated over time.
Google has changed its approach to the Android distribution chart, importing the data into Android Studio in a way that demonstrates the percentage of devices running a specific version or a newer one. The Android Studios chart is currently updated every six to twelve months, with the most recent update being in November and a new version on May 9.
Devices running Android 11 and newer now account for the largest single slice of the pie at 28.3%, up from 24.2%, according to the updated distribution data for 2022 (which we’ve handily organized into a pie chart, below). Given the popularity of Samsung products and the way the company updates even its more cheap smartphones, including those running Android 12, this comes as no real surprise.
To match that, the percentage of smartphones still running Android 10 has decreased from 26.5% in November to 23.9% today. Each prior version of Android has had a similar decline in utilization over time, with Jelly Bean usage presently being less than 0.5 percent.
This most recent chart’s failure to include data for Android 12 is probably due to the fact that Android developers are its target audience. The chart in Android Studio is intended to assist developers in determining which versions of Android should even be supported, rather than acting as a guideline for what Android API your app should target (the Play Store handles this with its minimum API requirements).
The graph enables developers to estimate the proportion of prospective clients they could lose by not supporting an earlier Android version. How many people are using Android 12 or 12L is not very important for that reason. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to view the statistics, particularly since data for Android 12 and 12L would be segregated since they use different API versions.
Thank you, tipper!
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