Almost six months after it was officially launched, Android 5.0 Lollipop, the newest version of the Google's Android mobile operating system, continues to increase its usage share among Android mobile devices.
Google recently just released the latest update of its Android Developers Dashboard, and it indicates that Android Lollipop (actually encompasses versions 5.0 and 5.1) now has a share of 9.7 percent. Google came up with this percentage by tracking all Android mobile devices that visited the Google Play store during a period spanning seven days ending in May 4th this week.
A share of 9.7 percent is definitely a good sign, and is certainly an improvement on the 5.4 percent enjoyed by Android Lollipop back in early April and the 3 percent it logged in early March.
Android Lollipop was launched in November of last year, but ever since its worldwide release, many were concerned that this version was slow to be adopted by Android users. Google itself had some difficulty deploying Android Lollipop onto its own flagship devices, the Nexus series of smartphones, due in part to some technical issues. But with a usage share of almost 10 percent, the latest version of Android appears to be increasing healthily.
There have been several new additions to Android 5.0 Lollipop's features. These include a new visual style to the interface called Material Design, notifications being displayed on the lock screen, and easier and faster multi-tasking capabilities. Google followed up version 5.0 with version 5.1 almost a couple of months ago. This updated version took care of some technical issues that were present in version 5.0, and even brought High Definition voice calling and much improved security features.
While 9.7 percent is a good number (considering Android Lollipop has only been out 6 months), it still can not compare with the numbers of earlier Android versions. This is totally expected, of course. Newly deployed Android versions have always took some time to reach the majority of the devices being used by Android users. Add the fact that phone makers and wireless carriers have to do their own separate testing and roll out for every device in their portfolio, gaining usage share for newer Android versions definitely does not happen overnight.
To no one's surprise, the current version with the biggest market share is Android KitKat (Android Lollipop's predecessor), with 39.8 percent. Close behind is Android Jelly Bean, with a market share of 39.2 percent. Earlier Android versions like Ice Cream Sandwich and Gingerbread are still remarkably solid, with shares of 5.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.
