Android platform numbers: Kitkat adoption doubles, but Jelly Bean still top of pile

Every month Google releases a monthly report   talking about Android version adoption numbers. For this report, Google considers all the Android smartphones that access Google Play Store, so it also includes tablets and devices, but doesn’t take into account devices such as the Nokia X , which does not have Play Store.

The latest version of the OS, Kitkat, has gained the most and has seen its share more than double. It went from a share of 2.3 percent to 5.3 percent in the month of March.

This is largely thanks to Samsung and LG releasing phones running KitKat out of the box. These include the flagship Galaxy S5 from Samsung and LG’s L70 and L90 smartphones which were launched in March in India. Samsung also rolled out Kitkat updates for its Galaxy devices from last year, which has contributand tablets which has led to the rise in number of devices using Kitkat 4.4.

Also, the Moto G received the KitKat update , and has been selling like hot cakes in India. Motorola also launched the Moto X in India , which also runs KitKat out of the box. Lastly, even Indian brands jumped on to the KitKat bandwagon with Karbonn releasing three high-end smartphones - two octa-core and one hexa-core - running KitKat.

Jelly Bean is still the majority version, but saw its share fall from 62 percent to 61.4 percent. Ice Cream Sandwich had a share of 14.3 percent down from 15.2 percent in February. Gingerbread is still powering 17.8 percent of devices, while Honey Comb and Froyo continue to have a miniscule share.