 "Nearly 19,000 distinct devices run Google's Android OS: OpenSignal")
Android is known to dominate more than 50 percent of mobile phones on earth, and it is no mystery that these devices run different versions of the operating system. Now, a report by OpenSignal states that there are about 18,796 ‘distinct Android devices’ this year, and the number has increased from 11,868 last year.
For those not in the know how, OpenSignal is the creator of the app that makes maps of mobile phone network coverage based on information crowdsourced from smartphone users. It is available on both Android and iOS. This data is the result of the 682,000 devices that have the app installed, which makes it a fair representative of the Android ecosystem. However, it should be taken into account the number of devices actually running Android could be more.
The data released by the report also shows a small dip in the number of Android devices from OEM Samsung. This year Samsung accounts to 43 percent of Android market compared to 47.5 percent a year ago. Nokia’s attempt to build devices running forked version of the OS has now emerged into a sizable chunk in the fragmentation. One will also notice others like Xiaomi cutting into Samsung’s dominance. Needless to say, a fairly large chunk is dominated by the Nexus lineup.
OpenSignal’s data shows the latest version of Android, KitKat, is running on 20.3 percent of Android devices. This number is way down compared to last year. It should be noted that in the mid-2013, Jelly Bean usage stood at 37.9 percent. The survey also shows a link between increased OS version fragmentation and decreased GDP/capita. “From a developer point of view, suggests it’s more challenging monetizing apps in emerging markets because devices are more spread/fragmented across less recent Android versions,” adds the report.
Lastly, the data clearly indicates that more than 35 percent of Android devices in countries with GDP/capita of greater than $20,000 are based on the latest version of Android compared to 12 percent in emerging nations.
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