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01-08-2015, 02:41 PM
Android Lollipop's Slow Growth
I'm running Android Lollipop on my Nexus 5 and I must say that this is a great Android release, the best Android experience on a mobile device. Many reported performance issues and various bugs, so Lollipop still has a way to go until it's properly optimized.
Google has recently updated the Android platform distribution numbers (http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/01/07/google-updates-android-platform-distribution-numbers-kitkat-shows-big-gains-lollipop-still-doesnt-make-cut/) and it's interesting to **tice that Lollipop still doesn't show up, 2 months after its release. Google doesn't display Android "versions with less than 0.1% distribution", so it's obvious that less than 0.1% of the Android devices run Lollipop.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WRx5n-Ov3Ik/VK5iL_EWzbI/AAAAAAACATU/O3eICefQ68c/s1600/android-versions-jan2015.png
Back in June, Google reported that the number of active Android users was 1 billion (http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5841924/google-android-users-1-billion-stats), while in May 2013, the number of Android devices that were activated was 900 million (http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/15/4333584/total-android-activations-900-million). It's hard to estimate the number of Android devices that run Google Play Store (this excludes Amazon devices and Android devices from China), but assuming that the number is still around 1 billion, this means that less than 1 million Android devices run Lollipop.
In January 2014 (http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/01/11/google-updates-android-platform-distribution-numbers-kitkat-makes-tiny-jump-to-1-4-gingerbread-continues-decline/), Android stats looked different: KitKat's market share was 1.4%, 2 months after its release. "KitKat, which was positioned at 1.1% last month, has eked out an additional 0.3% to reach 1.4%," reported Android Police (http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/01/11/google-updates-android-platform-distribution-numbers-kitkat-makes-tiny-jump-to-1-4-gingerbread-continues-decline/) back then.
So why is Lollipop's market share growing so slowly?
* The Lollipop launch devices (Nexus 6 and Nexus 9) were more expensive, more difficult to find and reviews weren't that great. I've checked Google's Play Store US site and Nexus 6 is still out of stock. Google ** longer offers an affordable tablet (Nexus 7), while Nexus 6 is **t a phone for everyone: many people think it's too big.
* A lot of users reported issues after updating to Android 5.0 and some of them downgraded their devices to KitKat. Other users ** longer updated their devices, after reading all the news articles about Lollipop issues.
* Google didn't push Lollipop to all Nexus devices. I have a Nexus 2012 WiFi and there's ** Lollipop OTA update in the settings.
* Some Nexus and Google Play Edition devices started to get the Lollipop update late. Galaxy S4 GPE was the last to get Android 5.0 (http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/12/galaxy-s4-google-play-edition-gets-lollipop-completing-the-gpe-rollout/).
Despite all of these issues, Lollipop is available for a lot of devices: Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2012), Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9, Nexus 10, Galaxy S4 GPE, Moto G GPE, One M7 GPE, One M8 GPE, Sony Z Ultra GPE, LG GPad 8.3 GPE (GPE = Google Play Edition). ** other Android release was available for so many devices in the first 2 months. Some Android manufacturers already started to release Lollipop updates for phones like Moto X (2014), (http://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/2014/11/its-time-to-unwrap-android-5-lollipop.html) LG G3 (http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g3_lollipop_update_spreads_to_more_european_cou ntries-news-10491.php) and Samsung Galaxy S5 (http://www.sammobile.com/2015/01/02/samsung-galaxy-s5-lollipop-update-spreads-to-malaysia-and-russia/). HTC promised to update HTC One M7 and M8 this month (https://twitter.com/HTCUSA/status/529419817132892161/photo/1).
With so many popular devices getting updates, Lollipop's market share will grow much faster in the coming months.https://hameed.nwar.uk/vb//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/GoogleOperatingSystem/~4/WGGGntAGMoU
I'm running Android Lollipop on my Nexus 5 and I must say that this is a great Android release, the best Android experience on a mobile device. Many reported performance issues and various bugs, so Lollipop still has a way to go until it's properly optimized.
Google has recently updated the Android platform distribution numbers (http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/01/07/google-updates-android-platform-distribution-numbers-kitkat-shows-big-gains-lollipop-still-doesnt-make-cut/) and it's interesting to **tice that Lollipop still doesn't show up, 2 months after its release. Google doesn't display Android "versions with less than 0.1% distribution", so it's obvious that less than 0.1% of the Android devices run Lollipop.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WRx5n-Ov3Ik/VK5iL_EWzbI/AAAAAAACATU/O3eICefQ68c/s1600/android-versions-jan2015.png
Back in June, Google reported that the number of active Android users was 1 billion (http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5841924/google-android-users-1-billion-stats), while in May 2013, the number of Android devices that were activated was 900 million (http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/15/4333584/total-android-activations-900-million). It's hard to estimate the number of Android devices that run Google Play Store (this excludes Amazon devices and Android devices from China), but assuming that the number is still around 1 billion, this means that less than 1 million Android devices run Lollipop.
In January 2014 (http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/01/11/google-updates-android-platform-distribution-numbers-kitkat-makes-tiny-jump-to-1-4-gingerbread-continues-decline/), Android stats looked different: KitKat's market share was 1.4%, 2 months after its release. "KitKat, which was positioned at 1.1% last month, has eked out an additional 0.3% to reach 1.4%," reported Android Police (http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/01/11/google-updates-android-platform-distribution-numbers-kitkat-makes-tiny-jump-to-1-4-gingerbread-continues-decline/) back then.
So why is Lollipop's market share growing so slowly?
* The Lollipop launch devices (Nexus 6 and Nexus 9) were more expensive, more difficult to find and reviews weren't that great. I've checked Google's Play Store US site and Nexus 6 is still out of stock. Google ** longer offers an affordable tablet (Nexus 7), while Nexus 6 is **t a phone for everyone: many people think it's too big.
* A lot of users reported issues after updating to Android 5.0 and some of them downgraded their devices to KitKat. Other users ** longer updated their devices, after reading all the news articles about Lollipop issues.
* Google didn't push Lollipop to all Nexus devices. I have a Nexus 2012 WiFi and there's ** Lollipop OTA update in the settings.
* Some Nexus and Google Play Edition devices started to get the Lollipop update late. Galaxy S4 GPE was the last to get Android 5.0 (http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/12/galaxy-s4-google-play-edition-gets-lollipop-completing-the-gpe-rollout/).
Despite all of these issues, Lollipop is available for a lot of devices: Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2012), Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9, Nexus 10, Galaxy S4 GPE, Moto G GPE, One M7 GPE, One M8 GPE, Sony Z Ultra GPE, LG GPad 8.3 GPE (GPE = Google Play Edition). ** other Android release was available for so many devices in the first 2 months. Some Android manufacturers already started to release Lollipop updates for phones like Moto X (2014), (http://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/2014/11/its-time-to-unwrap-android-5-lollipop.html) LG G3 (http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g3_lollipop_update_spreads_to_more_european_cou ntries-news-10491.php) and Samsung Galaxy S5 (http://www.sammobile.com/2015/01/02/samsung-galaxy-s5-lollipop-update-spreads-to-malaysia-and-russia/). HTC promised to update HTC One M7 and M8 this month (https://twitter.com/HTCUSA/status/529419817132892161/photo/1).
With so many popular devices getting updates, Lollipop's market share will grow much faster in the coming months.https://hameed.nwar.uk/vb//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/GoogleOperatingSystem/~4/WGGGntAGMoU