The latest figures from Google reveal that Android Marshmallow has only reached a measly 7.5 percent of Android phones.
Over on the Android Developers website, an updated breakdown of the spread of Android versions has been released. It doesn’t make for pretty reading.
In data taken from a seven day period leading up to May 2, just 7.5 percent of Android devices with access to the Google Play Store were found to be running on the company’s most recent OS.
It’s worth pointing out that despite being the most recent version of Android, Marshmallow is by no means new. Its initial rollout took place at the beginning of October 2015 – that’s seven months prior to this poll.
The results are also particularly significant because Google I/O 2016 is just a couple of weeks away. This annual event will see Marshmallow’s successor, Android N, getting its first big outing after an initial test period.
Among the rest of the Android versions it’s the previous release, Lollipop, that is the most used. But only just. Installed on 35.6 percent of Android phones, Lollipop just about pips 2013’s KitKat to the post on 32.5 percent.
Related: Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update: When will my phone get it?
Meanwhile, 2012’s Android Jelly Bean accounts for 20.1 percent of all Android phones – well over twice the number of Marshmallow handsets.
While Android has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, this is one glaring area in which it continues to lag behind iOS, and in which little meaningful progress has been made.
Next, take a look at our Android N hands-on video:
Does Android’s sluggish update cycle bother you? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
