Google has released its Android distribution numbers for December 2016, and the company’s latest OS versions have continued to rise this month. The latest release, Android 7.0 Nougat, has grown from 0.3 percent to 0.4 percent. Android 6.0 Marshmallow has grown at a larger rate, increasing from 24 percent to 26.3 percent.
Android Lollipop (5.0 and 5.1) still holds the largest share at 34 percent, just 0.1 percent lower than November’s count. KitKat, Jelly Bean, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Gingerbread all fell, as the versions age further. At the very bottom, Android 2.2 Froyo continues to hang on with just 0.1 percent.
Google continues to struggle with the issue of fragmentation. Though the company has worked to streamline and expedite the update process, the industry continues to struggle with updating product lines in a timely manner. The problem hasn’t significantly hindered Android’s growth as a whole, but it does lead to issues with customer satisfaction, as customers wait long periods of time for major software updates.
Source: Android Developers Blog
