New month, new Android version distribution numbers. Google just updated the Android platform version stats on its developer website, offering a peek at just how much use each version of Android has been getting lately. El Goog also revealed that it gathered this new data differently than it has in the past. Previously, the company just looked at the different devices that checked in with Google's servers. Now Google collects its data by observing every device that accesses the Google Play Store in the 14 days prior to the posting of its new chart, which it says provides a more accurate reflection of users that are engaged in the Android ecosystem.
So how did the Android dessert world look in the two weeks leading up to April 2? Well, Android 4.1/4.2 Jelly Bean saw some nice gains, with version 4.1 growing 8.1 percent from last month and version 4.2 gaining 0.4 percent market share. That leaves Jelly Bean with a total market share of 25 percent. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich grew just 0.7 percent to finish the two-week period at 29.3 percent. Moving on down a major version, it looks like Android 3.1 Honeycomb is no more, with Android 3.2 Honeycomb being the only 3.x version on this new chart. Android 3.2 was present on just 0.2 percent of all hardware accessing the Play Store during the observation period.
Android 2.3 Gingerbread is still leading the pack, just as it has been for the past several months. However, G-Bread experienced a pretty major drop from last month, moving from 44.2 percent in March to 39.8 percent in April. Rounding out the list of Android versions we've got version 2.2 Froyo at 4.0 percent, version 2.1 Eclair at 1.7 percent and version 1.6 Donut at just 0.1 percent.
While Jelly Bean is still in third place among all Android desserts, these latest stats show that it's grown quite a bit in the past month. We've got quite a few major device updates to thank for that growth, such as the DROID RAZR HD/RAZR MAXX HD, DROID 4 and the Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. Looking forward, we should see Jelly Bean grow quite a bit more in the May stats. The HTC One will be launching on AT&T and Sprint later this month (and possibly T-Mobile as well), and I'm sure we'll see another device update or two in the next few weeks as well. Here's to hoping that it's all enough to get Jelly Bean past ICS and on its way to Gingerbread.
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