The latest Android platform distribution figures are a bit delayed this month because of the Fourth of July weekend, but Google finally got around to sharing its stats this afternoon. Sit down, strap in and keep your mouths closed, friends, because you're about to get some numbers hurled your way.
According to the latest stats shared by Google, Android 4.1/4.2 Jelly Bean has managed to overtake Android 2.3 Gingerbread as the most widely-used version of Android. Gingerbread has been on top of the standings for months and months now, so this is big news in Androidland. During the two weeks leading up to July 8, Google says that 37.9 percent of all Android devices that accessed the Play Store were running Jelly Bean. That's an increase from the 33 percent stat that we saw last month.
Next on the list is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which claimed a 23.3 percent share of Play Store users during the survey period. Android 3.2 Honeycomb held steady with a 0.1 percent share, while Android 2.3.3-2.3.7 Gingerbread finished at 34.1 percent. Rounding things out is Android 2.2 Froyo at 3.1 percent, Android 2.1 Eclair at 1.4 percent and Android 1.6 Donut at 0.1 percent.
It's worth mentioning that Google recently changed up the way that it collects this distribution information. The company previously counted a device toward these numbers whenever it checked in with Google servers, but starting in April 2013, it began counting a product only when it accessed the Google Play Store. The older method was the one used during most of Gingerbread's reign and offers a different view of how widespread each version is by ignoring devices that don't access the Play Store during the survey period. Still, it's great to see Android 4.1/4.2 finally overtake Android 2.3 at the top of Google's dessert hill. Which version(s) of Android is your mobile hardware running?
