In the past, Google used to publicly release monthly statistics on the distribution of Android versions. However, the company has become less transparent nowadays, perhaps due to Apple’s relentless mocking of Android’s slow adoption of the latest OS versions.
It is uncertain whether Apple’s jabs played a role in this change, as we are merely speculating. Currently, Google provides some figures through Android Studio, but they are infrequent. The most recent update was today, with the previous one being in January.
Android 13
Android 13 has experienced significant growth in market share among Android devices, surpassing 12.1% compared to just 5% in January. At face value, this performance is impressive, but it’s worth noting that Android 13 has been available for almost eight months.
Android 12
In comparison, Android 12 took nearly a year to reach 13.3% of the market share when it first appeared on the chart. At this pace, Android 13 is on track to overtake its predecessor. While Samsung has improved its update process significantly, Chinese brands such as Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme have also been swift in delivering updates.
Android 11
What’s peculiar about the latest chart is that Android 11, which was released two and a half years ago, is still the most widely used version with a market share of 23.5%. This is ahead of both Android 12 and Android 12L, which have a combined market share of 16.5%.
Looking ahead, Android 14 is right around the corner and we should see an official release with Google’s latest Pixel phones later this year, around September or October. Android 14 should roll out with the new Pixel 8 phones before becoming available to other OEMs such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, etc.
The biggest drawback of Android is very short support which is main reason I prefer iOS.