The most popular Android is Nougat; Oreo still lagging at 4.6 per cent

The topic of Android’s distribution figures has long been discussed, with great emphasis laid on the timely rollout of the latest updates. Over the years, the version of Android leading the chart at a particular time usually is the one that’s released at least two years ago from that date. Google keeps refreshing the chart every month to keep developers updated and the latest figures put 2016’s Android Nougat on the top by a considerable margin.

The chart shows that both the versions of Android Nougat — Android 7.0 and Android 7.1 put together a combined share of 30.8 per cent, which is considerably more than 2015’s Android Marshmallow 6.0’s 26 per cent. Android Lollipop follows behind at 22.9 per cent, showing that a majority of users are still stuck on the old 2014 version of Android.

Wonder where’s Android Oreo? The latest kid on the block with both the 8.0 and 8.1 versions collectively put a score of 4.6 per cent, which is comparatively a lot less compared to Android Nougat. It’s saddening to see Android Oreo’s poor distribution figures even after eight months of its debut. Despite Google pushing for a unified experience across all categories through various programs such as Android One, Android Go and their own Pixel lineup, the majority of budget smartphone markets are dominated by OEMs who prefer to offer a heavily bloated version of Android on their handsets. Comparatively, Apple’s iOS 11 was last seen a few months ago running approximately 65 per cent of active devices around the world. It’s expected that Android Oreo’s Project Treble support could help OEMs adopt newer versions of Android faster than before on devices running extensively bloated UIs.

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