It’s no secret that Google’s Android platform has a serious fragmentation problem – there are such a massive number of screen sizes, processors, graphics chips, Android versions, and other factors in play that developers have to do one hell of a tap dance to develop and test apps for the platform. It can also lead to significant security concerns. On the flip side, however, it does allow Google to capture a higher percentage of the market.
The folks at British network-testing firm OpenSignal have published a detailed new series of charts putting the matter in perspective, showing the fragmentation caused by nearly 12,000 distinct devices that run the platform. Check out the above chart comparing Android to iOS to see just how severe this fragmentation has become!
While your at it, check out this gallery of revealing (and very pretty-looking, in an abstract art sort of way) charts that go into more specific detail on the devices and Android versions at play. For the full report, with all the juicy details, check out the original post over at OpenSignal!
Also, check out our previous posts documenting the same phenomena – it’s definitely fascinating to see it put in clear perspective.
