A recent report shows that while Apple’s iOS 7 mobile operating system is running on 91% of iPhones and iPads, Google’s Android mobile OS installation numbers are more fragmented than ever.
The tale of two very different platforms is told by the latest data from OpenSignal, which has tracked nearly 19,000 total distinct Android devices this year, up from just under 12,000 last year. Samsung remains the dominant maker of Android devices, with a 43 percent share, while the most popular Android hardware is its Galaxy S III smartphone.
The high number of Android device makers contributes greatly to the fragmentation of the Android platform.
Android fragmentation is scattered among numerous versions of the mobile OS, with 4.1 “Jelly Bean,” installed on 26.5% of devices, Android, 4.4 “Kit Kat,” with a 20.9% share, 4.2 “Jelly Bean” (19.8%), 2.3.3-2.3.7 “Gingerbread” (13.6%), and 4.0.3-4.0.4 “Ice Cream Sandwich” (10.6%).
Meanwhile, over in iOS Land, iOS 7 holds a 91% portion of the iOS installed pie, with iOS 6 taking just 8% of the installed numbers. Other versions amount for 1% of all installations.
OpenSignal breaks down mobile operating system installations based on new application programming interfaces made available to programmers. Their data tracks the market share of the leading API level. The data is also broken down by screen size. In this latest report, OpenSignal surveyed 682,000 total devices running its app. The sample size was the same as its fragmentation reports from 2013 and 2012 for an accurate comparison.
