Android Fragmentation - A Never Ending Problem

Google has posted the latest allocation of versions for their extremely popular mobile OS and it continues to show signs of continuing fragmentation. And it is really starting to look like the fragmentation is never going to go away. While many have talked about how bad it actual is and the impact to developers of apps, the very nature of the marketplace is continuing to contribute to the problem. One of the big issues for the Android OS is that it continues to improve and that improvement requires new and better hardware.

If you have an Android smart phone that is more than a year old, odds are you are running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). And it is more than likely that you will not be seeing the newer release of Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). The next version is Android 5.0 (Key Lime Pie) and is expected to arrive in the 3rd quarter on a smart phone to be determined. And that is going to add to the fragmentation issues which exist and will continue to exist. Typically, Google ties the launch of the next Android OS to the launch of hardware, such as the Nexus smart phone or tablet.

The biggest problem that is going on right now is the number of devices still running Gingerbread which is showing as 45.6%. If you add up all the Android 2.x numbers, you get 46.9%. If you add up all the Android 4.x numbers, you get 42.6%. The fact that Android 4.x is not representing more than Android 2.x numbers is something of a concern. Part of the problem is low end phones still selling which are running Gingerbread because their hardware cannot support the needs of Android 4.x. And that is not going to change in the foreseeable future.

As manufacturers continue to produce phones which meet the needs of a variety of people and prices, we are going to continue to see Android Fragmentation. And when Key Lime Pie shows up, that is going to add to the problems of fragmentation. It is not going to take long for those who are eligible to upgrade to Android 5.0 and reduce the numbers for Android 4.x. It is a goal for most smart phone owners to have the latest Android OS on their phones. All of this is probably not going to change the majority representation which Gingerbread currently has and looks like they are going to continue to maintain.