Google’s Android operating system is installed on devices of all shapes and sizes. These devices run one of more than a half-dozen active versions of the mobile operating system.
On Wednesday, OpenSignal released a survey which shows the diversity of Google’s Android. The report calls this diversity is both a blessing and a curse.
The fragmentation of Android gives developers a wide audience to build apps for, which is larger than Apple’s iOS. However, trying to develop an app that runs on the entire range of Android devices is very hard and time consuming.
The report notes that over 1,000 Android device manufacturers seen this year were not present in OpenSignal’s first survey three years ago. Here are some numbers from the report:
– 24,093: Distinct Android devices seen this year.
– 18,796: Distinct Android devices seen last year.
– 682,000; Devices surveyed for this report.
– 37.8%: Samsung’s share of those devices.
– 1,294: Device manufacturers seen this year.
Here is an image which showcases the fragmentation of Android by manufacturer:
Nearly 1,300 companies make devices that run a version of Android, however, Apple’s iOS only runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
[via Fortune]
