Android 2.1+ Base Jumps To 70%Android 2.1+ Base Jumps To 70%

Once every two weeks, Google provides a snapshot at the current fragmentation level of Android. According to the latest data, the percentage of users running Android 2.2 has jumped from 2.2% in July, to 3.3% in August and now a whopping 28.7% in September.

The swift leap from 3.3% to 28.7% can be attributed to the wide number of handsets that have been updated to 2.2 Froyo in the last four weeks, including the Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Incredible, and the HTC EVO 4G. Verizon wireless and Sprint have both pushed out the Android 2.2 Froyo update. The Motorola Droid alone has to represent a huge percentage of that new figure.

Looking at the other versions of Android out there, Eclair saw the biggest loss. In August, Android 2.1 Eclair accounted for 59.7% of all Android devices. Given the number of handsets that updated from Android 2.1 to Android 2.2, it's no surprise that Android 2.1 now holds 41.7% of the Android base.

Rounding out the numbers, 17.5% of Android users are running 1.6 Donut, and 12.0% are running 1.5 Cupcake. Those numbers are down from 20.3% and 15.3%, respectively. Interestingly, Google makes no mention of Android 1.1 or 1.0. Does that mean no one is using the old and creaky versions of Android? I surely hope that's the case.

It is good to see that the vast majority -- 70% -- of all Android devices are running Android 2.1 or Android 2.2. Both include a large number of new features and capabilities that 1.6 and 1.5 lack.

Glancing out a bit, I think we'll see another tectonic shift in percentages in the next few weeks. Samsung has sold over one million Galaxy S devices in the U.S. (Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Vibrant). All of them are running Android 2.1. Samsung and its carrier partners have said that all the Galaxy S variants will be updated to Android 2.2 this fall.

Additionally, the Motorola Droid 2 (which went on sale recently) and the HTC G2 (which goes on sale shortly) both run Android 2.2. The Motorola Droid X has yet to see the Android 2.2 update, and that is expected from Verizon Wireless any day now.

[Via Android Developers Blog]