Oreo more than quadruples its share in Google’s latest Android distribution report

Google forgot to revise the Android distribution chart last month, now reporting some massive growth for Oreo compared to February numbers.

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Another Android distribution chart, another small uptick for 8.0 Oreo

The December 2017 Android distribution numbers are in, and version 8.0 Oreo still can't rival the prevalence of Marshmallow, Lollipop, KitKat or Jelly Bean.

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Nougat breaks double-digit barrier in July Android distribution chart, almost one year after launch

There's little to be happy about in Google's latest Android distribution report. Nougat has crossed the 10-percent milestone, but it still trails KitKat.

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Finally, Nougat sees major surge in March Android distribution numbers

2.8 percent is still a small piece of the pie for 7.0 and 7.1 Nougat, but at least it's much bigger than 1.2 percent in previous Android distribution data.

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Latest Android distribution numbers have Nougat at a combined 1.2 percent, Marshmallow at 30+

The Android distribution chart for February 2017 includes month-to-month Marshmallow growth, Lollipop prevalence, and Nougat disappointment.

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Google Play services will officially drop Gingerbread and Honeycomb support soon

How are the age-old Android Gingerbread and Honeycomb flavors still a thing? Well, they’re not… exactly, although the former, initially released way back in December 2010 and last polished over 5 years ago, before Ice Cream Sandwich entered the mobile dessert menu, is somehow still running on 1.3 percent of active Android devices, according to the latest official count.

That’s one full percentage point over Nougat’s minuscule early November slice of the pie, and we wouldn’t be altogether shocked to see the newest OS build incapable of cracking 1 percent share next month as well.

But in case the 1.3 percent didn’t get the idea it was finally time to move on from both a hardware and software standpoint, Google will effectively pull the plug on their app updates sometime in “early 2017.”

Play services and Firebase for Android are escalating to a minimum supported API level of 14 with version 10.2.0, up from 9 in 10.0.0, helping developers “build better apps that make use of the newer capabilities of the Android platform.”

The October 2011-launched 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich is to become the oldest officially supported Android iteration in the “next scheduled release” of the Google Play services client libraries, with both 2.3 Gingerbread and tablet-only 3.0 Honeycomb, which has long fallen beneath the 0.1 percent obsolescence mark, dead and buried for good.

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Android Lollipop overtakes KitKat as largest distributed version

It’s Android distribution time again and it looks like Lollipop is finally picking up speed. Yep, Lollipop.Android 5.0 accounts for 16.9 percent of all devices that registered with Google Play Store servers during the first week of the month. Android 5.1 makes up 19.2 percent. Adding 5 and 5.1 equals a 36.1 percent share of the Android pie. For the first time, it’s larger than 4.4 KitKat’s share, registered at 34.3 ...

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Samsung Ditches TouchWiz for Galaxy Discover

Samsung’s TouchWiz UI can be a significant component of what makes many of its Androids so desirable, and we always look forward to see how it’s evolving with the release of the company’s flagship models. It’s no stranger from the low-end, either, and we just brought you news of a pair of decidedly underpowered Androids, the Galaxy Young and Galaxy Fame, which run TouchWiz. Now, however, we’re learning of another lower-end Android with ...

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ICS Finally Ready to Come to HTC Thunderbolt; Better Late Than Never!

HTC’s Thunderbolt launched as Verizon’s first LTE smartphone nearly two years ago. That makes it practically ancient by smartphone standards, and its single-core 1GHz SoC, tiny 1400mAh battery, and low-res WVGA screen sound like the kind of phone you couldn’t even give away in today’s market. Still, it manages to lumber on, while its users eagerly await the arrival of the phone’s long-promised Ice Cream Sandwich update. We last updated you on progress towards that end in August, when it seemed clear that ...

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