Ice Cream Sandwich Still a No-Show For Most Android Users

Google’s unofficial codename for Android 4.0 is “Ice Cream Sandwich” (ICS), but it may as well have called it Godot, as the latest market figures yet again demonstrate.

According to the most recent Android Developer Dashboard numbers, which were compiled by polling Android devices during the two weeks leading up to August 1, ICS is now running on a record number of devices, but its overall penetration is just 15.9 per cent.

We could be kind and point out that this represents a 46 per cent bump from July’s numbers, when ICS only held 10.9 per cent of the market. But that seems charitable when you consider that Google released ICS nearly a year ago.

What’s truly disappointing is that the lion’s share of Googly handsets – roughly 61 per cent of the total – are still running Android 2.3, codenamed “Gingerbread,” a version that dates back to 2010.

Around the time ICS shipped, Android product manager Gabe Cohen said that the upgrade to 4.0 “theoretically should work for any 2.3 device.” Almost a year later, the majority of Android users are still waiting.

How much of the blame for that should go to Google and how much to the handset manufacturers is hard to say. Clearly some mobile makers have struggled to get ICS working on their devices, and many announced upgrades have been delayed.

It seems likely that most of the uptick in ICS market share can be attributed to sales of newer, high-end handsets, such as the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S III, which ship from the factory with Android 4.0 installed.

But while that’s all very good, it’s the second half of 2012 now and ICS isn’t even Google’s latest OS anymore. That title goes to Android 4.1, codenamed “Jelly Bean,” which was released at its Google I/O developer conference in June.

Currently, Jelly Bean accounts for just 0.8 per cent of Android devices – which makes some sense, given that it currently only runs on Galaxy Nexus handsets and the Nexus 7 and Motorola Xoom fondleslabs.

By comparison, during the keynote of its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple bragged that more than 80 per cent of iOS devices were running the latest version of its system software, iOS 5.

Apple says it plans to release iOS 6 “this fall” – which probably means September – and that all current iOS devices will support the upgrade, going back to the iPhone 3GS, the iPad 2, and the iPod Touch 4.

Jelly Bean is only a minor-version upgrade from ICS, which in theory means that most ICS-compatible devices should be able to run it. The trick will be getting vendors to ship it, and given their track record with ICS, that will be no mean feat.

Unless Google does something radical to pressure the handset makers into adopting Jelly Bean quickly, most Android users might be best advised to look toward Android 4.2, codenamed “Key Lime Pie,” which is rumored to be due in 2013.

Via: Reuters

Prateek Panda

Prateek is the Founder of TheTechPanda. He's passionate about technology startups and entrepreneurship and enjoys speaking to new founders every day. Prateek has also been consistently regarded as one of the top marketing experts in the region.

Recent Posts

Indic language adoption spurs Internet users in India to cross 900 M

The internet user base in India is set to surpass 900 million by 2025, driven…

17 hours ago

Google signs one of the largest industrial Biochar CDR offtake agreements in India

Varaha, an Indian company developing carbon removal projects in Asia, has sold 100,000 carbon dioxide…

18 hours ago

Google’s Willow: The quantum leap we’ve been waiting for

Ever wondered what happens when quantum computing takes a giant leap forward? Google’s latest quantum…

2 days ago

The wise thing to do is work in tandem with AI regulation by keeping the human element relevant

Does AI need to be reined in? Will putting regulations on AI curb the progress…

4 days ago

Tech Panda’s 40 under 40 tech innovators of 2024 

By definition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ‘technology’ means ‘the practical application of knowledge especially in…

4 days ago

Nvidia, AI, and Bitcoin Take Center Stage in 2024 Tech Trends

This is the second-last edition of this year's "Tech, What the Heck!?" newsletter. To commemorate…

1 month ago