Android Marshmallow has finally started to show some positive signs for Google. As per the recently updated Google Play distribution data, Marshmallow is now running on 15.2% of active devices. While the results are showing some flattering signs for Android’s 6th major version, Lollipop is still the hot favorite.
The data was published on Android developers website and shows Android version distribution for a 7 day period ending on Aug 1. When comparing with the last released Google play distribution data, updated in July, Marshmallow is showing an increase of 1.9% in terms
of running on devices , which is impressive, to say the least.
Android Lollipop (v 5.0 – 5.1) is still maintaining a solid position in the tech market, running on 35.5% of active devices. While on the other hand, Kitkat shows a 0.9% drop, as it was running on 30.1% devices has now come down to 29.2%.
As for other older Android versions, jellybean(v 4.1-4.3) is running on 16.7 % devices. While Ice Cream Sandwich(V 4.0.3-4.0.4 ) is adopted by 1.6% users.
Android Gingerbread (v2.3.3-2.3.7) showed a drop of 0.2% with only 1.7% adoption when compared to figures from the last month, which was 1.9%. Android 2.2 Froyo’s share remains the same, with a measly 0.1% share.
Released with much anticipation and hope Android Marshmallow, codenamed-M during the development stage, was unable to get a flying start. Marshmallow was running only on 1% devices in the month of February, which was disappointing considering it was 5 months after its release.
Fortunately, the month of June showed some positive signs, when Marshmallow climbed its way to the top with 10.1% adoption in active devices.
Marshmallow is expected to face some stiff competition from Android’s next release Android 7.0 Nougat, which is rumored to be released this month. Developers claim that Android Nougat is said to target on improving the graphics and fix any performance issues found in earlier versions.
Android Nougat will also feature enhanced doze mode, and as per a recent speculation Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P would get Android Nougat update.
