Consumer Electronics
With Nearly 19,000 to Choose From, There Is an Android Device for That
Published:
Last Updated:
Source: courtesy of Google Inc.
OpenSignal, a research firm focused on wireless networks, has pulled together the data on the number and types of devices in the Android ecosystem. According to its research, there are 18,796 distinct Android devices in 2014, up from 11,868 last year. The firm surveyed 682,000 devices that downloaded OpenSignal’s app to get these totals.
The single largest maker of Android devices is Samsung Electronics, followed by Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE), LG Electronics, Motorola (now part of Lenovo) and Huawei. Samsung claims 43.0% of Android devices to second-place Sony’s 4.8% share, which is one reason that Samsung’s is developing its own Tizen operating system, a Linux-based platform that it developed with some help from Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) that could become a replacement for Android. A Tizen-based phone, called the Samsung Z, is scheduled for release this quarter in Russia.
The fragmentation of the Android universe can be both a blessing and a curse to app developers. It offers a much wider reach than iOS from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) because there are so many devices available at all price points. The bad news is that writing a single version of an app to run on all those devices is both difficult and time-consuming. OpenSignal also notes, “Android is now the dominant mobile operating system and this is because of fragmentation, not in spite of it.”
As OpenSignal also points out, just 20.9% of all Android devices are running the latest released version (KitKat) of the Android OS. A full 91% of Apple iOS users have upgraded to the latest version of the operating system software, iOS 7, while another 8% are using iOS 6. Nearly 55% of Android devices are still running some version of “Jelly Bean,” the next-to-last version of the platform.
OpenSignal’s report includes some dazzling interactive graphics to illustrate these and other data points in their study.
ALSO READ: Google Easily the Top U.S. Web Property
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With A Financial Advisor (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the
advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
