The numbers are finally out and they're not so great. Android 5.0 Lollipop is the most talked-about mobile OS version that has got almost every Android user on their toes. The software roll-out is being closely watched, but have not been found on many devices.
According to Google's official version-by-version OS charts, Lollipop is found on less than 2 per cent of more than a billion Android phones around the world.
This is the first time that Google's Android Lollipop has appeared among other dominating versions such as Jelly Bean and KitKat. Lollipop is found on 1.6 per cent of all Android-powered devices, despite its official launch three months ago. Although a small percentage, it is a huge jump from last month, when it was found on less than 0.1 per cent of Android devices.
Clearly, Lollipop's adoption has been sluggish and buggy. It has kept several users from upgrading to the latest OS over the past months. But now Google is taking extreme steps to fix all issues, which is convincing users to upgrade. But, a large number of Android devices come from non-Nexus OEMs like Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG and others.
HTC, which follows a 90-day roll-out window for latest OS versions, also failed to keep up with the deadline citing ever-increasing bugs and changes in Lollipop. Motorola has managed to keep some of its devices up-to-date, while Samsung is still struggling with Lollipop roll-out. In the US, there are additional obstacles from carriers that control when the devices on their networks get the update. These are some of the top reasons why Lollipop hasn't reached most of its users.
Other Android Versions
While Lollipop remains scarce in the Android world, Jelly Bean and KitKat continue to dominate. According to Google's statistics, 44.5 per cent of the world's Android phones are run by Jelly Bean, while KitKat powers 39.7 per cent of the devices. Ice Cream Sandwich and Gingerbread continue to decline (6.4 per cent and 7.4 per cent, respectively).
