Android KitKat picks up pace to hit 5.3% adoption, while Jelly Bean declines slightly to 61.4%

The latest data from Google shows that the adoption of Android KitKat is steadily increasing, as it has been installed on 5.3 percent of all Android phones or tablets that log in to the Google Play store. This is more than double the last recorded figure of 2.5 percent.

For a more specific breakdown of the data, 61.4 percent of Android users are on Jelly Bean, 14.3 percent own devices that run on Ice Cream Sandwish (ICS), while 0.1 percent are on Honeycomb, 17.8 percent have Gingerbread, and 1.1 percent are still stuck on Froyo. Here’s how the current Android landscape looks like:

Between March and April, KitKat tacked on 2.9 percentage points, Jelly Bean declined slightly from 62 percent to 61.4 percent, ICS lost a bit of ground as well (from 15.2 percent to 14.3 percent), while Honeycomb stayed stagnant at 0.1 percent, Gingerbread slipped from 19 percent to 17.8 percent, and Froyo lost 0.1 percentage points.

For comparison’s sake, here’s the data from March.

Google officially introduced the latest KitKat version of its Android operating system in October last year, but Android upgrades require a considerable amount of work and coordination from handset makers and also operators before they can be rolled out to existing device owners.

The latest data reflects that KitKat roll outs are finally picking up pace, and comes as key new Android handsets launched this year so far run on the latest operating system, but it still appears unlikely that KitKat will emerge in a leadership position in 2014.

Headline image via Etnyk/Flickr