Android 13 is now the most popular version of this operating system after a year of its release

Looking at the Android distribution numbers is disappointing. They exposed the problem of platform fragmentation despite Google’s best efforts. Unsurprisingly, Google no longer actively publishes Android distribution numbers, making it harder to see. The statistics were last updated for the period ending May 2023, and showed that Android 11 remains the most popular OS distribution, running on 23.1 percent of devices. Fortunately, the latest numbers are less discouraging and paint a better picture.

As spotted by GizChina and Mishaal Rahman, Google has updated Android version distribution statistics in Android Studio with data collected up to October 1, 2023. They show that Android 13 is now the most popular OS version, running on 22.4% of devices. There is an outside. This is a sharp jump of 7.4% in just four months since the last distribution numbers were posted.

Considering that Android 13 has been out for more than a year, the adoption rate of the operating system is impressive. This is likely due to more devices launching with Android 13 and many budget Android smartphones being updated to the OS. Even though Android 14 is now available, the adoption rate of the operating system may slow down.

Android 11 was the second most popular version, although its share fell from 23.1 percent to 21.6 percent. As if the 2020 release of an operating system that is still so popular wasn’t enough, Android 10 was the third most popular version. Despite registering a 1.7% decline, Android 11 was running on 16.1% of all devices accessing the Play Store by October 1, 2023. Android 12 also faced a decrease in its share from 16.3% to 15.8% and was the fourth most popular version of the operating system. .

What’s even more disappointing is Android 9’s 10.5% share of distribution numbers. Although these devices have reached the end of their life and will probably not receive any further updates. So, as users upgrade to newer phones and tablets, the numbers will stay the same or slowly decline.

It is not surprising that Android 14 is missing from the distribution list. Its stable build was released by Google a few days after the data collection. The next time the distribution chart is updated, we should see the operating system appear.

Many Android manufacturers now promise longer software support for their devices. While this helps reduce dispersion, they also need to work on their diffusion speed. For example, since the public release of Android 14 in early October, only Samsung and Xiaomi phones have been updated to the operating system.