Google is in charge of developing Android as an operating system both in its complete version with its own services and in its AOSP version.
The arrival of a new version of the operating system is marked in the latest versions with the launch of the new generation of Pixel mobiles.
The other manufacturers usually test and adapt the new version And in a matter of months and, depending on models, even a year, they usually release their software update.
Apple has full control of the ecosystem and of the mobiles that use iOS, so we are talking about a situation similar to Google with the Pixels.
If Google develops the software and hardware, the update is ready as they finish it for their mobiles, but it is not the general case in the market for the rest of Android mobiles.
Android 11 (2020) is the predominant version on the market
Android Studio has just shown the market share data for the different versions of Android for the month of April and the data is worth stopping to analyze.
If we take a look at the distribution, we see how Android 11(R)which was released in 2020, takes the cake with almost a quarter of the Android device park.
It is followed by Android 10 and then Android 12, with 18.5 and 16.5% respectively and in fourth place we have Android 9 Pie, with 12.3%, just ahead of Android 13.
Android 13 was released last year, it has a 12.1% market share and yes, it is behind, for example, Android 9which came to light in 2018, 5 years ago.
The latest mobiles that we have begun to analyze already come with Android 13, but, of course, we are talking about a 7-month grace period since its presentation in August of last year.
It is clear that It is not the user’s fault that they are not using the latest software version. but from the companies that either take a long time to offer the update, or simply offer it for high-end mobiles.
It is true that from January to April of this year we have seen Android 13 go from 5% to 12.1%, but even so, it is still a very low figure compared to Android 11, 12 and 10.
In order for Android to fight one on one with iPhone mobiles, there should be a greater involvement on the part of the companies to Google and be able to offer the new versions and their innovations to all models, as officially presented.
It is true that manufacturers do implement Android patches and monthly security updates, but they do not give the user the latest news that are already available and that is a handicap compared to the Apple alternative.
In fact, we already know some news about Android 14, which will officially be released in the next May Google I/O and there is still not even a 13% share of the Android mobile market with the previous version.
