For the longest time, Google would publish Android version distribution statistics on a dedicated webpage. However, the chart hasn't been updated since May of 2019, and even then, May's update happened 6 months after the last update. It's clear by now that Google no longer plans to update that chart, but today we've learned that Google has another place where they show the version distribution statistics: Android Studio (via 9to5Google).
Developers can find the latest Android Platform/API Version Distribution statistics by creating a new project in Android Studio and then selecting "help me choose" under the minimum SDK dropdown.
The chart will help developers decide the right minimum SDK version for their application. For example, if you select "Android 6.0 Marshmallow" as the minimum SDK version, then Android Studio will inform you that your app will run on 84.9% of all devices. Similarly, if you select "Android 8.0 Oreo" as the minimum SDK version, then Android Studio will inform you that your app can run on 60.8% of all devices.
Based on this data, we can construct a table showing the distribution of Android OS versions.
|
Android Platform Version (API Level) |
Distribution (as of April 10, 2020) |
|---|---|
|
Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" (15) |
0.2% |
|
Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" (16) |
0.6% |
|
Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean" (17) |
0.8% |
|
Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean" (18) |
0.3% |
|
Android 4.4 "KitKat" (19) |
4% |
|
Android 5.0 "Lollipop" (21) |
1.8% |
|
Android 5.1 "Lollipop" (22) |
7.4% |
|
Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" (23) |
11.2% |
|
Android 7.0 "Nougat" (24) |
7.5% |
|
Android 7.1 "Nougat" (25) |
5.4% |
|
Android 8.0 "Oreo" (26) |
7.3% |
|
Android 8.1 "Oreo" (27) |
14% |
|
Android 9 "Pie" (28) |
31.3% |
|
Android 10 (29) |
8.2% |
It makes sense for Android version distribution to be shown in Android Studio since this data is really only useful for developers anyway.