Since the launch of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow, countless reports were released that indicate which phones can be upgraded and how. However, a new report is saying that there are still more Apple iOS users than Marshmallow ones.
It turns out more people are still using older versions of Android.
According to The Motley Fool, currently, fewer than 1% of Android users are running their devices on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. The OS was released in October, promising noteworthy updates and features currently unavailable in Apple's OS.
As noted by the website, the report isn't that surprising. However, it shows a major challenge for the Android platform.
According to data published by Alphabet, only 0.5% of Android users reportedly has the Android 6.0 Marshmallow on their devices in recent days.
Meanwhile, the 2014 Android Lollipop is more popular with 29.5% running on it. However, the data also claims that the 2013 Android KitKat is by far the most commonly used version of the operating system with 36.6% Android devices using it.
But with Apple's latest iOS 9, it powers a staggering 70% of iDevices, according to data by the end of November. As for the 2014 iOS 8, it reportedly powers only 22%, and older versions power 8%.
While the iOS 9 was released in the mid-September, over a month prior to the Android 6.0 Marshmallow thus giving it a clear advantage, the rate of users updating to iOS 9 following its release still trumps the Marshmallow's. In fact, according to data from Mixpanel, the Apple OS immediately gained about one-fifth of users just 44 hours following its launch.
This unfortunate turnout for the Android 6.0 Marshmallow is reportedly mostly because of "the fragmentation of Alphabet's platform," which requires manufacturers to roll out new versions of Android each time there's an update. This is challenging because the process could take months. In addition, some devices sold today still run on older Android versions.
While not surprising, the new data on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow shows a major limitation to the OS, and hopefully they can find a solution in the near future since the new OS has powerful features that could win over Apple's iOS.
