Google releases December platform version numbers as KitKat makes its cameo

As Google releases its newest platform version numbers for December we’re giving a warm welcome to Android 4.4 KitKat and its first appearance. Arriving on the board at 1.1%, it’s an impressive feat for Android’s newest software considering it’s still only on a handful of the devices it’s actually available for outside of the Nexus 5. When Ice Cream Sandwich debuted back in December of 2011, it was only at 0.6% at the end of January. Jelly Bean saw a similar result as it released in August of 2012 and made its debut at 0.8%.

Now, we can credit a number of reasons for the quick adoption of KitKat, including those who have already pushed the update to their Moto X devices. Interestingly enough, I just took a look at 9to5Google’s analytics for today and recognized that Android 4.4 KitKat was already holding steady at number two, second only to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

For the moment, KitKat is only available on a handful of devices: Nexus 5, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, Moto X, Google Play editions of the Galaxy S 4 and HTC One. As for other versions of Android, Jelly Bean is holding down the fort with 54 percent with Gingerbread holding at 24 percent.

It’s interesting to watch these numbers as a previous blog report shows how iOS continues to have more life comparative to the Android update cycle. The truth hurts in the Android update world as iOS 7 can lay claim to more than 200 million device installs less than a week after launch. It’s true there are many different ways to interpret those early adoption iOS numbers, but the reality is that Android has a long way to catching up to the iOS update cycle.