Android distribution data updated for March, Lollipop usage hits 3.3%

Google this evening has updated its Android distribution data to reflect numbers collected during the past 7 days. Most notably, Android 5.0 saw an increase from 1.6 percent last month to 3.3 percent this time. Last month was the first time the latest version of the operating system gained enough usage to chart.

Also this month, KitKat saw a minor increase to 40.9 percent, up from 39.7 percent a month ago. Jelly Bean saw a slight decline from 44.5 percent last month to 42.6 percent this time around. Ice Sandwich fell to 5.9 percent, while Gingerbread fell to 6.9 percent. Froyo still holds onto 0.4 percent of the market.

Obviously Lollipop is not growing at the rate Google would have hoped, but the rollout to devices like the Galaxy S5 variants has surely helped expedite the process. The launch of flagships like the Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 will also help, but won’t solve the problem of older devices not being updated.

As always, Android distribution data is collected by tracking which versions of Android visit the Google Play Store most often during a 7-day testing period at the end of every month. For this reason, the data does not include information running anything lower than Android 2.2, as they do not support the latest Play Store app.