The majority of Android devices now run Android 4.0 or newer

Today, Google revealed the latest breakdown of currently active Android devices, and there’s some good news to be had.  According to the survey, 58 percent of all Android devices currently in use are running some variant of Android 4.0, which includes versions “Ice Cream Sandwich” and “Jelly Bean.”  Out of that 58 percent, approximately 26 percent are running “Ice Cream Sandwich” (4.0.x), while 33 percent of those devices are running Google’s latest and greatest version, “Jelly Bean” (4.1.x – 4.2.x).

Despite the fact that over half of Android 4.0 devices are running a varient of Jelly Bean, only a mere 4 percent of them are on the very latest version of Jelly Bean (4.2), with a majority of devices running the older, outdated version (4.1).

And while a decent amount of devices are on at least Android 4.0, there is still a huge chunk of devices that are running a version of Android older than Android 4.0.  Customers who aren’t using the latest versions of Android are without the latest security updates and are also lagging behind application compatibility, meaning they aren’t receiving the best possible Google experience.  The version of Android that has continued to hold its own, is Android 2.3 “Gingerbread,” which was originally released two and a half years ago back in December 2010, and accounts for 36.4 percent of all devices still running the operating system.

It’s a real shame that so many people aren’t able to have access to the latest versions of Android, whether it be to carrier restraints or device limitations, because they are missing out on a boatload of new features and capabilities as well as a much improve user interface and experience.