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ICS continues its glacial rise up the Android Distribution chart

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Let’s kick off the weekend with a wee bit of good news, shall we? Google has updated the Android distribution chart, and ICS is now on 7.1% of all devices (up from 4.9% previously). Gingerbread continues its dominance at over 65%.

While the snail-like pace at which the numbers are rising does leave a lot to be desired, we must remember that a majority of the devices that were on Gingerbread don’t have the hardware capability to run ICS. Passing a stripped-down version of ICS could in fact cause devices to perform poorer than before, which no user would want.

That’s not to say I’m OK with the amount of time taken to update the phones that are capable of running the OS. Or in some cases (looking at you, Sammy boy) the complete ignorance of a once flagship device. But the numbers will rise substantially in the second half of the year as more and more devices running ICS out of the box hit the shelves. In fact, the Samsung Galaxy S III alone should result in a massive boost by about mid-July.

[via Android Police]

Raveesh Bhalla

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18 Comments

  1. This chart is far too big and easy to read! :)

  2. That number should be bigger for ICS but I do remember a Crap-Ton of devices being held up in customs.

  3. my sensation got ics a few weeks back

  4. I’m not buying the hardware incapability. My two year old SGS1 built for 2.1 is running ICS like a dream.

    1. When I refer to hardware incapability, I’m talking about devices such as the LG Optimus One, or the Samsung Galaxy Ace, devices made for the low end. A TON of these devices were sold all over the world.

    2. What your probably leaving out is the custom from your using is stock with no touchwiz which is why its compatible and if you would read more than you wouldn’t be receiving it then you would know this

  5. I thought ICS didn’t have any hardware requirements?

    1. no android version made does but the very own nexus s by google almost didnt get ics due to memory restraints

  6. It’s not really Google, but the manufacturers and phone carriers that hold down the update process by skinning the user interface and the carriers cause they want the phones to carry their bloatware. Where Google failed is with the update agreements with manufacturers cause still to this day the manufacturers are still releasing Android 2.3 devices.

  7. Raveesh, now that I finally have the ability to comment from the app, I want to tell you that I like your direct and personal style of writing, which makes you (and Chris) my phavorites on Phandroid!

  8. Umm ICS doesn’t have minimum spec requirements no android software version has ever there is absolutely no excuse for everyone to not be running ICS other than pure laziness or the fact that the ui overlays that are that much intrusive. Sense TouchWiz and so on should be add on experiences so that way we can get our updates from el goog and people can keep their uis… It would be so much easier to do why should sense and twiz be exclusive to any one phone or device?

  9. Even with my previous comment stated there is little differences between gingerbread from ice cream sandwich with the ui aside and same goes for 2.x versions above 2.2 android the graph is decent no real problems

  10. Anybody who says there isn’t a major difference between Gingerbread and ICS, have never had a phone made to run ICS as their daily driver.

    I’d never go back.

    1. aside from the ui what else is there really in 4.0?

  11. Samsung could have easily pushed out ics for the galaxy s1. As long as they stripped all their junk out. SlimICS runs great!

  12. Ics /jelly bean will rise fast compared to others because it is a tablet os..so no one using tab will not need phone only 2.3 os

  13. I think sammy, is too reluctant to use ics on budjet phones as their current strategy..(budjet phones wit 2.3 and high end phones with 4.0 pays off)
    Ths is the main reason google buy motorolas..if these process continues, they cant make money out of android

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