Whatever your thoughts on fragmentation in the Android ecosystem, it is an issue that persists today and will more than likely continue in the future. On one hand, the ability to use multiple versions of Android on various devices has helped the ecosystem grow by leaps and bounds. On the other, fragmentation leads to a disorganized Android experience, with certain apps and features only available on select devices. An image from OpenSignal visualizes fragmentation on Android devices, using data gathered from 4,000 Android devices in 2012.
The visualization is compiled of device brands and Android versions, with each square representing a brand, with the squares and rectangles inside representing certain devices. The size and color of the squares corresponds to the version of Android said device is running on.
With more and more Android devices being released at a frequent clip, especially in the low to mid-range market, fragmentation is not going away any time soon. While the most recent Android developers report shows the most recent version of Android, Jelly Bean as running on 37.9% of Android handsets, 34.1% still are running on Android 2.3, Gingerbread. The upcoming Android Key Lime Pie could help things out however, as it is rumored to be used on devices with lower spec sheets.
[Via: Phandroid]