Google announced that last year’s version of Android, Android 9 Pie only accounted for 22.6% of the entire ecosystem as of August 2019. While that is twice as good as the update rate from Android 7 to 8, it’s still not great. This is especially apparent when compared to update rates on iPhones, where iOS 13 accounts half of all iPhones, less than a month after launch.

So when you compare it, only a quarter of Android users have made it to the previous operating system Android 9, and who knows when Android 10 launched September 3rd.

And when you put it like that, it dwarfs Android 9’s adoption rates. But it’s not entirely Google’s fault, as they’ve made progress in getting manufacturers to push out Android updates more quickly. Even with the recent announcement where Google says that manufacturers have to include Android 10 in new devices in 2020. So that is at least a step in the right direction. That along with Project Treble, which makes it easier to update, is helping out the process for manufacturers and users alike. Check out the chart below on the adoption rate of the previous versions of Android.

Just goes to show, as much as Google and Android would like to catch up to Apple, in some ways, they just can’t. It’s not really their fault, it’s the way the ecosystem is fragmented in so many different areas. Different manufacturers, specs, and other factors play a role in the operating systems deployment. But hopefully, with time, this gets a little better.