Google has revealed the full details of its new operating system, Android Oreo. The OS, for mobiles and tablets, is the firm's most feature-rich so far and brings a host of new capabilities for users.
Formerly dubbed Android O, the new code features a picture-in-picture mode, instant apps that don't require full versions to be downloaded, and boosted privacy protections for users. However, many people with Android handsets won't see the latest additions for some time. "They're doing all these wonderful things to evolve the platform but people aren't getting them," says Roberta Cozza, an analyst at Gartner. "Users get deprived of all these new features."
Google reveals Android Oreo, its next operating system for mobile
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By Bonnie Christian
Google regularly publishes statistics on the adoption and spread of Android's various versions. These figures are well known within the industry and show the percentage of users on each version of Android that's visited the Google Play store within the last seven days.
These figures show that the majority of users aren't up-to-date with the latest releases. Oreo's predecessor, Nougat, is the most widely available version at the moment and it is on 12.3 per cent of Android phones. Marshmallow, which was released in May 2015, is on 32.3 per cent of phones, with the version before this, Lollipop, accounting for 29 per cent of devices. Gingerbread, which is dated back to 2010, is still present on 0.7 per cent of devices.
Analysis by Jan Dawson, from Jackdaw Research, published at the time Android Oreo was announced, looked a little deeper at these figures. His conclusions: "it’s likely that no more than a third of Android’s installed base will ever use Oreo."
While these estimates look likely to be correct, there are a few reasons why adoption rates aren't as quick as Apple's. Tim Cook's firm says 87 per cent of iPhones and iPads are using iOS 10, the most current operating system. Only three per cent of devices are running a version earlier than iOS 9.