Jelly Bean now runs on one-third of all Androids

Google’s latest and greatest Android version, Jelly Bean (Android 4.1 and 4.2), now powers one-third of all Android devices on the planet, according to Google’s monthly Platform Versions update. The operating system now runs on 33 percent of Androids, up from April’s 28.4 percent. To be specific, 29 percent devices run Android 4.1 and 4 percent run the latest version, Android 4.2.

In spite of a fall from April’s 38.4 percent, Gingerbread (Android 2.2 and 2.3) is still holding on to its position as the most prevalent Android version out there, with a 36.5 percent share. However, the number of devices running Android 4.1 Ice Cream Sandwich continues to fall—only 25.6 percent of all Android devices currently run this version, down from April’s 27.5 percent.

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Yep, one-third of all the people that own an Android have Jelly Bean. You can't feel elite anymore.

The rise in the number of devices running Jelly Bean can be attributed in part to an increasing number of manufacturers rolling out updates for their phones which launched with Ice Cream Sandwich. Sony for one has been quite regular with updates: the company has updated almost all of its 2012 line-up with Jelly Bean, namely the Xperia T, TX, V, P, J, go, S, SL, and acro S. The Xperia ion is also set to receive Jelly Bean soon. Samsung has also been quite active on the update front, and has been issuing updates for a lot of its low-end phones, as well as its older flagship models, the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S2.

The Android Platform Versions page also gives us data about the relative number of devices that have a particular screen configuration, calculated by a combination of screen size and density. It comes as no surprise that almost 80 percent of phones running Android have ‘normal’ screen sizes (roughly 3.5-4.5 inches). The percentage of devices with screen sizes ranging from 7-10 inches (tablets) is now at 4.2 percent.

However, it is interesting to note that 36 percent of all devices in the ‘normal’ category have high density screens (roughly 200-260 dpi), and 24.5 percent have extra high density screens (roughly 260-330 dpi). This supports the popular trend towards HD and full HD screens on smartphones.