40% of all Android devices run 4.0 or higher

There are a massive number of Android devices – including smartphones and tablets – on the mobile market today.

For the longest time, Gingerbread (2.3) was, by far, the most popular version of Google’s mobile Android operating system. While Gingerbread is still the most common flavor, newer, more current versions of the OS are slowly catching up.

According to the latest round of statistics, 47.4% of all Android devices are running Gingerbread at this moment in time. Interestingly, this marks the first time Gingerbread’s share of the Android market has dipped below 50%, if only slightly. 

Indeed, the numbers show that Android 4.0 and higher totaled almost 40% of the Android market. Android 4.1 claimed 9% share, while Android 4.2.1 weighed in at 1.2%. 

Gingerbread is expected to continue to decline as more and more devices arrive pre-loaded with Jelly Bean. Of course, manufacturers are also still working to upgrade existing devices to Android 4.0 and higher. Additional statistics can be found on the Android Developer website

The above-mentioned data is based on the number of Android devices accessing the Google Play store within a 14-day period ending on January 3, 2013.