Android’s fragmentation problem is one of the biggest issues existing in the operating system right now. Many people don’t even know about this problem. Fragmentation basically prevents users from getting access to the latest Android features released by Google. It also leaves users open to security vulnerabilities.
Google’s statistics suggest that only 0.3 percent of all Android users are on Android 7.0 right now. This is really a slow adoption rate, and we already know that a lot of smartphone companies take a long time to roll out major Android updates. Android 6.0 Marshmallow users are only 24 percent of all Android users. Android 5.0 Lollipop has an 11.3% stake, while Android 5.1 has 22.8% share. What’s concerning is that Android 4.4 KitKate is found on 25.2% of Android devices in the world.
Talking about the Android fragmentation issue, reports suggest that Google may be working on a plan to address the problem. The company has published Android 7.0 Compatibility Definition Document now after more than two months of Android 7.0 Nougat’s released. In that document, Google has mentioned Android Extensions.
So what is Android Extensions? Basically, Google’s plan is to make it compulsory for device manufacturers to include shared libraries in their Android devices. These libraries will extend the functionality of the operating system. So basically, Google will be using Android Extensions to bypass manufacturers and carries and roll out major Android updates to all Android smartphones and tablets at the same time.
Sound’s like a neat plan, doesn’t it? Well, if Android Extensions really comes into practice, Android will become even more successful than earlier. The operating system already dominated 88% of the market share, while iOS got just 12%. With Android Extensions, Google will find it easier to resolve issues across all Android devices easily without having to wait for carriers and device manufacturers to check the update for their hardware.
Let’s wait and see if Android Extensions really materialises like we expect it to. Stay tuned for more news updates.