Targeting Android devices based on OS version

When developing a new mobile application, you may wonder what minimum API level should be supported so you can reach the widest possible audience. You'll also have questions relating to screen size and common performance of the devices you hope to reach.

So, how does all this stand in 2018? Where can you find these answers?

Look no further.

Data Source(s)

The following sections of this post combine statistical data which originates from the goMobi platform. goMobi powers thousands of websites that are optimized for mobile devices. They are spread around many countries across the world and experience a wide variety of visitors from all over the world.

All device data are based on information coming from the DeviceAtlas device database; standardized device names, year released, CPU details or screen dimensions. The DeviceAtlas API can run look-ups on the HTTP headers, the Make Models strings coming from the Android SDK or the IMEI/TAC numbers.

Highlights

• Use API 14 (Ice Cream Sandwich) for global audience.
• Tablets remain in use longer than mobile phones.
• North America (USA and Canada) is the fastest in "recycling" devices.
• At least four CPU cores are standard across all continents.
• 16:9 is the most common screen aspect ratio.

Contents

• SDK Versions and Distribution
• Top 10 Devices with Older Android
• Year Released (Device Age)
• Available CPU Cores
• Screen Size (Aspect Ratio)
• Android Emulators

Please note that because of the source of data, ie. coming from the web-based platform, the data might differ in some aspects from data collected by an app only based platform. For example, gaming applications might see a higher tablet user base, etc.

SDK Versions and Distribution

The table below breaks down the traffic per continent and counts traffic not for individual API levels, but merged with the upper "newer" levels for better illustration of the coverage if a given API level was set as minSdkVersion.

North America and Oceania seem to be fastest in adopting the latest OS versions. If starting a project now, with an estimated couple of months development, set the minimum SDK version to at least the API 19 (KitKat), though it would be safer to use API 16 (Jelly Bean).

For a broader audience and for Africa or South America, use API 14 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

Top 10 Devices with Older Android

The percentages below represents only relative (not overall) traffic per a given SDK code name.

Jelly Bean

All Jelly Bean top positions clearly belong to Samsung Galaxy devices. It's worth mentioning that there were more than 2,300 unique device models within the same traffic bracket, quite a nice number of devices for an older Android version.

Ice Cream Sandwich

What devices can you expect in that small proportion of 2018 traffic still using Ice Cream Sandwich or older? The answer is quite interesting - it's mostly Amazon Kindle Fire tablets (one half of the traffic bracket!) followed by the Samsung Galaxy phones.

Honeycomb

So many tablets for Honeycomb! Looking at the data, it seems that the tablets stay active longer. The reasoning here goes that there is no "need" to replace tablets as often as the mobile phones for multiple reasons.

Gingerbread

Still many active devices here, though when you compare device types with Honeycomb it's the exact opposite. It's a mix of Samsung Galaxy devices, Amazon Kindle Fire and LG/HTC/Casio mobile phones.

Year Released (Device Age)

Device age data are always relative against a given traffic year and are calculated based on the "Year Released", hence the range. For example, devices with year released as 2017 can be "Brand new" for 2017 traffic, but a year old for 2018 traffic.

As seen in the SDK Versions section, North America (particularly USA and Canada) are most likely to upgrade their devices and buy new ones, followed by Oceania and Europe.

The other side of the scale belongs to South America, where devices are kept for the longest time.

Available CPU Cores

Data below represents overall number of cores available for a device, regardless of the architecture used - meaning it doesn't distinguish between big.LITTLE, "Tri-Cluster" (e.g. MT6797 SoC) or future, way more flexible, DynamIQ architecture.

At least four CPU cores are standard across all continents, and in the coming years you can expect more and more devices moving even further, from four to eight cores.

The question is, how many of those eight (or more) cores are going to be big and how many LITTLE ?

Screen Size (Aspect Ratio)

All the screen sizes were normalized to have horizontal orientation only, as this makes illustration easier and allows for a wider grouping. Along with the actual screen size (in pixels) there is corresponding aspect ratio, too.

We can see more varieties in screen sizes than number of CPU cores, that's for sure.

There are many screen variants, though some of them share the same aspect ratio of 16:9, with the exception of the steady rise of 18.5:9 (2960 x 1440) and lingering proportion of older 5:3 (800 x 480) in Africa and South America, which nicely correlates with the Year Released section.

It's worth noting that the devices with higher resolution, like 2960 x 1440, might not have this resolution set by default, and use 2220 x 1080 resolution for better battery life, instead allowing the user to change it in the settings.

Android Emulators

Last but not least - emulators.

If you are planning to develop a game, you should be aware that many people may try to game the game or to play using an emulator.

You can expect around 8% of non-mobile device traffic. Bluestack is one of the most popular, but there are many more Android emulators available.

Main Image By valanzola.t, via Flickr.