Android Lollipop 5.0 Update Download Attracts Less Than 0.1 Percent Of Users

It has been six weeks since Android 5.0 Lollipop came out, but the latest operating system is still beyond the reach of many smartphone users in Google Play Store.

According to Google's latest Google Play Store results for early January 2015, less than 0.1 percent of all Android devices were actually using Lollipop.

In fact, Lollipop's data performance in Google Play Store was so poor that it was not even represented in the tech giant's latest platform distribution numbers, according to Extreme Tech.

It performed worse than KitKat, the last major Android release which reached about 1.1 percent of its audience in its first month out.

Android 2.2 Froyo, the oldest version of Android O.S. that was released in May 2010 and is considered ancient by technology standards, is actually doing better than Lollipop with 0.4 percent, the Google report showed.

All the three versions of Jelly Bean -- 4.1.x, 4.2.x, and 4.3 -- received the largest chunk of active Android devices at 46 percent, followed closely by KitKat with 39.1 percent and Ice Cream Sandwich with 7.8 percent.

ZD Net attributed the latest Android OS' failure to attract more users to the fact that owners of Nexus 7 2012 tablets, who already have Lollipop, had performance problem with it.

This was not addressed until the release of Android 5.0.2 in late December last year.

Other Nexus device users also experienced some trouble using Lollipop, which was not fixed until early December for most Nexus models and in mid-December for Nexus 5.

Extreme Tech explained it is also possible that there are less Lollipop devices being used compared to the number of phones and tablets that were on KitKat at this time last year, which could have contributed to its failure to get users.

"The Nexus 6 is a great phone if you can find it, and you probably can't. Even two months after the announcement, this device is out of stock constantly," Extreme Tech's Ryan Whitmam said.

"Nexus phones have always been in high demand, but it's clear Motorola and Google were not prepared for the rush this year. The usual influx of new software that usually hits the Play Store around the end of the year didn't happen this time — it's not a lot, but enough to show up in the data," he added.

There simply aren't sufficient Nexus devices to go around, and the limited updates of unlocked phones and tablets aren't going to compensate for that, he said.

"Slow updates are sometimes cited as a potential downfall for Android, but year after year it keeps growing. The platform numbers are odd, but it's not time to panic yet," he added.