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Tale of Android ARPU: Gingerbread edges out Jelly Bean, so what does that mean for KitKat?

Tapjoy describes the fragmentation

Tale of Android ARPU: Gingerbread edges out Jelly Bean, so what does that mean for KitKat?

New data from Tapjoy reveals that Gingerbread has surpassed Jelly Bean to yield the highest ARPU across Android operation systems in 2013.

The ARPU for Gingerbread (v2.3) - which was initially released in 2010 - shot up to $1.60, up 40¢ from 2012.

Meanwhile, Jelly Bean's (v4.1-4.3) ARPU fell 5¢ from its 2012 level, hitting $1.57.

Ice Cream Sandwich (v4.0) - which Google released in 2011 - came in a distant third with an ARPU of $1.37.

With all of this data in mind and new OS KitKat (v4.4) looming, developers on Android are now facing a crucial decision as to which OS they should develop, test, and QA for first.

Candy store blues

From its announcement, Kitkat looked to be the renaissance that Android's fragemented OS ecosystem needed.

As Apple's customers regularly download new iOS versions within hours of their release, Android consumers are historically slower to upgrade - due, mainly to carrier resistance to support new versions.

KitKat aims to change that by lowering the overall system requirements (thus making it available for low end Android devices) but, as Tapjoy once again points out, Google's install rollout for KitKat only covered its own Nexus 5 - with no timetable provided for a broad release.

Thus, it might be prudent for Android devs to give KitKat some time to find a home on the market and focus on older versions first.

[source: Tapjoy]

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Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.