Android Device Fragmentation Visualized
The developers of the OpenSignal app have compiled information from their Android users about just how fragmented the Android ecosystem is. Over the past year, they counted 11,868 unique Android device combinations — a nearly 200 percent increase over the previous year. Samsung controls almost 50 percent of the market, with numerous other manufacturers making up the rest, and OpenSignal counted 7 different versions of Android in use by its users. By comparison, Apple has released only 16 iOS devices (not counting the second- and third-generation Apple TV), and 95 percent of iOS users are running iOS 6, with most of the rest on iOS 5.
Wow - how great is Android that it can work so well on all these devices and screen sizes like it was designed to do. Is it fragmentation or is Android incredibly versatile?
It's not hard for an operating system to work with lots of screen sizes. Desktops do that all the time, and many other mobile systems have and do.
It's hard for developers to provide a consistent experience and make everything look good and be usable with many screen sizes. Android has tools for that.
Apple made the choice to have as few screen sizes as possible, and that was a) an oddball decision at the time and b) has proven to be very very useful for developers.