"At the start of December, Google reported that Android 16 adoption was low. However, our tech-savvy audience is ahead of the curve and most of the people who voted in last week's poll have version 16 running on their phone. For some (7%), it's because they bought a new phone recently and it came with Android 16 out of the box. The majority of voters (55%), however, received version 16 as an update."
"Around a third of voters are still on an older version - either because they are still waiting (some brands take longer than others) or because support for their phone has come to an end. There's an interesting fraction of around 5% of people who have stuck with an older version of Android on purpose. As reasons, they say it's because some updates can remove features, lower performance or introduce unwanted UI changes."
"While it wasn't an option in the poll, we saw that some in the comments are running Android 16 thanks to a custom ROM. As Android matured and maker-specific UIs added more customization options, custom ROMs fell out of fashion - but they aren't extinct yet! However, the growing number of devices with locked bootloaders poses a threat to the future of custom ROMs."
Most respondents run Android 16, with 55% receiving it as an update and 7% having it preinstalled on new phones. About one third remain on older Android versions because they are still waiting for manufacturer rollouts or because device support has ended. Roughly 5% intentionally keep older versions, citing removed features, reduced performance, or unwanted UI changes after updates. Perceptions of a slowing pace of innovation and minimal visible changes in recent releases reduce urgency to upgrade. Some users run Android 16 via custom ROMs, but locked bootloaders threaten custom ROM viability.
Read at GSMArena.com
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