Why does Android Studio version info conflict with Android.com?

Question

When creating a new project in Android Studio, why is does the market share given for different versions conflict with what is shown at developer.android.com/about/dashboards ?

This information is important for choosing a minimum SDK version/API and knowing how that will affect users.

For example, Android Studio says targeting version 4.4 (KitKat) will allow an app to run on 24.5% of devices active on the Google Play Store.

However Android.com says the relative number of devices running version 4.4 (KitKat) is 39.1% (data gathered from the new Google Play Store app).

What is the difference in the way these two stats are measured that appears to make them conflict?

Answer 1

I believe @CommonsWare is correct and his suggestion prompted me to recalculate the Android.com numbers to be cumulative totals, like the Android Studio numbers.

Once both sets of numbers are made cumulative it seems clear that the Studio numbers are just a little out of date.

FYI, the updated numbers in the newer format are here:

Version | Codename,API | Share

2.2 | Froyo,8 | 100.00%

2.3.3 | Gingerbread,10 | 99.60%

4.0.3 | ICS,15 | 91.80%

4.1 | Jelly Bean,16 | 85.10%

4.2 | Jelly Bean,17 | 65.90%

4.3 | Jelly Bean,18 | 45.60%

4.4 | KitKat,19 | 39.10%

5.0 | Lollipop,21 | < 0.1%