According to the latest Android developer stats, Android version 4.4 (KitKat) is now being used in an increasing number of devices with a share of 33.9 percent. But the previous Jelly Bean version still dominates the charts with a total of 48.7 percent share for all its versions. As for the newest iteration of Google’s mobile operating system, Android Lollipop, it is running on fewer than 0.1 percent of handsets. That’s a percentage so minute, it failed to register on the charts.

Fragmentation has been a top reason for slow rollouts of new Android versions across handsets, as mobile manufacturers and carriers are the ones who distribute the update on their devices. Unless you have a Nexus or Google Play Edition device, in which case the roll out comes directly from Google.

Another reason for the slowed adoption of Lollipop is that it was only made available to other devices during the second week of November. But one of the biggest factors affecting installation may have to do with the bugs that come with Lollipop.

Lollipop has awesome new features such as Priority Mode, Tap and Go device setup, Guest User and Trusted Places to name a few. But updating to Lollipop may result in expedited battery draining, dropped Internet connection, Wi-Fi issues, apps that no longer work, phone crashes, and poor video playback to name a few. These issues are enough to make Android users hold off on updating to the latest version of Android.

Bug fix

It is common to see updates being pushed out after a major software release to fix bugs, and Google is said to have quietly pushed out version 5.0.1 of Lollipop. Evidence of the update has been spotted in its Android Open Source Project page and its Factory Images for Nexus Devices page.

The 5.0.1 images appear for these devices: Google’s Wi-Fi Nexus 9, the Wi-Fi 2013 Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10. There’s no official statement from the Android team as to when this update will be available for users, or even what the update fixes, but the indication seems to pertain to fixing a bug related to resetting your phone to factory settings when too many failed log-in attempts are made.

Android seems to be sensitive in registering unlock attempts from accidental swiping or tapping on the screen, which means it’s entirely too easy for a failed log-in to occur. By fixing this, Lollipop would likely detect unlock patterns that reach the minimum length of four dots for pattern unlock. This means one to three accidental taps will not be registered as an attempt to unlock the device.

The update is said to also feature a fix for video playback failures.

Should you update now?

The answer is no. Version 5.0.1 is currently available as image files which means installing it to your device will result in applying the new version but would wipe out all your personal files and data, rendering the device useless unless you have backed up all that data somewhere else. You need to wait for the official release from Google which, depending on your device, will be coming from Google, your phone manufacturer or network carrier as an over-the-air update.

Another thing to remember is when the official update gets released, you might want to hold off in updating your device as the update could also come with more bugs than fixes.

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