How long did it take KitKat to get to 47%?
Coupled with that, things like the browser, maps, e-mail and keyboard are updated through the Play Store now, not through OS updates. Google have done a pretty great job with this.
They never were accurate because it's mostly not in the users control if/when they upgrade. The carrier has to 'bless' you with the privilege of even being offered an update.
This is one of the reasons I just switched to an iPhone.
> Was this in the Android 2.x era?
Galaxy S3. Galaxy S Relay 4g. Android 4.1/4.0 respectively the day they were bought and the day they were traded in.
Apple's strength is that they provide the hardware and the software so they are responsible for building any new version of iOS with applicable drivers and firmware for each device.
Core apps are one thing but if you want to update to the latest version of Android, you're mostly out of luck without the OEM's involvement. Third parties regularly work on building current versions for all manner of devices as soon as Google publishes the source but without driver source from the maker of the actual chips and other hardware, they're left cobbling together unoptimized drivers for important things like the cellular radio or the camera or reverse engineering their own. If it was just a matter of carrier interference, there would be a "vanilla" build available for every device shortly after release.