Tapjoy: ARPU (average revenue per user) was the highest in 2013 on Android Gingerbread (version 2.3)

Tapjoy recently released data showing that among all Android operating system versions in 2013, Gingerbread (version 2.3) had the highest ARPU (average revenue per user), exceeding that of Jelly Bean.

Gingerbread was released in 2010, with an ARPU of $1.6, up 40 cents from 2012. The ARPU of Jelly Bean (versions 4.1-4.3) has dropped to $1.57, while the ARPU of Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0, released in 2011) is $1.37.

Judging from this set of data, as the latest version of the operating system KitKat (version 4.4) is about to be released, Android developers will face a difficult choice of which version to develop, test and QA for.

Unlike Apple users who frequently update iOS versions, Android users are usually more lagging in updating software. Although KitKat will improve this situation by lowering the overall system requirements (compatible with low-end Android devices), Tapjoy pointed out that KitKat will only cover Nexus 5 devices and there are no plans to land on more Android devices. Therefore, Android developers still need to be cautious about whether to adopt KitKat.