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I was installing Java today and this was shown in the installation. Is there anything that supports this claim?

3 billion devices run Java

Flimzy
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Alfredo Osorio
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    I read this claim as 3 billion devices could run java not that they are running java. Which is a much less impressive claim. – Chad Jun 18 '12 at 18:35
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    Java essentially runs inside of its own virtual machine. This property allows Java code to be extremely portable, and run on almost any modern computing device, including cell phones. Many "feature phones" run entirely on Java, as do most cell phones between 5-8 years old. 3 billion devices may be an exaggeration, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's close to accurate. If it's a sufficiently advanced computing device, more often than not it has Java in it somewhere. EDIT: as far as hard numbers go, I don't have any, though I doubt you'd find any source that isn't traced back to Sun. – Crimius Jun 18 '12 at 18:00
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    @Chad: that may be the actual situation, but the sentence is clear: "3 billion devices **run** Java", not "are able to run", not "could run", not "may run", simply "run", so there is no other possible interpretation (marketing aside). – nico Jun 19 '12 at 05:52
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    @Crimius Not sure where you get the 5-8 years figure from, you probably refer to these crappy pre-iPhone era devices. But most modern smartphones either run iOS or Android, and the latter is based on Java. – Konrad Rudolph Jun 19 '12 at 08:07
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    @KonradRudolph: first of all smartphones still don't dominate cell phone market in numbers (they do in cash, as they are more expensive), second many of the crappy BREW or S40 phones are (or at least used to) be classified as smartphones. Although lately they've being named "featurephones". – vartec Jun 19 '12 at 13:29
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    @nico I agree the inference is that 3 billion devices are running java or at least do run java. But the word 'are' or 'do' are not there either. Java wants you to believe it is are. I suspect it is can. – Chad Jun 19 '12 at 14:06
  • I say: you are really a skeptic person :) – kokbira Jun 25 '12 at 18:12
  • Almost all Nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola and other known mobile brands, also a lot of Chinese ones, have a lot of their mobile phones with Java MIDP support. In which year do you born? How many mobile phones do you bought in your life? Do you know other mobile phones than those that have iOS or Android? – kokbira Jun 25 '12 at 18:17
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    One more supporting fact; of the 6 billion or so cell phones in the world, nearly all have SIM cards. SIM cards actually contain microprocessors of their own which run Java Card, the smallest Java profile. SIM cards are typically shipped to the consumer with a couple of simple applications preloaded by the carrier, usually for checking your prepay balance or allowance etc. That's a few billon more "devices" you could include. – Colin Pickard Aug 30 '12 at 16:36
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    Now, three and a half years later oracle still displays the exact same ad when running the java updater.... – Willem Hengeveld Nov 02 '15 at 08:24
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    @WillemHengeveld 5 years later, no change. Still 3 billion. Makes it sound like a brown and sticky number. – Criggie Jul 28 '17 at 02:28
  • According to Oracle, 3 billion devices have been running Java since 2005. And it's still 3 billion in 2022 – qwr Mar 24 '22 at 04:39

2 Answers2

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There is actually some more detail on this on the Java website:

  • 1.1 billion desktops run Java
  • 930 million Java Runtime Environment downloads each year
  • 3 billion mobile phones run Java
  • 31 times more Java phones ship every year than Apple and Android combined
  • 100% of all Blu-ray players run Java
  • 1.4 billion Java Cards are manufactured each year
  • Java powers set-top boxes, printers, Web cams, games, car navigation systems, lottery terminals, medical devices, parking payment stations, and more.

Which comes from the Learn about Java Technology webpage. These numbers can be drilled down into a bit more (e.g. blu-ray sales, PCs with Windows installed 1, etc.) but the figure they give in the setup actually seems to be fairly conservative.

With regards to some specific claims, Blu-ray players have to support BD-J which is used to for bonus content on Blu-ray disks which is why Blu-ray players must support Java.

One of the biggest areas of use of Java is in Java Cards which are smart cards containing embedded Java based programs that can be run on various devices. While Oracle cited a number of 1 billion units manufactured in 2007 back in 2008, others have noted total cumulative sales of about 5 billion units in 2007. This is another point that leads to the 3 billion devices claimed perhaps being a conservative estimate.

  1. In truth the number of Windows PCs sold by year isn't the best number, but generally OEM machines generally ship with Java installed by default so this is a soft number to work with.
rjzii
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    "3 billion mobile phones run Java" is a direct quote from the Website, but definitely begs for a citation. – Larry OBrien Jun 18 '12 at 20:46
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    this assumes that "runs" and "is capable of running" is same thing. Also, many PCs don't come with Java pre-installed. – vartec Jun 19 '12 at 08:07
  • @vartec - True, but that's why that is a soft number. The "runs" and "is capable of running" is likely going to be a matter of marketing speak as I would assume that it has Java installed where as someone else might go the full extreme in which Java must all ways be running. Also, if we really want to argue semantics, [Java Cards](http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javacard/overview/index.html) don't run the full Java installation that you would find on a full computer, but rather a subset of it. – rjzii Jun 19 '12 at 12:00
  • What is a "Java phone" and why do they exclude Android as not being a "Java phone"?? – Sam I Am Jun 19 '12 at 14:54
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    @SamIAm - Likely they mean one that is running the [JavaPhone API](http://java.sun.com/products/javaphone/) and that is likely going to be run by lower end phones than smartphones, for example [clamshell cell phones](http://www.phonegg.com/List/Clamshell-Cell-Phones.html). – rjzii Jun 19 '12 at 15:00
  • @RobZ, Oh. Didn't know that existed. Thanks. – Sam I Am Jun 19 '12 at 15:08
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    "31 times more Java phones ship every year than Apple and Android combined" - Android's native apps are written using java. I would have included androids in "mobile phones that use java".... – Ephraim Jun 19 '12 at 17:42
  • @Ephraim Java phones are not the same as Android based phones. While the difference could be chalked up to marketing, they do use different APIs and there are differences with regards to what you can write for one phone vs. the other. – rjzii Jun 20 '12 at 11:56
  • It'd be funny if Oracle did include Android phones in their stats – Chris S Jun 20 '12 at 20:09
  • @Chris S - not at all : Oracle doesn't like Google much – warren Jun 22 '12 at 15:38
  • -1 How is this a good answer? The question is about wether a Java claim is right and you answer it from Java source... – Zonata Sep 12 '12 at 03:27
  • @RobZ Your sources only show the PC and the BD sales number. Nothing more. – Zonata Sep 12 '12 at 03:57
  • @warren That's why it'd be funny – Max Nanasy Jul 11 '13 at 01:42
  • if 3 billion phones run java... and 1.4 are android, then the rest will be symbian? http://www.androidcentral.com/google-says-there-are-now-14-billion-active-android-devices-worldwide – JP Hellemons Feb 03 '16 at 07:52
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    More that 5 years later still 3 billions. They must be stopped counting... – Yura Ivanov Jan 19 '18 at 14:50
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3 Billion seems reasonable based on the number of Java ME and Android devices in use.

There is a fair amount of evidence corroborating the "3 Billion devices" powered by Java - in fact there are likely be close to that number running Java ME (Micro Edition). This includes most of the low-cost phones currently being sold in China and India. There are also some 200 million active Android devices as of late 2011, with Android is still the fastest-growing mobile operating system. These should also be included.

Java ME makes up the bulk of this number, and is still available on most current-model phones that aren't Apple, Android or Windows Mobile, as well as practically all phones prior to iPhone/Android, going back as far as 2001.

For example, Nokia lists 338 handsets that they have released that support Java ME, dating back to the monochrome-screened 3410 in 2001. All Nokia OS and Symbian OS devices were Java ME compatible.

Motorola, RIM (Blackberry), Ericsson (now Sony Ericsson), Samsung, LG, Sagem, Sharp, Siemens, and others all have licenses for and have released phones based on Java ME.

This site claims close to 6 billion active mobile subscriptions, the CIA factbook claims 5.4 Billion(2010) which would put just over half as "run Java".

It should be noted that while many devices use a great deal of the Java ME stack, others (e.g. Symbian) are not java-based but allow Java ME applications to be run. Symbian also supports:

  • C++ (Qt, native)
  • python
  • Adobe Flash lite
  • Ruby

For application development. It's difficult to argue that a Symbian device is "powered by Java", and indeed many Symbian users have likely never run a Java ME application on their phone. But Oracle only claim "3 Billion devices run Java", and if you interpret that statement in a certain way it's probably fair.

John Lyon
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    Why are you excluding Android in your calculation? Android *is* Java. Large parts of it are written in Java. – Konrad Rudolph Jun 19 '12 at 08:10
  • Indeed, @KonradRudolph is correct in that Android is Java and should not be excluded from the equation. A lot of Java developers are able to dabble in mobile device development due to Android being Java based. – rjzii Jun 19 '12 at 12:11
  • [The CIA world Factbook](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html) says (for the world) Telephones - mobile cellular: 5.4 billion (2010) – Sam I Am Jun 19 '12 at 14:45
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    @SamIAm 2011 metrics versus 2010 metrics, the article linked in the answer even notes it is a significant increase from the previous year. – rjzii Jun 19 '12 at 14:58
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    @RobZ I know. I read it. I was just noting another source, the World Factbook, which agrees with the stats given here (for 2010) – Sam I Am Jun 19 '12 at 15:06
  • @SamIAm - Ah, cool, wasn't sure from the original comment. – rjzii Jun 19 '12 at 15:12
  • @Konrad There are ~200 Million active Android devices as of late 2011, which helps, but the bulk of the 3 Billion number is coming from Java ME. – John Lyon Jun 19 '12 at 23:02
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    @jozzas As far as Oracle are concerned, Android devices do not run Java. People writing apps for Android write them in Java, but then there is a step where they compile them into a "Dalvik" application, rather than a Java one, and the app runs in a Dalvik VM not a Java VM, so there is no Java actually run on the device. Sounds like semantics but Oracle have just been to court over this exact bit of semantics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalvik_%28software%29 – GAThrawn Jun 25 '12 at 13:24
  • @KonradRudolph is wrong, android is not (and was not) java, Dalvik and the later ART is not a java VM. It won't be able to run most java libraries which require java8 features. It won't manage memory like java VMs do. It won't use invokedynamic or hotspot like java VMs do. Even oracle sued google for implementing their java API on top of their own VM. – nurettin Jul 15 '17 at 08:13