Only a tiny percentage of iPhone users have installed iOS 26, according to data from a web analytics service. The adoption rate is far less than previous iOS versions at this same point months after their releases.
The data only reveals how few iPhone users run Apple’s latest operating system upgrade, not why they’ve chosen to avoid it. But the most likely candidate is the new Liquid Glass look of the update.
Ahead of iOS 19‘s unveiling at WWDC25 next week, Apple shared updated iOS 18 adoption figures. As of June 4, 2025, the OS powers 88% of all iPhones launched in the last four years.
This number drops slightly to 82% when considering all active iPhones. More iPhones have adopted iOS 18 than iOS 17 during the same timeframe last year.
Three months after launch, a lower percentage of iPhone users have adopted iOS 15 than they did its predecessors in previous years. Cult of Mac asked readers to explain their hesitancy.
Turns out there’s not one single reason.
Four out of five iPhones released in the past four years run iOS 14, according to Apple. That’s despite the operating system version only being available for three months. And iOS 14 adoption is well ahead of where iOS 13 was at this point last year.
Nearly as many iPad users have upgraded to iPadOS 14.
Over 30% of iPhones are running iOS 14 exactly a week after the release, according to data from an analytics company. That’s a 50% faster adoption rate than iOS 13 a year ago.
Even as Apple is expected to unveil iOS 14 on Monday, the company revealed that 92% of all iPhones introduced in the last four years run iOS 13. That’s a higher adoption percentage than for iOS 12 this time last year.
And it’s vastly ahead of the percentage of Android users who’ve been able to upgrade to the latest version of Google’s operating system.
A data analysis firm recently estimated that three-quarters of iPhone and iPad users have upgraded to iOS 12. Turns out that was slightly optimistic. Apple revealed today that iOS 12 adoption is actually at 70 percent.
That is vastly better than the number of people who’ve been able to upgrade to the latest version of Android.
Apple has no problem getting operating system upgrades out to its customers. The vast majority of iPhone and iPad users are running the latest iOS version. And all of these people will be able to make the jump to iOS 12 later this month for free.
Contrast that with Apple’s chief rival. Just a small percentage of Android users have a recent version.
Apple’s iOS 9 has been adopted by users at a pretty rapid rate, one that’s faster than even iOS 8 enjoyed.
Apple just updated its developer information page, claiming that iOS 9 is now on 75 percent of all iOS devices out there. This is four percent more than it was just a month ago, showing steady, if slower, growth than the first few weeks after the iOS 9 release.
If, as Tim Cook predicts, “it’s going to be an iPad Christmas” then December 25 has come early to Cupertino, on the back of reports that the iPad Air saw adoption rates of five times those of the iPad 4 following its opening weekend.