Roger Fingas
Adoption of iOS 8 among iPhone, iPad, and iPod owners is up to 81 percent of active devices, Apple said on Wednesday in the latest update of its App Store distribution data, measuring traffic from April 27.
By comparison, iOS 7 is down to 17 percent of devices, and use of iOS 6 and earlier has dropped to just 2 percent. The iOS 8 figures are up two percentage points from Apple's last distribution update two weeks ago.
Apple's current mobile operating system is likely doing well for several reasons. It is for instance broadly compatible, supporting devices as far back as 2011's iPhone 4S and iPad 2. iPhone sales meanwhile continue to surge, and have done particularly well in the past two quarters thanks to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which launched alongside iOS 8 in September 2014.
In the company's most recent quarterly results call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that roughly 20 percent of active iPhone users have upgraded to the 6 or 6 Plus. Some 61.17 million iPhones were sold in the last quarter.
The iPad, however, declined 23 percent year-over-year to 12.6 million units. Analysts have suggested that some of this is owed to cannibalization by the new iPhones, which answered a long-running demand for models with larger screens. At 5.5 inches, the 6 Plus in particular has been described as serving many of the purposes of the iPad mini with the added benefits of a phone.
iOS 7 is likely holding on in part because of the iPhone 4, for which it's the most recent compatible software. Though it was released in the same year, the fourth-generation iPod touch is restricted to iOS 6.
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Andrew Orr
11 Comments
While I can respect the reasons some have for sticking with a certain iOS or OS X version (even thought I don’t agree or even sympathize with said reasons) it is still better for ALL users to be on the latest versions if for nothing else than security and compatibility. In my opinion Apple is doing the right thing by pushing hard for upgrades and updates, especially because they are free now. It’s a good thing that iOS 8 is now at 80% uptake and I don’t buy the “planned obsolescence” garbage argument.
While I can respect the reasons some have for sticking with a certain iOS or OS X version (even thought I don’t agree or even sympathize with said reasons) it is still better for ALL users to be on the latest versions if for nothing else than security and compatibility. In my opinion Apple is doing the right thing by pushing hard for upgrades and updates, especially because they are free now. It’s a good thing that iOS 8 is now at 80% uptake and I don’t buy the “planned obsolescence” garbage argument.
Well, some cases we don't have hardware that can handle it, or there's a stupid issue holding us back.
While I can respect the reasons some have for sticking with a certain iOS or OS X version (even thought I don’t agree or even sympathize with said reasons) it is still better for ALL users to be on the latest versions if for nothing else than security and compatibility. In my opinion Apple is doing the right thing by pushing hard for upgrades and updates, especially because they are free now. It’s a good thing that iOS 8 is now at 80% uptake and I don’t buy the “planned obsolescence” garbage argument.
I recommend that nobody with an iPad2 upgrade past iOS6. I updated mine and look over with envy as my wife zips along on hers running the last version of iOS6.
These are exactly the responses I expected to see. Fine, do whatever you like but don’t go trashing iOS 8 or Yosemite because of your personal biases. They are fantastic improvements over previous operating systems.
If the hardware is capable of using the latest version of iOS for 3 1/2 years (like the 4S) then at this rate I'll "have to" upgrade my iPhone 5 by . . . let's see, 2012 + 3 1/2 years = some time in 2016. The 5 was introduced in 2012, right? (I got it in the middle of 2013). Not that I have to, but it's a great reason to do so. Am I right?