Apple released iOS18 to the general public in September of last year, alongside the iPhone 16, and since then, there have been no details available on the platform's adoption rate among users. Well, the company has come through and shared iOS 18 adoption numbers.
iOS 18 is running on 76 percent of the iPhones launched in the past four years
iOS 18 is a major update as it brought Apple Intelligence to the platform, and the company's AI initiatives are gradually being rolled out to the public. According to Apple, iOS 18 has been installed on 68 percent of all iPhones that are compatible and 76 percent on all iPhone models launched in the past four years. 19 percent of them are running iOS 17, and 5 percent are on an older version. It was believed that users would embark on iOS 18 much quicker than prior updates due to the new AI features, but that is not the case.
In comparison, iOS 17 was installed on 76 percent of the devices at the same time last year. However, iOS 16 was installed on 81 percent of the devices during the same time period, and it only goes on to show that the adoption rate has remained stagnant for the company while it should have increased. The numbers were shared on Apple's Developer website as of January 21, 2025. If you are not familiar with it, the numbers are measured by the devices that have transacted on the App Store.
As for iPadOS 18, 63 percent of the iPads launched in the last four years are running iPadOS 18, and 27 percent of them are running iPadOS 17, while the remaining 10 percent are running an even older version of iPadOS. In comparison, iPadOS 17 was installed on 61 percent of the devices in the same time period, which shows that iPadOS 18 adoption has slightly improved.
If you are not familiar, Apple made iOS 18 compatible with a wide range of devices. For instance, all devices that support iOS 17 were able to install iOS 18, including the iPhone XS, which launched in 2018. Apple's years of support for older iPhone models mean that not everyone will upgrade to the latest iPhone models, as they will get most of the new features on older hardware.
On the flip side, Apple Intelligence remained exclusive to the latest models, starting from the iPhone 15 Pro models. Now, the company is launching all the latest devices with support for Apple Intelligence, including its budget iPhone SE 4, which is expected to be announced in a few months. We will share additional details on the scenario, so be sure to keep an eye out.
