Apple Reveals How Many iPhones Are Running iOS 26

[cpfoto2005]

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Without knowing the daily adoption numbers, it's tough to tell the impact of the extra 23 days. Was there a big uptick during that time? Or had the adoption rate started to drop?

 

[ort888]

I updated my iPad first and it was so buggy and terrible I refused to upgrade my phone or computers.

It's much better (but still buggy) on the iPad after a few updates, but I'm still not a fan of the new look and I don't really see a compelling reason to upgrade. I will wait until I 100% have to.

I've been an Apple user for over 30 years and this is the first time I've waited more than a week or two.

 

[justanotherdave]

Wasn’t there some “independent” study recently that said iOS 26 adoption was very low?

Who to trust, the independent or the company who ACTUALLY knows?

 

[code-m]

There's a lot of folks who are pi**ed because Apple sneakily updated their phones overnight not realizing the phone was on auto-update. I check mine every now and then to make sure it stays off. I sometimes wonder if Apple plays shenanigans with the auto-update feature to boost their adoption rate for shareholder meetings...

If you feel you have a case, file a class action.

 

[Avenged110]

Why would older device be less involved in transactions on the App Store? Diving into my app store, I've got 5 apps that auto updated today, I don't even have that many apps installed. The odds of the average user not having had a transaction in the App Store are pretty slim. A "transaction" is any type of interaction with the App Store. It doesn't mean "person bought an app".

My point was that as applications slowly drop support for older versions, those running such older versions have less reason to visit the App Store and may not be counted. For instance, I'm using iOS 15 and only a couple of applications I use still get updates. Now, that's not a complaint and I don't really care, but as a result, I haven't even opened the App Store in a couple of months. I realize this would be a relatively small group, but it could still have an impact on the statistics if it wasn't being accounted for.

 

[spunkystrawberries]

lol Okay, now do macOS! 🙂

Actually, I don't think I've ever seen them post these types of upgrade numbers for their other platforms, now that I think about it.

I've been fine with it since the 26.0 release for my phone and iPads. (Though the iPad mini still has some layout bugs, and I think it's just because they haven't consistently been testing on something with that size screen.) But I'm still resisting on my Macs (except for a newer one that was pre-installed).

 

[Ursadorable]

I wonder what percentage feel hoodwinked after upgrading. This is the first release I held off on after seeing all the screenshots of liquid glass and UI changes. I'm so glad I didn't blindly update.

 

[TFrank2]

Of course these are the numbers. As said on that news item about the StatCounter data; their reporting is just absolute nonsense for matters like this. Most people don't and never will care about which version of iOS they run on their devices, people here claiming that if downgrading was an option that these numbers would be different are just kidding themselves.

I’d be surprised if the vast majority of people even know which version of iOS they even have. I could all but guarantee that the people in my family and coworkers couldn’t rattle off the correct number/version. We put a lot of stock in things your average user doesn’t even realize

 

[DailySlow]

Apple has shared updated iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 adoption figures, revealing how many iPhones and iPads are running those software versions.

These adoption numbers are based on iPhones and iPads that transacted on the App Store on February 12, 2026, according to Apple.

The statistics are as follows:

• 74% of all iPhones introduced in the last four years are running iOS 26.
• 66% of all iPhones are running iOS 26.
• 66% of all iPads introduced in the last four years are running iPadOS 26.
• 57% of all iPads are running iPadOS 26.

Here is how that compares to the iOS 18 adoption figures that Apple shared based on iPhones and iPads that transacted on the App Store on January 21, 2025:

• 76% of all iPhones introduced in the last four years were running iOS 18.
• 68% of all iPhones were running iOS 18.
• 63% of all iPads introduced in the last four years were running iPadOS 18.
• 53% of all iPads were running iPadOS 18.

At first glance, the iOS 26 and iOS 18 adoption figures appear to be similar, but this is only because Apple released the iOS 26 statistics later than usual. iOS 26's statistics are based on devices that transacted with the App Store approximately 150 days after the update was released to the public, compared to 127 days for iOS 18. In other words, iOS 26 was available for around three weeks longer by comparison.

As was suspected, this means that iOS 26 adoption has officially been slower than iOS 18 adoption, but not to the extent that some earlier, unofficial estimates had claimed. There is no way of knowing exactly why iOS 26 adoption has been slower, but some users have opted to avoid the new Liquid Glass design for now.

iPadOS 26 adoption figures are technically higher than iPadOS 18, but again, note that iPadOS 26 benefitted from three extra weeks of availability.

Article Link: Apple Reveals How Many iPhones Are Running iOS 26

Or maybe like, how many are NOT running iOS 26**** (disclaimer I am)

 

[Halmahc]

The hubris that some sections of people exhibit on forums like this is astounding. They think everything revolves around them, as if their personal sentiments about OS updates represent the general population.

Earlier, when objectively false reports circulated, paraded by MacRumors and others, claiming adoption was unusually low, people were quick to jump to conclusions and say, “it’s because of Liquid Glass, blah blah.” Now that the real figures are out, they’re still scrambling to find something obnoxious to say to discredit them. Touch grass, my people! The real world is different.

 

[now i see it]

Based on visitors to the App Store on 2/12/26?

I rarely ever visit the App Store.

“These adoption numbers are based on iPhones and iPads that transacted on the App Store on February 12, 2026, according to Apple.”

This “info” reminds me of the infamous graphs Apple likes to put up on screen during WWDC that have no numerical labels on the X or Y axis.

Gotta wonder why they’re even talking about this. Damage control?

 

[Avidos1]

If i could go back to 18 I would, 26 is awful

 

[sw1tcher]

In other words, 26% of all iPhones released in the last four years have dozens of unpatched security flaws, at least 3 of which are being actively exploited.

They finally got me with 26.3. 18.7.3 is no longer secure so there’s that.

Guess I'm living dangerously then since I'm still on 18.7.2.

Shame on Apple for not providing updates for those of us who do not want to update yet. Apple didn't use to be this way. History has taught me to wait until the xx.4 release if updating.

 

[djdl]

That's an awful lot of people thinking about switching to Android.

 

[Abydos]

ok I switched to os26 on a se 2020, no issues I've noticed, but I guess it depends on your usage but then again I haven't been to the App Store in 2 or 3 years unless it was for an operating system upgrade

 

[FoxyKaye]

I wanted Airpods Pro 3, I got iOS 26.

 

[Radeon85]

So on par with iOS 18 adoption then, as usual the minority that hate things always shout the loudest.

 

[switz]

Just want to point out the misleading title to this thread. No actual numbers were provided, only percentages.

 

[CEmajr]

After the bugs in iOS 18.0 I decided to wait until 26.1 to update this time around. Overall not too bad. As far the Mac goes I still haven't updated to Mac OS 26 as I can't afford any potential bugs that disrupt my workflow like Sequoia did initially. Plus I know Apple is under more pressure to fix any major bugs in iOS as the iPhone is their most popular product.

 

[robvalentine]

And out come the users claiming iOS26 is bad, sure Android 16 is better, but it's not that bad.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Most people wait until the x.3 release because it’s normally more stable.

I know a huge amount of my lag issues and app oddities have been corrected in the last couple days with this update.

I think most people just update whenever their phone prompts them to update. Most don't know, or care, what version of iOS they are running.

Half the people in my work department couldn't tell you what model iPhone they own, let alone with OS it runs....but I will add that a lot of people were unhappy when IT updated our company phones to iOS 26, and they know enough to not want the same on their personal device. Not all...maybe 50/50.

 

[diblasio]

Yeah, most people just update when the phone says to and they don’t say stupid **** like “liquid ass” nor do they even know what that even is.

Yall need to touch some grass.

 

[Slouchy2138]

I was expecting a lot less, like, I cannot stress how much less I was expecting

The real question is "how many iPhone users are happily running iOS 26." I can't tell you how many "WTF is this!!?? How do I just F#$%& do that simple thing I used too..!!" messages I received from family and friends 5-6 weeks ago after blindly auto updating (as we're all recommended to do)..

 

[Fallforward]

That's because you/we are at least partially inside this bubble filled with grumpy old men throwing a major tantrum because they've reached that age where if anything changes even slightly too much they're going to die on their lil hill of the good old days. 😂

My mental picture has always been males roughly 18-30 who think they know something about large scale tech and running a company. Speaking as a grumpy old man who doesn't like Liquid Glass but also considers it to be infinitesimally trivial - more trivial than adding rocket fins to cars in the 50s indicated a doom spiral and it's CEO is incompetent. On second thought, the fin thing might have been a good indication...

 

[carswell]

A couple of weeks ago, I needed to buy a heartbeat monitor (per ER doctor's rec) and the non-titanium series 11 watches were on sale. Was told by a web search and the Best Buy clerk that they'd run on iOS 18 though without some of the functions. On arriving home and starting setup, I found that Apple wouldn't let me use the watch without "upgrading" to iOS 26. Because it was for health reasons, I did so, and jeesh do I regret it.

I've turned off animations, killed all motion, set LG to tinted, permanently switched to dark mode and set my lock screen and wallpaper to solid black -- in other words, minimized LG as much as I can. Boring and not what I'd normally like but it's the only way I can put up with it. This is progress, Cupertino?!

Still find screens busy with all the ugly icon outlines and myself irritated by some of Fischer Price-look controls, not to mention the bugs.