EfratBarTal
macrumors member
The last few years I’ve been upgrading my iOS mid-cycle, around March or April. This year will be different, I might do it later, around May or June.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Reveals How Many iPhones Are Running iOS 26
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The copes are going to be hilarious. Can’t wait to read them all here (Apple possibly lying. probably not). 🤣
Last edited:
Probably most. Remember those who don’t like something are more outspoken. Creating an illusion that it’s more disliked than it actually is (if you believe Apple’s numbers).
WannaGoMac
macrumors 68030
In the last month there was a TON of harassment to upgrade to iOS 26
Finally did it on iPad so I could update app3. iPhone joined beta 18 and that stopped the upgrade harassment
Finally did it on iPad so I could update app3. iPhone joined beta 18 and that stopped the upgrade harassment
I could never go back to iOS 18. Hold assist is a godsend (still needs some work).
Last edited:
WannaGoMac
macrumors 68030
Weird I’ve asked about 10 people in real life and everyone said 26 stunk and hated the new interface. Age range 15 to 90
Best feedback was “eh it’s ok but preferred old design”
This is me. It has issues. But the hate is surreal. I’m like “are we using the same iOS?”
Last edited:
No matter how many phones it's on, Aqua/Vista/Liquid still SUCKS.
adb1973
macrumors regular
Well you have to do your very best to avoid 26 -the previously stated 'harassment' is good.
i guess they didn't ask how happy people actually are with the new OS? Or is there a survey on that too?
Apple still didn't fix the keyboard lag fully they really did a bad bad job there.
The option to be able to always revert to the previous (supported) OS should be in the law.
i guess they didn't ask how happy people actually are with the new OS? Or is there a survey on that too?
Apple still didn't fix the keyboard lag fully they really did a bad bad job there.
The option to be able to always revert to the previous (supported) OS should be in the law.
Last edited:
Apples ego is revealed as they brag about adoption rate, a worn out old tradition they repeat over and over each time a new version is introduced.
Since they stop signing the prior version which prevents users from rolling back if they choose, Apples version of force feeding is another demonstration of the power they wield.
Since they stop signing the prior version which prevents users from rolling back if they choose, Apples version of force feeding is another demonstration of the power they wield.
Ugh, upgrade every computing device you own, people!
You really should stop making things up just to fit whatever you're outraged about. Adoption rates are a must for developers to know what new features that they can rely on. That's it. Full sentence. These numbers are a must for developers. Macrumors even grabbed the numbers from, and link to, the source on the developer website: https://developer.apple.com/support/app-store/
This right here is a rumors (the hint is in the name) website that operates based on ad views, that's taken information from a developer resource, that's the context. It's still perfectly fine information/news, but it's not Apple knocking on your door proclaiming the lord and savior iOS 26.
Then you could also argue that Apple has a legal obligation to release these numbers to investors, but tbh that's pretty much secondary to what the dev ecosystem needs.
I'm sure some self-labeled dev will counter this with something about how you always have to check what system the app runs on etc, which is partially, but not enough, true. Yes, you do such checks in your own code to support older generations, but it's not realistic to in the blind code your own app for all eventualities just to get your own data about worldwide adoption rates of updates. And even if it was how it worked someone would collect and share that data, and we'd be back to a website like macrumors making an article about it, and you'd once again get outraged at Apple. 🤷
Edit: And I think a lot of people commenting here should give that the source is a dev website an extra think, and wonder if language like "devices that transacted on the App Store" might not have a special meaning that goes beyond whether or not they opened their AppStore app or not on that particular day.
Last edited:
CATiNTHESTORE
Suspended
CATiNTHESTORE
Suspended
Overall , I never thought in 2026 Android will be more like mooore stable OS than iOS… crazy times
digitalrampage
macrumors regular
I’ve never received so many calls from people asking if they can downgrade…
digitalrampage
macrumors regular
So many people here seem to hate on iOS like it's barely possible to use on an average day, and I'm curious what you all are struggling with.
My experience is that on dev versions, especially the early ones, things aren't always working. But it's still much better than alpha software and most beta software was back in the day.
Public betas essentially always work. There's just this odd release that sort of backfires, or some coordination issues with a lack of feature parity. Also, it's not optimized yet, so it occasionally will be slower, might have the odd memory creep-ish situation, and as a rule will drain your battery quicker (if nothing else because you keep doing a lot of software updates, and it takes time for each to basically acclimatize on your phone with caches and all).
The first stable public releases will catch some new bugs, especially some fringe cases. But since there are A LOT of Apple users even rare fringe cases end up being quite a lot of people. But this rarely is an issue for the people on the public betas, if they took the usual precautions before they installed it on their main device. So they/we have it sorted already.
So what's actually going on with all these people more or less calling their devices broken and claim that their extended family is desperately call them for help? 🤨
Edit: Also, what Android would that be? You all seem to refuse to update your iOS devices, so what's up with your Android devices if you have them? Are you talking about a top tier device on Baklava, or some ancient low-cost device you can't even upgrade from Pistachio? What's actually more stable in the hic sunt dracones-waters of Android?
Last edited:
To be honest, low adoption in the first few months of release isn’t really an issue.
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:
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:
- 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.
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.
- 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.
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
Plus because there’s a new OS every year let’s say Apple made some huge mistakes with iOS 26, fix them in 27 and if they do a good job.
News will spread and people will move from 18 to 27 no questions asked.
I don’t think 26 is that bad although 26.3 has destroyed my m3 iPad airs battery.
So hoping the next beta will resolve that.
I hated iOS 26 before installing it and I was very vocal about it. But I was wrong. Even on my iPhone 12 it runs flawlessly. I was expecting a ton of bugs etc but I can’t say a single bad thing about it. Lesson learned: don’t take internet forums and Reddit too seriously
Agent007
macrumors 6502a
Anyone else notice a lot of the pro-iOS26 posts read like AI-gen slop?
Nice catch there, it's actually true that everyone that doesn't agree with you is just an AI-using shill for whatever government or corporation that you think are after you. You're actually the only sane and real person that exists.
Remember, you're not paranoid when the AIs actually are out to brainwash you. 👻🤖
Last edited:
Most users just have auto-updates enabled and go with the flow. I don't blame them. Who has time to think about what firmware your phone is running? Liquid Glass is still ugly though. But at least most things are working as expected, and the .3 release has fixed many of the UI glitches.
MacOS is a different story though. I'll stick to Sequoia on my productive Macs for as long as it's feasible.
MacOS is a different story though. I'll stick to Sequoia on my productive Macs for as long as it's feasible.
Populus
macrumors 604
Yeah, that’s my experience with iOS 26.2 as well, despite not running it on a modern iPhone (just an SE3). It runs better than iOS 18.