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iOS 12 Adoption Hits 88%, Continues to Outpace iOS 11

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Apple this week disclosed that 88 percent of active iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices are running iOS 12, as measured by the App Store on August 6, 2019. iOS 12 adoption continues to outpace iOS 11, which was installed on 85 percent of active devices as of September 3, 2018, according to Apple.

ios-12-adoption-august-2019-800x425.jpg

The updated stats, highlighted by Rene Ritchie, also reveal that seven percent of active devices continue to run iOS 11, with five percent using an earlier version. This includes older devices that are incompatible with the latest iOS versions.

iOS 12 outpacing iOS 11 in adoption is not much of a surprise, as iOS 11 was plagued by several problems last year, including at least three bugs that could crash the entire system, a HomeKit vulnerability, an iPhone camera autofocus issue, autocorrect bugs, the iPhone X glitching in cold weather, and more.

The high-profile iPhone performance management controversy also likely had an adverse impact on iOS 11 upgrade rates.

In January 2018, multiple reports claimed that Apple delayed several new features planned for iOS 12 to focus on performance, stability, and bug fixes, and the software update has indeed proven to be much more reliable.

Looking ahead, Apple is now in the latter stages of beta testing iOS 13, which will be publicly released in September.

Article Link: iOS 12 Adoption Hits 88%, Continues to Outpace iOS 11
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/08/08/ios-12-adoption-88-percent/
It's a solid update, and i'm very happy with the beta of ios 13 as well, especially on the ipad. I've used it 3x fold as much now; just genuinely increase in usefulness. Kudos apple
 
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otternonsense said:
I'm sure the constant pop-up reminders to update your iOS (if you haven't already), without giving the user any call to action to refuse, had nothing to do with that. /sarcasm
Click to expand...

You can turn that off if you want. Common sense is that the vast majority of people want to know about updates to stay abreast of not only new features, and important security fixes.

People want to update because have figured out that getting a new iOS is like getting a new phone, and it's all free! That's why an Apple phone is the best value out there, and the least expensive when amortized over its useful life.

iOS 13 is incredible update. Enjoy, courtesy of that greedy Apple that keeps making our phones last longer and get better even after we've already paid for it.
 
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with millions of iPhone 6 & 6 Plus phones still in use in the wild - and unable to upgrade to iOS 13, next year's adoption rate to iOS 13 won't look so rosy
 
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truthertech said:
You can turn that off if you want. Common sense is that the vast majority of people want to know about updates to stay abreast of not only new features, and important security fixes.

People want to update because have figured out that getting a new iOS is like getting a new phone, and it's all free! That's why an Apple phone is the best value out there, and the least expensive when amortized over its useful life.

iOS 13 is incredible update. Enjoy, courtesy of that greedy Apple that keeps making our phones last longer and get better even after we've already paid for it.
Click to expand...

Not true, you can't turn it off on iOS 11. It's a feature that came with 12. Common sense also says that technology gets cheaper over time. Common sense is to make a good keyboard after a bad. Common sense would also be letting users stick to their preferred iOS generation and provide the additional security update alone. But Apple isn't entirely run by common sense, is it?

I did keep 11 for as long as I could on my iPad Pro because the "new" iPhone X-y multitasking layout and gestures on the iPad frankly suck, and still I kinda regret updating because the performance gain is negligible.

As for iOS 13, the jury is still out. Given the kinks of 11.0 and 12.0 initial releases, I think I'll wait until 13.1 is available.
 
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now i see it said:
with millions of iPhone 6 & 6 Plus phones still in use in the wild - and unable to upgrade to iOS 13, next year's adoption rate to iOS 13 won't look so rosy
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They're getting replaced and pushed out of active use all the time - even as of 2017 they were shrinking numerically, and that's before they're reduced as a %age by millions of new phones being sold every September release since...
https://www.iclarified.com/60348/growth-of-iphone-installed-base-slows-in-the-us-report

I doubt the 6 series phones are still as prevalent as you might think given how many were first sold.
 
otternonsense said:
I'm sure the constant pop-up reminders to update your iOS (if you haven't already), without giving the user any call to action to refuse, had nothing to do with that. /sarcasm
Click to expand...

I used to find the popups annoying but when you consider how these updates often include critical security patches I have to side with Apple on this one. Left to their own devices many would keep delaying a software update without these reminders, leaving their phones vulnerable to known issues.
 
BootsWalking said:
I used to find the popups annoying but when you consider how these updates often include critical security patches I have to side with Apple on this one. Left to their own devices many would keep delaying a software update without these reminders, leaving their phones vulnerable to known issues.
Click to expand...

As I said on a previous reply, it would make sense to let users stick to their preferred iOS generation that might also be best suited for their device, and provide the additional security update alone.
 
Considering the trends I see around me, I gotta wonder if this graph is also a pretty good indication of how many people are still using devices that are actually limited to previous operating systems. The folks I know that are still running old versions of iOS all have iPhone 5's or 4s's (that's lovely punctuation).
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otternonsense said:
As I said on a previous reply, it would make sense to let users stick to their preferred iOS generation that might also be best suited for their device, and provide the additional security update alone.
Click to expand...
Traditionally, yes, true. But everyone I know still rolling a 5s (surprisingly large number of people, actually) is pretty enamored with how much more efficient iOS 12 is on their devices vs the past few releases. So at least with the switch from 11 to 12 I think upgrading was the right call for the vaaaaast majority of users.
 
Agit21 said:
The best reason to stay on ios: updates.
Android doesnt come close.
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What good are updates if iOS still lacks features that Android had seven years ago like split screen multitasking, background multitasking, background file/media/web services, dock/desktop mode, place icons anywhere on home screen, swipe away unwanted calls, external drive support, mouse support with a real pointer, etc.?
 
mi7chy said:
What good are updates if iOS still lacks features that Android had seven years ago like split screen multitasking, background multitasking, background file/media/web services, dock/desktop mode, place icons anywhere on home screen, swipe away unwanted calls, external drive support, mouse support with a real pointer, etc.?
Click to expand...

Part of what makes iOS so great to so many users is the controlled experience. Does it come with a cost? Sure. You can't do that stuff you just listed.

Seems like you'd be happier with Android given all that you may want to do with your phone?
 
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dwsolberg said:
What surprises me is that anyone is still on iOS 11. iOS 12 is better in every way, including speed. My guess is that some people’s phones are too full to upgrade, because that’s the only reason not to upgrade.
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Hell, I'm still on 10 on my iPad pro! There are actually MANY reasons to not update iOS. Depends on your needs and use case. Since one of the main uses of my iPad is to watch movies... that I own, and want to watch offline, I keep it on 10 to keep the "Videos" app, which is a much better experience for users that don't want their movie watching experience convoluted with "recommendations" (essentially ads), don't want to stream, and where you have to navigate through a sea of BS to get to the content you actually want to watch. Again, that's just one of MANY reasons people may not want to update... "it was better for my use-case the way it was".
 
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mi7chy said:
What good are updates if iOS still lacks features that Android had seven years ago like split screen multitasking, background multitasking, background file/media/web services, dock/desktop mode, place icons anywhere on home screen, swipe away unwanted calls, external drive support, mouse support with a real pointer, etc.?
Click to expand...
Ah, yes, the extremely valuable features that have failed to keep me on Android... three different times now.

Personal use case. Nothing else matters.
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KazKam said:
Hell, I'm still on 10 on my iPad pro! There are actually MANY reasons to not update iOS. Depends on your needs and use case. Since one of the main uses of my iPad is to watch movies... that I own, and want to watch offline, I keep it on 10 to keep the "Videos" app, which is a much better experience for users that don't want their movie watching experience convoluted with "recommendations" (essentially ads), don't want to stream, and where you have to navigate through a sea of BS to get to the content you actually want to watch. Again, that's just one of MANY reasons people may not want to update... "it was better for my use-case the way it was".
Click to expand...
Have you tried the VLC app? Not sure if that'd work for you, but it might be worth a try.
 
Agit21 said:
The best reason to stay on ios: updates.
Android doesnt come close.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me? Android gets MONTHLY security updates and full yearly releases. What are you talking about lol?

If you're assuming Android is a OEM that builds phones, you have a misunderstanding of what Android is.

Android is an open source OS that is regularly maintained and regularly updated. Because of its open nature, OEMs and enthusiasts alike can choose what they want to do with it. If you want to use it as is, you can install it on day 0. See Essential Phone and Google Pixel Line. When a company maintains both software and hardware, you get day 0 updates. Like Google. But what's great about Android is even if you're not Google, you can still release it on day 0 if you're okay with the way it is. See Essential Phone. It's all about choice.

If you want to compare Android and iOS in terms of updates, you should compare Apple and Google, as they are the most comparable. Then see if your update claim holds any truth.

If you want to customize it even further, well then you release it when you're customization is done. Companies like OnePlus do some customizations, but not much, so their updates are delayed 1-2 months usually. Companies like Samsung basically rebuild the entire user interface and add features like Dual Bluetooth Streaming, screen recording, custom camera software, etc.

With all that said, even a company like Samsung does a yearly release of new software. They're just not on the same schedule as the core underlying Android OS.

Hopefully you now know how Android works!

Now, if you don't like Android- that's fine. There are many reasons to prefer iOS over Android (and vice versa). But there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding of how Android updates work- even MacRumors staff are ignorant on this.
 
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iOS these days really is very impressive, in my experience and opinion. Such a slick balance of features and slipstreamed ease of use.

iOS 13 on iPad is very pleasant to look at and use.
 
Like it was said above - if a user wasn't constantly annoyed by endless "upgrade meeee!" pop ups, I wonder what the actual adoption rate (of someone going out and choosing the latest IOS) would be.
 
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