After more than two months of availability, Apple's newest mobile operating system, iOS 8, is now installed on 63 percent of iOS, according to new numbers posted on Apple's App Store support page for developers.
iOS 8's installation numbers have increased approximately seven percent over the course of the last month, and installation numbers are up 11 percent since October 27. iOS 7 usage, meanwhile, has dropped from 43 percent in October to 33 percent as of December 8.
Apple's own iOS 8 adoption estimates are based on App Store usage and are mirrored closely by data from analytics service MixPanel, which puts iOS 8 adoption at 63.94 percent as of today.
The number of users installing iOS 8 initially stagnated at 47 percent just three weeks after the software was first released to the public, but installation numbers have been climbing steadily since then due to a number of bug fixes and an email campaign from Apple encouraging users to upgrade.
iOS 8's low adoption rates were likely due to several major bugs the software faced in its early days and a lack of space on 16GB devices for installing the OS. Apple's recent email campaign attempted to alleviate the latter issue, informing users with little space on their devices that they could upgrade through iTunes.
iOS 8.1, iOS 8.1.1, and iOS 8.1.2, introduced today, all brought bug fixes for several major issues, repairing problems and improving the stability of iOS 8. Apple is also working on iOS 8.2, which is expected to bring additional bug fixes and has been seeded to developers for testing purposes.
Monday December 1, 2025 4:37 pm PST by Juli Clover
We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week.
Past Launch Dates
Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent.
Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 9:44 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple's iPhone 17 lineup is selling well enough that Apple is on track to ship more than 247.4 million total iPhones in 2025, according to a new report from IDC.
Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple.
Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to...
Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs.
On his blog Daring Fireball,...
Monday December 1, 2025 5:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop.
Below is a breakdown of what we're expecting over the next ...
The iPhone Air has recorded the steepest early resale value drop of any iPhone model in years, with new data showing that several configurations have lost almost 50% of their value within ten weeks of launch.
According to a ten-week analysis published by SellCell, Apple's latest lineup is showing a pronounced split in resale performance between the iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air....
Thursday December 4, 2025 5:18 am PST by Tim Hardwick
iPhone 17 Pro models, it turns out, can't take photos in Night mode when Portrait mode is selected in the Camera app – a capability that's been available on Apple's Pro devices since the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020.
If you're an iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max owner, try it for yourself: Open the Camera app with Photo selected in the carousel, then cover the rear lenses with your hand to...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 3:30 pm PST by Juli Clover
OpenAI is deprioritizing work on advertising as it focuses on improving the quality of ChatGPT, reports The Information. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a "code red" on Monday, and told employees that the company needs to improve ChatGPT so it doesn't fall behind competitors like Google and Anthropic.
Altman said that OpenAI needs to work on personalization for each user, image generation,...
Still proudly on iOS 7, and iOS 6 on one of my iPads. iOS 6 is much faster than iOS 7.
I'll use iOS 8 when I buy the iPhone 6 Plus, but won't be installing it on any of my current devices.
Will stick with iOS 6 on my iPad till it breaks and then no more iPads for me.I can't stand iOS 7/8 on my iPad just boring and flat with blinding white and Hello kitty icons:)
I never could understand this metric. Since all new iphones have come with ios8 preinstalled, and they're selling millions, the number is gonna climb since people have NO CHOICE but to use ios 8. Nor do those who upgraded to ios 8 from 7 have the CHOICE to downgrade if they decided they didnt like 8 (at least not without a huge complicated process).
The only real metric of ios 8's popularity would be people who chose to upgrade and were actually glad they did. So these numbers seem irrelevant to me.
