Since launching in September alongside the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iOS 8 has seen its adoption rate grow to 68 percent of compatible iOS devices, according to new numbers posted on the Apple Developer Support page.
With Apple updating data publicly every few weeks, this latest data point represents a four percentage point bump in adoption since the last update on December 23. The significant increase highlights Apple's strong performance in device activation numbers over the holidays to add to the company's iOS 8 user base.
Over the longer term, installation numbers are up 5 percentage points over the past month and up 12 percentage points in the past two months. iOS 7 usage has seen an understandable decline as its successor has gained ground, with the older operating system dropping from 33 percent in December to 29 percent in January. Earlier iOS versions represent just 4 percent of the current App Store user base.
Apple initially faced multiple issues following iOS 8's launch, including what has progressed to a lawsuit over storage space needed to install the OS on smaller GB devices, but the adoption rate has steadily increased as users have decided to upgrade and purchases of devices with iOS 8 preinstalled have increased.
Apple has brought a number of bug fixes and addressed some more significant flaws with recent updates such as iOS 8.1, iOS 8.1.1, and iOS 8.1.2. The company is also continuing to work on iOS 8.2, seeding a third beta to developers in mid-December. In addition to bug fixes and other improvements, iOS 8.2 will include support for integrating with the upcoming Apple Watch.
