iOS 8 Adoption Reaches 81% Following Apple Watch Launch - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 8 Adoption Reaches 81% Following Apple Watch Launch

by

iOS 8 Adoption April 27 2015Apple's latest distribution numbers show that 81% of iOS devices are now running iOS 8 or later, less than one week after the release of the Apple Watch. 17% of devices used to access the App Store continue to run iOS 7 and the remaining 2% are running an earlier software version.

iOS 8 adoption rose 2 percentage points since Apple shared its last distribution numbers earlier this month, with the Apple Watch launch last Friday likely contributing to the marginal increase. Apple Watch must be paired with an iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8.2 or newer.

According to mobile analytics firm Mixpanel, approximately 91% of devices were running iOS 7 at this time last year, meaning that iOS 8 adoption continues to be slower, likely due to a wide range of reasons including software bugs and excessive storage space required to install updates.

Related Forum: iOS 8

Top Rated Comments

148 months ago
Cool, I'm the 2%! (without the money ;) )
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Costino1 Avatar
148 months ago
I'm sure the early Apple Watch adopters really pushed iOS installs to their limits...

All 400 of them who received their preorders? *tongue in cheek.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
148 months ago
Why should owners of older - still perfectly working - devices upgrade if the upgrade is in fact a usability downgrade and their devices are much slower than before?

To be honest, iOS 8 hardly runs any better on my iPhone 6 than it does on my work 5C and 4S on iOS 7.

In fact, my 5, 4S, and 3GS on iOS 6 remains faster at navigating around the OS, with the 5 on iOS 6 being the fastest I have currently. I really hope Apple starts bringing back some element of speed, but they don't seem to be bothered one bit.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
allanfries Avatar
148 months ago
Hmmm! Still wonder how many of the 81% are new devices.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
furi0usbee Avatar
148 months ago
I'm sure the early Apple Watch adopters really pushed iOS installs to their limits...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SteveW928 Avatar
148 months ago
iOS8.3 will be faster than any version of iOS7 on any supported device.

Not even close. I'm running 8.3 on my iPad 2 and it's a total dog.

And be careful about benchmarks... the stuff I care about is how quickly the keyboard responds, switching between apps, etc. That stuff is all horrible under iOS 8. It has improved a bit, but is still pretty bad in comparison.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Sunday August 16, 2026 8:24 pm PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the...
apple camera airpods

Apple's Camera-Equipped AirPods Confirmed: See Them in Action

Monday August 17, 2026 6:21 pm PDT by
Apple is working on camera-equipped AirPods that appear to be nearly ready to launch, based on a video MacRumors found in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate. In a short demo, a man holds a book up so the camera in the AirPods can see the title. "With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later," says the voiceover text. Here ...
iPhone 18 Pro Dark Cherry Feature

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: New Details Leak as Apple Event Nears

Monday August 17, 2026 11:09 am PDT by
"iPhone Ultra" supply will be very limited when the foldable device is first released later this year, according to Fixed Focus Digital, a known leaker on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account also claimed that the iPhone 18 Pro's A20 Pro chip will be up to 18% faster and up to 30% more power efficient compared to the iPhone 17 Pro's A19 Pro chip. The A20 Pro chip will be the...