iOS 8 Adoption Hits 87% Ahead of iOS 9 Release

Apple's iOS 8 is installed on 87% of iOS devices a year after its release, according to new numbers shared by Apple on its App Store developer page. The new numbers come on the eve of the launch of Apple's newest mobile operating system, iOS 9.

ios8adoption
iOS 8 adoption has been somewhat slower than iOS 7, with iOS 8 hitting 72% adoption in January 2015. iOS 7 was at 80% adoption at the same point. Additionally, iOS 8 reached 81% adoption in late April, only growing 6 percentage points in a little over four months.

Comparatively, the latest version of Android (5.1, aka Lollipop) sits at a 5.1% adoption rate. However, Android updates often take a long time to propagate to customers, partly because cell phone manufacturers and cellular carriers must bake in their apps and interfaces into the operating system.

According to mobile analytics firm Mixpanel, iOS 9 currently holds a ~1.04% adoption rate, which includes public beta testers and developers. That number will likely increase dramatically as the operating system will push to iOS users tomorrow, September 16.

Popular Stories

MacRumors x Bloomberg Banner Cool

Apple Reportedly Plans to Unveil at Least Five New Products Next Week

Sunday February 22, 2026 9:48 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple will have a three-day stretch of product announcements from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4. In total, he expects Apple to introduce "at least five products." Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A week ago, Apple invited selected journalists and content creators to an "Apple Experience" in...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday February 20, 2026 3:21 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone this year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that Apple will release its first foldable device in 2026. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about ...
Apple Watch 15 Tips Every Owner Needs to Know Feature

Apple Watch: 15 Tips Every Owner Needs to Know

Thursday February 19, 2026 7:38 am PST by
Apple Watch is now eleven generations in, and packed with useful features that are easy to miss at first glance. To help you get more out of your new device, we've rounded up 15 practical tips you might not have discovered yet, including a few that long-time users often overlook. Bounce Between Two Apps On your Apple Watch, double-press the Digital Crown to see a deck of all currently...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon as 'Apple Experience' Nears

Sunday February 22, 2026 5:29 pm PST by
Apple's software engineers are testing iOS 26.3.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.3.1 should be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, and it will likely be released within the next two weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.2.1 with bug fixes and support for the second-generation...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Three Upcoming Apple Products Seemingly Spotted in macOS 26.3 Code

Friday February 20, 2026 7:36 am PST by
macOS 26.3 hints at Apple's rumored lower-cost MacBook, and two new Studio Display models, according to Macworld's Filipe Espósito. Espósito found the following codenames within macOS 26.3's source code, and he revealed the upcoming products that they likely correspond with, based on previous reporting from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and others. The codenames:J700: Lower-cost MacBook J427:...

Top Rated Comments

naeS1Sean Avatar
136 months ago
That moment when you see a 40 year old lady running < iOS 6. Makes me cringe. I just want to steal their phone for an hour and update and organize it...
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
136 months ago
Wow, Android is a joke in comparison. Want the latest OS? Buy a new phone.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Bad Guy Avatar
136 months ago
That moment when you see a 40 year old lady running < iOS 6. Makes me cringe. I just want to steal their phone for an hour and update and organize it...
Why would you want to ruin the poor lady's phone? You're a meanie.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
136 months ago
Beat that Android .... ;);)

/ducks
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
136 months ago
Comparatively, the latest version of Android (5.1, aka Lollipop) sits at a 5.1% ('https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html') adoption rate.
Yuck, that's abysmal.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sudo1996 Avatar
136 months ago
That moment when you see a 40 year old lady running < iOS 6. Makes me cringe. I just want to steal their phone for an hour and update and organize it...
Don't. Someone (aka my aunt) did that to my grandma's 4S, and then Safari was suddenly unstable because – I guess – she got unlucky and had something not go right, and she was asking me what the heck was wrong with it. It's way more important for her that stuff work right than it have the latest features.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)