The data reveals how many iPhones and iPads are running iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, as measured by devices that transacted on the App Store on February 14. iOS 16 is compatible with the iPhone 8 and newer, while iPadOS 16 is compatible with all iPad Pro models and select iPad Air, iPad mini, and entry-level iPad models released since 2017.
Apple's website says iOS 16 is installed on 72% of all iPhones and on 81% of all iPhones introduced within the last four years. 20% of all iPhones are still running iOS 15, while 8% are running iOS 14 or earlier, according to Apple.
iPadOS 16 adoption is at 50% overall and at 53% for all iPad models introduced in the last four years, according to Apple. iPadOS 15 usage remains fairly high at 35% across all compatible iPad models, while 13% are running iPadOS 14 or earlier.
Apple shared its first iOS 15 adoption statistics in January 2022, whereas these iOS 16 adoption figures were released in February, so the difference in timing does not allow for a direct comparison. However, accounting for the extra month of availability, it appears that iOS 16 adoption has followed a similar trajectory as iOS 15.
Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
...
Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by Juli Clover
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing.
Test Settings
I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below.
Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas.
The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android.
The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...
As a boomer, I'm unamused with your implication that boomers are more reluctant to adopt new technology than younger people. I'm on IOS 15 because I've read numerous reports that IOS 16 causes battery drain, and I happen to be happy with the battery life I'm getting with IOS 15. Conversely, I bet there's plenty of boomers who get a new iPhone every year, so they can keep up with technology. Heck, Johny Srouji himself is a boomer, using an inclusive definition.
I understand there are exceptions but i think my generalization is fair.
With regards to iOS 16 causing battery drain, rewind to 2022 and the same can be said for iOS 15. Rewind to 2021, and it's iOS 14, and keep going. I can also predict the future. iOS 17 will cause battery drain in 2024, and iOS 16 will be golden.
I think this kind of behavior of bias is actually more psychological more than anything else. What this is implying is that each year battery gets worse, which I don't believe is the case. Today's battery life is far better than the original iPhone. If we are to believe each new iOS version is so terrible, we would've dropped exponentially from great battery life to 1 second of screen on time now. The alternative explanation is iOS 16 is crappy today, but then somehow when iOS 17 comes out, iOS16 magically becomes good again so that iOS 17 looks bad. I don't think that's realistic either.
The realistic take is battery life hardly changes year to year. Battery life is a product of the apps you use and your usage behavior. I suspect what happens is people using old apps that don't get updated over time or have proper modern APIs break and start crashing a lot or have negative impacts on battery.
I have updated iOS on Day 1 on practically every phone I've gotten and have NEVER noticed a significant drop in battery. This whole blaming the current OS version is a cognitive bias.
Is Apple surveying users about why they aren't upgrading? I think 100% of iPads released in the last four years are eligible for iPadOS 16 so why is it 53%?
I think typical reasons would be user concerns that upgrading will change functionality or appearance for the worse (in their opinion) or bugs/glitches will screw things up and it's not worth the risk.
Also, I'm sure tons of active iPads out there stuck on iOS 12 and iOS 15. They tend to last way longer than phones.
Could be that, but I have another theory on why there’s a huge discrepancy between iPhone software upgraders and iPad software upgraders. Apple’s default auto updates feature installs updates overnight when your device is connected to power and Wi-Fi. The majority of people charge their phone overnight, every night. That means every night that phone has the opportunity to download, install and update itself. Meanwhile, since the majority of people don’t use the iPad as often as their iPhone, it usually doesn’t have that same consistent “overnight, every night” charging pattern. Same with the Mac, which is probably even further behind in software upgrades than the iPad.
