Apple pegs iOS 7 distribution at 74%, iOS 6 at 22%

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
In a change to its developer website on Thursday, Apple notes the latest version of its iOS mobile operating system has hit a 74 percent adoption rate as of Dec. 1, a huge share compared to the 22 percent seen by iOS 6.

iOS 7
iOS adoption data taken during the week leading up to Dec. 1. | Source: Apple


As noted by TechCrunch, Apple updated its developer support portal for the iOS App Store earlier today and included the graph seen above to illustrate iOS 7's quick adoption rate.

According to Apple, which based the numbers on App Store usage, the share of devices running iOS 7 is a whopping 74 percent. Given the short amount of time iOS 7 has been on the market -- less than three months -- the pick-up rate is astonishing. Apple first released the latest iteration of its mobile platform on Sep. 18 in concert with the iPhone 5s and 5c launch.

While iOS 7 adoption continues to outpace its predecessor, the older version is still running on nearly a quarter of all active devices. This means some 96 percent of iOS users are running the two most recent operating systems, the older of which is just over one year old.

Apple's numbers nearly mirror those of ad network Chitika, which on Wednesday released data regarding iOS device Internet traffic. According to the analytics, iPhone version distribution stood at 74.1 percent for iOS 7 and 22.4 percent for iOS 6 during the three-week period between Oct. 25 and Nov. 18. As for iPad users, some 9 percent were still using iOS 5, though the number can be attributed to the tablets' longer lifespans.

In the same report, the ad firm outlined Android fragmentation, which saw just over half of all users running the last-generation 4.1 to 4.3 Jelly Bean. Googles current Android 4.4 KitKat is only operating on 1.1 percent of devices, while 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and 2.3 Gingerbread account for 18.6 percent and 24.1 percent, respectively.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    Definitely impressive numbers, but what I'd be most curious about is the adoption rate of 10.9 Mavericks.

    Features aside, it represents some serious "must have" security features under the hood (especially over older releases still running on lots of machines, like Lion earlier). My hope is that because Apple released it as a free update, that it's gotten a noticeable adoption rate as well...
  • Reply 2 of 22
    dnd0psdnd0ps Posts: 253member
    Definitely waiting for jailbreak
  • Reply 3 of 22
    adybadyb Posts: 205member
    Of those devices running iOS 6, it would be interesting to know how many could run iOS 7 and how many cannot (like my wife's 3GS).
  • Reply 4 of 22
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AdyB View Post



    Of those devices running iOS 6, it would be interesting to know how many could run iOS 7 and how many cannot (like my wife's 3GS).

     

    Some people may choose not to update.

     

     All of my iDevices CAN run 7, but only 1 is running it.  A choice I made because I personally don't like the appearance of 7, nice spiffy new functionality or not.  The one is only still on 7 because Apple won't allow reversion back to 6.

  • Reply 5 of 22

    This is all great, but Apple still needs to fix some major Safari bugs(memory leaks) in iOS 7 that cause crashes on certain websites.  These bugs are well documented in Apple developer forums.

  • Reply 6 of 22
    "The one is only still on 7 because Apple won't allow reversion back to 6."

    Most people like free updates but the 'no going back' cause is simply too totalitarian.
  • Reply 7 of 22
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    Now address that dumb unlocking animation.

     

    After sliding to unlock on iPad I can flick the screen to get to page 2 four times before my screen interaction is accepted. It's not just too slow, the animation, it isn't user-friendly. On iOS 2 - 6 I could even swipe to page 2 before the animation was finished, enabling the system to accept my first swipe, every time. Get it sorted, Jony. As I slide to unlock on iOS 7 my immediate first interaction with the OS is a negative one.

     

    And yes, I use this http://www.apple.com/feedback/ but it shouldn't be my problem. It should have been sorted months ago.

  • Reply 8 of 22
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    ireland wrote: »
    Now address that dumb unlocking animation.

    After sliding to unlock on iPad I can flick the screen to get to page 2 four times before my screen interaction is accepted. It's not just too slow, the animation, it isn't user-friendly. On iOS 2 - 6 I could even swipe to page 2 before the animation was finished, enabling the system to accept my first swipe, every time. Get it sorted, Jony. As I slide to unlock on iOS 7 my immediate first interaction with the OS is a negative one.

    And yes, I use this http://www.apple.com/feedback/ but it shouldn't be my problem. It should have been sorted months ago.

    I don't have this problem. What iPad are you using? I'm using an Air. My only problem is Safari crashing and yes Apple needs to fix that ASAP.
  • Reply 9 of 22
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    This is all great, but Apple still needs to fix some major Safari bugs(memory leaks) in iOS 7 that cause crashes on certain websites.  These bugs are well documented in Apple developer forums.
    I hope 7.1 fixes that before it's released to the general public.
  • Reply 10 of 22
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    I don't have this problem. What iPad are you using? I'm using an Air.

     

    What do mean you don't have this problem? It's irrelevant of your device. It affects every device running iOS 7. Open your Smart Cover on iPad, lock your device and try it for yourself.

     

    Take a locked screen in iOS 6, slide-to-unlock, as the animation proceeds swipe the next home screen. Result = it works.

    Take a locked screen in iOS 7, slide-to-unlock, as the animation proceeds swipe the next home screen. Result = it doesn't work.

    Don't wait for the animation to finish on both counts to compare apples to apples.

     

    I can swipe 4 times in iOS 7 before my interaction is accepted. The reason this is important is the extended waiting period for the unlocking animation in iOS 7 is also the same waiting period before home screen pagination is affective. So not only is the unlocking animation much longer, but the waiting period before you can interact with the screen (pagination) is waaaaay longer. It's a huge step backwards on the intuition front.

  • Reply 11 of 22
    ireland wrote: »
    What do mean you don't have this problem? It's irrelevant of your device. It affects every device running iOS 7. Open your Smart Cover on iPad, lock your device and try it for yourself.

    Take a locked screen in iOS 6, slide-to-unlock, as the animation proceeds swipe the next home screen. Result = it works.
    Take a locked screen in iOS 7, slide-to-unlock, as the animation proceeds swipe the next home screen. Result = it doesn't work.
    <span style="line-height:1.4em;">Don't wait for the animation to finish on both counts to compare apples to apples.</span>


    <span style="line-height:1.4em;">I can swipe 4 times in iOS 7 before my interaction is accepted. The reason this is important is the extended waiting period for the unlocking animation in iOS 7 is also the same waiting period before home screen pagination is affective. So not only is the unlocking animation much longer, but the waiting period before you can interact </span>
    with the screen (pagination) <span style="line-height:1.4em;">is waaaaay longer. It's a huge step backwards on the intuition front.</span>
    I agree.
    The problem is not the hardware but iOS 7 animations. Hopefully they will be fixed in 7.1

    I'm using iPad air but I face same minor problem everyday. Other than this love the iOS 7.
  • Reply 12 of 22
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    ireland wrote: »
    What do mean you don't have this problem? It's irrelevant of your device. It affects every device running iOS 7. Open your Smart Cover on iPad, lock your device and try it for yourself.

    Take a locked screen in iOS 6, slide-to-unlock, as the animation proceeds swipe the next home screen. Result = it works.
    Take a locked screen in iOS 7, slide-to-unlock, as the animation proceeds swipe the next home screen. Result = it doesn't work.
    <span style="line-height:1.4em;">Don't wait for the animation to finish on both counts to compare apples to apples.</span>


    <span style="line-height:1.4em;">I can swipe 4 times in iOS 7 before my interaction is accepted. The reason this is important is the extended waiting period for the unlocking animation in iOS 7 is also the same waiting period before home screen pagination is affective. So not only is the unlocking animation much longer, but the waiting period before you can interact </span>
    with the screen (pagination) <span style="line-height:1.4em;">is waaaaay longer. It's a huge step backwards on the intuition front.</span>
    Okay well whatever it's doing obviously doesn't bother me because I'm not noticing it. I swiped to unlock, put in my passcode and the home screen appears.
  • Reply 13 of 22
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    Okay well whatever it's doing obviously doesn't bother me because I'm not noticing it. I swiped to unlock, put in my passcode and the home screen appears.

     

    As as the home screen is appearing try to swipe to the next home screen without waiting for the paint to dry on that tortoise animation, 'cause running iOS 6 that whole process was significantly more GTD.

  • Reply 14 of 22
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

     

     

    As as the home screen is appearing try to swipe to the next home screen without waiting for the paint to dry on that tortoise animation, 'cause running iOS 6 that whole process was significantly more GTD.


     

    I have to admit, I'm not seeing the problem either.  Everything is silky smooth, from what I can tell.

  • Reply 15 of 22
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    So basically, 97% of iPhones are running software within the past 15 months. Awesome. This is why on iPhones, developers can take advantage quickly of new APIs, and target their apps, unlike on Android, where they need to test their apps on every Android version released in the past 5 years and not depend on any new API. 

  • Reply 16 of 22
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by _Rick_V_ View Post



    Definitely impressive numbers, but what I'd be most curious about is the adoption rate of 10.9 Mavericks.

     

    Does "adoption rate" refer only to upgrading older devices to the new software versions, or does it also include purchases of devices with iOS 7 or OS X 10.9 already installed?  I recall on this same site, people were crying foul on an article about higher Windows 8 adoption, where the article included systems with Windows 8 preinstalled.  So I wonder if people are going to defend Apple's statistics if Apple does the same thing.

  • Reply 17 of 22
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    I'm part of the 22%. Two reasons:

    1. iOS 7 looks like garbage compared to iOS 6, and the basic GUI changes suck (I like the feature additions but the bevel-less "buttons" are pathetically non-intuitive and have lousy actionable areas).

    2. I have an iPhone 4. It will slow down with iOS 7. I already put up with a slowdown from iOS 6, compared to the phone when first bought/used.

    My use of iOS 7 will be against my preference, on a newiPad, if I can afford to spend my recently unexpected money there (as opposed to covering bills).
  • Reply 18 of 22
    I’m all over the map. :D

    - iOS 7 on iPhone 5s
    - iOS 6 on iPhone 3GS
    - iOS 5 on iPad 01

    Both my Macs are on Mavericks now.

    I have to say the niggling complaints I’m reading here about iOS 7 are really just that. “Niggling” things which don’t diminish the overall useability in the slightest. Once you get adjusted, you’ll realize just how far ahead iOS 7 has taken things. On every level.


    @Ireland: Come on, really?? That extra 1/8 second delay before swiping is just ruining your entire UX with iOS 7? That’s a pretty major case of OCD on display, dude.

    Have you considered that maybe it isn’t a bug at all? That maybe iOS is doing something new (and ultimately better) behind the scenes that requires the few extra nanoseonds before allowing a swipe? And maybe, this so-called “major step backward” of yours is just WAY overstated and overblown by you and only……….. you?


    To the rest:
    Whether or not the GUI changes are aligned with your personal aesthetics or not (I wasn’t jumping up and down about introducing a new learning curve into my days either, regardless of how it looked), MALIGNING the ENTIRE operating system release simply based on “taste” seems kind of petty to me.

    I had a few ‘niggling concerns’ of my own, but after a few weeks of non critical use, I’m already SO done with iOS 6 and prior. When I went to use my old 3GS again, I immediately felt hobbled by the simple everyday iOS 7 features that were missing from iOS 6 and prior. I’m feeling even more extreme urgency on the iPad front. iOS 5 feels positively Jurrasic now.

    Now that I’m mostly used to the ‘flatland’ of iOS 7, it all makes perfect sense. Looking back at the previous versions, they all look and feel clunky and so much less refined by comparison. I would never have thought I’d use those adjectives to describe iOS 5/6!

    Pretty much everything is faster, more efficient (from a UI point of view), more obvious, less cluttered. Since I spend 98% of my time inside APPS, it ultimately comes down to their GUI’s more than the baseline that is iOS. That said, all of Apple’s default apps are pretty much re-imagined for iOS 7. I’m still adjusting to a few of them. Calendar is awesome, but still being learned (mostly in how I use it with iCloud and shared calendars, etc.). New features abound. Actions are simplified.

    These incredibly minor complaints being trotted out as “dealbreakers” just astound me. It seems like an awful lot of one’s time and energy to waste lambasting a “bug” that amounts to a few nanoseconds of ‘delay’ on a login screen.

    Life awaits you! Get out and enjoy some of it! :)



    peace.
  • Reply 19 of 22
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Haggar View Post

     

     

    Does "adoption rate" refer only to upgrading older devices to the new software versions, or does it also include purchases of devices with iOS 7 or OS X 10.9 already installed?  I recall on this same site, people were crying foul on an article about higher Windows 8 adoption, where the article included systems with Windows 8 preinstalled.  So I wonder if people are going to defend Apple's statistics if Apple does the same thing.


     

    I would assume that it's total machines, whether upgraded or pre-installed.

     

    However, I don't remember that Windows article, but the adoption rate for Mavericks vs. Windows 8.1 is actually in Mavericks favor, from all the articles I can find.  Now, granted, Mavericks has a bit of an advantage given that it was free to anyone with a Mac that could run it, while Win 8.1 was only free to those who had purchased Win 8.

     

    That being said, if you want a scary statistic concerning adoption rates, consider this: Nearly a third of Windows machines are running XP.  XP is a *12* year old OS.  To put that into perspective, OSX had only existed for about 6 months -- EXISTED! -- when XP was first released.

     

    Conversely, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion make up something like ~75% of OSX versions.  If you add in Snow Leopard, it's over 90%.  Compare and contrast.

  • Reply 20 of 22

    App store usage?

     

    Do apple mean that in the period covered 74% of devices downloading new apps were on iOS7?

     

    If so, does that mean that an older device that hasn't downloaded any new apps for some time won't be counted?

Sign In or Register to comment.