14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has posted new numbers regarding the iOS 8 adoption pace, revealing that the software, despite being spotted with bugs at first, has made its way into the hearts of many.
iOS 8 was released with much fanfare in September, but many people were unable to download and / or install it for various reasons, including technical hurdles.
iOS 8 rollout and subsequent updates
Not long after iOS 8 was released to the masses, iOS 8.0.1 was deployed and given the mission to address bugs. Instead of alleviating woes, it brought some of its own, crippling a number of iPhones in the process (about 40,000 of them, to be precise).
Apple then rolled out iOS 8.0.2, which allowed the user to make peace with his / her iPhone, and with Apple implicitly. Adoption remained steady but not fast-paced, as in previous years. The reason was obvious: skepticism.
When iOS 8.1 arrived promising more fixes, adoption began to speed up again. This was also around the time when Apple was pushing forward with its iPhone 6 launch around the globe (something that continues to this day). As you may very well know, every iPhone 6 ships with iOS 8 pre-installed. This also counts as users “adopting” the new OS. Apple records this activity from the moment the customer activates the phone.
iOS 8 now on almost 60% of iDevices
Apple’s latest count, on November 10, indicates that iOS 8 is now installed on at least 56% of all iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices out there. Today is November 12, and you can be sure that tens of thousands of new users downloaded the update or acquired an iOS 8 device.
Google would kill to have similar numbers reflecting its own install base. Sadly for them, Android is a much more fragmented ecosystem with countless different versions of the mobile OS installed on even more phone models, all with their own particularities, ups and downs.
iOS 8.1.1 incoming
Apple is known to be working on at least three upcoming software updates for iOS 8 users, all of which are packed with tweaks and fixes necessary to improve the user’s experience. A few new features are also on the way, including deeper integration with HealthKit and HomeKit apps, as well as more ties with the Apple Watch.
Unfortunately, there’s no release date for iOS 8.1.1 at the moment, but it shouldn’t be long now. The first beta was offered to developers on November 3. If everything goes smoothly internally, the final bits should be out by the end of the month.
