14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has long been staying tight-lipped on iOS adoption data, despite previously sharing such information on its developer resources page.
Surprisingly, the company this week decided to provide us with a closer look at iOS 16 adoption numbers, and needless to say, the data looks good.
According to Apple, no more, no less than 81 percent of all devices that debuted in the last four years are already on iOS 16. This means that more than 8 in 10 iPhones launched since 2019 are running the latest version of the operating system, whereas 15 percent are still on iOS 15.
Only 4 percent of the models are running an iOS version that’s older than iOS 15.
When it comes to all iPhones out there, 72 percent of them are currently on Apple’s most recent operating system. 20 percent of them are powered by iOS 15, while 8 percent are running an earlier version.
OS fragmentation not really a problem
The numbers show that OS fragmentation is significantly lower than the one on Android, as a significant share of devices out there are still running old versions of Google’s mobile operating system.
In the meantime, Apple is already working on new versions of iOS, including not only updates for iOS 16 but also the big release of iOS 17.
Expected to debut in the fall of this year, iOS 17 is projected to come with significant changes, including once again the drop of support for certain iPhone models. Information that is yet to be confirmed indicates that Apple might no longer support the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus, with the iPhone X becoming the oldest model to receive software updates.
For the time being, however, taking this information with a pinch of salt is certainly recommended.