Update 3/31: Apple’s latest data reflects 78% as measured on the App Store on March 30th.
Update 4/14: Two weeks and one iOS 8.3 update later, the App Store now reports 79% iOS 8 adoption.
Apple now says that 77% of active iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches are now running some version of iOS 8. The remainder of active devices running older software than what was released last September include one out of five devices still running iOS 7, and a small 3% running iOS 6 or earlier. The data comes from Apple’s App Store Distribution dashboard, which captured the adoption rate earlier this week.
While the information does show the steady climb of active devices upgrading to iOS 8 at a steady, gradual rate, it does not reveal how many users are running the very latest version, iOS 8.2, which is required for iPhone users to pair with the upcoming Apple Watch, which will be released on April 24th…
Since last Monday, however, updated iPhones will automatically be put on an Apple Watch-compatible software version.
The new data shows a 4-point climb since February, and a 2-point climb since the last update at the start of March. Notably, users upgrading to iOS 8 continue to come from iOS 7 rather than earlier versions.
MixPanel, another data source, continues to present iOS 8 user statistics at slightly above Apple’s own numbers, estimating that 80% of devices are running the operating system.
The trend that iOS 7 saw higher adoption on the same date a year ago as iOS 8 is also continuing, with MixPanel reporting just under 90% adoption for iOS 7 as of mid-March.
Apple has released a number of point updates to iOS 8 since its debut last September, with iOS 8.1 adding Apple Pay support, iOS 8.2 adding Apple Watch compatibility, and iOS 8.3 appearing as the first public beta version of the iPhone and iPad operating system.
iOS 8.3 will include a redesigned Emoji keyboard with more characters and additional languages for Siri, among other changes. We reported earlier this year that iOS 9, which is expected to be revealed in early June for a public launch later this fall, will focus heavily on performance improvements rather than headlining new features.
