Monday, January 22, 2018

iOS 11 Adoption Reaches 65%

Juli Clover:

iOS 11 is now installed on 65 percent of iOS devices, according to new statistics Apple shared yesterday on its App Store support page for developers.

[…]

Since iOS 11 was released, its adoption rate has been quite a bit slower than iOS 10 adoption rates in 2017. In January of 2017, for example, iOS 10 was installed on 76 percent of iOS devices.

Apple has released several updates for iOS 11 since its September launch, but the operating system has also been plagued by bugs and security issues, which doesn’t appear to have helped adoption rates.

This is curious because iOS has gotten more pushy about getting you to update. iOS 11 still supports the iPhone 5s, so I don’t think the difference is due to old devices that can’t update. It sounds like a large number of users are choosing not to, and living with the annoying notification prompts.

I’m seeing about 63% adoption for macOS 10.13 with my apps, vs. 62% a year ago for macOS 10.12.

Update (2018-01-22): Nick Heer:

Perhaps the reason for this is that iOS 11 simply isn’t as compelling of a software update for iPhone users as was iOS 10; but hypothetically lax iPhone upgrades should, theoretically, be offset by rapid adoption on the iPad, where iOS 11 was a massive release.

Update (2018-01-24): jc:

I lost 27 third-party apps on my phone when upgrading to iOS 11. I deliberately waited to upgrade until the last crucial app received the necessary 64-bit update. A more likely reason for the slower uptake.

6 Comments RSS · Twitter

I've been steadily denying iOS 11 on my iOS 10 ipad for a long time now. It used to pop up the "enter your passcode to install now or later" dialogue almost daily, but now it's tailed off to about once a month.

I don't think I need to explain why I'm waiting right? I'm more likely to suffer loss of use due to "feature upgrades" (UI weirdness, obsoleted apps, and outright bugs, than I am to a security breach.

Maybe because the slow iOS 11 keyboard is scaring end users.

[…] Since iOS 11 was released, its adoption rate has been quite a bit slower than iOS 10 adoption rates in 2017. In January of 2017, for example, iOS 10 was installed on 76 percent of iOS devices. Apple has released several updates for iOS 11 since its … ( read original story …) […]

The loss of 32-bit app support is a big factor for some people. My brother didn't update — and ended up getting an Android phone for his day-to-day use — because many of his favorite iOS games are 32-bit only. Without many compelling features for the iPhone this time around, all iOS 11 means for some folks is that they can no longer use some of the apps and games they enjoy. Why would someone want to update if that update removes much of why they like using iOS in the first place?

@remmah That makes sense, although I wonder how many users know about the 32-bit issue.

Since Apple (iOS) has been warning users that the app won’t be compatible with iOS 11, they probably all know—perhaps not that it’s a 32-bit issue, but that “a bunch of my apps” won’t run.

I have one such app—a clean, minimalist star guide app that I use all the time—plus having a 5S, and seeing the disaster the new Control Center is, plus the heavier UI in general, and I'm on the fence. If Apple eventually breaks iCloud push email for iOS 10 like they did for iOS 9 when iOS 10 came out, I’ll probably upgrade, but for now I’m waiting for a compelling reason.

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