Slow iOS 26 Adoption
Usage data published by StatCounter (via Cult of Mac) for January 2026 indicates that only around 15 to 16% of active iPhones worldwide are running any version of iOS 26 . The breakdown shows iOS 26.1 accounting for approximately 10.6% of devices, iOS 26.2 for about 4.6%, and the original iOS 26.0 release at roughly 1.1%. In contrast, more than 60% of iPhones tracked by StatCounter remain on iOS 18, with iOS 18.7 and iOS 18.6 alone representing a majority of active devices.
Historical comparisons highlight how atypical this adoption curve appears. StatCounter data from January 2025 shows that roughly 63% of iPhones were running some version of iOS 18 about four months after its release. In January 2024, iOS 17 had reached approximately 54% adoption over a similar timeframe, while iOS 16 surpassed 60% adoption by January 2023.
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In the first week of January last year, 89.3% of MacRumors visitors used a version of iOS 18. This year, during the same time period, only 25.7% of MacRumors readers are running a version of iOS 26 . In the absence of official numbers from Apple, the true adoption rate remains unknown, but the data suggests a level of hesitation toward iOS 26 that has not been seen in recent years.
I want to believe this is because people are choosing to avoid Liquid Glass, but the difference in curves is so stark that I assume it must be due to a measurement problem or a change in how strongly iOS’s Software Update is pushing new versions.
This, even given that Apple has made the 18.7.3 installer [and its security fixes] unavailable for anyone not an Apple Developer and in the beta program.
Previously:
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I've found it surprisingly easy to stay on iOS 18.
Regular people are already sick of AI hype and, understandably, believe they'll be less annoyed by it by staying on an older OS.
Even non-nerds are at a stage of their lives where their phone does what they need it to do and they also actually really need it to work.
In your digital life, putting security concerns aside, when was the last time something really great came from an update? On any platform?
An update is now simply an invitation to make your working phone not work anymore.
Nick Heer earlier today at Pixel Envy:
-- One post links to a possible reason: https://webkit.org/blog/17333/webkit-features-in-safari-26-0/#:~:text=Update%20to%20UA%20String
-- Next post goes a bit further:
"UPDATE: My iPhone running iOS 26.3 is detected by StatCounter’s user agent detection tool as an iOS 18.7 device. This reflects how StatCounter says is how it collects its figures. Two other devices running iOS 26 were also detected by StatCounter as iOS 18.7 devices; however, on one of them in the Chrome browser, StatCounter correctly detected it as iOS 26.1. I also see this effect in my own limited analytics, where the only reports of iOS 26 versions are non-Safari browsers. If an analytics package relies on the OS version string in the user agent, it will also misreport iOS 26 Safari users."
I wonder if all of this comes back to bite indie devs in particular. For the past years it’s been fine to just support the latest two iOS versions. Is this about to change with iOS 27, if a significant number of holdouts stay on iOS 18, and we’ll have to keep supporting that for years to come?
I usually wait to upgrade until the third major update. Will wait longer this time. Possibly to 27.
Also just realized we have had a preview of iOS 26 extreme corner radius all along in iOS 18 Shortcuts dialogues. Ugly.
@Nicholas Piasecki: indeed. worse yet, iOS 26 is a degradation so from a user's point of view upgrading makes no sense. The same can be said for a hardware point of view, there is no upgrade path from my iPhone 13 mini, nor do I -battery aside- need one.
I subscribe to Michael's desire to believe in rebellion, but it has to be a measurement error.
I am waiting to upgrage for that migration to Android feature they are working on jointly with Google.
This is because Stat Counter use browser User Agent for thes stats, but iOS 26 user agent is frozen to display iOS 18.6 just like macOS and iPadOS were already doing. https://51degrees.com/blog/apple-ios26-safari26-user-agent-string-device-detection
I find out HIGHLY unlikely that people are intentionally avoiding an upgrade. It must be something else.
I bet most people either don't know about glass, or that it's supposed to suck ass.
I don't believe the data is correct. In my mainstream entertainment app with about 250k MAU I'm seeing around 56% users with iOS 26.
I'm surprised by the lack of commentary and criticism (in tech circles and the press in general) on Apple withholding the 18.7.3 update from iOS 18 users on newer phones (I know it's available for those who can't update to 26).
It feels to me like the darkest dark pattern, plainly manipulative, and harmful for users who may not be ready or willing to update to 26. I find it outrageous. We shouldn't accept and normalize malicious platform stewardship from Apple, or any other tech giant for that matter.
"I find out HIGHLY unlikely that people are intentionally avoiding an upgrade"
The weird thing is that, in my experience, most people *do* intentionally avoid upgrading their phones. They use their phones to do actual things, like doomscroll on TikTok or write angry complaints about imaginary problems on Facebook, and they hate it when anything changes. They don't care about new multitasking features or AI or anything else; they just want their TikTok or Facebook icons to be in the same place and look the same and do the same every day.
I think these numbers are wrong, but I suspect they're closer to reality than any of the previous stats that showed super-fast OS update rates.
Apple is still pushing upgrades as hard as ever on my IPad. I just chose not to upgrade, and it's the first time I've seen a lot of my friends complain about the upgrade, too. (After upgrading, though.)
> I'm surprised by the lack of commentary and criticism (in tech circles and the press in general) on Apple withholding the 18.7.3 update from iOS 18 users on newer phones (I know it's available for those who can't update to 26).
> It feels to me like the darkest dark pattern, plainly manipulative, and harmful for users who may not be ready or willing to update to 26. I find it outrageous. We shouldn't accept and normalize malicious platform stewardship from Apple, or any other tech giant for that matter.
I had to switch to beta updates to get it.
