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iOS 8 adoption after first day lagging behind previous iOS releases

iOS-8-adoption

Over 60% of 9to5Mac readers are on iOS 8 following yesterday’s public release, but that’s not surprisingly representative of all users. In fact, adoption of iOS 8 this year seems to be lagging further behind previous releases, especially last year’s record setting adoption rate for iOS 7. A quick look at the various advertisers and research firms tracking adoption through apps and device usage on their platforms shows iOS 8 is sitting at around half of what iOS 7 had during the same time period.

Mobile marketing company Fiksu has iOS 8 adoption at 7.92% after the first 18 hours compared to 17% for iOS 7 over the same amount of time. Other stats show a similar slowing of adoption for iOS 8 versus last year’s iOS release. Researchers at Mixpanel have a live chart tracking adoption and note that it has iOS 8 adoption so far at just 14.25% compared to the almost 40% that iOS 7 had on its second day of release. Another live tracker from Appsee has similar stats as Mixpanel putting iOS 8 adoption at 13.1% at the time of writing. Tapjoy, on the other hand, is about to release data that has iOS 8 at just 5.90% after 18 hours on its network of apps with 200+ million unique iOS users per month. It also broke numbers down by platform with 6.60% iPhone, 3.96% iPad, and 7.65% iPods.

What exactly is causing the slower than usual adoption is unclear, but the stats are only slightly below past iOS releases apart from iOS 7’s record setting numbers. Perhaps the big jump in adoption numbers last year were due to excitement regarding Apple’s completely redesigned iOS 7 release. There’s also a possibility many users are holding off this year due to the higher amount of free storage needed to install — some users are required to have over 6GB of free space just to install iOS 8.

We’ll be keeping an eye on adoption and update if things pick up today.

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Comments

  1. bfunk1978 - 10 years ago

    “Mobile marketing company Fiksu has iOS 8 adoption at 7.92% after the first 18 hours compared to 17% for iOS 8 over the same amount of time.”

    The graph explains it, thankfully, otherwise…eh, whaaaa? /ProfessorFarnsworth

    • Jordan Kahn - 10 years ago

      Thanks, fixed.

    • b9bot - 10 years ago

      Downloading it was a real problem I think had something to do with it. Give it another day or so and watch those numbers climb quickly as the bogged down servers catch up. I wasn’t able to update mine until after midnight so the download time was less than 3 hours instead of 8 hours in the day time.

      • aztecskater - 10 years ago

        You’re right. I have to wait 10 hours for the download to finish 😒 or could be my basic internet plan from at&t

      • bfunk1978 - 10 years ago

        I didn’t download it until yesterday but I used…unofficial sources, I guess is the best way to put it. The download from Apple was SO SLOW that I just didn’t want to wait for it to finish on both my phone and my iPad. Had it downloaded from a….mirror…in about 15 minutes.

      • mpias3785 - 10 years ago

        I waited a until evening and it took no longer than 30 minutes. I did, however, not make the mistake of doing it OTA again! I plugged my 5s into my computer, did a backup and then the update.

  2. Willy (@Willy_tr) - 10 years ago

    After the iOS 7.0 – iPhone 4 tragical combo i believe iPhone 4s users will think twice about updating to iOS8

    • Bruno Fernandes (@Linkb8) - 10 years ago

      I don’t see iOS8 as any slower than iOS7, only possibly somewhat more memory intensive when things like alternative keyboards and widgets are activated. It’s a shame they cut off the iPhone 4 this year, as iOS7, despite taxing the phone, was by all accounts a very worthwhile update.

    • Thats why I am waiting with my 4S (which is my backup phone).

    • Jim Phong - 10 years ago

      iOS 7.x works perfectly on iPhone4.

    • mpias3785 - 10 years ago

      Agreed! Chalk it up PTSD. I think some people haven’t gotten over the iOS 7 upgrade. It’s ugly and the first few versions caused a great many people hours and days of anguish. In my case, 7.1.1 was the first stable version and I’m running it on a 5s.

      I think a lot of people are thinking: “Now that iOS 7.1.2 is working nicely, do I really want to take the chance of a repeat performance?”

  3. Bruno Fernandes (@Linkb8) - 10 years ago

    1. iOS8 is a long and slow download and install OTA. Seems longer than iOS7.
    2. Do not underestimate the number of iPhone 4 models still in use – those are excluded this year.
    3. Every iPod model except the newest is also excluded
    4. A lot of people are busy with receiving and waiting for their iPhone 6 models tomorrow, so they may wait to update their older phones or sell them prior to updating
    5. Everyone that CAN install iOS8 will do so. It’s essentially iOS7 part two, the functional part – great benefits.

    • Joel Henson - 10 years ago

      It’s not that long. The whole process took me 30 minutes and I was on my work wifi

      • Greg Brown (@gk_brown) - 10 years ago

        It *is* that long. I tried to update both of my iPads last night and I was getting estimates of 15-20 hours to download. By this morning, but updates had failed. I restarted one and again got an estimate of 15h.

      • WaveMedia (@WaveMedia) - 10 years ago

        I was stuck on “about 4 hours” for… about 4 hours lol. Then I cancelled it and tried again and I appear to have gotten in a better line as it then took 5 mins to download the thing and another 8 or so for my iPad. Granted this was fairly late on so most will have finished and/or given up freeing up the server capacity.

      • Someone (@BKLYNRob) - 10 years ago

        They’re right though, it was incredibly long trying to update my ipad. It took all night to download the file I just went to bed it was taking too long. Even app updates in iTunes were taking forever to download. Everything has been slow with their servers the past couple of days.

  4. Sam Pineas (@SamPineas) - 10 years ago

    Definitely free space is the issue. Several friends told me they don’t plan to download it because they can’t clear enough space for the OTA version, and they never have a reason to plug it in to a computer to upgrade through iTunes.

    • You’re correct. The only reason I did it is because I get my new phone tomorrow, so I didn’t mine deleting all my music off my phone to make room for the download. The download is HUGE, definitely a deterrent for many people.

    • Joel Henson - 10 years ago

      I had to delete 18 apps and already had deleted my music to download the update.

    • mpias3785 - 10 years ago

      “and they never have a reason to plug it in to a computer to upgrade through iTunes.”

      This is a reason to plug it in to a computer to upgrade through iTunes.

  5. zexpe (@zexpe) - 10 years ago

    Because Yosemite still isn’t out, so many of the exciting features are disabled now. In fact, 1Password recommends their users not to update to iOS 8 until Yosemite is out, otherwise they won’t be able to sync their passwords over iCloud.

  6. Samuel A. Maffei - 10 years ago

    It wouldn’t have anything to do with features like Health Kit and Family Sharing being broken, would it?

  7. allowmetopost - 10 years ago

    The OTA updating for 8 is not seamless for the user. Getting messages you need more space to complete the update – how many just said forget it? I have to go and figure out what to delete just so I can update? Nah.

    I had for an iPhone 5 – 6.9 gigs available and an iPad mini retina with 7 gigs available and I still got the error of not enough space – and had to go in a delete apps, and photos/videos to make more room. Still no go – back and delete a little more – and then finally had enough for the update to complete. I bet more people said forget it than take the time to delete for space.

    • Edison Wrzosek - 10 years ago

      First world problems here…

      Jeeze people, you make this sound like a capital offence! You’re getting so many new features, not to mention MUCH NEEDED security enhancements, and yet you brush it off because you can’t be troubled to remove a few apps, which when re-added with the tap of a few buttons, will come back to their original state?

      Holy christ, talk about an instant gratification society!

      • WaveMedia (@WaveMedia) - 10 years ago

        Not just that, but they’ll be sat with the damn thing next to their computer that they could just PLUG IT INTO and update it via iTunes and avoid all this hassle.

      • herb02135go - 10 years ago

        Anyone who updates without doing research is a fool.

        Previous IOS updates have shown that Apple does not get it right the first time. Maps, anyone?

        You simply cannot take the chance of rushing out to update- you could regret it.

  8. Some of the best features of iOS 8 require OSX Yosemite to function properly and that won’t be released until October. That, coupled with the large amount of free space required for OTA update and it’s not surprising the adoption rate is slower than usual.

  9. Bhamidipati Ramana - 10 years ago

    download speed and time was OK. i didn’t see any issues with performance yet – having said that on first instance no difference between 7 and 8 to bare functionality for non techno folks! simply upgrade and keep safe as always new versions enhance certain capabilities.

    regarding space issues – do a full reset and recheck. Should do good! and also will reset configurations etc that will enhance performance. rest of the things are trivial – individual choices as you go and get along.

  10. Jonathan (@Jon889) - 10 years ago

    Personally I’m waiting for Yosemite to come out, to load it on my iPad, (and for a jailbreak for my iPhone). With the whole iCloud Drive (and continuity) thing, it just seems simpler to wait.

  11. Chad Bleich - 10 years ago

    The release of the iPhone 6 and 6+ definitely have something to do with it. After the millions of orders they’ve already received for it, it makes sense that people are just waiting to get the new iPhone instead of updating their current iPhone.

  12. markbyrn (@markbyrn) - 10 years ago

    It’s only been a day, and are they are supposed to set an adoption record every year or it’s doom and gloom? Give it a rest.

    • WaveMedia (@WaveMedia) - 10 years ago

      I’d love to see how many people are already on iOS 8 compared to those on the latest version of Android after it’s been around for over a year at this point. Percentage wise of course.

  13. Cooper Black (@cprblak) - 10 years ago

    There are a lot of 4s phones out there and the word on the street (Ars Technica, forums etc.) is that it can slow down the device. I wonder how many 4s users were 3g users who got burned the last time a low level phone was OKd by Apple for an OS update! Like me.

  14. REM (@wootcat) - 10 years ago

    I would expect a large uptick over the weekend.

  15. thoughtsonthingsblog - 10 years ago

    I think most 16GB iPhone users cancel at the “Update requires 5 GB of storage” notification…

  16. Anyone know how the performance is on a first-gem iPad Mini? The better half is cautious about upgrading in case her iPad becomes really slow. (My iPad 2 got made nearly unusable by iOS 8, although that could be for a number of reasons including that I had the beta on it and haven’t wiped in ages!)

  17. eck79 - 10 years ago

    Our 4th Gen is 16 GB and 5.5 GB of free capacity is required. So, backup / wipe / install / restore. Awful lot of work for something that’s just used to play games and surf the web. That’s why we haven’t installed and probably won’t.

  18. PMZanetti - 10 years ago

    The free space thing is definitely a major inconvenience, and will slow down adoption.

    • mpias3785 - 10 years ago

      I had less than 5 GB free and the update went fine. I just did the update through iTunes. If you try OTA, you need room on the iPhone for both the compressed installer and then the uncompressed installer, plus whatever room it needs for temporary files.

      If you plug the phone into your computer, the downloaded file and the uncompressed installer use the space on your hard drive instead of on your iPhone. Simple solution.

  19. Levi Furi - 10 years ago

    Of course its lagging behind because its not running very well on older iDevices. Some people still use an iPad 2 or iPad Mini 1st gen and those will lag like a mofo. lol Apple should have only allowed iPhone 5 and up and iPad 4th gen and up. I am glad I left my older devices on iOS 7.1.2 :)

  20. thoughtsofmymadlife - 10 years ago

    It took me 90mins to download the iphone version… Then my internet crapped out just before it finished and I had to start all over again! Then did it all YET AGAIN for my iPad. These figures could just reflect the fact that no-one’s had time to download the damn thing yet! It took me almost 6 hrs to update 2 devices!

  21. chrisl84 - 10 years ago

    I havent yet due to free space and no interest in fighting for server space….I will be waiting until the weekend to go through iTunes

  22. pecospeet - 10 years ago

    I have no plans to upgrade until after I get my iPhone 6. But then normally I wait for a week or so before upgrading, so my info is consistent within the stats.

  23. I would guess 4 & 4s models are likely the biggest contributor to the lag (I know the 4 cannot install iOS 8). Also the 8 Gig models need to basically do it via iTunes

  24. Luiz Filipe Pinheiro - 10 years ago

    Of course the slower adoption rate is due the almost 6gb of free space needed to upgrade. Many of my friends that are not that into technology haven’t updated their devices yet because of this issue.

  25. islandgirl45 - 10 years ago

    Do you have to update from iOS 7 to iOS 8 on the old phone before restoring a new one from iCloud? Or can you just make sure the old phone is backed up in iOS 7 before restoring?

  26. Robbie Catto-Smith - 10 years ago

    no one has space to install it haha, says you need 8.1gb, on a 16gb ipad…

  27. stickyicky97 - 10 years ago

    I’ve heard several people complain b/c they need 5Gb+ of space just to download it.

    • WaveMedia (@WaveMedia) - 10 years ago

      I keep seeing this mentioned places yet nobody seems to explain WHY in the articles. It’s a failsafe. It keeps a back up of the previous OS incase it fails so it can fall back to the way it was to avoid bricking the device.

  28. crateish (@crateish) - 10 years ago

    It’s because many people are waiting for their iPhone 6 or 6 Plus to be delivered (me, for one). And many for Yosemite.

  29. Scott (@ScooterComputer) - 10 years ago

    It should be noted that there was a known issue in iOS 6.1.x whereby the iOS 7 update was pushed without user knowledge, sometimes without the device even being plugged into power (and killing battery overnight, people waking up for work with no phone). I had several clients/friends get bitten by this. No reports yet of that behavior with iOS 7/8.

  30. Ron (@rrauch) - 10 years ago

    How does this chart line up with the size of the download file?

  31. boardflyer (@boardflyer) - 10 years ago

    IMO it is combination of both the fact that a lot of people need to delete apps to upgrade and the fact that a lot of the early adopters are going to get the iPhone 6. The iPhone launches that change the look are bigger upgrades than the 2nd year model.

    My wife asked me why I was bothering with the hassle if I am getting a new iPhone on Friday. I just wanted to see how it worked and I didn’t need to delete anything. If I had to delete, I would have waited.

  32. Harold Irizarry - 10 years ago

    It only took me 30 minutes to download on my iPad. Idk what people are talking about

    • WaveMedia (@WaveMedia) - 10 years ago

      Lucky you. You must have hit the servers at a quiet period then. Just to be an ass it took me 5 mins to download it once I hit a quiet period. Before then it was saying “about 4 hours” for… about 4 hours lol.

  33. William Lombardo - 10 years ago

    Maybe no one can get it! 24 hours to download and then errors. I’m waiting until the rust is over – if ever.

  34. Craig T. Neises - 10 years ago

    No surprise here. Compared to iOS 7, I get the feeling the iOS 8 release is leaving a lot more existing devices behind. For instance, there are six iOS devices in my home, of which just one — an iPhone 5 — is not at the bottom of the compatibility list. The others are 4S phones (2), iPad 2s (2) and a 1st-gen iPad Mini. Do-not-upgrade warnings for these are plentiful. So in my house alone, that will be an initial adoption rate of 16.67 percent. As for that 5, I have downloaded through iTunes but not yet upgraded.

  35. Kimberly Jeans - 10 years ago

    The delete issue just gave me a chance to clean up my phone of unused/un-needed stuff. It did take about 2-3 hours for both iPhone 5 and iPad mini to fully update, but overall, not too bad of an experience for me. I’m pleased. I’m running Yosemite Public Beta so I’ve had the chance to test out a little bit of Handoff already and I’m pleased with the tiny bit I’ve already looked at. Can’t wait to poke around a bit more this weekend. As far as adoption goes, I think we’ll see a huge uptick this weekend once people get their hands on the 6 and 6 Plus and once they have some time to really play with everything. I sadly have to wait until my carrier upgrade around December/January 1 to get my 6/6 Plus (still haven’t decided yet), but I can’t wait. :-D

  36. diososx - 10 years ago

    I think it’s also a case of people waiting for their new phones and not really interested to update obe that they will have a few weeks.

  37. coolfactor - 10 years ago

    With iPhone 4 still a widely used phone, it makes sense. That’s the phone that I’m still using, but maybe not for much longer.

  38. I’ve had a few people tell me they never got a notification to update to iOS 8 like they did with 7 and 7.1.

    That could be one reason why it’s slower this time.

  39. Teja Bayya - 10 years ago

    more jailbreakers now

    • Kemar W (@toohotz) - 10 years ago

      Main reason why my iPhone 5 is sitting on 7.1.2 since my iPad 3rd gen has been running iOS 8 beta since its inception, I just look at it now like it’s the norm until my iPhone 6 arrives tomorrow that is.

  40. hiteshkapoor74 - 10 years ago

    I’m already repenting the upgrade. Data on iCloud has vanished of its own. Thankfully I had a back up, week’s old. Moreover I’m not confident of iOS and Yosemite now it’s way too complicated and the simplicity of the OS X and iOS has gone.

  41. herb02135go - 10 years ago

    I hope it doesn’t come with an automatic download of a U2 cd.

  42. RaptorOO7 (@RaptorOO7) - 10 years ago

    Nice info graphic, however you really should not block the important part like where iOS 8 stands in adoption so far. I think there are a number of 4/4S users who can’t (4’s) or shouldn’t (4S) update to iOS8. Still it will be interesting in 30 days what it looks like vs the last year or two.

  43. Sam Tomy - 10 years ago

    If you want to update your phone’s OS to iOS 8, you must leave your device a big space. May be the first thing for you is to clean Up Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.Don’t forget to clear your cache.You can use Macgo iPhone Cleaner for Mac to solve your problem.I always use this software to clean my iPhone 5S. Besides, you should clean up your phones often. Hope my suggestion could help you.
    http://www.macblurayplayer.com/iphone-cleaner-mac.htm#overview

  44. Rich Lietzke - 10 years ago

    My iPad mini with retina display has failed three days in a row. Download times have been as high as 32 hours. I have a very fast Internet connection so the problem is almost definitely Apple servers. Other third-party updates from the app store download much faster. I think Apple is forced to throttle iOS8 updates for some reason. Is anyone else’s still having issues?

  45. bootygangx - 10 years ago

    honestly, i heard that iOS 8 is bs, you loose tons of stufff & you have to delete half the shit on your phone to fit it on there, so honestly i don’t know if i even want iOS8, due to the fact of what everyone says, now they did say the same about iOS7, but i finally decided to go with it and my phone worked perfectly, but so many people have iOS8 fucks with your phone.

    • mpias3785 - 10 years ago

      Avoid OTA (or upgrading a 4s w/o research) and you should be fine. The iOS 7 update was one of the most painful upgrades, but iOS 8 installed quickly and without a glitch on my 5S and iPad 3. No App crashes, slowdowns and the battery life is normal and I had just about 5 GB free on both devices.

      Just avoid OTA like the plague.

  46. Simon Borg - 10 years ago

    i have updated our iPad Air, iPad mini and iPhone 5 yesterday. No major hiccups with the iPhone 5 but the internet experience on the “pads” sucks to no end. Downloading is as slow as I have never seen it before and any video content is almost unwatchable. it is so bad that my seven year old has dumped his iPad mini for almost the whole day today because, according to him, *its broken”. if you haven’t updated your device to iOS8, don’t do it just jet. Its not worth the hassle.

  47. Perhaps it’s because iOS *features* are lagging behind previous releases. How many features in iOS 7 were disabled on release day?

  48. scturnbull - 10 years ago

    ios8 says it need 4.6 of my 16gb ipad memory. I need a very good reason to install it.

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.