Apple started rolling out the iOS 26 update to eligible iPhone models globally in September 2025.
iOS 26's stable version started rolling out to select iPhone models in September.
Photo Credit: Apple
Apple first unveiled the iOS 26 user interface (UI) with the Liquid Glass design in June 2025 at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). After months of beta testing, the OS update was rolled out globally to eligible iPhone users in September last year, soon after the launch of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17, which run iOS 26 out of the box. However, the legibility issues associated with Liquid Glass and various iOS 26 bugs led to the company receiving criticism from users. Now, a report reveals that only a small percentage of users have upgraded to iOS 26.
Data from StatCounter, a web analytics service, shows that only a small percentage of iPhone users have upgraded to the new iOS 26 version. Moreover, it is also notably lower than previous iOS versions at the same time after their release. While the data reportedly does not mention the reason behind the significantly low adoption rate, a Cult of Mac report speculates that Apple's new Liquid Glass design could be the reason behind this.
The report added that nearly four months after the iOS 26 release in the middle of September, about 15 percent of iPhone users have installed one of the versions of the OS. For context, in January 2025, about 63 percent of iPhone users had installed one of the versions of the iOS 18.
During the same month in 2024, about 54 percent of the users were using iOS 17 and about 62 percent of the iPhone users were reportedly on iOS 16 in January 2023. However, it should be noted that iPhone 17]() series was launched with iOS 26, and only older iPhone models had the option to upgrade. Whether this number includes iPhone 17 series users or not was not revealed.
Soon after its release in September 2025, many users online started complaining about the legibility issues that came with iOS 26's Liquid Glass design, which makes various UI elements transparent. This led to Apple adding more customisation options in subsequent updates as a stop-gap measure.
For example, In November 2025, Apple started rolling out the iOS 26.1 update with a new feature that helps user switch between “clear look” and tinted look”.
The tech giant explained this will help in increasing the opacity of UI elements in apps and notifications on the lock screen. Nearly month after this, the Cupertino-based company released the iOS 26.2 update with more refinements. The firmware version features an option, which lets iPhone users change the opacity of the clock widget on the lock screen.
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