iOS 11 Adoption Rate Slower Than Previous Versions, Now on 52 Percent of Devices

As per official figures, iOS 11's adoption rate isn't as strong as previous versions. It is now running on 52 percent of Apple devices - meaning 48 percent of the available hardware is yet to be upgraded.

Apple on Tuesday updated its support page for developers with the fresh numbers stating the adoption of iOS 11. The page also reveals that iOS 10, which reached the milestone of 60 percent installation in October, has now declined to 38 percent, and the previous iOS versions accounted for 10 percent of the total Apple devices.

While Apple traditionally releases updated iOS adoption rates on a monthly basis, the Tim Cook-led company left behind the trend in October, and didn't update the support page for developers until Tuesday. This may have been due to unimpressive installation numbers.

The record of surpassing the mark of 50 percent adoption is certainly impressive. But if we look at the history, the current figures are not on par with what Apple has achieved so far. The iOS 9 update, which was rolled out in 2015, reached 50 percent of compatible devices in merely four days after its release and hit the record of 77 percent in February 2016. Likewise, iOS 10 saw 54 percent adoption in less than a month after its launch in October 2016.

Apple launched iOS 11 as its most advanced mobile platform in September, alongside unveiling the iPhone X as well as launching the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The new version brought a revamped control centre, enhanced screenshots, dedicated Files app and ARKit integration among others. However, it also included some bugs that the iPhone maker fixed in a series of point releases.

Despite the unimpressive number as per its own records, Apple's iOS is still far ahead of Google's Android when it comes to adoption rate. The Android developer portal shows that its latest Oreo version is running on about 0.2 percent of devices as of October 2. The Nougat version that received a point release earlier this year even accounts for a total of 17.8 percent of adoption.