iOS 12 Adoption Hits 88%, Continues to Outpace iOS 11 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 12 Adoption Hits 88%, Continues to Outpace iOS 11

Apple this week disclosed that 88 percent of active iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices are running iOS 12, as measured by the App Store on August 6, 2019. iOS 12 adoption continues to outpace iOS 11, which was installed on 85 percent of active devices as of September 3, 2018, according to Apple.

ios 12 adoption august 2019
The updated stats, highlighted by Rene Ritchie, also reveal that seven percent of active devices continue to run iOS 11, with five percent using an earlier version. This includes older devices that are incompatible with the latest iOS versions.

iOS 12 outpacing iOS 11 in adoption is not much of a surprise, as iOS 11 was plagued by several problems last year, including at least three bugs that could crash the entire system, a HomeKit vulnerability, an iPhone camera autofocus issue, autocorrect bugs, the iPhone X glitching in cold weather, and more.

The high-profile iPhone performance management controversy also likely had an adverse impact on iOS 11 upgrade rates.

In January 2018, multiple reports claimed that Apple delayed several new features planned for iOS 12 to focus on performance, stability, and bug fixes, and the software update has indeed proven to be much more reliable.

Looking ahead, Apple is now in the latter stages of beta testing iOS 13, which will be publicly released in September.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...

Top Rated Comments

otternonsense Avatar
88 months ago
I'm sure the constant pop-up reminders to update your iOS (if you haven't already), without giving the user any call to action to refuse, and auto-downloading the new iOS installer in the background had nothing to do with that. /sarcasm
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
88 months ago
The best reason to stay on ios: updates.
Android doesnt come close.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
88 months ago
What surprises me is that anyone is still on iOS 11. iOS 12 is better in every way, including speed. My guess is that some people’s phones are too full to upgrade, because that’s the only reason not to upgrade.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
88 months ago
Deleted.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
realtuner Avatar
88 months ago
What good are updates if iOS still lacks features that Android had seven years ago like split screen multitasking, background multitasking, background file/media/web services, dock/desktop mode, place icons anywhere on home screen, swipe away unwanted calls, external drive support, mouse support with a real pointer, etc.?
Yawn.

Android is a joke for the same reason Linux is a joke (and has never taken over Windows despite repeated claims "This is the year of Linux on the desktop" for the past 20 years. Apps.

An operating system is USELESS without software to run on it. So while Linux has many useful & powerful features that Windows lacks, they aren't enough to make it as useful overall as Windows. Same with Android vs iOS. The quality gap between iOS and Android is significant (esp on tablets where Android is an utter and complete joke).

Also interesting you left out all the things iOS had before Android (and the list is very long). Why is that?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
88 months ago
Take note, Apple: users care about efficiency and speed. Do this for every OS update, please.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)