Apple’s iOS mobile operating system has always had high levels of penetration whenever the new update came out. Now, after almost 11 months into its release, the software is installed on 87% of all devices in the ecosystem, according to the company’s figures released at the end of July.
The software’s previous iteration, iOS 9, is running on 10% of all devices as of now, which makes the two latest software iterations in nearly complete control. Earlier versions account for just 3% of phones and tablets.
The rate of growth has almost slowed down to a stop now, being 86% back in June, but there will be little reasons to complain, especially given the dire situation elsewhere.
According to last month’s Android distribution figures, Android’s latest version, Nougat, has found its way to a mere 11.5% of all phones. This is despite Google’s struggles to keep its promise of an 18-months’ worth guaranteed software updates.
It is not even in the top three among software versions out in the market, with Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat having shares of 31.8%, 31.1% and 17.1% market share as of last month.
With Android “O” just around the corner, it seems hopeless to wish for a turnaround in this series of events, especially with Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat all sitting at much higher levels of penetration. At least, the clunky era of Gingerbread is firmly behind us, now, even if traces are still found in the wild.
iOS 10 is supported on phones dating all the way back to 2012’s iPhone 5, Apple’s first dabble at creating a large-screen iPhone (which frankly seems decades ago at this point). The 4th-gen iPad, 5th-gen iPod Touch and original iPad Air all support the operating system, which is a testament to the regularity of support and updates provided in the ecosystem.