iOS 17 and iPadOS 17: More users are shying away from the early software update
Users of iPhones and iPads are increasingly resisting the encouragement to update their software displayed by the device. Apple now provides the latest figures.
(Image: Apple)
One in three iPhone users has not yet updated their device to iOS 17. This is according to the latest figures that Apple has now published. Last year, with iOS 16, users were even more eager to upgrade: only slightly more than one in four users disapproved of the current version of the operating system.
According to Apple, the figures were extracted from the App Store usage data on February 4. The annual water level report, which appears on Apple's developer pages, is intended to show how well the new versions of the operating systems for iPhone and iPad released in the fall have been received so far. For developers, this is an important indicator when deciding whether they want to use new Apple APIs, for example, which require the latest version of the operating system.
(Image:Â Apple)
Wait and see, not abandonment
Why iOS 17 is spreading more slowly than iOS 16 remains a mystery. Apparently, the upgrade is still taking place, considering the figures over the course of the year. Many users might be waiting for further updates to fix bugs and problems with the first versions.
Apple publishes two statistics for each operating system: firstly, the distribution on all devices and secondly, on devices that have been released in the past four years. This distinction is significant because younger devices always support the latest version of the operating system, but older devices, depending on their age, do not – which means that their users have no option to upgrade.
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However, there has even been a decline in devices in the last four years. 76 percent have iOS 17 or one of its sub-versions installed. With iOS 16, the figure was 81 percent. 20 percent still use iOS 16, four percent even use older versions.
This is the situation on the iPad
The figures for the iPad are more positive. However, the installation rate in the previous year was also lower because iPadOS 16 was exceptionally released one month later than iOS 16 in 2022. iPadOS 17 was released at the same time as the iPhone operating system in autumn 2023. According to Apple, 53% of all devices surveyed used iPadOS 17 (previous year: 50%), 29% iPadOS 16 and 18% older versions.
Users also reacted cautiously to the update offered on devices from the past four years. 61% installed the latest version (previous year 53%), 29% installed iPadOS 16 and 10% an older version.
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