iOS 26 Usage: Statcounter Admits Incorrect Figures
Data protection reasons, Apple tinkered with the Safari user agent. Web analytics service Statcounter fell into the trap and counted iOS 26 usage incorrectly.
Safari in iOS 26: Not so unpopular after all.
(Image: Apple)
Apparently, more users are using iOS 26 than previously thought. A statistic from the analysis service Statcounter is incorrect, the company explained to Mac & i. The reason is a change that Apple made months ago for data protection reasons regarding the reporting of the User-Agent string.
Result: For Statcounter's counting software, iOS 26 appears as iOS 18, which is why usage figures seem poor. There are no official figures from Apple regarding the adoption of the new operating system with the liquid glass look, which is not uncontroversial.
“We are working on a solution for this problem”
The Statcounter statistic for January 2026 last stated that iOS 26.1, 26.2, including their respective iPadOS derivatives, currently only accounted for 15.31 percent. iOS 18 versions were therefore clearly leading with a combined 64.43 percent. This would indicate a significantly worse upgrade rate than for iOS 18 last year, when the then-current operating system had already reached 62 percent in January. However, the figures in the “Mobile & Tablet iOS Version Market Share Worldwide” are incorrect. “Apple incorrectly reports iOS 26 in its Safari browser on iOS as 18.7 and 18.6. We are working on a solution for this problem,” Statcounter writes, but keeps the incorrect figures online.
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Upon inquiry from Mac & i, the company checked whether the data might be incorrect. This was confirmed last week. According to an employee, the company actually wanted to implement a fix quickly, which was “hopefully” supposed to be ready by Thursday around noon. However, nothing has happened so far; only the mentioned note has been added. The company did not answer a further inquiry about how the incorrect reporting came about – as a long-standing analysis service for web data, Statcounter should be familiar with user agent changes.
Announcement is Months Old
Previously, there had been media reports that Statcounter's figures for iOS 26 could be incorrect. Information about the change can also be found in the WebKit Bugzilla, dating from September. For its “Global Stats,” Statcounter measures all standard data reported by browsers – such as versions, operating system, resolution if applicable, user's geographical location, or search engine referrers (if still reported) – via tracking code present on 1.5 million websites. It also distinguishes between laptops and mobile devices. Information from apps, however, is not included.
Apple had made major changes to the look & feel of the operating system with iOS 26. How it comes about that Statcounter even records iOS 26.1 and iOS 26.2 remains unclear – possibly it is data from alternative browsers like Chrome or Firefox. To find out how iOS 26 is being adopted, observers will have to continue waiting for official Apple figures, which may not appear until summer before the WWDC developer conference. The company continues to only present figures for iOS 18, which are also outdated.
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