iOS 26 upgrade rates fall well below previous iOS releases

Most iPhone owners have not rushed to install iOS 26, according to data from analytics platform Statcounter.

Since the release of the new Liquid Glass design last September, iOS 26 has been installed on only 16.29% of iPhones. The majority of devices are still running iOS 18.

Current distribution:

• iOS 26.0 — 1.1%
• iOS 26.1 — 10.57%
• iOS 26.2 — 4.62%
• iOS 18.6 — 25.2%
• iOS 18.7 — 33.81%

The data also shows a clear slowdown in update adoption. A year earlier, iOS 18 had reached 63% of devices over the same time period. That means the upgrade rate from iOS 18 to iOS 26 is roughly four times lower than the previous transition from iOS 17 to iOS 18.