Apple Says iOS 12 is Now Installed on 53% of Active Devices From Last Four Years

Apple's iOS 12 operating system, released on September 17, is now installed on 53 percent of active devices introduced in the last four years.

Apple shared the installation statistics on its App Store support page for developers, which was updated today.

iOS installation rates are being broken down in a new way. The 53 percent statistic applies only to devices released in the last four years. Amid all devices, 50 percent are running iOS 12.

appleios12installation
Of devices released in the last four years, 40 percent are running iOS 11 and 7 percent are running an earlier version of iOS. Among all devices, 39 percent continue to run iOS 11 while 11 percent use an earlier version of the operating system.

Apple's data is in line with iOS 12 adoption rates that we've been monitoring from analytics site Mixpanel. A week ago, Mixpanel suggested right around 46 percent of devices were running iOS 12.

iOS 12 adoption has outpaced iOS 11 adoption rates at the same time last year. In early October of 2017, iOS 11 was only installed on approximately 38.5 percent of devices. It took until early November for iOS 11 adoption to hit 50 percent, based on Apple's official numbers.

iOS 12 adoption rates are in line with iOS 10 adoption rates in 2016. On October 11, 2016, iOS 10 was installed on 54 percent of active devices.

It is not a surprise that customers are choosing to install iOS 12 at a more rapid pace given the speed improvements introduced with the update. On older devices, performance enhancements can make iPhones and iPads feel much faster.

On the iPhone 6 Plus, for example, apps launch up to 40 percent faster, while the keyboard can appear up to 50 percent faster. Opening the camera on the Lock screen to take a photo can be done 70 percent faster.


Apple has made animations smoother and more responsive across the operating system, so accessing Control Center, scrolling in apps, or swiping up when multitasking feels more fluid.

iOS 12 also includes optimizations for when the operating system is under load. Apps launch up to twice as fast under a heavy load, as does the Share Sheet.

iOS 12 adoption is likely to see a decent bump with the launch of iOS 12.1, an update that is being beta tested. iOS 12.1 introduces eSIM functionality on the iPhone XS and XS Max, brings Group FaceTime, a feature that was removed before iOS 12 launched, and includes new emoji.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday May 27, 2025 9:10 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of May 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X ...
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp Teases Long-Awaited iPad App

Monday May 26, 2025 10:23 am PDT by
The popular messaging app WhatsApp has teased a long-awaited iPad app, which would be offered alongside its existing iPhone and Mac apps. The official WhatsApp account on X today reacted with an eyes emoji to a post saying that WhatsApp should release an iPad app. This could be a hint that Meta is gearing up to release WhatsApp for iPad, which has already been available for beta testing via...
WWDC 2025 Banner

WWDC is Just Two Weeks Away: Here Are the Biggest iOS 19 Rumors

Monday May 26, 2025 8:12 am PDT by
WWDC 2025 is just two weeks away as of today, with Apple's opening keynote scheduled for Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, watchOS 12, tvOS 19, visionOS 3, and other software updates, along with new Apple Intelligence features. In some years, there are also hardware announcements at WWDC, but there are no...
HomePod With Screen Feature

Apple's Rumored Smart Home Hub Has Faced a Disappointing Setback

Monday May 26, 2025 7:18 am PDT by
Apple has scrapped some of the features that it had planned for its long-rumored smart home hub device, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "I'm told that Apple has pulled some bolder features from the device that could reappear in subsequent models," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter this week. However, he did not reveal any of the specific features that were pulled. Apple made...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature 2

Apple Rumored to Redesign the iPhone Every Year Through to 2027

Tuesday May 27, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly preparing to implement significant iPhone hardware redesigns each year for the next three generations. According leaks from the Chinese supply chain disclosed by Weibo user "Digital Chat Station," Apple plans to carry out a series of phased industrial design changes affecting different parts of the iPhone across three consecutive years: 2025, 2026, and 2027. The changes...
top stories 2025 05 24

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Air Details, Apple's Smart Glasses, and More

Saturday May 24, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
WWDC is coming up quickly with a number of software announcements in store, but we're also looking further ahead to hardware launches like the iPhone 17 lineup and even Apple's smart glasses project. This week also saw big news with former Apple design guru Jony Ive joining forces with OpenAI to build future AI-driven devices, while Fortnite returned to the U.S. App Store for the first time...
iCloud General Feature Redux

Apple Raises iCloud+ Prices in Three Countries

Monday May 26, 2025 1:45 pm PDT by
Apple recently raised prices for its iCloud+ plans in Brazil, Chile, and Peru, according to a support document updated last Thursday. The table below outlines the price changes in each country. Country Old Prices New Prices Brazil 50GB: R$ 4.90 200GB: R$ 14.90 2TB: R$ 49.90 6TB: R$ 149.90 12TB: R$ 299.90 50GB: R$ ...
Emergency SOS via Satellite iPhone YT

Report: Apple Planned to Offer Starlink-Like Home Internet Service

Tuesday May 27, 2025 7:08 am PDT by
Apple had plans to offer a Starlink-like satellite home internet service in collaboration with Boeing, The Information reports. Starting in 2015, Apple held discussions with Boeing about "Project Eagle," a plan to launch a service to provide wireless internet services to iPhones and homes. The companies would have launched thousands of satellites into orbit around the Earth to beam internet...

Top Rated Comments

Shiro_Simba Avatar
87 months ago
It should keep climbing . iOS 11 was poor. People should jump to 12, glad Apple went for performance improvement . Happy so far
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
87 months ago
It's better than iOS 11 by far.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
madKIR Avatar
87 months ago
It's better than iOS 11 by far.
Let’s just be honest here: iOS 12 is what iOS 11 should’ve been in the first place. iOS 11 was plagued with many issues for months after its release!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G5isAlive Avatar
87 months ago
Have to admit, as much as I generally like Apple products, I REALLY dislike their nagging me to upgrade every single day. Once is fine. Give me an opt out choice, because I will do it when I want to.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ebok Avatar
87 months ago
"But Apple doesn't track me"...
this isn't tracking.. would be fairly easy to pull up this data
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
87 months ago
Well when you get harassed daily to upgrade (if not stealthly upgraded by Apple regardless whether you want to or not) and then make it nearly impossible to downgrade once you realize how buggy Craig & company designed the software I'm not surprised it's at 33%
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)