Update to iOS 15 remains slow compared to last year's iOS 14

Back in mid-September, two days after iOS 15 was released, it was revealed that users were taking longer to update to iOS 15 than iOS 14. Two weeks later, iOS 15 adoption is still slower than last year.

How much slower

According to analytics company Mixpanel, only 8.59% of users updated their devices to iOS 15 within 48 hours of release. By comparison, during the same period last year when iOS 14 was released, the figure was 14.68%. After almost 15 days, iOS 15 adoption is still going slower than its predecessor.

Mixpanel reports that on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, iOS 15's adoption rate is 22.22%. Looking at October 5, 2020, 41.97% of users have already installed iOS 14 by then. It's worth noting that Mixpanel measures iOS adoption rates based on data from apps and websites that use its analytics API. So far, Apple has not released any official iOS 15 adoption data.

What are the reasons

Among the reasons for this slow response from users is the fact that some of the major new iOS 15 features, such as SharePlay in FaceTime and Universal Control for iPad users, have been delayed until later this year. In addition, a new option has been introduced that for the first time will allow users to stay on iOS 14 and receive only important security updates.

While this isn't an issue from a security perspective, as iOS 14 is still being updated, the slower rollout could mean that third-party app developers will have to wait to implement new features that require iOS 15 devices.

Source: mixpanel

Illustration: Apple