Apple’s iOS 8 rises to 72% adoption rate

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iOS 8 is now at home on almost three-quarters of all iOS devices measured by Apple.

Based on the latest stats offered by Apple’s App Store Distribution page, iOS has reached an adoption rate of 72 percent, leaving iOS 7 with 25 percent and older versions with 3 percent. The latest number for iOS 8 is up from the 69 percent seen about two weeks ago and the 68 percent recorded a month ago. The figure specifically shows the percentage of iOS devices that visited the App Store on Monday, February 2.

The new number shows a slight increase in the adoption rate following a slowdown during January. What could account for the increase?

On January 27, Apple rolled out iOS 8.1.3 to fix a number of persistent bugs that have plagued its mobile OS. The biggest fix is that iOS 8.1.3 reduces the amount of storage needed to perform the update itself. Previously, devices needed at least 5.7GB of free space to store and install the latest version. The update reduces the amount of space required. The release notes for iOS 8.1.3 did not specify the new amount, but certainly more users are now capable of upgrading.

Released last September, iOS 8.0 also has faced a few hurdles. The initial version required some bug fixes, which were supposed to come a week later with iOS 8.0.1. But version 8.0.1 introduced even more bugs, forcing Apple to quickly pull it and launch 8.0.2. Further enhancements and bug fixes came with iOS 8.1 on October 20 and iOS 8.1.2 on December 19. The bugs and multiple releases likely put off some iOS users, who may have felt more safe and secure sticking with iOS 7.

Apple’s next step is to roll out iOS 8.2, which is now at beta level version 5 and currently being tested by developers. iOS 8.2 will reportedly reach users in March, according to Boy Genius Report, which cited a “trusted source” for the information. Version 8.2 is expected to address further persistent bugs and add support for the upcoming Apple Watch.

Mobile analytics firm Mixpanel was largely in line with Apple by showing iOS 8 with a 73 percent adoption rate as of Monday. Fellow analytics firm Fiksu pegged a slightly lower rate of 69.7 percent.