iOS Version Update: iOS 4 Now Powering 68% of iPhones
Released on June 21st, iOS 4 is the newest operating system for the iPhone. In July, one month after its release, it was already powering 50% of all iPhones. Now, based on traffic data from online ad network Chitika, it accounts for 68% of the iPhone market.
Since July 22nd, the previous incarnation, iOS 3, has dropped from 48% of the market to just 31%. Even older operating systems – iPhone OS 1 and 2 – have dropped to a combined 0.7%.
Numbers:
| OS Build | % July | % Sept | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.x | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| 2.x | 0.96% | 0.72% | -0.23% |
| 3.x | 48.05% | 31.28% | -16.76% |
| 4.x | 50.52% | 67.55% | 17.03% |
For comparison’s sake, here’s how the Android OS distribution looks so far in September:
Contact
Daniel Ruby
Research Director, Online Insights
Chitika, Inc.
+866.441.7203 x966
press@chitika.com
Very interesting post – I hope you have another update on this coming up soon! Seriously contemplating breaking backward compatibility with iOS 3 for my app to ease development (funny how workarounds tend to become bugs themselves when the original bugs are fixed). Cutting myself off from a third of the market is not acceptable though, so I’m hoping the trend continues, and iOS 4+ adoption keeps growing.
Just make sure to remember the top chart next time Steve Jobs tries to bullsh*t about Android’s fragmentation “issues”.
Is there a reason why you are grouping iOS versions together while you aren’t for Android? iOS 4.x but then Android 2.1 and 2.2, not 2.x.
I understand 2.1 and 2.2 are significantly different but still there is iOS 4.02, 4.1, 4.2 and it doesn’t seem fair to group them.
Another difference is which 3.x. The latest that the first gen iPhones and iPod touches can have are 3.1.3, and they’re stuck at that. However, up until November, the iPads had only one OS: 3.2. And there are major differences between 3.1 and 3.2 where 3.2 is closer to 4.0 in that way.