Apple Says 79% of iPhones are Running iOS 26 Ahead of WWDC 2026

Apple has published updated iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 adoption figures, showing how many iPhones and iPads were running the software on the day before WWDC 2026 began and the first iOS 27 developer beta arrived.

The iOS 26 numbers

Apple shared the following statistics:

• 86% of all iPhones introduced in the last four years were running iOS 26.
• 79% of all iPhones were running iOS 26.
• 79% of all iPads introduced in the last four years were running iPadOS 26.
• 68% of all iPads were running iPadOS 26.

iOS 26 launched last fall as the version that introduced Apple's Liquid Glass redesign across the system.

How it compares to iOS 18

Apple released comparable figures for iOS 18 at the same point last year, based on App Store transactions on Thursday, June 5, 2025:

• 88% of all iPhones introduced in the last four years were running iOS 18.
• 82% of all iPhones were running iOS 18.
• 81% of all iPads introduced in the last four years were running iPadOS 18.
• 71% of all iPads were running iPadOS 18.

That puts iOS 26 two to three percentage points behind iOS 18 in every category year over year. Apple did not comment on the slight decline.

Why this is the final update

iOS 27 is now in developer beta following Monday's WWDC 2026 keynote, so Apple says this is its last update on iOS 26 adoption. The company typically publishes these numbers once a year, just ahead of the conference where it unveils the next major release.

Apple has historically pointed to its adoption figures as evidence of how quickly users move to the latest software, a contrast it likes to draw with the more fragmented Android ecosystem.