Four months after its launch, iOS 26 is on surprisingly few iPhones. Web-analytics data shared publicly this week shows roughly 15–16% of active iPhones running some version of iOS 26, while more than 60% remain on iOS 18. That gap is striking compared with recent years, when successor releases reached majority adoption in a similar window.
Why the hesitation is worth watching
At first glance the numbers read like a statistical hiccup. But when you put them next to the pace of iOS 17 and iOS 18 adoption at the same point after release, the pattern is unmistakable: people are taking their time. For developers, slow uptake changes testing priorities and feature rollouts; for Apple it’s a reputational problem when a marquee redesign — in this case the so‑called Liquid Glass visual language — triggers broad pushback.
Different datasets, different stories
Not all measurement systems agree. The web-impression methodology that produced the 15% figure paints iOS 26 as a laggard. App-SDK telemetry from some third-party services tells a far more optimistic tale — in some panels iOS 26 appears to be in the majority. That divergence matters because methods capture different slices of the population: browser traffic across many sites versus app users relying on specific SDKs.
So there isn’t a single “true” number we can point to, but the gap itself is informative. When two reputable approaches disagree this much, the likely explanation is behavioral: different user groups (and different countries) are upgrading at different rates.
Liquid Glass and the cost of a new look
The most obvious reason readers and commenters have given is Liquid Glass. iOS 26 swaps large portions of the opaque interface for translucent layers, blur effects and dynamic depth — a bold visual departure. Some users love it. Others find it confusing, visually noisy, or worse for accessibility.
Design changes are subtle things to engineers but big ones to daily users. If a visual overhaul makes everyday tasks feel slower or harder — or simply unfamiliar — a conservative owner will delay hitting Update.
Other practical reasons people wait
- Apple has kept providing security updates for iOS 18. That reduces the urgency to upgrade: if your phone remains safe, there’s less incentive to accept tradeoffs in design or performance.
- Apple initially didn’t mark iOS 26 as the “recommended” update in Settings, which can slow mainstream adoption. Users who lean on that recommendation didn’t get the nudge.
- Early reports of keyboard bugs and other annoyances (and the loudness of complaints on social platforms) make cautious users wait for later point releases.
What it means for users and developers
For users: staying on iOS 18 is a reasonable choice if you value stability and familiar UI. But remember that major features and some conveniences are tied to the latest OS, and Apple’s future design direction will lean into Liquid Glass. If you do upgrade, explore the appearance and accessibility toggles — not everyone needs to live with the default intensity of the new visuals. Apple’s incremental updates, like iOS 26.2, have tried to smooth some rough edges and add useful refinements.
For developers: fragmentation matters. If a minority of users are on the newest OS, you can’t assume everyone will have the latest APIs or design affordances right away. Prioritize crash fixes and compatibility across versions, and watch real-world telemetry rather than just headlines when deciding when to ship new features. If you build experiences that rely on iOS 26’s visual or AI features, provide graceful fallbacks.
Signals for Apple
A slow rollout is an expensive feedback loop. Apple can tweak visuals and performance in point releases, adjust how updates are recommended in Settings, and sharpen messaging around why users should upgrade. The company is also investing in device-level AI and services — moves that could change upgrade incentives if they require newer system software to work well. That broader AI push is part of the same conversation about user value and trust, and it’s already reshaping expectations around software updates.
If you want a closer look at what changed in iOS 26.2 and why some of those tweaks might entice holdouts, check the coverage of iOS 26.2's updates and refinements. And if you’re weighing a hardware upgrade alongside a software one, the rundown on who should consider the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro frames which devices will get the best experience with Apple’s latest software. For broader context about Apple’s AI trajectory — something that could influence upgrade urgency going forward — see the reporting on Apple’s plans to use a custom Google Gemini model for Siri.
In the short term, the story is simple: many iPhone users are voting with their thumbs and holding off. Whether that’s a temporary pause while Apple irons out bugs, or a longer reluctance to embrace a new aesthetic and interaction model, will be clearer in the months ahead as more point releases arrive and more data streams converge.