Apple: iOS 16 adoption rate at 81%: How Apple makes the software update process smooth and seamless – Times of India

As of May 30, 2023, close to 81% of iPhones in the world are running iOS 16. Furthermore, 90% of all devices introduced in the last four years use iOS 16. Those numbers are hugely impressive and more so considering other operating systems — mainly Android — continue to lag behind by some distance.
The whole software update routine for Apple is a continuous and ongoing process throughout the year. What Apple has done is that it doesn’t restrict itself to one major update. So if iOS 16 was rolled out in October 2022, since then quite a few updates have arrived bringing improvements and new features in tow.
A good case in point for this is when the pandemic was raging, Apple introduced the ability to unlock the iPhone while wearing a mask. Even the Advanced Data Protection feature — a bugbear for the likes of Meta — was a mid-year update. Apple says that the idea is to add big value to iPhones throughout the year.
Security is of utmost importance
Apple also says that its security teams work tirelessly to deliver a secure experience to iPhone users. The word from Apple is simple: in order to stay secure, keep your iPhones updated regularly. Almost every update that comes has security fixes.
One of the key areas where Apple remains way ahead of Google and other phone companies is longevity. Having an iPhone more or less guarantees you a minimum of five years of software updates. The likes of Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo have taken many years to come to the four-year mark. What it also does
How Apple delivers updates
The idea for Apple is to ensure that software updates run seamlessly and most iPhone users appreciate that. The idea of updating a phone may seem daunting to a lot of users. Apple says that it tries to keep the language as simple as possible, so that users find it easy to update their devices. Users have the choice to update their phones manually or have the automatic updates turned on. A vast majority of iPhone users use the manual update feature as they are keen to get the new feature, says Apple. A key factor in users picking up the iPhone remains the ease of use of iOS, timely updates and the longevity that Apple offers. The software updates is kind of a superpower that does give Apple and the iPhone an edge over competition.
What the broad adoption rate does is give developers an option to use Apple’s APIs to keep their apps updated and reach out to a bigger audience.