iPhone just embarrassed Android again — here’s why

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Apple's advantage over Android just got bigger

galaxy s21 plus vs iphone 12 pro
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Apple's main advantage over Android is that there's one OS to rule them all. It's easy to roll out iOS updates for the smartphones it manufactures itself, after all. And new stats have just revealed that the adoption rate for iOS 14 has blown Android 11 out of the water.  

A new report from Mixpanel (via AppleInsider) reveals that the iOS 14 has a whopping 90% adoption rate since its September 16 release last year. Impressively, it was at almost 50% just six weeks post-launch. Meanwhile, since its September 8 release, the Android 11 adoption rate is sitting at just 20% right now. 

These aren't official numbers from Apple, but they do show the stark difference in ecosystems nevertheless. Apple's iOS rollouts are full of improvements and easy to install. While there can be a few irksome bugs at launch, these are usually ironed out pretty quickly. It's also fairly difficult to roll back your iPhone to an earlier version of the software, although the same can be said for Android updates.  

Google has a somewhat tougher time, which is down to the sheer diversity of smartphones and manufacturers. While having such a variety of choice is great for those shopping for the best Android phones, it's a double-edged sword. Android users often end up waiting months for the latest software updates to roll out to their smartphones — unless they own Google's own Pixel devices.

Google devices like the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G are top of the list when it comes to Android OS updates, but other manufacturers' devices have to wait an age. Apple also has the added bonus of supporting its older devices for longer, which is a boon when taking into account soaring smartphone prices, and the fact that people are tending to hold on to their handsets longer these days.

Delayed OS rollouts and lack of support after a set number of years when users aren't upgrading their phones as frequently as they perhaps used to is undoubtedly the culprit here. And these iOS 14 vs Android 11 adoption rates reflect Apple's biggest strength when it comes to the battle between iPhone and Android devices. 

We expect Apple's advantage to continue as it introduces iOS 15 and Google works towards releasing its Android 12 software.     

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Shabana Arif
Shabana Arif

Shabana is T3's News Editor covering tech and gaming, and has been writing about video games for almost a decade (and playing them since forever). As well as contributing to Tom's Guide, she's had bylines at major gaming sites during her freelance career before settling down at T3, and has podcasts, streaming, and video content under her belt to boot. Outside of work, she also plays video games and should really think about expanding her hobbies.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • M17
    Iphones need huge improvements in software to catch up to android like their recent release of wait for it .... widgets! While I'm happy for ios users that finally got this functionality it's something Andoird has had for at least 10 years.... As long the security updates come to android phones that's all the matters. Besides most average users don't really use all the new latest features that are provided anyways.
    Reply
  • shredderc
    Wow. When I clicked, I thought this was going to be a revealing article. How does the slow adoption rate of others affect my experience? It's not just Pixels that update early and often. Updates on my Oneplus are pretty effortless.
    Reply
  • Pazuzu21
    I made an account just to ask what kind of amateur fanboy wrote this article. How does adoption rate embarrass Android? Let this single article be the reason why I'm blocking this website from my news feed.
    Reply
  • IHateUsernames2
    M17 said:
    Iphones need huge improvements in software to catch up to android like their recent release of wait for it .... widgets! While I'm happy for ios users that finally got this functionality it's something Andoird has had for at least 10 years.... As long the security updates come to android phones that's all the matters. Besides most average users don't really use all the new latest features that are provided anyways.
    You forgot to add the part that Apple will claim they had widgets first. Always important to claim to be first, even if it's not true.
    Reply
  • Benji777
    This is comical! The consumer base is still dominated by Androids, I always find it hilarious that stores carry a ton of iPhone accessories for 1% of the people that shop in the store in a years time and then have a boatload of iPhone accessories on clearance, I saw an Otterbox for the iPhone 12 marked down to $3.
    Reply
  • pool_shark123
    Let me guess.
    You have some sort of article quota and this was a final hour, last ditch, deadline maker?
    Reply
  • Pazuzu21
    It gets worse. I just went to the author's source and found this nice graph outlining the general Android vs IOS adoption rate.

    Android 11 adoption rate will never be this high due to market fragmentation and crappy manufacturers not supporting their own devices and not pushing updates. That doesn't make Apple superior or more popular.

    A journalist's duty is to inform, not to imprint their opinions into their articles. If they prefer IOS that's their business, but they shouldn't try to manipulate us into believing IOS has more users. This is misleading and an insult to the reader's intelligence.
    Reply
  • leotex76
    Shabana Arif , you just embarrassed yourself....again. And this article is why. This article is an embarrassing pile of trash.
    Reply
  • ow7iee
    LoL 🤣 What the heck is this?? I don't really care if iphone and apples os dominated the market & people all over the world gathered in 'apple churches', praying to their iPhone Gods.

    I'd still prefer any Android device over iPhone.. Why? Since I'm a geek and been using android since day 1.. Back when Google Play.... was Android Market and iphone had millions of great apps/games in appstore. Most people didn't even know about the little green robot & the few apps in Android Market worth installing was lightyears behind ios versions.

    iPhone is NOT a smartphone! Its a restricted.. Locked, super-boring 'feature -phone' with its smartphone capabilities stripped away or blocked/dumbed down. All because of apples dictatorship wishes and big brother complex bka blah
    Reply