iOS 7 woos 85 percent of all iOS devices
The new figure shows healthy growth from the 78 percent recorded at the end of 2013, according to Apple’s latest stats.
The stats come directly from Apple itself, which measured its own App Store data during the seven-day period ending Sunday, March 23. The latest number, which applies to iOS 7 and higher, is up from the 78 percent seen at the end of December 2013 and the 74 percent from early December.
As a consequence, iOS 6 now holds just a 12 percent slice of the pie, down from 18 percent at the end of December. Versions earlier than iOS 6 now account for 3 percent of the action. But those older iOS versions won't disappear completely. iOS 7 does not support iPhones prior to the iPhone 4, iPods before the fifth-generation iPod Touch, or the original iPad.
Released on March 10, iOS 7.1 got off to a promising start based on data from mobile analytics firm Chitika. Looking at all Web traffic in North America generated by iOS devices, Chitika found that version 7.1 snagged a 12 percent share just 45 hours after its release.