The adoption rate of iOS 8 software update has been slower than last years iOS 7 adoption rate. iOS 7 reached 80% in the month of January just four months after release date.

iOS 7 was the first major redesign of Apple’s mobile operating system since the original iPhone. The new flat look was a significant departure from the original user interface which may have lead to an increased interest among users to download the update.

iOS 8 release was met with a number of issues. Since the update required more free space for over-the-air installation many users decided to not update their devices. Later, Apple published a support article stating that users can update their devices without having to delete any data by connecting their devices to iTunes and then completing the update process.

When Apple released a maintenance update iOS 8.0.1, it resulted in No Service error. The company was quick to investigate and release follow-up updates to provide a stable version of iOS 8. Apple released a number of updates including iOS 8.1, iOS 8.1.1, iOS 8.1.2, and most recently iOS 8.1.3.

The latest update reduces the amount of free space required to install a new update along with fixing other glaring issues such as spotlight not showing search results.

iOS 8 didn’t get the perfect launch that Apple would have hoped for. However, despite all the bugs and slower adoption rate, as iOS 8 install base continues to rise Apple shouldn’t have to worry about anything.

Just as iOS 8 distribution looks impressive for an update that was released just four months ago, Android’s adoption rate is in a dire situation. Lollipop, the latest version of Android operating system released in November, is installed on just 1.6% Android devices.

iOS 7 was released worldwide on September 18th and according to a new report 36% of iPhone users have already upgraded to the new mobile operating system.

Mobile analytics firm, Mixpanel, provides an SDK tool for developers to integrate custom event analytics platform in the apps. The graph of iOS 7 adoption when viewed by hours shows how dramatically the launch suddenly resulted in the fall of iOS 6 share and thus increasing iOS 7 share.

Apple’s iOS 7 is a complete redesign of the mobile OS and features over 100 new user features. With iOS 7 now users have access to control center, new notification center, HD voice for Siri, AirDrop, dynamic wallpapers, FaceTime audio and much more.

Another repot was made public by ad network Chitika that estimates first 24 hours iOS 7 adoption at 18%. The variances in both reports is very high as each relies on the number of apps displaying their tracking code. It’s interesting to note that Chitika released figures of iOS 6 adoption which was 15% and on the other hand iOS 5 took five days to reach 20%.

Since the introduction of over-the-air updates in iOS 5 Apple has helped in accelerating the adoption rate of iOS. It’s very easy and quick to update the entire OS without requiring any cables or PC.

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Apple CEO, Tim Cook commented on Android market share and highlighted the issue of fragmentation. Even as Android continues to launch new versions it takes several months before users get the updated version as it has to go through several different network operators and hardware manufacturers.

Apple’s integration of hardware and software services enables the company to make new versions of the software available to all its users near instantly. During the special iPhone media event Cook shared that Apple is on track to sell 700 millionth iOS device in September.