Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

It’s taken iOS 9 three days to accomplish what Android Lollipop did in nine months

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 9:05PM EST
iOS 9 Vs. Android 5.0 Adoption

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

One enormous advantage of using iOS compared to Android is that you always have access to the latest software as soon as it’s ready. If you want to see a stark demonstration of this, consider that within three days of its release, iOS 9 has already crossed the 20% adoption rate threshold, which is something that it took Android 5.0 Lollipop a ridiculous nine months to accomplish.

RELATED: Despite Google’s efforts, Android fragmentation isn’t getting better

As you can see in this chart from Mixpanel, iOS 9 was installed on more than 20% of iPhones by 9 a.m. ET this morning:

In August this year, Android 5.0 Lollipop was still under 20% adoption, despite the fact that it had been released eight months prior. In fact, it was only at the start of this month Lollipop got installed on more than 20% of active Android devices:

Upgrading your phone to the latest software is important not just because of all the new features and improvements you’ll get, but also because upgrades frequently patch major security flaws in devices. Google and other OEMs have been doing work to get security patches out faster than they have in the past, but it doesn’t change the fact that the vast majority of Android updates first have to go through an OEM first and then a carrier.

While there are definite pluses and minuses for both iOS and Android, there’s no doubt that Apple’s ability to get the newest software out to its users quickly is a major plus for iOS that Google may never be able to match.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.