The majority of iPhone and iPad users only got their hands on iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 five months ago in September, but the adoption figures certainly don't make it look like some relatively new piece of firmware.

According to newly released Apple figures, published on the company's App Store Developer page, iOS 14 is already installed on 80% of active iPhones, and 86% of iPhones that were introduced in the past four years. Meanwhile, iPadOS 14 is installed on 70% of active iPads, and 84% of iPads that were introduced in the past four years.

Crunching the Numbers

Apple's figures were measured through visits to the App Store on February 24, 2011. That means that there's still a bit of data extrapolation going on---although if anyone is going to have accurate data about Apple firmware, it’s going to be Apple.

As a means of comparison, analytics firm Mixpanel estimates current iOS 14 adoption as being around 88.7%. Mixpanel doesn't provide the same breakdown in terms of overall active device versus newer handsets sold in the past four years.

While the numbers may differ slightly, however, they both underline how rapidly iOS 14 has been adopted by Apple users.

Of the older operating systems being used, Apple claims that approximately 12% of active iPhone users are still running a version of iOS 13. Meanwhile, only 2% are running older versions of iOS than that. Its figures also claim that 14% of active iPads are running iPadOS 13, and 16% an older version than that.

While iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 adoption is impressive across both devices, the higher adoption figures for iOS 14 likely have to do with how often people use the respective devices. Although some people use their iPads every day, many will also use them as a secondary device, next to their iPhone which will be used on a daily basis.

There may therefore be more of a hurry for users to make sure that their iPhones are updated and running the latest operating system, complete with the newest features, than there is with their iPads.

Version Not Specified

Apple does not reveal which specific versions of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 people are using. Apple's most recent updates for both iOS and iPadOS was version 14.4, released in late January.

iOS and iPadOS 14.5 is currently in beta, and expected to be released in the near future. iOS 14.5 will add some important security updates, allow users to set different default music players, let people unlock their devices with Face ID while wearing a mask, and more.