Tech

Apple iOS 8 adoption slows with software's snafus

The Apple faithful appear more cautious before downloading the company's latest software update.

On Monday, Apple revealed that 47 percent of iOS devices tracked through the Apple App Store are running iOS 8. That's a change of only one percent over the past two weeks.

Apple iOS 8
Source: Apple Inc.

Why the slow rate of adoption? Analysts point to a few possible reasons. One, the recently released iOS 8 requires more memory.

"You need a lot more memory to download this version, and you might need to move a lot to the cloud to make room for it," says Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies. "Some people might not know how to do that."

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iOS 8 requires 4.6 GB of free space before users can install the operating system, and many iPhone users don't have that amount of space remaining on their devices. iOS 7 required 3.3 GB of space.

Second, analysts say initial snafus with the rollout of the new operating system might have alarmed some users.

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iOS 8's launch on September 17 including a bug that forced Apple to pull HealthKit-enabled apps from the App store.

After that snafu, Apple pushed out a patch on Sept. 24, but it too was quickly pulled after iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners voiced complaints of non-functioning cellular and TouchID hardware.

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The company issued the latest iOS8.0.2 patch on Sept. 25, with fixes for the HealthKit, cellular and TouchID problems.

"They did have failed updates," says Horace Dediu of Asymco, a mobile software development company. "So people could be more cautious."

Apple's response to iOS 8 hassle
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Apple's response to iOS 8 hassle

At the end of the day, analysts believe users will adopt the new mobile operating system at a high rate given its features including new security patches, the new Health app and the predictive keyboard.

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The only concern for Apple would be if software developers became frustrated and stop building apps for Apple devices. But analysts say that is highly unlikely.

While many users might still not update their phones with the latest software, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales have been very strong. Apple has said it sold a record 10 million devices in the first weekend of sales, but has yet to give an update on how many new iPhones it has sold since then.

Apple declined to comment.