iOS 26 Adoption Slower Than Expected, But Is It Really All About Liquid Glass?

Apple’s iOS 26 update is being adopted slower than expected, but the real story might not be about user aversion to Liquid Glass—instead, it’s a technical quirk in Safari.

Statcounter data shows iOS 26 adoption at 16.6% as of January 2026, compared to 70% for iOS 18.

This discrepancy is partly due to Apple freezing Safari’s user agent string to iOS 18.x in iOS 26 to reduce fingerprinting, which has skewed adoption metrics.

Condé Nast’s traffic analysis reveals iOS 26 adoption grew from 22% to 45% of iPhone pageviews between October and December 2025, significantly slower than iOS 18’s 25% to 76% growth in 2024.

iOS 26 also drops support for iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, reducing its install base compared to iOS 18.

Meanwhile, Apple’s security updates for iOS 18 now exclude newer devices, pushing users toward iOS 26.

“This is a subtle difference, but it means Apple is only continuing to patch iOS 18 on devices that can’t run iOS 26,” the article notes.

iOS 26.1 and 26.2 introduced accessibility tweaks like tinted Liquid Glass and lock screen opacity controls to address user complaints.

These adjustments reflect Apple’s practical responses to feedback rather than purely aesthetic changes.