From the App Store Stats Apple shows that iPadOS 26 is more popular than iPadOS 18 – it is installed much more often and faster.
iPadOS 26 is more popular than iPadOS 18
As of February 12, 2026, iPadOS 26 was installed on 66 percent of all iPads sold in the last four years. It was also installed on 57 percent of all active iPads worldwide. For comparison, iPadOS 18 was installed on 63 and 53 percent of iPads respectively at a similar time. And there’s a reason for that.
iPadOS 26 has major innovations compared to the previous version and that immediately makes it more popular. Apple called iPadOS 26 one of the most comprehensive updates to date upon release. The interface has been updated and there are major extensions for Apple Intelligence. These improvements make iPadOS 26 much more interesting for users than previous updates. And this contributes to more people wanting to update faster.
iPadOS 26 is also supported by many iPads. That means there are also many users who can update. iPads are often used longer than iPhones. Schools and companies also often use iPads for several years, which could all be updated at the same time when iPadOS 26 was released.
Three weeks later
The iPadOS 26 statistics were measured three weeks later than those of iPadOS 18. This means that all people who installed the update in those three weeks are also included in the statistics. That might distort the picture a bit. However, it seems that iPadOS 26 is more popular because it simply has more to offer than iPadOS 18. Features such as improved multitasking and deeper integration of AI features make the update more attractive to a large group of iPad users.
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