iPhone users are downloading iOS 18.1 faster than iOS 17.1: Apple CEO

Apple CEO, Tim Cook said iOS 18.1 download rate is faster than iOS 17.1, released in October last year. It’s early pop for all of the Artificial intelligence features Apple is shipping with this new software.

Cook shared this new iOS 18.1 data in an interview with CNBC after fourth quarter fiscal results. It saw iPhone sales increase by 6 percent, which is now outselling 15 following its last month’s release.

The most interesting part of the iPhone 16 lineup is its capability to run Apple Intelligence. However, these AI features didn’t ship out of the box.

“We’re getting great feedback from customers and developers already and a really early stat, which is only three days worth of data: Users are adopting iOS 18.1 at twice the rate they adopted 17.1 in the year-ago quarter,” said Cook.

Apple Intelligence is a suite of generative AI features including writing tools, AI images, and advanced voice interaction with Siri. However, iOS 18.1 only brings a few of these AI capabilities.

On top of that, only six iPhones are eligible for Apple Intelligence including iPhone 16 series and iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. This scenario also makes things look odd from an existing customer point of view.

Apple says the new generative AI feature cannot run on previously released iPhones including iPhone 15 and 15 Plus due to performance limitations. There are millions of devices that are left unchecked for this new AI suit and the company can only rely on its six devices to show rate but not the user base.

iOS 17.1 had a large user base just like iOS 18.0. Compared to that, the iOS 18.1 upgrade rate might be good but not at the same intensity as iOS 17.1.

Furthermore, new users will have to join the waitlist for Apple Intelligence and many reported that the iPhone maker is taking time to clear them gradually.