New Delhi: As Apple gears up to unveil iOS 19 at WWDC25 next week, the company has revealed strong adoption numbers for its current operating systems. According to the latest figures, iOS 18 is now running on 88% of iPhones released in the past four years, and on 82% of all compatible iPhones, slightly ahead of iOS 17's performance at the same point last year.

On the iPad side, iPadOS 18 adoption stands at 81% for recent models and 71% across all compatible iPads. This mirrors the adoption trajectory seen with earlier versions, reflecting a steady uptake despite older device longevity.

Meanwhile, in a boost to Apple’s momentum, the iPhone 16 emerged as the world’s best-selling smartphone in the first quarter of 2025, according to Counterpoint Research’s Global Handset Model Sales Tracker. This marks a return of the iPhone base variant to the top global spot after two years.

Apple dominated the Q1 top-10 list, securing five positions — including second and third places for the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro, respectively. The iPhone 16 performed especially well in Japan and the Middle East & Africa regions, driven by favourable pricing strategies, revised subsidies, and improved economic conditions.

The newly launched iPhone 16e debuted at the sixth position globally, outperforming expectations in its first full month of sales.

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra ranked seventh, down from fifth in Q1 2024, mainly due to a shorter sales cycle. Still, the S25 series accounted for a quarter of Samsung’s smartphone sales during its active launch month, with AI-powered features and Gemini integration pushing Samsung’s shift toward agentic AI.

The only brand outside of Apple and Samsung to break into the top 10 was Xiaomi, with its Redmi 14C 4G seeing a 43% year-on-year growth over the Redmi 13C 4G.

Despite geopolitical uncertainties and market volatility, the share of the top 10 best-selling smartphone models is expected to remain stable, the report noted.