Uptake of iOS 8 is behind adoption of both iOS 6 and 7 at comparable points into their launch, according to tracking software released by mobile marketing firm Fiksu.

At 37 hours into the release, iOS 8 is being used on 14.41 per cent of devices capable of running the operating system. At the same time, iOS 6 adoption was at 19.87 per cent, while iOS 7 had already reached over a quarter of users, with 27.39 per cent adoption. Across the entire Apple ecosystem, iOS 7 dominates, running on 85.9 per cent of all devices, while iOS 8 is only used on 4.6 per cent at the moment.

The Fiksu tracking software monitors the operating systems deployment across active devices using Fiksu client apps, and also monitors the Apple mobile devices being used. Ahead of the launch, Fiksu CEO Craig Palli was confident about the speed with which iOS 8 would be adopted, saying: “As weve tracked, each successive release of iOS has been adopted more quickly by the user base.

“We expect iOS 8 to continue the trend, reaching 50 per cent adoption within the first week of release, due to the compelling new features like actionable notifications, the new health apps, and widgets. Our trackers will highlight that rapid adoption, demonstrating to developers the importance of updating their apps to take advantage of everything iOS 8 has to offer.”

The launch has already been plagued with problems, with bugs in Apples new HealthKit software forcing the company to pull it from the initial roll out, and fixes expected to take at least two weeks.