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Google Maps causes huge spike in iOS 6 adoption

Published Dec 19th, 2012 9:10AM EST
Google Maps iOS 6 Adoption

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IPhone users welcomed Google Maps with open arms when it was finally released by Google (GOOG) late last week. The app quickly vaulted to the No.1 spot in Apple’s (AAPL) App Store as more than 10 million people rushed to download it during the its first 48 hours of availability. Apple executives weren’t happy. Australian citizens were. According to new data, Apple’s mapping app is so bad that it was actually preventing a number of users from upgrading to iOS 6 — and now that Google Maps is here, those users are finally ready to update.

Ad network MoPub used data taken from the 12,000 iOS applications it supports in a recent study that found iOS 6 adoption grew a whopping 29% in the five days following Google Maps’ introduction.

“We observed since the launch of Google Maps for iOS 6 a 30 percent increase in unique iOS 6 users, and we think it’s related to Google Maps,” MoPub CEO Jim Payne told TechCrunch. “It verifies the hypothesis that people were actually holding back to upgrade until Google Maps was available.”

Google Maps for the iPhone and iPad touch includes Google’s industry-leading mapping service along with transit information and voice-guided navigation, and is available for free in the App Store.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.