The adoption rate of iOS 6 among iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users has surged to 15% in the first 24 hours, according to a new report from online advertising network Chitika. The rate is much higher than it was with iOS 5, which took five days to reach 20% adoption, and Google’s (GOOG) latest Android operating system, which has only been found on 1.5% of devices after two months. Apple’s (AAPL) latest mobile operating system delivers more than 200 improvements and new features such as Facebook (FB) integration, smarter Siri and turn-by-turn navigation. The roll out has been plagued with bad press, however. A number of users reported Wi-Fi issues after updating and inaccurate results when using Apple’s new Maps app. Chitika’s press release follows below.
iOS 6 on 15% of iOS Devices 24 Hours After Public Release
On September 19th, 2012 Apple pushed iOS 6 live, making updates available over-the-air and through iTunes. The latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system offers a significant number of new features; such as Facebook integration, an upgraded Siri, and turn-by-turn navigation. While many of these new features were met with great fanfare, some, such as Apple’s in-house Maps app, failed to impress. It can be hard to please everyone with a new product release, but do the improvements packed into iOS 6 meet the standards that Apple’s user base has come to expect?
After being available to consumers for over 24 hours, Chitika Insights tapped into Chitika Ad network data to answer this question. To determine the success of Apple’s latest mobile operating system, Chitika Insights took a look at the adoption rate of iOS 6 across all iOS devices.
To quantify this study, Chitika Insights took a sample of millions of mobile ad impressions coming out of the Chitika Ad network ranging from September 19th to September 20th 2012. The growth rate of iOS 6 was then compared to total iOS Web usage using a time series to illustrate the rate of adoption of the new OS.
Pre-release iOS 6 exhibited low levels of usage due to developer activity. Following its release during the afternoon of September 19th, adoption levels soared despite high loads on Apple’s servers. Yet, within 24 hours, iOS 6 adoption had already reached levels above 15%. This level of adoption is a significant development and a testament to the vertical product structure Apple dedicated itself to, particularly when compared to Android’s latest operating system (Jelly Bean) which only saw a 1.5% adoption rate within its first two months.
