iOS 6 adoption hits 61 percent just one month after its release
A new report shows that the majority of iOS users have opted to upgrade to Apple's new operating system -- these numbers are likely only to grow with the expected release of the iPad Mini.
Despite a handful of complaints about Apple's new iOS 6, users are upgrading to the new mobile operating system at a fast rate. Just one month after the release of the new system, more than 60 percent of iOS users in the U.S. and Canada have upgraded to the new version.
Advertising and analytics company Chitika said today that 61 percent of iOS devices are now running iOS 6, which was released for download in mid-September. This number comes from what Chitika said is "a sample of hundreds of millions of mobile ad impressions" from its advertising network over the last month.
Apple's iOS 6 update added "over 200 new features" to iOS 5. Chief among them is an entirely new maps application that uses Apple's own data, changes to Siri that add more information about movies, restaurants, and sports scores, as well as deep integration with Facebook.
Somewhat controversially, the update also removed features -- like the built-in YouTube application and Google's map data with features like Street View. With iOS 6 customers now must use Apple's native map app, which users have complained has inaccurate data, lack of details, distorted images, and erroneous directions. These complaints prompted Apple CEO Tim Cook to apologize for the frustration felt by customers and vowed to improve the program.
Despite the maps controversy, 15 percent of iOS users had downloaded the new system within its first 24 hours, and after two weeks more than 50 percent of users had upgraded. The rate of upgrades has pretty much leveled off, but Chitika expects it to pick back up after Apple's special event tomorrow, when the company is expected to unveil the iPad Mini, an updated 9.7-inch Retina iPad, and other products."We expect small gains for the OS in the coming weeks, with the possibility of iOS 6 usage touching 70 percent once adoption peaks," Chitika wrote in a blog post today. "The upcoming release of the iPad mini will likely accelerate this process."
Other Apple news came out today that the company is cooking up a minor update for iOS 6 to fix a handful of issues. Reportedly, iOS 6.0.1 is currently undergoing testing with a number of carrier partners, with a planned release in the "coming weeks." As a frame of reference, it took Apple a little less than a month to release iOS 5.0.1 following the release of iOS 5 last October.
