iOS 6 Adoption Hits 25%, Boom

Superlatives. Apple is all about superlatives. A case in point is the astounding iOS 6 adoption rate. Whereas it took three weeks for iOS 5 to crest 20 percent of the installed user base, one-in-four iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users have already upgraded to Apple’s latest mobile operating system opus.

Depending on which compatible iThing you own, you will get all or some significant subset of the 200 new features included in iOS 6. Moreover, iOS 6 is the first major Apple mobile OS update you can do over-the-air — during your commute home on the train if that makes you happy.

And, for the vast majority of users, it will all just work. Apple is generally like that — not perfect, mind you, but nonetheless brilliant.

That said, mobile advertising and web metrics firm Chitika is reporting that iOS 6 adoption (image above) hit 25 percent in a matter of hours.

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.

And, for what it’s worth, Ice Cream Sandwich adoption only hit 15 percent in August even though it has been available since October 2011.

iOS Adoption: An A-list Dev Speaks

David Smith, creator of Audiobooks (free, updated for iOS 6, iPhone 5), reports that he saw iOS 6 adoption hit 37.9 percent in the first 24 hours of public availability.

How meaningful is that? Well, Smith’s Audiobooks is generating 100K downloads a month, so his sample size is significant.

So, wow, Apple is absolutely killing it with iOS 6…

What’s your take?