iOS 6 Adoption Uptick Due to iPhone 5 Release in China, Not Google Maps?

These numbers just don't make sense. iOS 6 adoption was at over 60% within a month. Even assuming that it plateaued there, we are talking about around 240 million iOS 6 users. A 29% increase would be around 70 million additional iOS 6 users in 3-4 days.

This isn't explained by new device sales unless Apple is going to have a heck of a blowout quarter!

It also isn't explained by 10 million people downloading Google Maps!

BaldiMac said:

These numbers just don't make sense. iOS 6 adoption was at over 60% within a month. Even assuming that it plateaued there, we are talking about around 240 million iOS 6 users. A 29% increase would be around 70 million additional iOS 6 users in 3-4 days.

This isn't explained by new device sales unless Apple is going to have a heck of a blowout quarter!

It also isn't explained by 10 million people downloading Google Maps!

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Their numbers are probably just completely wrong. I don't know how they collect their data put do they check to see if they may be counting any devices multiple times?

SnowLeopard2008 said:

Why would Google Maps drive adoption iOS 6 adoption? It's a cluttered mess of a GUI on Android. They might have better map data than Apple but it's about damn time I, the end user, start seeing it instead of just reading about it. Show, not tell. Apple Maps has a far superior and easier to use GUI and has a significantly larger locations database than Google. Although it falls short in some areas, no GPS system is "perfect". Let's not forget that some people drove into oceans and off cliffs using the same map data provider that Google (and Apple) uses.

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You obviously have never tried it or previewed it on the App Store. If you had, as Google itself said, it's much better than its Android counterpart. So, why would you even comment about it?

Plutonius said:

Many people did...

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You don't know that. Obviously some people did, but nobody knows if it was really "many". It sure doesn't look like it was enough to show even a blip on the iOS 6 adoption graph.

Simple, because it is an "issue".

TheRainKing said:

Why did you put the word 'issue' in quotes like there isn't actually a problem with Apple Maps?

Have you tried using it outside of America?. In some places Apple Maps is absolutely terrible. Just because your not experiencing the problem doesn't mean there isn't an issue.

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I have navigated for over 4000 miles using both iOS 6 maps and an Google's Android navigation (Gingerbread) (side by side). Apple has had one mistake with a misplaced road. Google's maps has had 3 errors with mis-named roads. (Google's POI database is simply great).

The navigation interface on iOS 6 maps is better than the navigation on the Android maps. I miss traffic flow data on the iOS 6 Google maps app.

From my experience, it is an "issue" far over-blown by media and analysts. Both systems have errors and have areas of improvement.

BaldiMac said:

These numbers just don't make sense. iOS 6 adoption was at over 60% within a month. Even assuming that it plateaued there, we are talking about around 240 million iOS 6 users. A 29% increase would be around 70 million additional iOS 6 users in 3-4 days.

This isn't explained by new device sales unless Apple is going to have a heck of a blowout quarter!

It also isn't explained by 10 million people downloading Google Maps!

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Your misunderstanding what was reported. It was a 29% increase in unique iOS adoptions over their baseline day. So if on Monday 100 new devices, then Tuesday 110, then Wednesday 120, then Thursday 129, so they reported an adoption rate increase. The percentage was a percentage of new adoptions, which turns out to probably include new devices. The 29% had nothing to do with total iOS users.

Again, I think the Maps "scandal" was a scandal because the media reported it as a scandal. 90% of all iOS users will continue to use Apple Maps. Apple Maps will be fine for their needs. And google maps is out and solves the issue just a couple of months after we got our new phones any way. And Apple Maps pushed Google to make Google Maps better. Thanks Apple. Love scandals that end up in better stuff for customers really quickly.

SnowLeopard2008 said:

Why would Google Maps drive adoption iOS 6 adoption? It's a cluttered mess of a GUI on Android. They might have better map data than Apple but it's about damn time I, the end user, start seeing it instead of just reading about it. Show, not tell. Apple Maps has a far superior and easier to use GUI and has a significantly larger locations database than Google. Although it falls short in some areas, no GPS system is "perfect". Let's not forget that some people drove into oceans and off cliffs using the same map data provider that Google (and Apple) uses.

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It IS a mess on Android. But Google's iOS app is much better in that regard. Not as good as Apple’s UI, but good enough that some people surely like it.

NoNothing said:

I have navigated for over 4000 miles using both iOS 6 maps and an Google's Android navigation (Gingerbread) (side by side). Apple has had one mistake with a misplaced road. Google's maps has had 3 errors with mis-named roads. (Google's POI database is simply great).

The navigation interface on iOS 6 maps is better than the navigation on the Android maps. I miss traffic flow data on the iOS 6 Google maps app.

From my experience, it is an "issue" far over-blown by media and analysts. Both systems have errors and have areas of improvement.

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Me three. iOS Maps data—not just the UI but the data—has been better for me than Google’s. And Siri has been terrific about finding restaurants with obscure foreign names.

Apple’s Map errors are real. The assumption that Google doesn’t have problems too? That’s confirmation bias as near as I can tell. People see what they’re told to see—and nobody told the world Google is full of errors.

MacRumors said:

A company analyst believes the MoPub data ... was affected by the recent launch of the iPhone 5 in China, rather than the release of Google Maps.

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Today's lesson in thinking before issuing a press release...

I can't believe they used the word "bragging"

SnowLeopard2008 said:

Let's not forget that some people drove into oceans and off cliffs using the same map data provider that Google (and Apple) uses.

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Yes, but Google failings aren't newsworthy. Apple failings? You better bet your sweet Barbara Walters they are! Roll that story!

kas23 said:

You obviously have never tried it or previewed it on the App Store. If you had, as Google itself said, it's much better than its Android counterpart. So, why would you even comment about it?

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I downloaded the day it came out. I used it a couple of times on commutes. I didn't like it because the voices were unclear/hard to understand. Siri's voice is more "natural" and has better "flow". Google Maps voice stuttered a lot. It wasn't my data connection or old hardware that can't keep up. It's actually not better than the Android counterpart in certain areas. On Android the maps are vector based. On iOS, it's bitmap.

Apple was "bragging"? Do I detect some negative bias, MacRumors? Tsk tsk, that's unlike you.

Makes sense.

SnowLeopard2008 said:

On Android the maps are vector based. On iOS, it's bitmap.

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Nope. Vector-based on the new iOS app too.

TheRainKing said:

Why did you put the word 'issue' in quotes like there isn't actually a problem with Apple Maps?

Have you tried using it outside of America?. In some places Apple Maps is absolutely terrible. Just because your not experiencing the problem doesn't mean there isn't an issue.

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Same can be said about google maps... which I think is his point, if apple maps has issues, then so does google maps (in my area google maps is horrible)

SnowLeopard2008 said:

I downloaded the day it came out. I used it a couple of times on commutes. I didn't like it because the voices were unclear/hard to understand. Siri's voice is more "natural" and has better "flow". Google Maps voice stuttered a lot. It wasn't my data connection or old hardware that can't keep up. It's actually not better than the Android counterpart in certain areas. On Android the maps are vector based. On iOS, it's bitmap.

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You are using it the United States, are you not? Because I find your comment about the GMs voice being worse than Siri's voice very puzzling. Let me put it this way, to me Google's voice sounds like my girlfriend while Siri sounds like my mother.

SnowLeopard2008 said:

Let's not forget that some people drove into oceans and off cliffs using the same map data provider that Google (and Apple) uses.

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lol...

Reminds me of that game "Lemmings" ... Lets all follow the leader. I think i'm gonna have to use the word "common sense" here.

oh snap......

kas23 said:

You are using it the United States, are you not? Because I find your comment about the GMs voice being worse than Siri's voice very puzzling. Let me put it this way, to me Google's voice sounds like my girlfriend while Siri sounds like my mother.

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Unless you have a relatively young mother, Siri does not sound like a mom. More like late-20s female. Google Maps' voice sounds like a 40-year-old woman. Nothing wrong with either. I find the words spoken by Google Maps to be confusing, stuttered, unclear and garbled. Try it, it's obvious which one was built by engineers who added voice as something artificial and which one was built by engineers AND linguists who thought of voice from the very beginning.

And yes, I'm in the US. I know Siri sounds different in foreign countries.

Of course it's the Chinese launch. Tech geeks tend to forget that the vast majority are not that bothered by stuff like the map problem. Either they haven't updated because they aren't ware of iOS 6 or they have updated but don't care about the problems with maps. They might have heard of it, but still shrugs it off as a non-issue. As much as Google wants it to be a major problem, the map problem has mostly been a storm in a water glass issue.

RobHague said:

Google maps wasn't that important it seems an exaggeration to me that anyone could hold off just based on that. If it was deadly vital you could just go to the mobile site.

I have had zero issues with Apple Maps anyway, I downloaded the new Google Maps but its in a folder for emergencies with other apps like Waze. I was in London a few days ago and decided to give Google Maps a spin when I got lost, and it was giving me confusing directions. Switched to Apple Maps and it was much clearer. How is that for irony?

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This cannot be true....Apple Maps is the beginning of the end for Apple.

:sarcasm

I waited until just after I got google maps. It isn't a question that I really needed google maps, but it was more use to me than iOS6, and although I don't go to London often, having gone round it with both Apple Maps and Google Maps (the old one), I knew that doing it with apple maps wasn't something I wanted to do.
Turn by turn directions isn't something I wanted from a non permanent map store, so that was of no interest to me.

I don't particularly like google maps that much, and think apple maps is an improvement in a lot of ways, but its labelling of roads is poor and tube / overground / train is very poor.

rmwebs said:

Dear god Macrumors either get on the bandwagon or dont.

"its because of Google maps"
"no wait, its because its Christmas"
"no...wait a second, its because of China."



Here's a thought...maybe it's all three.



Or maybe the Mayans wanted to try it out before they kill us

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Kill us??

"On Monday, Google reported that Google Maps for iOS had been downloaded more than 10 million times."

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Yet, Apple will have their ****** Maps as default for as long as they can until people stop buying iPhone or Apple fan boys start telling Apple off. haha, like that's gonna happen. Everything was going smooth and good until the Google Maps dropped.

China sales don't add up...

2bikes said:

so that previous 20% in iOS6 usage relates to 2M phones sold in China? Does that mean there are only 12M iphones out there?

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So true! There were 200+ million iOS 6 users, right? So a 20% uptick means about 40 million new upgrades or purchases. That would represent basically all the new iPhones Apple has sold this quarter, all of which came with iOS 6. Or a mix of iPhones and iPads...

So attributing China is ridiculous, but attributing it to new sales is certainly possible.

BTW, my family initially held out for the iOS 6 upgrade, but then we just did it, initially using the web based Google Maps and then switching to their new App. But we were NOT one of the 10 million - we downloaded AFTER that was reported....