iOS 6 Adoption Tops 25% After Just 48 Hours

Always with the jabs by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-22 15:09 · Score: 5, Insightful

Yes, because comparing the release of Jelly Bean on a multitude of manufacturer, carrier, and hardware platforms is an entirely reasonable comparison to the release of an iOS locked to specific hardware, from one manufacturer.

Re:Always with the jabs by MBCook · 2012-09-22 15:32 · Score: 4, Interesting

According to c|net, as of yesterday Verizon Galaxy Nexus users could download Jelly Bean. Within 24 hours, Apple had 15% penetration across all their devices. I wonder what the percentage is of Galaxy Nexus users?
Are there any very popular Android phones that have received an update in the last year or so that had the update adopted that fast?
I don't know what the Android process is like, but I can say that the iOS process is really slick. At this point, Apple has it down to a science. The update was trivial to install, didn't take too long, and was easily configured on first boot. The 5.1 update process (which was the first delta update, so it was only ~50 MB instead of 700+) was especially fast.

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Re:Always with the jabs by Nemyst · 2012-09-22 15:56 · Score: 4, Insightful

Apple controls the hardware and software. You're singling out a specific version of the Galaxy Nexus which is renown for having compatibility issues (different antenna if I'm not mistaken) and for being bogged down by Verizon's stupid involvement.
My Nexus S has had Jelly Bean since roughly two weeks after it was announced. OTA updates were available worldwide within the same timeframe. My Transformer received it a month or so later, and that's to account for the docking station support, specific drivers, etc.
You just can't compare the two platforms. If what you want is a closed, smooth environment, go for Apple. If you want an open environment, with both the good and bad that that implies, go Android. It's simple really.
Re:Always with the jabs by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-09-22 16:12 · Score: 4, Informative

The Android process is OTA, same as iOS - and, unlike iOS, it has been that way since forever. Your phone will tell you that there is an update via the notification drawer. You tap the notification, it asks if you want to install it. You tap "yes", then go make some coffee, and in about 5 minutes or so your phone is updated.
Re:Always with the jabs by jamesh · 2012-09-22 17:10 · Score: 4, Interesting

The Android process is OTA, same as iOS - and, unlike iOS, it has been that way since forever. Your phone will tell you that there is an update via the notification drawer. You tap the notification, it asks if you want to install it. You tap "yes", then go make some coffee, and in about 5 minutes or so your phone is updated.
You're talking about it from a theoretical point of view. My phone doesn't even have Jelly Bean available yet (SGII on Optus in Australia) - I could install it via various methods but that doesn't count as OTA. When I first put ICS on it it the install seemed to go okay, but then nothing worked properly until I did a factory reset. I don't know anyone who didn't have to do a factory reset. A few days ago it told me about another update (4.0.4) but it failed to install on the first attempt (after taking the prescribed 5 minutes to fail). After powering off then on again it re-downloaded the update, then failed to install it again. I had to install it using Keis, which took ages (seemed like 30 minutes... maybe it wasn't that long but it was way more than 5). After the update everything seems to be working though.
All the iPhone's i've ever updated (lots) have worked first time every time.
Re:Always with the jabs by J.Y.Kelly · 2012-09-22 17:47 · Score: 4, Interesting

In my case it was more to do with the fact that my iPod touch downloaded an update file onto the device which filled nearly 1/3 of the available space on the file system. This is despite me turning off all of the update options in settings. According to all of the forums I checked there's no way to get rid of this file without jail breaking.

I didn't want to update my device but in the end it was the easiest way to get all of my storage space back. The process might be slick, but apple are definitely pushing you to do it.
Re:Always with the jabs by jxander · 2012-09-22 19:03 · Score: 4, Interesting

Yes, because comparing the release of Jelly Bean on a multitude of manufacturer, carrier, and hardware platforms is an entirely reasonable comparison to the release of an iOS locked to specific hardware, from one manufacturer.
Quoth the Joker : That's the point
Clearly a walled garden system like Apple will have quicker adoption of new software. What's somewhat surprising -and imo newsworthy- is the magnitude. In less than 2 days, iOS 6 has reached over 1/3 of potential clients. Going back a version, iOS 5 (or better) has a saturation level well over 95% in the year since release. That's incredible, compared to Android OS devices, over 75% of which are running 2.x variants, released in late 2010.
The fact that is happened : Not surprising.
The level to which it happened : Moderately surprising
Data : Useful

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Re:Always with the jabs by Tough+Love · 2012-09-22 19:03 · Score: 4, Insightful

Is it really your position that only some kind of obsessed fanboy would update their software?
No, it's my position that a lot of people accepting an update is not news.

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Re:Always with the jabs by ceoyoyo · 2012-09-23 04:26 · Score: 4, Insightful

Unfortunately, particularly where updates are concerned, Android doesn't seem very open. You yourself cite "Verizon's stupid involvement" as an excuse.
iOS is closed, but it's maintained by a company that has a vested interest in having it work well. Android itself is (mostly) open, but most of the actual implementations you can buy are considerably less so, and are maintained by companies that have demonstrated they couldn't care less about how well it works.

Comparing 2 different things... by Darkness404 · 2012-09-22 15:09 · Score: 5, Insightful

That's a pretty rapid pace, eclipsing Android Jelly Bean's 2-month adoption levels of 1.2% easily

Of course Jelly Bean's adoption level is very low because what, 3-4 devices support Jelly Bean officially? And those 3-4 devices are a small percentage of all Android devices. Heck, even the "flagship" Android phone the Galaxy S III won't be getting Jelly Bean until the end of September or later. While all iOS devices are Apple phones/tablets/media players and the iOS 6 update is available for all of them made within the past couple of years.

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Re:Comparing 2 different things... by sootman · 2012-09-22 15:39 · Score: 5, Insightful

> Of course adoption is sky high; it's 1 phone
3 old and one new phone, actually; and a few models of iPod and 2 models of iPad, plus several carriers and several cellular technologies.
> and when iDrones see an update notification they
> automatically do it.
That's the whole point. They don't update because they're "iDrones", they update because it fucking works.
> And lets not forget that most updates to iTunes force
> you to update the iPhone software to work correctly.
Bullshit. Every so often, you're forced to update iTunes to work with the newest OS, but this week's iTunes still works with my five-year-old original iPhone on iOS 3.x. You might need to update to the newest minor version in some cases (I'm not sure about that, but I'll go ahead and concede that to make my next point) but why not? THIS WHOLE SHIT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.
You're missing the forest for the trees. The fact that it's newsworthy that one company has made software updates work pretty smoothly in 2012 is pretty fucking sad.
Partly this is Android being jerked around by the carriers, but it's also a matter of a bunch of OEMs who don't give a shit about a device once it's been sold, compared to the one company that actually wants you to be a happy customer and voluntarily return to buy more, and not just say "Well my old phone from X sucks, so I'll get a new one, but I'll stick with X, because all the rest are probably just as bad and at least I'm familiar with this one."

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Re:Comparing 2 different things... by puto · 2012-09-22 15:53 · Score: 4, Interesting

i work for ATT which arguably has the largest number of Idevices, and as an escalation manager, I have to handle problems from both platforms. IOS6 has caused me quite a bit of headaches since its release, since the majority of Apple users are non technical users and do not live by the mantra if it aint broke, dont fix it. So they update from apple and it suddenly is the carriers problem.... when in reality any software, hardware update should be shunned for at least six months. As far as vendor support, when something goes wrong with an iphone that is an inherent problem with ios, the apple geniuses blame it on the carrier. Apple always gives a resounding fuck you to the carrier because they do not like to admit they are wrong. So in my daily workload I have to explain the "geniuses" are not geniuses". I run jellybean on a 2 year old Motorola.... Iphone users will update to whatever, not realizing that something is a beta needs to be fully baked. I took 40 escalations today over I)S 6...

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Re:Comparing 2 different things... by puto · 2012-09-22 16:24 · Score: 4, Insightful

Really? As an old network engineer the mantra was if there was not something in a service pack, update, that you specifically needed, there was no valid reason to update the os, software package that was working fine, unless you needed the untested specific bell and whistle. Especially if you are using your computer/device as an integral part of making your living or running a business. Updates should be vetted for a period of time to make sure there are no anomalies which could cause issues. Talk to me when you have a client who updated their software on their phone and suddenly all their contacts went to shit, and they did not have the sense to back up to the Icloud or Itunes, and a senior Vice President at Gulf Strean is screaming at you because of his stupidity. It is not a question of what a client wants, it is a question of proper procedure. You need to find yourself a new job if you think IT is about the latest and greatest.

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Re:Comparing 2 different things... by Doctor_Jest · 2012-09-22 16:35 · Score: 4, Insightful

What we get from this is not that "one company has made software updates work pretty smoothly" (they've had HUGE problems in the past with OS X, and I don't fault them for it, because it's just how things go). What we get is that Apple's a pretty good mobile phone company. What we get from the OEMs and other ecosystems that use Android is that diversity of hardware and software reminds us more of Microsoft Windows than anything else... but more importantly, we see that the Android ecosystem has a bunch of assholes at the top who control the hardware. (Not just one asshole.) :-)

That's the whole point. They don't update because they're "iDrones", they update because it fucking works

If it just works, why upgrade? They upgrade because they are fans of Apple and they want the new features, not simply because it "works." Some people love that ecosystem. Some people feel that choice is more important that "smooth updates". YMMV. A feature has been deemed compelling by the iPhone fans and they have responded with upgrading. "It just works" is only a side effect of controlling both sides of the equation (phone/OS). The vibe I get from a great many Apple users reminds me of status and one-upping the next person. Is the iPhone 4S a hunk of crap now that the new iPhone is out? Certainly not, but some people (regardless of ecosystem) want the "latest and greatest" of everything. It just seems that a majority of those who are attracted to Apple products are not tinkerers and hobbyists (among other things), but people who view computers and phones as an appliance. I was not a typical Apple customer. I enjoyed tinkering with OS X. I skinned it early on with hacks, I fiddled with all sorts of things under the hood. I returned to Linux to continue to do that... :)

compared to the one company that actually wants you to be a happy customer and voluntarily return to buy more

I disagree. To me, Apple has not been concerned about happy customers. They are concerned with their brand recognition and reputation. They only want dependency, just like every other company. The difference between Apple and say, Microsoft, is that Apple is willing to charge into new markets, leaving old ones behind. With an enigmatic and charismatic leader like Jobs, they were able to pull that off successfully (upon his return to Apple). I don't know how well that will work without "His Steveness". They didn't call it a reality distortion field for nothing... I am not demonizing Apple or lauding Android. I like what I like. It just so happens that I used to like Apple's OS X, but I have never liked their phone. My Mac Mini is on its way to being a Linux box. I have been a Linux user off and on since college. What I have learned is that I can work better in Linux than I can any other OS. That is just me, though, and it is my personal opinion. YMMV. No warranties expressed or implied. Operators are standing by.

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Re:Comparing 2 different things... by sl149q · 2012-09-22 17:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

And did we mention that most people used the over the air direct from the cloud update method.
Which in fact is one of the reasons that people upgrade so fast. Its just so fscking easy. Settings / General / Software Update, click yes. Half hour later and your iDevice is running the new OS.
And what three year old Android anything gets the same update as the current models (bad comparison, the current android models don't always have the current software either...) :-)
Re:Comparing 2 different things... by Cimexus · 2012-09-22 17:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

"who view phones and computers as appliances"
I view my phone as an appliance, yes. Not my computers though. That's the main reason I DO want a simple, appliance-like phone ... I have computers for tinkering around with and hacking and customising etc. But my phone is an important tool and I can't afford it to randomly get all glitchy or crashy when I'm trying to do something important with it. I want it to be a reliable, stable, platform for making calls, checking my email and browsing the web when I'm out and about (plus navigation and games etc.) I am willing to give away a bit of flexibility in order to get that stability and ease of use (though mind you, the default way iOS does things is usually similar to what I would have wanted anyway, and apps allow you to do almost anything).
It unclutters my life (and my head!) - when I'm tearing my hair out about some weird software bug on my PC or trying to get some obscure driver working on my Linux box etc, it's nice to have at least one device I can fall back on knowing it will 'just work' with zero fiddling around.
Nothing against those that DO like to tinker with their phones - more power to them. But I haven't got the time in the day to do that with my phone in addition to all the other hardware I play around with. So yes, my phone is an appliance, much like my stereo system or my microwave.
Re:Comparing 2 different things... by Cimexus · 2012-09-22 17:25 · Score: 4, Informative

Standalone Google Maps app is currently in review and should be released shortly. So no need to panic just yet :)
Re:Comparing 2 different things... by thegarbz · 2012-09-22 17:32 · Score: 4, Interesting

You're missing the forest for the trees. The fact that it's newsworthy that one company has made software updates work pretty smoothly in 2012 is pretty fucking sad.
Actually it seems you're just running around with your eyes closed. Nexus users simply get a notification when an update is available and the update works in 2 clicks, one to download and one to reboot the phone after the download is finished.
The real problem is motivation. I honestly see difference between Jellybean and Gingerbread, but I don't see a benefit. All apps I have now worked just fine back with Gingerbread. The interface may be a tiny bit smoother, but other than that there's no real difference, no killer feature and critically no lack of features on the older systems.
The only benefit I can see to updating the phone is to stop the OTA updater from bringing up notifications that there's an update waiting.
Apple, say what you want about the software and the most recent fuckup is damn good at marketing it's updates. People actually WANT to install iOS6 and that is your key difference right there. I don't have an iPhone yet I know what features iOS6 brings to the table, yet on Jellybean the only thing I can honestly say is different is that there's a button to close all idle notifications, that's the only "feature" I can visibly see since I upgraded, and I'm wondering why I even bothered.

Get a Jobs by fm6 · 2012-09-22 15:10 · Score: 4, Insightful

The good news about living in a walled garden is that you benefit from Steve Jobs's obsessive need for state of the art. The bad news about living in a walled garden is that you have to live with his obsession for control.

And yes, I know he's dead. But his obsessions live!

Customer focus by Microlith · 2012-09-22 15:10 · Score: 5, Interesting

Well when you're Apple and have a unique position among the handset vendors where the carrier doesn't insist on fucking with your device software and lets you treat the end user as the customer, and interact with them directly to provide support, then it's a lot easier.

When you have the mistaken perspective (easy to make in the US) that the carrier is your customer and you should cater to them, shit happens like ancient devices without updates. Not that it'd help blatantly irresponsible companies like Motorola, who repeatedly abandon handsets after a year or so, but may be they'd be more willing to do a better job (or more directly feel the effects) if they weren't protected by contracts and buffered from reality by the carriers.

Re:Customer focus by Rosyna · 2012-09-22 17:15 · Score: 4, Insightful

i work for ATT, as stated in a previous post, and the carrier does let you fuck with your device software, like ATT customers cannot use Facetime over the network unless they are are on certain data plans, which is flag created by apple, because they get a percentage of the cost of the data plans, and stand to make more money... not the US but Apple...
And Apple rules at ATT is that if you want to upgrade before you contract is over, you pay 250 bucks plus the cost of the upgrade.
But then I know shite about Apple...
And this is why people hate AT&T with a passion. It's even worse when employees of AT&T actually believe this crap. "It's Apple's fault we have to charge more for FaceTime over cellular" when AT&T is the ONLY carrier in the US to do this. Sprint, T-Mobile (see Unlocked & Unlimited promo), and Verizon have all made it clear they don't charge extra for FaceTime.
Data is data.

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by Bill+Dimm · 2012-09-22 15:14 · Score: 5, Interesting

For those that haven't already seen it, there is a growing collection of iOS 6 map glitches on The Amazing IOS 6 Maps

Math is hard by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-22 15:17 · Score: 5, Funny

>35.4% adoption of iOS 6, with iOS 5.x holding court at 71.5% adoption

So, iOS 5.x and 6.0 have reached 106.9% adoption on his site? That's impressive.

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by afgam28 · 2012-09-22 15:27 · Score: 5, Funny

And there was also this, spotted in the London Underground:

http://www.tomshardware.com/gallery/A3QARhSCIAA2R9U,0101-353576-0-2-3-1-jpg-.html

Actually... by sootman · 2012-09-22 15:30 · Score: 5, Interesting

... the really funny part is it also eclipses the over-one-year-old Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) as well.

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Re:Actually... by farkus888 · 2012-09-22 16:24 · Score: 4, Insightful

You, like everyone else so far in this conversation, are making a false equivalence fallacy. The only thing this article points out is adoption rates by users when the software became available to the users. The only actual apples to apples comparison to android would require a by carrier and by device breakdown because that is how android users get updates. What was the adoption rate of Jelly Bean on the Galaxy Nexus on VZ the same amount of time after VZ started pushing it to users? I know my android phone was updated less than 8 hours after its most recent update became available to me. Considering most people just click ok on everything that pops up in front of them I imagine the adoption rate is high, since all it takes to update an android phone is to click ok on the notification and wait 5 minutes for it to do its thing and then reboot. My last iphone took longer to run its updates than my android phones have and it required far more user interaction and effort to get those updates started in the first place.

If I wanted polarized arguments with neither side bothering to think at all I'd go read about politics. It is a statistic, not grounds for a holy war. Why isn't anyone here talking about a technical solution to increase that adoption rate? That is what this real nerd was hoping to see here. I wonder what percentage of those are new devices that shipped with ios6? Did his math account for people with new devices being forced to re-download his app? This clearly doesn't show any indication of software upgrade rates on old hardware, but mathematically they must be lower than overall adoption rates since 100% of new iphones are on ios6.

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Re:Good luck with those new map service. by HJED · 2012-09-22 15:46 · Score: 5, Insightful

Using what appears to be WW2 survaliance photos, placing streets in the middle of rivers and lakes and moving towns a great distance away from their actual location (see GP's link) are Beta or even alpha features, this should not have replaced a working app which a large number of people rely on for directions. In Aus it dosen't even recognise any toll roads.

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Re:Okay? by siddesu · 2012-09-22 15:57 · Score: 5, Insightful

No, it is comparing apples to oranges as usual. I wonder what is the adoption of JB on Google devices. For me, it is about 100%, as all my google android gadgets run JB.

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by pseudofrog · 2012-09-22 15:58 · Score: 4, Insightful

No, there is plenty to see here.

Maps and navigation are a big deal on smartphones. Phone calls are their most important function, but Internet browsing and maps/navigation vie for the second most important feature.

And no, Google Maps doesn't even begin to approach this failure. Not even close. Aside from the horrific rendering, missing roads, and an inability to find what should be obvious searches, it doesn't even attempt to duplicate useful functionaly present in Google Maps. Public transportation? Use 3rd-party apps. Walking directions? Lol who walks these days?

Apple fans agree.

Caching Problem by johnkoer · 2012-09-22 16:47 · Score: 5, Interesting

Apparently there is a bug in Safari for IO6 that causes caching of POST requests, which is causing all sorts of web developers to scramble like crazy to implement cache busting in their apps.

Thanks apple.

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Re:Good luck with those new map service. by sg_oneill · 2012-09-22 16:48 · Score: 5, Interesting

The big problem for me is I mostly use the google map for its *excellent* bus and train routing. I can just drop in an address, let it pull my current location from the GPS and have it give me really great bus/train combinations. Apple has dropped this feature

Until theres an alternative I simply cant upgrade. Which is a problem for me, being a full time IOS developer and all that.

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Re:Good luck with those new map service. by artor3 · 2012-09-22 17:16 · Score: 5, Insightful

You know what would be even nicer than acknowledging the problem? Allowing their users to choose which map program they want to use, instead of forcing them to be pawns in Apple's war on Google.

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by LordLimecat · 2012-09-22 17:38 · Score: 4, Insightful

Sure their implementation is new and Apple deserves some slack for thaT

They deserve slack for replacing a well known, well tested, highly reliable and popular service with their in-house verison which is apparently poorly tested and unpopular-- all in the name of a popularity contest?

No, they took a gamble to try to marginalize Google, and apparently its half baked. I see no reason anyone would give them slack.

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by LordLimecat · 2012-09-22 17:41 · Score: 4, Insightful

Isnt IOS 6 a free upgrade? And compatible across ~90% of apple devices?

Im gonna guess THAT is why the adoption rate is so high, not because Apple is good at bilking money out of users (which is irrelevant if the update is, in fact, free).

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by Grishnakh · 2012-09-22 17:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

That would be nice, but this is Apple we're talking about. They've proven over and over how petty and vindictive and what control freaks they are. If you continue to be a customer of theirs, you have to know what you're getting into, and expecting good behavior from them is naive in the extreme.

Re:IN OTHER EARTH SHATTERINFG NEWS by Hork_Monkey · 2012-09-22 18:26 · Score: 5, Interesting

WTF happened to the trolls here? I used to kill time reading Adolf_HitTroll, the GNAA, etc. Love 'em, hate 'em, they filled that gap until the real content came in.

Now there are hippies in my trolls!

Not cool.Not cool. Vegetarian trolls can't even make dick jokes, so it's really just a waste of time.

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by CodeheadUK · 2012-09-22 19:21 · Score: 5, Informative

The RDF is strong here. Now Apple invented the mobile browser?

I guess Opera will be getting letters from Apple's lawyers for that ACID2 compliant SmartPhone browser that was available a whole year before the iPhone even launched.

Re:Here is a hint: Stay away from numbers by gl4ss · 2012-09-22 21:03 · Score: 5, Insightful

You don't have the capacity to read numbers right and are too stupid to work with them

Here is a clue: That 71.5% is out of the 35.4%.

I know ... you are probably too dumb to understand that direct response too. After all ... it has numbers.

I'm too dumb to understand that. 71.5% out of the 35.4% are running ios6? and the 35.4 are running either ios6 or ios5? WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF REPORTING IS THAT??

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Re:Good luck with those new map service. by Ksevio · 2012-09-22 21:20 · Score: 4, Informative

Opera mobile is full fledged and was out much earlier than the iPhone

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by matthewmacleod · 2012-09-22 21:24 · Score: 5, Informative

To make it clear, the Google Maps app on iOS did not provide turn-by-turn navigation.

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by imagined.by · 2012-09-22 22:28 · Score: 4, Informative

The iOS app for google maps provides a map which shows your route and has two arrow buttons to switch back and forth between turn points. But there are neither voice directions nor "signs" where you have to drive, you have to derive all info from the top down view, which is basically unusable if you have to drive and navigate yourself.

This isn't turn by turn.

Re:Good luck with those new map service. by Rich0 · 2012-09-22 23:44 · Score: 5, Insightful

Well, there is certainly plenty of fault to go around:

1. You don't have to break maps to deploy security updates.
2. The android practice of not deploying security updates is one day going to lead to a massive cataclysm. If somebody manages to come up with some kind of email worm for Android you're going to see some fun times as the vendors tell everybody to just throw out their six-month-old phones and buy new ones.

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