iOS 6 Adoption Rates Soar Following Google Maps Release

redletterdave writes "The Dec. 12 reinstatement of Google Maps on iOS has apparently been enough for some of those reluctant users to finally make the upgrade to iOS 6. According to MoPub, the San Francisco-based mobile ad exchange that monitors more than 1 billion ad impressions a day and supports more than a dozen ad networks and 12,000 apps, there has been a 29 percent increase in unique iOS 6 users in the past five days following Google Maps' release on iOS. In fact, MoPub reports a 13 percent increase in iOS 6 users from last Monday to Wednesday alone, which would mean that nearly half of the converts to iOS 6 in the past week switched the very moment Google Maps' standalone app hit the App Store."

Comments

post hoc ergo propter hoc

[tverbeek]

Post hoc ergo propter hoc strikes again.

If you really care about transit IOS is far better

[SuperKendall]

public transit directions are absolutely critical for me on a smartphone

If you really feel that way, you will be far better served using iOS going forward.

I have used Google Transit a LOT over the years. When you use it in multiple cities, or for a long time every day, you grow to realize that the data it's giving you is mediocre. Yes it generally works but it's often out of touch with the way buses are really running, and if you investigate where the data comes from it's all static files updated infrequently by the metro companies in each city.

A third party app can cover cities much better, integrating more deeply into the existing metro data stream. There's already an app for iOS called simply Transit (careful, more than one exist) that seems to have the same coverage Google Transit does, and has better presentation of transit data than Google. You not only get a list of possible transit combinations with stops and walking, but it also adds extra details like "this one is slower but has less walking". When scrolling through the segments of the selected route Transit does a great job of showing the route on the map, giving you the estimated departure and arrival times for the bus picking you up and dropping you off.

So already iOS users get better transit directions than Google Maps gives you, and the transit situation on iOS will only get better as time goes by. With Apple directing people to third party apps there is a TON of motivation to build a really good custom metro app for every city because customers will be herded right to your app outside the crowded app store.

It's funny that so many people talk about how Apple should allow you to chose a browser or mail client (which would be useful) but then claim it's pointless or unnecessary to have a map where you can chose the best application to give you transit directions. Why should that area be immune from letting third parties do a better job, especially when it's just not possible to do the best job for every city across the globe?

Especially combined with the trick of asking Siri "Take me to *LocationX* via transit" you have simple one-click transit routing to anywhere quickly and with the best transit directions you can get.