SAN FRANCISCO
Adoption of Apple’s iOS 8 mobile operating system has stagnated at less than 50 percent following its release almost 20 days ago, the company said Tuesday.
As of Oct. 5, iOS 8 has been downloaded only on 47 percent of devices, according to data posted on Apple’s App Store.
That number is only one percentage point higher than Sept. 21, a mere 4 days after Cupertino launched the new operating system Sept. 17.
Analysts can show how this release is lagging behind previous ones. Mixpanel, a mobile analytics firm, points to data that says 46.3 percent of devices have picked up iOS 8. Fiksu, another analytics firm, has an even gloomier outlook, claiming that iOS 8 adoption stands at just 38.3 percent.
Mixpanel’s data claims iOS 7 was picked up by almost 70 percent of Apple users in the same time period.
These firms gather data from applications. Mixpanel, for example, represents thousands of different apps and, therefore, millions of mobile users across a diversity of devices, in its data.
Several public relations blunders are probably to blame for the slow embrace to iOS 8. Right before launch, Apple pulled HealthKit, a wellness-focused feature touted as a game-changing addition to the iPhone.
Cupertino tinkered and fixed HealthKit and released an update, iOS 8.0.1, right away, but angry users blasted the update for turning off cellular service and essentially turning their luxury smartphone into a luxury brick.
Apple quickly patched up the problem and released iOS 8.0.2. Considering all the previous glitches, it isn’t surprising consumers are slow to adopt the new iOS until they are sure all the kinks have been worked out.
The iPhone 6, which is definitely selling well by all accounts, isn’t immune to the recent backlash Apple has been wallowing in lately.
The latest criticism is that the enormous device catches hair and beards in its seam. Twitter users have already deemed the scandal “Hairgate.” Some have quipped that Apple is attempting to clean the often scruffy faces of its hipster devotees.
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