What to do with billions of iOS data points? Give them away.
Every year, we share the numbers behind iOS adoption through our live Mixpanel Trends graphs. But now, we’re taking it a step further.
This month, we’re digging through our personal data stores and bringing you actionable insights. After all, some questions aren’t easily Googleable. In the adoption battle, does iOS beat out its competitors? Which iOS version did Apple users adopt fastest? Which state gave last year’s OS the most love? By pulling historical data and live-streaming the numbers, we’re giving you more context around Apple’s big month any other database.
iOS 10 adoption up to 3.13%, as of 11:00 am PST, September 13, 2016
Pretty soon, Apple’s going to unveil its official numbers for iOS 10 adoption. But our iOS data is going to reveal some of the deeper behaviors behind those numbers. Keep checking back here every day for the latest!
iOS 10 is live. How long will it take to reach 50% adoption?
September 13th, 2016
It’s live. Now all eyes turn to the adoption rate. Will it race to mass adoption like iOS 7 did in 2013, hitting 50% share in just five days? See the live adoption numbers on Mixpanel Trends.
In the Wild West, iOS and Android go head-to-head for market share
September 12th, 2016
The iOS versus Android rivalry is fierce, but is it inflated? According to our data, iOS still dominates in most regions of the United States, but the market is getting more competitive. The numbers we’ve dug into represent software usage, and they reflect a growing trend we’re seeing in hardware purchases: iPhones remain beloved, but less and less a monopoly. While the eastern seaboard is still solid Apple territory, much of the western United States has become heavily contested between iOS and Android (they’re also duking it out in Georgia).
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that California is the most volatile battleground. Google and Apple vie for users, overtaking one another several times throughout the past 12 months. As the most populous state, a more even distribution might be expected, but both companies also have a significant presence here. In Developerland, Apple’s so-called “reality distortion effect” may be strong, but Android represents a huge share of users and, as you can see, has recently gained the upper hand.
In Texas, Android hasn’t dethroned iOS yet, but every few months it threatens to. Texas is blooming as a tech hub, so it probably follows that Android’s developer-centric operating system is making a play for market share. It’s also probably an effect of the growing popularity of Samsung in one of the U.S.’s biggest markets.
Another interesting case is Android’s ascendancy in Arizona. In a lot of the states we looked at, Android amounts to an also-ran. But in states where Android is more competitive, such as Arizona, we see a particular pattern. iOS jumps ahead erratically, while Android slowly, but steadily climbs. In the first half of 2016, iOS reclaimed its title in Arizona. But Android’s doggedness suggests a tortoise-like victory toward the end of the year.
Overall, iOS is still winning nationwide. The question is, when looking at a state like Arizona, whether Apple’s boom-and-bust cycles could lose out to Android’s growing loyalty.
Going beyond the keynote: Why product leaders aren’t ready for iOS 10—a word from our VP of engineering
September 12th, 2016
Today we’ve got something you’ll want your entire product org to see.
Our Vice President of Engineering, Joe Xavier, shared some of his key product takeaways about our data analysis of iOS 10. Here’s a snippet:
“I’ve built products and led engineering teams for Twitter, Amazon, Microsoft and most recently Mixpanel. I’ve been lucky to have had access to most of the data I needed to make optimal product decisions, but not every product leader has that kind of access.
“Mixpanel Trends data is much more likely to reflect the truth of the world you see as a product manager or engineer… We’ve been tracking every iOS version since 7.1.1. And we go beyond adoption data to bring nuance to the platform picture.”
iOS vs Android: Whose users are more engaged?
September 8th, 2016
Last September, iOS 9 launched. According to our data, 4.4 million users had already upgraded to iOS 9 within the 48 hour-window surrounding launch. Compare that with Android’s newest operating system, Nougat, which last month only netted 103,000 upgrades in the same timespan. Nougat, however, beat out iOS 9 in average engagement. iOS 9 users completed an average number of 18 actions in their phones’ applications within the first 48 hours. Conversely, new Nougat users completed 42 actions in that same time frame.
Adoption numbers are important because they inform developers about what operating systems and devices users are on. And our data backs up conventional wisdom that the overall population of iOS users adopt the newest operating system far faster than Android users do. But the engagement data injects nuance to that conventional wisdom. Clearly the most active Android users – the users that are most likely to make up a mobile apps power users – are also the users that adopt the latest Android operating system.
Which means that, while the overall population of Android users might lag versions behind the latest operating system, that might not be true for your Android power users. This contrast speaks to the merits of evaluating your user base to see where it falls on the Android adoption curve. By understanding which versions of Android your users are running your app on, you can best assess the additional value of building the latest features of the new operating system into the next update of your app.
Is your app ready for iOS 10? Does it need to be?
September 7th, 2016
On September 13th, Apple users will begin migrating from their old operating systems to iOS 10. Within 10 days, most of your iOS users will likely be fully upgraded, and expecting your app to meet them on the other side. What do you do? Is it as simple as making sure your product is compatible? Or is there a bigger opportunity here?
Today, we’re starting by mining our own data sets and displaying real-time adoption of iOS 10. Our trend reports shows the rate at which Apple users are converting from older operating systems to iOS 10. At some point in the very near future, the iOS 10 line will take over the iOS 9 line in what we call “the inflection point”. This is the time after which more iOS users are on the new iOS than the previous one.
Some beta users have already begun to convert. Generally, these are developers who have been working since June to prep their games, apps, and websites for the new operating system. But the monumental shift happens when consumers flock en masse to iOS 10.
It looks a little like this:
Last year’s report shows iOS 9 overtaking iOS 8 after just eight days. With all of Apple’s new features, we think users might adopt the new operating system even earlier this year.
Apple shares when this major inflection point happens, but there’s so much more to user behavior than just that. Based on the billions of actions we’ve recorded across both iOS and Android, we can go beyond the major inflection point and reveal the who, what, and why of mobile usage.
Over the course of iOS 10 adoption this month, we’ll be feeding you exclusive data on how users are engaging with operating systems in three key ways:
- Competition
- Geography
- Engagement
We’re confident the insights we get will help you optimize your products for the newest operating system.
Tomorrow, we’ll plunge into our data and compare Android and iOS users. After an operating system launch, which group of users is more engaged? Later this week, we’ll analyze which U.S. states adopt the new operating systems fastest. Check back this week for exclusive data and more.