Just one week after its release in September, iOS 7 was generating more than 51% of all iOS-based web traffic in North America. Now, a little over two months later, the adoption rate for iPhone devices has surpassed 74%, and for iPad has hit just under 64%.
This makes it very likely that iOS 7 will continue to substantially outpace iOS 6 adoption, which reached 83% close to six months following its release in September 2012.
Advertising analytics firm Chitika took a look at “tens of millions” ad impressions served up to iOS devices in the period of October 25th to November 18th.
The slower growth on iPad could be attributable to older iPads having not yet reached end of life status. iOS 5, which is the last version of iOS that is supported by the original iPad, still has a 9% share of the iPad traffic, while taking only 2.6% slice of the iPhone traffic pie.
Other factors could be a lack of features compatible with the older iPads, such as AirDrop, which is not compatible with older iPads, thus minimizing the incentive for users of those devices to upgrade.