The launch of Apple Music may have come embedded with a number of initial teething issues, but it seems to be a key component in convincing users to quickly adopt the latest version of iOS 8. According to data by Mixpanel, the advanced analytics platform for mobile and Web which analyzes more than 48 billion actions every month, iOS 8.4, the latest version of iOS 8 which is just a week old, accounts for approximately 40% of all iOS usage already. It seems likely that the desire to use and interact with Apple Music is the primary reason for such a fast adoption rate.
It’s no secret that iOS users are historically fast adopters of the latest major release of Apple’s mobile operating system. That has always been one of the main differentiating factors between iOS and its main competition – Google’s Android. However, what’s unusual here is that a point release such as iOS 8.4 has garnered so much adoption in such a short period of time. This level of adoption would suggest that Apple’s marketing machine is having the desired effect when it comes to promoting and garnering interest worldwide in the Cupertino company’s music streaming service.
The Mixpanel data will likely be a huge cause for concern for the CEO and executives in charge of Spotify, considering it shows that users are falling in line in droves to access the free three-month trial of Apple Music. What would be extremely interesting is to actually have access to Spotify’s data to see how many of its users have cancelled a premium Spotify account in the time period since iOS 8.4 went public. In an interview with VentureBeat, Mixpanel’s Chief Executive, Suhail Doshi, described the statistics as “dangerous for Spotify” and that the numbers effectively related to “hundreds of millions of people who can get a free three-month trial with Apple Music.”
Although Apple Music is likely the key catalyst for this staggering adoption rate, it is worth noting that Apple has also paid a lot of attention to ensuring that iOS updates take up a lot less storage space on devices in the hope that users will pick up the latest updates in a more efficient and timely manner. This, along with the fact that iOS 8.4 was jailbreakable the day it was released helped many to jump to latest and greatest version this quickly.
It’s currently unknown how many of those early adopters have actually signed up for an Apple Music trial, and I guess we won’t know that unless Apple releases the specific data set. However, when you take into account the fact that Apple is attempting to penetrate the streaming market with a service that is closely tied to the underlying operating system, and have this level of immediate uptake, the future looks good for Apple Music and Beats 1.
(via: VentureBeat)
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