UPDATE: Thursday, December 20th marks the first full week of Google Maps’ availability in the Apple App Store. To determine the impact of Google Maps on iOS 6 adoption, Chitika Insights conducted a research study analyzing the trend in adoption rates since the applications’ release, along with mapping the OS’ adoption rates since its debut on September 19th, 2012 for added context. Following Google Maps’ release, Chitika Insights observed iOS 6 usage remain fairly flat from midnight on December 13th to midnight on December 17th 2012.

ORIGINAL REPORT (12/17/12): After much anticipation, Google Maps has been made available in the Apple App Store for iOS 6 users on both the iPhone and the iPad. Google’s app completed the approval process and launched at midnight, Thursday, December 13th, after significant debate and deliberation between the two tech giants.

Following this launch, Chitika Insights studied whether iOS 6 saw an increase in overall adoption as users who were waiting for the Google Maps feature decided to upgrade. A recent Chitika Insights study from October 2012 found iOS 6 adoption standing at 61%, leaving Apple’s latest OS substantial room for growth. To get a glimpse of any early trends, Chitika Insights analyzed data from the Chitika Advertising network both before and after the launch of Google Maps to quantify its impact on iOS 6 adoption.

Looking at the graph above, the data shows that the addition of Google Maps to the Apple App store had no immediate impact on iOS 6 adoption rates. Using a 24-hour rolling average, iOS 6 usage levels remained relatively static, shifting from 72.77% to 72.94% (a meager 0.23% increase).

Considering that the news of Google Maps’ re-entry into the Apple App store didn’t truly make its way out into the public until late morning on December 13th, it is possible that adoption of Apple’s latest mobile OS will continue to increase in the near future, as some holdout users upgrade due to the new mapping software. However, based on the data above, it appears that there was a lack of immediate reaction by consumers holding out to upgrade to iOS 6 specifically due to Google Maps, and the number of these individuals may have been overestimated in the wake of the Apple Maps flap.

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