Web stats indicate Mac OS X Lion still growing very fast

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Contradicting a report by advertising network Chitika describing Mac OS X Lion as stagnating, web analytics firm Net Applications reports Apple's latest OS has already taken a 30 percent share of the active Mac installed base in just over three months.



Chitika reported that in its latest checks, Mac OS X Lion had only reached a 16 percent share, declaring that "the once hyped OS X Lion is now in a state of arrested development."



The firm compared Lion upgrades to the rapid pace of iOS 5 upgrades, and blamed issues with Lion, including its iOS-inspired interface, as the reason for the slower pace of Mac users adopting the latest OS.



In reality, however, the $29.99 price of Lion and its more complex upgrade process is likely a more significant barrier to Mac users upgrading compared to the largely invisible, free updates iOS users can apply.



Chitika doesn't outline how it collects its data, but the firm primarily markets mobile ads, limiting its reach in profiling desktop and notebook Mac users compared to its metrics for iOS users running ad-based apps.



In contrast, Net Applications monitors the use of web browsers reported by a wide network of web servers, and its data indicates that Mac OS X Lion has been and continues to steadily grow, having already reached a 30 percent share of all Mac users. That's more than the other variants of Mac OS X older than Snow Leopard combined.







Mac OS X Lion has already achieved a similar share among Mac users as Microsoft's Windows 7 has this year among PC owners, two years after its release.







Because all new Macs ship with Lion and can't be downgraded to an earlier version, the record numbers of new Macs sold can only force Lion's share higher. In its last quarter, Apple sold 4.89 million new Macs, greatly outpacing the individual users upgrading to Lion through the Mac App Store.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 46
    Schrodinger's OS!
  • Reply 2 of 46
    Of course Lion is growing.



    Apple is selling THOUSANDS of new Macs every day.
  • Reply 3 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Because all new Macs ship with Lion and can't be downgraded to an earlier version....



    Is this true!?



    If so, ugh.
  • Reply 4 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Is this true!?



    If so, ugh.



    Why? A brand new user isn't going to know the difference. And they might like it for all you know.
  • Reply 5 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Is this true!?



    If so, ugh.



    Why would you expect Snow Leopard have drivers for hardware that hadn't been designed yet when the OS was created and last updated?
  • Reply 6 of 46
    An unscientific poll... Just out of curiosity and for those that haven't bought a new Mac that has Lion preinstalled, who here has what OS on their system?



    For me, Snow Leopard.

    /

    /

    /
  • Reply 7 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Psych_guy View Post


    Why? A brand new user isn't going to know the difference. And they might like it for all you know.



    'Why?' Is that a serious question?



    If the "brand new user" uses some pretty common software for the Mac that are rendered incompatible, that's why.



    Read the prior thread.
  • Reply 8 of 46
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    An unscientific poll... Just out of curiosity and for those that haven't bought a new Mac that has Lion preinstalled, who here has what OS on their system?



    For me, Snow Leopard.

    /

    /

    /





    Lion.
  • Reply 9 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat View Post


    Why would you expect Snow Leopard have drivers for hardware that hadn't been designed yet when the OS was created and last updated?



    Stop being silly.



    "Last updated"? Does that have to precede the date of a new new OS?



    Read the previous thread.
  • Reply 10 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    An unscientific poll... Just out of curiosity and for those that haven't bought a new Mac that has Lion preinstalled, who here has what OS on their system?



    For me, Snow Leopard.

    /

    /

    /



    Of six actively used computers at home, 2 Lion 4 SL.
  • Reply 11 of 46
    red oakred oak Posts: 1,087member
    Appleinsider.com - stop being so bi-polar
  • Reply 12 of 46
    stevehsteveh Posts: 480member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Is this [a Mac that ships with a given version of OS X can't be downgraded to an earlier version] true!?



    If so, ugh.



    What in the world did you expect? The earlier OS versions won't have necessary drivers for any changed hardware in the machine. Most things could work, some not.



    This seems to surprise you for some reason.
  • Reply 13 of 46
    This is pretty much the same topic and thread as



    http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=135747
  • Reply 14 of 46
    stevehsteveh Posts: 480member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Is this true!?



    If so, ugh.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    An unscientific poll... Just out of curiosity and for those that haven't bought a new Mac that has Lion preinstalled, who here has what OS on their system?



    - 2010 13" MBA, 2009 24" iMac, 2007 20" iMac all have Lion. Happily. (Similar to my wife's two Macs.)



    - 1999 Tangerine iBook, 10.3.9, which is as far as you can take it. (Ex Post Facto sort of gets you around that, but in the long run isn't worth doing on that machine.)
  • Reply 15 of 46
    stevehsteveh Posts: 480member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    'Why?' Is that a serious question?



    If the "brand new user" uses some pretty common software for the Mac that are rendered incompatible, that's why.



    If it's really a brand new user, she won't have older software to worry about not running.



    Think about it.
  • Reply 16 of 46
    rybryb Posts: 56member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    An unscientific poll... Just out of curiosity and for those that haven't bought a new Mac that has Lion preinstalled, who here has what OS on their system?



    For me, Snow Leopard.

    /

    /

    /



    Lion on all 4.
  • Reply 17 of 46
    stevehsteveh Posts: 480member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Stop being silly.



    "Last updated"? Does that have to precede the date of a new new OS?



    In real world practice, yes, that's generally what happens. Once a new OS ships, the previous version usually won't see any changes other than some minor bug or security fixes.



    Expending the major effort and expense of testing and qualifying new hardware is rarely justifiable.
  • Reply 18 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by obxwebdesigner View Post


    This is pretty much the same topic and thread as



    http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=135747



    No, it's the complete opposite...
  • Reply 19 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    An unscientific poll... Just out of curiosity and for those that haven't bought a new Mac that has Lion preinstalled, who here has what OS on their system?



    For me, Snow Leopard.

    /

    /

    /





    I have lion
  • Reply 20 of 46
    -nevermind
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