Study: Only Half of touch Owners Upgrade Their OS
10:15 am, December 21st, 2009, Ed Sutherland
A widening gulf appears to be growing separating iPod touch and iPhone owners’ willingness to run the latest Apple operating system software. Only 55 percent of iPod touch users have upgraded to OS 3.0 or higher, in stark contrast to around 95 percent of iPhone owners, a survey indicates.
At the heart of the disparity appears Apple’s decision to charge iPod touch users for upgrading, while OS 3.x is free for iPhone owners. Also, many features in OS 3.0 and higher are targeted toward the iPhone, rather than the non-cellular iPod touch.
“Push notifications? MMS? Tethering? Essentially useless on a device that relies on WiFi for a connection. iPod touch users are essentially asked to pay for copy/paste, in-app purchases, and the ability to buy a segment of the latest apps from the app store,” according to online ad network Chitiki. The Westborough, MA. company based its findings on a sampling of its network traffic.
Unlike iPhone owners, which received free OS upgrades, iPod touch owners were charged $5 to $10, depending on when they purchased the device.
In September, Apple released iPod touch OS 3.1.1., an update of the iPhone Software 3.0 introduced in June. The 3.1.1. update also unveiled a lower price: $4.95. The same month, Apple released a 64GB iPod touch. (A 128GB iPod touch may be in the wings, as word of a new NAND module from Toshiba leaked earlier this month.)
For Apple, the iPod touch is growing in importance. Not only is the touch the one bright spot in declining iPod sales, but the device serves the dual purpose of being a gateway to the iPhone, as well as a gaming alternative to the Nintendo DS.
[Via AppleInsider]
Posted by Ed Sutherland in News | Comment on this article
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I know most of my comments lately are about the editorial aspects of the site, so forgive me once again: what the heck does the photo of iPhone vs. HTC have to do with the content of this post?
Cripes.
Gene, on December 21st, 2009 at 10:21 am
The stated reason for “having” to charge iPod touch owners for upgrades was the accounting rules then in place. Those rules have since been changed. Will that result in Apple dropping the cost for iPod touch upgrades to zero? I don’t know but it would be advantageous for Apple to do this if they can.
The advantage is to provide developers with a single platform to develop toward. The iPhone OS could be a monolith whereas competitor Android continues to Balkanize with too many hardware/software combinations making developer work unnecessarily difficult and discouraging.
Frank Lowney, on December 21st, 2009 at 10:47 am
cost maybe one factor but one has to also consider that one of the first things they do with an iphone at the genius bar is restore and update the software. especially if the phone has bricked.
Charli, on December 21st, 2009 at 10:50 am
Apple has much more commitment to the iPhone than the iPod. Phones are crucial devices in our lives. Moreover, the mobile platform is still very new and admittedly, still needs a lot of attention. The iPhone brings a lot of additional features, services, and therefore bugs along for the ride. There is a lot to ensure that everything works, not just for them, but for their partners (read carriers). I think it would be seen as extremely callous if Apple charged for iPhone updates, considering there exists other companies (viz., RIM) that provide updates for free. Not to mention the load it would place on the carrier. It’s best to get everyone running the same device and thus, syphoning your tech support respectfully.
Conversely, the iPod is purely a pleasure device. If people don’t feel like adopting the new version, they can certainly wait for another, future iteration, with no one really skipping a beat. In any case, there isn’t much to benefit Apple from having users update in record numbers. Nothing that isn’t offset by the fee that is.
I wouldn’t hold my breadth on seeing that upgrade fee vaporize, regardless of the changes made to the accounting system. There just isn’t the same resting on the iPods as there are on the iPhones.
WS, on December 21st, 2009 at 10:58 am
Duh, it’s the paid upgrade fee. And it started at $9.95 for OS 3 as well, and then a couple of weeks later the fee was dropped to $4.95…
dave, on December 21st, 2009 at 11:50 am
I’ve got to be honest, I feel a bit dumber after reading this post. First, there’s no apparent reason for the photo that leads the post. Second, there’s no mention that previously Apple had to charge iPod Touch owners for the upgrade because of the accounting system they used or a consideration of whether they’ll continue to charge now that they’ve switched accounting methods. Third, there’s no discussion of why it is good/bad for Apple to have almost half of iPod Touch owners using an older OS. Fourth, the final paragraph points out the important role the iPod Touch plays for Apple, but doesn’t connect that with this statistic.
The author should have simply used a relevant image and then stopped after the first paragraph or offered insightful analysis instead of pointless ramblings.
Paul, on December 21st, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I think the other reason touch owners dont upgrade (aside from the fact that apple charges them… is that most touch owners jailbreak.. and they know that if they upgrade, its going to be a pain in the ass before they get it back up and running again
Chris Burke, on December 21st, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I’ve kept mine up to date and wish I hadn’t. The last firmware update puposely disabled my iVoice. When a manufacturer disables perfectly legal devices it makes me think twice about purchasing more items from them.
Tinman, on December 21st, 2009 at 9:14 pm
not to mention that if you still own a third gen ipod touch the latest os isn’t compatible with your hardware.
Saturn, on December 21st, 2009 at 10:07 pm
not to mention that if you still own a first gen ipod touch the latest os isn’t compatible with your hardware.
Saturn, on December 21st, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Can someone tell me where to go for the best iphone 3G 3.1.1jailbreaking site ?
I really would like to know what is the difference between redsnow, purplerain and others…
Jbird, on December 30th, 2009 at 10:31 pm