iPad users generated a massive 79.9% of North American tablet-based Web traffic over the month of September, according to a new report by Chitika Insights.
This number is down slightly from the 81% figure the iPad represented one year ago, although the iPad actually gained 1.9% points since July 2014 — the largest quarter-over-quarter usage share increase of any tablet brand out there.
What does that mean? Simply put, that despite Apple acknowledging that global iPad sales have trended down over recent quarters, the same does not appear to be true in the U.S., where the iPad continues to drive growth in the tablet market.
Chitika puts some of this growth down to the fact that large retailers such as Best Buy, Target, and Staples discounted their iPad mini and iPad Air models ahead of Apple’s October 16 event, at which the company unveiled the iPad mini 3 and iPad Air 2.
Not all of Chitika’s Cupertino conclusions are quite so positive, however. The firm notes that based on the current growth rates, iOS 8 usage is likely to represent just 60% of North American iOS-based Web traffic by the start of 2015: good numbers for almost any other mobile OS, but very slow for Apple. In late October we noted that iOS 8 growth had basically stagnated after less than two months’ availability.
Via: Patently Apple
