App marketing service Fiksu has been tracking adoption of Apple's recent products, sharing some interesting data today comparing the new iPad Air to previous iPad launches.

ipadairusage_vs_otheripads
Two days after the launch of the iPad Air, the new tablet's share of overall iPad activity is five times that of the iPad 4 and more than three times that of the iPad mini following their launches last year. The iPad Air currently represents 0.73% of total active iPads after two days, compared to 0.14% for the fourth-generation iPads and 0.21% for the first-generation iPad mini in the same time frame last year.

One caveat for the comparison to last year's data is that the 2012 launches saw staggered releases for Wi-Fi and cellular models, with cellular models shipping at least two weeks later than Wi-Fi models in the first wave of countries. The data also follows a report from research firm Piper Jaffray Friday showing from a small survey that 75% of surveyed iPad Air purchasers on launch day already owned an iPad, compared to only 58% for last year's iPad mini launch.

ipadcurrentusage
In terms of current usage, the iPad Air's 0.7% share of active iPads still pales in comparison to other models, with the iPad mini, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad 2, and first-generation iPad making up 20.4%, 22.0%, 17.8%, 38.6% and 0.5% of total iPads respectively.

Fiksu is also tracking adoption of the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iOS 7, finding stronger adoption for iOS 7 than was seen with prior versions of iOS. Fiksu's data shows iOS 7 running on 71.2% of total iOS devices, compared to 62% for iOS 6 and 51% for iOS 5 at this same point following their releases.

Lastly, Fiksu's data on iPhone usage shows the iPhone 5s making up 4.6% of total iPhones and the iPhone 5c making up 2.0% of total iPhones. The iPhone 5 still makes up the largest share among all iPhones with a 37.3% market share, followed by the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with 30.4% and 23.2% shares respectively.

Related Roundup: iPad
Tag: Fiksu
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Caution)
Related Forums: iOS 7, iPad, iPhone

Top Rated Comments

JacinTatt Avatar
160 months ago
I held an iPad Air for the first time today in a Telstra store and immediately any doubts I had about the product vanished. It was super smooth using it, incredibly light and my hand didn't get sore holding it. It was sitting beside some Android-based tablets. I put the iPad Air down and started using one and audibly laughed at how clunky, slow and unnatural it felt in comparison.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Taz Mangus Avatar
160 months ago
Tim Cooke wants to know where to send the check?

Really, someone named Tim Cooke is going to send people checks? Cool.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lincolntran Avatar
160 months ago
iPad Mini retina will outpace iPad Air. :cool:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D.T. Avatar
160 months ago
Of course it has better adoption rate than the iPad 4. That thing came out about half year after the iPad 3.

Yeah, the 4 was bit of a kick-in-the-ribs. It's an excellent product, and I upgraded from a 3 to a 4, but that shortened cycle made a lot of buyers hold off for the next [this] model.

----------

Personally waiting for the Retina Mini. Went to check out the iPad Air and wasn't impressed with the weight enough to change my mind from the Mini. Yes it's lighter than my iPad 2 that I sold couple weeks ago but it still feels like someone just ripped a small notebook screen off and started using it as a tablet, just slightly too big. I think I've just gotten really comfortable with using the girlfriends Mini over the last few weeks.

Mini to me just feels right, sort of like how a 13" MacBook is the sweet spot for me compared to the Air feeling like a 15" MacBook.

I love the Mini form factor, and while I haven’t had any actual hands-on with the new Air, I _feel_ like I’m in the same boat as you, that the Mini is still a good bit lighter, smaller, and that with the new display (that’s a higher PPI than the Air), and the up-to-date SoC, it’ll be just about perfect (even if it got a little chubbier ... but we all tend to pick up a few pounds around Nov/Dec :D )
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4U Avatar
160 months ago
Of course it has better adoption rate than the iPad 4. That thing came out about half year after the iPad 3.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
haruhiko Avatar
160 months ago
I'm absolutely in love with the iPad Air. It's the best iPad since the iPad 2 and the most appealing product of Apple in a long time.

----------

I bet iPad Mini w/Retina Display will see a much higher adoption rate.

It is the biggest upgrade for an iPad in 2 direct iteration. It's going from totally sucks (A5) to incredibly fast (A7) in just one year.

But yeah I think the A7 on Mini will be slightly underclocked compared to the one in iPad Air. Plus the Mini also has much smaller battery meaning the Air wins endurance contest.

To me those things alone worth the extra $100. But of course I love bigger screen and weight reduction is awesome too.

Tough choices between the two, nonetheless.
Actually it's 3 generations, like from the iPad 2 to the Air (5).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...