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iOS 7 already on 18 percent of Apple phones, iPads

iPhone and iPad on iOS 7
iPhone 5S and iPad Mini running iOS 7.Apple

Within 24 hours of its release Wednesday, Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 7, was installed on 18.2 percent of iPhones and iPads, even though the "demand on Apple’s servers caused some to experience very slow download times or errors on launch day."

The finding is from Chitika Insights, the research arm of online ad network Chitika. The company said that iOS 7's first-day adoption beat iOS 6, when it was downloaded last year onto 14.8 percent of Apple mobile devices in its first 24 hours of availability.

"This level of adoption represents another proverbial feather in the cap of Apple," Chitika said in a report. "For some competitive comparison, Google reports that as of September 4th, 2013, adoption of [Android version] Jelly Bean, which was released in July 2012, comprises about 45 percent of the Android ecosystem. Judging by past trends, it’s likely that iOS 7 will surpass that mark very soon."

The research firm said that aside from iOS 7's new look and feel, its new Control Center, automated app updating and AirDrop file-sharing capability were among the draws for users.

The downloading process hasn't been a smooth ride for all users, though, and there is at least one problem, with the lockscreen, in iOS 7. The new OS is free. It runs on most Apple devices sold since the start of 2011, with the exception of the first iPad and all but the most recent iPods.

Chitika Insights
Chitika shows the difference in the first 24-hours' adoption rate of iOS 6, from last year, and iOS 7, released Wednesday.Chitika Insights

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