Skip to main content

Nielsen recants app-less iPad figures

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Earlier this week, market research firm Nielsen released the results of a survey in which it claimed that while owners of Apple’s iPad tablet devices spend time with their content, fully one third of them had never downloaded an app. Now Nielsen is recanting that number, saying the true figure for iPad owners who have not downloaded an app is more like one in ten.

Nielsen now says its survey data finds that 91 percent of iPad owners have downloaded an app. Nielsen has amended its figures with a brief note: “This article and the related download have been amended to reflect updates to the percentage of iPad users in the survey downloading apps.”

So far, the company has not offered any explanation for the revision.

Nielsen’s analysis of the top paid application downloads remains unchanged, with the company saying 62 percent of paid downloaded applications are games, and some 54 percent are books. Rounding out the top five categories are music, shopping, and news applications.

Nielsen’s gaffe—and the wide reporting of Nielsen’s initial figures, including here at Digital Trends—highlights the fragility of much of the data and figures that are widely accepted as gospel truth in the industry. Although few doubt that Nielsen understands the responsibility it has taken on itself for reporting its data, analysis, and methods as accurately as possible, it’s important to remember that market analyses based on contemporary consumer survey methodology and self-reported sales figures are just a group’s best shot at an educated guess. Comparatively few groups attempt to quantify trends in the technology industry, and—with a couple exceptions—few studies attempt to study the same markets independently. One little slip of a decimal point, and the “facts” suddenly become all wrong…assuming they were ever facts in the first place.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
The most common iPhone 15 problems and how to solve them
The iPhone 5 and iPhone 15 Pro Max volume buttons.

Apple iPhone 15 Plus (left) and Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

You rely on your iPhone 15 for everything. That includes music, movie, and TV show streaming, banking, smart home controls, calendars, reminders, and timers — which is only scratching the surface. Apple’s iOS namesake is faster, more durable, and packed with plenty of power, but that doesn’t mean it can’t run into trouble now and then. Not to worry though: for when a smartphone presents an issue, there’s usually a way to fix it. 

Read more
How to reverse image search on Android or iPhone

A reverse image search is a handy way to figure out the origin of an image, locate similar images, or fact check an image. There are a multitude of ways to perform a reverse image search on your mobile device, whether you're using an Android phone or an iPhone.

For example, here's how to do a reverse image search via Google lens on Android:

Read more
iOS 18 could add a customization feature I’ve waited years for
iOS 17 interactive widgets on an iPhone 15 Pro Max.

iOS 18 is coming later this year, and all signs point to it being a dramatic iPhone update. Now, thanks to one new report, it looks like iOS 18 could add a customization feature I've been waiting years and years and years for: better home screen customization.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, iOS 18 will introduce a "more customizable" home screen. More specifically, iOS 18 will allow you to place app icons and widgets anywhere you want. If you want a space or break between an app icon or your widget, welcome to the future: iOS 18 may finally let you do that. MacRumors corroborated this report with its own sources, too.

Read more