OS X Mavericks usage spikes past 10 percent across US and Canada

By Konrad Krawczyk Published October 30, 2013

Last week, Chitika claimed that OS X Mavericks usage made up of made up 5.5 percent of Mac OS X Internet traffic in the U.S. and Canada on its first day. Now, Chitika, an online advertising network, says that number has more than doubled.

According to Chitika’s data, it only took Apple’s newly released Mac OS X Mavericks five days to make up 11.8 percent of all Mac OS X Internet traffic seen over its ad network in the U.S. and Canada. By comparison, last year’s OS X Mountain Lion took five weeks to grab a 10.3 percent share.

What could account for quicker rate in new OS adoption? The significantly speedier adoption rate for OS X Mavericks compared to OS X Mountain Lion likely has something to do with the fact that Apple offers OS X Mavericks as a completely free download. That’s a radical departure not only from previous Apple OS X pricing models, but from Apple’s past policies on OS X pricing overall – though that’s not to say that Apple broke a pattern of charging high rates for its past OS X launches. OS X Mountain Lion was released last year for the reasonable rate of $20. Prior to that, OS X Lion was released with a price tag of $30. Compared to Windows 8.1, which you can grab on Newegg for $100, Mavericks is a steal. Even Windows 7, which was released roughly four years ago in 2009, is still sold for $100 and up depending on which version you grab.

In the end, $20 or $30 saved is $20 or $30 earned. We’re willing to bet that many users jumped on board simply due to the fact that Mavericks is a freebie. Regardless of the reason, it looks like Apple’s new pricing strategy is working.

Konrad Krawczyk

Former Computing Editor

Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…

Topics

Apple
Apple

Computing

Gemini Notebook’s new Collections arrive just as Google turns it into a bigger workspace

Google is cleaning up notebook organization as the former NotebookLM expands across Gemini and Search

Gemini Notebook branding on a MacBook

Google has barely finished renaming NotebookLM, and it’s already addressing one of the headaches that comes with building a large research library.

Collections are rolling out to all Gemini Notebook users, giving them a way to group related notebooks while keeping everything visible under My Notebooks. The dashboard gets some structure without asking users to rearrange the library they’ve already built.

Computing

Samsung’s humanoid robot ambitions are real, but factories come first

Samsung’s new robotics division has humanoids in its sights, although its immediate business is far more practical factory automation

Robot Touch Human Finger

Samsung wants a place in the humanoid race, but its new robotics push begins with machines built for factories rather than homes.

The CEO-led RX robotics division will initially focus on manufacturing robots. Samsung has separately identified humanoids as a priority, although it hasn’t announced a commercial model or explained where one fits into the division’s immediate plans.

Computing

WhatsApp’s Liquid Glass redesign is finally coming to Mac after months of waiting

WhatsApp's Mac app is getting Apple's Liquid Glass-inspired makeover

WhatsApp has been steadily adopting Apple's new design language across its apps, but Mac users have largely been left watching from the sidelines. That is finally beginning to change.

The messaging platform has started rolling out its Liquid Glass redesign for the WhatsApp Mac app, bringing the desktop experience much closer to what iPhone and iPad users have been seeing over the past few months. The update introduces a refreshed interface with redesigned navigation elements, updated menus, and a cleaner layout that aligns with Apple's latest software aesthetic. According to WABetaInfo, the rollout has begun through the latest Mac App Store update and is currently reaching a limited number of users.