iPad Adoption Rate Five Times Higher than iPad Four

If early, non-official metrics are true, Apple AAPL just scored another big product win. According to early data from Fiksu, the new iPad Air is already responsible for 0.88 percent of the millions of people using the apps of Fiksu’s clients. That’s about four times higher than the 0.15 percent logged by the iPad four three days after its launch. Even more impressive, the iPad Air attracted more early adopters than the fourth-generation iPad and the iPad mini combined.

Mixpanel found positive findings of its own. The company found that the iPad Air is already responsible for 1.54 percent of all iPad traffic to its customers’ applications. Notably, it saw a sharp drop in iPad 2 and iPad 1 traffic indicating that adopters of the earliest iPad and the first iPad mini upgraded over the weekend—something that didn’t seem to happen at such a high rate with the fourth-generation iPad.

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 When the iPad 4 and iPad mini launched in 2012, Apple sold 3 million new tablets the first weekend. If early stats like these prove to be true, that number should be significantly higher.

Could the staggered launch of the new iPad models work to Apple’s advantage? Some users who don’t want to wait to get their hands on one of the new models may purchase what’s available, even it’s their second choice. Later, once the mini reaches the market, they might make a second purchase, according to TechCrunch.

Usage numbers from sources like Fiksu and Mixpanel aren’t necessarily an indication of demand. Investors want to see an official release from Apple but it’s unclear if that will happen. Apple doesn’t like to itemize sales numbers. When it released its first weekend figures for the iPhone 5S and 5C, it provided an overall number without a breakdown between models.

Since there will be an iPad mini launch, presumably in the near future, Apple may not provide standalone iPad Air numbers. Others believe that because the launches are so far apart, Apple will likely provide preliminary numbers for the iPad Air, especially if sales are strong.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Tim Parker was long Apple.

Follow Tim on Twitter- @expositioncreat