1

MCD

Platform Support Recommendations

2014 Third Quarter

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Quarterly, Magnani Caruso Dutton tracks

the use of stable releases of browsers,

operating systems, and devices for the

general U.S. population, identifying the

current share of the user base and

potential velocity for large-scale adoption

of new and obsolesce of old platforms.

Overview

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The following table is our recommended

platform support policy. Both velocity

and lifecycle are factored. Platforms that

fit into these categories change

regularly, some faster than others.

Full and partial support types are defined

after the table.

Overview

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Upcoming <=2%

Experimental <=1%

Antiquated <=1%

Aging <=2%

Might not function or display properly; no longer supported

Full core functionality with some display errors acceptable.

Full functionality and error-free display. Full core functionality with minor display & formatting errors acceptable.

Might not function or display properly; future support may be needed.

None Partial Full Partial None

Support Policy

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Full Functionality

All features and functions display and

operates as designed and specified.

Support Type Definitions

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Partial Functionality

Core functionality works correctly but

may have some display errors.

Functional errors may occur but will not

impinge on core functionality. Special

features, overlays or advanced

animation, may not function properly or

at all.

Support Type Definitions

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As a new stable release of a browser, device, or

operating system moves into the Upcoming

category, it does not necessarily displace any

other supported platform. Conversely, a platform

in the Experimental category may never move

into the mainstream environment. We also

monitor certain platforms that have been “stuck”

in the Experimental group for some time but have

a high potential to suddenly break out and

become an Upcoming or even Modern platform.

A Note on Support Type Definitions

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The recommendations outlined in this

report are based on the general U.S.

consumer market; with a couple of noted

exceptions. An individual website’s

platform support should be identified

based on its measurement analytics and

inform the design and development

specifications throughout the project.

Recommendations Summary

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The following table summarizes the

browser by operating system support

recommendations as of September 2014.

Supporting documentation is provided

later.

Browser Support Recommendations

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Browser Support Recommendations

  Win XP Win 7 Win 8 Mac 10.9 iOS Android1

IE 8.x Partial Partial        

IE 9.x   Partial        

IE 10.x   Partial Partial      

IE 11.x   Full Full      

Firefox 30.x Partial Partial   Partial    

Firefox 31.x Full Full Full Full    

Firefox 32.x Full Full Full Full    

Chrome 37 Full Full Full Full    

Safari 7       Full    

Mobile Safari         Full  

Android Browser

  

     Full

Mobile Chrome           Full

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• Add full support of Firefox 31 and 32 to Win XP, Win 7, and Mac 10.9• Add partial support of Firefox 30 on Win XP, Win 7, and Mac 10.9• Drop support for versions of Firefox prior to version 30• Add full support of Chrome 37 to Win XP, Win 7, and Mac 10.9• Drop support for versions of Chrome prior to version 37• Chrome 38 is not added to the list since the stable version was just

recently released. As of this report, support isn’t warranted but we

expect full support by the end of the 4th quarter 2014 due to

automatic upgrades.

 As of this report, the Chrome for Mobile Browsers has slowly gained share on mobile devices. However, this share is almost completely on Android. For Android devices, its share is 23.41% and for iOS devices its share is 0.01% according to NetMarketshare. Therefore, we are not recommending the support of Chrome for Mobile on iOS devices.

Recommendation Changes for This Report

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Device Support Recommendations

 

iPod

Touch /

iPhone

4s

iPhon

e 5 iPad 2

iPad

3Gen

Kindle

Fire

Kindl

e Fire

HD

Galaxy

S3

Galaxy

S4

Galaxy

Tab 2

Google

Nexus 7

iOS6 Full Full Full Full            

iOS 7 Full Full Full Full            

iOS 8 Full Full

Full Full     

  

 

Android v2.3         Partial          

Android v4.1             Full      

Android v4.2           Full   Full  

Android v4.3             Full      

Android v4.4               Full   Partial

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• Add full support of Samsung Galaxy S3 on Android v4.1 and Android

v4.3.• Add full support of Samsung Galaxy S4 on Android v4.4.• Add full support of Amazon Kindle Fire HD on Android v4.2.• Add partial support of Google Nexus 7 on Android v4.4. • Add partial support of Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 on Android v4.2.

As of this report, Kindle Fire Phone market penetration is not available; as a result, we will continue to monitor this device for possible inclusion later this year.

As of writing this report, the market penetration for Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD is not available. Chikita stated that kindle Fire grabs 6.10% market share in North America. At this point, we recommend including both Kindle Fire and Kindle Hire HD since usage of Amazon Kindle Fire family has 6.10% and falls within our support policy.

Recommendation Changes for This Report

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This section details the operating system (OS)

versions that garner 1% or more of total sessions.

Operating System Version Analysis

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Desktop (Windows and Macintosh)

Total

Win and Mac

Mac

October 88.60% 12.40% 56.70% 9.90% 9.60%

November 86.30% 11.70% 56.40% 8.60% 9.60%

December 86.70% 11.60% 55.90% 10.00% 9.20%

January 89.60% 11.00% 55.3% 13.40% 9.90%

February 89.30% 10.10% 55.0% 14.20% 10.00%

March 89.10% 9.40% 55.1% 15.00% 9.60%

April 89.90% 8.00% 55.40% 15.80% 10.30%

May 89.70% 7.30% 55.20% 16.60% 10.00%

June 89.40% 7.10% 55.30% 17.00% 9.60%

July 89.70% 7.00% 54.80% 17.30% 9.50%

August 89.40% 6.50% 54.20% 18.10% 9.70%

September 89.80% 5.90% 55.60% 18.10% 9.60%

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Windows 7 is the top operating system in use with over 55% market share. Also note the remaining percentage includes operating systems such as Linux and Windows NT.

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Desktop (Macintosh Only)

Mac 10.6

Mac 10.7

Mac 10.8

Mac 10.9

October 1.60% 1.56% 3.31% 0.84%

November 1.53% 1.34% 1.85% 2.42%

December 1.47% 1.23% 1.66% 2.79%

January 1.43% 1.19% 1.47% 3.19%

February 1.40% 1.13% 1.32% 3.48%

March 1.29% 1.05% 1.18% 3.75%

April 1.23% 0.96% 1.06% 4.07%

May 1.11% 0.87% 0.97% 4.15%

June 0.94% 0.74% 0.80% 3.95%

July 0.84% 0.65% 0.70% 4.12%

August 0.78% 0.60% 0.65% 4.29%

September 0.74% 0.57% 0.60% 4.05%

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Although Mac 10.9 has dropped below 4% we still expect it to quickly reach this market

penetration this quarter. We recommend adding full support to the Mac 10.9 operating

system. Mac 10.7 and 10.8 are significantly dropping against Mac 10.9; as a result, we

recommend dropping support of 10.7 and 10.8 for this current quarter.

Apple’s OS X Yosemite Beta was released on July 21st, 2014 and will be available to 1M Mavericks user according to Tech Times. However, Apple only released Mac OS X Yosemite on October 17, so usage is not yet available.

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Mobile and Tablet

  Total iOS Android Others

October 3.29% 1.12% 1.44% 0.73%

November 3.68% 1.20% 1.67% 0.81%

December 3.80% 1.13% 1.76% 0.91%

January 4.00% 1.23% 1.93% 0.84%

February 4.00% 1.21% 2.01% 0.78%

March 4.00% 1.32% 2.01% 0.67%

April 4.03% 1.20% 2.10% 0.80%

May 4.16% 1.27% 2.14% 0.75%

June 4.34% 1.23% 2.31% 0.73%

July 4.17% 1.13% 2.46% 0.58%

August 4.44% 1.37% 2.51% 0.56%

September 3.86% 1.11% 2.34% 0.41%

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Android and iOS are both enjoying growth in current quarter. However, we’re

beginning to see hints Android-based systems (mostly Samsung mobile devices

and tablets) are creeping into new territory as they pass 2% market share.

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The following tables and charts

highlight desktop browser types and

versions with 1% or more of total

sessions.

Browser Type Analysis

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Browser Type Analysis

Internet Explorer

Firefox

Safari

Chrome

October 11.70% 27.20% 3.80% 54.10%

November 10.50% 26.80% 4.00% 54.80%

December 9.00% 26.80% 3.80% 55.80%

January 10.20% 26.90% 3.90% 55.70%

February 9.80% 26.40% 4.00% 56.40%

March 9.70% 25.60% 3.90% 57.50%

April 9.40% 25.00% 4.00% 58.40%

May 8.90% 24.10% 3.80% 59.20%

June 8.80% 25.10% 3.70% 59.30%

July 8.50% 24.90% 3.50% 59.80%

August 8.30% 24.70% 3.70% 60.10%

September 9.90% 24.00% 3.60% 59.60%

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We compared browser use for October 2013 to September 2014 by general market

browser share, as reported by w3schools, and noted some interesting differences in

browser use. Chrome use is significantly higher among the browsers in the general market

as it outpaces Firefox and Safari. Also note the very large difference in Safari – a browser

primarily used in iOS devices.

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

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Internet Explorer

IE 8 IE 9 IE 10 IE 11

October 4.10% 3.00% 4.00% 1.49%

November 3.60% 2.50% 3.50% 2.27%

December 3.20% 2.40% 2.10% 2.40%

January 3.10% 2.30% 1.70% 2.50%

February 2.70% 2.10% 1.70% 2.50%

March 2.50% 2.10% 1.60% 2.60%

April 2.40% 2.00% 1.60% 2.70%

May 2.10% 1.90% 1.40% 2.70%

June 2.10% 1.20% 1.40% 3.00%

July 1.80% 1.80% 1.50% 3.00%

August 1.80% 1.60% 1.40% 3.20%

September 2.00% 1.50% 1.30% 3.80%

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We’re seeing the slow deflation of the IE10 and 9 browsers largely

due to Microsoft auto updates. At 1.50% and 1.30% and gradually

moving down we recommend partial support of these browsers in

the current quarter. There is a possibility of 2014 will continue to see

large corporate users upgrading directly to IE11, Firefox, or Chrome.

IE11 has been intensely watched due to the connection between the

latest browser version auto updates on Windows 8 and 7. Until

recently, IE11 was only available on Windows 8 machines and

Windows RT devices, such as the Surface. However, Microsoft pushed

IE11 auto updates to Windows 7 machines as well. As a result we can

reliably say that IE11 will take a large percentage of market share in

the coming quarter against all IE browsers. At 3.80%, we recommend

full support of this browser version.

Internet Explorer

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Firefox

Firefox 30 Firefox 31 Firefox 32

October

November

December

January

February

March

April 0.10%

May 0.20% 1.20%

June 9.00% 2.20% 0.30%

July 15.60% 3.10% 0.50%

August 1.50% 17.00% 1.30%

September 1.00% 6.70% 10.90%

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Firefox

Firefox has considerable competition from Safari and

Chrome. We see Firefox version 28 dropping sharply

from its release date to now. Since the browser

continues to drop, we can reliably project it will fall

below 1% by the end of the 3rd quarter of 2014.

Little more than a month after the release of Firefox 32, Mozilla released Firefox 33 beta on September 6th, 2014. Firefox 33 market penetration is less than 1%; therefore, we will monitor Firefox 33 in the coming quarters for possible inclusion.

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Safari

Safari 5 Safari 6 Safari 7

October 0.70% 2.10% 1.00%

November 0.60% 1.40% 2.00%

December 0.50% 1.10% 2.20%

January 0.50% 1.10% 2.30%

February 0.50% 1.00% 2.50%

March 0.50% 0.90% 2.50%

April 0.40% 0.80% 2.80%

May 0.30% 0.70% 3.00%

June 0.30% 0.60% 2.80%

July 0.30% 0.50% 2.70%

August 0.30% 0.30% 2.90%

September 0.30% 0.40% 2.60%

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32

Safari

We’re watching a gradual decline in Safari 5 on the desktop. But at 0.30% and gradually moving down, therefore, we recommend not supporting Safari 5 in current quarter. However, Safari 6 usage significantly drops in the past quarter and at 0.40% and gradually moving down, we recommend not supporting Safari 6 in current quarter. Safari 7 usage significantly increased against the Safari 6 browser. At 2.60, we recommend fully supporting Safari 7 in the current quarter.

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Chrome

Chrome 35 Chrome 36 Chrome 37

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May 12.80%

June 49.90% 0.50%

July 34.00% 19.20% 0.50%

August 3.00% 49.50% 2.30%

September 1.90% 8.30% 43.60%

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35

We’re seeing a substantial deflation of Chrome 35 gradually

moving down, we recommend partial or no support for these

browsers.

Google released Chrome 38 version on September 6th, 2014. Chrome 38 market penetrations is less than 1%, therefore, we will monitor Chrome 38 in the coming quarters for possible inclusion.

Chrome

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http://gs.statcounter.com/#desktop+mobile-browser-US-monthly-201304-201403

Mobile and Tablet Browsers

Android

Mobile Safari

Blackberry

Mobile Chrome

October 30.19% 51.43% 4.62% 7.50%

November 29.84% 51.01% 4.39% 8.93%

December 29.03% 50.57% 4.14% 10.32%

January 27.60% 49.79% 3.25% 10.57%

February 26.09% 48.34% 2.52% 14.52%

March 24.43% 48.64% 1.64% 16.53%

April 22.67% 48.07% 1.43% 18.90%

May 21.24% 47.04% 1.35% 21.53%

June 19.53% 47.31% 1.32% 23.41%

July 17.74% 47.48% 1.29% 25.13%

August 16.56% 47.73% 1.20% 26.81%

September 14.74% 50.25% 1.15% 27.60%

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We are watching considerable difference between the Mobile Safari and Android browser usage on mobile phones and tablets. Also note that the usage of the Mobile Chrome browser is significantly increasing. At 27.60 % and gradually moving up, we recommend full support of this browser in current quarter. However, it is worth monitoring in 2014, as there is a possibility by the end of second quarter numbers of people may opt for the Nexus devices, LG G3, and Galaxy S5, along with existing Android devices, which will impact the market share.

Despite Blackberry having market penetrations just above

1.15%, the general trend for Blackberry continues down;

therefore, we recommend not supporting this browser.

Mobile and Tablet Browsers

39http://gs.statcounter.com/#desktop+mobile+tablet-comparison-US-monthly-201404-201406

Desktop and Tablet/Mobile Analysis

Desktop Mobile Tablet

October 80.07% 13.73% 6.20%

November 78.01% 15.23% 6.76%

December 72.68% 19.18% 8.13%

January 70.50% 20.47% 9.03%

February 69.53% 21.36% 9.11%

March 69.88% 21.43% 8.69%

April 71.31% 20.24% 8.45%

May 70.88% 20.78% 8.34%

June 68.00% 23.17% 8.83%

July 68.92% 22.18% 8.91%

August 65.79% 24.45% 9.70%

September 65.08% 25.22% 9.77%

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The desktop versus mobile and tablet difference is

considerable. Note that touch device usage is

considerably lower than might be expected given the

hype of touch devices in the general market. Even

though mobile and tablet use is small – it is worth

monitoring in 2014, as there is a possibility by the

end of the year to see an overwhelming majority of

people opting to use touch devices instead of

desktop. The last quarter already shows this growth

beginning to happen.

Desktop and Tablet/Mobile Analysis

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By the end of the 3rd quarter of 2014, 52.13% percent of U.S. mobile and tablet owners had a device that runs iOS.

http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_browser-US-quarterly-201302-201401-bar

 

Tablet/Mobile Operating System Overview

RIM

iOS

Android Others

Q4 2013 5.37% 51.65% 39.05% 3.74%

Q1 2014 2.06% 60.62% 32.44% 4.88%

Q2 2014 1.56% 51.66% 42.36% 3.97%

Q3 2014 1.27% 52.13% 42.84% 3.76%

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In the U.S. iOS continues to dominate

market share of mobile and tablet

operating systems. Given RIM 1.27% and

the Blackberry browser share usage

hovers at 1.15% we do not recommend

support for this browser at this time.

Tablet/Mobile Operating System Analysis

45http://netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=1

Android Analysis

Android 2.3

Android 4.1

Android 4.2

Android 4.3

Android 4.4

October 5.49% 12.46% 4.06% 1.02%

November 5.80% 13.55% 4.73% 1.67% 0.19%

December 5.64% 13.29% 5.41% 2.18% 0.84%

January 4.80% 11.69% 5.72% 4.85% 1.07%

February 4.55% 11.58% 6.34% 6.07% 1.37%

March 4.35% 11.42% 6.64% 6.18% 2.30%

April 3.89% 11.19% 7.13%% 5.70% 3.92%

May 3.88% 10.61% 7.49% 4.98% 5.54%

June 3.83% 10.33% 8.53% 5.58% 7.25%

July 3.29% 10.03% 8.77% 4.02% 9.28%

August 3.07% 9.56% 8.74% 3.78% 11.10%

September 3.02% 9.45% 9.13% 3.58% 12.76%

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As of writing this this report, Android 3.1, 3.2 and 5.0 are less than 1% market penetration and falls below our recommended support policy.

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Above are the top Android devices by market share as of June 2014. The Samsung

Galaxy S3, S4, and S2 are the far and away favorites with the S2 dropping

considerably against the S4 in the last quarter. http://www.appbrain.com/stats/top-android-phones

Android Device Analysis

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The Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4 are now listed in the top

Android phone list. At 6.10% and 5.40%, we recommend

continue to full support of Samsung Galaxy S4 and S3 in

current quarter. It is worth monitoring in 2014, as there is a

possibility by the end of the 4th quarter to see an

overwhelming majority of people opting to use Samsung

Galaxy S4.

As of this report, Galaxy S5 market penetration is not

available; as a result, we will continue to monitor this device

for possible inclusion in upcoming quarter.

Android Device Analysis

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Android Tablet Breakdown

Amazon Kindle Fire Samsung Galaxy Google Nexus

4Q 2013 7.30% 5.75% 1.80%

1Q 2014 7.70% 6.10% 1.90%

2Q 2014 6.10% 8.30% 2.20%

3Q 2014 7.30% 6.30% 2.10%

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Over the past year, the tablet market has seen major changes. Chikita completed a study to determine which tablet devices are seeing the most success in the terms of usage. This chart shows the Kindle Fire holds the top Android tablet market share while Samsung Galaxy tablets are second with Google Nexus Tablets coming in third. At this point, we recommend full support of Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy tablet and partial support for Google Nexus 7 tablet.

htttp://chitika.com/insights/2014/Q3-tablet-update

Android Tablet Analysis

52 https://mixpanel.com/trends/#report/ios_frag/from_date:-122,to_date:-32

iOS Breakdown

iOS 5.x

iOS 6.x

iOS 7.x

iOS 8.x

October 2.82% 23.37% 73.57%

November 2.80% 20.05% 76.83%

December 2.79% 18.45% 78.37%

January 2.65% 15.66% 81.25%

February 2.15% 12.55% 85.04%

March 1.73% 9.98% 88.14%

April 1.51% 8.36% 89.95%

May 1.37% 7.29% 91.14%

June 1.29% 6.96% 91.49%

July 1.14% 5.66% 92.76%

August 0.98% 5.07% 93.30%

September 0.73% 3.94% 73.60% 21.45%

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In the U.S. iOS 7 continues to dominate market share of mobile and tablet operating systems until iOS 8.x released over iOS 6 and 5. Note that iOS 8.x adoption rate significantly high as it hit over 20.00% in little over 20 days. At this point, we recommend full for this operating system. However, also note that iOS 5.x market share falls below 1% and gradually moving down. At 0.73% we do recommend no support for this operating system at this time.

 

As of this report, iOS4 is less than 1% market

penetration and falls below our recommended

support policy.

iOS Analysis

55 http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=1

iPhone versus iPad Breakdown

iPhone

iPad

October 22.25% 32.53%

November 22.01% 32.57%

December 22.36% 31.29%

January 21.51% 32.34%

February 22.48% 29.87%

March 23.15% 29.58%

April 22.31% 28.80%

May 21.75% 26.10%

June 21.03% 24.14%

July 21.18% 22.61%

August 21.49% 22.45%

September 20.74% 22.76%

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57http://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/

iPad Breakdown

iPad 2G iPad 3G iPad 4G iPad Mini iPad Air

iOS 5.x 0.60% 0.90%     

iOS 6.x 4.10% 8.00% 5.00% 1.10% 

iOS 7.x 45.40% 55.30% 51.40% 51.50% 30.30%

iOS 8.x 49.90% 35.80% 43.70% 47.50% 69.70%

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The adoption rate of iOS 8.x is significantly higher than iOS 6.x and iOS 7.x among iPad users. At this time, we recommend full support of iOS 8.x in current quarter. It is worth monitoring in 2014, as there is a possibility by the end of the 4th quarter to see an overwhelming majority of people upgrading their devices to iOS 8.x.

iPad Analysis

Look for the next quarterly update in January 2015.

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MCD

Platform Support Recommendations

2014 Third Quarter