Apple’s new iOS 15 that corrects a glitch that has been impacting download numbers is resulting in bigger mobile download numbers according to Libsyn. The company says among the shows it hosts, 88% of all downloads in August went directly to a mobile device. That was up from 85% in July when the previous iOS 14.6 prevented automatic downloads for new episodes from completely downloading in the background.
At the same time, Libsyn says downloads to desktop computers fell to 11.68% in August compared to 14.3% in July. And 0.29% of downloads went directly to smart speakers and gaming devices.
Among Libsyn-hosted shows, VP Rob Walch said iOS had 4.0 downloads for each one on an Android device. “With iOS 15 out, we saw numbers snap back to where they were pre-iOS 14.6 issue,” said Walsh on the company’s The Feed podcast. “I would expect to see in September numbers increase in the Apple ecosystem as typically that happens every September and October.”
Among Libsyn-hosted shows, Walch said Apple accounted for six in ten ( 59.3%) of Libsyn downloads in August versus 15.1% for Spotify and 2.6% for Google. Facebook also now shows up with a share that is below one percent but Walsh said that is likely to grow since the August numbers only included Android downloads, not those on iOS devices.
“When Facebook gets their user agents corrected and updated, we’re going to get a better picture of what Facebook is,” he said. “I would not be surprised to see by the end of this year that Facebook is one percent or more based on what we are seeing right now.”
Overall, 63.1% of downloads to Libsyn-hosted shows were in the U.S. during August. That was up 0.5% from July. Canada moved up to second place with a 5.1% share followed by the U.K. (4.8%), Australia (3.6%), Germany (2.4%), Sweden (1.5%), Mexico (1.3%), and Japan (1.0%).