A new report put together by analytics firm We Are Social has revealed that on its launch day alone (September 18), Apple’s new operating system update – iOS 7 – was mentioned more than five million times across the main social platforms. To put this into perspective, its predecessor, iOS 6, had just under 750,000 mentions on the day it was unveiled.

The increase in interest will no doubt be in part down to the rise of social media since the last launch day, but the new update has certainly been a hot topic regardless.

Over the Wednesday and Thursday, the spotlight was firmly on the initial updating process and, of course, the reaction to the new features. It is the most prolific overhaul Apple fans have seen in some time.

The download process was no doubt the biggest gripe among consumers, with a number of Twitter users saying they expect iOS8 to be out before their iOS7 downloads are complete. This wisecrack had in excess of 10,000 ReTweets.

Once users managed to start using the new software, however, the general reaction was positive. Ed Kitchingham, a senior analyst who helped to compile the figures, said:

“The iOS 7 release was, for the most part, successful, but was hampered with complaints about updating problems on social media, which could have been handled more proactively and effectively by Apple.

“However, people were impressed with iOS 7 when they did get it installed, and users felt as if it really did offer something new and worthwhile. Apple should be satisfied with the consumer reaction, but should arguably consider a more proactive approach to handing real-time customer complaints on social media in the future.”

While few Twitter-using businesses will generate the same level of hype and expectation as Apple, it’s certainly interesting to see how social media has changed the way in which consumers react to new products and services.

Graeme Parton

Graeme has experience creating content for online sources and for the radio, and at university he studied Multimedia Journalism.