A new report by Flurry Analytics states that nine of the top ten smartphones activated in the United States on Christmas Day 2020 were iPhones.
/article-new/2020/12/new-device-activations-christmas-day-2020-2.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1)
Christmas Day in the United States is the largest single day for new smartphone activations, so it’s a unique opportunity to analyze consumer preferences.
The iPhone 11 was the most activated device on Christmas Day, with five percent higher than the average average of the period between December 18 and December 24. This is the second consecutive year that the iPhone 11 has taken first place, followed by the iPhone XR. The leading premium device was the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which still saw strong and long-lasting demand.
This ranking is in line with normal trends, as Apple’s newer and higher quality devices are usually only launched due to early adoption. The iPhone 12 made a profit as users gradually replaced their existing devices in the months after launch. Some smartphones, such as the XiPhone XR, were not more popular than the average for the device, which means that it was not necessarily a popular gift for Christmas, but rather a popular smartphone.
The only non-Apple device to make the top 10 was LG’s budget K30 smartphone. Overall, budget devices dominated the top ten, with the iPhone SE and LG K30 rising 34 percent and 181 percent, respectively. Flurry believes that the success of recent years’ models, such as the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR, indicates that US consumers were more price sensitive this holiday season.
A notable exception in the top ten is the iPhone 12 mini, which apparently did not attract as much attention from consumers as other devices, perhaps due to the discount of only $ 100 compared to the larger iPhone 12.
/article-new/2020/12/smartphone-activations-christmas-day-2019vs2020-2.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1)
This year, smartphone activations declined by 23 percent year-on-year. Flurry speculates that this may be due to financial hardship, more limited family gatherings or more distributed gifts this year.
Flurry Analytics uses data from more than one million mobile applications, providing insights from two billion mobile devices per month, and will soon report over the full month of December to give a better picture of smartphone activation.