Apparently Santa and his elves prefer iOS over Android. According to research firm Flurry Analytics, the top nine devices that were activated in the US on Christmas Day were all iPhone models led by last year iPhone 11. Overall, smartphone activations decreased by 23% on Christmas Day. The decline is blamed on the hit of the US economy caused by the COVID-19 virus. Traditionally, Chirstmas Day is the biggest single day for new smartphone activations. Flurry predicted a difficult December, which was not a surprise, given the 7% unemployment rate in the states and the lower-than-usual November activity.
If you look at the chart that Flurry produced, you can see the names of the top ten phones that were activated on Christmas Day. A gray dotted line indicates the moving average of seven days for Christmas Day. The green or red number indicates whether the number of Christmas Day activations for a particular phone was higher than the one-week moving average (green) or if the activities on Christmas Day were lower than the recent average (red).
Based on the chart, for example, the iPhone 11 was the most activated phone on Christmas Day for the second consecutive year. Activation on December 25 was 5% higher than the average number of iPhone 11 units turned on from December 18 to December 24. The Ten Most Activated Phones in the US on Christmas Day include:
- Apple iPhone 11
- Apple iPhone XR
- Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
- Apple iPhone 12
- Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
- Apple iPhone SE (2020)
- Apple iPhone 12 Pro
- Apple iPhone 8 Plus
- Apple iPhone 8
- LG K30
The biggest increase in Christmas Day activations compared to the average during the previous week was the 181% increase obtained by LG K300. In three iPhone models, the number of units turned on during Christmas Day decreased compared to the number turned on during the week before Christmas. Those models were the iPhone 11 Pro Max (-6%), iPhone 8 Plus (-9%), and the iPhone 8 (-7%).
For the second consecutive year, the iPhone 11 is the most activated phone in the US on Christmas Day
The weak US economy caused by the pandemic was certainly part of the reason why two budget phones did well on Christmas Day. The iPhone SE (2020) and the LG K300 increased by 34% and 181% respectively. Flurry noted that ‘Apple’s best devices launch quickly during launch, as early adopters buy the most advanced Apple smartphone available. As the masses slowly replace their old devices, the base model – this year the iPhone 12 – is usually gaining in popularity … the iPhone 12 Pro Max has had the strongest launch week of any Apple iPhone device in the last three years, indicating ‘ a strong and long-lasting demand for their best premium smartphone. ‘