A new report from Flurry Analytics states that nine of the top ten smartphones activated on Christmas Day 2020 in the United States were iPhones.
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Christmas Day in the United States is the best day for new smartphone activations, so it represents a unique opportunity to analyze consumer preferences.
The iPhone 11 was the most activated device on Christmas Day, with activations five percent higher than the average for the period between December 18 and December 24. This is the second consecutive year that the iPhone 11 ranks first, followed by the iPhone XR. The leading premium device was the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which continued to experience “strong and lasting demand”.
This rating is in line with normal trends, as Apple’s newest and most sophisticated devices generally increase at launch due to early users. The iPhone 12 has made gains as users gradually replace their existing devices in the months after launch. Some smartphones, like the iPhone XR, were not more popular than the average for this device, which means that it was not necessarily a popular Christmas gift, but just a popular smartphone.
The only non-Apple device to reach the top 10 was the LG K30 smartphone. Overall, budget devices dominated the top ten, with the iPhone SE and LG K30 showing increases of 34% and 181%, respectively. Flurry believes that the success of previous years’ models, such as the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR, indicates that American consumers were more sensitive to price this holiday season.
A notable exception in the top ten is the mini iPhone 12, which apparently failed to catch consumers’ attention as much as other devices, perhaps due to its discount of just $ 100 compared to the larger iPhone 12.
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This year, smartphone activations fell 23% year on year. Flurry speculates that this may be due to financial difficulties, more limited family reunions or more gift giving this year.
Flurry Analytics uses data from more than a million mobile apps, providing insights from two billion mobile devices per month, and will soon report in December to give a more complete picture of smartphone activations.