-xl.jpg "The top nine smartphones activated at Christmas were iPhones")
Among the top 10 smartphone models activated on Christmas Day 2020, nine were from Apple’s iPhone, with iPhone 11 holding the crown.
The iPhone 11 was the most activated device at Christmas, marking the second consecutive year that the model ranks first, according to data from Flurry Analytics. Activations for the specific model were 5% higher than the seven-day average between December 18th and 24th.
Credit: Flurry Analytics
Activations for the iPhone 12 Pro Max were 14% higher than the previous seven-day average. The 6.7-inch model was the leading premium device, and Flurry Analytics says its position illustrates the “strong and lasting demand” for the model.
The iPhone SE, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 are among the top nine. The only non-Apple device on the list, the LG K30, came in tenth. Their activations increased 181% compared to the seven-day average.
According to Flurry Analytics, the success of low-budget models like the iPhone SE suggests that US consumers are much more concerned with prices during the 2020 holiday season. However, Apple’s cheapest model on the line of the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 mini, did not reach the top 10.
The analyst notes that Apple’s next-generation devices tend to increase in popularity at launch, before being overtaken by cheaper models. Based on that, the activation percentages compared to the seven-day average would indicate the demand for Christmas gifts, rather than the model’s popularity.
It is also unclear when the devices were purchased, only when they were activated. For this reason, activations on Christmas Day may be more indicative of shipments in early December than the demand closer to the holiday.
Flurry adds that smartphone activations fell 23% year-over-year during the 2020 holiday, compared to the 2019 holiday season.
Credit: Flurry Analytics
Christmas Day is the biggest day for smartphone activations in the U.S., giving analytics companies like Flurry the opportunity to analyze consumer demand and preferences. Flurry collects data from its analytical APIs, which are used in more than a million applications.