For many years, Apple has been introducing the new generation of iPhones in the fall – and this date is not chosen arbitrarily: Smartphones are a popular Christmas present and if Apple were to introduce a new generation in the spring, for example, this would be very detrimental to the Christmas business. Many buyers would then wait until spring or turn to another manufacturer.
In the United States, gifts are traditionally given on December 25th – and on no other day of the year do users activate as many smartphones in the United States as on this day. Flurry Analytics has evaluated which smartphones users activate most frequently over the holidays – and Apple devices can be found in 9 out of 10 places:
iPhone 12 not in 1st place
But contrary to expectations, the iPhone 12 or 12 Pro does not land in first place, but the iPhone 11, followed by the iPhone XR, which is over two years old. The reason for this could be that Apple is still having major delivery problems with all iPhone 12 models – or that many customers have bought discounted, older models.
The percentages above the diagram indicate how much the activations changed compared to the seven days before Christmas. It is noticeable here that the only smartphone that does not come from Apple (LG K30) was probably a very popular Christmas present.
Pro Max popular, Mini unpopular
In the past few weeks there have been many reports that the iPhone 12 Pro Max is very well received by customers. The data from Flurry Analytics coincide with these reports – the iPhone 12 Pro Max lands in third place in the statistics despite the high purchase price, followed by the regular iPhone 12. It is noticeable that the iPhone 12 mini does not appear in the statistics. The smallest iPhone 12 model should, as some other reports suggest, not be a best seller. Perhaps the price difference of just 100 euros compared to the regular iPhone 12 is too small, or the low battery capacity scares off potential buyers.
Year comparison
2020 is a record year for Apple: despite delivery difficulties, the group shone with increased sales. According to the data from Flurry Analytics, smartphone activations over Christmas in the US have decreased by 23 percent year-on-year:
Flurry Analytics speculates that interested parties may have postponed expensive gifts due to financial losses in the Corona year. It is also possible that, due to contact restrictions, smartphones are not handed over to the recipient directly at Christmas, but only a few days later.