- According to Flurry Analytics, 9 of the top 10 most activated smartphones on Christmas Day this year were iPhones, with the iPhone 11 taking the top spot.
- Smartphone activations were down 23% year-over-year, but Apple still dominated the competition, with three of the four iPhone 12 models making the top 10.
- The only non-iPhone to make the list was the budget-friendly LG K30.
In a year full of surprises, most of which we all would have happily done without, it can be especially comforting when something predictable or otherwise normal happens. Apple crushing the competition on Christmas definitely qualifies as normal, and according to new data from Flurry Analytics, that’s exactly what happened in 2020.
The data gathered by the analytics firm shows that nine of the top ten most activated smartphones on Christmas Day were iPhone models. That isn’t surprising, but the fact that the iPhone 11 came out on top for the second year running is a bit of a shock. After all, the iPhone 12 had been out for two months and retails for a relatively affordable $799, but the $599 price point of the iPhone 11 was apparently enough to sway consumers.
Sliding in behind the iPhone 11 is 2018’s iPhone XR — another sign that consumers were more concerned about the price tag than the specifications in a year full of economic turmoil. But the iPhone 12 Pro Max managed to climb up to third place just behind the iPhone XR, which shows just how popular Apple’s most premium device of 2020 turned out to be. Meanwhile, the iPhone 12 came in fourth place and the iPhone 11 Pro Max came in fifth.
“Apple’s budget device, the iPhone SE, as well as LG’s K30 saw the largest Christmas day surge compared to the prior 7 day average, with 34% and 181% increases, respectively,” Flurry noted in a blog post discussing the trends of 2020. “In addition, the success of past years’ models—notably the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR—may demonstrate that American consumers were more price sensitive this holiday season.”
Flurry also points out that the iPhone 12 mini failed to make an appearance in the top 10, despite all three of the other iPhone 12 models ranking within the top seven spots. It would seem as if consumers that wanted to save money on a new iPhone purchase this year saw the full-sized and cheaper iPhone 11 as a better option. It likely will not come as much of a surprise that a $599 6.1-inch iPhone outsold a $699 5.4-inch iPhone.
Of course, the real outlier on the chart that Flurry Analytics shared this week has to be the LG K30, which came out in 2018 and currently retails for $139.99 if you buy it directly from LG. It’s unclear why and how this two-year-old budget phone managed to crack the top ten, but anything is possible in a year like 2020.
