Christmas also brings the highest number of device activations and app installs each year, and this year's stats place Apple on top.
Hanukkah also helped this year and according to the latest tally, Apple dominated the holiday cheer by a wide margin, albeit it saw fewer device activations compared with last year.
Merry Christmas And An Apple On Top
Nevertheless, Flurry published the results and Apple accounts for the vast majority of all device activations this holiday season, raking in 44 percent (down from last year's 49.1 percent). Samsung placed second with 21 percent, marking an increase compared with last year's 19.8 percent, which is quite impressive considering the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco that ravaged the company this year.
Aside from the two dominant OEMs, Apple and Samsung, other device makers scored single digits below 5 percent. Huawei ranked third with 3 percent, while Microsoft and its ailing smartphone business didn't even make it to the list.
Holidays aside, Samsung is usually dominant in smartphone sales throughout the year, while Apple rules tablet sales. Having Apple on top in terms of holiday device activations and app installs, however, is hardly surprising. A recent survey revealed that the iPhone was the most coveted gift this holiday season and the new figures reflect it perfectly. The Jet Black iPhone 7 revised availability likely helped drive sales.
Flurry Stats
Yahoo's Flurry mobile analytics and advertising company has data on a global scale, supporting nearly 250,000 developers and covering more than 800,000 apps across more than 2 billion devices daily. Flurry used this data to get a grasp on which devices sold best and which apps were downloaded and installed most. The company analyzed device and app activations during the week leading up to Christmas Day and the start of Hanukkah.
"Apple devices continue to be the gift to give," notes Flurry.
Notably absent from the top device activation list, however, is Google, as its Pixel and Pixel XL are nowhere to be seen. Flurry points out that this is perhaps unsurprising.
"With only two devices, the Pixel and Pixel XL, and mixed market reception, Google struggled to drum up excitement this holiday season," says the firm.
Phablets On The Rise
The report further reveals that phablets (5-inch to 6.9-inch phones) continue to gain ground and bite from the market share of medium-sized phones (3.5 inches to 4.9 inches). Medium-sized phones still accounted for the most device activations throughout the week leading up to Christmas, but phablets also saw their holiday share increase.
Did you gift or receive a smartphone this holiday season? If so, what brand was it? Let us know in the comments section below.
