holiday

Christmas Day in the United States is the single greatest day of the year for new device activations. For Apple, in a maturing U.S. smartphone market in which Samsung continues to take share, Christmas has also become a battleground. 

With the dates of Christmas and Chanukah synced this year, smartphones were once again predominate on everyone’s wish lists. As we do every year, Flurry took a look at the most gifted smartphones and tablets around the globe this holiday season, examining phone and app activation throughout the week leading up to Christmas day and the start of Chanukah.

For every Samsung Device Activated, Apple Saw Two

December 27, 2013 |

In less than a decade, connected devices have become an integral part of Christmas. They are commonly wished for and given as gifts, and Christmas is the biggest day of the year for new device activations. That tradition continued this Christmas, with device activations up by 63% compared to an average day in the first three weeks of December.

More iOS and Android devices are activated on Christmas Day than on any other day of the year. This year was no exception. On this Christmas Day 2012, more iPhones, iPads, Galaxys, Kindle Fires, and more, were activated than on any other day in history. Moreover, as soon as we could tear the wrapping paper off our cool new devices, we started downloading a record volume of apps.  Let’s get into the numbers.