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Consumers show love for Apple devices during holiday season

Phablets made a big comeback in the gift giving season which proved lucrative for Apple as the year comes to an end.

December 30, 2015

The 2015 holiday season is proving to be a merry and jolly one for Apple, as new research reveals that many consumers put Apple devices under the tree this Christmas season.

A new Flurry research report, which notes the Christmas holiday is typically the most popular time for new smart device activations, claims it was a record-setting year once again for devices and app downloads.

"As we do every year, Flurry examined what was waiting under the Christmas tree last week, based on the 780,000 apps we track," wrote Jarah Euston, VP of growth for Flurry in a Tumblr post.

The phablet form factor was the big choice this season for consumers, with more than double the purchases compared to 2014. Just two years ago phablets accounted for 4 percent of new activations. That figure now stands at 27 percent.

"More and more, consumers are gravitating toward the large screen of phablets and it looks like this once-derided (even by us!) form factor appears here to stay," wrote Euston.

At the opposite end of the consumer wish list are small phones, boasting screen sizes of less than 3.5 inches. Flurry expects the form factor to essentially disappear by the end of 2016.

"Of course the introduction of an Apple phablet, and subsequently the iPhone 6s Plus, had a lot to do with the strength of phablets," noted Euston.

The research also reveals Apple grab the top spot in smart device activations, with 49.1 percent of all new devices though it was a dip from last year's 51.3 percent. Consumers were very busy downloading apps on Christmas day with over double the number of app installs taking place as compared to an average day in December.