The iPhone 7 Ruled The Holidays

According to new information published by analytics firm Mixpanel, iPhone 7 came out the winner over the busy holiday shopping season, with Apple’s latest iPhone model outselling Google’s Pixel devices. During the first few days after Christmas Day, the volume of unique iPhone 7 activations improved by 12.7 percent, compared with an 8.5 percent increase for Pixel smartphones. 

Additionally, when pitting iOS devices with Android handsets, more new Apple devices were activated for the first time during the first three days after Christmas Day compared to Android devices. Not counting Apple Watch units, the number of unique Apple handsets increased by 12.8 percent during this time, which is down compared to the 15.8 percent logged the previous year. Also worth noting is the increase in the number of unique Android handsets which is only at 2.6 percent, which is down compared to 2015’s impressive 10.6 percent.

Flurry Analytics had earlier released its separate report, saying that Apple handsets had the most number of activations in the week leading up to December 25th, comfortably capturing 44 percent of all activations around the world. Although fierce rival Samsung came in second, it did hold a 21 percent share, which should give everybody an idea that despite the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, the South Korean phone maker still attracts buyers across the globe.

Still, a report published by the Wall Street Journal states that Apple and Samsung never quite attracted mind blowing sales for their respective new smartphone offerings. While it is true that Apple ruled in terms of the volume of new activations with its 44 percent share, this figure is actually not an improvement over the 49.1 percent share it registered in the previous year.

Going back to Mixpanel’s report, it took a closer look into sales figures associated with Apple’s wearable device, the Apple Watch. What Mixpanel found was not that encouraging. Usage rates for the Apple Watch during the final month of last year has dropped to levels significantly below the mark it managed in December 2015. Moreover, Mixpanel’s data stated that overall usage levels have decreased since May 2016. This strongly suggests that despite all the hype, consumers’ interest in smartwatch devices are on the decline.

Still, Apple should be delighted to know that over the holiday season, many consumers still opted to purchase new Apple Watch units. As a matter of fact, Mixpanel’s information shows that the volume of unique Apple Watch devices activated rose by 8.9 percent during the first three days after December 25th. But alas, that represents a decrease from the 18.6 percent recorded during the same time in 2015.