According to new analytics data, iPad activations increased the most among all phones and tablets during the Christmas holiday, dominating the top four spots, with another Apple product, the iPhone XR, taking fifth place.
Localytics reported that activations for the 2018 “budget” iPad increased by 219 percent over the previous three weeks. This was driven by promotions at retailers such as Amazon, Target, and Walmart, which discounted 32-gigabyte models by $100 and 128-gigabyte configurations by $80. Apple’s standard prices are $329 and $429, respectively.
Some retailers also discounted the new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros, resulting in a 125 percent and 99 percent increase in activations. Even a 64-gigabyte 11-inch Pro cost at least $759, $10 more than an iPhone XR, indicating that these discounts likely had a moderate impact. Typically, professionals begin at $799.
The 12.9-inch Pro has been surpassed by the iPad mini 4, despite the latter being more than three years old and, at $399 (from Apple), actually costing more than the entry-level budget iPad. However, this price includes 128 gigabytes of storage, and third-party retailers have sold it for less.
The 88 percent increase in iPhone XR activations represents Apple’s largest increase in Christmas iPhone adoptions over the past three years. Localytics observed that the XR did not begin shipping until October, while the XS and XS Max were available a month earlier.
The XR’s overall iPhone market share increased to 1.83 percent. This is moderately close to the 2.33 percent held by the XS, but far from the 3.15 percent held by the XS Max.
2016 was the last year that iPads topped Christmas activations. 2017 was led by the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, followed by the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus.
