Relatively low sales numbers of iPhone and iPad did not prevent them from becoming the most activated devices in the pre-New Year period. Such data was provided by the analytics consulting firm Localytics. By the end of December, the number of gadget activations had more than doubled from three weeks ago. This is direct evidence that Apple products are still the most common and desirable gift for many users.

The most popular device was the sixth generation of a 9.7-inch iPad. The number of its activations in the pre-New Year week has increased by more than 200%. Analysts explained such a sharp jump in demand for the tablet with an abundance of promotional offers from American retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, who offered a tablet with a discount of 80 to 100 dollars depending on the model and configuration.

Do I need an iPad mini?

Another remarkable leader, which may boast high activation volumes was the iPad mini 4. It bypassed even the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Despite more than three years on the market and relatively outdated hardware, this tablet is still in demand, proving once again that devices with large screens are not so interesting to mass audience.

iPhone XR

But what is most surprising is the presence of a device such as an iPhone XR in this top list. Neither the price nor the compromised functionality discouraged consumers from buying the “conditionally” affordable flagship of 2018, providing it with an 88 percent increase in the number of activations. Actually, iPhone XR did become the absolute leader of the last four years, beating even last year’s trio consisting of iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus.

Who buys Apple products?

Traditionally people who used to have the first iPhone or iPod continue to stay with the brand and are loyal Apple customers. Changing phones every year is not a trivial thing, but most youngsters keep up with this pace. Apple aficionados value such things as design, speed, and functionality. Security is also very important. Today in 2019 we can still say that Apple devices are more secure than those working on Windows or Android or any other OS. Most viruses cannot penetrate Apple device and those minor malefactors like adware can be easily removed.

Vague future

At the same time, reducing Apple’s own revenue forecast for the first quarter of 2019 may have far more serious consequences for the company than most industry experts believe.

In particular, in his recent report, Rod Halls (Goldman Sachs analyst) compares Apple to Nokia. As already said, most of those who buy smartphones from Cupertino now have already owned them in the past, while the share of new customers is not growing so rapidly. For this reason, Apple is very reliant on how often users update their iPhones with more modern models, which has recently become less and less common due to the slowing growth of many local economies and the strengthening of the US dollar.

Something similar happened to Nokia, reminds Hall. Once the market got satiated with branded phones, the Finnish company began to rely solely on existing users, who at some point simply stopped updating and switched to devices of competing manufacturers.

Categories: Lifestyle