Nearly a quarter of a billion application downloads occurred on Christmas Day 2011, more than double any other day in the history of iOS and Android devices save for the previous day, which delivered roughly 150 million downloads, according to December 2011 analysis from Flurry. The 242 million downloads on Christmas Day were a 125% increase over the December 1 – 20 daily baseline of 108 million.
Flurry insight suggests that elevated download levels will continue from Christmas through New Year’s Day, with approximately 1 billion downloads anticipated.
According to a November 2011 report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, half of all adult cell owners are now equipped with apps on their phones, a 16% increase from the 43% of US adult cell phone owners who had an app on their mobile device in May 2010.
Device Activations More Than Triple
Spurring the increased app download activity was a surge in new device activations: Flurry detected 6.8 million new iOS and Android device activations on Christmas Day, representing a 353% jump from the December 1 – 20 daily baseline of 1.5 million. Compared to Christmas Day 2010, which held the previous peak with 2.8 million device activations, this year’s Christmas grew by more than 140%.
Flurry notes that relative to the percentage increase in device activations, the percentage increase in downloads is expected to be lower because of the sizable device installed base in the market onto which apps are constantly downloaded, keeping the baseline higher relative to the Christmas peak.
Christmas Downloads Peak In The Evening
Looking at app downloads during Christmas Day, Flurry found that from 8 AM to midnight, there were more than twice as many downloads per hour than for the baseline. By 9 AM, hourly downloads on Christmas exceeded 10 million, while at their peak, from 7 PM to 9 PM, hourly downloads exceeded 15 million. In fact, between 11 AM and 11 PM, more than 175 million apps were downloaded, representing over 70% more than the entire baseline day.
About the Data: With more than 140,000 apps using Flurry Analytics, Flurry detects roughly 100% of all new iOS and Android devices activated each day. The company regularly triangulates its device coverage with publicly announced figures from Google and Apple.
