It's the season to be jolly for Apple as it wins over Android in terms of device activations. According to the numbers, Apple gained almost half of the activations this 2015 holiday season.

According to Flurry, a mobile analytics firm, the Cupertino giant accounted for 49.1 per cent of all the mobile activations recorded from December 18 to December 25. While this may be slightly lower from the 51.3 per cent Apple posted in 2014, the company remains ahead of its competitors. Samsung placed second with 19.8 per cent. Nokia got 2 per cent, LG got 1.7 per cent and Xiaomi got 1.5 per cent.

Flurry also added that more people are choosing large-screen phablets. The once debated form factor will likely stay if the numbers continue to improve. The firm added that in 2013, only around 4 per cent of the devices were activated during the holidays accounted as phablets. Two years after, the number of activations increased to 27 per cent. This is double the market share for just 12 months.

During the early days, phablets appeared a strong contender against tablets. The latter saw its market share fall from 17 per cent in 2013 to 11 per cent in 2014. Come 2015, the tides appear to be changing. Consumers are opting for the phablet again. This is under the presumption that it is a smaller-sized phone as opposed to being a smaller tablet. Smaller smartphones around 3.5" are also becoming extinct and future market performance seems grim.

According to Forbes, the Nokia/Lumia market share can be considered as a small consolation for Microsoft. The numbers for the two are sufficient enough to stop Android from taking over iOS in terms of operating system market share. This makes Apple the runaway winner.

It can also be noted that "productivity phones" may be finding their way into the market. There is a sweet spot to be taken advantage of considering the rise of phablets and continued decline of tablet shares.

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