Google’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL see near 40% boost in sales over Christmas weekend

Ben Schoon | Dec 28 2017 - 7:34 am PT

Smartphones were probably one of the tops gifts this week at Christmas, and it’s been a good year to gift a phone with tons of great options available. Between the Note 8, Pixel 2, and Apple’s latest crop of iPhones, there are a ton of good phones on the market. However, in an interesting turn of events, it seems that Google actually won the weekend, at least in terms of a boost in sales.

Looking at Christmas weekend, 2017, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL topped the list when it comes to a lift in activations compared to general sales according to Localytics. The smaller Pixel 2 saw a massive boost of 38.61% for the weekend, and the Pixel 2 XL came in second at 31.41%. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL don’t take up much of the market as a whole, so it’s interesting to see so much interest over the holidays.

This is undoubtedly thanks to the various promotions that were available on the market over the past few weeks, including credits up to $300 from Verizon and various other promotions from Google, Best Buy, Project Fi, and more.

It’s likely this strong performance by the Pixel 2 can be attributed to great promotions offered by carriers like Verizon and retailers like Best Buy, who both offered the purchase of a new Pixel 2 for under $15 per month. Additionally, Google offered a $100 Fi service credit with the activation of a Pixel XL, Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL from Project Fi, a phone plan from Google.

Obviously, the runner-up for the weekend was Apple’s iPhone X at a 28.72% boost in activations. Falling behind, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPad Pro (12.9-inch and 10.5-inch) all came in between 10% and 20% growth. Finally, the Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 rounded out the top 10 at 9.5% and 2.78% respectively.