Apple TV, Apple Watch hottest holiday gifts for AppleInsider readers

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2015
The results of AppleInsider's holiday survey are in, and the hottest Apple gifts for the 2015 holiday season, as selected by you the reader, were Apple TV, Apple Watch and Apple accessories.




Of the more than 13,500 respondents to our poll, over 2,200, or nearly 17 percent, said they received an Apple TV this holiday season, followed by Apple Watch, iPhone 6s and iPad Pro.

Launched in November and priced at $149 equipped with 32GB of storage, and $199 for 64GB, Apple's fourth-generation set-top streamer is one of the latest gadgets to come out of Cupertino. The box features the all-new tvOS operating system with support for a dedicated app store, Siri integration and a revamped touchpad remote control.

Apple Watch was the second most popular device with 12.6 percent, just 70 votes shy of surpassing the catchall "Apple accessories" category. Aside from being a good stocking stuffer, Apple Watch adoption was likely driven by deep holiday discounts offered by Apple resellers like Best Buy, which priced the wearable as low as $249 in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

As Apple's revenue driver, iPhone expectedly ranked among the top gifted items this year, with iPhone 6s and 6s Plus accounting for 8.9 percent of responses. Last year's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus managed a 1.8 percent share in our survey, putting it ahead of iPod, which pulled up in last place with less than 1 percent.

Surprisingly, Apple's jumbo 12.9-inch iPad Pro ended up in fifth place, far outpacing both iPad Air and iPad mini combined with nearly 8 percent of responses. In fact, more respondents received an iPad Pro this year than iPad Air and iPad mini, combined. Industry analysts and pundits have labeled the large-screen tablet as a niche product, citing its high price tag and ungainly form factor. It seems, however, that Apple's biggest iPad is faring well with Apple devotees and early adopters.

A substantial number of readers, specifically 26.6 percent, did not receive an Apple product this year.

Final results



1. Apple TV (16.85%)
2. Apple accessories (13.12%)
3. Apple Watch (12.61%)
4. iPhone 6s/6s Plus (8.87%)
5. iPad Pro (7.98%)
6. MacBook (3.34%)
7. iPad Air (3.19%)
8. iPad mini (2.88%)
9. iMac (1.89%)
10. iPhone 6/6 Plus (1.78%)
11. iPod (0.91%)
imember

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    techlovertechlover Posts: 879member
    Interesting results. I am not sure what I expected but that is a bit of a surprise how popular the Apple TV, Apple Watch and iPad Pro were.
  • Reply 2 of 14
    stargazerctstargazerct Posts: 227member
    "A substantial number of readers, specifically 26.6 percent, did not receive an Apple product this year." >>So in other words, 3 out of 4 people received an Apple product this year. Doesn't sound so bad to me when you put it that way, does it?
    edited December 2015
  • Reply 3 of 14
    imemberimember Posts: 247member
    Nice!
  • Reply 4 of 14
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Yet more evidence of the complete disconnect between the real world and the cockeyed universe of tech websites where so-called techies expound on the deficiencies of Apple products and declare such products epic failures... like the Apple TV for example. These ostriches solemnly report that, “I returned my AppleTV in disgust because (insert lame excuse or reason).” Meanwhile, back in the real world, people go about enjoying the new ATV, playing games, watching/listening to content, searching with Siri. Of course real users are dismissed as clueless morons who don’t know they have been hoodwinked by Apple’s crafty marketing. Then when the sales figures put them behind the eight ball, the so-called tech gods squirm like  tadpoles to explain the success of the product. 
    redgeminipanolamacguyflashfan207
  • Reply 5 of 14
    subbiessubbies Posts: 71member
    I received an Apple TV. But it wasn't the latest one. So it would have been nice to see a breakdown of other models on the poll. 
  • Reply 6 of 14
    larryalarrya Posts: 606member
    lkrupp said:
    Yet more evidence of the complete disconnect between the real world and the cockeyed universe of tech websites where so-called techies expound on the deficiencies of Apple products and declare such products epic failures... like the Apple TV for example. These ostriches solemnly report that, “I returned my AppleTV in disgust because (insert lame excuse or reason).” Meanwhile, back in the real world, people go about enjoying the new ATV, playing games, watching/listening to content, searching with Siri. Of course real users are dismissed as clueless morons who don’t know they have been hoodwinked by Apple’s crafty marketing. Then when the sales figures put them behind the eight ball, the so-called tech gods squirm like  tadpoles to explain the success of the product. 

    "The results of AppleInsider's holiday survey are in, and the hottest Apple gifts for the 2015 holiday season, as selected by you the reader, were Apple TV, Apple Watch and Apple accessories. "

    This is not a survey from the "real world".
  • Reply 7 of 14
    rogifan_oldrogifan_old Posts: 725member
    lkrupp said:
    Yet more evidence of the complete disconnect between the real world and the cockeyed universe of tech websites where so-called techies expound on the deficiencies of Apple products and declare such products epic failures... like the Apple TV for example. These ostriches solemnly report that, “I returned my AppleTV in disgust because (insert lame excuse or reason).” Meanwhile, back in the real world, people go about enjoying the new ATV, playing games, watching/listening to content, searching with Siri. Of course real users are dismissed as clueless morons who don’t know they have been hoodwinked by Apple’s crafty marketing. Then when the sales figures put them behind the eight ball, the so-called tech gods squirm like  tadpoles to explain the success of the product. 
    I'm still baffled as to why some think the Apple Watch is confusing. If you know how to use an iPhone you should have no trouble using Apple Watch. And once you get the hang of it it's second nature. Swipe down for notifications; swipe up for glances. When on the watch face press the crown once to get to the app screen. Double press the crown to go to the last used app (similar to double pressing the home button to get the app switcher), single press to go back to the watch face (similar to pressing the home button to go back to the home screen). Single press the side button to get contacts; double press it to use Apple Pay. Force touch to get options. It's not complicated at all. The only thing that annoys me with the watch is launching apps is incredibly slow. I swear If that lag didn't exist there would be far fewer complaints about Apple Warch apps. I hope it's something that can be improved with software as I really don't want to replace my Watch next year. If it is hardware I hope Apple offers a generous trade-in program so we can swap out just the watch component with a new one.
    flashfan207
  • Reply 8 of 14
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    larrya said:
    lkrupp said:
    Yet more evidence of the complete disconnect between the real world and the cockeyed universe of tech websites where so-called techies expound on the deficiencies of Apple products and declare such products epic failures... like the Apple TV for example. These ostriches solemnly report that, “I returned my AppleTV in disgust because (insert lame excuse or reason).” Meanwhile, back in the real world, people go about enjoying the new ATV, playing games, watching/listening to content, searching with Siri. Of course real users are dismissed as clueless morons who don’t know they have been hoodwinked by Apple’s crafty marketing. Then when the sales figures put them behind the eight ball, the so-called tech gods squirm like  tadpoles to explain the success of the product. 

    "The results of AppleInsider's holiday survey are in, and the hottest Apple gifts for the 2015 holiday season, as selected by you the reader, were Apple TV, Apple Watch and Apple accessories. "

    This is not a survey from the "real world".
    The Apple Watch has been going gangbuster in the real world as well reported by everyone; I think you probably were on my ban list hmmm... Too bad that's gone now.
  • Reply 9 of 14
    techlovertechlover Posts: 879member
    rogifan_old said:
    lkrupp said:
    Yet more evidence of the complete disconnect between the real world and the cockeyed universe of tech websites where so-called techies expound on the deficiencies of Apple products and declare such products epic failures... like the Apple TV for example. These ostriches solemnly report that, “I returned my AppleTV in disgust because (insert lame excuse or reason).” Meanwhile, back in the real world, people go about enjoying the new ATV, playing games, watching/listening to content, searching with Siri. Of course real users are dismissed as clueless morons who don’t know they have been hoodwinked by Apple’s crafty marketing. Then when the sales figures put them behind the eight ball, the so-called tech gods squirm like  tadpoles to explain the success of the product. 
    I'm still baffled as to why some think the Apple Watch is confusing. If you know how to use an iPhone you should have no trouble using Apple Watch. And once you get the hang of it it's second nature. Swipe down for notifications; swipe up for glances. When on the watch face press the crown once to get to the app screen. Double press the crown to go to the last used app (similar to double pressing the home button to get the app switcher), single press to go back to the watch face (similar to pressing the home button to go back to the home screen). Single press the side button to get contacts; double press it to use Apple Pay. Force touch to get options. It's not complicated at all. The only thing that annoys me with the watch is launching apps is incredibly slow. I swear If that lag didn't exist there would be far fewer complaints about Apple Warch apps. I hope it's something that can be improved with software as I really don't want to replace my Watch next year. If it is hardware I hope Apple offers a generous trade-in program so we can swap out just the watch component with a new one.
    I'm willing to bet that even if Apple doesn't offer the best price on a trade-in, it will be convenient enough to make it worth while when defraying the cost of the latest hotness.

    No doubt there will be plenty of less convenient but possibly more lucrative options like eBay or Craigslist. I wouldn't be shocked to see Gazelle get in on the action as well.

    Either way, depending on the condition, I bet you will be able to get at least 20 to 40 cents on the dollar selling the old Watch if you decide to purchase a new one by the time it comes out.

    So worst case scenario you get $70 back on a $350 purchase for something that you have enjoyed using every day for the past year, give or take. 

    Or pass it along as a hand-me-down. 

    All of that being said, no doubt the software will get better too.
    nolamacguy
  • Reply 10 of 14
    slprescottslprescott Posts: 765member
    Based on the consistent immediate sale of any Apple Pencil arriving in Apple retail stores, I have to imaging that iPad Pro sold well.  Several Apple retail stores advised me, "Come here first thing in the morning to see if we received any Pencils overnight.  Whatever we receive sells within the hour."  Since Pencil works only with iPad Pro, the high demand for Pencils is an indicator of the high sales of iPad Pros.
  • Reply 11 of 14
    techlovertechlover Posts: 879member
    slprescott said:
    Based on the consistent immediate sale of any Apple Pencil arriving in Apple retail stores, I have to imaging that iPad Pro sold well.  Several Apple retail stores advised me, "Come here first thing in the morning to see if we received any Pencils overnight.  Whatever we receive sells within the hour."  Since Pencil works only with iPad Pro, the high demand for Pencils is an indicator of the high sales of iPad Pros.
    While I don't doubt that the iPad Pro is selling well, it seems that the Pencil is in short supply for now.

    I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of people who purchased an iPad Pro also wanted to purchase the Pencil.

    So to your point, the high demand for the Pencil seems to indicate that both are selling through just fine.
  • Reply 12 of 14
    freshmakerfreshmaker Posts: 532member
    I got a Watch for Christmas.  So far I have been VERY impressed with it.  Whatever battery issues it may have had initially, Apple appears to have fixed.  Mine is lasting over two days between charges.  Loving it so far
  • Reply 13 of 14
    brakkenbrakken Posts: 687member
    The iPad Pro is much more compelling than I imagined it would be. It's taken the place of AppleTV, a laptop, and an iPod already! Half the time, I prefer using it to the Mac as well!
    I agree with Cook and more so - the iPad Pro is stunning.
  • Reply 14 of 14
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    The new AI form poll system is crap.  We have to wait until the poll closes to see any current results?  If that's the case, why not just smailmail the results?
    edited January 2016
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