We all do it that freshly mint iOS twist owners spent their Christmas evening loading up their iPhones , iPads , and iPod touches with mobile apps — at least , if you corrupt into last week ’s report by mobile analytics firm Flurry , they did . But the downloads did n’t bar the moment box Day penetrate : In itslatest written report , Flurry contends that the combine number of iOS and Android app downloads broke the 1 billion mark for the week between Christmas and New Year ’s Day .

Specifically , Flurry claim estimates that 1.2 billion app were download during what it calls the “ vacation top executive workweek . ” It also believes that more than 20 million iOS and Android devices were activate during the holiday geological period .

The analytics company does n’t die those turn down between the iOS and Android platforms . And it ’s basing those figures on datum pulled from the 140,000 iOS and Android apps that expend its analytics and market products , which the company pronounce gives it a jolly authentic estimate as to just how many apps are download on a daily cornerstone ; Flurry also jibe up its own figure with information release by Google and Apple .

Whether you swallow that methodology or not , the premise behind the 1.2 billion download call seems sensible . iOS devices ( and their Android counterparts ) probably found their way on to many a holiday natural endowment list this yr . While you ’d expect to see a flare-up of downloading on Christmas day immediately after present are give , new machine owners are unlikely to confine their App Store shopping fling to a exclusive day . Existing twist owners are also fussy cash in in their App Store endowment bill on fresh software . And sincesmartphones mystify a gift - give challengethanks to contracts with wireless carriers , there ’s also the prognosis of new iPhone owners trigger their devices in the days after Christmas for add together further fuel to the downloading fire .

By room of comparison , Flurry says the download activity it quantify in the week between Christmas and New Year ’s Day was a 60 percent rise over an average week . The company used the two workweek between December 4 and December 17 for its baseline , as the week of Dec. 18 - 24 was thrown off by a spate of downloads on Christmas Eve .

lead into 2012 , Flurry write that “ break the one - billion - download - roadblock per calendar week will become more stock . ” That stands to grounds as well : The smartphone segment remains just a fraction of the mobile earphone market—400 million smartphones liken to 1.5 billion handset , grant to figures cite by Apple late last twelvemonth . The tablet market figures to keep expand as well , with the iPad lead the charge onward of rival devices run Android . Whatever maths you use , it tot up to a pile of mobile downloads beyond just the vacation season .