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How Many iPhones Have Been Sold Worldwide?

By Sam Costello Sam Costello Writer Ithaca College Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on December 27, 2019 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email iPhone & iOS Switching from Android With the iPhone being seemingly everywhere and so popular with so many people, you may have asked yourself: How many iPhones have been sold worldwide, all time?

Measures of Success

When he introduced the original iPhone, Steve Jobs said that Apple's goal for the first year of the iPhone was to capture 1% of the worldwide cellphone market. The company achieved that goal and now stands at somewhere between 20% and 40% of the market, depending on which country you're looking at. Overall market share also isn't the only important measure of success. Apple, in particular, is interested in the high-end, high-profit, high-priced smartphone market. In that area, the company is much more successful. Apple earned almost 80% of the worldwide profit on smartphones in 2016. That means most other smartphone makers actually lost money on every phone they sold! The total sales listed below include all iPhone models (starting with the original up through iPhone XS and XR) and are based on Apple's announcements. As a result, the numbers are approximate. Justin Sullivan / Staff / Getty Images The sales figures listed in this article are likely to be the last official sales figures we'll have for a while. That's because Apple has stopped providing public sales figures for the iPhone, as of Nov. 2018. In some ways, this isn't that unusual: many of its competitors, such as Amazon and Google, don't provide specific, detailed sales figures for their top products. In other ways, though, this is a huge change. We'll now have less information about Apple's most popular product, which is also one of the most important tech products in the world. We'll see if Apple ever starts reporting iPhone sales figures again. If it does, we'll be sure to update this article.

Cumulative Worldwide iPhone Sales All Time

Date Event Total Sales Nov. 1, 2018 Apple announces it will
stop reporting iPhone sales figures Nov. 1, 2018 2.2 billion Oct. 26, 2018 iPhone XR released Sept. 21, 2018 iPhone XS and XS Max released May 1, 2018 2.12 billion Nov. 3, 2017 iPhone X released Nov. 2, 2017 2 billion Sept. 22, 2017 iPhone 8 & 8 Plus released March 2017 1.16 billion Sept. 16, 2016 iPhone 7 & 7 Plus released July 27, 2016 1 billion March 31, 2016 iPhone SE released Sept. 9, 2015 iPhone 6S & 6S Plus announced Oct. 2015 773.8 million March 2015 700 million Oct. 2014 551.3 million Sept. 9, 2014 iPhone 6 & 6 Plus announced June 2014 500 million Jan. 2014 472.3 million Nov. 2013 421 million Sept. 20, 2013 iPhone 5S & 5C released Jan. 2013 319 million Sept. 21, 2012 iPhone 5 released Jan. 2012 319 million Oct. 11, 2011 iPhone 4S released March 2011 108 million Jan. 2011 90 million Oct. 2010 59.7 million June 24, 2010 iPhone 4 released April 2010 50 million Jan. 2010 42.4 million Oct. 2009 26.4 million June 19, 2009 iPhone 3GS released Jan. 2009 17.3 million July 2008 iPhone 3G released Jan. 2008 3.7 million June 2007 Original iPhone released

Has Apple Reached Peak iPhone

Despite the iPhone's terrific success over the last decade, its growth seems to be slowing. This has led some observers to suggest that we've reached "peak iPhone," meaning that the iPhone has achieved its maximum market size and will shrink from here. Needless to say, Apple doesn't believe that (or, at least, doesn't want to believe it). To prevent the phone's sales from stagnating, the company has made a number of strategic moves with its products. First, it released the iPhone SE, with its 4-inch screen, to expand the iPhone's market share. Apple found that a large number of its current users haven't upgraded to the larger iPhone models and that in the developing world 4-inch phones are particularly popular. In order for Apple to keep growing the size of the iPhone market, it needs to win over larger numbers of users in developing countries like India and China. The SE, with its smaller screen and lower price, was designed to do that. Additionally, the company has pushed the high end of the iPhone line even higher, with new innovations like the Face ID facial recognition system and nearly edge-to-edge screen, both of which were introduced on the iPhone X and were later improved with the iPhone XS and XR.

Sales Dip Continues

Those moves haven't proved to be enough, though, and iPhone sales are starting to slide. In fact, CEO Tim Cook issued a statement in early 2019 that iPhone sales were lower than the company had expected. The causes of this sales dip are complex and include tariffs on goods manufactured in China (like the iPhone) that are out of Apple's control, but many observers are concerned that the decade of runaway iPhone sales is coming to an end. Want to learn more about the sales histories of other major Apple products? Check out This is the Number of iPods Sold All-Time and What Are iPad Sales All Time? Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire What is the Newest iPhone? (2022) 8 Solutions for When Your iPhone Says No SIM Compare Every iPhone Model Ever Made All About the Apple iPhone X Where to Download iPhone Manuals for Every Model How to Create Folders on an iPhone to Organize All Your Apps Which iPhone Should You Buy? How to Easily Fix the iPhone White Screen of Death How Many iPads Have Been Sold? A Buyer's Guide to Apple iPhone Basics and Features Is an Apple Watch Worth It? iPhone XS vs. iPhone XR When Does the New iPhone Come Out? All About the First iPad Everything You Need to Know About iPhone XS, XS Max & XR How Many Apps and Folders Can an iPhone Have? Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies