Apple has officially reached a major milestone: three billion iPhones sold. The announcement was made on 31 July 2025 during its fiscal Q3 earnings call, reflecting the growing global demand for the iPhone since its debut.
What happened
The first iPhone was released in June 2007 with an initial starting price of US$799, which is approximately RM3530. Since then, Apple has continued to release new models year after year.
Fast forward to July 2025, CEO Tim Cook confirmed that total cumulative iPhone sales have surpassed three billion units worldwide—a sign of the brand’s long-term traction in the smartphone market.
What we could expect
Apple’s third-quarter report highlighted strong iPhone performance. The company generated US$44.6 billion in revenue from iPhone sales alone, accounting for nearly half of its total US$94 billion quarterly revenue.
This represents a 13 percent year-on-year increase, despite broader challenges in the smartphone industry.
Apple first hit the 1 billion iPhones sold milestone in 2016, followed by 2 billion in 2021. The latest milestone—reaching 3 billion units—occurred in under four years, showing accelerated adoption.
It took Apple nine years to sell the first billion iPhones, five years to reach the second billion, and less than four years to hit the third.
Industry analysts noted that some of the recent surge in sales may be linked to tariff-related concerns. Many U.S. consumers reportedly upgraded early ahead of expected changes in import fees.
Apple has acknowledged absorbing approximately US$800 million in tariffs during the June quarter and expects the total tariff impact to rise to US$1.1 billion in the following quarter.
Looking ahead, Apple hopes to sustain this momentum with its upcoming Apple Intelligence features. Tim Cook emphasized the role of these new AI-driven capabilities in shaping the future of the iPhone.
However, the company still faces scrutiny for delays in enhancing features like Siri, which many users expect to be more competitive in the evolving AI landscape.
Three billion iPhones later, Apple continues to set benchmarks in the smartphone industry. Do you think upcoming AI-powered features like Apple Intelligence will push the company to its fourth billion even faster?
Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more updates.
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