The number of Apple iPhone unit sales dramatically increased between 2007 and 2023. Indeed, in 2007, when the iPhone was first introduced, Apple shipped around 1.4 million smartphones. By 2023, this number reached over 231 million units.

The newest models and iPhone’s lasting popularity

Apple has ventured into its 17th smartphone generation with its Phone 15 lineup, which, released in September 2023, includes the 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and Pro Max. Powered by the A16 bionic chip and running on iOS 17, these models present improved displays, cameras, and functionalities. On the one hand, such features come, however, with hefty price tags, namely, an average of 1,000 U.S. dollars. On the other hand, they contribute to making Apple among the leading smartphone vendors worldwide, along with Samsung and Xiaomi. In the first quarter of 2024, Samsung shipped over 60 million smartphones, while Apple recorded shipments of roughly 50 million units.

Success of Apple’s other products

Apart from the iPhone, which is Apple’s most profitable product, Apple is also the inventor of other heavy-weight players in the consumer electronics market. The Mac computer and the iPad, like the iPhone, are both pioneers in their respective markets and have helped popularize the use of PCs and tablets. The iPad is especially successful, having remained as the largest vendor in the tablet market ever since its debut. The hottest new Apple gadget is undoubtedly the Apple Watch, which is a line of smartwatches that has fitness tracking capabilities and can be integrated via iOS with other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch has also been staying ahead of other smart watch vendors since its initial release and secures around 50 percent of the market share as of the latest quarter.

How many iPhones have been sold in 2018?

In the fourth quarter of 2018 alone, Apple sold 46.89 million iPhones worldwide, a figure which slightly outpaced its sales from the corresponding quarter of 2017. In entire 2018, 217.72 million iPhones were shipped worldwide. Apple typically releases at least one new version of its iPhone each year, a strategy which has helped the company consistently pull in quarterly sales figures in the tens of millions. Apple stopped reporting iPhone unit sales at the end of fiscal year 2018; more recent shipment data can be found here.

iPhone’s popularity

As of 2019, estimates suggest that the United States is home to around 266 million smartphone users, cementing the country’s place as a major regional market within the industry. Of those U.S. based smartphone consumers, over 45 percent are Apple iPhone users. This market share figure speaks to the iPhone’s massive popularity within its domestic market, but how does the product fare internationally? At a global scale, Apple’s flagship product faces increased competition, especially from established Asian technology firms like Samsung, Huawei, and OPPO. Despite this, the iPhone has consistently ranked among the most popular devices in the world since its initial release in June 2007.

Apple products

Although the iPhone is the company’s biggest revenue generator by far, Apple offers a multitude of products across a variety of consumer electronics categories. The company’s products include everything from laptops to smartwatches, while additionally offering tech-related services such as an online payment platform and cloud storage.

In the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, Apple generated around 69 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from the sales of iPhones. Apple iPhone revenue The Apple iPhone is one of the biggest success stories in the smartphone industry. Since its introduction to the market in 2007, Apple has sold more than 1.5 billion units worldwide. As of the third quarter of 2024, the Apple iPhone’s market share of new smartphone sales was over 16 percent. Much of its accomplishments can be attributed to Apple’s ability to keep the product competitive throughout the years, with new releases and updates. Apple iPhone growth The iPhone has shown to be a crucial product for Apple, considering that the iPhone’s share of the company’s total revenue has consistently grown over the years. In the first quarter of 2009, the iPhone sales were responsible for about a quarter of Apple’s revenue. In the third quarter of FY 2024, this figure reached a high of roughly 50 percent, equating to less than 40 billion U.S. dollars in that quarter. In terms of units sold, Apple went from around 55.8 million units in 2010 to about 232 million in 2023, but registered a peak in the fourth quarter of 2020 with more than 90 million iPhones sold worldwide.

In 2023, Apple shipped more than ten million smartphones to India. It was Apple's best year in the country, a significant growth over the previous year. Apple's market share in India stood at 6.4 percent in the same year, in comparison with 4.6 percent in the previous year. iPhone14/13/14 Plus were the most popular models among iPhones.

In 2024, the volume of smartphone shipments in India was about 151 million, up slightly from about 146 million the previous year. The year-on-year change rate was at four percent. 5G smartphone shipments reached 120 million in the same year. And the average selling price reached a new peak of 259 U.S. dollars. 5G in India Since October 2022, 5G services have been launched in India in 13 cities, including most of the major Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Adani Data Networks won 5G licenses through auctions for a total of 1.5 trillion Indian rupees. Reliance Jio, the most popular telecom service provider in India with close to 40 percent market share, was also one of the first to offer 5G services. Popular smartphones in India The smartphone market in India is incredibly competitive. Some of the most popular smartphone brands in the country were from China, including Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo. The market was dominated by medium to lower-priced phones, and models from the premium price category had a hard time increasing their market share. But recently, Apple’s iPhone started to see increased popularity among urban elites, and in 2023, more than 10 million units of iPhones were sold in India.

The number of smartphone users in the Philippines was forecast to increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 5.6 million users (+7.29 percent). This overall increase does not happen continuously, notably not in 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029. The smartphone user base is estimated to amount to 82.33 million users in 2029. Smartphone users here are limited to internet users of any age using a smartphone. The shown figures have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of smartphone users in countries like Thailand and Indonesia.

The number of mobile broadband connections in the Philippines was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 18.3 million connections (+20.46 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the number of connections is estimated to reach 107.69 million connections and therefore a new peak in 2029. Mobile broadband connections include cellular connections with a download speed of at least 256 kbit/s (without satellite or fixed-wireless connections). Cellular Internet-of-Things (IoT) or machine-to-machine (M2M) connections are excluded. The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of mobile broadband connections in countries like Vietnam and Laos.

The smartphone penetration in the Philippines was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 6.4 percentage points. According to this forecast, in 2029, the penetration will have decreased for the fourth consecutive year to 65.75 percent. The penetration rate refers to the share of the total population.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the smartphone penetration in countries like Laos and Malaysia.

According to a survey conducted by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum from November to December 2019, the highest penetration rate among smartphone users was in the age group of 16 to 24 years, with 37 percent. This was followed by the users between 24 and 35 years old. Older Indians surveyed had a lower penetration rate for smartphone usage.

 Baby boomers to millennials – smartphone addiction

Smartphones, once a status symbol has now become a common product in the country due to disposable incomes, faster lifestyle, and the necessity to stay connected. Also, an open operating system and low data rates have fueled this growth. In India, increased availability of content across various genres, regional languages, and communicating over social media and different applications led to an increased usage of smartphones.

Smartphone pricing in the country

The Indian smartphone market was dominated those that cost below 20,000 Indian rupees. This was evident from the share of the leading smartphone models in the country. Even though Apple dominated mobile markets worldwide, India had a different story. Though iPhones led in the premium segment, its share in the overall smartphone market remained near negligible. The smartphone market in the country was saturated with high competition, forcing companies to work on wafer-thin margins. Around 30 major smartphone brands were vying for their spotlight in the Indian smartphone market.