One Billion – a number you won’t hear regularly, especially from a mobile phone maker, especially from a high end device maker. But that is what Apple recently said. At an employee meeting in Cupertino today, CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple recently sold the billionth iPhone – a massive feat indeed.
Apple launched the first ever iPhone in June 2007 and till now has launched 13 models, the latest being the iPhone SE. This means that the US based company has sold about 3.5 iPhones each second for the last nine years (ofcourse this is an approximate calculation and the figure could be higher or lower by a few notches).
“iPhone has become one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history. It’s become more than a constant companion. iPhone is truly an essential part of our daily life and enables much of what we do throughout the day,” said Cook.
“Last week we passed another major milestone when we sold the billionth iPhone. We never set out to make the most, but we’ve always set out to make the best products that make a difference. Thank you to everyone at Apple for helping change the world every day,” Tim Cook added.
Apple is now set to announce another version of iPhone later in September this year and all eyes are on the company in expectations that the new iPhone could bring some revolutionary feature considering its chief rival, Samsung, is gaining upper hand with each passing day.
The US tech giant is battling falling sales. On Tuesday it reported a drop in sales for the second straight quarter. In the third quarter of this fiscal, which ended in June, Apple sold a total of 40.4 million iPhones which translates into a drop of 15% Y-o-Y, making it the second straight quarter when iPhonesales have seen a drop.
However, the drop was slightly better than what was forecasted earlier (of 40.2 million). The good news for Apple came from India – the second largest smartphone market in the world.
“India is now one of our fastest growing markets. In the first three quarters of this fiscal year, iPhone sales in India were up 51 percent year-on-year. We’re looking forward to opening retail stores in India down the road and we see huge potential for that vibrant country,” said Tim Cook.
Recently, the Indian government relaxed rules to allow companies like Apple to open their retail stores in the country.