Tech
Apple is expected to sell its two billionth iPhone this year
2B
About how many phones Apple will have sold since launch.
Apple is on track to sell approximately 195 million iPhones in 2020, which would put the total at 1.9 billion units sold (yes, not exactly 2 billion) since launch in 2007. That’s according to a consensus of analyst estimates gathered by Bloomberg.
Apple doesn’t break out total iPhone sales anymore, and growth of the phone’s install base flatlined around 2016. In 2018, the last year Apple disclosed numbers, the company sold 217 million iPhones.
Services, services, services — The iPhone still accounts for more than half of Apple’s revenue, but the company has begun leaning on its services and wearables businesses to keep revenue going up and to the right, with a steady stream of new products that complement the iPhone and keep customers upgrading every year. The Apple Watch and AirPods have been breakout hits for Apple, and customers need an iPhone to get the best experience from them.
By keeping customers locked into the iPhone ecosystem, Apple can at least blunt any decline in sales of that product and keep revenue growing through other products. The company is expected to hit record revenue of $275 billion this year thanks in part to those other businesses. CEO Tim Cook has said that Apple is on track to double its services business from 2016 to 2020. It now accounts for more than 20 percent of revenue.
The iPhone is still crucial to keep investors happy, but there could come a day when Apple reinvents itself yet again as it did when it transitioned from the iPod to the iPhone as its main business.
