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It's official: Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones

CEO Tim Cook says during a company meeting that Apple sold its billionth iPhone last week.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
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Shara Tibken Former managing editor
Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."
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Ian Sherr
Shara Tibken
Sarah Tew/CNET

The iPhone isn't even 10 years old, but its impact on the tech industry and on Apple itself has been huge. Now it has reached a new milestone.

Apple sold its billionth iPhone last week.

CEO Tim Cook announced the milestone during an employee meeting Wednesday, and then the company noted the news online.

"We never set out to make the most, but we've always set out to make the best products that make a difference," Cook said in a statement.

The record marks the latest accomplishment for the Cupertino, California, company, whose big bet on the device's success nine years ago remade the technology industry and turned Apple into the world's most highly valued company. The revenue of some of the globe's largest firms is now based on apps designed for the iPhone -- and for the rival devices that run Google's Android software.

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The iPhone has also helped power other Apple products, including the iPad tablet and Apple Watch, though none of them has reached the breadth of sales the iPhone enjoys.

How Apple will get to the next billion is still unclear. The company may finally have found a limit to iPhone sales increases. However, if rumors of a massively revamped device for next year are true, that could drive growth again.

Meanwhile, Apple on Tuesday reported its second consecutive quarterly decline in iPhone sales. Until the quarter that ended in April, iPhone unit sales had never dropped in the history of the device.

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