One Billion iPhones Have Been Sold, Apple Says (apple.com) 126
Apple announced on Wednesday that it has sold its one billionth iPhone handset. The milestone comes nine years after the iPhone was first introduced. The phone has unarguably shaped the smartphone industry and bolstered the apps market. In a statement, Tim Cook said: 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. 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.
I hate Apple... (Score:1)
.. but the iPhone was the exact kick up Nokia's&Telco's world dominance behind that was needed. We probably still would be playing snake in IR if someone didn't do something!
Re: (Score:2)
How exactly was it a "kick up telco's world dominance"? Was it not an AT&T exclusive? You really have to stretch your imagination to find anything underdog-ish about Apple or the iPhone.
Re: (Score:2)
Might have been in the US but elsewhere there was no exclusivity to it. It was just a much better phone than existing smart phones on the market, primarily because the software was stable and functional (having used a pre-iPhone-era smartphone, it was truly awful - terrible UI and crashed all the time).
Re: (Score:3)
Not really. When the iPhone came out in '07, it mostly took a bite from RIM's lunch, not Nokia's. Mind you, Symbian was still doing pretty well up to 2010, ahead of iOS and Android combined, when Stephen Elop started ruining everything. We would be all using Nokia MeeGo phones now if it wasn't for that Microsoft trojan! Anyway, at that moment Android exploded, with Samsung filling the vacuum from Nokia's collapse.
Re: (Score:2)
In general, since 2007, the iPhone (and smartphones) have largely made dumb phones obsolete. Yes you can still get them but they are becoming rarer to find. Would the smartphone be as dominant today without Apple? I think it would have but it would have taken longer. Nokia's main business was in dumb phones and while they had smartphones, they still were reliant on the dumb phones which became less and less profitable. Elop did hasten their demise, but Nokia didn't have a great strategy for the smart phone
Re: (Score:2)
MeeGo was probably a better strategy, and clearly a better product, than Windows Phone.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't know if Nokia had the organizational means to match Apple or Google when it came to smart phones. While I'm not disputing the merits of MeeGo or Symbian, Nokia + MS was not able to make much of a dent in either Apple or Google when it came to smart phone OS. I think even the Blackberry is beating Windows Phone. The problem with Symbian or MeeGo was Nokia had to transform as a company from a simple manufacturer to ecosystem/platform company. Had Apple merely sold iPhones, they would have never gone a
Billions and Billions Served! (Score:2)
Apple and McDonald's have reached common ground.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm just hoping they'll raise the sign at 1 Infinite Loop to about fifty feet off the ground and put that text underneath it.
Wow. (Score:2)
How many of those... (Score:1, Troll)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I am keeping my iPhone 6 as a spare, in case my shiny new Samsung S7 Edge meets an untimely fate. It also works great as a Bluetooth music player, it won't be interrupted by phone calls or text messages. My devices are tools to me, I wish to get the most for the money spent on them. I have also sold a few old iphones, so it's possible they are still in use today as well.
Re: (Score:2)
Dude get real. The iPhone 4 is like 5 years old, this is not a "long time". Right now under my tv there's a computer that has been used as a media player for 11 years. Started with Windows XP, then got Windows 7, now running Suse. I suspect the thing will keep playing videos and music for another 5 years. And it wasn't Apple-branded good hardware, it's a budget piece of shit I built from spare parts. Meanwhile I've owned 3 Mac (1 iMac, 2 Macbooks), 1 pad and 2 iPod, and they all turned to shit within 2-3 ye
Re: (Score:2)
Meanwhile I've owned 3 Mac (1 iMac, 2 Macbooks), 1 pad and 2 iPod, and they all turned to shit within 2-3 years.
You are either REALLY hard on stuff, or have been UNBELIEVABLY unlucky (with the emphasis on the "Unbelievable" part).
Re: (Score:2)
How do you explain that my non-Apple stuff doesn't turn to shit within 2-3 years? Would you say it's because very few other companies have made planned obsolescence their core business strategy?
Re: (Score:2)
How do you explain that my non-Apple stuff doesn't turn to shit within 2-3 years? Would you say it's because very few other companies have made planned obsolescence their core business strategy?
Blow me.
Re: (Score:2)
Blow me.
That would be a first for you, no? It stands to reason that Apple zealots are far more used to bend over than to be serviced. I mean, some of then even take the submissive role so far that they voluntarily put an ad for Apple products in their username! How crazy is that?
Re: (Score:2)
Really? If I was an obvious troll you'd ignore my comments. The fact that you reply with a "you're a troll" accusation just shows that you can't argue with the point I made but you're upset about someone not worshipping Apple and can't let it go quietly.
Bookmark or print this thread, and read it again in 5 years, when being an Apple fanboi will feel as silly and ancient as being a Belieber. Then with perspective you'll see I wasn't trolling, your emperor has no clothes.
Re: (Score:2)
> Meanwhile I've owned 3 Mac (1 iMac, 2 Macbooks), 1 pad
> and 2 iPod, and they all turned to shit within 2-3 years.
Ooh yay, I love this game! I currently have and use...
- an original G4 Mac mini (as a server), 11+ years old, always on
- a MacBook Pro from 2007 (for video capturing; battery swelled up but it's otherwise fine.)
- an iPod from 2004 that I don't use but it still holds a charge and will play for 2-3 hours
- an iPod from 2006, I think, that I still use; holds a charge just fine and plays for m
Re: (Score:2)
I have a 4, 4S and 5 sitting in the cupboard all still fully functional. I keep some cheap pre-paid SIMs with long credit expiry in them for lending to family and friends visiting from overseas (who don't want pay for global roaming or bother to set up their own pre-paid account). Also make good GPS logging devices for going biking/hiking etc without having to drain the battery on your main phone. Even without a SIM they still connect to Wifi and are thus useful in the same way that an iPad or iPod Touch ar
Re: (Score:2)
An nightmare. Right. Waiting a few minutes while an Apple Technician (so-called Genius) takes it in back and replaces the battery. Total nightmare.
Re: (Score:2)
The built-in battery will fail after X charges. Unlike most other manufacturers, replacing the battery inside iThings is a nightmare.
Really? Show me a phone with a replaceable battery made in the past 2 or 3 years. If there is one, there is only one.
.
Also, my iPad 2 gets HEAVY use every single day, and if its battery life has diminished, it isn't by enough to notice. Same with my 2013 MacBook Pro and my 2015 iPhone 6+
Some people just don't know how to treat rechargeable batteries...
One a Month... (Score:2)
...to the same 9 and a half million users. Well done!
Re: (Score:2)
Thanks to you I now have a new wallpaper!
Re: (Score:2)
this will go on until the minority is white heterosexual males. Then nobody will care about minorities.
So the iPhone is now Apple's Big Mac? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Android did that about ten months ago+, yay (Score:2)
Tuesday, Sep 29, 2015 at 12:13 pm EDT
1.4 billion active devices worldwide, how exciting!
http://www.androidcentral.com/... [androidcentral.com]
Re: Android did that about ten months ago+, yay (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Android is Open Source and not a company, yeah there is a difference.
https://source.android.com/ [android.com]
Re: Android did that about ten months ago+, yay (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
The first Android phone came out a year after the first iPhone, and besides having all the challenges of collaboration between open source developers, app developers and device manufacturers, and with drastically smaller profit margins they're now running circles around Apple.
You need a special kind of fuckups to lose an essentially captive market so fast. Compare this to Microsoft who has been owning the desktop market for over 30 years without even dealing with hardware.
Re: (Score:3)
There are at least a dozen Android phone manufacturers. Has any single one sold 1 billion phones?
Re: (Score:1)
Anyway the point is that it's disingenuous to group all Android devices together against Apple simply because they happen to run the same OS. Business doesn't work like that. Samsung is selling lots of devices but the rest are also-rans that barely appear on sales charts next to those two, and Apple's overall industry profits eclipse those of all others combined.
Apple is doing
Re: (Score:2)
Who's upset? If anything it's amusing to see fanbois becoming Baghdad Bob wannabes now that Apple is morphing into anoher Blackberry.
Re: (Score:1)
Did you heard the real news or did that billion devices thing dazzled you too much? Apple's revenue went down 15%, second quarter in a row their iPhone sales are in free fall. Even with their profit margin and a handful of iDiots who will keep replacing their phone with the latest model, it's a nosedive.
Meanwhile, Samsung saw a 12% jump in revenue - they now beat Apple's revenue (45 vs 42 billions).
Re: (Score:1)
For 18 years Slashdot has compared installs of desktop Linux to sales of Windows. Oh, I now see your point about irrelevance.
Every Tim Cook's speeches have to be narrated ... (Score:1)
"We've got great innovation in the pipeline," Cook said to Cramer. "New iPhones that will incentivize you and other people that have iPhones today to upgrade to new iPhones. We are going to give you things you can't live without that you just don't know you need today. That has always been the objective of Apple is to do things that really enrich people's lives. That you look back on and you wonder, how did I live without this."
Nowhere to go but down (Score:2)
Re:Sheep. (Score:5, Insightful)
When does it stop becoming "sheep" and more like "hey, this thing ain't bad" ?
Not all of those phones are going to be still in use, but 1/7th of the world's population is a pretty reasonable sales rate.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
iPhone 6+
iPhone 6s+
Re: (Score:2)
Factor of 10 might be pushing it a bit. I've used an iPhone as my main phone since the start and have only upgraded twice. Most people only bother once the old phone starts getting frustratingly slow running newer apps, which seems to take at least 4 generations or so. I doubt there's many people who have upgraded every single year since the beginning.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Sheep. (Score:5, Interesting)
iPhones do last a long time. I bet a lot of them are still working as hand-me downs to the kids, spares, etc..
Re: (Score:2)
iPhones do last a long time. I bet a lot of them are still working as hand-me downs to the kids, spares, etc..
They do last a long time if you take care of them. I had an iPhone 4 for 4 years and it held up very well. When I traded it in for my iPhone 6 Plus, the AT&T lady told me that it was in the best shape she's ever seen one. I just kept it in a phone case most of the time. It was still working well, but didn't support the newest OS, which prompted my upgrade. I would have given it to my wife if the trade-in wasn't so attractive. I plan on keeping the iPhone 6 Plus for at least 4 years.
Re: (Score:2)
Yep, both my iPhone 5 and 4 are still in perfect working order, even though I've moved to the 6S now. The former I handed down to a family member and the latter I still use as a glorified iPod Touch and take it jogging/biking etc for GPS logging purposes (rather than take my newer phone which I'd care about more if it got dropped/dented/scratched).
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
I agree that once a phone is no longer able to get software updates it's usefulness fades fast, but even old phones can still do what they once did well: play music, make phone calls, send text messages, use apps with low hardware requirements, act as an alarm clock, or toddler fodder.
Re: (Score:2)
I agree that once a phone is no longer able to get software updates it's usefulness fades fast, but even old phones can still do what they once did well: play music, make phone calls, send text messages, use apps with low hardware requirements, act as an alarm clock, or toddler fodder.
I would say that the usefulness fades slowly once they are no longer on the Update-Train; but with iPhones, fortunately that is usually a fairly long time.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
They really don't... Nothing older than an iPhone 5 is in serious use, and any kid with an iPhone 4 is going to be hideously ridiculed. The only people I know that still use an iPhone 4 are incapable of doing anything but call (and at a stretch text, possibly email) - makes you wonder why they insist on a smartphone in the first place!
Both of the owners for the software business I work for still use iPhone 4 phones. I admit they aren't that "Appy" users; but the phones are still going strong, and seem to work fine for their use cases.
Re: (Score:1, Informative)
Because it's bad, and sheep like yourself continue to buy it despite how bad it is. Of course, if anyone decides to speak up about how awful Apple products are, people like you try to tell them they're hateful and bigoted. Making a rational argument is usually beyond the sheep.
Re: (Score:2)
Because it's bad, and sheep like yourself continue to buy it despite how bad it is. Of course, if anyone decides to speak up about how awful Apple products are, people like you try to tell them they're hateful and bigoted. Making a rational argument is usually beyond the sheep.
How in the FUCK is the Parent INFORMATIVE??? FFS, Mods!!!
Re: (Score:2)
When does it stop becoming "sheep" and more like "hey, this thing ain't bad" ?
On this site? Why, "Never", of course...
Re: (Score:1)
Don't you mean iSheep?
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
I love people who use what technology they own to get the sense of self esteem (or to judge others). You're the new fucking yuppie of the 2000s.
Re:Sheep. (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll bite.
If a sheep, in this context, is just someone who thoughtlessly follows the herd, then sure, that number suggests there are likely a lot of sheep. So what? The alternative is to buy into Android, and nothing says, "I think for myself and stand against conformity", like buying into the only smartphone ecosystem that's even more popular than iOS.
We each have a finite amount of time and a finite amount of attention, so we choose the things that matter to us. Choosing iOS for reasons that matter to you is fine. Choosing Android for reasons that matter to you is fine. Choosing that you don't care about the choice and that you'd rather worry about things that are more important to you is fine.
Most people won't do any of those and will instead just follow the herd, regardless of the platform they select in the end, which means that, yes, a large number of purchasers means a large number of sheep. But again, so what? The same is true for any mass-produced product, whether we're talking smartphones, cars, canned goods, or clothes.
Other than feeling smug about your own choice, I don't see what your comment accomplishes.
Re: (Score:2)
Personally I had high hopes that project are finally meant that I'd finally be able to get a "mobile sensor and computer platform" (what most folks call a 'mobile phone') that doesn't double as a stalker
Then you seriously need to look into an iOS device; particularly when iOS 10 comes out in a couple of months, with its "Differential Privacy" [idownloadblog.com] features.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd wager it's closer to 850 million in a landfill.
Re: (Score:2)
Two out of three device sales apple HAS EVER SOLD is an iPhone.
Ergo: Two out of three active devices must be iPhones, the rest are in landfills. Maybe one could argue 350-400 million, because a lot of devices were scrapped / replaces without a sale. I'm making the mathematical assumption that iPhones last on average as long as other devices, which judging from the comments above
Re: (Score:2)
Where do you come up with 2/3 of device sales being iPhones? How do those "devices" compare to the "1 billion active devices"? Did the numbers come out at the same time? Does "devices" mean the same thing in both stats? How are "active" devices determined?
Further, your assumption that 2/3 of the devices must be iPhones is erroneous. People keep iPods and iPads far longer than iPhones, many people still replace their iPhones annually.
The simplest math we have is 1 billion sold over 6 generations or so,
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, and the fact that they're now peddling that billion device figure shows that they're running out of ways to spin their nosedive in a positive way.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, and the fact that they're now peddling that billion device figure shows that they're running out of ways to spin their nosedive in a positive way.
No, it means they just passed a sales figure that is meaningful to most people.
Re: (Score:2)
You mean "to most fanbois". Because I'm pretty sure you have no clue if/when Nokia or Motorola reached the billion devices sold. Or how many copies of Windows have been sold. Or how many Dell laptops. So don't insult people's intelligence when you speak about that Apple marketing crap as if you were an avid follower of the market in general.
Re: (Score:2)
You mean "to most fanbois". Because I'm pretty sure you have no clue if/when Nokia or Motorola reached the billion devices sold. Or how many copies of Windows have been sold. Or how many Dell laptops. So don't insult people's intelligence when you speak about that Apple marketing crap as if you were an avid follower of the market in general.
Blow me.
Re: (Score:2)
You mean "to most fanbois". Because I'm pretty sure you have no clue if/when Nokia or Motorola reached the billion devices sold. Or how many copies of Windows have been sold. Or how many Dell laptops. So don't insult people's intelligence when you speak about that Apple marketing crap as if you were an avid follower of the market in general.
Blow me.
Q.E.D.
Re: (Score:2)
yes but the point is, fanbois don't know any of those facts, which means they don't care about a billion devices being sold in general, they care about *Apple* selling a billion devices.
it's ok to be a fanboi, as long as you assume it and don't try to pretend you're a neutral market observer
Re: (Score:2)
Divide by 5 since the sheeple buy new "upgrades" every 6 months. Then subtract a few hundred thousand sold for the replacement because the screen that cracked after breathing on it the wrong way
You can't upgrade an iPhone every six months; because, unlike companies like Samsung, that launched something like FIFTY-SEVEN new Smartphones in ONE YEAR, Apple only updates the iPhone in a "Tick-Tock" cycle every year, with more significant Updates only happening every TWO years.
Re: Sheep. (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)