The Apple iPhone outsells all other smartphones with a 29.5% share of the global market in 2023.
After a drop in sales in 2018-19, Apple has seen the numbers of iPhones shipped surge in 2021 to almost 240 million units.
Keep reading to find out more interesting statistics, including:
- iPhone adoption and usage
- iPhone price change over time
- iPhone costs, shipments, and sales
- iOS market share
- Top-selling smartphones
This list of Apple iPhone facts for the San Fransisco based Tech giant was compiled in 2023.
All the iPhone stats in this report have been checked, verified, and have citations, where possible.
Key iPhone facts
A summary of interesting facts and iPhone statistics that will interest smartphone users.
- It is estimated that there are more than 1.231 billion iPhone users worldwide.
- According to estimates, Apple shipped between 237.9 and 242 million iPhones worldwide in 2021.
- In the USA, an estimated 84.3 million devices were shipped in 2021.
- Since its launch, around 2.89 billion iPhones have been sold.
- iPhone has a 29.5% share of smartphone sales worldwide.
- 52% of Apple’s $365 billion revenue in 2021 came from iPhone sales.
Sources: Above Avalon, Apple, BMO Capital Markets, BusinessofApps
iPhone users count
There are an estimated 1.231 billion active iPhone users worldwide. That’s an increase of 23.1% over the past year.
Apple has generated an additional 1.16 billion iPhone owners worldwide since Steve Jobs died in 2011
| Year | Cumulative active users |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 10 million |
| 2009 | 25 million |
| 2010 | 60 million |
| 2011 | 115 million |
| 2012 | 206 million |
| 2013 | 329 million |
| 2014 | 442 million |
| 2015 | 569 million |
| 2016 | 710 million |
| 2017 | 814 million |
| 2018 | 888 million |
| 2019 | 948 million |
| 2020 | 1.042 billion |
| 2021 | 1.231 billion |
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iPhone shipments
The number of iPhones sold since production began:
- 2.2 billion iPhones were sold between 2007 – 2018 before Apple stopped reporting the figures officially (Source: Lifewire).
- According to Counterpoint Research, Apple ships around 230 million iPhones per year.
- Assuming Apple sells all of the phones it ships, then it will have sold around 2.89 billion iPhones between 2007 -2021.
The highest number of shipments was 231.5 million achieved in 2015.
Sources: BusinessofApps
iPhone prices 2007-2022
The typical iPhone selling prices for the standard model of iPhone have increased by 60.12% since 2007.
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Source: mashable
| Year | Model | Selling price (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | iPhone | $499 |
| 2008 | iPhone 3G | $499 |
| 2009 | iPhone 3GS | $599 |
| 2010 | iPhone 4 | $649 |
| 2011 | iPhone 4s | $649 |
| 2012 | iPhone 5 | $649 |
| 2013 | iPhone 5s | $649 |
| 2014 | iPhone 6 | $649 |
| 2015 | iPhone 6s | $649 |
| 2016 | iPhone 7 | $649 |
| 2017 | iPhone 8 | $699 |
| 2018 | iPhone XR | $749 |
| 2019 | iPhone 11 | $699 |
| 2020 | iPhone 12 | $799 |
| 2021 | iPhone 13 | $799 |
| 2022 | iPhone 14 | $799 |
Pricing listed in the preceding table excludes larger, or smaller varients such as iPhone Pro, iPhone Pro Max, iPhone mini, iPhone SE, and iPhone plus models.
To find out more, see How often does Apple release a new iPhone?
iPhone 13 Pro build cost
The cost to manufacture the iPhone 13 Pro has increased by $21.50 over the previous iPhone model, an increase of 4%.
- The estimated build cost of a 2021 iPhone 13 Pro 256MB (model A2636) is $570.
- The same source estimates the build cost of a 2020 iPhone 12 Pro 256MB (model A2341) is $548.50.
Source: https://www.techinsights.com/blog/teardown/apple-iphone-13-pro-teardown
iPhone Shipments by Quarter 2019-2022
The number of iPhones shipped in 2021 increased by 18.3% over the previous year.
Shipments of iPhones went from 201.1 million units in 2020 to 237.9 million units in 2021.
Source: Counterpoint Research
iOS versions installed on newer iPhones in 2022
According to Apple, the iOS 15 adoption worldwide of devices bought in the last 4 years was:
- 72% of all Apple devices introduced in the last four years use iOS 15
- 26% use iOS 14
- 2% use earlier iOS versions
No data available for iOS 16 market penetration yet.
Source: Apple
iOS versions installed on all iPhones in 2022
According to statcounter, the main iOS versions installed on all iPhones worldwide by Apple users in May 2022 was:
| iOS version | iOS market share |
|---|---|
| 15.3 | 18.61% |
| 15.2 | 32.98% |
| 15.1 | 11.35% |
| 14.8 | 11.41% |
| 14.7 | 4.21% |
| 12.5 | 3.1% |
This is a slightly different set of figures to the ones supplied by Apple because it accounts for all iOS devices, not just those shipped in the last 4 years. When all versions are summarised it shows:
- 66.11% of all devices in circulation use iOS 15
- 21.67% are on iOS 14
- 12.22% are running an earlier version of iOS
Source: statcounter
iOS Market Share 2022
In 2022, the iOS market share has increased to 28.27% but is still well behind Android.
The worldwide mobile Operating System market share in February 2022 is as follows:
| Mobile OS | Market share |
|---|---|
| Android | 70.97% |
| iOS | 28.27% |
| Samsung | 0.43% |
| KaiOS | 0.17% |
| Nokia | 0.01% |
| Other | 0.1% |
Source: Statcounter
Worldwide Smartphone Shipments 2011-2021
Shipments of smartphones have increased by 167.2% since 2011.
After a drop in global sales in 2020, sales recovered with a 4.5% increase in 2021.
Smartphone worldwide market share 2022
The Apple iPhone enjoys a 29.5% worldwide market share, the highest of any manufacturer.
Smartphone market Average sales price worldwide
The average sale price of smartphones continues to go up with a 7.31% increase in the last year.
Since 2018 there has been a steady rise in smartphone prices worldwide. Overall, we shave seen an increase of $36, which equates to 13.2%.
Top selling smartphones worldwide 2020-2021
Apple and Samsung are neck and neck in global smartphone sales with Apple edging it with 3% more market share by the end of Q4 2021.
Apple’s global smartphone shipments grew 18% year on year to reach a record 237.9 million units in 2021. This was due to the strong performance of the iPhone 12 series. In China, Apple became the top smartphone brand in Q4 2021 after six years thanks to the iPhone 13.
Global smartphone shipments grew 4% year on year to reach 1.39 billion units in 2021.
FAQ
Where and when was the very first iPhone sold?
The first iPhone was sold by Apple in the United States on January 29, 2007.
It was the first touchscreen smartphone on the market and was regarded as creating the modern phone market. Most competitors ridiculed the original iPhone for not having a physical keyboard or keys but it appeared to be a success anyway.
Back in 2007, iOS had not been created so it had an operating system called OS1. There was also no App Store until July 2008.
There were 2 models:
- 4GB storage version for $499
- 8GB version for $599
However, both models were discounted by $200 within months of release upsetting many buyers who paid full price.
How many iPhones are sold a year?
Apple no longer releases iPhone sales figures, so it is impossible to be certain how many iPhones are sold yearly.
Sales fluctuated in the official Apple sales figures but they normally exceed 200 million units per year. The record number of Apple-certified shipments was hit in 2015 with 231.5 million units sold.
However, industry insiders estimate that between 230 – 240 million iPhones may have been shipped in 2021.
What was the best selling iPhone model?
The highest verified sales were achieved with the iPhone 6 range with over 71.5 million units sold within 3 months of release. Apple has stopped releasing official sales figures but estimates show that the iPhone 12 range may have sold as much as 81.9 million units, beating the iPhone 6 record.
The iPhone 13 did almost as well with an estimate of 81.5 million units shipped in 2020.
Is the iPhone more popular than Samsung phones?
As of Q4 2021, Apple has a larger market share than Samsung making it the most popular smartphone brand at this time.
Having said that, the popularity has switched between Apple and Samsung throughout 2021. Previous to 2021 Samsung enjoyed a larger market share for many years so historically was the more popular brand.
Which country has the most iPhones?
Estimated iPhone sales show China has the most with 228 million iOS device owners, followed by the United States with 120 million.
The highest market share the Apple iPhone has is in the United States, where 47% of all smartphone owners have an iPhone. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/755625/iphones-in-use-in-us-china-and-rest-of-the-world/
Other big markets for the iPhone include Japan and Germany.
The used market is also buoyant with second-hand devices proving popular on online marketplaces. However, buying and selling used Apple products can be problematic with the Find My Activation Lock rendering a great many of them unusable.
To find out more, see Activation Lock on iPhone.
Wrap up
That’s all for my collection of iPhone stats for 2023. Hopefully, you found the data interesting.
Apple continues to strengthen its standing in the smartphone market. The brand has risen to a position of worldwide dominance over the last year.
Time will tell if it can continue to dominate the smartphone market.
