At the event where it released its Q3 2025 financial report, Apple also announced the number of iPhones it has sold. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the iPhone, considered the product that ushered in the mobile era, has sold a staggering 3 billion units since its launch in 2007. This figure once again cemented the iPhone as the best-selling and most influential consumer electronics product of all time.

3 billion iPhones sold

The first major milestone in Apple’s journey was crossed in 2016, nine years after its launch, with the 1 billionth iPhone sold. At the time, Tim Cook celebrated this achievement with great enthusiasm, calling the iPhone one of the most important, world-changing, and successful products in history.

However, as the billions grew, Apple’s enthusiasm shifted. According to analyst estimates, the company hadn’t made any official, grandiose announcements for the 2 billion sales figure reached in September 2021. Today’s news of 3 billion sales reinforced this new, more modest approach.

The most striking detail of the news was Tim Cook’s phrasing. The exaggerated and enthusiastic statements of 2016 were replaced this time by an almost routine memo. Cook announced the historic achievement with the following words:

“We recently reached a significant milestone. We’ve sold the 3 billionth iPhone since its launch in 2007,” Cook said.

Cook’s simple statement sparked a new debate in the tech community: Has the iPhone’s success become a standard to be achieved for Apple, rather than a victory to be celebrated? There are speculations that the company’s focus has shifted to new product categories like the Vision Pro, and that the iPhone is now seen as a guaranteed success.

In conclusion, while the 3 billion sales figure once again proves the iPhone’s unwavering dominance and cultural impact in the market, the fact that Apple management sees this as a “natural part of the business” provides important clues about the company’s new vision and future priorities.