It was in January 2007 when Steve Jobs launched the iPhone. And now, 17 years after the launch of the first model of the phone, Jobs' successor Tim Cook has unveiled the iPhone 16 series. A lot has happened in the intervening period, making Apple the biggest company by market capitalisation – an achievement fuelled by Apple's most successful product ever – the iPhone.
The smartphone is about to reach 2 trillion dollars in lifetime sales. With 39 billion dollars in sales last quarter, the iPhone accounts for roughly 60 percent of Apple's revenue. It also remains the main entry point to the company's services, such as the App Store or Apple TV, which are becoming a growing part of its business.
This success is a continuation of a remarkable growth trajectory. Data from Statista shows that Apple grossed just 1.39 million dollars in iPhone sales in 2007, the year it was launched. However, it soon saw multi-fold growth, peaking at 242 million dollars in 2021, when it recovered from the impact of COVID-19.
Not only this. In 2023, Apple's iPhone overtook Samsung for the first time, becoming the world's top-selling smartphone after Samsung's 12-year dominance.
So, which countries have driven this incredible success for Apple? The United States and Canada are the most obvious answers to this question. iPhone penetration is also high in Japan and several European countries.
But one nation that has been special to Apple not only in terms of iPhone sales, but also its production, is China. Over the 15 years since the iPhone launched in China, Apple has been the dominant force in the smartphone market.
The love for the device is evident in the enthusiastic response from superfans. For instance, in March this year, Chinese fans eagerly jostled to enter the company's newest store in Shanghai as it opened.
But in the last few months, the iPhone has not been as dominant in China as it has been for the last decade and a half. China's domestic smartphone makers have pushed Apple out of the top smartphone sellers list. And that's why Apple is betting big on the iPhone 16 for a turnaround.
But, that's just one part of the strategy. Apple is also making a significant push into markets such as India, where Android-based phones have a larger share of the pie. India is home to the second-highest number of 5G smartphones in the world – a market ripe for Apple to tap into.
Apple's iPhones, which compete in the premium segment of the market, had just a four percent share last year. But Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia told AFP that Apple could benefit from the premiumisation of India's smartphone market.
Now, with the launch of the new series, it will be interesting to see how 2024 pans out for iPhone sales across the world!