Apple is very highly likely to sell its one billionth iPhone this summer, analysts say.
Apple revolutionized the smartphone space with the launch of the first iPhone in 2007. The popularity of iPhones has been growing year-after-year, and it is Apple's most popular device.
The first-generation iPhone sold about 270,000 units in the opening weekend, and sales hit the one million mark within the first three months. The second-generation iPhone 3G achieved sales of one million in the launch weekend alone, which shocked many industry analysts.
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus sold 13 million units in their opening weekend. The increased sales volume is enough to reflect the growing popularity of the device.
The company initially launched the iPhone in one size only, but its growing popularity has led the company to develop iPhones in a number of sizes. Apple launched the premium 4.7-inch iPhone 6s and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus in September 2015, and in March, the company took the wraps off the four-inch iPhone SE.
Reports suggest that, at the end of 2015, Apple sold 896 million iPhones. The company is expected to have sold 50 million iPhones in Q1 2016 and about 44 million units in Q2 2016. If the iPhone sales are as predicted by analysts, then Apple will have to sell just another 10 million units to reach the magical number of one billion iPhone units.
"Despite some relatively lackluster enthusiasm about the iPhone lately, Apple has an outside shot at getting to one billion iPhones before July. To accomplish that, Apple would need to best forecasts by just 10 million iPhones. If the new iPhone SE helps boost sales during the spring, it's within the realm of possibility," says CNN Money.
It is worth noting that Apple sold its one billionth iOS device in November 2014, which is a combined total of all iPod touch devices, iPhone and iPads sold to date. It is also interesting to know that half of all the iPhones sold to date were purchased in the last couple of years.
Wall Street analysts estimate that the iPhone SE will attract many customers in the next couple of quarters, which will help Apple to achieve high iPhone sales.
In September 2016, Apple is also expected to launch the next-generation iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which will contribute to iPhone sales in the last quarter of this year.
