The Apple Beat: The iPhone reaches 1 Billion units sold

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Apple's iPhone has reached a major milestone. The company has confirmed that there have been 1 billion iPhones sold.

“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," Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier today.

This achievement is rare in consumer technology, most specially in mobile phones since manufacturers usually launch various new models each year. The iPhone has been, Apple's singular mobile handset since 2007 and really represents one product that has been painstaikingly refined and iterated on a yearly basis.

The iPhone really has no comparison in terms of a mobile device. Nokia's feature phone, the Nokia 1100 (launched in 2003) sold around 350 million units globally. This was an entry level model, a no frills phone designed for emerging markets.

Motorola's iconic RAZR was the most popular flip phone of all time and it sold a mere 130 million units. Granted, the RAZR started out as a premium device (I remember it sold for over $500), but it eventually became available as a budget device.

The iPhone has never been that, a budget phone. On the contrary, each iPhone (save for the iPhone 5c and iPhone SE) has been considered a flagship device sold at a premium price just above the top of the pricing scale. That didn't stop people from wanting iPhones. The days of the kilometric Apple Store lines on launch day may be over, but that was a cultural phenomenon that no company or product on earth has been able to replicate.

iPhone loyalists, and there are obviously many, have been rewarded by the most complete smartphone in the market, not just in terms of raw specs and performance, but with the most integrated ecosystem, the leading camera, the best customer support as well as a bevy of attached intangibles like FaceTime, Messages, Apple Pay, HealthKit, CarPlay, Home and an ever expanding universe of apps and entertainment options.

"Steve's Phone: "An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. An iPod, a phone … Are you getting it?""We never set out to make the most, but we’ve always set out to make the best products that make a difference,"  Cook said, acknowledging that the billionth iPhone was sold in the last week. This news comes just after Apple's earnings call which reflected continued decline in revenues.

What's next for iPhone could very well mean what's next for Apple. iPhones are still the company's biggest earner and responsible for more than 60 per cent of Apple's profits with newer product categories like the iPad and Apple Watch not making as big  or wide an impact with consumers and the bottom line.

The iPhone continues to have tremendous cachet, it is still the smartphone for which other models are measured and has been emulated in form and function during its entire lifetime. One billion units is a remarkable achievement, but it is far frome the finish line and knowing Apple, they're likely gearing up for something big to continue to make the iPhone a compelling device for consumers to consider.