Apple CEO Tim Cook on Apple’s 18 Years journey to 3 Billion iPhones

Apple has now shipped three billion iPhones since the launch of the original iPhone 18 years ago, in 2007. During Apple’s third-quarter earnings call, CEO

Tim Cook

revealed that the company shipped its three billionth iPhone during the quarter. Apple also reported $94 billion in revenue, with

iPhone sales

contributing $44.6 billion, nearly half of its total quarterly revenue.While it took nine years to reach the first billion iPhones sold in 2016, the company hit two billion by 2021, just five years later. The jump from two to three billion took only four years, signaling growing global demand despite market saturation concerns.iPhone sales jumped 13% year-over-year in the quarter ending June 2025, with analysts suggesting tariff concerns may have driven purchases. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman noted that consumers likely bought iPhones fearing future price increases due to President Trump's proposed tariffs, which already cost Apple $800 million last quarter and are projected to reach $1.1 billion next quarter.While company executive Eddy Cue recently admitted consumers "may not need an iPhone 10 years from now," CEO Tim Cook pushed back against concerns about advanced AI replacing the iPhone, stating "it's difficult to see a world" without iPhones during Q3 2025 earnings call. Apple's slow rollout of AI features has left analysts mixed on its competitive edge, even as the company attempts to diversify through its Vision Pro headset and expanded AI initiatives.