How long did it take to sell 1 million iPhones? 100 million? 500 million?

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I did a little digging and here are some numbers:

  • The iPhone first went on sale on June 29, 2007. That’s day 0.

  • The millionth iPhone sold just 74 days later, on September 10, 2007.

From Apple’s official press release announcing the millionth iPhone:

“One million iPhones in 74 days—it took almost two years to achieve this milestone with iPod,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait to get this revolutionary product into the hands of even more customers this holiday season.”

  • On March 2, 2011, Apple sold iPhone number 100 million. That’s 1,312 days or 3.6 years.

  • In mid-March, 2014, Apple sold iPhone number 500 million. That’s about 2,450 days or 6.7 years.

  • Yesterday, Apple announced they had sold the billionth iPhone. That’s 3,286 days or almost exactly 9 years.

A couple of takeaways from this:

A billion iPhones in 9 years, built on a foundation of constant doubt. That’s one hell of a thing.

And there’s this, too: Apple took about 2,450 days to sell the first 500 million iPhones and only 836 days to sell the second 500 million iPhones. That’s some growth curve.