Apple has now reached 1 billion active iPhones

According to the latest estimates from analyst firm Above Avalon, the number of active iPhone users will surpass 1 billion in September 2020, less than 5,000 days after the first generation iPhone hit the market.

It's been a while since Apple has publicly released sales figures, but according to Above Avalon, the number of active iPhone users will reach 1 billion sometime in September 2020. If that milestone was reached on September 30, it would have been 4,842 days since the first generation iPhone hit the market, making it the most successful product of all time, but its sales appear to be slowing down.

The analyst firm said: "Growth in iPhone installations has slowed in recent years, in large part due to the high levels of smartphone penetration and Apple's success in targeting the premium smartphone market." The company added: "Despite that, Apple still manages to absorb approximately 20 to 30 million new iPhone users per year, who are prime candidates to penetrate its ecosystem by purchasing the company's other devices and services."

These users don't just buy other Apple devices like the Apple Watch or iPad, at least some of them will buy another iPhone. it's for this reason that it's difficult to determine exactly when active iPhone usage surpassed 1 billion.

In September 2018, when Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone XS, he provided a rare sales figure: "We're on the verge of shipping 2 billion iOS devices."

The figure Cook was referring to at the time was the total number of iOS devices sold, including not only iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches, but also the number of times an iPhone user upgraded to a new iPhone each time. And earlier, in July 2016, Cook told Apple employees that the company had sold 1 billion iPhones.