The Incredible Growth of Apple's iPhone Business

When the first iPhone finally went on sale on June 29, 2007, it ticked all the boxes you would expect from an Apple product launch. There was a lot of hype, there was hyperbole (“Jesus Phone”), there was some head-scratching from non-believers and there were long lines. Of course there were lines.

Ever since Steve Jobs had unveiled the “magical” new device almost six months earlier (and even before that), anticipation for the iPhone had been building, as it truly was groundbreaking at the time – though comically limited from today’s point of view. Despite the raving reception from fans and reviewers, not even the keenest optimists could have foreseen the impact that the iPhone would make, on the smartphone market, on people’s lives and not least on Apple’s business.

Over the past 15 years, the iPhone became what many consider the most successful product in history, transforming the smartphone industry and changing the way people communicate, take photos and consume digital media. Since its introduction, the iPhone has generated more than $1.5 trillion (sic!) in sales, almost single-handedly making Apple the most profitable and most valuable company of all time.

The iPhone alone is now bigger (in terms of sales) than some of the most well-known companies in the world, including household names such as Nike, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. Check out our video and see for yourself how the brainchild of Steve Jobs and Jony Ive leapfrogged some of the biggest companies of our time.