Apple Has Sold 1 Billion iPhones

It's common knowledge that the iPhone is wildly successful and has helped turn Apple into the most valuable company in the world. But today the device crossed a milestone that's pretty incredible, even considering its popularity: Apple announced today that it has recently sold the billionth iPhone.

In a post on its website, Apple announced the accomplishment with a quote from CEO Tim Cook. He stated, "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."

The iPhone first launched in 2007, and since then there have been new models released every year. The most recent models, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, set sales records upon their release last year.

Although Apple has, in recent years, faced stiff competition from Android phone makers like Samsung and LG, the iPhone has continued to be the best-selling smartphone in the world. As reported by GameSpot sister site CNET, however, iPhone sales have been down recently. In a recent earnings report, Apple announced that it had sold 40.4 million phones in its fiscal third quarter, down from 47.5 million in the third quarter last year.

Apple will likely get a boost soon, though: It traditionally announces its new iPhone models in September, and this year's models are creating quite a bit of buzz. We won't have to wait much longer to see if the iPhone 7 will end up ditching the headphone jack or adding a dual-camera system, as some rumors suggest.