It was in January 2007 that Apple released the first version of the iPhone. This marked a revolution in the global smartphone market, thanks to the introduction of the first touchscreen interface. Since its release the iPhone has consistently proven itself a dominant player in the market. In 2011, Apple sold more than 72 million iPhones around the world, which translated into approximately 47 billion U.S. dollars in revenue for the company for that year alone. At the time this accounted for approximately 40 percent of Apple’s total revenue.

As of 2012 there were over 30 million iPhone users in the U.S. alone and industry experts expect this number to continue increasing into the future. More recently Apple has faced strong competition from Samsung, largely due to the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy. As of the third quarter of 2011 Samsung officially overtook Apple as the world’s leading smartphone vendor, with regards to shipments. When it comes to mobile operating systems Apple’s main competitor is Android, the OS introduced by Google. The market share held be Android has consistently been creeping up and as of May 2012, Android officially overtook Apple as the OS market leader.

Despite increasing competition in the market, Apple remains one of the leading global brands and demand for the iPhone 5, released on September 9 2012 remained strong in the U.S. market. Photo: istockphoto.com / saturated

• • iPhone: global sales figures
  • iPhone: global market share
• • Manufacturing cost of the iPhone
  • iPhone: app store