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One Billion iPhones Have Been Sold, Apple Says (apple.com)
Apple announced on Wednesday that it has sold its one billionth iPhone handset. The milestone comes nine years after the iPhone was first introduced. The phone has unarguably shaped the smartphone industry and bolstered the apps market. In a statement, Tim Cook said: iPhone has become one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history. It's become more than a constant companion. iPhone is truly an essential part of our daily life and enables much of what we do throughout the day. 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.
When does it stop becoming "sheep" and more like "hey, this thing ain't bad" ?
Not all of those phones are going to be still in use, but 1/7th of the world's population is a pretty reasonable sales rate.
Physicists get Hadrons!
I love people who use what technology they own to get the sense of self esteem (or to judge others). You're the new fucking yuppie of the 2000s.
iPhones do last a long time. I bet a lot of them are still working as hand-me downs to the kids, spares, etc..
I agree that once a phone is no longer able to get software updates it's usefulness fades fast, but even old phones can still do what they once did well: play music, make phone calls, send text messages, use apps with low hardware requirements, act as an alarm clock, or toddler fodder.
I'll bite.
If a sheep, in this context, is just someone who thoughtlessly follows the herd, then sure, that number suggests there are likely a lot of sheep. So what? The alternative is to buy into Android, and nothing says, "I think for myself and stand against conformity", like buying into the only smartphone ecosystem that's even more popular than iOS.
We each have a finite amount of time and a finite amount of attention, so we choose the things that matter to us. Choosing iOS for reasons that matter to you is fine. Choosing Android for reasons that matter to you is fine. Choosing that you don't care about the choice and that you'd rather worry about things that are more important to you is fine.
Most people won't do any of those and will instead just follow the herd, regardless of the platform they select in the end, which means that, yes, a large number of purchasers means a large number of sheep. But again, so what? The same is true for any mass-produced product, whether we're talking smartphones, cars, canned goods, or clothes.
Other than feeling smug about your own choice, I don't see what your comment accomplishes.
Not really. When the iPhone came out in '07, it mostly took a bite from RIM's lunch, not Nokia's. Mind you, Symbian was still doing pretty well up to 2010, ahead of iOS and Android combined, when Stephen Elop started ruining everything. We would be all using Nokia MeeGo phones now if it wasn't for that Microsoft trojan! Anyway, at that moment Android exploded, with Samsung filling the vacuum from Nokia's collapse.
Circumcision is child abuse.
There are at least a dozen Android phone manufacturers. Has any single one sold 1 billion phones?