It used to take a year to sell 10 million iPhones. Apple just did it in a weekend.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone in 2007, he set an ambitious goal: 10 million iPhones sold in 2008, the first full year the phone would be available.

Pundits were skeptical. They pointed out that Apple had no experience selling phones, and that most phones being sold then were cheaper "feature phones," not smartphones. Apple did meet its goal, selling more than 13 million iPhones in calendar 2008.

Today, the iPhone is a much, much more popular product. How much more popular? Apple's new iPhone 6 line, which went on sale on Friday, has already sold 10 million units.

This was made possible by a bigger and more sophisticated Apple supply chain, which was able to pump out millions of units in time for the big launch. It was aided by millions of pre-orders, which allowed Apple to ship many phones directly to customers' houses. And fundamentally, it reflects the fact that tens of millions of customers love their iPhones.

Update: I originally reported that Apple sold 11 million iPhones in 2008, but this was the figure for Apple's fiscal year. I've updated the story to reflect calendar year 2008 sales of more than 13 million iPhones.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via