iPhone sales statistics

How has iPhone popularity changed in the UK?

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By

Matthew Boyle

Updated

Fact checked

We’ve looked into Apple’s most valuable product, the iPhone, to see how much the latest models cost and how many people in the UK own one of these smartphones. Since Apple does not publish its sales figures for the UK, we’ve looked into the price of each iPhone sold each year in the UK using readily available data on smartphone penetration rates. This type of insight is useful for those considering buying shares in Apple.

  • In 2022, iOS holds 42% of the total UK smartphone market share.
  • In 2022, there are more than 1.2 billion active iPhones worldwide.
  • To purchase an iPhone 14 (£849), a typical Brit needs to spend almost 3% of their yearly salary.
  • It would take 73 hours of work to afford the latest iPhone 14 Pro Max.
  • ASDA Rewards was the most downloaded app in September 2022, with over 1.6 million downloads in the UK.
  • The iPhone 7 is the most popular model with 45% of UK consumers approving of this product.
  • According to our estimated data, there were an average of 19,452 iPhones sold per day in 2019.
  • In total, 52.5 million iPhones were sold between 2011 and 2019.

    How much does the iPhone 14 cost?

    The iPhone 14, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max were all released on 16 September 2022. The iPhone 14 Plus was released on 7 October 2022.

    To purchase an iPhone 14 (£849), a typical Brit needs to spend almost 3% of their yearly net salary (£26,871). The price of the iPhone 14 base model is 9% more expensive compared to iPhone 13, which was launched last year in September 2021.

    Does iPhone or Android have the largest market share in the UK?

    Since 2012, iOS and Android phones have dominated the UK smartphone market, with Android winning the battle for the largest market share. In 2022, Android phones hold 58% of the entire UK smartphone market, whereas iOS covers 42%. No other smartphone holds a percentage point of the UK smartphone market in 2022.

    Smartphone company 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
    Android 49.30% 56.20% 58.40% 51.10% 52.60% 55.50% 57.80% 64.20% 56.50% 52.40% 58.30%
    Blackberry 15.70% 5.80% 2.60% 0.70% 0.20% 0.10% 0.10% 0% 0 0.00% 0%
    IOS 29.30% 30.60% 28.50% 40.10% 38.60% 42.40% 41.90% 35.60% 43.40% 47.60% 41.70%
    Windows 2.40% 6.20% 10% 7.40% 8.60% 1.60% 0.10% 0.30% 0.10% 0% 0%
    Other 3.30% 1.20% 0.50% 0.30% 0.00% 0.20% 0.10% 0% 0 0% 0%

    How has Apple’s market share changed?

    Apple’s market share has increased since 2012 when it held 29% of the UK smartphone market. Since then, it has risen 13%, standing at 42% of the market share in 2022. However, Apple’s market share has dropped 6% in the past year. It stood at 48% in 2021. This may be a result of the cost of living crisis and Apple’s competitors releasing cheaper phones. For example, Google recently released the Google Pixel Pro 7, with prices starting at £599–£250 cheaper than the iPhone 14.

    Year IOS market share
    2012 29.30%
    2013 30.60%
    2014 28.50%
    2015 40.10%
    2016 38.60%
    2017 42.40%
    2018 41.90%
    2019 35.60%
    2020 43.40%
    2021 47.60%
    2022 41.70%

    The iPhone 7 is the UK’s most popular iPhone model in 2022, with 45% of adults approving of this product, even though it was released in 2016. The least popular iPhone is the XR model, where only 34% of adults approve of this model, which was released in October 2018.

    iPhone model Popularity
    iPhone 7 45%
    iPhone 12 44%
    iPhone XS 44%
    iPhone SE 40%
    iPhone 8 38%
    iPhone X 37%
    iPhone 6S 37%
    Iphone XR 34%
    iPhone 12 Pro 43%
    iPhone 8 Plus 37%
    iPhone 6s Plus 35%
    iPhone 6 Plus 35%
    iPhone 7 Plus 34%
    iPhone 12 Pro Max 37%

    How many people globally own an iPhone?

    There has been continuous growth in the number of people using an iPhone. In 2002, it was 11 million, and in 2021, it crossed the 1 billion mark. There are more than 1.2 billion active iPhones worldwide.

    Year Number of active iPhone users worldwide
    2008 11 million
    2009 28 million
    2010 60 million
    2011 115 million
    2012 206 million
    2013 329 million
    2014 442 million
    2015 569 million
    2016 710 million
    2017 814 million
    2018 888 million
    2019 948 million
    2020 1000 million
    2021 1200 million

    How much does an iPhone cost and how long would it take to afford one?

    Using the average hourly wage in the UK, we have worked out how many hours would need to be worked in order to afford the latest iPhone.

    The latest iPhone 14 on average would take 52 hours of work to afford – just over 6 working days. The iPhone 14 Plus will cost 58 hours of your work time (7 working days), with the iPhone 14 Pro taking slightly longer at 67 hours (8 working days). The iPhone Pro Max would require 73 hours of work (9 days).

    The iPhone 7, which is the most popular iPhone in 2022, would have taken 43 hours to afford (5 days) at the time of its release in 2016.

    Model Release date UK price at release (GBP) US price at release (USD) Affordability of iPhone (hours needed to work on median UK hourly rate at launch to afford iPhone) Average hourly pay in UK of release year
    iPhone 14 Pro Max 16/09/2022 £1,199.00 $1,099 73.2 £16.37
    iPhone 14 Pro 16/09/2022 £1,099.00 $999 67.1 £16.37
    iPhone 14 Plus 07/10/2022 £949.00 $899 58.0 £16.37
    iPhone 14 16/09/2022 £849.00 $799 51.9 £16.37
    iPhone SE (3rd Gen) 18/03/2022 £419.00 $429 25.6 £16.37
    iPhone 13 Pro Max 24/09/2021 £1,149.00 $1,199 73.4 £15.65
    iPhone 13 pro 24/09/2021 £949.00 $999 60.6 £15.65
    iPhone 13 mini 24/09/2021 £679.00 $699 43.4 £15.65
    iPhone 13 24/09/2021 £749.00 $799 47.9 £15.65
    iPhone 12 Pro Max 23/10/2020 £1,099.00 $1,099 72.5 £15.15
    iPhone 12 Pro 23/10/2020 £999.00 $999 65.9 £15.15
    iPhone 12 23/10/2020 £799.00 $799 52.7 £15.15
    iPhone 12 Mini 23/10/2020 £699.00 $699 46.1 £15.15
    iPhone 11 Pro Max 20/09/2019 £1,149.00 $1,099 77.1 £14.90
    iPhone 11 Pro 20/09/2019 £1,049.00 $999 70.4 £14.90
    iPhone 11 20/09/2019 £729.00 $699 48.9 £14.90
    iPhone XR 26/10/2018 £749.00 $749 52.1 £14.37
    iPhone XS Max 21/09/2018 £1,099.00 $1,099 76.5 £14.37
    iPhone XS 21/09/2018 £999.00 $999 69.5 £14.37
    iPhone X 03/11/2017 £999.00 $999 71.4 £14.00
    iPhone 8 Plus 22/09/2017 £799.00 $799 57.1 £14.00
    iPhone 8 22/09/2017 £699.00 $699 49.9 £14.00
    iPhone SE 31/03/2016 £359.00 $399 26.3 £13.66
    iPhone 7 Plus 16/09/2016 £719.00 $769 52.6 £13.66
    iPhone 7 16/09/2016 £599.00 $649 43.9 £13.66
    iPhone 6s Plus 25/09/2015 £619.00 $749 46.4 £13.35
    iPhone 6s 25/09/2015 £539.00 $649 40.4 £13.35
    iPhone 6 Plus 19/09/2014 £619.00 $749 47.0 £13.16
    iPhone 6 19/09/2014 £539.00 $649 41.0 £13.16
    iPhone 5s 20/09/2013 £549.00 $649 41.8 £13.13
    iPhone 5c 20/09/2013 £469.00 $549 35.7 £13.13
    iPhone 5 21/09/2012 £529.00 $649 41.2 £12.83
    iPhone 4s 14/10/2011 £499.00 $649 39.3 £12.71

    The most downloaded apps on the UK Apple App store in 2022

    In September 2022, the ASDA rewards app was the most downloaded Apple app, with over 1.66 million downloads. The Tesco Clubcard is also in the top 10 with over 252,000 downloads. This points to consumers downloading apps to help with the current cost of living crisis.

    BeReal was the second with 794,000 downloads. Vinted (631,000), WhatsApp (373,000) and TikTok (370,000) follow as the top 5 most downloaded apps in September 2022.

    X-Hero (364,00), Tesco Clubcard (252,000), Disney+ (203,000), Impulse – Brain training (196,000) and Amazon (180,000) make up the top 10 downloaded IOS apps in the UK for September 2022.

    Most downloaded Apple app store app in September 2022 Downloads
    Asda Rewards 1,660,444
    BeReal 794,394
    Vinted 631,113
    WhatsApp Messenger 373,239
    TikTok 370,613
    X-HERO 363,743
    Tesco Clubcard 252,242
    Disney+ 203,647
    Impulse - Brain Training Games 196,418
    Amazon 180,654

    How many iPhones have been sold each year?

    iPhone sales were steadily increasing from 2011 to 2017, though sales slowed down in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, 7.1 million iPhones were sold, 300,000 fewer than in 2018 and 400,000 fewer than in 2017. Throughout this 8-year time frame, from 2011 to 2019, more than 52 million iPhones have been bought.

    Year Number of iPhones bought
    2011 3,200,000
    2012 3,800,000
    2013 4,500,000
    2014 5,300,000
    2015 6,400,000
    2016 7,300,000
    2017 7,500,000
    2018 7,400,000
    2019 7,100,000

    Total spend on iPhones from 2011 to 2019

    Despite the number of iPhones purchased decreasing from 2017, the estimated total spend has remained constant at around £6.3 billion each year (2017–2019). This can be attributed to the fact that the new iPhones are more expensive than in previous years. The average iPhone cost £949 in 2018 and £975 in 2019, compared to £830 in 2017. In total, over £35 billion has been spent on iPhones in the UK from 2011 to 2019.

    Year Amount spent on iPhones
    2011 1,596,800,000
    2012 2,010,200,000
    2013 2,290,500,000
    2014 3,068,700,000
    2015 3,705,600,000
    2016 4,080,700,000
    2017 6,323,200,000
    2018 6,263,400,000
    2019 6,337,500,000

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