Apple is on the verge of selling its billionth iPhone, a rare achievement for any consumer electronics company and one that highlights the maturation of the smartphone market.
The milestone is likely to come, according to Wall Street analysts, as Apple reports its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, when a three-month total of 40m iPhones is expected to have been sold. That would take its overall tally of iPhone sales by the end of June to 987m.
With analysts expecting at least another 40m units to be sold in the present quarter, or 13m a month in aggregate, the billionth iPhone could be sold as soon as this week, if it has not happened already.