Apple CEO Tim Cook called his company’s recent iPhone sales surge “simply staggering” on Thursday. What was behind the iPhone 17 family’s successful debut? Analysts have a few theories.
The company topped Wall Street’s expectations in the most recent quarter, posting $143.76 billion in total revenue for the period that included a 23% year-over-year bump in sales of its signature smartphone. “It was a fantastic quarter for iPhone with an all-time revenue record of $85.3 billion,” Cook said on the call. “This is the strongest iPhone lineup we’ve ever had and, by far, the most popular. Throughout the quarter, customer enthusiasm for iPhone was simply extraordinary.”
Apple’s strong results don’t necessarily mean that customers are done holding onto their older smartphones for years at a time, a trend enabled by the tech’s increasing durability. Nearly half of U.S. iPhone users now hold onto their smartphones for three years or longer, according to a September report by CIRP, which tracks data on iPhone buyers through customer surveys. That number was 24% just five years ago, notes analyst Josh Lowitz, a partner and co-founder at Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
Rather, the increased iPhone revenue at the end of 2025 likely stems from factors like Apple’s updated pricing strategies and backlogged demand from the many customers who last bought new iPhones during the Covid-19 pandemic, Lowitz says.
