Apple Forecasted to Sell Record-Breaking 240+ Million iPhones in 2021
Apple is on a trajectory to sell a record-breaking 240-250 million iPhones in the 2021 fiscal year, topping a previous record of 231 million iPhones sold in the 2015 fiscal year, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

"While the Street is forecasting roughly 220 million iPhone units for FY21, we believe based on this current trajectory and in a bull case Cupertino still has potential to sell north of 240 million units (~250 million could be in the cards - an eye popping figure) which would easily eclipse the previous Apple record of 231 million units sold in FY15," said Ives, in a research note shared with MacRumors today.
Ives estimates that 350 million iPhone users worldwide are currently "in the window of an upgrade opportunity," which he believes is "translating into an unprecedented supercycle upgrade cycle" for Apple this year.
If this forecast proves to be accurate, the iPhone 12 lineup could prove to be the most popular since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which saw strong demand following their September 2014 launch due to their larger screen sizes. Samsung already offered multiple smartphones with screen sizes at or beyond the 5-inch mark at the time.
Popular Stories
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. MacRumors is on hand for the event and we'll be sharing details and our thoughts throughout the day.
We're expecting to see a number of software-related announcements today, headlined by a reset on Apple's push into AI that should see a significant overhaul...
Apple today announced that macOS 27 is named macOS Golden Gate.
Much like Mac OS X Snow Leopard in 2009, Apple said it focused on improving macOS's performance and dozens of underlying technologies this year.
Apple says macOS Golden Gate offers quicker AirDrop transfers, faster network file browsing, improved syncing in the Messages app, better Spotlight search suggestions, and other...
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, but we did not hear many specific details about this functionality until now.
In a WWDC 2026 video aimed at developers, Apple said the CarPlay video feature is available in new vehicles that support it. When playing a video in an iPhone app...