Apple reveals a BILLION iPhones are ‘active’ around world for first time ever

APPLE says more than a BILLION iPhones are now “active” around the world.

The gadget giant passed the 900million mark in January 2019 – but has now soared beyond an even bigger milestone.

Apple actually sold its billionth iPhone back in 2016.

But “active” iPhones means ones that are currently in use.

A device is only counted as “active” if it’s interacted with an Apple service – like the App Store – in the past three months.

Apple says that 1.65billion Apple devices are currently active globally, most of which are iPhones.

It’s currently estimated that Apple has sold somewhere in the region of 2billion iPhones.

So official figures suggest that a bulk of iPhones ever sold are still being used.

Apple’s final quarter of 2020 was its most profitable ever.

The firm generated a staggering $111.4billion in sales – a record.

Apple chief Tim Cook said that the firm “could not be more optimistic”.

Much of the success is directly linked to iPhones, which accounted for $65billion in sales.

Part of Apple’s success is likely linked to the fact 2020 marked an iPhone “super cycle”.

The latest quartet of iPhones all supported super-fast 5G internet, which almost certainly drove upgrades – and new buyers to boot.

Apple also redesigned the iPhone with a new look, and doubled down on cheaper offerings in 2020 – including a bargain revamp of the iPhone SE.

Here are some of the best…

Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen (or swipe left to right on an iPhone X or later model), then tap in the bar and type a currency (like $200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
Check if you’re due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you’re down to 80% capacity. If you’re below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier