Apple iPhones Generate $150 Billion in Five Years

Computer giant Apple AAPL brought $150 billion in revenue over the past five years through the iPhone, announced market research firm Strategy Analytics on Wednesday. This week marked the fifth anniversary of the launch of the first iPhone. Apple has shipped 250 million iPhones worldwide in those five years. One might wonder if Steve Jobs would have been able to predict that his company would sell more handsets per day than there are babies born in the world. The iPhone 5, rumored to be due for release in the fall, would be the sixth iteration of the device. It would follow the original iPhone, the 3G, the 3GS, the iPhone 4 and 4S. A story by Benzinga writer Louis Bedigian on June 13 highlighted four images alleged to be the iPhone 5. Bedigian wrote that Apple's "next-generation smartphone is expected to feature a larger (possibly higher resolution) screen, along with a longer body and a thinner design. The images above seem to confirm most of these expectations." Last week, Bedigian wrote that an iPhone 5 tease released by Chinese manufacturer Foxconn is bad news for Samsung. Foxconn CEO Terry Gou reported as saying that the next iPhone "will put Samsung's Galaxy III to shame." However, CBS News reported Wednesday that the iPhone is no longer the top selling handset in Verizon Wireless VZ stores. CBS cited William Blair analyst Anil Doradla, who said in a note that the iPhone has slipped to no. 2, due to Verizon pushing the 4G LTE devices. "While we acknowledge the increased competitive landscape from 4G devices (and the iPhone 4S is not 4G), we are not worried [about] Apple conceding its top position in North America any time soon," Doradla wrote. "We believe the anticipated launch of a 4G device from Apple this fall will be an important catalyst for the company as consumers upgrade their phones, and we expect the company to once again maintain its top position at all operators (including Verizon Wireless)." On Wednesday, Apple was trading up roughly 0.1 percent for the session. Follow me @BCallwood.