How much money you'd have made buying Apple shares instead of a new iPhone every time one is released
Published on Jul 13, 2025 at 10:28 AM (UTC-4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Jul 13, 2025 at 10:28 AM (UTC-4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Buying Apple shares instead of a new iPhone every year could have potentially made you a fortune.
Apple products tend to retain their value in the second-hand market but it turns out that buying a brand-new iPhone every time a one is released is not a great business strategy.
By contrast, buying Apple stock could be a great idea.
We did the math, and the result is shocking.
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Apple shares vs Apple products then vs now
Since the iPhone’s 2007 debut, investors who kept buying Apple shares instead of a new iPhone every year have generally profited.
When the first Apple iPhone dropped in 2007 it cost $499.
Back then, the stock was only trading at $2.50, which means $499 worth of Apple stock back then would be worth around $42,000 today.
It is true that some first-gen iPhones sold for exorbitant sums at auction in recent times, but that’s the exception.
After the first iPhone, Apple stock kept trading sideways through the 2000s and the price remained relatively low and stable through the 2010s.
This means you could’ve had a similar result buying Apple stock every year until 2019, instead of buying the iPhone 4, 5, 6, 7 or even the iPhone X.
And this, bear in mind, doesn’t factor in inflation and dividends.
Even as recently as 2020, Apple stock was still trading way below $100.
This means you would’ve at least doubled your money if you’d bought stock rather than the iPhone 12 just a few years ago.
The bottom line is buying Apple shares instead of a new iPhone every year would’ve made you richer.
Spending the equivalent of the price of the base model iPhone every year since 2007 would’ve bought you around 1,070 shares, equivalent to around $250,000 today.
Not a bad deal.
Related
What’s going to happen next
No one ever knows for sure what the stock market does – if we knew, we’d all be millionaires – but some people have been criticizing Apple for lagging behind in the ‘AI war’.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is even considering resorting to third-party tech to power Siri, which is unusual for Apple because the Cupertino giant famously tries to keep everything in-house whenever and wherever it can.
The company has always maintained that it doesn’t care about being first when it comes to new tech – for example, it still doesn’t produce a foldable iPhone – but that may have been a risky move with AI considering how fast it’s progressing.
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Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
