Apple has passed the milestone of 500 million iPhones sold, accoidng to Digital Spy.

The handset range took seven and a half years to reach the landmark figure, having released its first model back in 2007.

The Cupertino firm made no mention of the feat on its website, but analysts' estimates suggest that it will have reached the figure earlier this month.

Apple reported 472 million iPhone sales by the end of 2013, putting it on course to hit 500 million around March 8, according to Forbes.

Apple is known for celebrating milestones, having heavily publicised the 30th anniversary of the Apple Mac in January, as well as its 50 billionth app store download in May last year.

The company is believed to be hard at work on the iPhone 6, which is rumoured to feature a larger display, a Lytro-style camera and an array of environmental sensors.