From the TRS-80 to the iPhone: Comparing 40 years of device shipments

Mobile market research firm Asymco has published a few notable charts and graphs this week as part of a blog post analyzing Apple's products and performance ahead of its 40th anniversary this Friday.

While the post itself focuses on Apple's hardware business and its financial outlook, the various visualizations of personal computer market data peppered throughout the blog may be of interest to developers who make games for PC and mobile platforms.

For example, one chart compiled by Asymco (and excerpted below) of device shipments from 1977-2015 suggests that while shipments of Apple's iPhone may soon outstrip Windows PCs, Android phones are still far and away the top platform in terms of devices shipped worldwide.

And since Asymco's chart encompasses computer shipment data from as far back as the late '70s, you can also see how, say, the TRS-80 or the iPhone stacked up to something like the Commodore 64 or the Apple II.

Check out the full blog post for more visual breakdowns of sales and shipments, as well as more details on Asymco's methodology for creating them.