[Grammar] It's been another big year for iPhone.

[kadioguy]

[From the Apple Event, October 13 2020]

Tim Cook: It's been another big year for iPhone. Ever since its launch, iPhone 11 has been the most popular smartphone in the world.

[Source] (from 13:18 to 13:28)
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Why is the present perfect used?

a. It's been another big year for iPhone.

b. It is another big year for iPhone. [my sentence]

What is the difference in meaning between them?

I assume that (a) means that iPhone 11 has been selling briskly since its launch until now, while (a) means that iPhone 11 is selling briskly for now.

A friend told me, "If the year is over or mostly over, ‘been’ makes more sense. You would really only see ‘is’ if the year is just starting or hasn't started yet and you're revealing the plans for the year."

I agree with him. However, I would also like to hear your opinions.

 

[slevlife]

Your friend is right, at least for these sentences.

Although your interpretation "selling briskly" is reasonable/correct, note that "big year" is closer in literal meaning to "eventful year." No words Tim Cook uses here have a literal connection to sales. He is choosing his words carefully. By using phrases like "big year" and "most popular smartphone in the world," he is communicating (clearly enough) that at every point since iPhone 11 was introduced, it has sold better than any other individual smartphone. But if he was more explicit, some people might argue with him on the details or it might not sound as impressive because it would be easier to understand that Android is selling better than iPhone overall.

 

[jutfrank]

Sentence (a) is a good example of the retrospective aspect of the present perfect. The speaker is looking back at the iPhone's sales performance over the past year.

 

[Tdol]

He doesn't say the iPhone, while most casual speakers would. Omitting the definite article is common in jargon- health professional may say WHO where ordinary speakers would say the WHO, etc.