Apple’s (AAPL) most recent smartphone launch was its biggest ever by a wide margin. The company sold more than 5 million iPhone 5 handsets during its first three days of availability, and iPhone sales across all models in the iPhone 5′s debut quarter totalled 27 million units. Apple’s latest iPhone isn’t just a big deal to Apple fans, however — according to Mobile Future, a coalition of wireless companies and non-profit organizations, the iPhone 5 had a staggering impact on the U.S. economy in 2012.

Props to BGR [AlLindstrom]