Apple shares up 6pc from healthy iPhone sales

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) third-quarter results have shown strong earnings, in what is traditionally the weakest period for the tech giant in terms of earnings.

Apple sold a total of 41 million iPhones were sold worldwide between April – June, usually the weakest quarter as people anticipate the release of the new model in September. The same quarter in 2016 was 11 percent less than this year.

Shares in Apple increased by over six percent in after-hours trading to new record highs.

The rise in sales was not limited to iPhones but was seen across the board. Service revenue, including app store sales, shot up by a healthy 22 percent. iPad and Mac computer sales also increased by 15 percent on last year.

“Revenue growth has strengthened, even in mature markets like North America.” said managing director of GlobalData Retail, Neil Saunders.

“Alongside this, margin improvements have helped to boost net income by almost 12 percent over the prior year.

“In our view, this is a very solid performance, especially so at this point in the cycle when consumers are awaiting the release of the next generation of product.”

The new smartphone, which is expected to be released in September, has been tipped to have higher-resolution OLED displays, better touchscreen technology and wireless charging.

Rumours have also been spread of infra red facial recognition technology.

“I can confirm reports that HomePod’s firmware reveals the existence of upcoming iPhone’s infra-red face unlock in BiometricKit and elsewhere,” said developer Steve Troughton-Smith in a tweet last week. 

Further investigating found that the tech giant may ditch the iconic home button and have a screen that fills up the entire face of the device, suggesting that Apple is following the steps of Samsung’s (KRX:005930) G8.

Apple’s shares increased by six percent in after hours trading and are currently stood at 150.05 (GMT0922).