Apple achieves record quarterly iPhone sales even after initial challenges with artificial intelligence

Apple Achieves Record iPhone Sales Over Holiday Quarter

Apple experienced unprecedented iPhone sales during the holiday quarter, setting a new record even as the company faced challenges with its artificial intelligence technology. To address some of these AI shortcomings, Apple enlisted support from Google.

The results for October through December, released on Thursday, highlight the strong loyalty of Apple’s customer base. Consumers enthusiastically purchased the newest iPhone 17 models, despite the company not yet fulfilling its 2024 commitment to enhance Siri with advanced AI capabilities.

To compensate for its AI delays, Apple introduced a redesigned “liquid glass” look for the iPhone 17, along with a complimentary software update for older devices last September. This approach contributed to iPhone sales reaching $85.3 billion—a 23% jump compared to the same period last year—marking the highest quarterly iPhone revenue since the product’s launch in 2007.

Strong iPhone demand helped drive Apple’s quarterly profit to $42.1 billion, or $2.84 per share, representing a 16% year-over-year increase. Overall revenue also climbed 16% to $143.8 billion, surpassing Wall Street expectations on both earnings and sales.

Following the announcement, Apple’s stock price rose over 1% in after-hours trading. However, the shares remain slightly lower for the year and have not seen significant gains since the end of 2024.

Looking ahead, the Cupertino-based tech giant aims to build on this momentum by rolling out long-awaited AI enhancements, including a major upgrade to Siri designed to make the assistant more interactive and capable.

To achieve these improvements, Apple is partnering with Google’s Gemini 3 AI model, signaling a recognition of the need for outside expertise in this rapidly evolving field.

Despite lagging in AI innovation, Apple finished last year as the global leader in smartphone sales, capturing nearly 20% of the market and edging out Samsung, according to International Data Corp.