Apple reported Tuesday afternoon a $6.9 billion profit on $35.3 billion revenue to close out their third fiscal quarter, beating sales from this time last year, TheWeek.com reported.
The revenue was just over what the Wall Street Journal's expectation of $35.18 billion. Apple met and exceeded sales from one year ago despite a dip in iPad Mac computer sales. The iPhone sold 31 million units this quarter, down from last quarter's 37.4 million, but overshooting analysts' prediction of 26 million.
Even with Google and Samsung making big strides in the smartphone market and Apple experiencing delays in the production of its next cell phone, the iPhone 5 is still carrying the tech giant.
The Journal's Ian Sherr suggested ways for Apple to keep the iPhone relevant in an article published Tuesday.
"If Apple signs a deal with China Mobile, which has a subscriber base about twice the size of the U.S. population, it effectively will begin printing money again," Sherr writes. "Short of that, any insight on how well the Chinese are responding to Apple's products is a plus."
Apple has not released a new product line since 2010 and reportedly is working to change that soon.
"We are on track to have a very busy fall," Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said on a conference call following the sales announcement.
CEO Tim Cook was much more vague and conveyed a cautious approach to launching a new product.
"We start with the product, because we believe that the most important thing is that our customers love the product and want them," Cook said. "If you don't start at that level, you can wind up creating things that people don't want."
Rumors are swirling that Apple is in the process of developing a smart-watch called the iWatch and an iTV. The iWatch is imagined to act as a Bluetooth compliment to Apple's mobile devices, similar to the functions of smart-watches already on the market.
For now, the iPhone 5 - and whatever the new model supposedly to be released later this year - will have to carry Apple's sales.
"This is a tired product, it's been out three quarters. That says something," Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, told the Journal of the iPhone 5. "What it comes down to is people spend a ton of time on their phone, and they're willing to spend a little more for the quality."
