The popularity of the iPhone has been proven once again, with Apple revealing that 8.7 million units were sold during the fourth quarter of 2009.
Data showed that this figure was double the Christmas 2008 number, falling just short of the Wall Street target of roughly nine million.
Apple was also boosted by sales of its Mac, with numbers rising 33 per cent from a year ago to 3.36 million units.
It meant that the firm saw a 50 per cent increase in profits, with net income rising to £2.08 billion in the three months to December 26th 2009.
Sales of the iPhone handset were boosted by its roll-out in China, while it has also been made available to customers in the UK on the Vodafone and Orange network.
“It was a very good quarter, as expected. It’s a continued sign that Apple has great products that consumers want despite this recession,” commented Daniel Ernst from Hudson Square Research.
Apple is expected to unveil its new Tablet product at a conference tomorrow, while there are also rumours that a new iPhone 4G is in development.