Apple sold a record 74.8 million iPhones in the three months up to 26th December, helping the company to pocket profits of $18.4 billion - but it also forecast its first revenue drop in 13 years for the current quarter.

Apple posted record quarterly revenues of $75.9 billion, up from $74.6 billion the previous year, for its first fiscal quarter of 2016, which ended on Boxing Day 2015.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, reported "record sales of iPhone, Apple Watch and Apple TV", while revealing there were now more than one billion active Apple devices worldwide.

But despite once again revealing eye-watering sales figures and profits, Apple predicted Q2 2016 would likely see revenue and iPhone sales down year-on-year for the first time since the launch of the iconic smartphone.

Apple pointed to signs of "economic softness" in China, now the company's strongest market, despite record sales figures in that market in the run-up to Christmas.

iPhone sales hit a record 74.8 million units worldwide, effectively selling nearly 10 iPhones a second, every second, in the three months before Christmas. Despite being up year-on-year by around 300,000 units, the growth was slower than many analysts had predicted.

The number of iPads sold was down from 21.4m to 16.1m, a 25% year-on-year decline, despite the launch of the super-size iPad Pro.

Apple's "other products" category, which includes Apple TV and Apple Watch, saw sales up 62% year-on-year, with Tim Cook pointing to a strong december for the Watch in a conference call following the release of Apple's financial results. Individual sales figures aren't released for the Apple TV or Watch.

Tim Cook also confirmed Apple had hit 10 million paying subscribers for its Apple Music streaming service.

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