The iPhone just had its best quarter ever

Apple had a great first quarter, although iPhone sales were the standout. The company reports that its flagship device had its best quarter on record, driven in part by a surge in sales in regions like China and India.

“The iPhone had its best quarter ever driven by unprecedented demand, with record highs across all geographic segments,” CEO Tim Cook said during the company’s earnings conference call Thursday. Apple income report shows the company sold $85 billion worth of iPhones in its first quarter, up from $69 billion in the same period last year.

During the question-and-answer portion of the call, Cook revealed that China has seen a huge increase in sales. “That’s because of iPhone, where we set an all-time revenue record,” Cook said, noting that it was “the best iPhone quarter ever in Greater China.” Cook said the increase in sales was due to enthusiasm for the iPhone 17, which was announced in September. The new model turned out significantly more popular than the company’s previous iPhone.

Apple’s earnings report shows that its overall sales in the Greater China region increased from $18.5 billion in last year’s quarter to $25.5 billion. Cook noted that, overall, the company is doing quite well in the region. “I would tell you that during the quarter, traffic in our stores in China was up double digits year over year,” he said.

Cook also pointed out that India was another region where iPhones – along with other products – seemed to be disappearing from shelves. “We set a quarterly revenue record in the December quarter,” Cook said, noting that records were set for “iPhone, Mac and iPad.” [sales] and an unprecedented revenue record on services. Cook called it a “tremendous quarter” in a country that he said is “the second largest smartphone market in the world and the fourth largest PC market.”

iPhone aside, Apple’s overall sales jumped across all geographies, its earnings report showed. In the Americas, for example, sales increased from $52.6 billion a year ago to $58.5 billion, while in Europe they increased from $33.8 billion to $38.1 billion.