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Apple says the iPhone had its “best-ever” quarter, with revenue hitting more than $85.3 billion over the past few months. The company announced the news as part of its Q1 2026 earnings report, which also revealed record-breaking revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16 percent when compared to the same time last year.
“The demand for iPhone was simply staggering, with revenue growing 23 percent year over year,” Apple CEO Tim Cook says during a call with investors. “This is the strongest iPhone lineup we’ve ever had, and by far the most popular.”
iPhone sales surged despite delays surrounding an AI-upgraded Siri, with the base iPhone 17 model offering many features previously exclusive to “Pro” level devices, including an always-on display and a screen with a higher refresh rate. Rumors that iPhone Air sales fell short of expectations didn’t seem to have a big impact, either.
The “high levels” of demand for the iPhone 17 have led to a “constrained” supply, according to Cook. He adds that the company is “seeing less flexibility in the supply chain” when it comes to the availability of the advanced process nodes that it uses to build the device’s chip. Meanwhile, Apple’s services revenue, which includes subscriptions like Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple TV, surged 14 percent year over year, while Mac and wearable revenue were down.
In the coming months, Apple will bring promised AI-powered personalization features to Siri. Apple is partnering with Google to power this upgrade, which will use a custom version of Google’s Gemini AI model.
The company is also acquiring an AI startup, called Q.ai, for $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. Though there aren’t any details on how Apple plans to use the startup’s technology, the Financial Times reports that Q.ai’s patents “show its technology being used in headphones or glasses, using ‘facial skin micro movements’ to communicate without talking.”
Rumors suggest that Apple has even bigger AI ambitions, as a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests the company plans on turning Siri into an AI chatbot built directly into its iPhone and Mac. Apple is also reportedly working on an AI-powered web search tool for Siri.
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