With all the buzz and hyperbole surrounding the iPhone X launch one could be forgiven for overlooking the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, but, with the release of quarterly earnings Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) showed they are much more than stop-gap handsets.
Chief executive Tim Cook has told investors that the two iPhone models, which went on sale in September, had instantly become the company ‘top selling’ products at launch.
READ: Apple to "big up" iPhone X sales but slowdown in Chinese growth rate could be a concern
In ‘after hours’ on Thursday the iPhone maker released expectation-beating fourth quarter results with adjusted earnings per share reported at US$2.07, which was markedly better than market consensus of US$1.87.
Apple stock rose more than 3% in the after-hours trading, changing hands at around US$173 per share.
Revenue in the three months to September 30 was nearly US$2bn higher than expected, at US$52.6bn versus US$50.7bn, with around 700,000 more iPhones sold than the market had predicted (total iPhone unit sales amounted to 46.7mln).
Apple said it now expects revenue between US$84bn and US$87bn for the quarter to the end of December, the first of its new financial year.
READ: Apple reportedly fires engineer for allowing his daughter to film the iPhone X
Although the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have done better than investors expected, the release of the feature laden iPhone X is still likely to cast a substantial shadow.
Within hours of the quarterly results, newswires began filling up with the customary photos of long queues outside Apple stores in Australia, as consumers in Sydney were among the first to buy the US$1,000 handset over the counter.
iPhone X, the tenth anniversary model, became available for online pre-order last week, and in major markets - such as USA, UK, China, Australia, India and Japan - was launched in stores on the stroke of midnight.