Apple announced it sold 50.76 million iPhones in its fiscal second quarter that ended on April 1, down from 51.19 million units a year earlier.

The company argued that customers may have held back purchases in anticipation of the 10th-anniversary edition of the firm's most important product later this year.

The next iPhone edition is expected to feature wireless charging, 3D facial recognition and a curved display.

"There is a general softening in phone demand to contend with as well as expectations of a big upgrade," said James McQuivey, a Forrester Research analyst.

Unimpressed investors

Despite the drop in iPhone sales, Apple's second-quarter net income rose to $11.03 billion (10.09 billion euros), compared with $10.52 billion year on year.

Under pressure from shareholders to hand over more of its $250-billion-plus hoard of cash and investment, Apple boosted its capital return program by $35 billion and raised its quarterly dividend by 10.5 percent.

Investors appeared unmoved, sending the company's share price down by 1.9 percent at $144.65 in after-hours trading.

hg/jd (dpa, Reuters)