Apple profits soared by a fifth as its flagship iPhone X hit stores in Asia Friday, with the company predicting bumper sales despite its eye-watering price tag.

Net profit rose 19 per cent from a year ago to $10.7 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter to September 30, Apple said. Revenues were up 12 per cent to $52.6 billion.

Release of the earnings figures pushed Apple shares up more than three per cent to $173.20 and came as iPhone X models began hitting the market in some time zones.

The flagship handset features facial recognition, cordless charging and an edge-to-edge screen made of organic light-emitting diodes used in high-end televisions.

It marks the 10th anniversary of the first iPhone release and hits about 50 markets around the world on Friday.&nbsp;

In Hong Kong, buyers who had pre-ordered the phone online queued to pick up their new purchases, saying they were willing to pay for what they saw as a landmark model.

&quot;It&rsquo;s the 10th anniversary phone - anyway, other phones like the Samsung are not much less,&quot; said banker Tony Yeung, 35, as he queued outside the Apple store in Hong Kong&rsquo;s Festival Walk mall.&nbsp;

&quot;It&rsquo;s convenient. You can unlock the phone just by holding it up to your face in bed after you wake up,&quot; Yeung added.

He said he had bought two of the 64 GB version, costing HK$8,588 ($1,100), one for himself and one for his wife. The 256 GB model costs HK$9,888.&nbsp;

Student Keith Li said all his friends were changing to the new phone and had set aside money for it. Li, 22, had traded in his old phone to help him meet the cost.&nbsp;

Inside the Hong Kong store, those still considering whether to buy were trying out facial recognition after concerns it may compromise the security of the phone.

Nam So, 36, said he was happy to use it, preferring it to touch ID, which opens the phone at the touch of a finger.

&quot;If your thumb is sweaty then it won&rsquo;t unlock. Face ID would solve this problem,&quot; he told AFP. Around 300 customers waited overnight outside Singapore&rsquo;s Apple store, the first shop in Southeast Asia to sell the new model.

Supakorn Rieksiri and Kittiwat Wang, both 22, said they had flown in from Bangkok on Thursday to pick up pre-orders of two phones each.&nbsp;

&quot;With all the different features like facial recognition and the bigger screen, it`s all quite worth it,&quot; said Rieksiri, adding that the second handset was a gift for his mother.&nbsp;

Apple is setting an ambitious goal for itself to reinvent the smartphone as it strives to fend off fierce competition from rivals, especially in China.

The iPhone is its main profit driver, accounting for more than half its revenues.

Apple closed out its fiscal year posting a full-year profit of $48.35 billion, up 5.8 per cent, on revenues of $229 billion, a rise of 6.3 per cent from the previous year.

In the latest quarter the firm was able to reverse its fortunes in China, boosting overall sales by 12 per cent in the &quot;Greater China&quot; region. Sales were up in other regions except for Japan, which saw an 11 per cent revenue drop.

Smartphone sales climbed by about a million units to 46.7 million in the three months winding up the California company&rsquo;s fiscal year, according to the earnings report.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook called it a &quot;very strong finish&quot; to 2017.

Apple profits soared by a fifth as its flagship iPhone X hit stores in Asia Friday, with the company predicting bumper sales despite its eye-watering price tag.

Apple profits soared by a fifth as its flagship iPhone X hit stores in Asia Friday, with the company predicting bumper sales despite its eye-watering price tag. Net profit rose 19 per cent from a year ago to $10.7 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter to September 30, Apple said. Revenues were up 12 per cent to $52.6 billion. Release of the earnings figures pushed Apple shares up more than three per cent to $173.20 and came as iPhone X models began hitting the market in some time zones. The flagship handset features facial recognition, cordless charging and an edge-to-edge screen made of organic light-emitting diodes used in high-end televisions. It marks the 10th anniversary of the first iPhone release and hits about 50 markets around the world on Friday. In Hong Kong, buyers who had pre-ordered the phone online queued to pick up their new purchases, saying they were willing to pay for what they saw as a landmark model. "It’s the 10th anniversary phone - anyway, other phones like the Samsung are not much less," said banker Tony Yeung, 35, as he queued outside the Apple store in Hong Kong’s Festival Walk mall. "It’s convenient. You can unlock the phone just by holding it up to your face in bed after you wake up," Yeung added. He said he had bought two of the 64 GB version, costing HK$8,588 ($1,100), one for himself and one for his wife. The 256 GB model costs HK$9,888. Student Keith Li said all his friends were changing to the new phone and had set aside money for it. Li, 22, had traded in his old phone to help him meet the cost. Inside the Hong Kong store, those still considering whether to buy were trying out facial recognition after concerns it may compromise the security of the phone. Nam So, 36, said he was happy to use it, preferring it to touch ID, which opens the phone at the touch of a finger. "If your thumb is sweaty then it won’t unlock. Face ID would solve this problem," he told AFP. Around 300 customers waited overnight outside Singapore’s Apple store, the first shop in Southeast Asia to sell the new model. Supakorn Rieksiri and Kittiwat Wang, both 22, said they had flown in from Bangkok on Thursday to pick up pre-orders of two phones each. "With all the different features like facial recognition and the bigger screen, it`s all quite worth it," said Rieksiri, adding that the second handset was a gift for his mother. Apple is setting an ambitious goal for itself to reinvent the smartphone as it strives to fend off fierce competition from rivals, especially in China. The iPhone is its main profit driver, accounting for more than half its revenues. Apple closed out its fiscal year posting a full-year profit of $48.35 billion, up 5.8 per cent, on revenues of $229 billion, a rise of 6.3 per cent from the previous year. In the latest quarter the firm was able to reverse its fortunes in China, boosting overall sales by 12 per cent in the "Greater China" region. Sales were up in other regions except for Japan, which saw an 11 per cent revenue drop. Smartphone sales climbed by about a million units to 46.7 million in the three months winding up the California company’s fiscal year, according to the earnings report. Apple chief executive Tim Cook called it a "very strong finish" to 2017.

Apple's iPhone X hits Asia stores as profits soar

Apple iPhone turns 10 this week, evoking memories of a rocky start for the device that ended up doing most to start the smartphone revolution and stirring interest in where it will go from here.

Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones since June 29, 2007, but the first iPhone which was launched without an App Store and was restricted to the AT&amp;T was limited compared to today&#39;s version.

After sluggish initial sales, Apple slashed the price to spur holiday sales that year.

&quot;The business model for year one of the iPhone was a disaster,&quot; Tony Fadell, one of the Apple developers of the device said. &quot;We pivoted and figured it out in year two.&quot;

The very concept of the iPhone came as a surprise to some of Apple&#39;s suppliers a decade ago, even though Apple, led by CEO Steve Jobs, had already expanded beyond computers with the iPod.

&quot;We still have the voicemail from Steve Jobs when he called the CEO and founder here,&quot; said David Bairstow at Skyhook, the company that supplied location technology to early iPhones. &quot;He thought he was being pranked by someone in the office and it took him two days to call Steve Jobs back.&quot;

The iPhone hit its stride in 2008 when Apple introduced the App Store, which allowed developers to make and distribute their mobile applications with Apple taking a cut of any revenue.

Ten years later, services revenue is a crucial area of growth for Apple, bringing in $24.3 billion in revenue last year.

New model

Fans and investors are now looking forward to the 10th anniversary iPhone 8, expected this fall, asking whether it will deliver enough new features to spark a new generation to turn to Apple.

That new phone may have 3-D mapping sensors, support for &quot;augmented reality&quot; apps that would merge virtual and real worlds, and a new display with organic LEDs, which are light and flexible, according to analysts at Bernstein Research.

A decade after launching into a market largely occupied by BlackBerry and Microsoft devices, the iPhone now competes chiefly with phones running Google&#39;s Android software, which is distributed to Samsung Electronics and other manufacturers around the world.

Even though most of the world&#39;s smartphones now run on Android, Apple still garners most of the profit in the industry with its generally higher-priced devices.

More than 2 billion people now have smartphones, according to data from eMarketer, and Fadell, who has worked for both Apple and Alphabet, sees that as the hallmark of success.

&quot;Being able to democratise computing and communication across the entire world is absolutely astounding to me,&quot; Fadell said. &quot;It warms my heart because that&#39;s something Steve tried to do with the Apple II and the Mac, which was the computer for the rest of us. It&#39;s finally here, 30 years later.&quot;

Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones since June 29, 2007, but the first iPhone was restricted to the AT&T and was limited compared to today's version

Apple iPhone turns 10 this week, evoking memories of a rocky start for the device that ended up doing most to start the smartphone revolution and stirring interest in where it will go from here. Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones since June 29, 2007, but the first iPhone which was launched without an App Store and was restricted to the AT&T was limited compared to today's version. After sluggish initial sales, Apple slashed the price to spur holiday sales that year. "The business model for year one of the iPhone was a disaster," Tony Fadell, one of the Apple developers of the device said. "We pivoted and figured it out in year two." The very concept of the iPhone came as a surprise to some of Apple's suppliers a decade ago, even though Apple, led by CEO Steve Jobs, had already expanded beyond computers with the iPod. "We still have the voicemail from Steve Jobs when he called the CEO and founder here," said David Bairstow at Skyhook, the company that supplied location technology to early iPhones. "He thought he was being pranked by someone in the office and it took him two days to call Steve Jobs back." The iPhone hit its stride in 2008 when Apple introduced the App Store, which allowed developers to make and distribute their mobile applications with Apple taking a cut of any revenue. Ten years later, services revenue is a crucial area of growth for Apple, bringing in $24.3 billion in revenue last year. New model Fans and investors are now looking forward to the 10th anniversary iPhone 8, expected this fall, asking whether it will deliver enough new features to spark a new generation to turn to Apple. That new phone may have 3-D mapping sensors, support for "augmented reality" apps that would merge virtual and real worlds, and a new display with organic LEDs, which are light and flexible, according to analysts at Bernstein Research. A decade after launching into a market largely occupied by BlackBerry and Microsoft devices, the iPhone now competes chiefly with phones running Google's Android software, which is distributed to Samsung Electronics and other manufacturers around the world. Even though most of the world's smartphones now run on Android, Apple still garners most of the profit in the industry with its generally higher-priced devices. More than 2 billion people now have smartphones, according to data from eMarketer, and Fadell, who has worked for both Apple and Alphabet, sees that as the hallmark of success. "Being able to democratise computing and communication across the entire world is absolutely astounding to me," Fadell said. "It warms my heart because that's something Steve tried to do with the Apple II and the Mac, which was the computer for the rest of us. It's finally here, 30 years later."

10 years of Apple iPhone: Bumpy start forgotten

10-years-of-iphone

10 Years Of Iphone, News on 10 Years Of Iphone, stories on 10 Years Of Iphone, articles on 10 Years Of Iphone, 10 Years Of Iphone stories at Wion, 10 Years Of Iphone news, 10 Years Of Iphone latest news

10 years-of-iphone

Apple's iPhone X hits Asia stores as profits soar

10 years of Apple iPhone: Bumpy start forgotten