Apple revenue up 54 percent for start of 2021

Apple revenue was up 54 percent in the first three months of 2021 compared to the same time period last year, according to the earnings report the Silicon Valley giant released Wednesday.

Apple’s $89.8 billion revenue was boosted by the company’s product line-up, as work and school largely remained remote due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

“This quarter reflects both the enduring ways our products have helped our users meet this moment in their own lives, as well as the optimism consumers seem to feel about better days ahead for all of us,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said. 

“Apple is in a period of sweeping innovation across our product lineup, and we’re keeping focus on how we can help our teams and the communities where we work emerge from this pandemic into a better world.”

Apple hit a new record for its iPhones during the same time period, Cook said.

The phones continued to be the product that brought in the most revenue for Apple, bringing in $47.9 billion in revenue, a sharp increase from the $28.9 billion in iPhone revenue in the same time period last year. 

Revenue from Mac products, at $9.1 billion, iPads, at $7.8 billion, and “wearables, home and accessories,” at $7.8 billion, also increased compared to the same period last year. 

The strong earnings come a week after Apple unveiled a new line of products, including a new iPad Pro, redesigned iMacs in a range of colors, and new AirTags product. 

It also comes just days after the company launched its new iOS 14.5 operating system that included a highly anticipated anti-tracking feature. 

Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature requires apps gain users permission before tracking their data across other apps and websites. 

Cook touted the feature as giving users a choice over how their data is used. 

Facebook, which thrives off selling targeted ads, has criticized the feature and CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned investors at the start of the year it could impact Facebook’s business. 

Facebook also released its latest quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, reporting about $26.1 billion in total revenue, marking a 48 percent increase from the same period last year.