**Apple has reported a 50% increase in profits after seeing its most profitable quarter ever over the Christmas period.**Net income rose to $3.38bn (£2.08bn) in the first-quarter, compared with the $2.26bn it made a year ago.
Sales rose to $15.7bn. Apple said it sold 8.7 million iPhones and 3.36 million Macs in the quarter.
On Wednesday, the firm will announce a new product, widely expected to be a touch-screen “tablet” computer.
The company has previously used January launches to unveil products including the iPhone and the MacBook Air.
Apple shares rose 2.6% to $202.87 in New York before the results came out.