SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 2 (AP): Apple emerged from a recent decline in iPhone sales during its summer quarter, an early sign that its recent efforts to revive demand for its flagship product with an infusion of artificial intelligence are bearing fruit.

iPhone sales totaled $46.22 billion for the July-September period, an increase of 6% from the same period last year, according to Apple’s fourth-quarter financial report released THURSDAY. The improvement reversed two consecutive year-over-year declines in quarterly iPhone sales.

The iPhone boost helped Apple generate total quarterly revenue and profit that beat the projections of analysts who influence investors, excluding a one-time $10.2 billion charge. dollars to account for a recent European Union court ruling that saddled the Cupertino, Calif., company with a huge bill. for tax arrears.

Apple earned $14.74 billion, or 97 cents per share, down 36% from the same period last year. Without the one-time tax, Apple said it would have earned $1.64 per share, beating the $1.60 per share predicted by analysts, according to FactSet Research. Revenue rose 6% from last year to $94.93 billion, about $400 million more than analysts expected.

But investors were clearly hoping for an even better quarter and seemed disappointed by an Apple forecast that implied its revenue for the October-December quarter covering the Christmas shopping season might not grow as strongly as analysts had predicted. considered. Apple’s stock price lost about 2% in Thursday’s extended session, leaving shares hovering around $221, well below their high of around $237 reached in mid-October.

The latest quarterly results reflect the first few days when consumers were able to purchase a new iPhone 16 lineup featuring four different models designed to handle a variety of AI wizardry that the company markets as “Apple Intelligence.” . The branding is part of Apple’s efforts to distinguish its approach to AI from rivals such as Samsung and Google, which have gotten a head start in bringing the technology to smartphones.

Even though the iPhone 16 was designed specifically for AI, the technology only became available when Apple released a free software update earlier this week that enabled its first batch of tech tricks, including a feature designed to make its virtual assistant Siri smarter. , more versatile and more colorful. And these improvements are only available in the United States for now.

“This is just the beginning of what we think generative AI can do,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts on a conference call Thursday.

Cook said he plans to expand the iPhone’s AI features to more countries in December, as well as rolling out other software updates that will inject even more technology into the iPhone 16 and two High-end iPhone 15 models also come equipped with the special computer chips needed for the nifty new features. The December expansion will include an option to connect to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to take advantage of technology that Apple doesn’t make itself. More languages

Investors are betting that as Apple’s AI becomes more widely available, it will prompt the hundreds of millions of consumers who use older iPhones to upgrade to newer models in order to get their hands on the latest technology.

“We think this is a compelling reason to upgrade,” Cook said. But Investing.com analyst Thomas Monteiro believes iPhone sales would already accelerate at a faster rate if consumers were blown away by Apple’s AI technology, increasing pressure on the “company” so that it does an overall better job of impressing the public.