As people continue to work and learn from their homes, Apple's Mac and iPad sales during the holiday quarter have seen ongoing growth, with Apple reaching a new all-time quarterly revenue record for the Mac category thanks to 21 percent year-over-year growth.
During the first fiscal quarter of 2021 (fourth calendar quarter of 2020), Apple's Mac category brought in $8.7 billion, up from $7.2 billion in the year-ago quarter and up from the previous $7.4 billion quarterly record set in the first quarter of 2019. According to Apple CFO Luca Maestri, growth was driven by the new M1 Macs, which includes the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini.
Apple's iPad category earned $8.4 billion, up from $6 billion in the year-ago quarter, marking growth of 41 percent. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, iPad and Mac sales were constrained during the quarter, which may have held back sales.
Apple's iPad and Mac sales are expected to continue to see strong growth with multiple refreshes in the works. There are updated iPads that are rumored to be coming in the spring, and Apple has some major updates coming for the iMac and the MacBook Pro that could see sales accelerate.
New iMac models are expected to see a major redesign with slimmer bezels and a look that's similar to the Pro Display XDR, while future MacBook models will have slimmer bezels, more ports, MagSafe charging capabilities, and no Touch Bar. All new Mac models coming this year are expected to feature faster Apple silicon chips.
Apple's growing iPad and Mac sales along with strong iPhone sales resulted in a record breaking quarter, with Apple earning $28.8 billion profit on $111.4 billion revenue.
