Apple saw strong sales growth in the quarter ended December, in part thanks to a comeback in China, where it has recently struggled to compete against domestic competitors such as Huawei, the company said.

Demand for the new iPhone 17 range helped Apple reach its first quarter of more than $25 billion (£18bn) in sales for the greater China region since the end of 2021.

Sales for greater China grew 38 percent year-on-year to $25.5bn, above analysts’ estimates and far higher than total sales growth.

Apple neared its record fourth-quarter sales for the region of $25.8bn in 2021, with chief executive Tim Cook attributing the growth to upgrades from existing customers.

Those switching from other platforms also grew by double digits, he said.

Apple also saw a December quarter record for iPhone, iPad and Mac sales and an all-time high for services.

Apple’s stock price was largely flat in after-hours trading, reflecting investors’ caution over the company’s longer-term prospects.

Apple announced an ambitious AI strategy in 2024, but has largely failed to deliver on it, with an upgraded version of Siri yet to appear.

Earlier this month Apple said it would use Google technology to power the product, as it continues to try to develop an in-house AI model to drive improved Siri features.