Apple's profits for the second quarter of 2010, largely due to sales of the iPad and iPhone, have surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The US technology company said revenues jumped 61 per cent to $15.7bn in the current quarter, while profits rose 78 per cent to $3.25bn.

It had been a "phenomenal" quarter that "exceeded our expectations all around", said chief executive Steve Jobs.

The sale of iPhones hit 8.4 million, up 61 per cent from last year, even though Apple stopped shipping more of the previous-generation handheld devices after it announced the updated iPhone 4 model in early June.

The iPhone 4 was the most successful product launch in Apple's history, said Jobs. Although its release coincided with only the last three days of the quarter, 1.7 million iPhone 4 units were sold.