Apple has just announced its most recent quarter earnings. In what is Q2 for everyone else, Apple likes to “think different” and call it Q3. So, we’ll oblige, and refer to it as the third quarter of 2012 (despite it being the second).

Now that’s out of the way, here’s the tasty stuff: Apple has sold an absolute ton of iDevices. The company sold 26 million iPhones, 17 million iPads, 6.8 million iPods (how?) and 4 million Macs.

We’re thrilled with record sales of 17 million iPads in the June quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve also just updated the entire MacBook line, will release Mountain Lion tomorrow and will be launching iOS 6 this Fall. We are also really looking forward to the amazing new products we’ve got in the pipeline.

We’re continuing to invest in the growth of our business and are pleased to be declaring a dividend of $2.65 per share today,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the fourth fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $7.65.”

The real success story in this quarter is the iPad. iPhone sales are good, but are nowhere near the 37 million sold in the holiday quarter of 2011. The 5th generation iPhone has been out for 9 months, and savvy buyers will already be anticipating the next breed of iDevice (hopefully coming in October this year.) But, 17 million iPads? A device still seen by many as unnecessary is doing phenomenally well and has raised the bar yet again for the other manufacturers to try and beat.

Via: iMore