Apple quarterly profit nearly doubles to $21.7 bn

Apple said Tuesday its profit in the just-ended quarter nearly doubled to $21.7 billion on growth in iPhone sales and digital services.

Revenue surged 36 percent from a year ago to $81.4 billion, the best ever for the tech titan's fiscal third quarter.

"This quarter, our teams built on a period of unmatched innovation by sharing powerful new products with our users, at a time when using technology to connect people everywhere has never been more important," said chief executive Tim Cook.