Apple's quarterly earnings report revealed that sales of iPhones continue to grow – but not by much, Digital Spy said.

Sales of the smartphones grew by less than 1% with 74.8 million in the first quarter – the lowest percentage since iPhones debuted in 2007.

Year-on-year, revenue for Apple was up just under 2% with $75.9 billion while profits grew 1.9% to $18.36b.

That figure falls within the $75.5 billion to $77.5 billion of revenue projected by Apple last October.

Apple also noted in its report that 16.1 million iPads were sold and 5.3 million Mac computers were purchased – down year-on-year.

However, sales of Apple TV, Apple Watch and Beats sound equipment contributed to a 62% increase among other Apple-branded products.

For the second quarter of 2016, Apple is projecting between $50 billion and $53 billion in revenue.

Earlier this month, the first news about Apple's next smartphone – and its possible new name – leaked online and caused considerable intrigue over the company's 2016 product range.