Apple Sold 37.4 Million iPhones in Q2 2013, Mirroring Report

Earlier this week,

(a division of global research firm TrendForce) reported that

sold 37.5 million iPhones during the fiscal 2013 second quarter.

This was not a mere sales estimate -- researchers at the company claimed that Apple had actually sold that many iPhones. Yesterday after the market close, Apple announced that it had sold

, breaking all previous records for the period. The previous record was set during the fiscal 2012 quarter, at which time Apple sold an impressive

. Apple's new sales achievement is notably higher than some analyst estimates, which indicated that no more than 36 million units would be sold during the second quarter. Record-breaking sales may be enough to earn a few headlines, but it was not enough to ease the concerns of wary analysts and investors. After spiking yesterday in anticipation of Apple's second quarter earnings, the company plummeted in after hours trading. "Dividends are bad for shareholders and only helps off-shore investors located in tax-free zones," Trip Chowdhry, Managing Director of Equity Research at Global Equities Research, wrote in an e-mail to investors this morning. "Apple said they would be borrowing money to pay dividends. This is a bad idea. Instead Apple should repatriate the money lying outside USA, and pay tax on it." Chowdhry also wondered if Apple is "sugar-coating [its] lack of innovation" in the absence of Steve Jobs. While many analysts have questioned Apple's portfolio and its ability to innovate, consumers do not seem to be bothered by the company's current strategy, which is to release incremental upgrades for each product every 10 to 12 months. Sales of the iPad reached

, representing a 65 percent increase over the year-ago period. This is likely due to the

of the iPad Mini, which has helped Apple reach new markets. The only major Apple product that took a dive was the Mac. Collectively, Apple sold "just under" four million Macs (versus four million during Q2 2012), making it one of the weaker sales periods for the product.