The success of rival companies such as Samsung has seen Apple to struggle, with the company posting the slowest profit growth since 2004.

Profits fell below analysts’ expectations with Apple falling 11 percent in New York trading yesterday.

Apple forecasts sales of $43 billion for the second fiscal quarter despite fears that the company is struggling to create a new innovative product after years of rapid growth since the introduction of the iPhone.

Meanwhile Samsung has capitalised on its success of the Galaxy series of smartphones, reporting profit growth on 89 percent, while Google’s Android handsets have become the most popular device worldwide.