Apple has confirmed that its long-awaited Apple Watch device will begin shipping in April, following the announcement of record-breaking quarterly profits.

The tech giant yesterday (27 January) revealed quarterly profits of $15.9bn, driven by sales of 74.5 million iPhone devices in the three months to 27 December. Revenue was also up 30% year-on-year to $74.6bn.

It represents the largest quarterly profit ever made by a public company, easily beating the $15.9bn made by ExxonMobil in 2012.

“We’d like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter, which saw demand for Apple products soar to an all-time high,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The results come off the back of strong demand for Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices, which launched in September. Sales were particularly strong in China, up 70% year-on-year.

With sales of iPads disappointing investors, all eyes will now be on the launch of Apple Watch, especially in the wake of Google’s decision to temporarily withdraw from the wearable tech landscape.

Cook insisted the brand is making “great progress” in the development of its first major new product since 2010.

Earlier this year, mobile marketing firm TapSense unveiled what it claims to be thefirst programmatic ad platform for Apple Watch.