"We have made good, solid progress and the performance of the group is improving, " said chief executive Sir CK Chow.

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And progress in the performance of 14-year-olds has been more modest.

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Looked at from this perspective, Apple can continue to make substantial progress in terms of the performance of its tablet hardware and the tablet-centric aspects of iOS in ways that are much more difficult in the tightening smartphone market.

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