New York • Apple says its growth slowed in the most recent quarter, disappointing investors who thought its progress was unstoppable and causing shares to plunge in after-hours trading.

Apple products have been getting cheaper. That's good news for consumers but not necessarily for the company or for those who see it as the proverbial cash cow.

On Tuesday Apple Inc. revealed that in both revenue and net income, the company posted the smallest increases in years, and failed to meet analyst expectations.

It wasn't so much the volume of sales. Apple sold 17 million iPads in April to June period, beating expectations, and 26 million iPhones, at the low end of expectations.

But Apple's average selling prices for both gadgets declined to levels last seen in 2010 for the iPhone and the lowest levels ever in the case of the iPad.

Apple introduced an updated version of the iPad in March, but kept the older model in stores while cutting its price. The average selling prices of Macs also fell.

It's not that Apple is backsliding. The technology giant said profit rose 21 percent, to $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per share, on revenue of $35 billion, up 22 percent from a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting earnings of $10.37 per share and sales of $37.5 billion.

As a result, Apple shares fell $34.99, or 5.8 percent, to $565.93 in after-hours trading.