Who are the main competitors of Apple Inc?
Apple is a leading name in the technology industry and the most formidable competitor for technology giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon. The brand is ruling the business world even after the passing away of Steve Jobs. With market value around 800 Billion dollars, Apple is at the top in the Forbes list of most valuable brands for 2017, followed by Google. The maker of Mac and iPhone is known for its premium pricing strategy and uniqueness of its products. However, the computing industry has met some large challenges especially since the rise of mobile computing. Apple’s iPhone however, has remained popular and that has helped Apple make up for the lost sales of Mac. The PC market has also shown signs of stabilisation but still the leading brands like Dell, Lenovo and HP pose a formidable challenge before Apple. Technology industry has grown intensely competitive with most of the major names investing in cloud computing for faster growth. Following is a list of the biggest challengers of Apple and how these brands compete with Apple in various categories.
Apple Key Stats 2017:
Revenue: 229.2 Billion Dollars
iPhone sales: 216.75 Million units iPhones.
Mac Sales: 19.25 Million units
Net Income: 11.6 Billion Dollars
Number of Employees : 123000
Microsoft:
Among the most formidable competitors of Apple Inc is Microsoft. The maker of Windows Operating System, has a very large customer segment. Apart from the operating system, the brand is also known as a maker of Windows office software used widely on PCs and the owner of Bing search engine. Its Windows operating system competes with Apple’s Mac OS. Based on its lower prices, Windows has a very large user base which it continues to expand fast.
Google:
The owner of the largest search engine on the planet is also known for developing its Android Mobile operating system which is used on a very large number of cellphones and mobile devices. Android is a competitor for Apple’s iOS. Apart from that, Google also released its own Pixel phone. Google features on the Forbes most valuable brands’ list for 2017 at the second position.
Dell:
Apple is known mainly for its Macs and iPhones. Dell is also a major brand name in the world of laptops and poses strong competitive threat for Apple’s laptops. A prominent name in the world of computing, the brand is one of the top four players in the laptop industry with a a sizeable market share.
HP :
HP is also a major brand of laptops with a large market share and user base. The brand is one of the biggest competitors of Apple’s laptops. Recently, it was divided into HP and HP Enterprise so the two divisions could focus on their two separate business areas independently. HP is among the four biggest players in the laptop industry holding the largest market share. It has also released some more highly sophisticated and luxury models that compete directly with the premium laptops by Apple.
Lenovo:
Another major brand of laptops whose products compete with Apple’s. The brand offers a large product portfolio that caters to a wide customer base from average user to higher end user. The influence and market share of Lenovo in the computing industry has grown very fast. As the market share of Lenovo has continued to grow it affected the sales of Apple and other competing brands. The computing industry has been through some major changes in the recent years and increased demand of mobile computing has affected demand of laptops. Despite that Lenovo is among the top 4 laptop brands by market share and holds a much larger market share than Apple.
Amazon :
Amazon is mainly known as an e-retailer and the largest among them. However, apart from its retail business, it is also known for its Kindle and Amazon Web services. Kindle is a major competitor of the iPads by Apple. The competition between Apple, Google and Amazon is slated to grow in future with Amazon releasing more smart home devices like Echo. Amazon’s digital music services are also competing with Apple’s iTunes.
Samsung:
One of the most formidable competitors of Apple in the smartphone market, Samsung is now better known for its galaxy smartphones. The large screen smartphone device has grown to become one of the most favourite smartphones of a very large user segment. Moreover, lower prices are making Galaxy an attractive options against Samsung. Apart from that Samsung produces computer peripherals. Even if Apple is making a lot of money from its iPhone sales (141 Billion USD in 2017), Samsung is ruling the smartphone market with its largest market share.
Sony:
Sony discontinued its VAIO laptops series but still remains a major competitor of Apple because of its Xperia phones. While the phone sales of Sony may have weakened the brand is still not totally overshadowed by Apple or Samsung. Moreover, the brand has released some more new and smarter models which are expected to give its smartphones sales a boost. It still remain a strong and influential player in the smartphone segment and its premium devices still have a strong appeal among its loyal followers.
Sources:
Abhijeet Pratap is a passionate blogger with seven years of experience in the field. Specializing in business management and digital marketing, he has developed a keen understanding of the intricacies of these domains. Through his insightful articles, Abhijeet shares his knowledge, helping readers navigate the complexities of modern business landscapes and digital strategies.