Apple falls from first to 17th on 'most innovative companies' list

[midian182]

What just happened? Apple’s not having the best time right now. In the wake of falling iPhone sales, the firm has lost its title as the world’s most innovative company. Having jumped from fourth place to the top of the list last year, Apple has now fallen to 17th position.

The iPhone X, AirPods, and its augmented reality endeavors helped Apple take the number one spot on Fast Company’s annual innovation list in 2018. But this year it has been replaced by Meituan Dianping, a Chinese app maker that “expedites the booking and delivery of services such as hotel stays, movie tickets and food.”

Fast Company senior editor Amy Farley told CNBC that Apple had lost its crown because “they didn’t really break new ground with their devices, and hardware sales were sluggish.” A new report from Gartner says iPhone sales were down 2.7 percent to just over 209 million units across 2018, a result of the problems Apple is facing in the Chinese market.

‍ @Apple is No. 17 this year, for pushing its processorshttps://t.co/NauvMIZDNt#FCMostInnovative pic.twitter.com/wqfyTT7O8v

— Fast Company (@FastCompany) 20 February 2019

Fast Company did praise Apple for its A12 Bionic chip—the first 7nm processor to launch in a smartphone. But while the SoC is unquestionably powerful, the three iPhones it appeared in last year didn’t set the world on fire.

The second position on the most-innovative list is Grab, a Singapore-based ride-hailing firm. The rest of the top five is made up of the NBA, Walt Disney Company, and Stitch Fix. Twitch took the number 10 position—the Amazon-owned streaming service was recognized for its “growing prowess.”

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https://www.techspot.com/news/78860-apple-falls-first-17th-most-innovative-companies-list.html

 

[wiyosaya]

IMO, no surprises here. I am not sure I would give the top spot honors to the chosen company, but as far as crApple goes, there has really been little innovation in its flagship products in the past few years. Not to mention that, IMO, their flagship phone is way over-priced.

However, maybe crApple will get the message and finally start to learn that most people will not simply march to the nearest crApple store to buy this year's version of whatever it is they are selling.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Samsung will win next year. Their new Galaxy 10 phones have this cool new feature where you can plug in a pair of headphones! It's an extra little port at the bottom, and you plug in some headphones - no more having to use headphones that require charging and connecting!

Hopefully the next iPhones will have this feature.

 

[Hexic]

Apple not innovative?

No way...

 

[VitalyT]

All the brains behind the company's innovative goals are either dead or gone. Now it is only about profitability. Given enough time, too much money kills any dream. Like that Fatboy Slim guy - I'm number 1, so why try harder.

 

[Mugsy]

With the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple has been acting like a company trying to survive by stretching out his last best ideas for as long as they bring in revenue. Honestly, I can't think of a single innovative new idea to come out of Apple that they came up with after Jobs' death. (I'm reminded of all the "Star Trek" spin-offs after Roddenberry died based on concepts he thought of but never pursued: "Voyager", "Deep Space 9", "Andromeda" and then the awful "Enterprise" series. Eventually, the Roddenberry well ran dry and the franchise dried up with it.)

If Apple were smart (and they aren't), they'd come up with a way for their legions of fans to propose innovative new ideas for future products. Not a "contest" with just one "winner" but perhaps a "tip line" offering a "finders fee". There are plenty of people out there with great ideas for new products they happily "sell" if just someone would pursue it, simultaneously rebuilding the loyal Apple Community by making them feel like a part of it.

"Crowd Sourcing" of ideas will be the future and Apple has its head in the sand.

 

[nobrainer]

What exactly is Apple innovating? The last time I check all they ever innovated is patent trolling.

 

[kevbev89]

What exactly is Apple innovating? The last time I check all they ever innovated is patent trolling.

They innovated on pricing. Ya know, jacking up the price up through the buyer's a$$

 

[psycros]

What's remotely innovative about Dominos? I'm pretty sure they weren't the first ones to overcharge for cafeteria-quality pizza.

 

[Uncle Al]

The company has needed some new blood in the leadership ranks for awhile now. The real innovators seem to be less and less, not that they don't exist but that the money men just are not as willing to take a risk on them and their ideas. But, it all goes in cycles and as soon as one company puts an innovator in a command position the rest will follow quickly ..... we can only wait for now ......

 

[Udelh579]

It's funny but in this day and age Microsoft is innovating more than Apple. Windows is supporting more creatives than macOS with it's fancy dark modes and 1 million electronic emotions.
But it's sad that the company who had the motto of honouring the creatives, now is devoted to milking the consumers.

"People with passion can change the world for the better" - S.J.

 

[wiyosaya]

With the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple has been acting like a company trying to survive by stretching out his last best ideas for as long as they bring in revenue. Honestly, I can't think of a single innovative new idea to come out of Apple that they came up with after Jobs' death. (I'm reminded of all the "Star Trek" spin-offs after Roddenberry died based on concepts he thought of but never pursued: "Voyager", "Deep Space 9", "Andromeda" and then the awful "Enterprise" series. Eventually, the Roddenberry well ran dry and the franchise dried up with it.)

If Apple were smart (and they aren't), they'd come up with a way for their legions of fans to propose innovative new ideas for future products. Not a "contest" with just one "winner" but perhaps a "tip line" offering a "finders fee". There are plenty of people out there with great ideas for new products they happily "sell" if just someone would pursue it, simultaneously rebuilding the loyal Apple Community by making them feel like a part of it.

"Crowd Sourcing" of ideas will be the future and Apple has its head in the sand.

And so goes the legend of Steve Jobs. No one really knows if he would be living up to that legendary status today. I will say, though, I was not a fan of him trying to tell users "you're holding it wrong" when that poorly designed antenna fiasco was discovered before his death.

IMO, the contest is a good idea; however, given crApple's hubris, I would expect that the finder's fee would be nowhere near the actual worth of a truly great idea.