Apple Earns Sixth Place on 'Top 100 Global Technology Leaders' List

[Baymowe335]

You guys are too busy hating and criticizing to see the innovation. When a report comes out that counters your thesis, it "has" to be biased because Apple surely doesn't innovate anymore.

iPhone X's features are by and large what Samsung offered for years, yes FaceID is innovative, and apple has improved what was there, but at the end of the day, a full screen wirelessly charging phone has been out for a long time.
iMac 5k is a nice product
Apple Pencil - you mean a stylus which has been around for years
iPad Pro - throw in a faster processor more ram, slap the word pro on it and raise the price - not sure how that's considered innovation.

Don't get me wrong, I own all of those items (I have an apple watch S0), but listing them as examples of innovation is questionable imo

This is the kind of post that just makes people like you lose all credibility. Take your elementary stance on Apple Pencil for example. You dismiss the leading digital pen as a "stylus" that's "been around for years." Do you realize how much of tech has "been around for years" but it's all about advancements and how the technology is integrated with software? Ever try to use an early stylus? Smartphone cameras have been around for years too. Ever try to get a good picture from an early one?

Don't you know Apple Pencil is leading in latency, making it the fastest digital pen in the world, and widely considered the "best" of styluses? I'm not saying it's this showstopping innovation, but they have quietly made the best stylus available.

Apple isn't always first, but they typically make things the best they can possibly be.

Dismissing Apple's industry leading silicon (innovation) as just "Throw a faster processor in" is a perfect example of how Apple innovation haters ignore enormous technical accomplishments.

Do you have any idea how good Apple silicon really is or at least how much better it is than the competition? Forget better integration with software...these chips are insanely powerful [insert lazy throttling joke] and will most likely lead to Apple designing their own chips for all products.

FaceID is innovative. Don't like it? Fine, but it's not going away and they can do A LOT more with 3d face mapping, facial recognition, the truedepth camera, etc than a silly fingerprint reader everyone wants to cling to.

In their first OLED foray on mobile phones, Apple scored the best screen ever tested. Yes, Apple's criticizied "built by Samsung" screen is yet still better than Samsung's own Samsung panels.

Their iPhone X camera scored the best STILL Camera ever tested by the only universally recognized testing company for smartphone cameras. Yes, it scored better than the Pixel 2 for still photos.

Apple owns the tablet market for a reason. The iPad Pro line is incredibly good and a joy to use.

The Apple Watch has quietly taken over not only the smart watch market, but the entire watch industry as the best selling watch in the world. It can make calls and reliably track health data with more to come including glucose monitoring and EKG.

These companies aren't producing magic, but if you objectively look at Apple and their accomplishments, it's truly amazing. Phones are not going to fly you to the moon, but the iPhone X for example is a long way from the iPhone 6 of just 3.5 years ago. People forget how far stuff comes because it still is a slab with a glass screen.

 

[deanthedev]

iPhone X's features are by and large what Samsung offered for years, yes FaceID is innovative, and apple has improved what was there, but at the end of the day, a full screen wirelessly charging phone has been out for a long time.
iMac 5k is a nice product
Apple Pencil - you mean a stylus which has been around for years
iPad Pro - throw in a faster processor more ram, slap the word pro on it and raise the price - not sure how that's considered innovation.

Don't get me wrong, I own all of those items (I have an apple watch S0), but listing them as examples of innovation is questionable imo

To talk about products and user facing features is missing the point in regards to innovation. You need to look at the underlying technology.

For example, nobody is even close to Apple for mobile processor design. They’ve had NVMe storage since the 6S and remain the only mobile company that uses it. They had inline hardware encryption since the 3GS (the Google Pixel was the first Android device to get it, 7 years later). They literally have 2X the performance per core of anyone else on the market. They’re so far ahead it’s embarrassing.

 

[otternonsense]

iPhone X
Apple Watch S3
iMac 5K
Apple Pencil
iPad Pro

All of these are iterations, not innovations. Barely even redesigns.

Out of Apple's recent work, only the W1 chip could be considered innovative, and FaceID is still barely past "proof of concept".

 

[nfl46]

Can anyone name 5 "innovative" products that came out in 2017? Excluding Apple products since most in this post don't classify them as innovative...

I'm just curious.

 

[convergent]

No seriously I mean it. Apple strive to be the biggest innovator in technology. Sixth place does not back that claim up.

If that is what they strive for, then I'm not seeing it. To me, the evidence is pretty clear that they are striving to be the biggest profit generating company, and they are very good at that. Innovator... no.

As a point of comparison, IBM is above them in this list. IBM generates more patents than any company for many years running. But they stink at monetizing them. I worked there in the past and one of the patents I worked on had nothing remotely to do with any business IBM is in or ever will be in. Some colleagues and I had strong interest in this area as a hobby, and IBM rewards employees who have ideas by giving awards for patents. IBM then adds it to their patent inventory.

 

[Jsameds]

All of these are iterations, not innovations. Barely even redesigns.

Out of Apple's recent work, only the W1 chip could be considered innovative, and FaceID is still barely past "proof of concept".

Still iterations of innovative products.

 

[69Mustang]

The methodology. I see why Apple hit #6 and not higher. Based on the criteria from the categories, Apple probably scored lower in Risk and Resilience, Legal Compliance, and Innovation.

It's not like they scored low, they just probably scored lower than the others above them.

 

[otternonsense]

Still iterations of innovative products.

It's not exactly the same. Sony may have iterated the hugely successful Walkman and Discman for years, and then it was Apple who buried them both with the iPod.

Apple releases quality products (with some grating flaws as of late) that sell in the billions (largely out of ecosystem lockdown), and that's commendable, but isn't exactly setting the world on fire like it used to.

 

[Baymowe335]

All of these are iterations, not innovations. Barely even redesigns.

Out of Apple's recent work, only the W1 chip could be considered innovative, and FaceID is still barely past "proof of concept".

What objective data would indicate FaceID is "barely past proof of concept?" I authorize payments with it and it works perfectly almost 100% of the time. I'm confident many iPhone X customers would agree.

 

[otternonsense]

What objective data would indicate FaceID is "barely past proof of concept?" I authorize payments with it and it works perfectly almost 100% of the time. I'm confident many iPhone X customers would agree.

It's a 1st gen release with a slew of reported bugs and limitations (doesn't eg work on landscape mode).

 

[Guy Clark]

iPhone X
Apple Watch S3
iMac 5K
Apple Pencil
iPad Pro

Only the 5k iMac out of that list I find even remotely appealing.

 

[Constable Odo]

Apple still stands in Microsoft's shadow. At one point, I actually thought Microsoft was seen as a fading company after Windows OS sales started to slide. I just had no idea Microsoft had come back so strongly. I guess it must be doing very well in the cloud business. Apple, with all their money is still seen as being inferior to Microsoft. That's rather sad in some respects. I sure didn't think IBM was seen as being stronger than Apple in tech. I thought that once Warren Buffett dumped IBM there was some major reason for it not being a worthwhile tech investment.

 

[Baymowe335]

It's a 1st gen release with a slew of reported bugs and limitations (doesn't eg work on landscape mode).

There is no credible list of bugs other than people most likely training FaceID with passcodes to get it to unlock with family members.

I really never find myself wishing for a landscape mode unlock. It just doesn't come up.

Touch ID didn't work with:

1) Wet hands
2) Gloved hands
3) Dirty hands
4) Poor placement
5) ??? just failed sometimes

TouchID was ONLY an authentication system. FaceID authenticates and can do more, even if you think it's stupid stuff. It will have much more ability when more Apps utilize the depth sensing tech, facial recognition, etc.

 

[69Mustang]

@eddjedi @nvmls @Jsameds @Baymowe335 @deanthedev
Question. Why are all of you focused on Innovation? This isn't a list of the Top 100 Most Innovative Companies. If that's what you want to argue, you should use the points you all made against this list: https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2017

On the Top 100 Tech Leaders List, Innovation is but 1 category out of 8. I'd recommend actually looking at the Methodology. You'd all quickly find that the arguments you're using for innovation don't even correlate to the parameters of Innovation used to score that category. I mean, if you're going to argue a point, shouldn't you first know what actual parameters are and argue for or against them?

Now that would mean the same tired pro/con Apple innovates argument might not apply, but on the bright side it would allow you guys to come up with some new arguments based on something other than... well, what you're recycling now.

 

[Baymowe335]

@eddjedi @nvmls @Jsameds @Baymowe335 @deanthedev
Question. Why are all of you focused on Innovation? This isn't a list of the Top 100 Most Innovative Companies. If that's what you want to argue, you should use the points you all made against this list: https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2017

On the Top 100 Tech Leaders List, Innovation is but 1 category out of 8. I'd recommend actually looking at the Methodology. You'd all quickly find that the arguments you're using for innovation don't even correlate to the parameters of Innovation used to score that category. I mean, if you're going to argue a point, shouldn't you first know what actual parameters are and argue for or against them?

Now that would mean the same tired pro/con Apple innovates argument might not apply, but on the bright side it would allow you guys to come up with some new arguments based on something other than... well, what you're recycling now.

I was responding to a post.

To me, Apple is easy the #1 global tech company if for no other reason than they are the most influential and most profitable. Lists are generally completely irrelevant and flawed.

 

[otternonsense]

There is no credible list of bugs other than people most likely training FaceID with passcodes to get it to unlock with family members.

I really never find myself wishing for a landscape mode unlock. It just doesn't come up.

Touch ID didn't work with:

1) Wet hands
2) Gloved hands
3) Dirty hands
4) Poor placement
5) ??? just failed sometimes

TouchID was ONLY an authentication system. FaceID authenticates and can do more, even if you think it's stupid stuff. It will have much more ability when more Apps utilize the depth sensing tech, facial recognition, etc.

I don't think it's stupid stuff. I think it's half-baked stuff. There are features I actually like, such as revealing the content of your notifications only upon recognising your face. What would work for me is a dual biometric authentication. Both TouchID and FaceID -ideally with a sub-screen reader and no notch (somehow).

Please, out of all the scenarios above, there's only one bottomline: wipe your hands before touching your phone. Which would be a good idea for hygiene reasons too. As for gloved hands, you'd still need to remove the glove to use the display (unless you use some special glove) and the X is not famous for playing well with cold temperatures either.

I haven't faced any inconsistency with TouchID, having owned/used/tested multiple devices (iPhones & iPads) in years. Please don't try to convince me that a combination of looking & swiping is faster or more intuitive than resting your finger on a button (often before or without looking at your device, eg lying flat on a table) and having it instantaneously unlock/pay/confirm/buy or whatnot. It just isn't (yet).

 

[I7guy]

I can't believe they are #6. I can't name one innovative product in the Apple store other than the AirPods.

Damn I miss Steve Jobs. Apple just no longer innovates like it used to.

So after iPhone 1 Apple ceased to be innovative is what you are saying?

 

[Baymowe335]

I don't think it's stupid stuff. I think it's half-baked stuff. There are features I actually like, such as revealing the content of your notifications only upon recognising your face. What would work for me is a dual biometric authentication. Both TouchID and FaceID -ideally with a sub-screen reader and no notch (somehow).

Please, out of all the scenarios above, there's only one bottomline: wipe your hands before touching your phone. Which would be a good idea for hygiene reasons too. As for gloved hands, you'd still need to remove the glove to use the display (unless you use some special glove) and the X is not famous for playing well with cold temperatures either.

I haven't faced any inconsistency with TouchID, having owned/used/tested multiple devices (iPhones & iPads) in years. Please don't try to convince me that a combination of looking & swiping is faster or more intuitive than resting your finger on a button (often before or without looking at your device, eg lying flat on a table) and having it instantaneously unlock/pay/confirm/buy or whatnot. It just isn't (yet).

The X is fine in cold temps and some people work with their hands. FaceID is great with certain limitations, just like TouchID and can do much more.

 

[deanthedev]

Too bad they don’t list the Top 10 in each of their criteria, instead of coming up with overall score.

I’d like to see where they rank Google in terms of financials and risk. Particularly since their entire business model revolves around a product people hate and try to avoid (ads).

 

[otternonsense]

The X is fine in cold temps and some people work with their hands. FaceID is great with certain limitations, just like TouchID and can do much more.

The cold temp thing was addressed with an iOS patch, and I'm not sure if it was resolved entirely.

For another thing, people who work with their hands are unlikely to be using a €1300 fragile glass brick on the field.

What is the "much more" it can do?

 

[I7guy]

Apple still stands in Microsoft's shadow. At one point, I actually thought Microsoft was seen as a fading company after Windows OS sales started to slide. I just had no idea Microsoft had come back so strongly. I guess it must be doing very well in the cloud business. Apple, with all their money is still seen as being inferior to Microsoft. That's rather sad in some respects. I sure didn't think IBM was seen as being stronger than Apple in tech. I thought that once Warren Buffett dumped IBM there was some major reason for it not being a worthwhile tech investment.

I believe some krnmany people disagree with the sentiment Apple is “inferior” to Microsoft as a statement of fact vs an opinion. Care to elaborate on why?

 

[neutralguy]

The list seems to be a complete garbage list. I see a lot of service based companies like Accentures et al. What type of innovation or technology leader are they? I guess "leader in technology" has a different meaning for Reuters.

 

[dan ros]

Thomson Reuters today published its first "Top 100 Global Technology Leaders" list, designed to pinpoint and celebrate "the industry's most operationally sound and financially successful organizations." The list's top five companies are Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM, and Alphabet.

Apple sits in sixth place, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, SAP, Texas Instruments, and Accenture. Thomson Reuters explained that it assessed each company using a 28-data-point algorithm to "objectively identify organizations with the fortitude for the future in today's complex business environment."

Specifically, each company saw its performance in eight categories measured before being ranked: Financial, Management and Investor Confidence, Risk and Resilience, Legal Compliance, Innovation, People and Social Responsibility, Environmental Impact, and Reputation.
Outside of the top 10, companies like Amazon, Facebook, Mastercard, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Pegatron made it onto the list. These remaining 90 companies on the list are not ranked, but were measured and added based on the same 28-factor algorithm as the top 10. The entire list was restricted to companies that have at least $1 billion in annual revenue as well.

The full report goes into greater detail and breaks down how each individual category was researched for the companies. For example, the number of granted patents that are issued each year factored into Innovation, and an overall news sentiment and global media score measured a company's Reputation. For Legal Compliance, Thomson Reuters measured the amount of litigation where the company was a defendant "in the areas of employment/labor, intellectual property, commercial law and contracts, civil rights, and unfair competition."

The researchers didn't go into Apple's performance statistics for each of the eight categories, but they did provide a few tidbits about the overall rankings. In total, 45 percent of the 100 companies are headquartered in the United States, followed by Japan and Taiwan tied in second place with 13 companies each, and then India with five. In terms of continents, North America led with 47 companies, Asia followed closely with 38, Europe had 14, and Australia had one (stock transfer company Computershare).

Apple topped a few lists over the past year, including Interbrand's "2017 Best Global Brands," Fortune's "World's Most Admired Companies," and climbing to become the World's Most Profitable Company on the Fortune Global 500 list. Conversely, in December Apple dropped to 84th on Glassdoor's annual list of the best companies to work for in the United States, after earning the 10th spot on the same list years prior in 2012.

Article Link: Apple Earns Sixth Place on 'Top 100 Global Technology Leaders' List

[doublepost=1516206247][/doublepost]The sad reality is that Tim Cook is no more than a caretaker with delusions of grandeur. He was chosen not to think, but to loyally implement Mr. Jobs wishes. Apple will need another creative person at some point. Until then, the vapid meanderings of this politically correct joke of a leader. Maybe a job at CNN?

Thomson Reuters today published its first "Top 100 Global Technology Leaders" list, designed to pinpoint and celebrate "the industry's most operationally sound and financially successful organizations." The list's top five companies are Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM, and Alphabet.

Apple sits in sixth place, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, SAP, Texas Instruments, and Accenture. Thomson Reuters explained that it assessed each company using a 28-data-point algorithm to "objectively identify organizations with the fortitude for the future in today's complex business environment."

Specifically, each company saw its performance in eight categories measured before being ranked: Financial, Management and Investor Confidence, Risk and Resilience, Legal Compliance, Innovation, People and Social Responsibility, Environmental Impact, and Reputation.
Outside of the top 10, companies like Amazon, Facebook, Mastercard, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Pegatron made it onto the list. These remaining 90 companies on the list are not ranked, but were measured and added based on the same 28-factor algorithm as the top 10. The entire list was restricted to companies that have at least $1 billion in annual revenue as well.

The full report goes into greater detail and breaks down how each individual category was researched for the companies. For example, the number of granted patents that are issued each year factored into Innovation, and an overall news sentiment and global media score measured a company's Reputation. For Legal Compliance, Thomson Reuters measured the amount of litigation where the company was a defendant "in the areas of employment/labor, intellectual property, commercial law and contracts, civil rights, and unfair competition."

The researchers didn't go into Apple's performance statistics for each of the eight categories, but they did provide a few tidbits about the overall rankings. In total, 45 percent of the 100 companies are headquartered in the United States, followed by Japan and Taiwan tied in second place with 13 companies each, and then India with five. In terms of continents, North America led with 47 companies, Asia followed closely with 38, Europe had 14, and Australia had one (stock transfer company Computershare).

Apple topped a few lists over the past year, including Interbrand's "2017 Best Global Brands," Fortune's "World's Most Admired Companies," and climbing to become the World's Most Profitable Company on the Fortune Global 500 list. Conversely, in December Apple dropped to 84th on Glassdoor's annual list of the best companies to work for in the United States, after earning the 10th spot on the same list years prior in 2012.

Article Link: Apple Earns Sixth Place on 'Top 100 Global Technology Leaders' List

 

[Baymowe335]

The cold temp thing was addressed with an iOS patch, and I'm not sure if it was resolved entirely.

For another thing, people who work with their hands are unlikely to be using a €1300 fragile glass brick on the field.

What is the "much more" it can do?

Why are you not sure it was resolved? Haven't heard anything to the contrary...

FaceID is a technology with a lot of potential to grow down the road. Today, we have filters, Animoji, and some apps that use the tech for games. You'll say it's worthless, but it's getting great feedback. There are entire ad campaigns based around it. Do you really think this won't be greatly expanded upon, perhaps with much more useful features, in the future? Don't you agree it has more ability and potential than a fingerprint scanner?

 

[mikethemartian]

IBM? I don’t trust the list.

IBM and Microsoft do quantum computing research. I haven't seen anything from Apple on that front.