Apple named world’s most innovative company for 2018

By

AirPower
Will we finally get a release date for AirPower?
Photo: Apple

Who said innovation was dead at Apple? Certainly not Fast Company, which just named the iPhone-maker the world’s most innovative company for 2018.

Apple secured the top spot “for delivering the future today.” AirPods, Apple Watch Series 3, ARKit, and iPhone X were recognized as its best products from the past year.

Rivals like Google and Samsung didn’t make the list.

As interest in the iPhone fell, iPad sales stagnated, and Mac upgrades disappointed, Apple was criticized for losing its touch going into 2017. Fans demanded more from the company, which hadn’t released a truly groundbreaking product since the iPad in 2010.

But all that changed last year.

2017 was a hit for Apple

“Its wireless AirPods became ubiquitous around the country; the Apple Watch Series 3 is a bestseller; developers embraced ARKit, its AR framework; and even skeptics were blown away by the iPhone X,” says Fast Company.

“Apple became the world’s most valuable company by being its preeminent maker of computing devices, from those you stick on a desk (Macs) to ones you strap to your wrist (the Apple Watch).”

Thanks to these achievements, Apple has been named the world’s most innovative company of 2018. It beat out Netflix, Square, Tencent, and Amazon, which made up the top five. Google, Microsoft, and Samsung all failed to get into the top 50.

Apple praised for AI

Creativity is more than skin-deep, Fast Company explains, and while rivals are building smartphones using the same off-the-shelf components, Apple designs its own from the ground up. iPhone X is significantly faster than competing devices as a result.

“Apple has also made major inroads in artificial intelligence, an area where the competition from companies such as Google couldn’t be any more daunting,” the roundup adds.

“For instance, it uses AI techniques to wring as much life as possible out of the iPhone’s battery. Because of Apple’s privacy-driven decision to limit the amount of information it aggregates and analyzes in the cloud, it also does much of its AI right on the devices rather than using massive server farms.”

Apple also earns praise for expanding beyond its traditional roots with services like Apple Music, Apple TV, and CareKit.

Do you agree with Fast Company’s top 50 list?

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.