Apple and Google have once again topped Interbrand’s annual ranking of the world’s most valuable brands. Interbrand’s 2015 edition of the Best Global Brands report sees the technology industry continue to dominate, with more than half of the top ten slots represented by companies operating in the space.
Apple’s brand is valued at $170 billion by the consultancy, while Google’s is estimated at $120 billion; the figures represent respective increases of 43 and 12 percent. Valuation is calculated based on a company’s financial performance, a brand’s ability to influence customer purchases, and the extent to which it can support premium pricing.
Nokia and Nintendo make way for Lenovo and PayPal
Microsoft traded places with IBM to take fourth place, Samsung held steady at seventh, and Amazon leapt into tenth place from last year’s fifteenth. (Interbrand classifies IBM as a business brand and Amazon as retail, so they don’t technically fit into the report’s technology category.) The other brands in the top ten are Coca-Cola, Toyota, General Electric, and McDonald’s.
Lenovo is a new entry on the list, just managing to secure the 100th position, and PayPal also made its debut at 97th place. Nokia and Nintendo, however, both dropped out of the rankings.
Phil Schiller, senior vice-president of marketing, introduces Apple’s new iPad Pro in San Francisco. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Apple has announced a range of new products, including a new larger iPad, two new smartphones and a long-awaited update to Apple TV.
In a now traditional September event, this time held at San Francisco’s 7,000 seater Bill Graham civic auditorium, 2,000 engineers, advertisers, executives and journalists saw Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller reveal a new 12.9-inch screen iPad that the company hopes will appeal to both professional creatives and committed tablet users.
The new iPad Pro with a smart keyboard. Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP
iPad Pro, which will be available from November, will have a 10-hour battery life, and be priced from $799 (£520) in the US.
“This is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing, a simple multitouch piece of glass that instantly transforms into anything you want it to be,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive.
It includes a faster, more efficient A9X processor and is being launched, for the first time, with Apple Pencil – despite vigorous statements by now-deceased former chief executive Steve Jobs as recently as 2010 that the stylus is awkward and not as intuitive as a finger.
The iPad Pro is a product designed for illustrators, designers and editors who need maximum precision, Schiller explained.
Though widely leaked, Wednesday’s announcements beefed up Apple’s product line and the hope will be that investors’ confidence is bolstered after a rocky period for international markets.
The new Apple TV has been widely anticipated for several years; the original product launched in 2007 and has stayed static since a 2010 revamp selling over 25m devices since launch. For the last two years, the Apple TV has been in need of feature upgrades to compete with rival Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast products, which introduced voice search and smart assistant funcationality in 2014.
“TV has been standing still while mobile has been changing, led by iPhone and iPad,” said Cook. “We’re going to do something about that. Our vision for TV is simple and provocative: we believe the future of television is apps.”
Apple debuts its new Apple TV box and remote. Photograph: Monica Davey/EPA
The Apple TV, which will be available in the UK from late October, includes Apple’s voice command feature Siri, a touch-controlled remote and a simplified navigation that offers programmes initially from iTunes and Netflix, and US networks Hulu, HBO and Showtime. It will also have its own operating system, tvOS, with purpose-designed apps for the screen including games, shopping and sports.
Dan Cryan, a senior analyst at IHS, said: “Apple TV has graduated from being a ‘hobby’ to being a fully-fledged product in its own right. The great strength of the new Apple TV is the connection to Apple’s existing ecosystem and in particular the App Store.
“The gaming element features are undoubtedly important but perhaps as important, it should make it much easier for the new Apple TV to offer local TV experiences for a truly global customer base.”
Apple also announced two new iPhones, with a 3D touch gesture that accesses extra features on screen, a new rose gold colour, faster processor and high resolution 4K video.
In a nod to ferocious competition against Google’s Android phones, Schiller also introduced a new import feature that makes it easier to copy content from Android phones, while Apple also invited rival firm Microsoft on stage to preview improvements to its Office apps.
Mofifoluwa Olawuyi 