14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is the company that made the word innovation part of modern technology, but after years of leading the market with products such as the iPhone and the iPad, Cupertino is slowly but surely fading out.
The 2015 iPhone has been nothing but a fiasco as it caused the first decline in iPhone sales since launch, pretty much because Apple has decided to go for the same design with hardware upgrades which, although they came in very handy, still placed the iPhone well behind competition. Furthermore, the iPhone SE is nothing more than an upgraded version of the iPhone 5s and the worst thing is that’s exactly what it was supposed to be.
Apple no longer has ideas on how to make its devices cool and there’s another company that’s hungry for innovation. Its name is Microsoft.
The Redmond-based software giant has improved its level of innovations at a terrible pace in the last couple of years and the results can already be seen by each and every one of us. HoloLens, Windows Hello, the Surface Pen, and the Surface Book are all products or services that are innovating up to a level that only Apple managed to reach in the past.
And there’s one very simple reason why Microsoft has become the new Apple: R&D spending.
Microsoft is the fourth biggest R&D spender in the world
Figures provided by Strategy& show that Microsoft is currently on the fourth place when it comes to money spent on research and development. And we’re not talking about the technology world, but about the whole industry.
Right now, Volkswagen is leading the charts with no less than $15.3 billion spent in 2015 on research and development, while Samsung is the runner-up with $14.1 billion. In case you were wondering why the Galaxy S7 is selling like hot cakes and many iPhone users are jumping ship to buy a Samsung device, here’s the reason.
Intel is third in the charts with $11.5 billion, followed by Microsoft with $11.4 billion. Microsoft has maintained its fourth position from the previous year, which is living proof that the software giant is acting on the long term and has no plans to give up on innovating. Satya Nadella seems to be fully aware that the more money to invest, the more profit you can bring home, and this is exactly what Microsoft is after these days.
Apple spends 50 percent less money than Microsoft on R&D
‘So where’s Apple?’ you might ask. At this point, Apple is on the 18th place, well behind nearly all important technology rivals (for what it’s worth, Google is on the 6th place, while Amazon is on 7th).
But what’s even worse is that Apple is actually spending 50 percent less money than Microsoft on research and development, so its 2015 spending has barely reached $6 billion.
The iPhone lineup is the living proof that Apple is currently seeking new ways to innovate, and after the 6s and SE, the iPhone 7 is expected to be another product similar to its predecessors. All leaks point to a design inspired from the 6s, with rather minor improvements and hardware upgrades that are still behind those of competitors.
Consumers: Apple still the most innovative
And while market performance and R&D spending clearly shows that Apple is losing ground in the race against rival, Cupertino is still ranked first when it comes to consumers.
A survey conducted by the same firm shows that Apple continued to be the most innovative company in the world in 2015, followed by Google and Tesla Motors (which has invested millions into new products). Microsoft is on the 8th place here, though.
It’s very clear that Apple’s user base is still keeping the company at the top of many charts out there, but the level of innovation reached by other firms, be they Samsung or Microsoft, is attracting even the most loyal customers that Cupertino has right now. And if the iPhone 7 isn’t a hit, it should be very interesting to see how Apple actually wants to keep users on board until the 2017 model.