Apple Ranked As World’s 'Most Innovative' Company; Amazon, Nintendo Trail Behind

Apple has just been named as the “Most Innovative” company of 2018 by a business magazine. The reasons cited why the Cupertino giant emerged triumphant on the list included the company’s ability to design processors that are optimized for its latest hardware and software.

Fast Company published Tuesday its list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies 2018 in the consumer electronics sector and Tim Cook’s company was the one that snagged the top spot. The publication indicated in the list that the main reason why Apple ranked the highest was because it produced the “phone of the future” for today’s market.

The magazine also published a lengthy explanation on why Apple is worth the “most innovative” title this year. According to Fast Company, the Cupertino giant had a notable 2017 due to the stellar performances of the wireless AirPods and the Apple Watch Series 3 and the launch of its own AR platform, ARKit, as well as the release of the outstanding iPhone X that blew away skeptics.

Fast Company also pointed out how Apple’s rather ambitious approach to its hardware and software engineering works. “Other makers of phones and tablets buy the same off-the-shelf chips as their competitors. Apple, by contrast, designs its own chips—so an iPhone packs a processor designed specifically optimized for Apple’s operating system, apps, display, camera, and touch sensor,” the publication stated.

The magazine lauded Apple when it comes to designing its own chipsets for its iPhones. After all, the A10 Fusion powering the iPhone 7 crushed rival processors in independent speed benchmarks. Its work on processors has also paved the way for its newer handsets to unlock more advanced potentials of artificial intelligence.

Speaking of AI, Fast Company also took notice of how Apple strategically used AI to enhance certain aspects of its products. For instance, Apple’s AI techniques help in squeezing out more life from the batteries of iPhones. Meanwhile, it also utilizes AI that’s built into its devices rather than using massive server farms.

Also mentioned as part of Apple’s achievements is its expansion to the entertainment business with Apple TV and Apple Music, and its venture to the health and medical field with the launch of CareKit, its open-source platform that collects and shares patients’ medical records with their caregivers. “Apple's approach to health is to operate behind the scenes by helping researchers, patients, and developers to make use of the health data they're collecting via a smartphone,” the magazine noted.

Following behind Apple is Amazon, who secured the second spot by making its smart assistant ubiquitous and for offering a wide range of Echo devices that maximize the potential of Alexa. On third place is Nintendo, who was recognized for developing a 100 percent, original gaming device that’s part console, part handheld.