Apple beats Google to become world’s most valuable brand

By Andrew Couts May 9, 2011

Image used with permission by copyright holder

With an estimated value of $153.3 billion, Apple has officially surpassed search giant Google to become the most valuable brand on Earth, reports Bloomberg, making the Cupertino, California-based company the world’s new corporate king.

Over the past year, Apple has grown a staggering 84 percent, according to the “Brand 7 Top 100 most valuable global brands” of 2011 report, published by advertising and marketing firm WPP. Apple’s worth places well above Google’s estimated value of $115.2 billion, a 2 percent drop from the previous year. This end’s Google’s four-year run as the world’s most valuable company. IBM came in at No. 3, just ahead of McDonald’s Corp.

The massive success of the iPad and iPhone lines of devices — among both consumers and businesses — served as the primary force behind Apple’s impressive growth. Sales of those gadgets helped further solidify Apple’s place in the global cellular phone market, and cemented its lead as the world’s top tablet maker.

“It’s clear that every single Apple employee, from Steve Jobs and Tim Cook to the summer interns, see protecting and nurturing that brand as a top priority,” wrote Millward Brown CEO Eileen Campell, in the report. “Tablet computing also drove value growth not just for Apple, but also for the providers who support yet another networked device.”

Facebook also came out a winner in this year’s Brand Z report, having skyrocketed to first place in the “Top 20 Risers” category with its 246 percent surge in brand value, which places the social network at No. 35 in the world, with a value of $19.1 billion, according to the report. That sober number is far less than the $100 billion valuation given by some estimates. China’s most popular social network, Baidu, was the second fastest growing company, with a 141 percent rise in brand value.

Technology companies dominated the report’s top 10 overall most valuable companies, with Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, AT&T and China Mobile taking six of the leading spots.

Download the full report here: PDF.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…

Mobile

Apple cuts iPad production to keep iPhone 13 in stock

iPhone 13 Pro in hand, different side.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you are likely to be aware of the ongoing chip shortage around the globe. As the pandemic soared and factories shut due to lockdown, the supply chain couldn't keep up with the increased demand for electronics. The latest company to be hit by the chip shortage is Cupertino, California giant Apple. It is now countering the effects in its own way.

According to a report from Nikkei Asia, Apple has cut back iPad production "sharply" to supply components to the iPhone 13 series. It is being reported that iPad's production is down 50% "from Apple's original plans for the past two months." Moreover, the parts intended for older iPhones are also being moved to be used in the iPhone 13 lineup.

Mobile

Google adds a private locked photos folder to iPhones for ‘personal’ photos

Google Photos will soon let iPhone and Android users save their photos behind a biometrically protected locked folder as Google pushes for greater privacy features on mobile. It's a nice way to get some peace of mind and keep sensitive personal photos off the cloud.

Locked Folder is a feature Google introduced for Pixels earlier this year that lets them hide sensitive photos out of view. If a photo is hidden away behind a "locked folder," it won't show up. It's a lot like the hidden album feature on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, but with the benefit of password or biometric protection. Images in the locked folder also aren't synced to Google Photos, but restricted to the device used. Locked Folder will come to iPhones early next year, while non-Pixel Android users will have it sometime "soon."

Mobile

Apple’s iPhone 13 and iPad Mini are facing more display and touch problems

The iPhone 13 Pro's lock screen.

Apple's new iPhone 13 is in its second week of release, but early adopters are already reporting critical issues with the company's displays. Some have noted that the system intermittently is unresponsive to touch. This comes after the company's new iPad Mini was criticized for experiencing an issue colloquially referred to as jelly scrolling.

The more major issue that affects the new iPhone 13 and 13 Pro are intermittent touch issues. From reports, this happens when the iPhone 13 doesn't register swipes or taps on the display 100% of the time. It affects everything from using the phone normally to tap-to-wake to playing games and switching apps. It isn't consistent, so it may not be immediately obvious to some iPhone 13 owners. It's also not clear whether this is a hardware fault or a bug in the new iOS 15 update. There are even reports of it applying to older iPhones as well on social media platforms and support forums.