Apple Inc. has been making waves since 1976. From iPods, MacBooks to iPhone 13, Apple keeps setting the trend for electronics companies. These companies also do not hesitate to emulate Apple, creating several competitors. Read along to find out some qualities of these competitors.
#1. Samsung
- Founded: March 1, 1938
- Headquarters: Suwon-si, South Korea
Need To Know
Samsung was founded on March 1, 1938, by Lee Byung-Chul. Samsung was first known for trading food products. It later moved into electronics in the late 1960s. In 1980, Samsung acquired Hanguk Jeonja Tongsin. This purchase helped its launch into telecommunications. Mobile phone production started in 2000. Then in 2009, they launched the Samsung Galaxy, which produced a range of smartphones.
Samsung once produced black and white televisions. It continued to foster technology by dealing in electronics, genetic engineering tools, semiconductors, aerospace, telecommunication, and nanotechnology. Samsung Galaxy’s smartphones came in the 2000s. At that time, Samsung was a supplier of microprocessors for Apple products. It later moved on to tablets, smartwatches, and high technology smartphones.
#2. Dell
- Founded: February 1, 1984
- Headquarters: Round Rock, Texas, United States
Need To Know
Dell was founded on February 1, 1984, by Michael Dell. Dell company started as PCs Limited when Micheal was still a student at the University of Texas. He sold IBM PCs directly to customers. Micheal would purchase parts and assemble them into IBM PC clones, offering PCs at a lower cost. He opened branches in London, Canada, Italy and that grew his subsidiaries.
In the 1990s, he decided to diversify, producing notebooks, CDs, and fax machines. Dell now commercializes(in other words) computers and computer-related software and hardware. One of Dell’s strong product series is XPS. The first in the line was released in September 2008, and to date, they keep releasing high-end consumer-oriented computers. In 2015, Dell acquired EMC Corporation and merged under a new name, Dell Technologies.
#3. HP
- Founded: July 2, 1939
- Headquarters: Palo Alto, California
Need To Know
Hewlett-Packard Company was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard on July 2, 1939. They studied electrical engineering at Stanford University and graduated in 1935. The company started by producing electronic test and measurement instruments at a car garage in Palo Alto. Its first contract was with Walt Disney in 1938. They made their first computers in 1966. HP has partnered with many companies since its inception.
In 2015, HP had to split into Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and HP Inc. While HP Enterprise focuses on software and consumer support, HP Inc. continues to produce desktops, laptops, and printers. HP has a market share of 22.2%, coming close behind Lenovo in PC. It focuses on making its products affordable and of standard quality.
#4. Lenovo
- Founded: November 1984
- Headquarters: Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
Need To Know
Lenovo is a Chinese-American company founded in November 1984 in Beijing. It started under the English name Legend by Liu Chuanzhi and then by other engineers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. After failed attempts to market computers, they started producing theirs. Lenovo acquired IBM’s PC business giving it access to foreign markets. It bought several companies to enter into different world regions, Motorola being one.
Lenovo’s computer products include Lenovo Thinkpad and Lenovo Legion. While Thinkpad is good for businesses, Legion will give a better gaming experience. They also produce smartphones, television software, and servers. They currently are the world’s largest personal computer vendor by unit shares.
#5. Sony
- Founded: May 7, 1946
- Headquarters: Minato City, Tokyo, Japan
Need To Know
Sony started by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita on 7 May, 1946. It was first known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo but later changed to Sony in 1958. Sony corporation is the parent to Sony Entertainment, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Financial Group, and several other branches.
Sony Corporation is famous for its high-quality audio products. Electronic Products and Solutions is one of its business units responsible for producing top-notch laptops, biotechnology, robotics gadgets, and mobile phones. Sony Interactive Entertainment is responsible for the growth of the Game and Network Services. It maintains Playstation, which generates about half of Sony’s market share.
#6. Asus
- Founded: April 2, 1989
- Headquarters: Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan
Need To Know
Asus is a Taiwanese technology company founded on 2 April 1989 by Ted Hsu, M.T. Liao, Wayne Tsiah, T.H. Tung, and Luca D.M. They had all worked at Acer as hardware engineers. Due to the experience, they began to produce computer hardware, starting with motherboards. They were named the world’s leading motherboard maker in 1995. Asus has partnered with many companies like Lamborghini to develop the VX laptop series.
Their innovative spirits keep driving them to create more high-quality products. Some products include mobile phones, laptops, Wi-fi routers, and computer hardware. The most recent laptop is the ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED which has a tilting screen pad and other exciting features.
#7. Microsoft
- Founded: April 4, 1975
- Headquarters: Redmount, Washington, United States
Need To Know
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. In 1981, they created MS-DOS, which successfully replaced the existing operating system. In January 1975, they had made a BASIC interpreter for Altair 8800 before launching in April. It then released Microsoft Windows on November 20, 1985. Microsoft Office came about in 1990, and Microsoft continued to produce more new items.
Microsoft currently controls Microsoft Office, Skype, Visual Studio, Azure, Bing, and other services. It acquired Nokia in 2014 and began to produce phones which competed with android and iOS. It also sells input and output devices, including gaming devices called Xbox.
#8. Google
- Founded: September 4, 1998
- Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
Need To Know
Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Google on September 4, 1998, while studying for Ph.D. at Stanford University in California. Google company began as a search engine. In March 1999, google situated its office in Palo Alto, California.
Google now has over 50 internet services and products. One of which is the advertising services. You can display your advertisements on Google pages, and you earn when someone clicks your ad. Google acquired control of the Android operating system in 2005. Google released its first android phone in 2010 and is currently producing the Pixel series. Pixel series competes with Apple for its better camera quality.
#9. Huawei
- Founded: September 15, 1987
- Headquarters: Shenzhen, China
Need To Know
Huawei is a Chinese company developed by Ren Zhengfei on 15 September 1987. Ren used to be the deputy director at the People’s Liberation Army engineering corps in China. They started by producing telephone exchange switches, which gave them their first breakthrough.
Huawei has partnered with various companies like Gentle Monster to produce smartglasses. They manufacture phones and laptops, among other services. As of 2020, Huawei became the leading phone producer taking over Samsung and Apple.
#10. Oppo
- Founded: October 10, 2004
- Headquarters: Dongguan, China
Need To Know
Oppo was founded by Tony Chen on October 10, 2004, in Guangdong, China. Initially, Oppo focused on producing audio devices, Hi-fi headsets, and MP3 devices of exquisite quality.
Oppo began to produce phones in 2008, with its first smartphone in 2011. Oppo never stops innovating. From its operating system in 2013 to the sleek folding phone in 2021, Oppo keeps evolving. Oppo is working hard to stay as Apple’s top competitor.