Who are Apple’s competitors?
Apple names 5 companies as competitors in its latest annual report. 26 companies name Apple back.
Skip to the field, head to head ↓Apple company profile
Apple names platforms as rivals, while companies in many categories name Apple
Apple's own list is short and drawn by platform. It names 5 competitors: "Android for smartphones and tablets", Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox. Apple sees rivals as the places where software and devices live.
Others see Apple through the product that collides with theirs. Gen Digital lists it among security competitors. Logitech lists it for keyboards, Take-Two for mobile gaming, Fossil for watches, and Zoom among consumer-facing platforms. Meta says Apple and Google each "integrated competitive products with iOS and Android".
So the map depends on who draws it. Apple counts platforms. Everyone else counts Apple, one category at a time. A company that fought $416.2 billion in revenue at a 27% net margin does not need to enter your market to compete there. It only needs to add a feature.
Where Apple says it competes
“compared to competitors’ platforms, such as Android for smartphones and tablets, Windows for personal computers and tablets, and PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox for gaming platforms”
Who names Apple as a competitor
“Security: Our principal competitors in this segment include Apple, Bitdefender, ESET, F-Secure, Google, Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, McAfee, Microsoft, Trend Micro and Webroot.”
10-K for 2026“Keyboards & Combos Apple Inc. ("Apple"), Dell Technologies ("Dell"), HP, Lenovo Group Ltd. ("Lenovo"), Eweadn, Mchose, Keychron, Cherry, Amazon Basics and regional computer peripheral computer brands are the main competitors in our keyboard and combo product lines.”
10-K for 2026“We also face competition from online game developers and distributors who have primarily focused on specific international markets and with high-profile companies with significant online presences with new and expanded mobile gaming offerings, such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft.”
10-K for 2026“We face competition from legacy web-based meeting services providers, including Cisco Webex and GoTo, bundled productivity suite providers with communications offerings, including Microsoft 365 (with Teams) and Google Workspace (with Meet), and UCaaS and legacy web-based meeting providers, including Avaya, RingCentr…”
10-K for 2026“In addition, we face strong competition in the watch category from technology companies that offer alternatives to our traditional watches, such as Apple, Garmin, Google and Samsung.”
10-K for 2026“For example, each of Apple and Google have integrated competitive products with iOS and Android, respectively.”
10-K for 2025“Our primary competition consists of facilitators and providers of legacy payment and consumer loan methods, such as credit and debit cards, including those provided by card issuing banks; technology solutions, including those provided by financial technology or payment companies; mobile wallets, such as Apple and Pa…”
10-K for 2025“Certain features of our platform compete in the cloud storage market with products offered by Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google, and Adobe and in the content collaboration market with products offered by Microsoft, Atlassian, Slack (now part of Salesforce) and Google.”
10-K for 2025“• We may not be able to engage consumers as effectively as our large competitors with broad ecosystems – Some of our competitors, such as Alibaba, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple and Meta (Facebook and Instagram), are larger than we are, have greater resources, have a dominant and secure position in other industrie…”
10-K for 2025“Large companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Google offer TV streaming devices that compete with Roku streaming devices and those of our licensed Roku TV partners and the Roku TV OS.”
10-K for 2025“Competition for Pandora’s services are primarily offered by entities that provide music and entertainment services as a small part of a larger business, such as Apple, Google, Amazon and YouTube.”
10-K for 2025“Many of these companies, such as Alphabet (including Google and YouTube), Apple, ByteDance (TikTok and affiliated joint ventures), Meta (including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp), Pinterest, Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), may have greater financial and human resources and, in some cases, larger user ba…”
10-K for 2025“Some of our competitors, including Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon, have developed, and are continuing to develop, devices for which their audio streaming services are preloaded or may also be set as the default providers, which puts us at a significant competitive disadvantage.”
20-F for 2025“We also face significant competition from companies that design processors based on the ARM architecture, such as Apple with its M series products, Qualcomm with its Snapdragon products and MediaTek with its Kompanio products.”
10-K for 2025“Garmin believes that its principal competitors for fitness products are Apple, Bryton, Coros, Elite, Google, Huawei, Oura, Polar, Samsung, SRAM, Suunto, Wahoo Fitness, Whoop, Xiaomi, Zepp Health, and Zwift.”
10-K for 2025“Moovit’s free and subscription-based application competition includes Alphabet, Apple, Citymapper, and Transit.”
10-K for 2025“Our primary competitors are Acer Inc., Apple Inc., ASUSTeK Computer Inc., Dell Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Lenovo Group Limited, Logitech International S.A., Microsoft Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Toshiba Corporation.”
10-K for 2025“Our competition includes established, well-known sellers of audio products such as Bose, Samsung (and its subsidiaries and brands Harman International, Denon, Polk Audio and Bowers and Wilkens, and JBL), Sony, Bang & Olufsen, Sennheiser, Apple, Google, and Amazon.”
10-K for 2025“For example, Microsoft Corporation, Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc. and others are offering alternative means for messaging and making wireless voice calls that, in certain cases, can be used in lieu of the wireless providers' voice service, as well as alternative means of accessing video content.”
10-K for 2024“These product offerings include, but are not limited to: Netflix, Hulu, Apple+, Prime Video, YouTube TV, Disney+, ESPN+, Paramount + , Max, STARZ, Peacock, Fubo, Philo and Tubi and certain bundles of these offerings.”
10-K for 2024“Competitors to Office include software and global application vendors, such as Apple, Cisco Systems, Google, Meta, Proofpoint, Slack, Symantec, Zoom, and numerous web-based and mobile application competitors as well as local application developers.”
10-K for 2024“We compete against smart-living and point-product companies such as Alarm.com, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Crestron, Lutron, Savant, Sonos, and Ubiquiti.”
10-K for 2023“Competition may also increase from large technology companies, such as Apple, Amazon (which acquired One Medical in February 2023), Facebook, Verizon, or Microsoft, who may wish to develop or expand their own telehealth solutions or partner with our other competitors, as well as from large retailers like Kroger, CVS…”
10-K for 2022“However, we expect competition to intensify in the future as we face increasing competition from competitors who are building their own smart home platforms, such as Amazon, Apple and Google, as well as from companies that offer single-point connected devices.”
10-K for 2022“As we expand our global operations and gaming offerings, we increasingly face competition from online game developers and distributors who have primarily focused on specific international markets, such as NetEase, Netmarble and Tencent in Asia, and high-profile companies with significant online presences with new an…”
10-K for 2021The field, from the filings
| Company | Fiscal year | Revenue | Growth | Net margin | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | FY to Sep 2025 | $416.2B | +6% | 27% | 166,000 |
| Microsoft | FY to Jun 2026 | $331.8B | +18% | 40% | 223,000 |
| Meta | 2025 | $201.0B | +22% | 30% | 78,865 |
| Verizon | 2025 | $138.2B | +3% | 12% | 89,900 |
| HP | FY to Oct 2025 | $55.3B | +3% | 5% | – |
| Intel | 2025 | $52.9B | 0% | −1% | – |
| eBay | 2025 | $11.1B | +8% | 18% | 12,300 |
| Dish DBS | 2024 | $10.6B | −7% | 14% | – |
| Sirius XM | 2025 | $8.6B | −2% | 9% | 5,119 |
| Garmin | 2025 | $7.2B | +15% | 23% | 23,000 |
| Take Two Interactive Software | FY to Mar 2026 | $6.7B | +18% | −4% | 12,909 |
Each company’s latest fiscal year as reported to the SEC, in US dollars; fiscal years end in different months. Rivals that report outside the US or in other currencies are not shown.
What the rivals have done lately
“On January 30, 2026, we completed the acquisition of Starry Group Holdings, Inc. (Starry), a fixed wireless broadband provider serving multi-dwelling units in five markets across the U.S.” filing
“Acquisition and divestiture charges decreased by $157 million in the fiscal year 2024, primarily due to reduced integration activities associated with the fiscal year 2022 Poly acquisition.” filing
“Goodwill acquired during the year ended December 31, 2024 relates to the acquisition of Goldin, a leading U.S.-based auction house for high-value trading cards and collectibles.” filing
Decisions that shaped the field
Asked about Apple’s competitors
Who are Apple's competitors?
In its annual report for fiscal 2024, Apple names 5 competitors. 10-K for fiscal 2024
Which companies name Apple as a competitor?
26 companies in our coverage name it in their own annual reports: Gen Digital, Logitech International, Take Two Interactive Software, Zoom, Fossil Group, Meta, Atlanticus Holdings, Dropbox, eBay, Roku, Sirius XM, Snap, Spotify, Intel, Garmin, Mobileye Global, HP, Sonos, Verizon, Dish DBS, Microsoft, Snap One Holdings, Activision Blizzard, Babylon Holdings, Vivint Smart Home and Zynga.
How does Apple compare with its rivals?
Apple reported $416.2B in revenue in its latest fiscal year, +6% on a year, with a 27% net margin. Microsoft: $331.8B, 40% net margin; Meta: $201.0B, 30% net margin.
What are the alternatives to Apple?
The companies Apple itself names as competitors are listed above, front by front, each in its own report’s words. Which matters for a given buyer depends on the job, not the list.
What would it actually cost a challenger to take your customer?
Sources: Apple’s annual report for fiscal 2024 and earlier years (2022, 2023); the annual reports of the companies that name it; each company’s financial data as reported to the SEC; Stratrix Decision Records. Analysis and data, not advice.
Keep going
Tools to try
- Ansoff move finderFramework: Ansoff Matrix
- Business model canvas builderFramework: Business Model Canvas
- Change readiness checkFramework: Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
- Five Forces scorerFramework: Porter's Five Forces
- SMART goal builderFramework: SMART Goals
- SWOT builderFramework: SWOT Analysis
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