Apple in context
Two races that made Apple
Apple's story isn't just its own products — it's the company climbing to the most valuable on Earth, and the phone platform it launched reshaping an entire market. Press play, or scrub through the years.
Apple in context
Apple's story isn't just its own products — it's the company climbing to the most valuable on Earth, and the phone platform it launched reshaping an entire market. Press play, or scrub through the years.
Forty-five years of the world’s biggest companies by market value. Watch NTT dwarf everything in 1987, Microsoft rule the dot-com peak, Apple pass ExxonMobil in 2011 — and Nvidia rocket to #1.
Source: public market data (Bloomberg, CRSP, filings) · year-end market caps · updated 2026-07-03
In 2007 Nokia’s Symbian owned nearly two thirds of smartphone sales. Then the iPhone and Android arrived and rewrote the market in under four years — and it’s been a duopoly ever since.
Source: Gartner / StatCounter · share of smartphone sales · updated 2026-07-03
Animated charts adapted from Overtake, a companion data project.