--- description: Find out why Apple was selected for the inaugural list title: TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2021: Apple image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71e84e134ba7551c/698a18ebe76ad2d572638cdf/apple-time100-companies.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 27, 2021 # Apple Doubling down on defining products by [Patrick Austin](/author/patrick-lucas-austin/) ## Patrick Austin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  People line up to get inside the newly-opened Apple Store at Sanlitun in Beijing, China on July 17, 2020. People line up to get inside the newly-opened Apple Store at Sanlitun in Beijing, China on July 17, 2020.Zheng Liang—Imaginechina/AP Images During the holiday season, [Apple](https://time.com/tag/apple/ "undefined") raked in a record-breaking $111 billion, thanks in part to the uptick in remote work and schooling boosting its Mac and iPad sales. And that’s just one way the [Tim Cook](https://time.com/5574143/technology-regulated-apple-tim-cook/ "undefined")–led, Cupertino, Calif., company was able to defy gravity in 2020, upsetting both the competition and its apparent partners. Among other moves, it launched a new Mac lineup with a plan to phase out its use of Intel processors for its own Apple-made designs based on its mobile devices. It debuted new iPhone models that caught up to the 5G-enabled competition, and added services like Apple Fitness+ to help keep people moving when they’re indoors (and to compete with fitness companies like Peloton). As with [Google](https://time.com/collection/time100-companies/5953739/google "undefined") and [Amazon](https://time.com/collection/time100-companies/5953670/amazon-titans "undefined"), Apple has faced increased scrutiny for allegedly anti-competitive practices over the past year, but anti-trust lawsuits and complaints—in the U.S., the E.U. and elsewhere—haven’t dulled the giant’s interest in further expansion. The company is rumored to be eyeing new product categories, such as augmented-reality glasses, and speaking with auto manufacturers about a potential Apple-branded self-driving vehicle. Apple Is One of the 2021 TIME100 Most Influential Companies ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-companies/5953656/apple-leaders/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-companies/5953656/apple-leaders/"},"headline":"Apple","datePublished":"2021-04-27T00:50:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T02:25:51.922Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-companies/5953656/apple-leaders/","keywords":["Lists","franchise","TIME100 Companies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71e84e134ba7551c/698a18ebe76ad2d572638cdf/apple-time100-companies.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Patrick Austin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/patrick-lucas-austin/"}],"creator":"Patrick Austin","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71e84e134ba7551c/698a18ebe76ad2d572638cdf/apple-time100-companies.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-companies/5953656/apple-leaders/","name":"Apple"}}]}] ```