Apple: The World’s Most Valuable Brand, Makes Bold Move to Further Strengthen Its Brand’s USP

A few months ago, back in November 2020, Apple made the bold move of breaking away from its 15-year partnership with Intel.

Already listed as the most valuable brand in the world at over US$260billion by Statista this 2021, just slightly ahead of Amazon, Apple’s move away from Intel is a clear signal to the market that it intends to solidify its leadership position even more.

“(Apple) has a long-term strategy of owning and controlling the primary technologies behind the products we make.”

– Tim Cook, Apple CEO

For a brand to cement its leadership position in the market, it needs to control the key levers of the supporting evidence that makes the brand distinct from its competitors. Apple’s move to replace Intel’s microprocessors with their very own Apple M1 chips (which it already uses for its phones and tablets) for their MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini is a clear move towards taking full control of just that.

According to Apple, aside from extending the battery life of its products, the M1 enables the increase in speed of the CPU, graphics, and neural engine, i.e. Apple’s most advanced 16-core architecture capable of 11 trillion operations per second.

By releasing itself from Intel’s technological and logistical bandwidths and taking full control of the very engines that power its products, Apple solidifies its battlecry in the market to “Think Different“, truly a brilliant move by this most valuable brand in the world.