Apple remains -- despite its recent share price tumbles -- the most powerful and wealthiest technology company in the world, while Microsoft still has more users of its products than any other firm in the world.
The duopoly between the two remains, just as it earlier in the decade. But the two companies in the past year have seen extreme highs and extreme lows. How the two technology behemoths will hold on to their respective highs in the coming year will be something to watch. It's entirely likely that Apple and Microsoft will go back to being 'ordinary' technology companies, and little will separate them from each other or the wider community.
Windows 8 will likely, despite analysts hedging their outlooks, become a massive success, despite its sluggish start. Most organizations are expected to roll out the next-generation software to their existing machines. At the same time, Apple's dominance in the post-PC world will see its share of the tablet market steady out and take the crown away from the traditional PC market.
That said, Microsoft's Windows share could suffer as a result of a rise in mobile operating systems while Apple's share price and troubles in keeping up with the innovation curve in 2012 could see the firm fall back to the mid-2000s.
While both scenarios are possible, the complete reverse could also -- and may -- happen. The PC/post-PC world is still in transition, and only time will tell if the two companies, singularly or respectively, have kept up with the trends.
Join Discussion