I know both have diversified, and Google has become best friends with the Obama administration.
I just wonder if they will be relevant? These tech companies main reason for living is advertising, and their algorithms.
I look back, and Apple had a physical product. Other than Apple, exactly what companies will be here in a decade?
Actually, I don't think I would buy another new Apple product for myself. I still buy them as presents. It's a nice gift. For myself, I will still buy used while their is a surplus of parts.
I went into my Corte Madera Apple Store on 2-1-16. There's no cash registers. A few printers are attached under the counters for receipts. It's ambience was that of a operating room. I walked out, with a $39.00 iPad mini case. I said to myself, "Is this my last visit?" The case was not the quality I expected from Apple either.
Please don't beat me up. I won't even be back. Just thinking out loud. My prediction of future events have a poor track record.
Sibling comment, compares Goog with MS 10 years back. My humble submission is several people saw it coming even then. I remember reading a book called 'The Search', and also having some discussions with friends, where we felt that Google will overtake MS. But there is no such thing in the horizon, which challenges Google. And people tried - Blekko was noteworthy. DDG is also liked by hackers, but it remains to be seen in the long term.
Now talking about FB's algos (or AI). Its purely anecdotal, but till I was using FB, I found it highly irritating. Imagine if your email was trying to guess which email you like to read, rather than simple time sorted one (and brief categorization, which gmail does).
[1] This analogy of comparing Google to advertising company has become a bit tiring now as well. I think, thats their current way of making money, we should judge them by what their intrinsic value is - Search/self-driving cars/Youtube/etc. As the means may change (micro-payments via Bitcoin/etc who knows?)
Only Google is a lot more diversified than MS was back then, since Android isn't even their main business.
You didn't used to have to exclude the server market. They owned that too. Then Linux challenged them and won.
In fact, they used to own all PCs. Then Apple challenged them for laptops and won.
Microsoft isn't doing badly, but it's not an unchallengeable juggernaut any more.
And Google won't be forever either.
Google is up with Apple and Coca Cola as most valuable brands, but Facebook is not even top 10.
That might easily change.
If average salaries go down, people won't be able to afford pay rent they once used to. There will be less people living on their own and more people sharing with others. This will create oversupply of rental properties which means rent prices will go down.
If rent prices go down, property prices will go down too as property investors won't be able to justify holding a relatively expensive property yielding low rental returns. So they might as well put the property on the market creating more supply of properties for sale. Thus bursting the bubble.