There's no company quite like Apple. From its heyday in the 1980s to its near death and subsequent resurrection under Steve Jobs in the 1990s and early 2000s, Apple continues to set benchmarks in standards and design. 

Yes, there have been missteps over the past few years as iOS cedes to Android and other rivals gain ground, but Apple still remains a monolith.

This fact was reiterated when Apple topped Forbes' list for the third year running as the most valuable brand in the world.

Apple of our eye

Forbes places Apple's value at US$104.3 billion, up 20 per cent from 2012 and worth nearly twice as much as its nearest competitor.

Apple's old rival Microsoft is second on the list, with an estimated wealth of US$56b.

Rounding out the top five are Coca-Cola (US$54.9b), IBM (US$50.7b) and Google (US$47.3b).

Slow and steady

Apple sold 33.8 million iPhones in the last quarter, a new record. This comes on top of 14.1 million iPads and 4.6 million Macs. 

30 billion songs have been purchased on ITunes over the past decade, and despite declining sales Apple still managed to sell a nifty 26.4 million iPods this year. 

While competitors like Google and Samsung continue to gain ground, these latest figures show Apple is still the brand to beat. 

To view the full list visit forbes.com/powerful-brands.

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