The analytical company IFI CLAIMS Patent Services summed up the results of 2025 by the number of patents granted in the United States, and for Apple the statistics turned out to be disappointing. The corporation received 2,722 patents, which is 12 percent fewer than in 2024, when it obtained 3,082. This was reported by MacRumors.

Decline against the background of a general trend

Apple dropped from fourth to sixth place in the annual ranking of the top 50 patent recipients. The total number of patents granted in the United States in 2025 decreased by almost 1 percent, to 323,272. The number of new patent applications fell even more significantly, by 9 percent, reaching its lowest level since 2019.

The decline affected key technological areas such as digital data processing, information transmission, and related fields. This reflects a general slowdown in innovative activity across the industry.

Competitors continue to grow

Against the backdrop of Apple’s decline, most of its major competitors maintained or increased their patent activity. Samsung remained the leader for the fourth year in a row with 7,054 patents. It was followed by TSMC and Qualcomm. Dell and Toyota made a noticeable leap forward, driven by patents in computing infrastructure, energy storage systems, and automotive technologies.

Overall, American companies reduced their patent activity by more than 5 percent, while several Asian countries, on the contrary, increased the number of registered inventions.

What this means for Apple

A reduction in the number of patents does not necessarily indicate stagnation. The company may be reallocating resources to internal developments that are not yet being patented or focusing on priority projects such as artificial intelligence and Vision Pro. However, in the long term, this trend could weaken Apple’s position in the technological race, especially against the backdrop of aggressive growth by competitors from Asia.

In brief

In 2025, Apple received 12 percent fewer patents in the United States, 2,722 compared to 3,082 a year earlier, and dropped from fourth to sixth place in the ranking. The total number of granted patents declined by 1 percent, while new applications fell by 9 percent. Competitors such as Samsung, TSMC, and Qualcomm maintained or increased their activity, while American companies as a whole lost more than 5 percent. This may indicate a shift in Apple’s priorities or a slowdown in innovation, which only time will clarify.