Could someone design a new kind of product and seize first mover advantage, eclipsing Apple? That would be a cool product. Maybe the manufacturing capacity exists, and the money to back it, so the producer could avoid acquisition. Patents matter. But it's hard to imagine Apple falling behind, or even being caught off guard. It would have to emerge from super stealth. Maybe a general purpose, human level AI? It would have to be something that extraordinary to even make a dent in Apple.