#3 Patent Trials

Apple has a sort of bone of contention with its competitors. The company had sued Samsung, Motorola and others over patent infringement. The law suits however seems to be draining time and money of the iPhone maker. 2013 can be a year for Apple to determine whether those cases are worth to fight and to try playing bit nicer with the competitors.

#2 Samsung's Trump Cards

Samsung has got a new feather added to its crown. It beat Apple to become the number one company in Smartphone sales in U.S. And Samsung’s Galaxy S III is considered to be the best Smartphone available now. For Apple in 2013 there’s a big challenge of regaining its market leadership.   

#1 A New Way of Managing Operations

Earlier this year there were major executive changes in Apple. The company’s CEO Tim Cook decided to get rid of Scott Forstall and John Browett and realign his executive team. 2013 will be a year to look forward if the company’s management team, without two key players, can manage operations. And Cook would have to prove that he has the right management team to keep the company on track.

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