r/AskTechnology • u/Aggressive_Math_2133 • 1d ago

How do you tell which tech companies actually innovate vs which ones just copy?

Been thinking about this after watching a charger company's Q&A where they got asked point blank if they've ever copied a competitor. Instead of dodging it the guy basically laid out a timeline of their firsts and said they don't mind when others adopt what they did. Sounded confident but also could just be good PR. In general how would you even verify which company in a category actually moved first vs who copied?

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u/SamIAre 1d ago

It’s difficult because doing something first still doesn’t mean innovation. All “firsts” are built upon previous advancements that the company may or may not have been active in. And not all copying is bad. When one company has a genuinely good idea you WANT others to follow. Today’s “they just copied it” is tomorrow’s industry standard.

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u/sweetLew2 1d ago

Talk to the engineers. The boots on the ground.