(Yicai Global) Feb. 22 -- Apple Inc. has budged Amazon.com Inc. from the top spot in the latest 50 Most Innovative Companies List published by the magazine Fast Company. China's Tencent Holdings Ltd. ranks number four, followed by two other Chinese tech firms, Vipkid and SZ DJI Technology Co. in the 29th and 35th slots, respectively. 

The list chooses from among 350 shortlisted candidates in 36 sectors, ranging from the world's most valuable tech firm, to startups and conventional companies that have successfully adapted to the latest technological revolution.

Apple Inc. topped the list -- not as the creator of iPhone, but as the inventor of AirPods, the popular wireless Bluetooth earphones. Its third-generation iWatch ranks among the best-selling wearable devices in the world, and software developers all around the globe extensively use Apple's ARKit. The release of the iPhone X effectively dispelled doubts as to Apple's creativity as the largest company by capitalization in the world.

Tencent has leapfrogged eight spots to number four to outpace US cloud computing and e-commerce giant Amazon, hailed as last year's most innovative firm.

The Shenzhen-based tech titan is widely seen as a leading content producer. The number of its users has outstripped that of smartphone users in China. Tencent's affiliate China Reading Group started distributing movies, TV series and other media content via popular messaging and payment app WeChat after a USD1 billion initial public offering in November. The company has acquired the world's largest video game developer, generates the greatest volume of online game traffic today and is well on track to entrench itself as a global leader in TV drama and movie content production. Its popular multiplayer online battle arena game, Honor of Kings, has been adapted as video streaming products. Burgeoning music and video subscription revenues lifted the firm's earnings 59 percent in last year's first half alone. 

Chinese online education firm VIPkid claimed the number 29 spot on the list for its ability to 'make education a universal language.' The Beijing-based firm has more than 30,000 contracted tutors in North America, and over 200,000 students aged between four and 12, bringing them together through 25-minute one-on-one video English lessons. The firm logged revenues of USD760 million last year, more than double the year before.

SZ DJI Technology Co. took 35th place on the list. It occupies a 66-percent share of the US drone market by sales, per statistics from retail market research agency NPD Group.