Apple is the best brand in the world

Interbrand has published its Best Global Brands 2015 list. As in previous years, technology companies are well-represented in the list, and this time around it is Apple that takes the top slot. The company, which just launched the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is valued at $170 billion -- an increase of 43 percent.

Google finds itself in second place with a $120 billion valuation (up 12 percent from last year), and Microsoft is not far behind in fourth position with a valuation of $67 billion. IBM and Samsung are in fifth and seventh place, and an increase in value of 29 percent to $37 billion sees Amazon just creeping into the top ten. Further down the list there are some new arrivals to note.

New entrants include Lenovo ($4.1 billion) at 100, and PayPal ($4.2 billion) at 97. Huawei jumped in value 15 percent ($4.9 billion) and rose to 88 in the list. Another brand to enjoy a huge rise in value is Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg's company finds itself occupying position 23, rocketing 54 percent to $22 billion.

Interbrand estimates the value of companies based not only on revenue earned from sales, but also factors such as brand loyalty, and the level of influence the brand has over customers.

The full top 100 is available on the Interbrand website.