It has been the perfect storm of problems for Apple recently. Last week, several celebrities had their private intimate photos leaked to the public after they were stored in Apple's iCloud online storage system; earlier today Samsung unveiled its newest pair of smartphones in an effort to steal the iPhone's thunder prior to its big announcement on September 9th. Couple in the fact that Samsung has also announced a smartphone partnership between the company and facebook and that leads to a hard day on the stock market.

Apple's shares fell $4.36 or 4.44% to a total of $98.94. Apple hasn't seen a decline like that since January 28 earlier this year when it lost $6.19 or 8%, according to data from Yahoo Finance. Apple stands tall as the most valuable U.S. company on the market with value of more $618 billion, but Wednesday's decline cost investors $26.1 billion.

Apple's decline and money issues sent shockwaves throughout the industry. The entire board of Standard & Poor's 500, who owns Apple, has been pushed into the red.  The amount of market value lost in this day alone for Apple exceeds the entire value of more than half the companies in S&P 500.

The downfall is said to be due to Apple's rivals pushing the technology giant and a feeling from investors that Apple may be behind the curve. While rumors do indicate that Apple will unveil a new large-format iPhone and wireless payment technology, these are features that have been available through Samsung's Galaxy and Mcrosoft's Lumia lines for years.

In addition to phone hardware, the attention has also turned to the wealth of new virtual reality technology that has been cropping up lately. Facebook has said that it will be integrating its feature, Oculus, into select Samsung gadgets. Investors are waiting to see if Apple can step up and deliver.

The technology business is one that centers around the idea of, "What have you done for me lately?" It matters very little if Apple once made the iPod and iPhone; if it cannot evolve with the times and lead the way as it once has, it is going to suffer for it.

History is filled with companies that once owned their respective markets but fell by the wayside as they were unable to evolve with the times. These include such names as Microsoft, AOL and Myspace. If Apple wants to avoid becoming another also-ran in the modern era, it will need to make a big statement on September 9th when it unveils the latest in its line of iPhones. If it does not, the past has shown us that consumers are quick to shift their attention away from the ones that they once loved.