Peter Thiel. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for New York Times Silicon Valley investor and Donald Trump transition-team member Peter Thiel says Apple is past its peak.

Here's what he said in a Q&A with Maureen Dowd of The New York Times when he was asked to confirm or deny that "the age of Apple is over":

"Confirm. We know what a smartphone looks like and does. It's not the fault of Tim Cook, but it's not an area where there will be any more innovation."

Thiel is best known in Silicon Valley for his early investment in Facebook. He also sits on Facebook's board and was the cofounder of the secretive data-analytics company Palantir.

Apple had a disappointing 2016 by the company's standards, with iPhone sales falling for the first time.

Read the Q&A with Thiel at The New York Times >>