Last week, Procreate, a popular art studio app for iPad, made waves by declaring it was not going to introduce any generative AI into its products. According to James Cuda, Procreate’s CEO and co-founder, the decision amounted to being “on the right path supporting human creativity.” The stance stood in stark contrast to what we have seen from Big Tech. We are witnessing a broader conflict surrounding the positioning of technology against…

For the second time in eight months, Google lost an antitrust case in the U.S. Following the December 2023 loss to Epic Games, which was more embarrassing than anything for Google, the search giant gave the U.S. government its first antitrust win as part of its anti-Big Tech crusade. 

Google had a thin line to walk in going up against the U.S. government. The company needed to talk up its search acumen…

At least based on the most recent quarterly earnings report, Amazon appears to be doing fine. People are buying more goods through Prime, the company’s digital advertising business contains plenty of promise, and AWS has no obvious flaws. However, a few things about Amazon have turned unsettling to me. Amazon’s retail customer service has become downright atrocious while its Alexa ecosystem of devices is proving to be more of a hindrance than…

As I am one of the more outspoken critics of generative AI mania, the following statement may come as a surprise: It is OK that Big Tech is pouring huge amounts of cash into AI-focused capex. I would go so far as to say that Big Tech is doing the right thing. While Wall Street and Silicon Valley are still grappling with how generative AI will be used by the masses, the…

The writing is on Magic Leap’s wall. The company that captured the hearts and minds of journalists and VCs in the 2010s is on its last legs. If the company is not able to become a components supplier for more capable companies dabbling in spatial computing, we are likely seeing Magic Leap’s final chapter being written.

Magic Leap’s slow but steady slide into irrelevance is on one level predictable. A company void…

For those with an interest in business and branding, Nike is one of the more intriguing stories to follow in 2024. It’s an iconic brand with decades of experience left reeling by a marketplace penalizing complacency. Two weeks ago, Nike experienced its worst day on Wall Street with shares falling 20% and now trading at the same level as they were in 2018. Looking under the hood, Nike has become a show-me…

While Wall Street remains fully engrossed by NVIDIA, there is a story to be told that is flying under the radar. With several key macro headwinds now in the rearview mirror, Wall Street has turned decidedly more optimistic on Big Tech (a bucket that I have long defined as including Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft). Big Tech as a group is up 28% in 2024 while the S&P 500 is up 15%.

Live sports are in a weird place. Through a certain lens, sports look to be performing amazingly well. Stadiums are packed, and admission pricing is moving higher. The content has become a lifeline for cable and increasingly paid video streaming. And yet, through a different lens, there is reason to be worried about live sports’ future as younger generations have trouble connecting with the entertainment. The debate as to which scenario deserves…

The Windows gang is back at it, or so we are led to believe. Over the past few weeks, Microsoft and partners have tried to put together a coherent plan to win back mind and market share from the Mac. I am left unimpressed with both their attempt and odds of success. The reality is, we are likely seeing the Window brigade’s last stand in trying to go up against the Mac.

We still find ourselves in a paid video streaming renaissance. A significant amount of high-quality scripted content is available at our fingertips without the need for complicated contracts and subscriptions. However, it increasingly doesn’t feel like we are still in the golden age of streaming. The parade of sizeable price increases, combined with streamers leaning on tried-and-tested practices from the big cable bundle era, have removed some of the magic from the…

Last week, the 2024 spring cycle of tech events kicked off in earnest. OpenAI livestreamed a “Spring Update” event, and Google held its annual developer conference. As expected, some of my AI fears, which we discussed in last week’s essay, came to fruition. Another thing that jumped out at me was the juxtaposition found with the two AI-infused events. A closer look at event optics provides a story underlying AI mania.

In…

Last week, Apple held a virtual event to unveil refreshed iPad Airs, iPad Pros, a new M4 chip, and a few updated iPad accessories and apps. To show off the iPad Pro’s new redesign, Apple created an ad in-house showing a hydraulic press crushing an assortment of (older) creative tools including a piano, guitar, and paint cannisters into the new iPad Pro. The “Crush” iPad ad elicited strong reactions on social media…

After two years at the helm, Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy resigned last week. With no success at reigniting growth, McCarthy left the initiative to his Peloton co-workers to figure out - at least those who will survive yet another round of layoffs. The Peloton story has been a fascinating one to watch, both on the way up and down. Most of McCarthy’s product ideas were at odds with where the connected fitness…

A local grocer whose family had been in the business for 80 years closed its doors last week. It’s been the talk of the town since the news first broke. Similar stories aren’t that difficult to find elsewhere. In an attempt to console the community, the owner had an interesting story to tell as to why his family was calling it quits. They were in a battle for meals and losing to…

Last week was a strange one in the consumer gadgets space. A debate involving the most popular tech gadget reviewer and product review ethics generated days of buzz and attention. Given how quickly the news cycle moves these days, such longevity jumped out at me. However, the most valuable takeaways and insights from the ordeal seem to have been glossed over. As the first wave of AI-infused consumer gadgets from start-ups come…

Deep down, Spotify wants to be the YouTube of audio. Daniel Ek has long been intrigued with the idea of controlling a marketplace where a seemingly infinite amount of user-generated content is matched with a billion customers. Such a goal requires a full-fledged journey into advertising. However, in recent quarters, Spotify has been pulled in a different direction.

Last week, Spotify was in the news for reportedly getting ready to push through…

As consumer hardware startups pivot to AI to find market traction, Sonos is quietly flying under the radar with its own upcoming consumer HW device. All signs point to the speaker company soon branching out into wearables with a premium pair of wireless over-ear headphones. While the headphones market has seen significant growth and adoption since Apple pushed the space into the spotlight in the mid-2010s, headphones are still being underestimated in…

Earlier this week, the U.S. government unveiled its long-awaited antitrust complaint against Apple. This followed previously unveiled antitrust cases against Meta (2020), Amazon (2023), and Google (2020), which are in different stages of playing out in court. There is one commonality found among the complaints: the U.S. government is struggling to get around the fact that Big Tech plays in competitive markets.

For the better part of the last decade, U.S. regulation…

Just when they thought they were out of the political woods, TikTok got a rude awakening this week as the U.S. House passed a bill that would essentially ban TikTok in the U.S. While President Biden has indicated his interest in signing the bill into law, the Senate may end up being TikTok’s saving grace. The bill raises several questions for me as to what Washington is doing. More importantly, the TikTok…

Things are getting strange. On social media, a feeling of angst has taken over the tech space. Apple and Tesla are said to be on the ropes while calls for Google replacing its CEO are on the rise. Other companies, including Meta and Microsoft, are riding PR highs. AI mania continues to add chaos to the mix. Oh, and Bitcoin is back at all-time highs. The signs support the theory that we…