Ben Bajarin

Ben studies how technology transitions reshape competitive advantage and market structure, from semiconductors and AI infrastructure to adoption and business strategy.

Article · October 19, 2022

Working out Meta Kinks

There are numerous challenges facing Meta’s vision and ambition for AR/VR/XR, whatever term you prefer. The most important thing from Meta’s posture is their recognition of how difficult AR/XR will be from both a technological standpoint and a user adoption standpoint. And the reality they have embr

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Article · October 14, 2022

Microsoft Surface Pro 9: A Tale of Two Chipsets

Microsoft has been embarking on a multi-year strategy to enable Windows OEMs to have silicon diversity. It has been within Microsoft’s best interests to help OEMs embrace multiple silicon partners, not just Intel, to leverage each unique solution for what is has to offer. Microsoft did this a few ye

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Article · October 5, 2022

The Silicon Big Five: Intel

What is Intel’s fate? Curiously, this is not a question that has much grey area in the public arena, even though it should. Commentary, at least the discord I monitor and read, seems to either think Intel is on the right track or a dead company walking. Investors on the sell-side I chat with agree…

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Article · September 8, 2022

Apple Watch’s Evolving Pillars

Before I dig into a few product-specific observations about Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra, I want to make a broader point. Apple Watch has been one of the more fascinating product evolutions I have seen from Apple. I say that because since it came to market, it has evolved well beyond w

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Article · June 7, 2022

WWDC 2022: M2, Macbook Air, Mac Gaming, and What’s Old is New

M2 Debut: Next Generation of Apple Silicon With heavy anticipation, Apple’s next-generation silicon design for the Mac was unveiled. Unsurprisingly called the M2, new details were shared by Apple, which sets the stage for this year’s Apple Silicon platform to push the Mac forward. I always paid part

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Article · May 26, 2022

The Mainstreaming of Augmented Reality

There is little doubt that augmented reality, specifically computing products that blend the physical world with the digital world, is going to be the next frontier of computing. Most of the conversations we are having with the broader tech industry have circled around the core technologies themselv

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Article · May 18, 2022

The Great Tech Wall of China

My fascination with the Chinese market started at the beginning of the smartphone era. The market itself, and the Chinese consumer, represent one of the largest economic opportunities for both companies local to China and global companies looking to provide goods and services to the Chinese people.

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Article · April 19, 2022

Tesla Delivers Automotive Delight

Could Tesla be the most delightful automotive experience? Using our Delight Scale, we can make a strong case that Tesla provides the most delightful, mainstream automotive experience based on our product research. I point out mainstream automotive experience because I’m sure Ferrari, Porsche, Masera

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Article · March 24, 2022

The Business Case for the Mac

As a part of our broad research into the hardware and software tools that make up critical parts of employee experiences in businesses, we also looked deeply into the opportunity for Macs in the enterprise. Apple has had an interesting relationship with the enterprise. Most, if not all, IT professio

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Article · March 16, 2022

Best Product Beats Best Bundle

Conventional wisdom in software, especially in enterprise software, is the company that sells the most robust bundle will generally see the apps in that bundle become the default for customers. This has historically been proven true time and again by Microsoft. This was the basis of their main antit

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Article · March 10, 2022

Apple Silicon: Ultra Clever

I have been arguing for years, and I will die on this hill. Apple silicon remains one of the most innovative products Apple creates on an annual basis. You may disagree with the framing of Apple silicon as a product, but knowing Apple as I do, they view almost everything they create as a product…

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Article · March 7, 2022

The Power of Technology Sanctions

As we look on and observe the absurdity of what is happening with Russia invading Ukraine, it has been fascinating to see most of the world power unite against a foreign power acting badly. I recall commentary from world leaders when Russia attempted to invade Georgia, and the message was clear that

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