It is with great sadness that I write the most difficult news post I have ever had to write here at AnandTech. After more than 27 years of covering the wide – and wild – world of computer hardware, today is the last day of publication for AnandTech.
For better or worse, we’ve reached the end of a long journey—one that began with an AMD processor review and ended with an AMD processor review. That’s appropriately poetic, but it’s also proof that we’ve spent the last 27 years doing what we love, covering the chips that power the computing industry.
A lot has changed in the past quarter-century—NVIDIA hadn’t even invented the term “GPU” in 1997—and we’ve been fortunate to see the hardware world evolve over that time, from boxy desktops and laptops that we would classify as portable desktops today to handhelds where even the cheapest budget machine outshone the fastest PCs of 1997.
The years have also brought monumental changes to the publishing world. AnandTech wasn’t the first hardware enthusiast site, nor will we be the last. But we’ve been fortunate to thrive over the last few decades when so many of our peers haven’t, thanks to a combination of hard work, strategic investments in people and products, even more hard work, and the support of our many friends, colleagues, and readers.
After all, few things last forever, and the tech journalism landscape isn’t what it once was—and never will be. So it’s time for AnandTech to wrap up its work and let a new generation of tech journalists take their place in the zeitgeist.
It’s been a great honor to write for AnandTech for the past 19 years—and to manage it as editor-in-chief for the past decade. And while I have some pangs of conscience about being the last boss of AnandTech, I can at least be proud of all we’ve accomplished over the years, whether it’s celebrating legendary products, writing technology manuals that are still relevant, or watching new stars emerge in expected places. There’s more I wanted AnandTech to do, but after 21,500 articles, this was a good start.
And while the AnandTech team rides off into the sunset, I’m happy to report that the website itself won’t be going away for a while. Our publisher, Future PLC, will maintain the AnandTech website and its many articles in perpetuity. That way, all the content we’ve created over the years will remain accessible and citable. Even without new articles to add to the collection, I expect that much of what we’ve written over the past few decades will remain relevant for many years to come—and accessible for just as long.
The AnandTech forums will continue to be run by the Future community team and our dedicated group of moderators. With forum threads dating back to 1999 (and some active members for just as long), the forums have a history almost as long and rich as AnandTech itself (morning baby monitors, anyone?). So even though AnandTech no longer publishes articles, we’ll still have a place for everyone to talk about the latest tech — and keep the discussions going for longer than 48 hours.
Finally, for those who still need their dose of technical writing, our mighty opposition of the last 27 years and Future brand, Tom’s Hardware, is still covering the tech world. There are already a few familiar faces from AnandTech who offer their accumulated experience, and the site will continue to do its best to provide written opinion on tech news.
So many thanks
When I think about all that AnandTech has achieved over the past 27 years, there are many individuals, groups, and companies I would like to thank on behalf of myself and AnandTech.
First of all, I can’t thank AnandTech’s editors enough. There are many more than I could list, but AnandTech’s editors have been the driving force behind the site, bringing their expertise and passion for creating the deep, investigative writing that AnandTech is best known for. They are some of the best people I’ve ever worked with, and it should come as no surprise that these people have gone on to even greater success in their fields. Whether it’s hardware and software development, consulting and business analysis, or even rocket launching, these are all rock stars that I’ve been fortunate to work with over the past two decades.
Ian Cutress, Anton Shilov and Gavin Bonshor at Computex 2019
And special thanks to the last class of AnandTech editors who stuck with us until the end, delivering the final stories that grace this site. Gavin Bonshor, Ganesh TS, E. Fylladitakis, and Anton Shilov did everything possible to meet impossible deadlines and travel halfway around the world to cover the latest tech advances.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the man himself, Anand Lal Shimpi, who founded this site in his bedroom 27 years ago. Although Anand retired from the world of technology journalism a decade ago, the standards he set for quality and the lessons he taught us all still resonate at AnandTech to this day. And while it would be a tautology to say that there would be no AnandTech without Anand, it is nonetheless true—the mark we have made on the technology publishing industry began with him.
MWC 2014: Ian Cutress, Anand Lal Shimpi, Joshua Ho
I’d also like to thank the many, many hardware and software companies we’ve worked with over the years. In addition to providing us with review samples and technical support, we’ve been given unique access to some of the best engineers in the business. People who’ve built some of the most complex chips ever made, and who’ve accidentally forgotten more about the subject than we tech journalists will ever know. So getting to ask these minds stupid questions and watch the gears turn in their heads as they explain their ideas, innovations, and thought processes was nothing short of an incredible learning experience. We didn’t always (or even often) agree on things with all the companies we covered, but as the past 27 years have shown, sharing the incredible advances in cutting-edge technology has benefited everyone, consumers and companies alike.
Thanks also go to AnandTech’s publishers over the years – Future PLC and Purch before them. AnandTech publishers gave us an incredible degree of freedom to do things the AnandTech way, even if that meant taking big risks or not following the latest trends. A more cynical and controlling publisher could undoubtedly find ways to make more money from the AnandTech site, but the resulting content would not be AnandTech. We enjoyed complete editorial freedom up until our last day, and that’s not something that many other sites have had the opportunity to experience. And for that I am grateful.
CES 2016: Ian Cutress, Ganesh TS, Joshua Ho, Brett Howse, Brandon Chester, Billy Tallis
Finally, I can’t thank our many readers enough. Whether you’ve been following AnandTech since 1997 or have just discovered us, everything we’ve published here was for you. To show you the amazing things happening in the world of technology, the radical innovations that are powering the next generation of products, or the sobering review that reminds us all that there’s (almost) no such thing as bad products, only bad prices. Our readers have kept us on our toes, motivated us to do better, and held us accountable when we’ve strayed.
Ultimately, a website is only as influential as its readers, otherwise we would be shouting into the void that is the internet. For all the credit we can take as writers, it all pales in comparison to our readers who have enjoyed our content, related to it, and shared it with the world. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being with us for the past 27 years.
The fight against cable TV on the Internet continues
Finally, I’d like to end this segment with a comment on cable television over the network. A core belief that Anand and I have held dear for years, and that is still reflected on our About page today, is AnandTech’s condemnation of sensationalism, link baiting, and the path to shallow 10:00 news coverage. Our mission for 27 years has been to inform and educate our readers through quality content—and while we will no longer be able to fulfill that role, the need for quality, in-depth reporting has not changed. If anything, the need has increased as social media and the changing advertising landscape have made shallow, sensational reporting even more lucrative.
Speaking of TV: Anand Hosting the AGN Hardware Show (June 1998)
To all the tech journalists out there now—or who will be—I implore you to stay true to yourself and to the needs of your readers. In-depth reporting isn’t always as sexy or exciting as other avenues, but now more than ever, it’s imperative to counter sensationalism and cynicism with quality reporting and testing that supports informed conclusions. To quote Ananad, “I don’t believe the web has to be academic reporting or sensationalist garbage—as long as there’s a balance, I’m happy.”
I’m logging out for the last time
In conclusion, for the past 19 years, I have had the privilege of writing for one of the most influential technology news websites that has ever existed. And while I am devastated that we have reached the end of AnandTech’s 27-year journey, I can take solace in all that we have accomplished over the years. It was all possible thanks to our industry partners and our wonderful readers.
Personally, this was my dream job; to say I was lucky would be an understatement. And while I will no longer be the Editor-in-Chief of AnandTech, I am not done with technology as a whole. I will still be on Twitter/X, and we will see where my own journey takes me.
To all those who have followed AnandTech over the years, fans, haters, readers, competitors, scientists, engineers and just plain tech-curious who want to learn a little more about their favorite gear, thank you for all your patronage over the years. We couldn’t have done this without your support.
-Thanks,
Ryan Smith
