Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson (Preview) Should Apple Buy Perplexity?, What Apple Could Learn from IBM, Vision Pro and Its Vaporware
Mar 17, 2025
The discussion dives into whether Apple should acquire Perplexity to bolster its AI capabilities. There's a fascinating exploration of Apple's strategic dilemma between innovation and privacy. The talk also highlights Apple's market position and critiques its transparency issues. Emerging technologies like AI and AR play a crucial role in Apple's future, while the implications of hardware and software investments are examined. All of this sets the stage for understanding Apple's challenges in the competitive tech landscape.
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Episode notes
Apple's Strong Position
- Apple's iPhone enjoys strong user lock-in and remains a compelling platform.
- AI developers predominantly use Macs, positioning Apple well in the AI landscape.
Apple's Credibility Problem
- Apple's real issue isn't its AI software capabilities, but rather a credibility problem stemming from inflated promises.
- Their basic AI updates would be acceptable given the iPhone's dominance, but their dishonesty damaged their image.
Microsoft's Shift in AI Strategy
- Microsoft is shifting away from controlling its own AI model due to OpenAI's ChatGPT's popularity and the abundance of GPT-4 level alternatives.
- They are now focusing on leveraging their existing distribution and enterprise relationships to offer model-agnostic solutions.