Hardware website Anandtech closes after 27 years

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Anandtech, one of the longest-serving and most respected websites for technology topics, is shutting down. On Friday, August 30, 2024, the last article was published, a farewell message from Editor-in-Chief Ryan Smith. He had led the editorial team since 2014, when founder Anand Lal Shimpi sold the company and left to join Apple – The proximity to, yet critical distance from, the industry was always one of the secrets of Anandtech's success.

As Smith writes, the website, including the forum, which is also popular for technical support, will remain online for the time being. He only hints at reasons for the end of the project: "The market for technology journalism in text form is no longer what it once was – and never will be again." Without Smith explicitly mentioning the trend towards video formats, which has been going on for years, especially for technology topics, it is clear what he means: YouTubers and other influencers are now the preferred partners of advertisers, especially in the USA. Apparently, Anandtech's parent company, Future Publishing, has not been able to keep the website profitable.

Two weeks' notice

A former managing editor of the medium, Dr. Ian Cutress, states in a YouTube video that Anandtech had been loss-making for years. In the end, there were hardly any permanent editors left, but almost only freelancers. The remaining colleagues only found out about this two weeks before the hiring date. In his video, Cutress also describes some of the background to the development that went hand in hand with the multiple sales of the company and the new owners' focus on content. With its high standards and little sensational journalism, Anandtech was apparently unable to survive. Subscription models or other sources of income have also been absent in recent years.

At the end of his statement, Ryan Smith also expressly opposes these trends: he does not want to participate in the "cable TVization" of technology journalism. This refers to the tendency that has been observed for decades, particularly on US television, to earn money with more and more advertising and less quality content. Smith still sees the need for serious content, which has even increased because "social media and the changing advertising landscape have made superficial, sensationalist reporting even more lucrative."

Depth and topicality

From the very beginning, Anandtech made a name for itself with in-depth reports on new technologies and products. This was complemented by a high degree of topicality, with not only comprehensive benchmarks but also a complete explanation of the architecture on the day a processor was released, for example. This was made possible by the great expertise and diligence of the employees as well as close contacts in the industry. Attending every possible technology conference, every trade fair, was one of the concepts of founder Anand Lal Shimpi.

However, because he was only 14 years old in 1997, he always had to attend such events with a chaperone for legal reasons – Anand opted for his mother. And in order to be taken seriously under these circumstances, he always appeared in a suit, as the author of this text can confirm and Dr. Ian Cutress also describes in his current YouTube video. Many of his colleagues followed suit, which was not a matter of course as an outfit for technology journalists even at the turn of the millennium. It should also be added that later, when he arrived in the industry, Anand always wore toe shoes with his business suit. This not only looked funny, but also became a trademark.

Information advantage through good contacts

I met him several times at an Intel Developer Forum (IDF), a large conference that Intel organized at least once a year from 1997 to 2017. And because I happened to be sitting next to Anand – we already knew each other from previous events – I could see why there were such good articles on his website at the end of a presentation. As soon as the deadline had passed, he simply pressed the publish button on his notebook. All the content had been prepared, because Anand had already received the materials that Intel usually only published piecemeal during the conference. As far as I know, no other medium could say that; equal treatment has always been a difficult issue in this industry.

But that wasn't the only thing that gave Anand a head start: he was able to listen to the presentations –, the content of which he already knew from Intel's PDFs –, while typing in additions and formatting articles in his content management system. And he did this for several hours. My humble self and others were of course also busy writing, but if the information is completely new, it doesn't result in an immediately useful article. Incidentally, Anand always had colleagues at such events and in his editorial office – German journalists are usually lone warriors on such trips and often write their articles at night in the hotel because there is no time during the day.

Great importance and a little hope

Anand and his colleagues have always been praised across the industry for their professionalism, friendliness and commitment. One of the biggest tech YouTubers, Linus Sebastian of Linus Tech Tips, had temporarily captioned one of his recent videos with "The website that taught me everything is dead." Such was the significance for an entire generation of technology enthusiasts.

You can perhaps still hold out a little hope – because there might still be a buyer for Anandtech. One example of such a turn of events is the end and resurrection of DPreview, a site that is very relevant in the photography business, which was first closed by its owner Amazon in 2023 and then taken over by the media company Gear Patrol.

(nie)