2026.18: Long-term, Peripheral & Myopic Visions

May 2, 2026

0:59

2026.18: Long-term, Peripheral & Myopic Visions

Ever wonder why some tech trends seem to focus on the short-term, ignoring the bigger picture? Ben Thompson points out that in 2026, many companies are myopic — obsessed with immediate gains but missing the long-term horizon. For example, he highlights how the AI boom has led firms to chase quick wins, while the real shifts — like infrastructure and geopolitical moves — are often overlooked. Thompson notes that China’s reactive strategies, such as blocking Meta’s acquisition of Manus, show how domestic politics shape global tech moves, not long-term planning. And get this — Thompson argues that hardware, especially AR devices, might hold the key to future innovation, but right now, most companies are distracted. So, the question becomes: are you building for the long game, or just reacting to today’s headlines? Because the ones who see beyond the peripheral noise — those are the players who’ll shape the next decade.

(Photo by Noah Berger/Getty Images for Amazon Web Services)

Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery!

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On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.

Amazon and AI. When it comes to AI, every quarter seems to bring a new winner and loser. For my part, the company that I find increasingly compelling is Amazon. Things didn’t look promising a couple of years ago, when training was the most important infrastructure use case, but Amazon — whether through vision or good fortune — was positioning itself well for a world defined by inference (given that their inference chip is called “Trainium”, I’m going with a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B). Now the company is adding OpenAI’s models to its offerings, and collaborating with the frontier lab on an entirely new kind of enterprise product: Bedrock Managed Agents, the subject of a Stratechery Interview with AWS CEO Matt Garman and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. — Ben Thompson

The Future of AR Devices. Amidst a never-ending conversation about AI, software and infrastructure spending, it was refreshing this week to dream about the possibilities for the future of hardware. Ben’s Daily Update on Monday traced his experience with the Meta Display glasses and culminated with an epiphany on what the future of AR should look like. We dove deeper on Sharp Tech with an extended conversation about why the Display glasses are superior to Meta’s Orion prototype, notes on what future VR headsets should emphasize, and whether phones (or books?) should be characterized as AR devices. — Andrew Sharp
Beijing’s Myopia in AI and Elsewhere. On Sharp China this week Bill and I unpacked the implications of a terrific mess in Singapore, as China’s National Development and Reform Commission has moved to block Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus, a formerly Chinese AI company that had reincorporated in Singapore and had already received payment and integrated its products and employees into Meta’s operations. Then, on Sharp Text this morning, I wrote about Beijing’s geopolitical behavior in 2026, what Western media tends to get wrong, and — with the Manus decision being a good example — why the CCP’s geopolitical and domestic strategies are generally reactive, not proactive, and often counterproductive.— AS

Stratechery Articles and Updates

AI Hardware, Meta Display, Redefining VR and AR — I finally tried the Meta Ray-Ban Display, and it completely changed how I think about AR and VR.
An Interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and AWS CEO Matt Garman About Bedrock Managed Agents — An interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and AWS CEO Matt Garman about their new partnership, plus my thoughts on OpenAI and Microsoft’s new deal.
Intel Earnings, Intel’s Differentiation?, Whither Terafab — Intel’s earnings were very impressive, but the chief driver was a structural shift in demand for CPUs for AI. Plus, what is going on with Terafab?
Amazon Earnings, Trainium and Commodity Markets, Additional Amazon Notes — Amazon’s earnings suggest that the shift away from training towards inference and agents means their bet on Trainium is paying off. Plus, additional notes on ads, agents, and sports rights.

Sharp Text by Andrew Sharp

Beijing Is Not Playing the Long Game — Every single week, someone in the Western media will tell you that China is playing “the long game.” Don’t believe them.

Dithering with Ben Thompson and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber

Asianometry with Jon Yu

Fanuc and the Numerical Control Revolution

Sharp China with Andrew Sharp and Sinocism’s Bill Bishop

Beijing Kills Meta’s Manus Deal; April Politburo Takeaways; Foreign Forces Afflicting the Youth; US Countermeasures Mounting

Greatest of All Talk with Andrew Sharp and Ben Golliver

Sharp Tech with Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson

AWS History and Trainium’s AI Future, OpenAI Makes a Deal With Microsoft, Meta and the Future of Wearable Devices

This week’s Stratechery video is on Tim Cook’s Impeccable Timing.

Audio Transcript

Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery!

On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.

Amazon and AI. When it comes to AI, every quarter seems to bring a new winner and loser. For my part, the company that I find increasingly compelling is Amazon. Things didn’t look promising a couple of years ago, when training was the most important infrastructure use case, but Amazon — whether through vision or good fortune — was positioning itself well for a world defined by inference (given that their inference chip is called “Trainium”, I’m going with a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B). Now the company is adding OpenAI’s models to its offerings, and collaborating with the frontier lab on an entirely new kind of enterprise product: Bedrock Managed Agents, the subject of a Stratechery Interview with AWS CEO Matt Garman and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. — Ben Thompson

The Future of AR Devices. Amidst a never-ending conversation about AI, software and infrastructure spending, it was refreshing this week to dream about the possibilities for the future of hardware. Ben’s Daily Update on Monday traced his experience with the Meta Display glasses and culminated with an epiphany on what the future of AR should look like. We dove deeper on Sharp Tech with an extended conversation about why the Display glasses are superior to Meta’s Orion prototype, notes on what future VR headsets should emphasize, and whether phones (or books?) should be characterized as AR devices. — Andrew Sharp
Beijing’s Myopia in AI and Elsewhere. On Sharp China this week Bill and I unpacked the implications of a terrific mess in Singapore, as China’s National Development and Reform Commission has moved to block Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus, a formerly Chinese AI company that had reincorporated in Singapore and had already received payment and integrated its products and employees into Meta’s operations. Then, on Sharp Text this morning, I wrote about Beijing’s geopolitical behavior in 2026, what Western media tends to get wrong, and — with the Manus decision being a good example — why the CCP’s geopolitical and domestic strategies are generally reactive, not proactive, and often counterproductive.— AS

Stratechery Articles and Updates

AI Hardware, Meta Display, Redefining VR and AR — I finally tried the Meta Ray-Ban Display, and it completely changed how I think about AR and VR.
An Interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and AWS CEO Matt Garman About Bedrock Managed Agents — An interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and AWS CEO Matt Garman about their new partnership, plus my thoughts on OpenAI and Microsoft’s new deal.
Intel Earnings, Intel’s Differentiation?, Whither Terafab — Intel’s earnings were very impressive, but the chief driver was a structural shift in demand for CPUs for AI. Plus, what is going on with Terafab?
Amazon Earnings, Trainium and Commodity Markets, Additional Amazon Notes — Amazon’s earnings suggest that the shift away from training towards inference and agents means their bet on Trainium is paying off. Plus, additional notes on ads, agents, and sports rights.

Sharp Text by Andrew Sharp

Beijing Is Not Playing the Long Game — Every single week, someone in the Western media will tell you that China is playing “the long game.” Don’t believe them.