The Workspaces census
What's actually in everyone's setup? We're keeping track.
540 tours, 3,763 products, one running tally since 2020. No sponsorships, no review units, just what people actually own.
The headlines
01 · The archive
540 tours
6 years of desks, counted.
Workspaces has been touring real home offices since 2020. 540 interviews and counting, averaging 12 items per desk. Every number on this page is recounted from scratch each time a new tour publishes.
02 · The monopoly
62%
One laptop rules everything.
The MacBook Pro appears in 62% of tours. Number two, the Apple Magic Keyboard, is at 25%. By rank twenty you're at 5%: a tiny head and a 3,763-product tail.
03 · The landscape
7/10
Of the top ten, 7 are Apple.
The only non-Apple products to crack the top ten: Herman Miller Aeron and Logitech MX Master 3 and Logitech MX Master 3S. Apple isn't a brand here so much as the landscape everything else sits on.
04 · The long tail
92%
Almost everything appears exactly once.
Of 3,763 distinct products, 3,469 show up on a single desk and never again. Only 50 items reach ten or more appearances. Everything else is personal.
05 · The stereotype
6%
The "default desk" barely exists.
MacBook Pro + Magic Keyboard: 17% of desks. Add the Magic Trackpad and the full stereotype is down to just 33 desks. Even the most predictable setup imaginable is a minority.
06 · The moat
81%
The ecosystem does the work.
81% of MacBook Pro owners have at least one more Apple product on the desk. Yet no category has a majority ruler: the Apple Magic Keyboard leads keyboards at 35%, and desks are the most contested at 13%.
The 50
Once appeared in 12 consecutive tours (#110 to #121).
Rafael Conde has brought it to 4 separate tours. Loyalty.
Owns 53% of every tablet appearance in the archive.
Once appeared in 4 consecutive tours (#318 to #321).
43% of its appearances came in the newest 100 tours.
Once appeared in 3 consecutive tours (#122 to #124).
74% of its desks also have the Apple Magic Keyboard. It rarely travels alone.
One in every 10 desks in the archive.
Once appeared in 3 consecutive tours (#128 to #131).
40% of its appearances came in the newest 100 tours.
Rafael Conde has brought it to both of their tours.
Gavin Nelson has brought it to both of their tours.
Michele Hansen has brought it to both of their tours.
Noah Stokes has brought it to 3 separate tours. Loyalty.
Its owners run maximalist: 16.1 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
One in every 17 desks in the archive.
Ben Chon has brought it to both of their tours.
Its owners run maximalist: 17.3 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
Gavin Nelson has brought it to both of their tours.
Matt D. Smith has brought it to both of their tours.
Its owners run maximalist: 16.1 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
Patrick Morgan has brought it to both of their tours.
Patrick Morgan has brought it to both of their tours.
One in every 24 desks in the archive.
Vanished for 150 straight tours, then returned in #539.
Matt Armstrong has brought it to both of their tours.
One in every 26 desks in the archive.
Matt D. Smith has brought it to both of their tours.
Charles Patterson has brought it to both of their tours.
One in every 30 desks in the archive.
Its owners run maximalist: 15.5 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
63% of its desks also have the Apple Studio Display. It rarely travels alone.
One in every 32 desks in the archive.
Its owners run maximalist: 16.3 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
One in every 39 desks in the archive.
Charles Patterson has brought it to both of their tours.
Its owners run maximalist: 15.8 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
One in every 39 desks in the archive.
Its owners run maximalist: 18.2 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
One in every 43 desks in the archive.
Its owners run maximalist: 18.0 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
Its owners run maximalist: 17.4 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
One in every 43 desks in the archive.
Vanished for 180 straight tours, then returned in #354.
Its owners run maximalist: 16.7 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
55% of its appearances came in the newest 100 tours.
Its owners run maximalist: 16.1 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
Its owners run maximalist: 20.1 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
One in every 51 desks in the archive.
Its owners run maximalist: 18.5 items per desk against the archive's average of 13.
The bar shows how many desks an item appears on; the arrow shows whether it's rising or fading in the newest 100 tours. Click any row for more.
Rising & fading
Change in share of tours: the newest 100 versus everything before them. Items with at least ten total appearances, sorted by swing.
How we counted
01
Written lists only
Every count comes from the gear list each guest submits with their tour. 540 interviews and counting.
02
Variants merged
The same normalizer that powers our gear database. A 14″ and a 16″ MacBook Pro count as one item.
03
Once per tour
An item counts at most once per interview, no matter how many times it shows up.
04
Photos don't count
Gear that's visible but unnamed is skipped. If anything, these numbers run low.
05
Recounted weekly
Everything recomputes when a new tour publishes. Trends compare the newest 100 tours to the archive before them.
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