Hello! This is The Vergecast, the flagship podcast of The Verge... and your life. Every Friday, Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn make sense of the week's tech news with help from our wide-ranging staff. Join us every week for a fun, deeply nerdy, often off-the-rails conversation about what's happening now (and next) in technology and gadgets.
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The tech that made a 2-hour marathon possible
At this year's London Marathon, two runners completed the route in under two hours, becoming the first people to ever do so on an official course. It's a feat that Outside magazine's Alex Hutchinson once thought wouldn't be accomplished until 2075. The Verge's senior policy reporter (and marathoner) Lauren Feiner talks to Alex about "super shoes" and the other surprising technological advances that led to this moment. Further reading: The Fairphone 6 Plus is the midrange phone we desperately needed The real reason your phone is getting more expensive What to expect at Apple’s September 9th launch event Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
AGI is whatever you want it to be
OpenAI announced its next big model, GPT-6 Astra, and also, by the way, that AGI is here now.Today on The Vergecast, we've got an all-star panel to break down the news of the week.First, senior AI reporter Hayden Field joins us to talk about our supposed AGI era and Nvidia's acquisition of Hugging Face. Then, our friend Joanna Stern pops in to talk about new Apple CEO John Ternus, old Apple CEO Tim Cook, and to, most importantly, speculate on the format of next week's Apple keynote.We wrap things up with a super-special lightning round from the IFA electronics show in Berlin. Senior reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy and editor Dominic Preston each pick out the five most interesting gadgets they saw at the show.And two more things: Vergecast producer Travis Larchuk pops in to tell his tale of identity theft woe and warn you that he isn't the one DMing you on Twitter to ask you to be on The Vergecast. Plus, Brendan Carr is a dummy. Further reading: OpenAI’s next big AI model has ‘entered the AGI era’ Researchers fear safety disaster ahead of OpenAI’s Astra release OpenAI delayed its new model’s development after the Hugging Face hack Nvidia is buying Hugging Face for almost $13 billion John Ternus sends first memo as Apple CEO teasing a ‘huge launch next week’ Phil Schiller is leaving his biggest jobs at Apple Siri AI is already changing how I use my iPhone IFA 2026: the biggest tech and gadget announcements This might be the fanciest toothbrush launch ever. Anker’s new MindBase is an AI-powered brain for your smart home This NAS company wants to run your local smart home I want to wrap myself in Hue’s new Liane rope lights Homey just made the smart home controller I hoped Apple would The robot butler dream doesn’t have legs Here’s Xiaomi’s wide 18 Fold I held the first truly bezel-free phone Acer’s new concept hardware is a gaming handheld with a keyboard Lenovo’s new MacBook Neo competitor comes in two sizes and seven colors Packard Bell is back, and more colorful than ever. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. 0:00 Welcome00:46 Fake Travis warning03:01 OpenAI's Astra model05:45 Safeguards and delays08:55 Opaque recurrence fears13:08 What Astra does well18:08 Access tiers and rollout19:53 Nvidia buys Hugging Face23:04 Is this really AGI26:28 AGI vibes and Microsoft clause32:17 Apple event preview33:41 Ternus keynote politics39:43 Keynote Vibes Shift40:23 Tim Cook Era Review44:56 Services And Fees Machine47:15 Phil Schiller Steps Back49:52 Event Predictions Fold And AI55:43 Siri AI Real Use Cases58:32 Smart Home Display Rumors59:47 Bets And Keynote Structure01:05:19 Brendan Carr Is A Dummy01:09:23 IFA Lightning Round01:10:49 Philips Hue Smart Lighting01:11:03 Hue Rope Light Rave01:11:44 Sticker Shock Pricing01:13:03 Xiaomi Wide Foldable01:15:43 Dyson Camera Toothbrush01:20:31 Tecno Bezelless Concept01:22:42 Local AI Smart Home Hub01:27:09 MacBook Neo Clones01:29:35 Homey Dial Controller01:33:39 Acer DualPlay Handheld01:36:19 Dreame Humanoid Robot01:39:44 Packard Bell Revival01:42:17 Wrap Up And Credits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple Home rumors, ranked
Apple's big hardware event is coming next week. iPhones are the main draw, but senior reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy has her eyes on the rumors around — what else? — smart home gadgets. Andrew O'Hara from the Smart Home Insider podcast joins Jen to fire up the Rank-o-Matic and speculate on which rumored gadgets are most likely to see the light of day. Further reading: OpenAI’s next big AI model has ‘entered the AGI era’ Nvidia is buying Hugging Face for almost $13 billion Microsoft slashes Xbox Cloud Gaming to just 15 hours a month for Ultimate subscribers Microsoft opens up Xbox Cloud Gaming with new pay-as-you-go option Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What’s happening with US data centers?
Data centers have been a staple of Loudoun County since the early dot-com boom, but recent expansions have left some residents wondering how much more the county can take. In this episode, guest host David Imel talks to Lauren Feiner about her recent article detailing the buildout of “Data Center Alley,” what it means for residents, and what other counties reeling with similar buildouts can learn from it. Further reading: Is this the future of America? Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What the AI overlords get wrong about being alive
Elizabeth Lopatto recently wrote about Mark Zuckerberg's 6,500-word AI manifesto in her piece, "Mark Zuckerberg doesn't understand how to live." Today, she joins guest host David Imel and senior wearables reviewer Victoria Song for a freewheeling discussion about what happens when we let AI make decisions for us. Further reading: Mark Zuckerberg doesn't understand how to live Dyson made a camera-equipped toothbrush that flosses for you Markiplier is now GoPro’s biggest shareholder GoPro has been acquired and is getting into ‘defense, government, robotics and aerospace’ John Ternus is now the CEO of Apple Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Can Fairphone survive the US market
Skyrocketing RAM prices put a spotlight on product longevity and repairability, which makes this a particularly apt time for Fairphone to launch its first smartphone sold directly in the United States. Today, David Imel talks to CEO Raymond van Eck about the Fairphone 6+, the company's goals of user-repairability and ethically-sourced materials, and what place AI has in the future of Fairphone. Further reading: Read Tim Cook’s final message to Apple staff as CEO Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell are suing Anthropic Google capitulates in Trump’s attempt to rename Lake Ontario. MapQuest downloads surge after refusing to rename Lake Ontario. MapQuest knows this whole thing is ridiculous. Fairphone’s latest repairable phone is going on sale in the US The new Fairphone 6 Plus gets a perfect repairability score. The Fairphone 6 no longer feels like a compromise (except in the US) This environmentally conscious smartphone is finally coming to the US Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The iPhone Fold could make concerts even worse
This week Apple announced a Mac Mini made for AI and a Mac Studio made for AI, both with faster M6 and M5 Pro chips made for AI. But that's all an amuse-bouche to Sept. 9's (expected) main course: the long-awaited folding iPhone. Nilay Patel, Jake Kastrenakes, and David Imel run through all of this week's Apple news, including the most important story: a surprise discount on the legendary polishing cloth.Then, they react to Meta's settlement in its latest kids safety trial, geek out about Grand Theft Auto VI with the Hype Desk's Ashley Esqueda, check out the Pokémon Fitbit, and decide if Nvidia just saved the global economy. Further reading: File a comment with the FCC Apple announces September iPhone launch event Apple’s new M6 chip gets more cores and more AI compute Apple launches new Mac Studios with its ‘most powerful chip ever’ — the M5 Ultra Apple’s new Mac Mini has fresh M6 and M5 Pro chip offerings — and higher prices Apple’s ‘new’ polishing cloth is the same except $10 cheaper Meta agrees to heavy restrictions on teen users in major lawsuit settlement Meta is planning an ad blitz urging TikTok and YouTube to follow its lead. All the ways Instagram and Facebook are changing for teens Rockstar finally responds to ‘heartbreaking’ GTA 6 leaks Fierce Network: FCC opens comments on E-Rate as the program gets attacked in court Nvidia is about to be a hundred-billion-dollar-a-quarter company Panic is passing Playdate tariff refunds on to customers. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. 0:00 Welcome to the Vergecast01:26 Apple Mac AI Hype02:26 Mac Mini Agent Craze06:32 Mac Studio vs Nvidia11:43 Price Hikes and Cloth17:01 iPhone Event Invite17:38 iPhone Fold Debate21:30 Camera Crash Out26:57 Meta Settlement Breakdown28:59 First Amendment Fallout36:59 Age Verification Push39:30 Filter Rules and Loopholes44:11 Will Teens Just Switch Apps45:20 Reels Versus Shorts46:35 Government Next Steps47:39 Break And Reset47:50 GTA VI Showcase54:29 Leaks And Spoilers57:12 Can GTA Save Games01:00:51 GTA Online Money01:02:04 Brendan Carr is a Dummy01:03:45 E Rate Fight01:08:46 Nvidia Earnings Hype01:17:50 Pokemon Sleep Fitbit01:22:41 Waymo Versus Tesla01:28:34 Decoder And Goodbye Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How to buy a laptop when everything’s expensive
If, after months of increasingly dire RAMageddon warnings, you just now find yourself in the market for a new laptop... we're here to help. In the latest installment of our "RAMageddon Survival Guide," laptop reviewer Antonio G. Di Benedetto joins David Imel to offer his recommendations. Further reading: Apple announces September iPhone launch event Xbox announces disc-to-digital feature that digitizes your physical games Xbox’s limited-edition green Series X is already sold out Panic is passing Playdate tariff refunds on to customers A RAMageddon guide to back-to-school laptop shopping An okay laptop with 16GB of RAM is better than a nice laptop with 8GB, and this $520 HP OmniBook proves it This is my new favorite laptop, but thanks to RAMageddon the price already went up by $800 Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta will cut teens off of Instagram after two hours
Two-hour usage limits, age verification, and a $17.1 billion payout: We're breaking down today's big settlement in Meta's kids online safety trial. Senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner and senior tech and policy editor Adi Robertson discuss how we got here, why Meta settled, and what this means for the ongoing conversation around teen mental health and social media. Further reading: Meta agrees to heavy restrictions on teen users in major lawsuit settlement Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Does smart home tech work in a college dorm?
It can be hard enough to set up smart home tech in a house or an apartment, but what about a dorm room? Jennifer Pattison Tuohy recently tested out some smart home tech when she dropped off her son for his freshman year at Clemson. Jen reports back to David Imel on how the gadgets stood up to the challenges of college Wi-Fi and rules against hanging things on the wall. Further reading: Apple’s new M6 chip gets more cores and more AI compute Apple’s new Mac Mini has fresh M6 and M5 Pro chip offerings — and higher prices Apple launches new Mac Studios with its ‘most powerful chip ever’ — the M5 Ultra Android is getting its own weird dots to cure car sickness WhatsApp is making it easier to ignore spam calls Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We play a brutal quiz of our gadget memories
Do you remember your first BlackBerry? Do you remember when that first BlackBerry launched? On this episode taped before David Pierce went on leave, producer Travis Larchuk leads David, Nilay, and The Verge’s Sean Hollister through a game of memory and history and a surprising amount of feelings tied to gadget launches. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Pixel 11 gets in on the digicam trend
Smart phone cameras have been getting better and better at capturing flawless, true-to-life images. But is that what the people really want?David Imel joins Nilay Patel and Jake Kastrenakes to talk through the Pixel 11's Camera Looks. They're Google's nod to the trend of retro digital and analogue cameras, and alter how a photo is processed on the sensor level. At the same time, its super zoom is still hallucinating text and making stuff up. Then it's a supersized Brendan Carr is a Dummy, with increasingly infuriating tales of how Brendan Carr is being a Dummy, culminating in the FCC's quest to make sure your internet connection remains slow. Plus, we talk through the confounding AirPods camera leak, the Fairphone, and YouTube's new method for counting views. Further reading: Google is making the Pixel cameras better by making them worse Revealed: FCC chair Brendan Carr’s close coordination with White House and rightwing media ABC sues the FCC over Trump and Carr’s campaign of threats FCC abolishes gigabit speed goal, suggesting it is unfair to slower technologies Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods appear in leaked video Meta glasses are a workplace menace Apple reportedly won’t launch AirPods with cameras until next year. Fairphone’s latest repairable phone is going on sale in the US YouTube is changing how it counts views to give the numbers a boost YouTube is reportedly offering channels “millions of dollars” not to cross-post videos on Netflix. We’re also on video! Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We ask Gemini and Alexa to track cats and give advice
For better or worse, Amazon Alexa and Google Home's smart voice assistants have been imbued with the powers of generative AI. The promise is that you can use natural language with your smart speaker to adjust your thermostat, lock the doors, and find out what your pets have been up to. The reality is smart home voice assistants seem to be going through an identity crisis. Senior reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy invites Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel onto his own podcast to compare notes on life with Alexa Plus vs. Gemini for Home. Further reading: GTA VI keeps leaking ahead of its gameplay premiere I bought DJI’s banned camera — it was cheap and easy Does giving a camera wings dodge the FCC’s drone ban? Meta glasses are a workplace menace Google’s Pet Memory forgot who my cats are I tasked Alexa Plus with tackling my to-do list — it was hit or miss With Alexa Plus, Amazon finally reinvents its best product How AI broke the smart home in 2025 I let Gemini watch my family for the weekend — it got weird Google built a great smart speaker, but Gemini isn’t ready for it Jony Ive’s first OpenAI gadget is reportedly a hockey puck-sized smart speaker Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Pixel reviewer roundtable
Pixel reviewers assemble: Senior reviewer Victoria Song leads a Vergecast roundtable with editors Dominic Preston and Cameron Faulkner to discuss the Pixel 11/Pro/Fold and the Pixel Watch 5. We discuss if HiLight is a LowLight, whether we miss the temperature sensor, and if the Watch 5’s GPS truly beats Garmin and Apple. And stay tuned for more camera discussion on Friday’s Vergecast. Further reading: Nvidia’s new financial strategy does not compute Amazon’s drones will soon deliver to nearly 500 US cities and towns | The Verge Framework gave its 12-inch laptop some hardware upgrades | The Verge This robot vacuum solves my kitchen stool problem The Pixel 11 isn’t the best Pixel of 2026, but it’s the smartest buy The Pixel 11 Pro is a great phone, no thanks to its flashiest new features Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold feels like the end of an era Google’s Pixel Watch 5 is promising — but it isn’t finished Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A repair shop’s guide to surviving RAMageddon
It feels right now like prices are going up, gadgets are getting worse, and everything is getting harder to buy. Leo Mastrolia, the Digital Doctor and the owner of a repair shop in New Jersey, is seeing this all play out first hand. For the second part of our conversation (and the first part of our RAMageddon survival guide), he tells us what he’s telling his clients about fixing their gadgets, managing upgrades, and surviving a parts crisis. Further reading: Elon Musk made flying even worse so Palantir could profit Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods appear in leaked video Fairphone’s latest repairable phone is going on sale in the US Spirit in the machine Polaroid’s new Pokémon collection captures memories, not Pikachus Digital Doctor Repairs on YouTube Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices