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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RIP DVDs
Today on the flagship podcast of the laserdisc resurgence: While Netflix’s DVD.com service shuts down later this week, The Verge's David Pierce chats with Bill Rouhana, the CEO of Chicken Soup for The Soul Entertainment, about the potential of Redbox and physical media in 2023. Netflix’s DVD service shuts down: here’s the complex tech behind it Later, David and Alex Cranz talk with New York Magazine’s John Herrman about his recent story on social media metrics and what they actually mean. Lies, Damned Lies, and Social-Media Metrics Keep listening for this week’s Vergecast hotline question. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The 50-year quest for AI virtual assistants
In part three of our AI mini series, David Pierce dives into the decades-long endeavor to build a virtual assistant. What can a virtual assistant do? What do we want it to do? Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amazon and Microsoft's AI parades
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss all the announcements from Amazon's fall product launch event and Microsoft's Surface and AI event. Further reading: Amazon’s fall 2023 product launch event: live news, announcements, and more Amazon is set to supercharge Alexa with generative AI The Fire TV should be at the heart of Amazon's smart home The new $269.99 Echo Frames look a whole lot more like glasses. Alexa Eye Gaze offers a new way to control Alexa on a Fire tablet In the new Echo Show 8, Alexa will be 40 percent faster. Finally some hardware...for kids. YouTube is going all in on AI with background and video topic suggestions YouTube made a video editing app — just like TikTok Microsoft Surface event: the 6 biggest announcements Microsoft’s new Xbox controller borrows great ideas from Stadia, Steam, and Sony This is Microsoft’s new disc-less Xbox Series X design with a lift-to-wake controller Microsoft’s next Xbox, coming 2028, envisions hybrid computing Microsoft addresses the huge Xbox leaks: here’s Phil Spencer’s full memo Microsoft’s Phil Spencer says acquiring Nintendo would be ‘a career moment’ Microsoft announces the Surface Laptop Studio 2 with upgraded chips and ports A first look at Microsoft’s upgraded Surface Laptop Studio 2 Microsoft announces the new Surface Laptop Go 3 Hands-on with the Surface Laptop Go 3 The Surface Go 4 comes with a much-needed performance boost Microsoft 365 Copilot launches in November Windows 11’s next big update arrives on September 26th with Copilot, RAR support, and more Microsoft announces Surface Hub 3 with portrait mode The cable bundle of the future is officially here Google’s Bard chatbot can now find answers in your Gmail, Docs, Drive The Home Assistant Green is here to make the most powerful smart home platform more accessible Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
iPhone and watches and wallpapers, oh my
Today on the flagship podcast of the Action Button: 03:34 - The Verge's David Pierce chats with Allison Johnson and Dan Seifert about their reviews of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. 41:02 - Victoria Song joins the show to talk about her review of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. 1:07:58 - David chats with Isaac Mosna and Widgetsmith's David Smith about customizing your iPhone wallpaper and widgets. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Can AI make a hit song?
In episode two of The Vergecast's AI mini series, David Pierce sits down with Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding and music producer Ian Kimmel to share how they made an entire song from scratch using a bunch of AI tools. Later, Nilay Patel joins the discussion to talk about the future of AI in the music industry. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple mysteries and Google trials
It's been a week! The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz rejoin the studio to process all the tech news and announcements. Apple had its annual hardware event where the iPhone 15 and new Apple Watch lineup were shown off. Later, senior tech and policy reporter Adi Robertson joins the show to walk us through the US v Google antitrust trial that kicked off earlier in the week. Further reading: iPhone 15 event: all the news on Apple's new phones Here's why Apple put a Thread radio in the iPhone 15 Pro Rumors of Lightning’s death are just slightly exaggerated The iPhone Mini is officially gone, long live the iPhone Mini USB-C Backbone One controllers will be ‘upgraded’ to work with the iPhone 15 lineup. The iPhone is getting new ringtones with iOS 17 Apple announces more iOS 17 features coming later this year: Apple Music updates How Google plans to win its antitrust trial What to expect from the Google Search antitrust trial US v. Google antitrust trial: updates Developers respond to Unity’s new pricing scheme Unity cancels town hall over reported death threats What happens when Google Search doesn't have the answers? Google AMP: how Google tried to fix the web by taking it over A storefront for robots The little search engine that couldn't Who killed Google Reader? Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
iPhone 15: the good, the bad, and the titanium
After attending Apple's fall hardware event, The Verge's Nilay Patel, Allison Johnson, Dan Seifert and Victoria Song break down the biggest announcements: the iPhone 15, 15 Pro, the new Apple Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2. Further Reading: iPhone 15 event live blog: all the news from Apple's keynote Apple iPhone 15 event: the seven biggest announcements Apple announces iPhone 15 with USB-C, a camera upgrade, and the Dynamic Island Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max announced with titanium bodies and an Action Button iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max hands-on A first look at the new iPhone 15 with USB-C and a big camera upgrade Apple's cheapest iPhone 15 Pro Max now costs more — but also has double the storage Apple is releasing iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 on September 18th Apple announces Apple Watch Series 9, and it has a handy double-tap feature Apple Watch Ultra 2: price, release date, and features Apple is switching the AirPods Pro charging case to USB-C Apple’s USB-C AirPods Pro will support lossless audio with the Vision Pro Apple's Lightning connector was the first great port — and USB-C might be the last Post-process: why the smartphone camera changed photography forever The iPhone 7 Plus vs. the original iPhone: a camera showdown The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the first smartphones with Thread Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
AI voices are taking over the internet
In part one of The Vergecast's AI mini series, David Pierce dives into the boom of voice synthesis and artificially generated speech. The process is a lot more accessible for everyone, but how realistic can it sound? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How the iPhone 15 could still surprise us
The Verge's David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Richard Lawler discuss what to expect at Apple's iPhone 15 event, the drama behind the scenes with Disney's CEOs, and some more gadget news. Further reading: iPhone and iPad apps will be available in the Vision Pro App Store by default Sonos announces Move 2 speaker with stereo sound and 24-hour battery life Google leaks Pixel 8 Pro again with a 360-degree preview GoPro’s new Hero 12 Black will let you film continuously for longer A GoPro Max successor is coming What goes into designing a solar-powered Bluetooth speaker Bob Iger and Bob Chapek's CEO battle made Disney the pettiest place on Earth YouTube is experimenting with longer but less frequent ad breaks on TV Roku turns to layoffs (again) and removes streaming content to cut costs Chrome is about to look a bit different Google’s cookie-replacing Privacy Sandbox reaches major milestone How to disable Chrome’s new targeted ad tracking Clubhouse reinvents itself as an audio messaging app MrBeast just dropped a new YouTube face Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's gadget season again
The Verge's David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Richard Lawler discuss all the gadgets announced at IFA 2023, the next flagship phone events from Apple and Google, and a whole lot more. Also: Nilay Patel breaks news about the 5G banana surgery. Further reading: No, they did not do surgery on a banana over 5G Apple’s September iPhone event: how to watch and what to expect Google leaked Google’s flagship Pixel 8 Pro, again Google sets its Pixel 8 launch event for October 4th Google kills Pixel Pass without ever upgrading subscriber’s phones Taylor Swift Eras Tour is coming to theaters this October Starfield review: a stellar sci-fi refresh of the Bethesda RPG formula Sony is raising PlayStation Plus prices up to $40 per year Dolby might have found a way to make built-in TV speakers sound much better Instagram may be making Reels longer to compete with TikTok Google’s Duet AI now available in Docs, Gmail, and other Workspace apps IFA 2023: the biggest announcements from Europe’s big tech show Alexa and Google Assistant play together nicely, but not perfectly, on JBL’s new speakers Anker's new MagGo wireless chargers might charge iPhones just as fast as MagSafe Philips Hue has three new smart security cameras Jlab’s $39.99 Jbuds Mini are the smallest yet. How Google made the world go viral We sent the top ANC headphones to a lab to test their noise-canceling abilities This USB button helps Jeopardy! contestants get their buzz on The future of Tesla is in China Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Who built the internet? And who will save it?
Today on the flagship podcast of social media monetization strategies: 04:05 -The Verge''s David Pierce and Nilay Patel chat with Taylor Lorenz about her new book Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet 55:26 - Adi Robertson joins the show to explains why publishers, and the music industry, would have a bone to pick with the Internet Archive. 1:23:13 -Vjeran Pavic helps out with this week's Vergecast Hotline question. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Threads' big moment, and Sony's big controller
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Richard Lawler discuss Threads' new web app, Sony's Playstation handheld, NFL 4K streaming, AI music copyright, and a whole lot more. Further reading: Elon Musk says (yet again) that X will stop letting you block users X glitch wipes out most pictures and links tweeted before December 2014 X fixed the ‘bug’ that broke images attached to tweets from before 2014 X tests removing headlines from links to news articles Elon Musk says news organizations can get a share of X’s advertising revenue, too. Threads on the web is here NFL Sunday Ticket has arrived on the Google TV homescreen Amazon is bringing a whole lot of AI to Thursday Night Football this season Sony’s portable PlayStation Portal launches later this year for $199.99 Sony’s PlayStation wireless earbuds will cost a whopping $199.99 Sony’s PlayStation division is acquiring headphone maker Audeze This batarang houses Qualcomm’s next big bet on gaming Somebody already unboxed the Quest 3 Microsoft kills Kinect again Corsair’s first standing desk is designed for gaming, streaming, and more Google and YouTube are trying to have it both ways with AI and copyright Microsoft is bringing Python to Excel Netflix is going to let DVD subscribers keep unreturned discs for free White Noise Podcasters Are Costing Spotify $38 Million a Year - Bloomberg Sonic Spectrum: a journey into noise white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple & violet Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mythical computers and super apps
Today on the flagship podcast of payment processing fees: The Verge's David Pierce travels to meet Keegan McNamara, an artisan who is making unique computers for more purposeful use cases. A visit to the one-man computer factory Liz Lopatto and Alex Heath join the show to discuss the future of "super apps" in the United States — notably the one Elon Musk is trying to build with X, formerly known as Twitter. Everything Elon Musk told Twitter employees in his first company meeting Can Elon Musk turn Twitter into an ‘everything app’? Here’s what Elon Musk wants to do with X, his ‘everything app’ Keep listening for this week's Vergecast Hotline question. What is a custom feed and how do I make one? – Reddit Help Email us at vergecast@theverge.com, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Big screens, bigger screens, suitcase screens
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Dan Seifert discuss the iMac's 25th anniversary, the state of streaming, a TV in a suitcase, and a whole lot more. Further reading: Linus Tech Tips pauses production as controversy swirls They Review Movies on TikTok, but Don’t Call Them Critics YouTube is adding chat, highlights, and Shorts to NFL Sunday Ticket It’s official, people aren’t watching TV as much as they used to iMac at 25: a visual history of Apple's iconic all-in-one computer How the iMac saved Apple For a generation of students, the iMac was a gateway to the future In a world full of laptops, is there a place for the iMac? Apple moved the end call button again in iOS 17 These iOS 17 Features Won't Be Available at Launch - MacRumors Everything New in iOS 17 Beta 6 - MacRumors DisplayPort: A Better Video Interface | Hackaday LG now sells this bizarre TV in a suitcase, and I must have it Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 family review: easier choices Google Chrome will summarize entire articles for you with built-in generative AI OpenAI wants GPT-4 to solve the content moderation dilemma An Iowa school district is using ChatGPT to decide which books to ban The Biden administration urges the Supreme Court to take up content moderation cases Special counsel obtained ‘some volume’ of DMs from Donald Trump’s Twitter account Microsoft to hold ‘special event’ in New York City on September 21st Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How YouTube and ESPN control the future of everything
Today on the flagship podcast of non-exclusive distribution deals: 02:15 - The Verge’s David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Richard Lawler discuss how the future of sports streaming will have a lot to say about the future of entertainment. 41:57 - David chats with director Alex Winter about his new documentary The YouTube Effect. 1:12:00 - Keep listening for this week’s hotline question about Windows 11. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices