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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Streaming goes up, Zoom comes down
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz break down the chaotic and increasingly more expensive state of streaming video. Are we just recreating cable TV? And afterwards, the crew explores the wild world enterprise software. Further reading: Disney Plus and Hulu are about to get even more expensive The Emmy Awards are officially delayed because of the writers and actors strikes Disney is ‘actively exploring’ ways to crack down on password sharing What does Bob Iger think about selling Disney to Apple? Paramount says it has a plan to weather the Hollywood strikes. Barbie earns $1 billion at the box office worldwide Verizon will soon raise prices on certain unlimited plans — yes, again Slack’s redesign: new DM and Activity sections and more features in the messaging app Verizon is shutting down BlueJeans, which it bought for $400 million Zoom says its new AI tools aren’t stealing ownership of your content The LK-99 ‘superconductor’ went viral — here’s what the experts think Cadillac’s Escalade IQ is the next GM vehicle to lack Apple CarPlay MrBeast’s burger company is suing him for $100 million You can now verify your Threads profile on Mastodon Sign up for Installer, our weekly guide to all the best and Verge-iest stuff on the internet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How Tesla became the Elon Musk Co. from Land of the Giants
Today we're sharing an episode of Land of the Giants: The Tesla Shock Wave Not many people can name the original founders of Tesla. So how did two guys who wanted to build an electric car create a company synonymous with Elon Musk? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Samsung fans and video apps: they’re everywhere
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss YouTube adding a slew of new TikTok-like features to Shorts, Elon Musk's extravagant 'X' sign, and much more. We also go through this week's emails. The Samsung fans have spoken. Further reading: Elon Musk wants a second chance to fail at X Elon Musk capitulates: Twitter will default to dark mode but still offer a light option Twitter Blue subscribers can now hide their blue checks Elon Musk's extravagant 'X' sign atop the former Twitter HQ has been dismantled Elon Musk’s X sues anti-hate researchers for allegedly scraping data from Twitter Do you want to buy stocks on X? YouTube is adding a slew of new TikTok-like features to Shorts BBC launches an ‘experimental’ Mastodon server LG 27GR95QE-B review: ushering in a new age for gaming monitors Some details on what Apple needs to ship the Apple Vision Pro developer kits. Apple’s Vision Pro platform joins Pixar’s bid to standardize 3D content The Excel World Championship esport is coming back to ESPN this week Exclusive: the Sonos Move 2 is coming in September with stereo sound and 24-hour battery life MrBeast is suing his ghost kitchen partner over ‘inedible’ MrBeast Burgers 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
Samsung foldable software, eye-scanning orbs, and the future of the arcade
Today on the flagship podcast of texting on the outside screen: The Verge’s David Pierce chats with Allison Johnson and Dan Seifert about the software design of Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5. Then, David takes a trip to the Dave & Busters to find out why the games on your phone ended up in your local arcade. Later, Alex Heath joins the show to discuss his experience getting his eye scanned by an orb from Worldcoin, a crypto startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Keep listening for our hotline question of the week. 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
Twitter rebrands as X, and Samsung's Galaxy Flip 5 and Fold 5 event
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Richard Lawler discuss Twitter being rebranded as X. Allison Johnson joins the show to discuss everything announced at Samsung’s Galaxy Flip 5 and Fold 5 Unpacked event. Also: we read your emails! Further reading: Twitter is being rebranded as X Elon Musk just changed Twitter’s logo again — sort of Can Elon Musk really use that X logo for Twitter? For Elon Musk, X equals everything Twitter Blue’s former lead talks about Elon Musk, X, and sleeping on the floor Twitter Japan will be called simply, Japan Threads is rolling out its Following feed You can’t just leave Threads in the Following feed The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is last year’s phone with a new hinge The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 gets a big little screen upgrade Samsung goes OLED all the way with the Galaxy Tab S9 tablets The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series is all about the bezels DJI Air 3 review: old ideas, new package OpenAI can’t tell if something was written by AI after all Seven major automakers are teaming up on a North American EV charging network T-Mobile says its ultrafast 5G capable of up to 3.3Gbps is rolling out now Boost Infinite’s $25 unlimited wireless plan is now on Amazon Prime T-Mobile’s charging a $5 fee for in-store bill payments My first MP3 player had everything I needed Looking back at the original Chromecast, which just turned 10 years old Japan’s indie game scene is growing up How to build a better search engine than Google 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
Gadget tips for your next upgrade | Vergecast Hotline
Today on the flagship podcast of answering machines: We answer your questions from The Vergecast Hotline! 01:51 - LDAC and other audio codecs 06:21 - Samsung TV 07:58 - Smartwatches for marathons 16:38 - iPhone upgrades 23:09 - Threads 29:52 - Security cameras 40:46 - Laptops 39:13 - Google Pixel 50:54 - Android phones 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 future of EV charging and Hollywood on strike
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss all the gadget news from this week, the state of EV charging for non-Tesla owners, the unions of Hollywood on strike, and much more. Further reading: Beats Studio Pro headphones review: leaning on a legacy The future of EV charging for non-Tesla owners may not be as bad as it looks HP Spectre x360 13.5 vs. Dell XPS 13: which flagship should you buy? Motorola G Stylus 5G (2023) review: a good phone spoiled by bloatware Framework Laptop 16: our exclusive hands-on OnePlus 12 leaks show a bigger battery and faster charging Logitech buys Stream Deck rival Loupedeck Tesla reveals Cybertruck size specs as it builds release candidates Meta is giving away its AI tech to try to beat ChatGPT Apple is testing an AI chatbot but has no idea what to do with it The unions of Hollywood are trying to save it from itself Bob Iger’s big ideas for Disney involve cost-cutting at Marvel A real-time reaction to the actors’ strike. TREE LAW Vox Media drops its own CMS Netflix reportedly has around 1.5 million subscribers on its ad tier in the US. The Biden administration is tackling smart devices with a new cybersecurity label Here’s why 70mm IMAX movies like Oppenheimer need a Palm Pilot to work Your Starbucks order is not ready 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
Nothing’s gadget renaissance, and our favorite TV remotes
Today on the flagship podcast of sustainable supply chain economics: 02:17 - CEO of Nothing Carl Pei sits down with The Verge’s David Pierce to discuss the new Phone 2, Carl’s vision for the company, his thoughts on AI, foldables, VR, and much more. Nothing Phone 2 review: the vibes abide Nothing CEO Carl Pei on the Phone 2, AI, and the future of gadgets 47:55 - Later, Vergecast producers Andru Marino and Liam James debate with David the best and worst TV remotes, and what makes a good remote design. 3 Kinds of Simplicity :: UXmatters Philips Design - Simplifying TV remote (UX Case Study) 1:23:12 - Keep listening for the Vergecast Hotline question of the week. 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
Microsoft beat the FTC, and the Nothing Phone 2 is here
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss Microsoft winning the case against the FTC for its Activision Blizzard deal. Also: the Nothing Phone 2 and more gadgets. Further reading: Meta-provided Facebook chats led a woman to plead guilty to abortion-related charges Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard Read Xbox chief Phil Spencer’s memo to Microsoft employees about the FTC win FTC appeals its loss to Microsoft in Activision Blizzard case Nothing Phone 2 review: the vibes abide Is the Nothing Phone (2)’s camera better than these? Apple iMac rumor suggests a 32-inch version is being considered Sarah Silverman is suing OpenAI and Meta for copyright infringement 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
Apple OS betas, how to talk about AI, and our video game picks
Today on the flagship podcast of transformers (both the movie and the AI thing): 03:46 - The Verge’s Victoria Song, Chris Welch, Allison Johnson, and David Pierce discuss using the new features and tools in beta versions of Apple’s watchOS 10, tvOS 17, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17. 28:36 - The Verge’s James Vincent joins the show to discuss how we should think about using the popular vocabulary terms in AI like GPT, LLM, transformers, hallucinations, etc. Are we using them the right way? Does it matter how we use them? 54:20 - David is joined by The Verge’s Ash Parrish and Polygon’s Chris Plante to share the video games they are most excited about after a string of announcements from Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Summer Game Fest, and others. 1:25:46 - We answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline 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
Instagram Threads is here to crush Twitter
The Verge's David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Alex Heath discuss Meta's launch of Threads, a new competitor to Twitter. Later, Nilay Patel calls in to give his take. Further reading: Instagram Threads: why Meta is competing with Twitter Meta unspools Threads Instagram’s Threads: everything you need to know about the new Twitter competitor Instagram’s Twitter competitor, Threads, briefly went live on the web Instagram Threads won’t be available in the EU at launch. People are posting a lot on Threads. Here’s how Twitter’s leadership is responding to Instagram Threads. Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko on what Threads means for the fediverse. Instagram flooded Threads with celebrities and brands at launch So what’s next for Threads? DMs “maybe...” Mark Zuckerberg on when Instagram Threads will get ads Spielberg, Scorsese, and Anderson have swooped in to save Turner Classic Movies Google confirms it’s training AI using scraped web data The TSA will use facial recognition in over 400 airports 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 might break the internet
The Verge's David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Alex Cranz discuss results from our AI survey, this week's AI news, our Apple Mac Pro review, and more. Later, Adi Robertson and Tom Warren join the show to discuss the latest in the FTC v. Microsoft trial, including what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had to say on the stand. Hope, fear, and AI AI is killing the old web, and the new web struggles to be born ChatGPT on iOS now comes with Bing built-in Ads for major brands are appearing on AI-generated spam sites House restricts congressional use of ChatGPT AI-generated tweets might be more convincing than real people, research finds Apple Mac Pro M2 Ultra review: a powerful computer in search of an audience The AirPods Max are getting left behind, so are new Apple headphones coming this year? Reddit mods are calling for an ‘affordable return’ for third-party apps Plex lays off more than 20 percent of its staff Ford’s F-150 Lightning price hikes are costing it customers TikTok’s new feature asks creators to make branded videos for a chance at ad money FTC v. Microsoft: all the news from the big Xbox courtroom battle The FTC’s case against Microsoft could turn into Xbox vs. PlayStation Has Xbox really lost the console wars? Microsoft exec was ready to ‘go spend Sony out of business’ to strengthen Xbox 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
Google Pixel Fold review, Microsoft vs FTC, and Congress’ child safety bills
Today on the flagship podcast of the console wars: 02:42 - David Pierce chats with Verge senior editor Tom Warren about the five-day trial between Microsoft and the FTC that will determine the future of its $68.7 billion proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. FTC v. Microsoft: all the news from the big Xbox courtroom battle Has Xbox really lost the console wars? Microsoft exec was ready to ‘go spend Sony out of business’ to strengthen Xbox 35:00 - Policy reporter Makena Kelly joins the show to explain what Congress is trying to do to address child safety online. Texas bans kids from social media without parental consent New bill would add mandatory age verification to social networks 1:03:07 - The Verge’s Allison Johnson and Dan Seifert discuss our Google Pixel Fold review, and how it stacks up against other foldables and flippables. Google Pixel Fold review: closing the gap The Pixel Fold shows how far ahead Samsung’s folding phones are Motorola Razr Plus review: the right moves 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
Meta and Reddit prove the social web is over
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss the vibe shift that is happening on social media and the communal internet. Further reading: Instagram’s upcoming Twitter competitor shown in leaked screenshots Facebook, Fosstodon & The Fediverse Daring Fireball: Not That Kind of 'Open' Daring Fireball: More on Preemptively Blocking Facebook’s Imminent ActivityPub Entry It's September, Forever Mark Zuckerberg agrees to Elon Musk cage match challenge Reddit removed moderators behind the latest protests before restoring a few of them Reddit says it’s ‘not acceptable’ for communities to go NSFW in protest Google Pixel Tablet review: the dock makes all the difference Apple reportedly has fitness features for the Vision Pro we haven’t seen yet Easily replaceable phone batteries might be back, and I’m here for it Gary Vaynerchuk is 'petrified' of Slack TikTok COO V. Pappas has reportedly quit Microsoft is hiking the price of Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass DPReview will live, actually — under new ownership 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 AI really works, and how the smart home broke
Today on the flagship podcast of open-source lightbulbs: David Pierce chats with Verge investigations editor Josh Dzieza about his story detailing how humans matter far more to AI development than we may have thought. Inside the AI Factory: the humans that make tech seem human Later, smart home reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy explains why we're probably getting the idea of a “smart home” all wrong. Smart homes for smart people How microgrids and smart homes are shaping our energy-independent future Every device that works with Matter What is a smart home, and do you need one? How to pick a smart home platform From brilliant to basic, here are our smart home setups 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