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.
Similar Podcasts
Elixir Outlaws
Elixir Outlaws is an informal discussion about interesting things happening in Elixir. Our goal is to capture the spirit of a conference hallway discussion in a podcast.
The Cynical Developer
A UK based Technology and Software Developer Podcast that helps you to improve your development knowledge and career,
through explaining the latest and greatest in development technology and providing you with what you need to succeed as a developer.
ThunderCast
An inside look at the making of Mozilla Thunderbird, and community-driven conversations with our friends in the open-source software space.
Goodbye to Dieter Bohn, with special guest Walt Mossberg
This was a tough one. The Verge co-founder and Executive Editor Dieter Bohn is leaving us. Nilay Patel, Walt Mossberg and Dieter Bohn walk down memory lane and discuss their first meeting, founding The Verge, CES memories, and what Dieter is doing once he leaves. Behringer's iNuke Boom is the essence of Vegas And now, a brief definition of the web Dieter on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple “Peek Performance” event preview / Ford splits itself in two / Russia starts a star war
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Dan Seifert discuss what could possibly be announced by Apple next week. Senior reporter Loren Grush explains what's going on with Russia and space. And Andrew Hawkins talks about Ford splitting itself into two companies. Further reading: Elon Musk’s promised Starlink terminals have reached Ukraine Ukraine engineer talks testing SpaceX’s new Starlink service Russian space director’s wild threats could have real implications for the ISS European Space Agency claims joint Russian Mars rover probably won’t launch this year Russia holds OneWeb rocket launch hostage, issues conditional demands Russia says it will no longer sell rocket engines to the United StatesFord’s ‘radical’ move to split the company won’t come easy Elon Musk dares autoworkers union: hold a vote at Tesla’s California factory Rivian has altered the deal, and now its EVs will cost buyers up to $20K more Rivian apologizes for ‘broken trust’ and axes preorder price increases that hit as much as $20K The Arc One is an electric boat with a battery pack three times the size of Tesla’s Apple officially announces ‘Peek Performance’ March 8th event Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Steam Deck review / Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review
Senior news editor Sean Hollister joins Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Alex Cranz to discuss his review of the Steam Deck, the latest portable gaming system. Verge reviewer Allison Johnson continues the gadget talk with her review of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra. Further reading: Ukraine internet outages spark concerns of broader blackout US and Russia still tethered by International Space Station during Ukraine conflict Twitter accounts sharing video from Ukraine are being suspended when they’re needed most Steam Deck review: it’s not ready The official Steam Deck dock won’t be available at launch Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review: notably unique Dish says its 5G buildout is going great, thanks for asking, how are you? Apple will reportedly debut an M2 chip with four new Macs this year Spotify’s Car Thing goes on general sale for $90 Sony finally reveals the PlayStation VR2’s design Tesla CEO Elon Musk accuses the SEC of ‘leaking’ information Inside Pornhub Why Trump’s Truth Social may not survive the hype Inside Galactic Starcruiser, Disney's hotel where everyone becomes a Star Wars character Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review / Spotify is acquiring two major podcast tech platforms / The LinkBuds are Sony’s strangest earbuds yet
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, Alex Cranz, and Monica Chin discuss phones, laptops, and chips announced and reviewed this week. Senior reporter Ashley Carman joins the show to discuss the latest podcast industry news. Further reading: Samsung’s Galaxy S22 phones are the safe bet OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: a great Oppo-tunity Realme 9 Pro and Pro Plus announced with color-changing new design Oppo releases official images of new Find X5 flagship phonet Apple reportedly plans to reveal the first iPhone SE with 5G in March AMD’s new Ryzen 6000 H-series processors are launching in laptops starting today Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review: the price is no longer right The Asus ROG Strix Flare II Animate: feature-packed, but overpriced Cooler Master’s Sneaker X PC case has a lot of sole Intel's first discrete Arc desktop GPUs are coming in Q2 2022 This DIY ultracompact computer has a mechanical keyboard Samsung teases new Galaxy Book and more at February 27th event Spotify’s COVID problems are bigger than Joe Rogan Spotify is acquiring two major podcast tech platforms Spotify wants to beat YouTube at audio Spotify reportedly paid $200 million for Joe Rogan’s podcast Hot Pod Summit is back at On Air Fest 2022! The LinkBuds are Sony’s strangest earbuds in years — and surprisingly good Audio-Technica’s new $200 earbuds promise an impressive 20 hours of battery life Garmin’s Epix 2 multisport watch made me a touchscreen convert Garmin's Fenix 7S Sapphire Solar makes the case for smaller fitness watches iFixit has a Steam Deck teardown — and will officially sell replacement parts from Valve Disney is developing planned communities for fans who never want to leave its clutches Google is bringing Chrome OS to PCs and Macs Facebook rebrands News Feed after more than 15 years Elon Musk tells a judge the SEC’s ‘endless’ investigation is stifling his free speech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Samsung announces Galaxy S22 Ultra / Microsoft announces open app store rules / Peloton fired 2,800 employees and gave them free Peloton memberships
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, Alex Cranz, and Chris Welch discuss all the announcements from Samsung's Galaxy S22 Unpacked event. Senior reporter Adi Robertson explains Microsoft's Open App Store Principles and the other tech policy news from the week. Wearables reporter Victoria Song joins the show to discuss Peloton's business troubles. Further reading: Everything announced at Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Unpacked event Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is a Note successor with a built-in stylus Samsung’s Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus put improved cameras and performance in a samey design Samsung phones will get an extra year of Android updates versus Google’s Pixel Samsung’s new tablets go bigger than ever Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 will track your sleep with cartoon animals Microsoft announces open app store rules to prove it’s okay with new laws Microsoft hints it will open up Xbox store, changing its entire business model Microsoft says it will keep Call of Duty on PlayStation ‘beyond the existing agreement’ Everything you need to know about the bill that could blow up the app store Nvidia’s huge Arm deal has just been scrapped WarnerMedia and Discovery get US government approval to create their new media giant Anti-exploitation bill advances in Senate despite free speech concerns Peloton fired 2,800 employees and gave them free Peloton memberships Fired Peloton employees crash new CEO’s first all-hands Mazda head units are getting bricked by a local NPR station in Seattle Twitter finally agrees that 1x is not the only speed for watching a video Is ‘realityOS’ Apple’s newest operating system? Sports streaming is busted — the Super Bowl likely won’t be any different Apple’s Tap to Pay feature lets newer iPhones accept contactless payments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
YouTube Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan on new features for creators in 2022
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and streaming reporter Catie Keck talk with YouTube Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan about new features coming to YouTube: more tools for Shorts, interactive live streaming, a new YouTube TV interface, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever / Spotify CEO defends Joe Rogan deal
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, Ashley Carman, and Alex Heath discuss Meta's rough week: Facebook reported its first-ever quarterly decline of daily users globally, along with lower-than-expected ad growth that sent its stock plunging roughly 20 percent. The crew also discuss Spotify's response to the Joe Rogan controversy and how it will be handling moderation going forward. Further reading: Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarter Meta’s stock price plunges 25 percent overnight Google parent company Alphabet broke $200 billion in annual revenue for the first time Epic largely lost to Apple, but 35 states are now backing its fight in a higher court Spotify CEO defends Joe Rogan deal in tense company town hall Spotify says it’s a creator company now Here is the Spotify COVID content policy that lets Joe Rogan slide Spotify finally responds to Joe Rogan controversy with a plan to label podcasts that discuss COVID-19 Joe Rogan defends podcast and apologizes to Spotify for backlash The Joe Rogan controversy is what happens when you put podcasts behind a wall Sony is buying Bungie, the developer of Destiny and original creator of Halo Big video game companies just can’t stop buying studios Wordle has been bought by The New York Times, will ‘initially’ remain free for everyone to play Peloton’s latest gadget is a $90 heart rate monitor for your arm Echelon persuades USPTO that Peloton’s streaming tech is unpatentable Appeals court upholds California’s net neutrality law Google leaks Pixel 6A name in, of all things, a coloring book Tesla has a new feature that will disable your seat controls if you keep messing with them Public accountants are deducting themselves from their jobs What’s the difference between 5G, 5G Plus, 5G UW, and 5G UC? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spotify picks Joe Rogan over Neil Young / Intel’s $20 billion bet on Ohio / Q4 earnings for Big Tech
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Tom Warren discuss Q4 earnings for the big tech companies like Microsoft, Samsung, Intel, and Tesla. Casey Newton joins the show to discuss Spotify's controversy regarding Joe Rogan's podcast, leading to musician Neil Young removing his music from the platform. Further reading: Windows 11 is getting Android apps, taskbar improvements, and more next month Microsoft got a whole lot of people to play Halo and Forza Call of Duty’s next three games will hit PlayStation despite Microsoft’s Activision deal It’s 2022, and the Surface Duo is finally getting Android 11 Microsoft is making its Xbox subscriptions more flexible after UK regulator steps in Samsung sets revenue records with stronger product sales What to expect from Samsung’s February Unpacked Samsung’s next Unpacked event is set for February 9th What we know about Intel’s $20 billion bet on Ohio The chip shortage didn’t stop Intel from having its ‘best year ever’ Tesla hails its second profitable year as a ‘breakthrough’ Elon Musk says ‘don’t forget about my robots’ as Roadster, Semi, Cybertruck deadlines slip Tesla Cybertruck delayed until at least next year, Elon Musk confirms Tesla Cybertruck walkaround video shows the absurdly huge windshield wiper in detail The self-driving car industry is abandoning the term ‘self-driving’ and leaving it to Tesla Spotify picks Joe Rogan over Neil Young Why Spotify can’t afford to lose Joe Rogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Microsoft to acquire Activision for $68.7 billion / Google is building an AR headset / The 5G battle between the FAA, AT&T, Verizon, and airlines
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks with games reporter Ash Parrish and senior reporter Alex Heath about Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion and Google building a new AR headset. Policy editor Russell Brandom joins the show to discuss the battle between the FAA, AT&T, Verizon, and airlines over 5G and the antitrust bills in Congress this week. Further reading: The US’s free COVID test website has more visitors than all other .gov sites combined Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion Read Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick’s email to employees about the Microsoft acquisition Read Microsoft Gaming CEO’s email to staff about the Activision Blizzard acquisition Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service grows to 25 million subscribers Microsoft’s Activision acquisition would instantly make it a force in mobile gaming A guide to Microsoft’s Xbox game studios empire Is Microsoft building a gaming monopoly? Sony expects Microsoft to ‘continue to ensure’ Activision games stay multiplatform Google is building an AR headset AT&T and Verizon are limiting C-band 5G expansion around airports even more AT&T begins 5G C-band rollout in limited number of metro areas Verizon’s faster C-band 5G is live and off to a promising start Apple and Google split with startups over antitrust bill Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are personally lobbying senators against antitrust legislation: report Lawmakers approve Big Tech antitrust overhaul, but with strings attached US competition enforcers launch overhaul of merger approval process Democrats unveil bill to ban online ‘surveillance advertising’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wordle and the App Store clones / FTC’s Meta antitrust lawsuit moves forward / PCs had another big year
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Russell Brandom discuss the FTC proceeding with an antitrust lawsuit against Meta, the success of Wordle and its app clones, and more RCS drama. Verge deputy editor Dan Seifert stops by to chat about this week's gadget news and the state of the PC market. Stories discussed: White House to launch COVID test-ordering site ‘by this weekend,’ reports say White House hosts tech summit to discuss open-source security after Log4j Google calls for new government action to protect open-source software projects Judge says the FTC’s Meta monopoly lawsuit can go forward Meta’s real antitrust problems are only beginning Want the ‘TLDR’ on a site’s terms of service? There’s a bill for that Apple says App Store developers have earned more than $260 billion The App Store clones are here to profit off Wordle’s success The Wordle clones have disappeared from the App Store Wordle copycat creator apologizes for ripping off the popular free word game The real beauty of Wordle is how its emoji results tell a story Alleged Apple App Store scammer AmpMe lowers prices and says it’ll investigate its ‘consultants’ Google exec says Apple is ‘holding back’ customers who text Google says Apple ‘should not benefit from bullying’ created by iMessage lock-in It fills me with glee that Canon printers now think Canon’s own toner is fake Apple’s $19 polishing cloth is back in stock online Ford doesn’t want the F-150 Lightning’s launch to be plagued by scalpers Tesla removes 2022 production date from Cybertruck website The PC market just had another big year thanks to pandemic demand TSMC earmarks record $44 billion for chip manufacturing expansion in 2022 The pandemic has blurred the lines between laptop categories Sony Xperia 5 III now shipping in the US, almost nine months after initial announcement The Nvidia Shield is getting Android 11 and other upgrades Sony says it’s still making new PS4s, but most stores aren’t selling them Google’s Android 12 update has been the rockiest one in years Ford doesn’t want the F-150 Lightning’s launch to be plagued by scalpers Wear OS will work better for lefties... eventually Tesla removes 2022 production date from Cybertruck website GM is creating an online used car marketplace Buy Nothing exploded on Facebook — now it wants a platform on its own Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CES 2022: all the TVs, concept cars, laptops, and gadgets announced this week
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Alex Cranz run through the huge amount of products announced at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 this week — from QD-OLED TVs, to EVs, to a hair-coloring gadget. All the stories discussed: CES 2022 will close a day early because of COVID concerns CES 2022 will introduce HDMI 2.1a, another confusing new spec Sony announces the world’s first QD-OLED 4K TV, coming later this year Sony is joining the Mini LED TV bandwagon in 2022 Samsung promises ‘groundbreaking’ new TV feature: NFT support Samsung’s latest Frame TVs have a matte screen that looks and feels more like real art Samsung’s new 2022 TVs bring Nvidia GeForce Now and Google Stadia gaming Samsung’s new TV remote uses radio waves from your router to stay charged LG announces its largest and smallest OLED TVs ever as part of 2022 lineup LG TVs now have a built-in health platform The Samsung Odyssey Ark is its largest curved monitor yet Chevy Silverado EV revealed: GM’s best-selling truck goes electric General Motors announces electric versions of the Chevy Equinox and Blazer SUVs BMW’s IX M60 is a dual-motor performance EV with 280 miles of range BMW debuts its new color-changing paint technology at CES: E Ink Sony pivots into cars with Sony Mobility and a Vision-S SUV prototype at CES 2022 Dell XPS 13 Plus hands-on: is that... a touch bar? Asus will release a 17-inch foldable OLED laptop this year Lenovo’s new ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 has an eight-inch secondary screen Intel’s 12th Gen Alder Lake chips arrive at CES 2022 for its most powerful laptops ever Intel’s upcoming Arc GPUs inch closer to their debut with latest OEM update Intel announces 5.5GHz capable 12th Gen CPU Nvidia still has no idea how to pronounce the name of its best gaming GPU Google will spend 2022 trying to match Apple’s ecosystem integrations The OnePlus 10 Pro’s official specs are not the least bit surprising The Galaxy S21 FE officially joins Samsung's crowded mirage lineup Why AT&T and Verizon are feuding with the US Government over a last-minute delay to 5G L’Oreal’s newest gadget takes the mess out of coloring your hair Sony confirms PlayStation VR2 name and Horizon game Samsung’s tiny Freestyle projector is fun so get over it Anker’s new Nano II 100W USB-C charger is the smallest 100W GaN charger yet The Motorola MA1 is a dongle for wireless Android Auto Razer’s new Zephyr Pro mask has the voice amp feature we wanted all along Black + Decker’s $300 Bev vacuums up a Keurig-shaped hole in the robot bartender space Are we ready for the smart front door? Masonite thinks so This breathing PC case looks like it’s alive Podcasters are letting software pick their ads — it’s already going awry Pete Buttigieg is racing to keep up with self-driving cars Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Webb Space Telescope to launch next week / cool gadgets announced this week
Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, Alex Cranz, and Loren Grush discuss NASA's plan for launching the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to NASA’s Hubble telescope. Second half of the show, the crew go through all the gadgets and software updates announced this past week. Stories discussed this week: NASA’s massive next-generation space telescope arrives in South America ahead of launch NASA sets new date for James Webb Space Telescope launch Five former SpaceX employees speak out about harassment at the company Sony Glass Sound Speaker review: it’s not what it looks like Analogue Pocket review: Game Boy games have never looked so good Opal’s C1 offers DSLR-rivaling video quality in a small form factor Dell’s Concept Stanza converts your chicken scratch to digital text Amazon Echo Show 15 review: Alexa’s on your wall Oppo’s Find N is an impressive first folding phone Huawei’s P50 Pocket is a stylish clamshell foldable launching this month Samsung’s working on a rollable smartwatch with a camera Apple releases iOS 15.2 with App Privacy Report, Digital Legacy, and more Apple scrubs controversial CSAM detection feature from webpage but says plans haven’t changed Universal Control won’t be coming to macOS Monterey until sometime this spring Adobe launches Creative Cloud Express, a new app that simplifies its powerful editing tools Snap launches Story Studio, a standalone video editing app for mobile Log4j is patched, but the exploits are just getting started ‘No easy solution’ for Tesla Cybertruck’s comically large windshield wiper, Elon Musk says Chrome OS tablets are getting fancier but not better Former FCC officials are worried about air safety fears delaying 5G rollout Toyota is going to make you pay to start your car with your key fob Delivery failed How to sneak into a Bored Ape Yacht Club party Matter’s plan to save the smart home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Can Matter save the smart home?
In our final Vergecast Spec-tacular of the year, Dieter Bohn dives into Matter, the new tech standard that smart home gadgets will use to communicate with each other, making compatibility between gadgets significantly easier. Guests include: Verge smart home reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Michelle Mindala-Freeman, Head of Marketing for the Connectivity Standards Alliance. Tim Both, brand manager and product manager for Eve Samantha Fein, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Samsung SmartThings Further reading: Matter is the new name of Project CHIP, the partnership that promises to simplify your smart home Matter could bring universal casting that actual works Smart home company Eve plans to use Matter to move beyond Apple’s HomeKit Amazon confirms its support for Matter Google shares its commitment to Matter, promises future interoperability between smart home platforms Samsung promises Matter support for SmartThings hubs, Galaxy devices, TVs, and fridges Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 demo / Snap’s first AR Spectacles / LG TVs can now play Google Stadia
Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Alex Heath discuss Epic Games' Matrix experience in Unreal Engine 5, Snap’s first AR Spectacles, streaming news, and more. Stories discussed: Snap’s first AR Spectacles are an ambitious, impractical start How Snap is sidestepping the metaverse The Matrix Awakens is an interactive tech demo for PS5 and Xbox Series X / S Meta opens up access to its VR social platform Horizon Worlds Apple’s AR headset reportedly uses 3D sensors for hand tracking Your LG TV can now play Google Stadia if it’s running webOS 5.0 or later Matter could bring universal casting that actually works Roku settles YouTube dispute and locks down apps in ‘multi-year’ deal Spotify removes popular comedians’ content over royalties dispute Apple Music’s voice plan likely to launch with iOS 15.2 Sonos now supports Amazon Music’s Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos tracks Google Pixel’s lock screen Snapchat shortcut is here Google releases first Android 12L beta for large-screen devices Google Pixel mail-in repairs have allegedly twice resulted in leaked pics and a privacy nightmare 5G now means some flights won’t be able to land when pilots can’t see the runway Jessica Rosenworcel confirmed by Senate to lead the FCC Verizon might be collecting your browsing history and here’s how to stop it Sonos announces plans to make its products more efficient and repairable Instagram head says it’s bringing back the chronological feed The vice president should not be using Bluetooth headphones Kickstarter says it’s switching to crowdfunding via the blockchain Epic v. Apple ruling put on hold after appeals court grants a stay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Behind the scenes of our Treo documentary, Springboard
Live at On The Verge in New York City, Nilay and Dieter discuss The Verge's documentary Springboard: the secret history of the first real smartphone and conduct at Q&A with the audience. Springboard is now streaming worldwide. You can watch it on The Verge’s new app on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, or Apple TV. It is now also available to watch on our YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices