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.
Apple (grumpily) opens up the App Store
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss Apple allowing alternative browser engines in the EU, Netflix getting WWE, Pixel 9 leaks, and more. Further reading: Apple is bringing sideloading and alternate app stores to the iPhone Apple is allowing alternative browser engines in iOS 17.4 — but only in the EU Apple opens App Store to game streaming services Netflix is turning into cable TV Netflix is going to take away its cheapest ad-free plan WWE Monday Night Raw is ditching cable for Netflix The Mac turns 40 — and keeps on moving Looking back on 40 years of Macintosh The Pixel 9 leaks are already here Leaked pictures show a very blue Pixel 9. The Vision Pro’s most important app is Safari, whether Apple likes it or not Vision Pro cover glass repairs will set you back $799 without AppleCare Plus Apple tells artists how much more money they can make with spatial audio Inside India’s race to cool 1.3 billion people in a warming world Nintendo goes after the Palworld Pokémon modder The Pokémon Company says it will ‘investigate’ Palworld This baby is covered in old flip phones and chips — and you cannot afford it 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
From the Macintosh to the Vision Pro — and beyond
Today on the flagship podcast of really old computers: 03:54 - Walt Mossberg, former Verge executive editor and longtime Wall Street Journal tech columnist, joins the show to discuss forty years of the Macintosh computer. Mossberg - The Verge 40:28 - Ali Abdaal chats about his new book "Feel Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters To You" and why overthinking your productivity system might not be such a good idea. Ali Abdaal - YouTube Feel Good Productivity 1:06:53 - David Pierce answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline about laptops. The best laptops you can get 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
Vision Pro, Galaxy S24: it’s gadget season again
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Victoria Song, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss the Apple Vision Pro demo, the Samsung Galaxy S24 announcement, and more of this week's tech news. Further reading: Apple Vision Pro hands-on, again, for the first time Apple Vision Pro demos will include scanning your glasses to identify your prescription The Apple Vision Pro has a ‘guest’ mode for your friends to try it Apple Vision Pro will launch with 3D movies from Disney Plus Netflix’s app won’t work on the Vision Pro Magic Leap’s CEO isn’t worried about competing with the Apple Vision Pro. Apple Watch ban: everything you need to know Apple Watch sales ban restarts Thursday Apple Watches without banned blood oxygen features will go on sale Thursday morning This smartwatch has the tech that sparked the Apple Watch ban Samsung is making a Galaxy Ring Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and AI event: all the news The Galaxy S24 Ultra is smarter, pricier, and just as big as ever Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra might fend off scratches just as well as drops Samsung’s S24 and S24 Plus put new AI smarts in a polished package Samsung’s Galaxy S24 is first to be able to upload HDR photos to Instagram Google’s Circle to Search makes visual searches super simple Samsung’s Galaxy AI is coming to 100 million Galaxy phones. Meta’s new goal is to build artificial general intelligence 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
Who will win the 2024 streaming wars?
Today on the flagship podcast of endlessly looping sounds: 02:33 - David Pierce dives into one piece of music that has taken over "North Sea TikTok" 20:45 - Alex Cranz joins the show to preview new TV shows coming to streaming in 2024, and gives predictions about which streaming service will come out on top this year. 55:36 - This week's Vergecast Hotline question about E Ink at CES. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com, or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rabbit, Ballie, and the other gadgets of CES 2024
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz follow up on all the rest of the gadgets and tech seen at CES 2024. Further reading: CES 2024: all the TVs, laptops, smart home gear, and more from the show floor The Rabbit R1 is an AI-powered gadget that can use your apps for you Rabbit sells out 10,000 units of its R1 pocket AI companion in one day Samsung’s Ballie robot is now a projector that follows you around Wi-Fi 7 quietly took off while everyone was looking at AI Wi-Fi 7 certification is now underway for new routers and devices Belkin made an iPhone dock that can track you around the room Satechi’s new Qi2 charging stands are stylish and storable Have yourself some more Thunderbolt 5. Behold: the first Thunderbolt 5 port we’ve seen on an actual PC. I just watched the first interactive broadcast TV channel in the US Thread Group is finally fixing Thread border routers The Aqara Hub M3 launches at CES 2024 Google and Samsung team up to simplify Android sharing Intel: ‘We are bringing the AI PC to the car’ Hyundai says hydrogen will play a ‘prominent role’ in going carbon neutral BMW turns inward for CES, announcing new gaming, streaming, AR, and AI features VW’s software division and Bosch are testing robot parking and EV charging Volkswagen says it’s putting ChatGPT in its cars for ‘enriching conversations’ Kia’s ‘Platform Beyond Vehicles’ is a family of modular electric minivans for businesses Mercedes-Benz taps Will.i.am to create an ‘interactive musical experience’ for its cars Mercedes-Benz’s best-in-class voice assistant is getting an AI boost Honda debuts new global EV series, Honda Zero, coming in 2026 Google Chrome is coming to your car Sony’s Afeela needs to be more than a feeling 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 TVs, monitors, and laptops at CES 2024
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz are discuss all the things with screens announced at CES 2024. Further reading: I’ve looked through LG’s new transparent OLED TV and seen something special Samsung’s got its own transparent display. Samsung’s new OLED TV could make annoying glare a thing of the past Samsung finally puts the TV at the heart of its smart home The Frame has become such a hit that Samsung is making a speaker version Intel’s new 14th Gen mobile processors are here for 2024’s gaming laptops Lenovo’s latest 2-in-1 crams Windows and Android into one device Razer gaming laptops at CES 2024: Blade spec bumps and display upgrades Alienware’s M16 R2 trims the behind for less power and more portability MSI Claw hands-on: the Steam Deck rival with Intel inside MSI’s Claw is an Intel-powered Windows competitor to Valve’s Steam Deck What if your Samsung flip phone could flip further? Apple Vision Pro launches February 2nd Apple Vision Pro prescription lenses will cost $149 extra Xreal’s new AR glasses are aimed at the Apple Vision Pro Asus targets Apple’s Vision Pro (with M2) with the AirVision M1 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 already the year of AI again
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz kick off the new year with a preview of what we're excited to see at CES 2024 next week, but not before a brief discussion on copyright, the open web, and the first movements of a battle between The New York Times and OpenAI. Further reading: The New York Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement Here’s how major media companies are handling OpenAI. Read the lawsuit! For the second year in a row, Sony won’t have new TVs at CES CES 2024: Dell’s XPS laptop lineup is about to look very different Samsung’s new AI-enabled smart fridge can design recipes for you Jony Ive imagined the Vision Pro giving you Zoom eyes and sunglasses Alamo Drafthouse blames ‘nationwide’ theater outage on Sony projector fail Amazon Prime Video will start showing ads on January 29th 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 USB-C Holiday Spec-tacular
The Verge’s Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz start the final show of 2023 with some chat about the state of USB-C: the ups and downs of charging gadgets, the ubiquity of one cable, and what the future looks like for gadgets with ports. The crew competes in a few rounds of USB-C Price is Right, a game we completely made up to show how confusing USB-C and its specs can be. Nilay, David, and Alex each play for a Vergecast listener to win an awesome Verge swag basket from our merch store. Check out the video version of the game below. David and Nilay end the holiday show with Noah Dentzel, the CEO and co-founder of Nomad Goods, to talk about how USB-C on the iPhone has changed his business, the challenges of building cables, and what tech accessories he’s most excited about in 2024. Have a happy, safe, and fast-charging holiday. We’ll see you in 2024! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2023's biggest tech stories
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Richard Lawler discuss Apple pulling the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 from its website, the potential Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount merger, and what the biggest stories were on The Verge Dot Com. Further reading: Apple to pull Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 this week due to ITC ban Apple loses attempt to halt Apple Watch sales ban Why the Apple Watch is being banned — and how Apple can avoid it Masimo CEO thinks Apple can’t code its way out of the Watch ban. Apple Watch ban: everything you need to know Beeper is giving up on its iMessage dream Apple reportedly plans Vision Pro launch by February Apple’s immersive next-gen CarPlay will start with Porsche and Aston Martin Bird’s goose is cooked. Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount in discussions for a max merger Adobe explains why it abandoned the Figma deal Adobe won’t compromise on UK’s attempt to block Figma merger Peloton’s oldest bike tablet will be cut off from classes in a few months Peloton’s app now pairs with third-party treadmills for some subscribers Inside Elon Musk’s “extremely hardcore” Twitter Elon Musk predicts X will replace banks in 2024 Mark Zuckerberg agrees to Elon Musk cage match challenge Apple Vision Pro is Apple’s new $3,499 AR headset I wore the Apple Vision Pro. It’s the best headset demo ever. Sam Bankman-Fried gambled on a trial and his parents lost Amazon has just opened up its Sidewalk network to give any gadget free low speed data Sony’s portable PlayStation Portal launches on November 15th for $199.99 Sam Altman fired as CEO of OpenAI OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO FTC v. Microsoft: all the news from the big Xbox courtroom battle Buckle up because El Niño is almost here, and it’s going to get hot iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in titanium: price, features, and release date This is Microsoft’s new disc-less Xbox Series X design with a lift-to-wake controller Samsung caught faking zoom photos of the Moon The Steam Deck wasn’t born ready, but it’s ready now Inside the AI Factory: the humans that make tech seem human SodaStream is a bad deal, and modding your own is better Did SEO experts ruin the internet or did 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
Epic wins for Epic and Threads
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss Apple responding to Beeper's iMessage for Android and the various other text-based platform news from this week. Sean Hollister joins the show to discuss his time covering the Epic v Google trial, and what we learned from it all. Further reading: The year Twitter died: a special series from The Verge Beeper vs. iMessage is a fight about how tech works — and who's really in charge Apple responds to Beeper’s iMessage for Android: ‘We took steps to protect our users’ Beeper says Apple is blocking some iMessages, but there’s a fix Google Messages might let you edit texts after they’re sent Threads is officially starting to test ActivityPub integration Threads launches for nearly half a billion more users in Europe Adam Mosseri’s Threads account is rocketing up the Mastodon followed lists. An X outage broke all outgoing links, again Epic win: Jury decides Google has illegal monopoly in app store fight Epic CEO Tim Sweeney: the post-trial interview 20 things we learned from the Epic v. Google trial The Apple TV app now looks more like an all-purpose streaming hub E3 is officially over forever Opera’s gamer browser now has a ‘panic button’ for when you’re caught in the act 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
Saying goodbye to Twitter
Today on the flagship podcast of good tweets: 03:40 - The Verge’s William Poor goes on a vintage tech odyssey in the hopes of future-proofing his family’s heirloom Mac Classic. 28:35 - David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Nilay Patel discuss why they spent so much time on Twitter for so many years. The year Twitter died: a special series from The Verge How Twitter broke the news Extremely softcore: the old Twitter was an idealist’s workplace and a naive business The great tweet archive Twitter was a harassment machine 1:05:40 - David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline about organizing your digital photos. 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 race to win AI — and hack iMessage
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Dan Seifert discuss Google Gemini's attempt to compete with ChatGPT, Beeper Mini bringing iMessage to Android, and shakeups in the podcast industry, and much more. Further reading: “Welcome to hell, Elon” has now been cited in a Supreme Court brief. Google launches Gemini, the AI model it hopes will take down GPT-4 Google’s Gemini AI model now powers the Bard chatbot Google’s Gemini AI model is coming to the Pixel 8 Pro — and eventually to Android Apple joins AI fray with release of model framework Bing’s GPT-4-powered Deep Search takes its time with AI questions Getty lawsuit against Stability AI to go to trial in the UK Beeper Mini brings iMessage to Android EU officials think iMessage isn’t ‘popular enough’ with businesses to warrant regulation. Spotify cancels industry-favorite podcast Heavyweight Spotify’s not going for Pulitzers anymore Spotify’s CFO and general counsel sold millions of dollars worth of stock the day after the layoff. Tidal is laying off more than 10 percent of its staff. Seems like Apple’s iTunes Movies and TV Shows apps for Apple TV really are going away. Here’s how a bridal photo captured a single person in three poses at once Federal judge vows to investigate Google for intentionally destroying chats Microsoft is investigating a Windows issue that’s renaming printers to HP LaserJet Motorola Razr 2023 review: not enough of a good thing Disney Plus and Hulu’s one-app experience is launching in beta The race to 5G is over — now it’s time to pay the bill 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 Verge guide to holiday shopping
The Verge's David Pierce, Victoria Song, Dan Seifert, and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy answer questions from the Vergecast Hotline about what to buy for your loved ones this holiday season. Keep emailing us at vergecast@theverge.com or leave a voicemail at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Cybertruck lives, and so does OpenAI
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss the Tesla Cybertruck event, the latest with OpenAI leadership, and what Elon Musk and Bob Iger said at Dealbook Summit 2023. Getting close — but not too close — to the Tesla Cybertruck Tesla Cybertruck delivery event: Elon Musk hands over the first trucks to customers Elon Musk tells advertisers: ‘Go fuck yourself’ Sam Altman is back, so what’s next for OpenAI and ChatGPT? Interview: Sam Altman on being fired and rehired by OpenAI ChatGPT is winning the future — but what future is that? Ikea debuts a trio of affordable smart home sensors DealBook Summit 2023: Elon Musk, Bob Iger, and more How to find your 2023 Spotify Wrapped 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 Planet Earth — and the Netflix homepage — get made
Today on the flagship podcast of multi-drone camera setups: The Verge's David Pierce chats with Planet Earth III producer Alex Walters and director Theo Webb about the gear used to make the latest nature documentary series. Netflix's Pat Flemming joins the show to discuss how Netflix figures out what to show when you open the app, and how to keep you coming back. The Verge's publisher Helen Havlak and editor-in-chief Nilay Patel join the show to answer this week's 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