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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Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff wants to reduce neighborhood crime
Ring began as a humble crowdfunded project called Doorbot — a Wi-Fi-enabled video doorbell that enabled two-way communication. In 2013, it was rejected on Shark Tank. This year, the company was acquired by Amazon for over $1 billion. Nilay sat down with Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff on this week’s Vergecast to talk about joining the Amazon family of brands, the future of security in smart homes, and how Ring product owners may (or may not) work with law enforcement to make neighborhoods safer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
325: Chinese spy chips, Microsoft announcements, and Pixel 3 preview
This week on The Vergecast, Nilay, Dieter, and Paul bring in experts to report on the top stories on the site this week. Reporter and host of Why’d You Push That Button Ashley Carman stops by the studio to explain the Bloomberg report detailing “Chinese spy chips” that may have been planted on servers from companies like Apple and Amazon. After that bizarre piece of news, senior editor Dan Seifert comes on the show to talk about the Microsoft hardware event he attended this week and the new products that were announced. We’ve also got a Google hardware event coming up next week, so they run through the leaks and rumors of gadgets that we might see. Check back next week for our full event coverage on this show. There’s a whole lot more in between all of that — including our favorite reoccurring segments from Liz Lopatto and Paul Miller — so listen to it all, and you’ll get it all. 01:45 - What we still don’t know about the Facebook breach 2:48 - Chinese spy chips would be a ‘god-mode’ hack, experts say with Ashley Carman 29:18 - This week in Elon Musk with Liz Lopatto 33:37 - Microsoft Surface event 2018: the 5 biggest announcements with Dan Seifert 1:10:03 - Paul’s weekly segment “Type like nobody’s watching” 1:13:58 - New Google Pixel 3: the 8 most credible leaks 1:16:36 - LG V40 Review: one phone, five cameras 1:19:28 - iPhone XS: Why It’s A Whole New Camera – Halide Also, in case you missed it, Nilay talked to Meredith Rose from Public Knowledge about the Music Modernization Act. You can listen to that along with this episode right in the Vergecast feed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Public Knowledge’s Meredith Rose explains the Music Modernization Act
The Music Modernization Act has passed Congress and now sits on President Trump’s desk, awaiting his signature. The bill is years in the making, a much needed solution to the complicated collision of music streaming services, licensing issues, and copyright law. For this week’s interview episode of The Vergecast, Nilay sat down with Meredith Rose, Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy group. They talked about how the Music Modernization Act will help artists get paid, companies license music, and how new streaming services might compete with giants like Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
324: Instagram chaos, Photokina 2018, and Elon Musk gets sued
This week, we saw the two founders of Instagram abruptly leave, so Casey Newton comes on the show to talk about all that drama and what it might mean for Facebook’s prized possession. Then, Dan Seifert joins us to talk about all of the cameras that were announced at Photokina this year, plus all the models that were announced before the show even started. Finally, Liz Lopatto comes on for an impromptu This Week In Elon to discuss the fact that the SEC has filed a lawsuit against Mr. Musk, which happened just before we started recording the show. 1:28 - Instagram founders resign from Facebook 5:00 - 5 times Facebook messed with Instagram 20:43 - Whats App co-founder Forbes interview 22:32 - Former boss of Facebook Messenger calls Brian Acton “low class” 32:31 - Photokina 2018 recap 38:39 - Zeiss camera with built-in Adobe Lightroom 51:16 - Paul’s weekly segment “Space Egg” 56:07 - This week in Elon Musk: Live Edition™ with Liz Lopatto 1:09:52 - Oculus Quest Also, in case you missed it, Nilay talked to Google AMP’s Malte Ubl about how he’s trying to make the mobile web better. You can listen to that in the Vergecast feed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google AMP’s Malte Ubl wants to make the mobile web better
You may not have heard of Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) but you almost certainly have used it. The Google open-source project has been making waves since it launched in 2016 in an effort to make the mobile web faster to load and smoother to navigate. This week, Nilay sat down with Malte Ubl, creator and tech lead of AMP, to talk about the controversy of bifurcating the web, forming a technical steering committee to co-lead the project, and Ubl’s vision for the future of the mobile web. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
iPhone XS review, Apple Watch 4 review, and Amazon's surprise hardware event
This past week, Nilay reviewed the new iPhone XS and XS Max while Dieter reviewed the Apple Watch series 4. Paul, Dieter, and Nilay dedicate half the show to their review and whether it’s worth upgrading to the new model. Second half of the show, the crew tries to cover all of the insane amount of gadgets that Amazon announced this week, including a DVR for over-the-air channels. There’s a whole lot more in between that — like deputy editor Liz Lopatto’s “This week in Elon” segment — so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. 01:26 - Apple iPhone XS and XS Max review: smoothed out 32:10 - Apple Watch Series 4 review: the best gets better 54:44 - This week in Elon Musk with Liz Lopatto 59:00 - Paul’s weekly segment “Spin to win” 1:03:46 - The 14 biggest announcements from Amazon’s surprise hardware event 1:33:09 - Sony is launching a PlayStation Classic console this December loaded with 20 games Also, in case you missed it, Nilay along with transportation reporter Sean O’Kane talked to Ford AV CEO Sherif Marakby about self-driving cars and what Ford is doing with them. You can listen to that right in the Vergecast feed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ford Autonomous Vehicles President and CEO Sherif Marakby
Big car companies like Ford have broken themselves up to enter the market of self-driving cars and compete with Silicon Valley companies like Tesla and Uber. Ford Autonomous Vehicles hopes to become the go-to supplier of autonomous driving software, and have even set the ambitious goal of shipping a self-driving car without a steering wheel or pedals in the next few years. For this week’s interview episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and Verge transportation reporter Sean O’Kane sit down with Ford Autonomous Vehicles President and CEO Sherif Marakby to discuss the past, present, and future of self-driving cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple iPhone XS event, iPhone XR, and Apple Watch Series 4
Vergecast hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn attended the Apple event on Wednesday, and they were able to get their hands on the new iPhones and Apple Watch that were on display. After the event, they headed to our San Francisco studio to Skype with Paul Miller to record their first impressions, a summary of the event, and lay to rest some conspiracies. That’s all you really need to know before listening! 3:11 - Apple’s AirPower charger is still a no-show, one year after it was first announced 5:18 - September Keynote 2018 — Opening Film 08:33 - iPhone XS and XS Max: hands-on with Apple’s giant new phone 13:18 - The 3 best and worst features of the iPhone XS and XS Max 20:32 - iPhone XS Max overview 31:16 - Apple iPhone XR hands-on: the new default iPhone 47:15 - Paul’s weekly segment “E-skates arm race” 49:39 - Apple watch4 hands-on: bigger is better 1:04:15 - Apple adds lyric search, phone calls, and multiple timers to the HomePod 1:14:47 - What’s worse than a dongle? No dongle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Anki CEO Boris Sofman
Anki, known for creating “robots that move you,” just finished a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund their new home robot, Vector. Anki CEO Boris Sofman sat down with Nilay for this week’s interview episode of The Vergecast to talk about the new companion robot, why gendering the robots is important, and how to avoid the uncanny valley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple event preview, social media hearings, and monopoly week
This week on The Vergecast, Nilay, Paul, Russell, and Dieter dedicate half the show to The Verge’s monopoly week, which dives into the future of tech monopolies. They also discuss the social media hearings that happened on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. In the second half of the show, the crew updates us on what to expect for next week’s Apple event, from the mysterious third phone to the updated AirPods rumors. There’s a whole lot in between that — like a whole section dedicated to Roombas — so listen to it all, and you’ll get it all. 01:33 - Trump says Amazon, Facebook, and Google represent a ‘very antitrust situation’ 08:08 - The 7 biggest moments from Wednesday’s social media hearings 26:13 - This week in Elon Musk with Sean O’Kane 30:39 - The 9 most plausible rumors about the new iPhones 35:28 - Pixel 3 XL found in a Lyft, had already leaked enough for driver to recognize it 37:39 - New 6.5-inch iPhone X model reportedly called the ‘iPhone XS Max’ 38:25 - Third-party USB-C to Lightning cables are reportedly happening 42:41 - Five things to expect at the Apple event next week 45:16 - Paul’s weekly segment “The decline of dirt” 50:59 - Google’s Pixel 3 event will take place on October 9th 51:53 - BMW is the latest automaker to introduce its own in-car voice assistant 52:04 - Netflix and YouTube are most throttled mobile apps by US carriers, new study says 52:20 - Razer confirms it’s working on a second-generation Razer Phon 53:17 - Samsung teases foldable smartphone launch for later this year Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tim Wu thinks it’s time to break up Facebook
Best known for coining the phrase “net neutrality” and his book The Master Switch, Tim Wu has a new book coming out in November called The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age. In it, he argues compellingly for a return to aggressive antitrust enforcement in the style of Teddy Roosevelt, saying that Google, Facebook, Amazon, and other huge tech companies are a threat to democracy as they get bigger and bigger. Nilay sits down with Wu for this week's interview episode of The Vergecast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
IFA 2018, Apple event announced, and iPhone/Apple watch leaks
This week, The Verge has been at IFA 2018, Europe’s big tech event. There are a lot of new gadgets, so Nilay, Dieter, and Paul go through their favorites on The Vergecast. Also, Apple announced its September event this week, and immediately following the announcement, iPhone and Apple Watch leaks surfaced. The crew discusses. And, of course, we have our fan-favorite segments: Liz’s “This week in Elon Musk” and Paul’s “Keyboard-in-the-front club: population 2” There’s a whole lot more in between that — like Sonos announcing a geeky new amp — so listen to it all, and you’ll get it all. 01:04 - The Internet of Garbage by Sarah Jeong 02:08 - Apple’s next iPhone event will be on September 12th 03:24 - Purported iPhone XS image shows gold color and Plus-sized display 15:03 - Leaked Apple Watch Series 4 image reveals bigger display, new complications 25:15 - This week in Elon Musk with Liz Lopatto 29:30 - IFA 2018: all the biggest news from Europe’s grand tech showcase 29:43 - Acer’s absurd Predator Thronos gaming chair is fit for a king 32:29 - Lenovo’s new Yoga Book replaces the keyboard with an E-Ink screen 36:22 - Asus’ new laptop has a touchscreen trackpad 37:44 - Skagen’s minimalist Falster smartwatch gets a sequel with fitness features 43:01 - Sony’s 1000X M3 noise-canceling headphones have an improved design and USB-C 45:09 - Paul’s weekly segment “Keyboard-in-the-front club: population 2” 48:51 - Trump lashes out at Google: all the news about the president’s intensifying feud with Silicon Valley 52:18 - The new Sonos Amp is coming to save your old speakers 59:20 - The last Blockbuster: what we really lose when video stores shut down Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Microsoft’s president explains how Gab shutdown notice went from customer support to his desk
We're kicking off our secondary Vergecast episode of the week with an interview with Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith. In this wide-ranging interview , Smith expanded on why the company nearly shut down Gab.ai, the “free-speech” absolutist platform that’s become an alt-right favorite. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
App Store chaos, ray tracing, and new Macbook Air rumors
This week on The Vergecast, Paul, Nilay, and Dieter start off the show with the news that Netflix is testing a payment feature to bypass Apple’s App Store fees, which leads into a larger discussion of (as Nilay calls it) “App Store chaos.” Paul seems pretty excited about “ray tracing” — a term that Nvidia is using for its upcoming graphics cards — so the crew explains what that means and how far ahead Nvidia is compared to its competition. Competition is a general theme in this week’s episode. We’ve also got our two recurring segments in the show: deputy editor Liz Lopatto’s “This Week in Elon Musk” (which is now a newsletter) and Paul’s segment “Cold ears, warm heart.” And we must not forget the latest Apple rumors that have hit the news in preparation for the likely Apple event in September. But there’s a whole lot more in between that, so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. 03:35 - Netflix is testing a payment feature to bypass Apple’s App Store fees 20:39 - ‘Ray tracing’ could bring the biggest graphics jump in a decade 30:59 - DJI’s new Mavic 2 drones have upgraded cameras and zoom lenses 34:34 - Nikon strikes back at Sony with first full-frame mirrorless cameras 40:09 - This week in Elon Musk with Liz Lopatto 44:15 - Apple’s MacBook Air successor will reportedly have slim bezels and high-res Retina display 51:14 - Microsoft to bundle Xbox One consoles, Xbox Live, and Game Pass into a monthly subscription service 52:56 - Paul’s weekly segment “Cold ears, warm heart” 53:52 - A day in the life of a Waymo self-driving taxi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week in Twitter, Elon Musk, and batteries
We’ve got a whirlwind of an episode this week on The Vergecast. Nilay, Paul, and Dieter bring back Silicon Valley Editor and host of Converge Casey Newton to discuss Twitter’s bad week and what the heck is going on with them. But before that, there’s a whole lot of other things that came up. We reviewed both the Galaxy Note 9 and Android 9 Pie this week, so Dieter runs through everything you need to know about the two launches. We’ve also got two fresh segments this this week. Deputy Editor Liz Lopatto updates us on this week in Elon Musk, and culture reporters Megan Farokhmanesh and Bijan Stephen stop by to tell us what’s happening in culture section of The Verge. There’s a whole lot more in between that — such as Paul’s segment, “Phone prison,” that he does every week — so listen in to hear it all. 01:36 - Battery week 02:14 - Note 9 review 09:58 - Android 9 Pie review 18:11 - This week in Elon with Liz Lopatto 21:51 - Tesla allegedly covered up drug trafficking and spied on employees at the Gigafactory, whistleblower says 23:03 - Verizon’s 5G home internet launch will come with free YouTube TV or Apple TV 4K 23:26 - Sprint and LG will release a 5G smartphone in the first half of 2019 31:02 - This week in culture with Megan and Bijan 38:18 - Twitter’s fear of making hard decisions is killing it 1:01:05 - Twitter officially kills off key features in third-party apps 1:08:00 - Paul’s weekly segment “Phone prison” 1:11:20 -Google may add Windows 10 dual-boot option to Chromebooks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices