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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A Googler’s guide to getting things done
Laura Mae Martin is a big believer in the settings menu. Martin is Google’s Executive Productivity Advisor, and spends much of her time working with other Googlers on improving their productivity and communication systems — and one of the things she often recommends is taking a few minutes to poke through the options. “With your phone, with your email, your Slack, all these things, the features are there but we don’t take the time to dive into them,” she says. She even thinks you should maybe have to look at settings before you can use the app. “Like, you can’t get into the app unless you spend 10 minutes figuring out what it can do.” On this episode of The Vergecast, the first in our three-part miniseries about all things productivity and work, we talk to Martin about how she sees things changing. Four years after the pandemic forced us all to work from home, are we finally figuring out remote and hybrid work? Are managers realizing that butts-in-seats isn’t, and maybe was never, a good metric for productivity? And is the era of the hard-charging hustle bro finally giving way to a healthier, more holistic way of thinking about being productive? Martin sees all these things from so many perspectives, and has lots of thoughts on everything from communication styles to energy flows. We also talk about the rise in digital productivity tools like Notion and Slack, and why email is still so important — and still so terrible. One of Martin’s jobs at Google is to consult with the teams building Workspace apps like Docs and Gmail, and she has lots of thoughts on how those product works and how they could be better. We also talk about whether AI stands to change the way we get things done, and whether it’ll help us do more or just give us more to do. Along the way, Martin offers us lots of practical tips on how to manage our digital lives a little better. Charging your phone outside the bedroom, no-tech Tuesdays, and a couple of prettier email labels might actually go a long way. And if you have too many notes in too many places, it’s time to get a Main List going. If you want to know more on everything we talk about in this episode, here are a few links to get you started: Laura Mae Martin’s website Her book, Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing’ The Google Workspace guide to productivity and wellbeing The Verge’s favorite tools to stay organized The best note-taking apps for collecting your thoughts and data All I want is one productivity app that can handle everything 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
Gemini is taking over Google
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss AI tools announced at this weeks Pixel 9 event, Nilay's TV competition, tech regulatory news, and more. Further reading: AI overshadowed Pixel at the Pixel event All the AI features coming to Google's Pixel 9 series Google debuts Pixel Studio AI image-making app Google makes your Pixel screenshots searchable with Recall-like AI feature Every time Google dinged Apple during its Pixel 9 launch event Google Gemini’s voice chat mode is here Using Gemini Live was faster than Google, but also more awkward Google Pixel 9 launch event: all the announcements and products Google's Pixel 9 lineup is a Pro show The Pixel 9 Pro XL showed me the future of AI photography Google’s Zoom Enhance camera trick is finally available Inside the competition that named the Sony A95L the best TV of 2024 Patreon adds Apple tax to avoid getting kicked out of the App Store Apple is finally going to open up iPhone tap-to-pay Apple relents and approves Spotify app with EU pricing AltStore PAL drops its annual subscription thanks to a grant from Epic Epic judge says he’ll ‘tear the barriers down’ on Google’s app store monopoly The FTC’s fake review crackdown begins this fall Ex-Google CEO: AI startups can steal IP, hire lawyers to “clean up the mess” Flipboard is going to let you follow fediverse accounts right inside the app Halide’s Process Zero feature captures photos with no AI processing Realme’s 320W fast charging can fully charge a smartphone in four and a half minutes 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’s next big Pixel
Today on the flagship podcast of the correct height-to-width ratio of a foldable phone: The Verge’s David Pierce, Allison Johnson, Victoria Song, and Chris Welch discuss all the new gadget announcements from Google’s Pixel event — including the Pixel 9, the Pixel Watch 3, the Pixel buds, and more. Further reading: Google Pixel 9 launch event live coverage: all the news Google’s Pixel 9 lineup is a Pro show Google’s new Pixel Buds Pro 2 seem better in every way that matters The Pixel 9 Pro XL showed me the future of AI photography Google Pixel Watch 3 hands-on: a big leap forward The Google TV Streamer might be the Apple TV 4K rival we’ve been waiting for Why Google decided now’s the time to move on from Chromecast The Nest Learning Thermostat gets its biggest upgrade in over a decade Google’s Pixel Fold one year later: I can’t wait for the sequel 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 lost its first antitrust case, so what happens next?
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, Alex Heath, and Lauren Feiner discuss a federal judge ruling that Google violated US antitrust law, X suing a group of major advertisers over an “illegal boycott”, and the rest of this week's wild tech news. Further reading: Judge rules that Google ‘is a monopolist’ in US antitrust case All the spiciest parts of the Google antitrust ruling X files antitrust lawsuit against advertisers over ‘illegal boycott’ The Global Alliance for Responsible Media is 'discontinuing' after Elon Musk's X filed an antitrust lawsuit against it Disney’s password-sharing crackdown starts ‘in earnest’ this September Disney’s streaming business turned a profit for the first time The price of Disney Plus is about to go up Logitech’s ‘forever’ mouse isn’t happening Google is discontinuing the Chromecast line The Google TV Streamer might be the Apple TV 4K rival we’ve been waiting for Humane’s daily returns are outpacing sales Samsung’s Frame TV is finally getting the knockoffs it deserves Microsoft says Delta ignored Satya Nadella’s offer of CrowdStrike help Hands-on with Google’s new Nest Learning Thermostat OpenAI won’t watermark ChatGPT text because its users could get caught 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
Quibi's epic fall and the future of books
Today on the flagship podcast of what the future of Kindle turns out to be: We’re once again trying out a couple of our favorite new show formats. In Version History, we talk through the whole story of Quibi, from its early days as NewTV to its extremely ill-timed launch to its ultimate demise. From Variety: Quibi Has Raised $1.75B After Closing $750M Round to Fund Launch From Variety: Jeffrey Katzenberg’s NewTV Closes $1B, Major Studios Among Investors Quibi’s CES 2020 launch Quibi app review: short-form streaming in a shifting landscape Steven Spielberg is writing a horror series you’ll only be able to at night Quibi’s Super Bowl 2020 commercial From The Wall Street Journal: Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman Struggle With Their Startup—and Each Other How Quibi imploded less than six months after launch 11 reasons why Quibi crashed and burned in less than a year Next, we try out our as-yet-untitled debate show. The Verge’s Kevin Nguyen and Alex Cranz take on a surprisingly contentious topic: is the future of books print or digital? The Boox Palma is an amazing gadget I didn’t even know I wanted Kobo’s great color e-readers are held back by lock-in From The Wall Street Journal: How the Kindle Became a Must-Have Accessory (Again) The Playdate makes a surprisingly good e-reader Later, producer Andru Marino answers a question from The Vergecast Hotline about a very unusual shopping situation for MP3 players. NW-E394 Walkman Digital Music Player Mighty’s ‘iPod shuffle for Spotify’ gets upgraded battery and Bluetooth 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's Intelligence beta and more AI chaos
The Verge's Nilay Patel, Allison Johnson, and Victoria Song discuss Apple iOS 18.1 beta. upcoming Pixel 9 rumors, Olympics coverage, AI deepfake regulation, and more. Further reading: The best way to watch the Olympics is on TikTok Apple releases iOS 18.1 developer beta with the first ‘Apple Intelligence’ iPhone features Apple’s iOS 18.1 developer beta adds AI call recording and transcription A first look at Apple Intelligence and its (slightly) smarter Siri Apple’s new AI features will reportedly miss the iOS 18 launch and wait for iOS 18.1. Google Pixel 9 event: rumors and what to expect Pixel 9’s ‘Add Me’ feature puts you in a group photo even when you’re not there Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review: if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em Samsung hypes the Galaxy Z Flip as a great police bodycam Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber wants your next mouse to last forever Microsoft wants Congress to outlaw AI-generated deepfake fraud Google tweaks Search to help hide explicit deepfakes Lawmakers want to carve out intimate AI deepfakes from Section 230 immunity Elon Musk posts deepfake of Kamala Harris that violates X policy The Copyright Office calls for a new federal law regulating deepfakes. Senators will introduce the No Fakes Act to keep AI ... 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 history of Roku and the fight over CarPlay
Today on the flagship podcast of dedicated streaming hardware: We try out a couple of show formats we’ve been planning for a while. In Version History, we tell the story of the Roku Netflix Player, debate its legacy, and try to decide whether this thing belongs in the Version History Hall of Fame. From Fast Company: Inside Netflix’s Project Griffin: The Forgotten History Of Roku Under Reed Hastings From CNBC: How Roku used the Netflix playbook to rule streaming video From CNN: Netflix Player offers PC-free movie watching From Wired: Review: Roku Netflix Set Top Box Is Just Shy of Totally Amazing From The New York Times: Why the Roku Netflix Player Is the First Shot of the Revolution After that, it’s time for debates. Nilay Patel and David Pierce yell at each other about who should own the screens in your car. Are CarPlay and Android Auto the answer, the solution to universally crappy automaker software? Car companies haven’t figured out if they’ll let Apple CarPlay take over all the screens The rest of the auto industry still loves CarPlay and Android Auto Everybody hates GM’s decision to kill Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for its EVs Rivian CEO says CarPlay isn’t going to happen Apple’s fancy new CarPlay will only work wirelessly Later, David answers a question from The Vergecast Hotline about political spam texts. From The Washington Post: How to stop receiving spam texts From PCMag: Stop Robotexts: How to Block Smishing and Spam Text Messages 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
In search of the perfect movie recommendation
On this episode of The Vergecast, we look at why TV and movie recommendations are so complicated, and whether AI might be able to make them better. If Spotify can build infinite playlists of music you’ll like, and YouTube and TikTok always seem to have the perfect thing ready to go, why can’t Netflix or Hulu or Max seem to get it right? If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are a few links to get you started: Movievanders Reelgood The internet is a constant recommendations machine — but it needs you to make it work Netflix’s Greg Peters on a new culture memo and where ads, AI, and games fit in From Scientific America: How Recommendation Algorithms Work—And Why They May Miss the Mark From Google: Multimodal prompting with a 44-minute movie 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 Google era is officially over
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Jake Kastrenakes discuss OpenAI's new SearchGPT product, Amazon's plan to launch a paid version of Alexa, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold review, and whole lot more. Further reading: OpenAI announces SearchGPT, its AI-powered search engine Bing’s AI redesign shoves the usual list of search results to the side Reddit is now blocking major search engines and AI bots — except the ones that pay Google had a massive quarter thanks to Search and AI Amazon’s paid Alexa is coming to fill a $25 billion hole dug by Echo devices The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a great phone that’s out of ideas Asus ROG Ally X review: the best Windows gaming handheld by a mile Samsung Galaxy Ring review: keeping you in Samsung’s orbit Apple’s first foldable iPhone could arrive in 2026 Apple Maps launches on the web to take on Google The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle is now available Rivian CEO says CarPlay isn’t going to happen The NBA’s new TV deals put a lot of games on Amazon’s Prime Video starting in 2025 Reddit’s NFL, NBA deals bring more sports highlights — and ads Spotify CEO confirms a ‘deluxe’ version with hi-fi audio is coming soon Sonos CEO apologizes for disastrous rollout of new app 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
Inside the global computer crash
Today on the flagship podcast of configuration changes: The Verge's Tom Warren joins the show to to talk about the story and legacy of the CrowdStrike crash. CrowdStrike and Microsoft: all the latest news on the global IT outage Major Windows BSOD issue hits banks, airlines, and TV broadcasters What is CrowdStrike, and what happened? CrowdStrike’s faulty update crashed 8.5 million Windows devices, says Microsoft CrowdStrike outage: Photos, videos, and tales of IT workers fixing BSODs Then we talk with The Verge's Victoria Song and Zombies, Run creator Adrian Hon about making exercising fun without making it competitive and awful. Zombies, Run Adrian Hon’s Substack Finally, the Apple Watch will let you rest This walking app let me whack my co-workers with a baseball bat Ignore your fitness tracker and walk to Mordor instead Finally, we answer a hotline question about handheld gadgets for new parents — because there's a lot of time to kill when there's a baby around. Backbone One review: the best mobile gaming controller yet Handheld consoles are the future of gaming Holedown 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 all-seeing AI webcam
On this episode of The Vergecast, senior producer Will Poor explores the AI-tinged worlds of Dries Depoorter. Depoorter has built all manner of quirky and provocative installations and online experiments. There’s a clock that tells you how much of your life you’ve already lived; a phone charger that only works when your eyes are closed; a mobile chat app that you can only use when your phone has less than 5% battery. His most eyebrow-raising work, though, is around AI and surveillance. In his projects Depoorter takes publicly available webcam footage from around the world, and uses it to stalk celebrities, catch jaywalkers in the act, keep politicians honest, and generally make you wonder about your own privacy and anonymity. We talked with Depoorter about how he creates his work, how he thinks about the future of AI, and how he responds to the people who see his art and want to turn it into commerce. It’s a wild conversation, so check it out above. To see all of Dries’ work, head over to his portfolio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gadgets are getting weird — and so are iPhone homescreens
Nilay, Alex, and David talk about what's happening on social media — and around the web — in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Then they talk about their early impression of Apple's public betas, from the redesigned homescreens to the iPad's fancy new math abilities. After that, it's time for a bunch of gadgets all asking the same idea: is this anything? Then it's off to the lightning round, filled with 4K streams and leaky infinity pools. Further reading: A custom sticker printer infuriated clients with a pro-Trump mass text message Shooting conspiracies trend on X as Musk endorses Trump Donald Trump likes TikTok, not Zuckerberg. The FBI said it found the Trump rally shooter’s Steam account, then took it back The Trump rally shooter had a Discord account, company says The Trump rally shooting is a cash cow for the dropshippers The FBI says it has ‘gained access’ to the Trump rally shooter’s phone J.D. Vance likes Lina Khan and crypto, hates ‘Big Tech’ Elon Musk, Joe Lonsdale, and tech elites back a pro-Trump super PAC Apple’s public betas: all the news on iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and more Apple is finally embracing Android’s chaos iOS 18 might help you rescue photos you thought were gone forever The watchOS 11 beta slowed me down, in a good way RCS in iOS 18: Apple’s new messaging standard almost solves the green-button problem Testing Math Notes and the Calculator app in iPadOS 18 Phone mirroring on the Mac: a great way to use your iPhone, but it’s still very much in beta Canon’s long-awaited EOS R1 and R5 Mark II have eye-controlled autofocus Dyson unmasks its super customizable OnTrac headphones A long-delayed hands-on with Essential’s skinny Android phone This case turns your Apple Watch into a tiny iPod Google solves its Pixel 9 Pro leaks by just showing the phone early Leaked photos reveal Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Xreal Beam Pro review: an AR tablet with good ideas but not enough power The OnePlus Pad 2’s vibrating stylus simulates writing on paper Sling TV adds 4K streaming for free Comcast will have high bitrate, low latency 4K feeds of the Olympics OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s $27 million mansion is a ‘lemon’ with a leaky pool, lawsuit alleges 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
Picking the perfect portable console
Today on the flagship podcast of nose bridge microphones: 03:10 - The Verge’s David Pierce enlists help from Alex Cranz and Sean Hollister to figure out the best gadget setup for his handheld gaming needs. The Steam Deck wasn’t born ready, but it’s ready now Nintendo Switch OLED review: screentime Sony PlayStation Portal review: flawed but fun Asus ROG Ally updated review: it’s a bit better now This amazing knockoff GBA SP comes stuffed with software piracy 42:10 - Victoria Song joins the show to test out the microphones on a bunch of smart glasses and headsets. Razer’s new Anzu smart glasses break from the pack with truly wireless audio The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses actually make the future look cool Amazon’s latest Echo Frames are more style than substance Meta Quest 3 review: almost the one we've been waiting for Apple Vision Pro review: magic, until it’s not 01:10:26 - Later, David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline. North Focals glasses review: a $600 smartwatch for your 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
Inside the AI memory machine
Humans are terrible at remembering things. On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk to one of the people who has been working on this problem for a very long time: Dan Siroker, the CEO of Limitless. We talk about what it takes to build a great memory aid, how we might use them in the future, and why it’s so tricky to get right. We also talk about the human side of it all — what does it change about our lives when we stop forgetting things? Is remembering your friend’s birthday different when it’s actually an AI model doing the remembering? And will these tools ever really work outside of work? Tools like Limitless are coming fast and improving quickly, and we’re going to have to figure out how to live with them. Further reading: From The New York Times: Can’t See Pictures in Your Mind? You’re Not Alone. Limitless AI: a new wearable gadget, and app, for remembering your meetings Recall is Microsoft’s key to unlocking the future of PCs Microsoft’s all-knowing Recall AI feature is being delayed The Pixel 9’s ‘Google AI’ is like Microsoft Recall but a little less creepy Apple announces iOS 18 with new AI features and more customizable homescreen Notion AI can automatically write your notes, agendas, and blog posts for you 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’s new folds, flips, and Apple clones
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss the announcements from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, Redbox shutting down, and more tech news from this week. Further reading: Samsung Galaxy Unpacked: all the news on the Galaxy Ring, Fold, Flip, Watch, and AI Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 are pricier with minor updates Samsung’s Galaxy Ring could be the one ring to rule an ecosystem Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra hands-on: ultra déjà vu Galaxy Watch 7: price, availability, and how to preorder Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds are blatant AirPod clones in both form and function Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm are, uh, still doing that XR thing. Motorola’s 2024 Razr Plus is a fun and flawed flip phone Redbox shuts down as its parent company declares Chapter 7 bankruptcy Sling TV is the latest streamer to get those pesky pause ads Netflix’s next live event is a Joe Rogan comedy special Spotify is going to let you leave comments on podcast episodes Paramount agrees to sweetened Skydance merger deal Instagram is sticking to short videos, says Adam Mosseri Amazon’s Echo Spot is back with better sound and no camera Nothing’s CMF launches new supercheap earbuds and a smartwatch Nothing’s CMF Phone 1 is proof that gadgets can still be fun Early Apple tech bloggers are shocked to find their name and work have been AI-zombified Microsoft and Apple ditch OpenAI board seats amid regulatory scrutiny The developers suing over GitHub Copilot got dealt a major blow in court 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