The Vergecast

Raycast is an unusual app with an unusual amount of access: it's a launcher and application platform that can directly interact with all the files and apps on your computer. Raycast didn't start as an AI-centric product, but Thomas Paul Mann, the company's co-founder and CEO, thinks AI is the key to making Raycast even better. For this episode, the first in our two-part miniseries about how developers are using and building AI, Mann explains how he plans to turn models loose on your files and apps, how he's thinking about the security risks and privacy issues associated with that plan, and what it takes to build AI products that actually, you know, work. Mann also talks through how he uses AI, both in and out of Raycast, and how he became a prompt-first computer user.

Further reading:

• Raycast

• From the Raycast blog: One interface, many LLMs

• How to use Raycast and how it compares to Spotlight and Alfred

• Raycast’s iOS app is now available for AI chat and notes

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It's a holiday week for many of us, which means a lot of Turkey Trots and a lot of TV. We have something for both in this episode! First, Nick Thompson, the CEO of The Atlantic and author of the new book, The Running Ground, joins the show to talk about his lifelong journey as a runner, and all the tech — from smartwatch to shoes to custom GPTs — he uses in training. After that, The Verge's John Higgins makes his first Vergecast appearance to help us understand how motion smoothing works, why you should turn it off, and all the other ways you can improve your TV watching experience this holiday season. Finally, David follows up on a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) with some recommendations on inexpensive earbuds worth cranking up the volume on.

Further reading:

• Nick Thompson's book, The Running Ground

• From The Atlantic: Why I Run

• TV manufacturers unite to tackle the scourge of motion smoothing

• Dear Roku, you ruined my TV

• How to turn off motion smoothing on your high-definition TV

• Samsung’s Frame TV is finally getting the knockoffs it deserves

• Samsung announces The Frame Pro: could this be the perfect TV?

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Vine was the original short-form video platform, and pioneered so many of the ideas we now take for granted in reels and TikToks. It was a cultural engine whose executives clashed with the creators who made it famous, before everybody decamped for other platforms. Marina Galperina, Sarah Jeong and Mia Sato join David Pierce to revisit their favorite Vines and discuss the platform's lasting impact on creator culture.

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Like it or not, you may not be able to avoid the AI agents for long. David and Nilay discuss the ways Microsoft is pushing agents to practically every corner of Windows, and where Google plans to put Gemini 3 now that it's confident it makes the best model. After that, the hosts dig into the ruling in Meta's monopoly case, which has a lot to say about TikTok — and about the state and future of the internet. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for an extra-long Brendan Carr is a Dummy, some thoughts on domain names, and a quick Boox screen test.

Further reading:

• Google cracked Apple’s AirDrop and is adding it to Pixel phones

• Talking to Windows’ Copilot AI makes a computer feel incompetent

• Microsoft is turning Windows into an ‘agentic OS,’ starting with the taskbar

• Microsoft Agent 365 lets businesses manage AI agents like they do people 

• Screw it, I’m installing Linux

• Google is launching Gemini 3, its ‘most intelligent’ AI model yet 

• Google Antigravity is an ‘agent-first’ coding tool built for Gemini 3 

• Google’s AI Mode can now help you visualize your travel plans 

• Google Gemini is getting better at identifying AI fakes | The Verge

• Google’s Nano Banana AI image model goes Pro and is free to try | The Verge

• Meta is not a monopolist, judge rules

• FTC v. Meta: the antitrust battle over Instagram and WhatsApp 

• Inside the courthouse reshaping the future of the internet

• Europe is scaling back its landmark privacy and AI laws 

• Here’s the Trump executive order that would ban state AI laws 

• Republicans are looking for a way to bring back the AI moratorium

• Brendan Carr’s FCC launches probe into BBC’s Trump edit | The Verge

• The FCC wants to roll back steps meant to stop a repeat of a massive telecom hack | The Verge

• Matter 1.5 brings camera support at last — here’s what it means for your smart home 

• MSNBC’s website is now MS.NOW 

• Future Google TV devices might come with a solar-powered remote 

• Disney loses bid to block Sling TV’s one-day cable passes 

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Enshittification. It's fun to say, hard to spell, and a useful descriptor of exactly how the internet has gone wrong. Cory Doctorow, the author and activist who coined the term a few years ago, recently published a book on the subject, called Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It. He was on Decoder a few weeks ago to explain what happened, and joins The Vergecast this week to help us figure out what to do about it. Can we, as regular people on the internet, help to de-enshittify the place? What responsibility do we have, and what kinds of choices should we be making? Cory has lots of thoughts on whether you can shop your way out of a monopoly, and what it really takes to enact structural change online.

Further reading:

• Cory Doctorow on Decoder
• Read Cory's book, Enshittification
• Cory's last Vergecast appearance
• From Pluralistic: How monopoly enshittified Amazon
• AI is killing the old web, and the new web struggles to be born
• FTC files a massive antitrust lawsuit against Amazon

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You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't steal a handbag. But plenty of people used LimeWire and other file sharing services to share music, movies and more. If Napster was the beginning of the piracy story, LimeWire may have been the final chapter. Nilay Patel and Sarah Jeong join David Pierce to chart the history of LimeWire and the legal cases that shaped U.S. copyright law and the lives of college students taxing the bandwidth of their dormitory internet.

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The console wars are back on. This week, Nilay Patel sits down with Jake Kastrenakes, Sean Hollister, and special guest Joanna Stern, senior columnist at The Wall Street Journal, to talk about Valve's return to the living room gaming race with the Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame VR headset. Then, Joanna discusses her time putting the Neo robot to the test and seeing whether it's capable of loading a dishwasher. Finally, it's time for the Lightning Round, where the crew is talking the YouTube/Disney spat, Apple's new mini apps, and letting Waymo speed down the highway.

Further reading:

• Our first look at the Steam Machine, Valve’s ambitious new game console 

• Valve enters the console wars 

• Valve just built the Xbox that Microsoft is dreaming of 

• Valve’s new Steam Controller might be my dream controllerThe Steam Frame is a surprising new twist on VR 

• Steam Machines have returned: all the news about Valve’s new hardware universe 

• The Steam Frame has two speakers on each side of your face for vibration cancellation 

• Valve’s new VR streaming trick won’t just work with its own headset 

• How the Steam Frame compares to other VR headsets 

• Valve thinks Arm has ‘potential’ for SteamOS handhelds, laptops, and more 

• Valve is welcoming Android games into Steam 

• Valve has stopped manufacturing its Index VR headset

• Valve has no news about Steam Deck 2 — because it’s still waiting for the right chip 

• We tried Valve’s new VR headset, PC, and controller — ask us anything! 

• I Tried the First Humanoid Home Robot. It Got Weird

• Know Your Meme 

• 1X Neo is a $20,000 home robot that will learn chores via teleoperation

•  Meet NEO, the AI-Driven Robot That’s Coming to Lend a Hand Around the House — for a Steep Price

• The Problem with this Humanoid Robot

• Samsung brings a generative AI-powered Bixby to its TVs 

• Gemini for TV is coming to Google TV Streamer starting today 

• Google says its confusing Gemini Home rollout is going just great 

• Google Photos lets iPhone users edit images by describing changes 

• Disney is losing over $4 million a day in revenue on the YouTube TV blackout

• Disney is “trying really hard” to get ESPN back on YouTube TV

• Peyton and Eli Manning Drop the Ball, Embarrass Themselves With Bob Iger Interview

• Apple made a $230 crossbody… sock 

• Steve Jobs introduces iPod socks in 2004

• Mini apps

• Apple will take a mini commission from mini app developers

• ⁠Amazon is cracking down on illegal streaming on its Fire TV Stick ⁠

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David has a new house, and no idea what to do with it. So he taps The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy to help him make the place a lot smarter. Jen and David go room by room, figuring out how to improve everything from his lighting to his fridge to his front door. Some of the decisions are easy, like betting on Matter. Some are more complicated: what do you do when you have a split household between Android and iOS? Some are downright existential — how much would you spend for a better cup of coffee? Jen has ideas, and a vast set of product recommendations as well.

• Kitchen:
• Fridge - Bosch ⁠100 Series⁠
• ⁠I found the first Matter smart fridge⁠
• ⁠Samsung⁠ 
• Bosh ⁠Home Connect app⁠
• ⁠Echo Show 8/11⁠
• ⁠Echo Show 15⁠
• ⁠Echo Dot Max⁠
• ⁠Thermomix⁠
• ⁠My smart kitchen: the good, the bad, and the future⁠
• ⁠GE Profile Nugget Ice maker⁠
• ⁠Typhur Dome 2 air fryer⁠
• ⁠Instant Pot Pro⁠
• ⁠Bosch 800 Series Coffee Machine⁠

• Living Room
• ⁠FireTV Omni⁠
• ⁠FireTV Stick with voice remote⁠
• ⁠Inovelli smart switches⁠
• ⁠Philips Hue essentials bulbs⁠
• ⁠Philips Hue lights get bigger, brighter, and cheaper with a major product refresh⁠
• ⁠Philips Hue Bridge Pro / Motion Aware⁠
• ⁠Inside Philips Hue’s plans to make all your lights motion sensors⁠
• ⁠Ikea Bilresa Buttons⁠
• ⁠Lutron Caseta⁠
• ⁠SmartWings shades⁠
• ⁠Sonos / Hue⁠

• Bedroom:
• ⁠Philips Hue Twilight⁠
• ⁠Fall into smarter lighting⁠
• ⁠Switchbot Air Purifier table⁠
• ⁠AIDot WeLov Air Purifiers⁠
• ⁠Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor⁠
• ⁠Ikea Alpstuga air quality monitor⁠
• Belkin⁠ Boost Charge Pro⁠ ⁠Echo Spot⁠
• ⁠Big Ass Fans⁠

• Kids room:
• ⁠Echo Glow⁠ 
• ⁠Echo Dot Kids⁠
• ⁠Switchbot robot vacuum K11 Plus⁠

• Office Basement:
• ⁠Philips Hue downlights⁠ 
• ⁠Nanoleaf downlights⁠
• ⁠Nanoleaf Blocks⁠
• ⁠Nanoleaf Skylight ⁠
• ⁠Sense Plus Switch⁠
• ⁠Nanoleaf launches a smart switch after eight years of trying⁠
• ⁠Govee Floor lamp⁠
• ⁠Philips Hue Floor Lamp⁠
• ⁠Nanoleaf Floor Lamp⁠
• ⁠Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror⁠
• ⁠Gardyn Studio Gen 2⁠
• ⁠Aqara Smart Lock U300 Lever Lock⁠

• Garden
• ⁠Hue Festavia Globe Outdoor Lights⁠
• ⁠Nanoleaf String Lights⁠
• ⁠Lifx String lights⁠
• ⁠Eve Aqua⁠
• ⁠Apollo PLT-1 indoor plant multisensor⁠

• Others:
• ⁠All Ikea’s new stuff⁠
• ⁠Shelly Relays⁠
• ⁠Third Reality Zigbee sensors⁠
• ⁠Zooz Z-Wave sensors⁠ 
• ⁠Eve Energy smart plug⁠

• Home Assistant
• ⁠The little smart home platform that could⁠
• ⁠Home Assistant Green⁠ 
• ⁠Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1⁠
• ⁠Home Assistant Z-Wave⁠
• ⁠Home Assistant Energy Management⁠

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In 2014, the tech world was abuzz with the prospect of a phone made by Amazon. When the Fire Phone arrived, it was chock full of ideas — a "dynamic perspective" feature that created 3D illusions, an image-recognition feature called "Firefly," and many, many opportunities to buy Amazon products. Allison Johnson and Sean O’Kane join David Pierce to discuss why, unlike Amazon's successful e-readers, this device was a gigantic flop.

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The DoorDash problem just became Amazon's problem. Perplexity's Comet browser is allegedly stealthily shopping on the internet's largest mall, and the folks in Seattle want it to stop. It's just one example of the fast-moving power dynamics on the internet, as AI companies try to change the way we search, shop, and do everything else. Lots of companies are not going to settle for being dumb databases, and Nilay and David discuss how this fight might play out. After that, the hosts talk about the reports of an impending cheaper Mac with an iPhone chip, and whether that might mark Apple's true return to consumer laptops — or be something else entirely. Finally, in the lightning round, they talk Brendan Carr, late-night shows, party speakers, and sonic logos. Lots and lots of sonic logos.

Further reading:

• Amazon and Perplexity have kicked off the great AI web browser fight 

• WEB WAR III 

• Apple is planning to use a custom version of Google Gemini for Apple Intelligence 

• OpenAI launches its Sora app on Android 

• Perplexity is going to power AI search in Snapchat. 

• Easier access to AI Mode, if that’s your thing. 

• Google Gemini’s Deep Research can look into your emails, drive, and chats 

• Google Maps taps Gemini AI to transform into an ‘all-knowing copilot’ 

• Amazon is building Alexa Plus into its Music app 

• The AI industry is running on FOMO 

• Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper Mac laptop with an iPhone chip 

• iOS 26.1 lets you tweak Liquid Glass, and it’s out now 

• YouTube wants a piece of the late-night TV pie. 

• Apple TV’s new name now comes with a new sound 

• Brendan Carr votes to eliminate cybersecurity requirements

• Epic and Google agree to settle their lawsuit and change Android’s fate globally 

• I’m amused by how Google is complying with the Epic injunction. 

• xAI used employee biometric data to train Elon Musk’s AI girlfriend 

• Into the Huluverse: The sonic evolution of Hulu

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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Here at The Vergecast, we get a lot of questions. Questions from you, which we love! Questions that, for some reason, often tend to be about the smart home and why it's often not so very smart. So on this episode, the first in a two-part series, The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy helps us answer a whole bunch of your questions. Questions like: what's Apple's deal with the smart home? Are there any good smart faucets? And what's about to happen to my robot vacuum cleaner? Jen helps us wade through all that and more. We also go on a long diversion about smart smoke detectors, which are pretty awesome.

Further reading:

• My smart kitchen: the good, the bad, and the future

• Moen’s Smart Faucet with Motion Control is totally hands free, and works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant

• The future of the Roomba, and the best robot vacuums

• This smart smoke alarm could be a worthy Nest Protect replacement

• Home Assistant’s next era begins now

• Apple’s plan for AI could make Siri the animated center of your smart home

• What’s in a smart home reviewer’s backyard

• How Matter works, where it’s headed, and why it matters

• The problems with AI in the smart home and how Amazon and Google plan to fix them

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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In 2006, Microsoft came for the iPod's throne with an innovative MP3 player called the Zune. It had a bunch of features the iPod didn't: WiFi, music sharing, a bigger screen, a beautiful UI, even an FM radio. And to hear Microsoft describe it, it was even kind of a social network. Nilay Patel and Victoria Song join David Pierce to break down why, despite all that, the Zune never really took off. And why it came in brown.

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 If you want to understand the full spectrum of AI software, from "straightforward problem-solving tool" to "never-ending slop machine," all you need to do is pay attention to everything Adobe launched at its conference this week. David and Nilay run through the news, which will change how people use Photoshop but also maybe change our social feeds forever. After that, they talk about OpenAI's conversion to a for-profit business, and specifically the truly wild way OpenAI and Microsoft talk about the future of AGI. Finally, in the lightning round, they discuss Brendan Carr, Cybertrucks, the Trump Phone, Ghost Posts, and more.

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Further reading:

• ⁠Photoshop and Premiere Pro’s new AI tools can instantly edit your work ⁠

• ⁠You can tell Adobe Express’s new AI assistant to edit designs for you⁠

• ⁠Adobe’s AI social media admin is here with ‘Project Moonlight’ ⁠

• ⁠Mark Zuckerberg is excited to add more AI content to all your social feeds⁠

• ⁠Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defends AI spend: 'We're seeing the returns'⁠

• ⁠OpenAI completed its for-profit restructuring — and struck a new deal with Microsoft ⁠

•  ⁠The next chapter of the Microsoft–OpenAI partnership⁠

• ⁠OpenAI lays groundwork for juggernaut IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation | Reuters⁠

• ⁠OpenAI has an AGI problem — and Microsoft just made it worse ⁠

• ⁠OpenAI made ChatGPT better at sifting through your work information ⁠

• ⁠Sam, Jakub, and Wojciech on the future of OpenAI with audience Q&A⁠

• ⁠The Kingmaker | WIRED⁠

• ⁠Congratulations to the Tesla Cybertruck on its 10th recall.⁠

• ⁠Trump℠ Mobile | All-American Performance. Everyday Price. $47.45/Month⁠

• ⁠Threads is getting disappearing posts ⁠

• ⁠Ads will arrive on Samsung Family Hub smart fridges next month. ⁠

• ⁠The FCC is going after broadband nutrition labels. ⁠

• ⁠Brendan Carr is a Dummy⁠

• ⁠Bending Spoons is buying AOL for some reason ⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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Meta's smart glasses have been a hit in part because they don't try to do too much. With the new Display glasses, though, Meta is trying to do... a lot more. The Verge's Victoria Song joins the show to tell us about her experience with the glasses, from the impressive but very first-gen hardware to the somewhat underwhelming set of things you can do. After that, podcaster and creator Stephen Robles explains to David why he's dead wrong about Apple Shortcuts. Stephen shares how he uses Shortcuts, why he's found such a big audience of Shortcuts fans on YouTube and elsewhere, and why it's worth doing the work to learn Apple's most powerful app. Finally, David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about which wireless earbuds you should buy — and why it might be the pair you already own.

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Further reading:

• ⁠The future I saw through the Meta Ray-Ban Display amazes and terrifies me⁠

• ⁠I regret to inform you Meta’s new smart glasses are the best I’ve ever tried⁠

• ⁠The smart glasses race is really on now⁠

• ⁠Stephen Robles' YouTube channel⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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Millions of basements have fake plastic guitars in them thanks to the 2005 smash hit Guitar Hero. Chris Grant and Ash Parrish join David Pierce to rock out with a game created over a matter of months by a niche developer and a peripheral manufacturer, fueled by word-of-mouth and viral videos on a nascent YouTube. You probably don’t play Guitar Hero anymore, but you might still find it in surprising places.

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The era of the AI browser is here, and OpenAI is finally in the game. Nilay, Jake, and Hayden sit down to chat about what it means to have ChatGPT in your browser and able to control your cursor and surf the web for you. Also this week: Nilay's warning about using old surge protectors, the devastating and inevitable outcome of the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, and Samsung's Galaxy XR headset, which looks a lot like a Vision Pro. Finally, Brendan Carr Is A Dummy makes its triumphant return. And we wrap it all up with the Lightning Round, talking about the the Friend protest, GM's decision to ditch CarPlay, the AWS outage, the future of the Xbox, and more.

Help us improve The Verge: Take our quick survey at theverge.com/survey.

Further reading:

• OpenAI’s AI-powered browser, ChatGPT Atlas, is here

• The ChatGPT Atlas browser still feels like Googling with extra steps

• OpenAI teases a string of updates for its AI-powered browser, ChatGPT Atlas

• Opera’s Neon shows just how confusing AI browsers still are

• Perplexity’s Comet browser is now available to everyone for free

• Google is expanding Gemini in Chrome and letting it do stuff for you

• Reddit sues Perplexity for allegedly ripping its content to feed AI

• The Dia browser is a big bet on the web — and an even bigger bet on AI

• OpenAI’s latest legal request is raising eyebrows

• Meta is axing 600 roles across its AI division | The Verge

• Warner Bros. Discovery is ready for a sale

• WBD already rejected three offers from Paramount Skydance, 

• Netflix, Amazon, and Apple are reportedly interested in buying Warner Bros.

• HBO Max is raising prices for the third year in a row

• Hulu with Live TV now costs $90 monthly but you can lock in $65 for three months

• Apple TV will be the only place to watch F1 in the US, starting next year

• Samsung Galaxy XR hands-on: It’s like a cheaper Apple Vision Pro and launches today

• The future I saw through the Meta Ray-Ban Display amazes and terrifies me

• These Oakley smart glasses are perfect for weekend warriors and T-ball coaches

• The Friend AI pendant’s creator publicized a ‘Friend protest’ in NYC

• These nonprofits lobbied to regulate OpenAI — then the subpoenas came

• Why GM will give you Gemini — but not CarPlay

• Did Microsoft just tease that the next Xbox is a PC and console?

• Major AWS outage took down Fortnite, Alexa, Snapchat, and more

• Pitchfork is beta testing user reviews and comments as it approaches 30

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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We're very bullish on the handheld future of gaming. But we're not bullish on the new ROG Xbox Ally. The Verge's Sean Hollister joins the show to explain why this Xbox-branded device barely feels like an Xbox, and why it's definitely not a threat to the Steam Deck, before he and David debate whether the future of Xbox is even in good hands. After that, The Verge's Hayden Field walks David through a couple of important recent studies, asking the same basic question: is AI making us dumb? Finally, Sean returns to answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about hybrid computers, which are an extremely 2012 idea and also maybe the future of computing. But probably not.

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Further reading:

• Xbox Ally and Ally X review: this is not an Xbox

• Prongs rock

• MIT: Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task

• How chatbots — and their makers — are enabling AI psychosis

• Sam Altman says ChatGPT will stop talking about suicide with teens

• Some doctors got worse at detecting cancer after relying on AI

• Microsoft Research: The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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1982's coolest gadget was the Sony Watchman portable TV. Decades before everyone was glued to YouTube on their smartphones, the Watchman popularized the concept of video on the go. In the early days of the personal-tech revolution, you’d find the Watchman antennas up everywhere from the church pew to the baseball bleacher. Victoria Song and Allison Johnson join David Pierce to dive into the engineering feat that made the first Watchman possible.

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Nilay’s back! And you can listen to The Vergecast with no ads, if you’re a Verge subscriber! Big week, really. Nilay and David start the show by talking about ads, podcasts, platforms, and subscriptions. Then they talk a bunch about Apple’s new M5-powered MacBook, iPad, and Vision Pro, and whether a chip bump is worth getting excited about. After that, Nilay reflects on a summer of using AI products, and explains why you can tell the whole story of this generation of AI just by talking about the smart home. Finally, in the lightning round, the hosts talk about AI song covers, Apple TV, TiVo, Roku, Cybertrucks, and the exploding Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

Help us improve The Verge: Take our quick survey at theverge.com/survey.

Further reading:

• Ad-free Verge podcasts have arrived

• Netflix is making a big bet on video podcasts

• Apple’s 2025 iPad Pro comes with an M5 chip inside 

• Apple just upgraded the Vision Pro with an M5 chip and new strap 

• Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro gets an M5 chip bump and faster storage 

• Logitech made an Apple Pencil-like stylus for the Vision Pro 

• Apple’s rumored smart home display hub might start at $350 

• Samsung officially teases Moohan headset launch for next week 

• Apple’s future smart glasses could have two separate UIs. 

• ChatGPT will soon help you shop at Walmart. 

• How OpenAI plans to make all its money. 

• Microsoft wants you to talk to your PC and let AI control it 

•  As Microsoft bids farewell to Windows 10, millions of users won’t 

• Spotify says it’s working with labels on ‘responsible’ AI music tools 

• DirecTV will soon bring AI ads to your screensaver 

• OpenAI partners with Broadcom to produce its own AI chips 

• Sam Altman says ChatGPT will soon sext with verified adults 

• Apple TV Plus is being rebranded to… Apple TV 

• Apple exec on Apple TV rebranding: ‘let’s just do it’

• Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first to ‘go up in smoke during a bend test,’ JerryRigEverything says

• Roku’s AI-upgraded voice assistant can answer questions about what you’re watching 

• DirecTV will soon bring AI ads to your screensaver 

• Soul Against the Machine

• TiVo has sold its last DVR 

• Tesla Cybertruck sales are flatlining 

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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If you're a paid subscriber to The Verge, there's great news: You can now listen to Decoder, Version History, and The Vergecast completely ad-free.

Just head to your Account Settings page to opt-in and start listening without ads.

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Google is on a bit of a heater when it comes to gadgets. The Pixel 10 lineup is one of the best Android phone options; the Pixel Watch 4 is suddenly a winner; the Pixel Buds are an excellent accessory; even the Pixel Fold got some welcome upgrades this year! With the help of The Verge’s Victoria Song and Allison Johnson, we do the impossible: we rank all six of Google’s Pixel gadgets, from worst to best. Are headphones better than smartphones? Can you really compare a tablet to a smartwatch? Who knows, but we try. After that, Allison and David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether the dumbphone movement is a real one.

Further reading:

• Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: finally, a more durable foldable

• Google Pixel Buds 2A review: the right kind of compromise

• The Google Pixel Watch 4 is the Android watch to beat

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Back when text messages cost 10 cents each, BlackBerry came up with a better way: BlackBerry Messenger, commonly known as BBM. It was the first new idea about messaging in a long time, and it was a huge hit… for a while. Nilay Patel and Joanna Stern join David Pierce to talk about a messaging service that was years ahead of WhatsApp and iMessage, but ultimately fizzled.

If you like the show, ⁠subscribe to the Version History feed⁠ to make sure you get every new episode.

Let us know what you think: 866-VERGE-11 or vergecast@theverge.com.

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Say this for OpenAI: it's very good at raising money, and it's very good at getting attention. David and Jake are joined by The Verge's Hayden Field to talk about OpenAI's demo day, the company's app store plans, why it's trying to build every possible ChatGPT feature all at the same time, and more. After that, the hosts talk about the ongoing popularity of the Sora app, and whether OpenAI has truly built a new kind of social network. Then Hayden has to leave, so David and Jake take on the lightning round to discuss Intel chips, Alex Cooper's Google deal, Starry internet, and more.

Further reading:

• OpenAI will let developers build apps that work inside ChatGPT

• ChatGPT apps are live: Here are the first ones you can try

• OpenAI: all the news about the makers of ChatGPT
  

• OpenAI’s head of ChatGPT said it will significantly evolve in the next six months. 
  

• OpenAI will eventually allow “mature” ChatGPT apps. 

• OpenAI and Jony Ive’s secret device won’t be ‘your weird AI girlfriend’
  

• AMD teams up with OpenAI to challenge Nvidia’s AI chip dominance

• Sam Altman says there are no current plans for ads within ChatGPT Pulse — but he’s not ruling it out

• A busy week for OpenAI’s social video machine.

• Sora now lets users limit how their AI double is used
  

• OpenAI teases licensed fictional characters on Sora
  

• OpenAI wasn’t expecting Sora’s copyright drama
  

• Developers can bring Sora 2’s AI video generation into their own apps. 
  

• Katie Notopolous on Threads

•  Sora’s Slop Hits Different

• A new iPhone setting will stop CarPlay from stealing your AirPods’ audio 
  

• Here is Panther Lake, Intel’s 2026 laptop chip with next-gen graphics\

• Facebook is turning into TikTok 

• Alex Cooper is making ads for Google / Pixel
  

• Here’s how Apple is locking down iPhones to comply with Texas’ age verification law
  

• Verizon buys the not-quite-5G wireless ISP Starry to expand wireless broadband 

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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Oh, you thought AI was just in your browser and on your phone? Well, the AI is coming from inside the house. The Verge's Jen Pattison Tuohy and Google's Anish Kattukaran both join the show to discuss last week's Google smart home news, including the company's big bet on the Gemini assistant. Anish explains why Google cares about the smart home in the first place, why things haven't exactly gone great so far, and why he's so convinced the new generation of AI can make it work. After that, The Verge's Vee Song joins the show to talk about Peloton's newest gear, including a $6,695 treadmill and a huge new push into personalized AI training features. Vee then sticks around to help David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about how many smartwatches is too many smartwatches. Spoiler alert: the answer is two. But it's not quite as simple as that.

Further reading:

• Peloton increases fees and introduces new hardware including a $6,695 treadmill

• Peloton appoints Apple Fitness Plus cofounder as new CEO

• Peloton is a media company now, with media company problems

• Google dismantled Nest — can Gemini save what’s left?

• Hey Google, meet Gemini: the new voice of your smart home

• The new Google Home Speaker is built for Gemini

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In 2015, self-balancing scooters (which quickly became known as hoverboards) exploded in popularity, and then began literally exploding. Andrew Hawkins and Sean O’Kane join David Pierce to explore the multiple conflicting origin stories behind the hugely popular rideable, the many knockoffs, and why a device that doesn't actually hover ended up being called "hoverboard."

If you like the show, subscribe to the Version History feed to make sure you get every new episode.

Let us know what you think: 866-VERGE-11 or vergecast@theverge.com.

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This week, everything is a HomePod. And has ads. The Verge’s Jen Pattison-Tuohy joins the show to talk about all of Amazon’s new hardware, the current state of Alexa Plus, and whether the new Kindle Scribe is the one we’ve been waiting for. Then, The Verge’s Emma Roth tells Jen and David about her experience with Telly, the TV that ships to your house for free in exchange for showing you ads all the time. Telly may not be for everyone. Finally, in the lightning round, the gang talks about a handy new Spotify feature, Emma’s first Waymo ride, and the glory that is Chunk.

Further reading:

• Amazon’s 2025 hardware event: the 8 biggest announcements
  

• Here’s where to preorder all of Amazon’s new Alexa devices and when they arrive

• Amazon finally did the damn hardware right
  

• Amazon’s new Echo Dot Max smart speaker bumps up the bass
  

• Alexa Plus is smarter — but it’s not yet smart enough
  

• Alexa Plus on the TV is made to save you from your phone 

• Alexa Plus is smarter — but it’s not yet smart enough
  

• Alexa Plus on the TV is made to save you from your phone 

• Amazon sticks two cameras together for the 180-degree Blink Arc
  

• The new Google Home Speaker is built for Gemini
  

• Hey Google, meet Gemini: the new voice of your smart home | The Verge
  

• I spent three months with Telly, the free TV that’s always showing ads
  

• OpenAI made a TikTok for deepfakes, and it’s getting hard to tell what’s real

• Spotify now lets you exclude specific songs from your algorithm
  

• All hail the new Fat Bear Champion
  

• Ring launches upgraded cameras with ‘Retinal Vision’ 4K recording

• Microsoft is giving Copilot AI faces you can chat with
  

• Waymo adds YouTube Music

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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Sure, you could drive to the grocery store and to school. But wouldn’t you rather grab a few hundred of your friends and bike-bus everywhere? The Verge’s Andy Hawkins joins the show to tell us all about his adventures with electric cargo bikes, and why he thinks they’re the ride of the future. After that, Lauren Feiner calls in from just outside a courthouse in Virginia, where she’s watching the remedies trial in Google’s adtech monopoly case. Google already lost the case; what happens next is still anyone’s guess. Finally, David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about how to feel about summarizing YouTube videos with AI. The short version: you should feel a lot of things.

Further reading:

• Why your next car should be an electric cargo bike
  
• 
  Electric cargo bikes are rewiring cities
  
• 
  Can Google be trusted without a break up?
  
• 
  US v. Google redux: all the news from the ad tech trial

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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After more than five years of backing and forthing, secret meetings and loud screeds, it appears the fate of TikTok in the US has finally been decided. Maybe. There are still a lot of unknowns, but we're pretty sure we know the bones of the deal — and we know which of President Trump's allies stand to benefit the most. Before we get to all that, though, David and Jake run through some big news in future gadgets, including the long-awaited-and-maybe-happening combination of Android and ChromeOS and the possibilities for a touchscreen MacBook. Then, The Verge's Liz Lopatto joins to talk TikTok. And Trump. Then, in the lightning round, the three hosts talk through Jimmy Kimmel's return, Nvidia's money problems, a surprising AmEx perk, and much more.

Further reading:

• Google’s Android for PC: ‘I’ve seen it, it is incredible’ 
• Our biggest questions about ChromeOS and Android merging
• The foldable iPhone might look like two iPhone Airs stuck together 
• The touchscreen MacBook rumors are never ending 
• OpenAI might also be developing AI glasses, a voice recorder, and a pin 
• Trump claims the US is about to get a tremendous fee for taking TikTok out of China
• Trump signs executive order approving TikTok deal
• Some details of the TikTok deal have been worked out.
• What Trump Wants from a TikTok Deal with China
• American Investors Will License and Oversee TikTok’s U.S. Version, White House Says
• TikTok Deal Could Make Oracle Founder Larry Ellison a New Kind of Media Mogul
• Anker’s party speaker projector hits Kickstarter with a sizable discount. 
• Montblanc is getting into the digital notepad game 
• Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro can be easily scratched 
• It costs $895 per year to get American Express’ premium app theme
• Nvidia is partnering up with OpenAI to offer compute and cash 
• Kimmel returns to television to mock FCC Chair Brendan Carr 
• Sinclair won’t air Kimmel. 
• Trump on Truth Social

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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In all the tech news and world news last week, YouTube's Made On event got a little lost. So we circled back: The Verge's Mia Sato explains why YouTube is suddenly all-in on livestreaming, why it seems to be rapidly turning into a shopping mall, and whether all these AI features will improve YouTube or destroy it. After that, it's time for a second round of David's Summer Takes, in which he subjects The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes and Hayden Field to his thoughts on Threads, podcasts, and social media. Finally, Hayden sticks around to answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about the words we use when we talk AI.

Further reading:

• YouTube makes it easier and more lucrative to go live
• YouTube is inching closer to becoming a shopping channel
• YouTube is going all in on AI
• New YouTube AI tools help creators give viewers what they want

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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 There’s a lot of gadget news this week! But we begin the show in an unprecedented way: with a bit of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, America’s favorite podcast within a podcast. Nilay pops on the show to discuss what happened to Jimmy Kimmel, why the FCC’s assault on speech is so dangerous, and why a couple of broadcast TV companies matter so much to the story. After that, Jake Kastrenakes and Richard Lawler join to talk about all of Meta’s new smart glasses, including the company’s first pair with a built-in display. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about Reddit’s new AI deal with Google, Nvidia’s new chip deal with Intel, and Samsung’s terrible plan to put ads on your fridge.

Further reading:

• Here’s the Jimmy Kimmel clip that got him pulled off the air 
• Jimmy Kimmel Live pulled after FCC threat over Charlie Kirk joke 
• Republicans are honoring Charlie Kirk’s memory by declaring war on the First Amendment 
• Charlie Kirk’s death got complicated by “extremely online” culture 
• The right wing is creating a society of snitches
• Meta Ray-Ban Display hands-on: the best smart glasses I’ve ever tried 
• Oakley Meta Vanguard hands-on: what athletes actually want
• Meta’s new Ray-Ban smart glasses have twice the battery life
• Conversation focus is the first new feature on deck.
• I sat down with Mark Zuckerberg to try Meta’s impressive new Ray-Ban Display glasses
• Meta is opening up its smart glasses to developers | The Verge
• Snap OS 2.0 is a small step towards AR glasses you might actually wear
• Android’s next flagship processor is the ‘Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’ 
• Nothing wants you to talk to your earbuds’ charging case 
• Nvidia invests $5 billion into Intel to jointly develop PC and data center chips 
• The US and China might finally have a TikTok deal 
• U.S. Investors, Trump Close In on TikTok Deal With China
• Samsung brings ads to US refrigerators
• Reddit wants a better AI deal with Google: users in exchange for content
• YouTube is inching closer to becoming a shopping channel 

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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It's been a busy week for The Verge's product reviewers! We've got three new phones, three new watches, and a set of earbuds on the docket, and the team is ready to talk about (almost) all of it. First, Allison Johnson and Jake Kastrenakes join to talk about their experiences with the iPhone Air, iPhone 17, and iPhone 17 Pro. One is fabulous with some compromises, one is just a down-the-middle excellent phone, and the other is for camera nerds. After that, Victoria Song talks about the AirPods Pro 3, which are also a stellar upgrade, and then helps us make sense of the new lineup of Apple Watches. There's the SE 3, the Series 11, and the Ultra 3, but there's only one clear winner for most people. Finally, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about Apple's up-and-down focus on AI

Further reading:

• ⁠The iPhone 17 is the one to get this year⁠
• Apple iPhone Air review: statement piece
• Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro is a bold redesign but a basic upgrade
• AirPods Pro 3 review: tripling down on a good thing
• The Apple Watch SE 3 is the one to buy
• Apple Watch Series 11 review: stuck in the middle
• The unbearable sameness of Liquid Glass

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One thing you should know about the iPhone launch is that there’s... not usually a lot of other tech news around the iPhone launch. So David and Jake start this episode with some more information about the iPhone launch, including some controversial details we missed about the AirPods Pro 3 and the argument in favor of the crossbody strap. After that, with David back on the mic, it’s time for a round of AI-focused hot takes with The Verge’s Hayden Field. The gang talks ChatGPT, Claude, money, more money, and what counts as a real friend. (And money.) Finally, in the lightning round — yes, once again the LIGHTNING ROUND — the three co-hosts talk about Canon’s confusing new camera, the future of Reddit, Claude’s spreadsheet-y future, and much more.

Further reading:

• Apple isn’t packing a charging cable in with the AirPods Pro 3 
• Apple’s misunderstood crossbody iPhone strap might be the best I’ve seen 
• Apple says the iPhone 17 comes with a massive security upgrade 
• New Beats earbuds leak hours before Apple’s big event 
• Nothing’s Ear 3 earbuds have a microphone and ‘talk’ button on their charging case
• Google pulls the Pixel 10’s Daily Hub to ‘enhance its performance’
• David Zaslav thinks HBO Max is ‘way underpriced’
• Exclusive | Paramount Skydance Prepares Ellison-Backed Bid for Warner
• Reddit is dropping subscriber counts on subreddits 
• Reddit is testing a way to read articles without leaving the app 
• Canon is bringing back a point-and-shoot from 2016 with fewer features and a higher price (it’s viral
• Spotify adds lossless streaming after 8 years of teasing
• Anthropic’s Claude can now make you a spreadsheet or slide deck.
• The MechaHitler defense contract is raising red flags

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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Fresh off a day filled with new Apple products, The Verge’s ground team reports back on everything they’ve seen — and touched. Allison Johnson walks us through the new iPhone Air, iPhone 17, and iPhone 17 Pro lineups, making sense of all the new camera features and wondering just how thin a phone really can be. After that, Victoria Song talks about why the AirPods Pro 3 may have been the big hit of the day, plus all the details on the three new models of Apple Watch. Finally, Jake Kastrenakes tells us about his first experience live at an Apple event, explains the appeal of a crossbody strap, and has a theory about why an orange phone is such a big deal.

Further reading:

• The eight biggest announcements during Apple’s iPhone Air event | The Verge
• All the news from Apple’s iPhone 17 event | The Verge
• Apple announces the ultra-slim iPhone Air | The Verge
• iPhone Air hands-on | The Verge
• Apple iPhone 17 hands-on | The Verge
• Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro has the biggest battery of any iPhone | The Verge
• Apple’s iPhone 17 drops the Plus, but gains a bigger, faster display | The Verge
• iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max: our initial hands-on impressions | The Verge
• The 2TB iPhone 17 Pro Max costs $1,999. | The Verge
• The iPhone 17 comes with Apple’s new in-house networking chip | The Verge
• Apple’s new iPhone Air accessories include a slim MagSafe battery, TechWoven case, and crossbody strap
• Apple’s new MagSafe battery is only designed for the new iPhone Air | The Verge
• All right, what new Apple stuff are we buying? | The Verge
• The new iPhones all have Center Stage front-facing cameras | The Verge
• Apple announces AirPods Pro 3 with ‘world’s best ANC’ and heart rate sensing | The Verge
• The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has 42 hours of battery life and satellite connectivity | The Verge
• Apple announces new entry-level $249 Apple Watch SE 3 with always-on display | The Verge
• The iPhone Air’s battery pack is slim, but not as slim as the iPhone Air
• Apple’s new MagSafe battery is only designed for the new iPhone Air
• Phone 17 Pro “clear” case that is MOSTLY NOT CLEAR 
• Apple barely talked about AI at its big iPhone 17 event | The Verge
• iOS 26 is out on September 15th | The Verge
• Apple’s macOS Tahoe 26 update releases September 15th | The Verge
• Apple reveals iPadOS 26 release date | The Verge
• Apple will launch watchOS 26 on September 15th | The Verge
• Apple’s using more recycled materials in its iPhones and watches

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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It's a big week for the smart home. Jake, Vee, and Jen sit down to chat about all the new tech out of IFA, from robots that carry robot vacuums up stairs to upgrades that turn 10-year-old Hue bulbs into motion sensors. Then, Lauren joins the show to talk about the Google antitrust remedies ruling and what Google is going to have to do to allow more competition in the search market. Finally, the Thunder Round is back and better than ever. We're talking $2,000 smart watches, Amazon yanking a major Prime perk, the Pixel 10 Pro's 100x AI zoom, Instagram for iPad, and drama at the FTC.

Further reading:

• Eufy built a stairlift for its robovacs

• Inside Philips Hue’s plans to make all your lights motion sensors

• Philips Hue responds to cheaper competitors with major product overhaul

• SwitchBot has ambitions to be the AI that powers your smart home

• Samsung’s Galaxy S25 FE and Tab S11 are thinner, lighter, and otherwise about the same

• Google gets to keep Chrome, judge rules in search antitrust case

• Google critics think the search remedies ruling is a total whiff

• Here’s what Google and the DOJ had to say about the search remedies ruling

• The tech antitrust renaissance may already be over

• Garmin’s Fenix 8 Pro series finally lets you leave your phone at home — sort of

• Instagram is coming to iPad, 15 years later

• Amazon ends shared Prime free shipping outside your home

• Ousted Democratic FTC commissioner can return (again) for now

• Here’s how the Pixel’s AI zoom compares to a real 100x lens

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. We love hearing from you.

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Hooked on LinkedIn’s Queens? Gotta extend your Wordle streak in the New York Times games app before you start your day? You’re in good company on today’s Vergecast episode. Allison Johnson is joined by Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe, world-class puzzle champs and hosts of the delightful Cracking the Cryptic, a YouTube channel where they solve a puzzle on camera every single day.

They specialize in Sudoku — and not just the classic number games you might be familiar with. Simon and Mark tackle mind-bending, seemingly impossible puzzles, working through it all in realtime, sometimes over the course of several hours. What happens when you get stuck? How can you tell the difference between a puzzle made by a human and a computer-generated one? Why are we addicted to puzzle games all of a sudden? They help us crack the clues.

Then Allison sits down with Marc Levoy, one of the pioneers of computational photography, to talk about his new camera app: Project Indigo. Levoy is known for his earlier work on the Pixel camera, and was a driving force in shaping phone photography into what it is now. We last caught up with him in 2020 when he left Google for Adobe, so we got up to speed on what the heck he’s been doing for the last five years — and the important difference between HDR and an HDR-ish photo.

Finally, Allison takes a hotline question from someone who is not particular about their phone camera’s image quality, but does have a beef with camera bumps.

• Cracking the Cryptic — YouTube
• This 25-minute video is the most riveting sudoku puzzle you will ever watch
• The Atlantic is making a big push into games
• I regret to inform you that LinkedIn’s games are very fun
• The mastermind of Google’s Pixel camera quietly left the company in March
• The brain behind the Google Pixel camera is building a universal camera app for Adobe
• Marc Levoy on the balance of camera hardware, software, and artistic expression
• Adobe launches a new ‘computational photography’ camera app for iPhones
• Adobe’s new camera app is making me rethink phone photography

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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The Pixel 10 is in the house, and we’ve been testing them for over a week now. Allison and Vee sit down with Jake to discuss their tests — the good, the bad, and the poorly translated. They demo the Pixel 10's live phone call translations and dive into Pro Res Zoom, which uses AI to enhance photos zoomed in up to 100x. Then, it’s time to talk Dish, Intel, and Elon. Dish is giving up on being a major mobile carrier, Intel is now partially owned by the US government, and Elon has filed a questionable lawsuit against Apple. Finally, we wrap up with a Thunder Round to discuss K-Pop Demon Hunters, YouTube Shorts’ secret “AI,” Android’s registration requirement for developers, Taco Bell’s drive through AI attempt, and a delivery locker on wheels.

Further reading:

• Google Pixel 10 Pro review: AI, Qi2, and a spec bump too
• Apple’s iPhone 17 launch event is set for September 9th
• Dish gives up on becoming the fourth major wireless carrier
• The Trump administration promised a fourth wireless carrier — America got a hot mess instead
• US government takes 10 percent stake in Intel in exchange for money it was already on the hook for
• Elon Musk’s xAI is suing OpenAI and Apple
• Elon Musk’s xAI quietly dropped its status as a public benefit corporation
• My new beat is K-Pop Demon Hunters
• Taco Bell AI Drive thru sna-fu
• Is YouTube’s Shorts experiment using AI or just upscaling? | The Verge
• This new delivery robot will bring the entire grocery store to you
• Google will verify Android developers distributing apps outside the Play store

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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This week on The Vergecast, Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake of PetaPixel’s YouTube channel join The Verge’s Allison Johnson and Vjeran Pavic to geek out about the last half-decade of camera advancements — the good, the bad, and the Sigma BF of it all.

Then, Allison is joined by Verge News Editor and fellow phone nerd Dominic Preston to help answer a boatload of listener questions from people contemplating which smartphone to buy next. They help navigate the intricacies of living in a mixed iOS/Android household to the best options for someone who wants a headphone jack (spoiler alert: there aren’t many).

It’s a mega-hotline-turned-therapy session for iPhone Mini owners reluctant to let go of their tiny phones in a world where phones come in two sizes: big and bigger.

Further reading:

• Sigma BF review: Beautiful Foolishness — PetaPixel
• The Fujifilm X half is Just Plain FUN! — PetaPixel
• Fujifilm X Half hands-on: whimsical, refreshing, and simply fun
• Sigma BF review: the perfect camera for a minimalist
• In pursuit of a viral, five-year-old compact camera
• Samsung Galaxy S25 review: incredibly iterative
• Nothing Phone 3 review: flagship-ish
• If you really want a smaller phone, try the tiny Jelly 2
• Oppo Find N5 review: the final evolution of foldables
• Honor launches the ‘world’s thinnest’ foldable
• Motorola spoiled a good budget phone with bloatware
• The Xperia 1 VII is a greatest hits of Sony R&D
• The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t so ‘ultra’ anymore
• The Fairphone 6 no longer feels like a compromise (except in the US)
• My first DIY phone fix made me a self-repair believer
• Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review: in great shape
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: stunning, bendy, and spendy
• Ditching my phone for an LTE smartwatch was a humbling experience
• I took my own advice and bought a last-gen iPhone — I regret nothing
• How Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip failed me without actually breaking

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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It’s Pixel week. Jake, Vee, and Allison are chatting about all things Google. First, there’s the Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, and 10 Pro Fold, which get a mix of hardware upgrades (dust-proofing on a foldable!) and downgrades (a worse camera on the Pixel 10?) and a ton of new AI features, including Magic Cue and Pro Res Zoom, which puts AI right inside the camera app. Next, there’s the Pixel Watch 4, Fitbit’s AI fitness coach, the Pixel Buds 2A, and a tease of Google’s next smart home speaker. Finally, we wrap it up with the Thunder Round and a discussion of Hank Green’s Focus Friend, Ricoh’s GR IV, Netflix’s new content strategy, Masimo’s attempt to sue over the Apple Watch again, and most importantly, Chipotle’s drone delivery.

Further reading:

• The Made by Google event felt like being sucked into an episode of Wandavision
• The Google Pixel 10 and 10 Pro come with magnets, a new chip, and AI everywhere
• The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first fully dust-resistant foldable 
• Google says the quiet part out loud: IP68 protection doesn’t last 
• The best new features of the Pixel 10 lineup
• The Pixel 10 Pro puts generative AI right inside the camera 
• The magnets are the coolest thing about the Pixel 10
• Google is launching its first magnetic wireless charging accessories 
• Building a more empathetic big phone. 
• The Pixel Pro 10 phones include a certified Thread radio.
• Google’s Pixel Watch 4 has big ideas — and an even bigger focus on AI 
• Fitbit’s AI health coach is the first I might actually be interested in
• The unbearable obviousness of AI fitness summaries
• Google’s Pixel Buds 2A add Gemini, noise cancellation, and a replaceable battery 
• Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are getting new AI-powered features in September
• Gemini for Home is Google’s biggest smart home play in years
• Is that a new Nest smart speaker I spy?
• Hank Green’s Focus Friend swapped my screen time for bean time 
• Now Masimo is suing US Customs over Apple Watch imports 
• Ricoh GR IV will cost $1500
• It's Raining Chips & Guac: Chipotle Is Testing Drone Delivery
• YouTuber Mark Rober is getting a Netflix series
• YouTube star Ms. Rachel is coming to Netflix
• The Duffer Brothers are joining the Paramount family

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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This week on The Vergecast, the co-founder and former CEO of iRobot, Colin Angle, joins The Verge’s smart home reviewer, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, to discuss what the ideal home robot is. Are we close to creating a Rosie the Robot — an all-in-one humanoid robot that can take care of our homes, or should we take an entirely different approach to home robotics? They dive into the advances in technology powering this shift and ponder what purpose robotics in the home should really serve.

Then, Jen takes a journey back into smart home history to help us understand its future. Grant Erickson, Principal of Nuovations, a former Apple, Nest, and Google engineer who was part of the team that developed Thread, joins the show.

He shares the story of how and why, back in 2011, the Nest team, led by Tony Faddell and Matt Rogers, decided to create a smart home protocol. It involves a thermostat, fragmented ecosystems, and one of the best smart home products ever made.

They discuss how Thread became the foundation of the Matter smart home standard — an unprecedented industry collaboration with a herculean task — to make the smart home simpler.

To close out the show, Grant sticks around to help answer a Vergecast hotline question (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com) about how Matter manages your data.

Further reading:

• Maybe I don’t want a Rosey the Robot after all

• Amazon left Roomba with a huge mess to clean up

• Figure will start ‘alpha testing’ its humanoid robot in the home in 2025

• Amazon Astro review: too much Alexa, not enough arms

• Samsung is finally releasing Ballie

• This Pixar-style dancing lamp hints at Apple’s future home robot

• iRobot’s founder is working on a new kind of home robot

• iRobot OS is the newest ‘brain’ for your Roomba

• Amazon bought iRobot to see inside your home

• I tested a robot vacuum with an arm, and my dog may never forgive me

• Inside the Nest: iPod creator Tony Fadell wants to reinvent the thermostat

• Nest CEO Tony Fadell on Google acquisition

• Fire drill: Can Tony Fadell and Nest build a better smoke detector?

• How big companies kill ideas — and how to fight back, with Tony Fadell

• Situation: there are too many competing smart home standards

• Matter’s plan to save the smart home

• Nest’s home security system costs $499 and comes with magnetic door sensors

• Google says Matter is still set to fix the biggest smart home frustrations

• Thread is Matter’s secret sauce for a better smart home

• Nanoleaf launches a smart switch after eight years of trying

• Thread count: Ikea is stitching together a smarter home

• Why Thread is Matter’s biggest problem right now

• The four changes in Thread 1.4 that could fix the protocol

• It could be 2026 before all your Thread border routers work together

• Matter will be better in 2025 — say the people who make it

• The Nest Learning Thermostat gets its biggest upgrade in over a decade

• killedbygoogle.com

• Google’s ADT partnership finally has a new home security product to show for it

• Google discontinues Nest Protect smoke alarm and Nest x Yale door lock

• Google discontinues its Google Nest Secure alarm system

• Appliance makers are teaming up to reduce your electricity usage — and save you cash

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GPT-5 is here, and it’s not going so well. This week on The Vergecast, Jake, Vee, and Hayden discuss the bumpy launch of OpenAI’s latest model and why GPT-5 isn’t as big of a leap as GPT-4.

Then, everyone shares their vibe coding projects and the bumpy journey to making anything usable. After that, our newest segment: Corporate Shenanigans, where we rate the week in strange corporate moves on a scale from “actually serious” to “total joke.”

Finally, the Thunder Round returns, new and improved, to discuss ditching your phone for a smartwatch, doctors relying too much on AI, AOL dial-up shutting down, the Pebble Time 2, and why you shouldn’t trust what AI chatbots say about themselves.

Further reading:

• ChatGPT won’t remove old models without warning after GPT-5 backlash
• OpenAI will update GPT-5’s “personality” after user backlash
• ChatGPT is bringing back 4o as an option because people missed it
• Sam Altman shared more about what went wrong with those GPT-5 graphs
• OpenAI gives some employees a ‘special’ multimillion-dollar bonus
• Anthropic just made its latest move in the AI coding wars
• Anthropic’s Claude chatbot can now remember your past conversations
• Perplexity offers to buy Google Chrome for $34.5 billion
• Apple is suing Apple Cinemas
• Apple Cinemas responds to Apple lawsuit
• Apple returns blood oxygen monitoring to the latest Apple Watches
• Elon Musk says he’s suing Apple for rigging App Store rankings
• Ditching my phone for an LTE smartwatch was a humbling experience
• Here’s a look at the final Pebble Time 2 design 
• Some doctors got worse at detecting cancer after relying on AI
• Google’s healthcare AI made up a body part — what happens when doctors don’t notice?
• Chatbots aren’t telling you their secrets
• AOL is finally shutting down dial-up

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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This week on The Vergecast, we enter the Jen-era of Hot Girl Vergecast Summer, with a deep dive into the business of the smart home. The Verge’s smart home reviewer, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy (aka Jen), chats with Ken Fairbanks, a longtime customer of Insteon who ended up buying the smart lighting company when it went into bankruptcy.

Ken shares the story of how one of the original smart lighting protocols, founded in the post-X10 era when home automation moved from wired to wireless, floundered, and how he and a band of users brought it back from the dead. He dishes what he’s learned about how to keep the lights on — from customer loyalty and the value of subscriptions, to what tariffs are doing to the industry and how some hardware companies are just pyramid schemes.

Then, in a special supersized (and we mean SUPER) Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com), Jen is joined by smart home expert Richard Gunther, co-host of The Smart Home Show, to tackle a bunch of your burning smart lighting questions. They answer everything from how to move your smart home to which Thread border router you should buy for your Matter setup. Plus, they run down their own smart lighting set-ups.

Further reading:

• Insteon’s troubles are a smart home tale as old as time
• Insteon Raises the Curtain for the Next Act
• Someone turned Insteon’s lights back on
• Insteon customers turned Insteon’s lights back on
• Thread count: Ikea is stitching together a smarter home
• Smart switches or smart bulbs? How to choose the right smart lighting for your home
• Controller for HomeKit
• Philips Hue Play sync box and gradient lightstrip review: wholly unnecessary, totally delightful
• Taming Wi-Fi in the Smart Home:
• Leviton’s new smart light switches don’t require a neutral wire
• Every smart home device that works with Matter
• Aqara’s new seven-inch home control tablet can replace a light switch
• These smart lights could solve the kitchen cabinet problem
• Hue launches a pricey new sunrise lamp
• Smart string light showdown: Nanoleaf versus Lifx
• The best floodlight camera to buy right now
• How to move a smart home
• Moving a smart home - The Smart Home Show
• Living with the ghost of a smart home’s past
• Smart ceiling light showdown: Aqara T1M versus Nanoleaf Skylight
• Binding should be the next big thing for smart home devices
• Aqara adds support for 50 new Matter device types
• Flic is ready to control all your Matter devices
• Thread is Matter’s secret sauce for a better smart home
• Google Nest Thread border routers
• Google TV Streamer review: smarter than your average set-top box
• Google Nest Hub (2nd-gen) review: sleep on it
• Why Thread is Matter’s biggest problem right now
• The four changes in Thread 1.4 that could fix the protocol
  

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In this bonus episode of The Vergecast, Senior Reviewer Victoria Song sits down with a bunch of Verge staffers to talk about how they use AI tools in their everyday lives. Not all of it went smoothly — we definitely get into the ways these tools fall short — but we explore how AI can be used to help bedtime go more smoothly for parents, plan big cross-country moves, supplement your internet searches (always double-check!), and even vibe code an app for your next tabletop role-playing game.

If you have any examples where AI was useful to you, we’d love to hear them. (For what it’s worth, we’d also love to hear stories where it spectacularly failed.) Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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It’s a huge week in AI, with OpenAI releasing GPT-OSS and GPT-5, Grok getting deeply problematic again with its “spicy” video generator, and Tim Cook admitting that Apple may need to cut some deals. Then we talk the age gating of the internet and how you might soon need an ID card to get just about anywhere online. Finally, the Lightning Round gets re-rebranded. Adi Robertson and Alex Heath join the show to discuss.

Further reading:

• GPT-5 is being released to all ChatGPT users
• OpenAI releases a free GPT model that can run on your laptop
• Why open-source AI became an American national priority
• Mark Zuckerberg promises you can trust him with superintelligent AI
• xAI’s new Grok image and video generator has a ‘spicy’ mode
• Grok’s ‘spicy’ video setting instantly made me Taylor Swift nude deepfakes
• I tested Grok’s Valentine sex chatbot and it (mostly) behaved
• Tim Cook says Apple ‘must’ figure out AI and ‘will make the investment to do it’
• Tim Cook says Apple is ‘open to’ AI acquisitions

• Ready or not, age verification is rolling out across the internet
• The UK is now age-gating the internet
• The UK is slogging through an online age-gate apocalyps
• The UK’s new age-gating rules are easy to bypass
• Reddit and Discord’s UK age verification can be defeated by Death Stranding’s photo mode
• Reddit rolls out age verification in the UK to comply with new rules
• Five EU states to test age verification app to protect children
• The EU approach to age verification
• Commission presents guidelines and age verification app prototype for a safer online space for children
• Porn age-gating is the future of the internet, thanks to the Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court just upended internet law, and I have questions
• Florida Sues Huge Porn Sites Including XVideos and Bang Bros Over Age Verification Law
•  “Over the last two and a half years, 19 states – home to more than a third of Americans – have passed laws that require pornography websites to confirm a user’s age by checking a government-issued ID or scanning their face, among other methods.”
• Google is using AI age checks to lock down user accounts
• Today's Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
• Age Verification Harms Users of All Ages
• Blocking Access to Harmful Content Will Not Protect Children Online, No Matter How Many Times UK Politicians Say So
• Zero Knowledge Proofs Alone Are Not a Digital ID Solution to Protecting User Privacy
• Age Verification in the European Union: The Commission's Age Verification App

• RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine contracts
• Epic just won its Google lawsuit again, and Android may never be the same
• Google has just two weeks to begin cracking open Android, it admits in emergency filing
• Instagram adds a reposts feed and rips off Snap Maps
• OpenAI charts crime
• OpenAI gets caught vibe graphing
• Nintendo raises the Switch 1 price from $299 to $339
• Apple says Trump’s tariffs are adding another $1 billion to its costs

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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This week on The Vergecast, guest host Mia Sato talks to YouTube fitness pioneer Cassey Ho (better known as Blogilates) about the well-oiled machine that is the dupe economy. Ho shares her experience creating her own line of athletic wear that sooner or later gets ripped off by countless copycats — and how she tries to fight back.

Then, Mia brings an audio diary from a visit to Fabscrap, a textile recycling facility in Brooklyn, that is working to save fabric and other materials from the landfill. Fashion is a wasteful industry, not unlike tech — luckily, there are people like Fabscrap staff and volunteers who are working towards solutions.

Finally, Victoria Song swings by to help answer a hotline question about how to make the high-tech Clueless closet a reality. If you have a question for us, call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com.

Further reading

• How dupes turned online shopping upside down
• Lululemon sues Costco over viral alleged “dupes”
• The US finally acknowledges textile waste in new report
• Your stuff is actually worse now
• Ghana becomes dumping ground for the world’s unwanted used clothes

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It’s time. The public betas for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more are finally out for everyone to try. Jake Kastrenakes, Vee Song, and Antonio G. Di Benedetto give their takes on Apple’s Liquid Glass design language after two months of living with it. Antonio shares his experiences with macOS and the upgraded Spotlight, and Vee dives into the ups and downs of watchOS’s AI fitness coach. Then, Andy Hawkins and Eater's Matthew Kang talk about Tesla’s rough quarter, the new Tesla Diner, and what Epic Bacon has to do with it all. Finally, the Thunder Round returns, and we all learn what Labubus are.

Further reading:

• ⁠Apple releases public betas of its new software updates with Liquid Glass⁠
• How to install the iOS 26 public beta
• The biggest changes coming to your iPhone with iOS 26
• ⁠Liquid Glass is fine, I guess⁠
• ⁠Apple’s Liquid Glass redesign is shaping up to be a snoozer on Macs⁠
• You can actually multitask on an iPad now and it’s the best new feature in 15 years
• watchOS 26 preview: a subtler take on AI
• ⁠Apple launches $20 subscription service to protect your gadgets⁠

• Tesla’s earnings hit a new low, with largest revenue drop in years
• Elon Musk finally admits the new, more affordable Tesla is just a stripped down Model Y
• Undeterred by limits, Elon Musk plots a big robotaxi expansion
• Everything Eater Editors Ate at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles
• The Full Tesla Diner Menu, Revealed
• The Tesla Diner Will Track When Guests Are Nearby to Prepare Their Orders
• Inside the New Tesla Diner in Los Angeles
• Anti-Elon Musk protesters are coming for Tesla’s new diner

• Faraday Future is back with another wild EV that probably will never get made
• Amazon buys Bee AI
• Jake: AppleCare One is a good deal, but not for everyone
• Uber’s making it easier for women riders and drivers to find each other
• The frenzied, gamified chase for Labubus




Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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Summer blockbusters like the new Superman and Jurassic World movies may be doing great at the box office, but promoting them is more complicated than ever. The old celebrity playbook of magazine profiles, TV chat shows and press junkets isn’t enough in an era of audience fragmentation. Publicists now have to strategize which podcasts to make time for, and whether their clients will eat chicken on YouTube with Amelia Dimoldenberg or Sean Evans.

This week on The Vergecast, guest host Mia Sato talks to Vulture’s Fran Hoepfner to break down the ever-changing new media circuit, whether you’re a beloved A-lister, a formerly-beloved A-lister, or an aspiring A-lister.

Then, we take a deep dive with Sarah Fackrell into a controversial legal tactic brands are using to go after online sellers hawking everything from grumpy cat T-shirts to closet hooks.

Finally, Victoria Song joins Mia to answer a Vergecast hotline from a listener wondering whether an AI translator will be able to keep up with his partner’s Colombian mother. If you’ve got a question for us, call 866-VERGE11 or e-mail vergecast@theverge.com.

Further reading:

• Box Office: ‘Superman’ Surpasses $400 Million Globally, ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Nears $650 Million Milestone

• The Celebrity Press-Tour Road Map

• Fame and Frustration On the New Media Circuit

• Sydney woman who sold a cartoon cat T-shirt told to pay US$100,000 in Grumpy Cat copyright case

• How Does a Mom Get Slapped With a $250,000 Judgment Over $380 of Homemade Luke Combs Merch? Experts Cite ‘Cottage Industry’ of Mass Counterfeit Suits in Illinois

• A SAD Scheme of Abusive Intellectual Property Litigation

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Would you like Siri more if it had a face? This week on The Vergecast, we’re talking about AI assistants getting smarter… and uncomfortably personal. The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins the show to talk about her early tests of Alexa Plus, which is finally AI-powered and a lot more capable. Jake shares his uncomfortable first interaction with Grok’s anime girlfriend. And Waveform cohost David Imel is here to talk about Sony’s RX1R III and other premium “compact” cameras.

Finally, the THUNDER ROUND is back. New, improved, and still loud.

Further reading:

• 24 hours with Alexa Plus: we cooked, we chatted, and it kinda lied to me
• Alexa Plus launches to “small number” of people More than a million people now have Alexa Plus
• Elon Musk’s AI bot adds a ridiculous anime companion with ‘NSFW’ mode
• I spent 24 hours flirting with Elon Musk’s AI girlfriend
• System prompt dump of xAI / Grok’s new AI anime girlfriend
• Elon Musk teases AI anime boyfriend based on Edward Cullen
• “We will, of course, have another character inspired by Mr. Darcy”
• xAI has open roles for building AI “waifus.”
• US government announces $200 million Grok contract a week after ‘MechaHitler’ incident
• Grok will no longer call itself Hitler or base its opinions on Elon Musk’s, promises xAI
• Sony’s pocket-sized RX1R camera returns with its first update in 10 years
• Original RX1R 
• RX1R II
• Google exec: ‘We’re going to be combining ChromeOS and Android’
• Our biggest questions about ChromeOS and Android merging
•  Ikea goes all in on Matter/Thread
• Eric Migicovsky 
• Texts.com
• Google Nest subscription
• The next batch of emoji includes Bigfoot

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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On this episode of The Vergecast, we’re going to dive deep into why accessible design is universal design. First, guest host Victoria Song will chat with Jason Valley, a visually impaired Verge reader. Jason initially reached out to Victoria after her Live AI hands-on, challenging the notion that the feature was a “solution looking for a problem to solve.” Jason shares how the tech has helped him live a more independent life, what he’s hoping to see improve, and how the blind and low-vision community has enthusiastically embraced the technology.

After that, Victoria sits down with Be My Eyes CEO Mike Buckley. Be My Eyes is an app that pairs blind and low-vision users with sighted volunteers to help them go about their day. Buckley gives his thoughts about how accessible tech design benefits everyone, why smart glasses and AI are a natural combo, and what challenges and opportunities in this space remain.

And finally, we have features reporter Mia Sato on to answer a spicy question about smart glasses from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com). Specifically, do smart glasses belong in the bedroom?

Further reading:

• Live AI on Meta’s smart glasses is a solution looking for a problem
• Meta’s smart glasses can now describe what you’re seeing in more detail
• The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses actually make the future look cool
• Be My Eyes AI offers GPT-4-powered support for blind Microsoft customers
• The principles of wearable etiquette

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Summer phone season kicks off with Samsung’s latest launch. Jake, Vee, and Allison talk about Samsung’s new lineup of foldables, including the very thin new Z Fold 7 and Allison’s disdain for the Z Flip 7 FE. Vee has impressions of Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 8 lineup and its squircle-y new redesign. Then, it’s time to talk Big Tech shakeups. Apple’s COO is leaving, Zuckerberg is buying himself an AI dream team, X’s CEO is out — and its chatbot Grok is on a rampage. Finally, big things are in store for the Lightning Round… which shall henceforth be known as the THUNDER ROUND. Lots to talk about, including Lorde’s CD problems, Apple’s Liquid Glass changes, and HBO Max finally becoming HBO Max again.

Further reading:

• Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025: Everything announced at the July event⁠
• ⁠Galaxy Z Fold 7 hands-on: Samsung finally made the foldables we’ve been asking for⁠ 
• ⁠Samsung cuts price of its foldables with the Z Flip 7 FE⁠
• ⁠Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 series hands-on: squircle squad⁠
• ⁠Samsung seems to have leaked its own trifold phone design⁠
• ⁠Samsung says its trifold phone should launch ‘this year’⁠
• ⁠Samsung snuck a trifold tease into (January) Unpacked⁠
• ⁠One of Tim Cook’s possible successors is leaving Apple⁠
• Sabih Khan⁠
• Apple’s design team will report to Tim Cook⁠
• A close look at who could succeed Tim Cook⁠ 
• ⁠Mark Zuckerberg announces his AI ‘superintelligence’ super-group⁠
• Meta is paying $14 billion to catch up in the AI race⁠
• Meta’s ‘superintelligence’ hiring spree adds an AI leader from Apple⁠
• Pay packages of up to $300 million over four years⁠
• Meta is trying to win the AI race with money — but not everyone can be bought⁠ 
• ⁠X CEO Linda Yaccarino is stepping down after two years⁠
• X’s CEO is out after failing at basically everything she claimed she wanted⁠
• Threads is catching up to X on mobile⁠
• X has a new head of product⁠
• Elon Musk’s xAI buys Elon Musk’s X for $33 billion on paper⁠
• xAI updated Grok to be more ‘politically incorrect’⁠
• Grok stops posting text after flood of antisemitism and Hitler praise⁠
• ⁠“In other posts it referred to itself as “MechaHitler”.⁠
• Musk makes grand promises about Grok 4 in the wake of a Nazi chatbot meltdown ⁠
• ⁠Adobe’s new camera app is making me rethink phone photography⁠
• ⁠Ikea’s latest speaker lamp ditches Sonos for Spotify and inexpensive Bluetooth⁠
• Ikea ditches Zigbee for Thread going all in on Matter smart homes⁠
• ⁠Perplexity launches Comet web browser⁠
• OpenAI’s next big launch could be an AI web browser⁠
• ⁠E Ink is turning the laptop touchpad into an e-reader for AI apps⁠
• ⁠Lorde’s new CD is so transparent that stereos can’t even read it⁠
• I tried playing Lorde’s new CD⁠
• ⁠Appeals court strikes down ‘click-to-cancel’ rule⁠
• ⁠Nothing’s ‘first true flagship’ phone plays it a little safe⁠
• ⁠Adding calendar events with a screenshot is AI at its finest⁠
• ⁠The government’s Apple antitrust lawsuit is still on⁠
• ⁠Apple just added more frost to its Liquid Glass design⁠
• ⁠Apple’s second-generation Vision Pro might launch this year⁠
• ⁠Nvidia briefly became the first $4 trillion company on Wednesday⁠
• ⁠The makers of Cameo just launched... a birthday-tracking app?⁠
• ⁠Nintendo is ending its cost-saving Switch game vouchers⁠
• ⁠HBO Max is officially HBO Max again

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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On this episode of The Vergecast, we kick off Hot Girl Vergecast Summer with a classic Vergecast segment: the mic test. Guest host Victoria Song is joined by Vergecast producers Andru Marino and Erick Gomez to see how the Nothing Headphone 1, Sony WH-1000XM6, Apple AirPods Max, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra hold up against what’s possibly the noisiest street in Brooklyn.

After that, Victoria is joined by Ladder CEO Greg Stewart to talk about what it takes to build a successful strength training app — especially for people just starting out. As it turns out, it’s quite challenging, between curating playlists, accommodating users’ different access to equipment, skill levels, and preferences for coaching styles. (And maybe, some occasional beef with Peloton?)

Lastly, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com) about AI fitness summaries, whether people actually like them, what’s frustrating about them, and what scenarios they might actually be useful for.

Want to learn more about the topics in this episode? Here are some handy dandy links for your reference:

• Nothing Headphone 1 review
• Sony WH-1000XM6 hands-on
• Apple AirPods Max review
• Bose QuietComfort Ultra review
• A lazy person’s guide to getting into shape
• Ladder isn’t done trolling Peloton
• The unbearable obviousness of AI fitness summaries

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