The Vergecast

One way to think about the tech industry is just as a series of people trying to build stuff they saw in movies and on TV. Some of that tech is great, some of it is deeply dystopian, and most of it would make the world a very different place if it suddenly existed. In this episode, a bunch of us try to figure out which tech we actually want to use. David is joined by The Verge’s Allison Johnson, Jennifer Pattison-Tuohy, Mia Sato, and Victoria Song — aka the hosts of Hot Girl Vergecast Summer — to draft their way through the movie, show, and game tech they’d want to make real. Some of the picks you’ll expect, and some we bet has never crossed your mind. And some big-name tech goes undrafted!

Once you've finished the show, make sure you take the poll and tell us who won: https://forms.gle/Q1wFhpzCdM3B5bqj9

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It's already the heat of summer, and the news keeps coming. Nilay, David, and Jake start the show with a bunch of tech news, including the latest on Tesla's robotaxi launch, some updates on the Trump Phone, new devices from Fairphone and Unihertz, and Meta's shifting strategy for face computers. After that, The Verge's Adi Roberston joins the show to talk about two important AI lawsuits that were both decided this week — one involving Anthropic and the other involving Meta — and what this particular battle means for who will win the AI war. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for another round of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, some huge news in the HDMI world, and the end of the Blue Screen of Death.

Further reading:

• Tesla’s robotaxis are operating in a regulatory vacuum 

• Here’s a running list of all of Tesla’s robotaxi mishaps so far

• The Trump Phone no longer promises it’s made in America 

• The smaller Fairphone 6 introduces swappable accessories

• The Titan 2 is a modern BlackBerry with 5G, Android, and two screens 

• A week in Xbox VR with Microsoft and Meta’s new $399 headset 

• Meta announces Oakley smart glasses that shoot 3K video 

• Anthropic wins a major fair use victory for AI — but it’s still in trouble for stealing books

• Meta’s AI copyright win comes with a warning about fair use

• Senate confirms Trump’s FCC pick, Olivia Trusty

• FCC Seeks Public Comments on Changing Broadcast Ownership Rules

• Trump’s FTC agrees to Omnicom merger — with a gift to X 

• Paramount Plus with Showtime is getting a rebrand 

• Paramount delays $35M settlement with Trump as media giant fears bribery backlash: sources

• The Paramount Risk in Settling Trump’s Lawsuit: ‘Bribery’?

• The HDMI 2.2 specification supports 16K video at 60Hz

  
  

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Tesla is famous for throwing caution to the wind in the name of rolling out cool technology, so it was somewhat surprising to see its robotaxi service launch over the weekend in somewhat muted fashion. The Verge's Andy Hawkins joins the show to explain what, exactly, Elon Musk and co. launched, and what it says about the state of the self-driving revolution. After that, The Verge's Allison Johnson takes us through the history of MVNOs, and why they might just be the best deal in wireless carriers. We talk about Trump Mobile, Ryan Reynolds, e-SIMs, and what it would mean to make it easier to switch service. Finally, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline about how to free up storage on your iPhone. It's harder than it should be, but hopefully easier than you think.

Further reading:

• Tesla’s robotaxi is live: here are some of the first reactions
• The Tesla Cybercab is a cool-looking prototype that needed to be much more than that
• Waymo says it will add 2,000 more robotaxis into 2026
• How Donald Trump and Ryan Reynolds can easily sell you phone plans
• Trump Mobile is a bad deal
• How to clear up space on your iPhone when you’re running out of storage




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Starting a wireless carrier is easier than you might think. So is building a half-decent Android phone! But doing all the things Trump Mobile promises, at the price and on the schedule it says, seems awfully close to impossible. While Nilay's out, David and Jake chat with The Verge's Dominic Preston about what we know about Trump Mobile and the T1 Phone, why everyone wants to be a wireless carrier, and what it would actually take for this to work out. After that, David and Jake talk through some big news in the TV world, and the streaming takeover that appears to be happening faster all the time. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for some brief FCC news, a check on the state of Siri, big questions about the ad-rich future of WhatsApp, a look at the new fediverse feed in Threads, and some thoughts on the Framework Laptop 12.

Further reading:

• Trump Mobile launches $47 service and a gold phone 

• Who is really behind the Trump Mobile T1 phone? 

• Trump Mobile is a bad deal 

• What is the deal with the Trump Mobile T1 Phone? 

• What do Alabama, California, and Florida have in common?

• How Donald Trump and Ryan Reynolds can easily sell you phone plans 

• Even Klarna is launching a mobile phone service now

• SmartLess Mobile | Don't get outsmarted. Get SmartLess Mobile.
  

• Eric trump interview

• Trump is giving TikTok another ban extension 

• Vivo wants its new X200 Ultra smartphone to replace your camera 

• Streaming is eating cable and broadcast TV’s lunch. | The Verge

• From Nieman Lab: For the first time, social media overtakes TV as Americans’ top news source

• Max will show autoplaying video previews suggested by AI 

• Senate confirms Trump’s FCC pick, Olivia Trusty 

• Apple’s upgraded Siri might not arrive until next spring 

• WhatsApp is officially getting ads 

• WhatsApp’s rollout of ads will change the app forever 

• Signal says it won’t add AI or ads like WhatsApp. | The Verge

• Reddit will help advertisers turn ‘positive’ posts into ads 

• Senate passes GENIUS stablecoin bill in a win for the crypto industry 

• Threads is adding fediverse content and search to its feeds 

• Framework Laptop 12 review: plastic fantastic | The Verge

  
  

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It's a small miracle that a bunch of us managed to get our heads out of Mario Kart World long enough to make a show about the Switch 2. But that's what we did! First, we chat with The Verge's Andrew Webster about his review, and why it feels like the Switch 2 is both everything we wanted and somehow still a little underwhelming. (Or at least just... whelming.) After that, The Verge's Ash Parrish tells us about her adventures traveling with the Switch 2, plus her recent time with the new Asus ROG Xbox Ally, and what she's learning about the future of consoles. Finally, The Verge's Sean Hollister helps us answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline all about console prices: why they keep going up, and whether they'll continue to be worth it.

Further reading:

• Nintendo Switch 2 review: exactly good enough
• Nintendo says your bad Switch 2 battery life might be a bug
• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller review: pro enough for me
• Mario Kart World review: the perfect Switch 2 launch game
• The Verge staff on the Switch 2: what we love and what we don’t
• Fortnite feels like a new game on the Switch 2
• Xbox’s new handheld is a surprisingly comfortable way to play Gears of War
• Steam Deck, Switch, ROG: picking the perfect portable console
• Steam Deck OLED, ROG Ally and more: all the news about the handheld PC revolution
• Fortnite feels like a new game on the Switch 2




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There's a lot of news this week, so today's episode turned into a whole bunch of lightning rounds. Nilay, David, and The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes talk through all the vibes and news at WWDC, and why F1 seemed to outshine everything else. We also talk about the Switch 2 launch, and the news this week that Microsoft and Asus are building Xbox handhelds in both clever and confusing ways. After that, we run through for a bunch of AI news, including the ongoing decline of Google traffic to the web, the new Dia browser, and Sam Altman's ideas about how much water ChatGPT uses. Finally, it's time for another edition of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, followed by the news of Warner Bros. Discovery breaking up, some very fast flash drives, and a new Meta messaging app.

Further reading:

• Craig Federighi confirms Apple’s first attempt at an AI Siri wasn’t good enough

• Ars: Apple’s Craig Federighi on the long road to the iPad’s Mac-like multitasking

• Nintendo’s Switch 2 is the fastest-selling game console of all time 

• Nintendo says your bad Switch 2 battery life might be a bug

• Microsoft and Asus announce two Xbox Ally handhelds with new Xbox full-screen experience

• This is how Microsoft is combining Windows and Xbox for handheld PCs 

• Xbox’s new handheld is a surprisingly comfortable way to play Gears of War 

• Microsoft just teased its next-gen Xbox console, and nobody noticed

• The Nothing Phone 3 is coming to the US, and not in beta.

• HP reveals $24,999 hardware created just for Google Beam 

  • Online publishers are facing a chatbot calamity. 

  • Disney and Universal sue Midjourney for making AI ripoffs of their biggest characters 

  • Taboola’s clickbaity chumbox is evolving into an AI chatbot 

  • Alexa Plus now has a million users and could be coming to you this summer 

  • Amazon is about to be flooded with AI-generated video ads

    Dia, the AI browser from the makers of Arc, is now available in beta 

    Sam Altman claims an average ChatGPT query uses ‘roughly one fifteenth of a teaspoon’ of water

  FCC’s last Democratic commissioner doesn’t know why Trump hasn’t fired her yet

  
  

  • Republicans are barreling toward remaking the internet 

  • Trump-fired FTC commissioner resigns. 

  
  Warner Bros. Discovery is splitting into two companies
  

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Apple spent 90 minutes talking about the future of its software, and we're pretty sure only said the word "Siri" once. Nilay and David are joined by The Verge's Victoria Song and Allison Johnson, both of whom were with Nilay at the keynote, to talk about all the news of the day. They talk about the Liquid Glass design language, and why Apple decided to redesign all its software. They talk about Spotlight on the Mac, the new multitasking features on the iPad, the typing indicators on the iPhone, Workout Buddy on the Watch, personas on the Vision Pro, and everything else that Apple announced — or, in a few cases, pointedly didn't announce — on stage. We're just starting to try out some of this software, and it's all likely to change a lot before it hits your devices this fall. And we'll have lots of thoughts along the way.

Further reading:

• Apple renames its operating systems 

• Apple’s new design language is Liquid Glass 

• Apple’s Liquid Glass redesign doesn’t look like much 

• Apple’s ChatGPT integration makes it easier to search for more context on images and shop for things they see.

• Apple Intelligence takes on language barriers in messages and phone calls. 

• Apple announces macOS Tahoe 26 with new design and revamped search features 

• Apple’s Spotlight upgrades in macOS Tahoe have power users in mind 

• Apple launches iPadOS 26 with a new look and way better multitasking 

• Apple announces watchOS 26 with a wrist flick gesture and AI ‘Workout Buddy’ 

• Apple’s visionOS 26 adds PSVR2 controller support and spatial widgets 

• Apple’s AirPods update adds camera controls and more 

• Apple’s new Games app lets you challenge your friends

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Developer conference season is almost over, but we've got one show left to see: Apple's WWDC begins on Monday. Nilay, David, and Joanna Stern spend time going through both what they expect to see at the show, and why this year's WWDC might feel a bit different than in years past. Apple is in a tricky place with regulators, developers, and users alike, and has some genuine explaining to do. After that, they talk about the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, and David's surprisingly easy adventure to acquire one. We also have a bit of smart glasses and AI gadgets news to discuss, so we do that too. Then it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, and an update on a couple of the interesting new fediverse projects launching this week.

Further reading:

• Verge subscriptions are on sale 40 percent off
• American Society of Magazine Editors Announces National Magazine Awards 2025 Winners
• Apple ordered to keep web links in the App Store 
• Payment companies team up to help developers ditch App Store billing
• Apple could be adding camera controls and sleep detection to your AirPods
• Switch 2 launch: where to find restocks online and in-store 
• Look inside the Nintendo Switch 2 with the console’s first teardown 
• Mario Kart World’s designers had to rethink everything to make it open world 
• Nintendo is updating even more games for the Switch 2
  Here’s what’s inside Meta’s experimental new smart glasses 
• Meta’s reportedly shopping for exclusive content on its upcoming VR headset 
• Meta reportedly sidelined ‘Quest 4’ designs for a goggles-like mixed-reality headset 
• FCC investigation looms over EchoStar’s missed interest payments and a new satellite 
• From Ars Technica: FCC Republican resigns, leaving agency with just two commissioners
• Jony Ive’s OpenAI device gets the Laurene Powell Jobs nod of approval 
• ChatGPT’s goal is to be a ‘super assistant’ for every part of your life 
• 
  
  

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We've talked many times on The Vergecast about the dream of the perfect charger. We call it The God Cable, and imagine it would charge everything, at full optimized speed, no matter what you plug in. Well, one company tried to make it – sort of. TwelveSouth founder Andrew Green joins the show to talk about how his company developed its newest product, the PowerCord, and why actually the God Cable might be both impossible and a bad idea. After that, The Verge's Tina Nguyen joins the show to talk about her experience at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas, the rise of $TRUMP, and how crypto and the government became so intertwined. Finally, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline about AI agents, and the tasks we should (and shouldn't) offload to our chatbots.

Further reading:

• The TwelveSouth PowerCord
• The Vergecast USB-C Holiday Spec-tacular
• Everything you need to know about switching to USB-C
• How a crypto bro shorted $TRUMP coin — and scored a dinner with the President
• Presidential seals, $100,000 watches, and a Marriott afterparty
• Trump’s media company says it’s buying $2.5 billion in Bitcoin
• The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act will soon ramp up in Congress.
• Crypto funds seized by the government may go into a ‘digital Fort Knox’
• Google’s future is Google googling
• OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent can do things on the web for you




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It's a slowish news week ahead of some very busy news weeks, so of course Nilay and David start the show with a long discussion about party speakers. Eventually, they get into the news, beginning with some of the huge Apple redesigns planned for WWDC in June. For the first time in a long time, the stakes for Apple's software teams feel really high. After that, the hosts talk about Nilay's recent interview with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and what the AI-ification of everything means for the future of the web. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for another Brendan Carr is a Dummy, plus some talk about the Nintendo Switch 2, a bit of confusing tariff news, and more.

Further reading:

• Graduation and prom season in full force, Alan sends a graduation procession with a party speaker on… her head?
• So so many softball and baseball games, Luis tips us to the Yankees
• Incredible at a dentist office from Oktawian
• Apple is reportedly going to rename all of its operating systems 
• Apple is ready to replace Game Center with a more Xbox-like gaming app 
• Get ready for Apple’s glassy operating systems overhaul.
• Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
• The New York Times’ first generative AI deal is with Amazon
• The Browser Company explains why it stopped developing Arc
• The plan for nationwide fiber internet might be upended for Starlink
• FCC Commissioner Labels Trump Push to Chill Speech an ‘Administration-Wide Effort’
• Carr's attack on Ergen looks gross
• Shut Down the Federal Communications Commission
• With the Switch, technology finally caught up to Nintendo 
• Nintendo’s bold new era is full of safe bets 
• The Nintendo Switch was an indie game haven, until it was overrun with slop 
• The Nintendo Switch 2 sure seems to work just fine with a USB mouse 
• There’s a Switch 2 unboxing video already.




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After more than a month of testimony, the Meta antirust trial is beginning to slow down. The Google search remedies trial, meanwhile, is about to heat up again, with closing arguments coming soon. The Verge’s Lauren Feiner has been in the DC courthouse for all of it, and has finally emerged to tell us about what she’s seen, and learned, from two all-important monopoly trials. After that, The Verge’s Victoria Song tells us about her latest experience with Google’s smart glasses prototypes, what Google is doing differently from Meta and Apple, and what she thinks Jony Ive and OpenAI might be building. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about what to do now that Mozilla is shutting down Pocket.

• FTC v. Meta: The antitrust battle over WhatsApp and Instagram
• Did WhatsApp really need Meta?
• Why the FTC argues Meta is a closer rival to MeWe than TikTok
• Instagram CEO testifies about competing with TikTok: ‘You’re either growing, or you’re slowly dying’
• Android XR is getting stylish partners in Warby Parker, Gentle Monster
• Xreal teases Project Aura smart glasses for Android XR
• We tried on Google’s prototype AI smart glasses
• Android XR and Project Moohan hands-on: Gemini is the killer app
• Mozilla is shutting down Pocket
• Raindrop.io
• Instapaper
• Matter
• Wallabag
• Readwise Reader

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Bad news if you don't care about AI: this week was absolutely chock-full of AI news. First, Nilay, David, and The Verge's Alex Heath talk about the news that OpenAI and Jony Ive are teaming up to build... something. A gadget, for sure, maybe lots of gadgets. We don't know much, but we have a lot of thoughts, and a lot of questions. After that, the hosts talk through all the news at Google I/O, including what's new with Gemini, Google Search, Project Astra, Project Mariner, and the countless other ways Google is putting AI absolutely everywhere. Finally, in the lightning round, we buckle up for another round of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, talk through some late-breaking Apple gadget news, and marvel over the future of conference calls.

Further reading:

• OpenAI is buying Jony Ive’s AI hardware company
• From The Wall Street Journal: What Sam Altman Told OpenAI About the Secret Device He’s Making With Jony Ive
• Details leak about Jony Ive’s new ‘screen-free’ OpenAI device 
• Jony Ive says Rabbit and Humane made bad products 
• The 15 biggest announcements at Google I/O 2025 
• Google launches AI Mode to everyone in the US, adds more features to AI Overviews
• Google’s 3D video calling tech is finally going to ship this year 
• Project Astra 2025: Google’s universal AI assistant is now smarter and more proactive 
• Google has a new tool just for making AI videos 
• Google reveals $250 per month ‘AI Ultra’ plan 
• Google Meet can translate what you say into other languages 
• Google’s Gemini AI is coming to Chrome 
• Google says its new image AI can actually spell 
• Google will let you ‘try on’ clothes with AI 
• Google is bringing an ‘Agent Mode’ to the Gemini app
• We tried on Google’s prototype AI smart glasses

• Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on the birth of the agentic web 
• Microsoft’s plan to fix the web: letting every website run AI search for cheap
• Google rejected giving publishers more choice to opt out of AI Search 
• Google is stuffing even more ads into its AI results 
• Google’s Gemini AI is coming to Chrome 
• Google reveals $250 per month ‘AI Ultra’ plan 

• FCC Chairman Carr seeks to designate NBC equal time issue for hearing
• FCC approves Verizon’s $20 billion merger after it commits to ‘ending’ DEI

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Kids these days, you know? They love the '90s, they want everything to be colorful and bold and bouncy, and they really, truly love Snapchat. And the tech world is listening. On this episode, The Verge's Allison Johnson joins to talk about her review of the new Razr Ultra, the new-look Android 16, and why she thinks we're getting ever closer to a true flip phone resurgence. (Also: why we're not quite there yet.) After that, The Verge's Alex Heath explains what's going on with Snapchat, and how it's possible that the app is more popular than ever but still can't figure out how to cash in. It all makes us wonder: is there a business in chat at all? Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about a possible outcome for Chrome after the Google search trial ends.

Further reading:

• Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) review: looking sharp
• The best folding phones you can buy
• Android’s youthful new design language just dropped
• Snapchat scraps ‘simple’ redesign as it loses users in North America
• Zuckerberg offered to buy Snapchat for $6 billion.
• Evan Spiegel explains why Snap is betting on Spectacles
• Breaking down the DOJ’s plan to end Google’s search monopoly
• Why are companies lining up to buy Chrome?

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Names are hard — but they don't have to be this hard. Nilay, David, and The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes start the show with some personal news, before digging into the monumentally silly thinking behind Warner Bros. Discovery re-re-naming its streaming service HBO Max. After that, and some more streaming news, we turn our attention to the gadget news of the week, including the long-awaited release of CarPlay Ultra and the latest announcements from the Android team at Google. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, some debate on the future of Airbnb, and a brief party speaker update. Because the mystery continues.

Further reading:

• It’s not Max, it’s HBO Max 

• Max was an all-time bad rebrand

  How HBO’s creatives survived corporate chaos

  ESPN’s standalone streaming app launches this fall for $30 a month 

  Fox One streaming service will arrive just in time for football season 

  Netflix’s ad tier is growing really fast — and that means more ads

  Netflix is bringing back Star Search as a live show

  YouTube will stream an opening week NFL game for free 

  Peacock’s NBA coverage will add an overlay with live shot stats 

  
  

• Apple’s CarPlay Ultra is finally here, if you have a new Aston Martin

  Apple’s fancy new CarPlay will only work wirelessly

  Android 16 Material Three Expressive UI coming in beta this month 

  Google’s splashy new Android UI is coming in beta this month. 

  It’s Dieter!

• Warner Bros. is launching a cinematic universe for brands

• Here's How NBCU Is Integrating Brand Sponsors for SNL50
  
• FCC threatens EchoStar licenses for spectrum that SpaceX wants to use

• Airbnb’s new app has all of your vacation extras in one place

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The Verge's Will Poor recently came home from vacation and discovered he had an insect problem. More specifically, his Sonos speaker had an insect problem. Will brings us the story of what really happened there, and what he discovered about how the animal kingdom — and the electronics world — works. After that, The Verge's Andru Marino tells us about his research on all things AI podcasts. He tells us why people are so hooked on NotebookLM's Audio Overviews, where these generated shows fall short, and what all us human podcasters could learn from the bots. Finally, The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy helps us answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) all about smart lights. Which get complicated faster than you think.

Further reading:

• Oh no, Google is turning everything into a podcast
• Google’s NotebookLM AI podcasts add ‘interactive’ mode for some Q-and-A
• Steven Johnson on Google, NotebookLM, and AI research
• A guide to getting started with smart lighting: When to use smart switches and smart bulbs
• Inovelli smart switches

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Where will Meta, Apple, and Google be three years from now? It's starting to look like they might all be very different. Nilay, David, and The Verge's Richard Lawler start the show with Eddy Cue's testimony in the Google search trial, in which Cue argued that AI is taking over — and that Google should be allowed to keep paying Apple gobs of money. The hosts also chat about the latest in the Meta trials, and how the recent Apple ruling is already changing the App Store. Then, there are some gadgets to talk about: the panopticon-slash-killer-app coming for Meta's smart glasses, the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, and a lot of new iPhones. In the lightning round, we do another round of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, then talk about some new Netflix designs and the latest in our worldwide hunt for party speakers.

Further reading:

• Eddy Cue is fighting to save Apple’s $20 billion paycheck from Google

• Apple’s Eddy Cue: ‘You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now’

• Google searches are falling in Safari for the first time ever — probably because of AI

  Google's statement about Search traffic

  Apple is looking at adding Perplexity and other AI search engines to Safari

  Amazon now has a ‘Get book’ button in its iOS Kindle app

  Epic will use an EU account to bring Fortnite back to the US App Store

  Patreon’s iOS update allows creators to bypass in-app purchases

  Apple is trying to halt the App Store ruling.

  Apple files appeal to wrest back control of its App Store

  A new bill would force Apple to allow third-party app stores
  DOJ’s proposed Google changes would ‘deeply undermine user trust,’ search chief says

  Firefox could be doomed without Google search deal, says executive

  DOJ asks court to split up Google’s ad tech empire

  Threads was originally going to live inside the Instagram app | The Verge

  Instagram doesn’t want to be a ‘lean-back experience.’ | The Verge

  ‘TikTok is probably the fiercest competition that we have faced.’ | The Verge

  Instagram has spent up to $700 million in a year to lure creators.

  Mosseri calls the first version of Reels his ‘biggest mistake.’ | The Verge

  Meta’s new AI glasses could have a ‘super-sensing’ mode with facial recognition

  Apple is planning smart glasses with and without AR

  Apple ‘iPhone Air’ rumor suggests a bigger screen coming in 2027

  Apple may stagger next year’s iPhones to make way for a foldable

  Microsoft’s smaller Surface Pro has a 12-inch display and starts at $799

  Microsoft shrinks its Surface Laptop down to 13 inches, priced at $899

  Microsoft’s new Surface devices ditch magnetic charging port for USB-C

  How Microsoft shrunk its Surface devices

  Policing News, Policing DEI: The FCC’s Shifting Priorities Erode Its Credibility

  OpenAI abandons plan to become a for-profit company

  Netflix is getting a big TV revamp

  Netflix will try a TikTok-like feed on its mobile app

  I put four robot lawnmowers through a brutal backyard battle

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The Verge’s Victoria Song joins the show to talk about a new genre of gadget, which both she and David have been testing a lot: the AI-powered, always-on voice recorder. Vee shares what she’s learned from devices like Bee, and why it’s going to be so hard for AI to figure out what really matters in our lives. After that, The Verge’s Nathan Edwards and keyboard maker Ryan Norbauer tell the story of the Seneca, a $3,600 keyboard that Norbauer built to his own incredibly exacting specifications. They tell David about what it really takes to make a great keyboard, and why making one is worth the effort. Finally, in the lightning round (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!), we answer a couple of questions about the future of Chrome.

Further reading:

• Bee review: I outsourced my memory to AI and all I got was fanfiction
• The Plaude NotePin is a great AI voice recorder, and it’s totally doomed
• Friend: a new digital companion for the AI age
• The Norbauer Seneca
• The $3,600 keyboard that’s optimized for joy.
• Why are companies lining up to buy Chrome?
• Sundar Pichai says the DOJ’s antitrust plan could kill Google Search

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Everywhere you look, antitrust fights have the potential to reshape the tech industry. Nilay, David, and The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes start by digging into the latest ruling in the Apple / Epic trial, in which a furious judge rips open the App Store in a way Apple likely never saw coming. The way we pay for apps is about to change, and fast. After that, it's time for an update on the Google and Meta trials, as Google tries to preserve its search empire and Meta tries to make the case that basically every company on the web is its vicious competitor. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for another installment of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, plus some notes on this week's Worldcoin launch and the strange new Meta AI app. Also: party speakers. Always party speakers.

Further reading:

• A judge just blew up Apple’s control of the App Store

• ‘Cook chose poorly’: how Apple blew up its control over the App Store

• The future of the App Store depends on the difference between a ‘button’ and an ‘external link’

  Apple must allow other forms of in-app purchase, rules judge in Epic v. Apple

  Apple exec ‘outright lied’ during Epic trial

  Apple confirms it will appeal the App Store order.

  Epic says Fortnite is coming back to iOS in the US

  Sundar Pichai says the DOJ’s antitrust plan could kill Google Search

  Google confirms it’s close to getting Gemini support on iPhones

• The TikTok ban is back in court — in Meta’s antitrust trial

• TikTok’s head of operations takes the stand.

• Reels isn’t Instagram’s ‘core’ experience.

• TikTok doesn’t compete with Meta for ‘personal social networking.’

• TikTok’s legal entanglements collide.

• The TikTok ban makes another cameo.

• TikTok’s friends tab is not exactly a hit.

• TikTok and Reels are ‘indistinguishable.’

• Are YouTube and Instagram the top competitors for TikTok? 

• TikTok predicted Instagram would redesign its app to focus on Reels.


Meta prepared for a ‘flood in traffic’ ahead of the TikTok ban.

• Facebook execs worried Google would buy WhatsApp and make it ‘a cross-platform iMessage.’

• Facebook worried most about Google or Apple buying WhatsApp.

• Google had a ‘long shot’ chance of becoming competitive in social with WhatsApp.

• Facebook exec worried about losing the business to mobile messaging apps.

• ‘I was really worried that this could become the end.’

• ‘This shit is getting scary.’ 

• WhatsApp showed ‘absolutely no signs of morphing’ into a social app.

• Facebook floated starting from scratch on messaging.

• Facebook didn’t know how it would make money from WhatsApp.

Facebook didn’t fear WhatsApp becoming a social competitor.

Meta releases AI app to compete with ChatGPT

Brendan Carr congratulates himself

Brendan Carr’s FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine

Brendan Carr’s Bizarro World FCC

Sam Altman-backed Worldcoin cryptocurrency launches in the US


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

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Sometimes you want more tech in your life — and sometimes you want a lot less. This episode is all about less. First, Tim Stevens joins the show to talk about his story about the Slate Truck, an ultra-minimal electric vehicle that has almost no features to speak of and yet still promises to reinvent the way we think about cars. After that, Casey Johnston tells us about her journey in managing her screen time. She has tips for how to get the most problematic apps of your phone, is a big proponent of a factory reset, and has seen first-hand what happens when you look at your devices just a little less. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether there's a MacBook Air equivalent in the Windows world. The answer surprised us, and it might surprise you too.

Further reading:

• The $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen
• Is this the antidote to America’s truck bloat problem?
• From TechCrunch: Inside the EV startup secretly backed by Jeff Bezos
• Around the Next Bend on Substack
• Slate is the American truck scene's Ctrl+Alt+Del moment
• From She's a Beast: The DIY Dumbphone Method
• Casey's book: A Physical Education
• Framework Laptop 13 (2025) review: getting better with age

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Some weeks, it just feels like everything is up in the air all at the same time. Nilay and David are joined by The Verge’s Jake Kastrenakes to talk about all the unrest, starting with the ever-changing tariff rules that are making gadgets hard to price, hard to find, and hard to bet on going forward. (Maybe that’s why it seems everyone on Earth tried to pre-order a Switch 2 this week.) After that, the hosts catch up on the Meta and Google antitrust trials happening this week, and try to figure out who might be interested in the internet’s most popular browser. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk Brendan Carr (who is a dummy), the wood-backed Motorola Razr Ultra, and the 20th anniversary of YouTube.

Further reading:

• Nintendo Switch 2 preorders were a total mess — at first
• Nintendo Switch 2 preorders are sold out everywhere
• GameStop’s Switch 2 preorders started poorly, too
• Auto industry tariffs are doing what now? 24 hours of White House confusion
• Did Tim Cook finagle a special tariff deal? Senator Warren wants to know
• The US hikes tariffs on solar products from Asia
• DHL halts international deliveries to US consumers worth over $800
• Game Boy clone maker Anbernic suspends all shipments to US
• Ayn, like Anbernic, is pausing retro handheld shipments to the US.

• Perplexity wants to buy Chrome if Google has to sell it
• OpenAI tells judge it would buy Chrome from Google 
• Former DOJ antitrust chief says a Google break up will benefit the internet
• Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom says Zuckerberg “saw us as a threat”
• Instagram launches its CapCut clone, Edits
• Threads adds more ads
• Former Google exec testifies about the company’s attempt to buy WhatsApp.
• Google’s antitrust trial begins with a fight over Chrome, money, and AI
• Google is paying Samsung an ‘enormous sum’ to preinstall Gemini
• Google reveals Gemini AI has 350 million monthly active users.
• Apple and Meta hit with the EU’s first DMA antitrust fines
• The EU isn’t happy with Apple’s tax on alternative app stores



• Brendan Carr is a dummy
• From Puck: David Ellison’s Carr Trouble
• The Trump FCC’s Coercion Cartel
• Motorola’s new Razr Ultra brings the wood back panel back
• YouTube’s TV changes include a redesign and more multiview
• YouTube is everything and everything is YouTube
• 20 years ago, the first videos uploaded to YouTube were short and swee

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

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 If you’re heading on vacation this summer, you’re going to want to listen to this. The Verge’s Gaby del Valle joins the show to explain how worried you need to be about your digital data when you cross borders, and what you can do to protect yourself. Even if you don’t think you have anything to hide, a little precaution goes a long way. After that, Puck’s Matt Belloni joins the show to explain why Apple, Amazon, Google, and other tech companies continue to pour money into the streaming business, when it seems so far removed from what those companies do well. (Spoiler alert: it’s fun to be friends with Ben Stiller.) Finally, we answer a hotline question about the Google Pixel’s ascent to “best Android phone for people who just want a phone.” 

Oh, also: thanks to everyone who voted for us in the Webby Awards! We’ll know soon whether we won, but however it shakes out, we’re so grateful to everyone who voted for us.

Further reading:

• Is it safe to travel to the United States with your phone right now?
• DHS’s airport panopticon is getting people deported and detained
• Trump says he wants to deport US citizens to El Salvador
• Matt Belloni at Puck
• The Town podcast
• From Puck: How Long Can the Apple TV+ Experiment Sputter On? - Puck
• Google Pixel 9A review: a midrange phone done right
• Google Pixel 9 review: the phone that Android needs

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

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We promise, this episode is only a little bit about header bidding. Nilay and David are joined by The Verge’s Alex Heath to talk about some big news in tech regulation: Google lost its ad-tech monopoly trial, which could reshape both Google and the internet altogether. And that’s not the only monopoly news! Meta’s trial also started this week, and Alex was there to see Mark Zuckerberg and others try to defend Instagram, WhatsApp, and the company as a whole. After all that, we talk about OpenAI’s plans to build a social network, and how this company seems to never run out of ambition. Finally, in the lightning round, it’s time for another round of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, and some news about viral cameras and the Switch 2. Which we’ll be yeeting into our homes as soon as possible

Further reading:

• Google loses ad tech monopoly case
• FTC v. Meta live: the latest from the battle over Instagram and WhatsApp
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defends Instagram purchase in antitrust trial
• Zuckerberg defends his empire during FTC antitrust trial
• Mark Zuckerberg suggested spinning off Instagram
• Mark Zuckerberg tells court that Meta made WhatsApp, Instagram better
• Mark Zuckerberg once suggested wiping all Facebook friends lists to boost usage
• Meta reportedly offered $1 billion to settle the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit.
• Zuckerberg defends his empire during FTC antitrust trial
• Google, Apple, and Snap aren’t happy about Meta’s poorly-redacted slides
• Meta’s antitrust trial slide redactions aren’t actually hiding anything

• OpenAI is building a social network
• OpenAI debuts its GPT-4.1 flagship AI model
• OpenAI might finally get better model names soon.
• OpenAI’s upgraded o3 model can use images when reasoning
• ChatGPT will now remember your old conversations
• OpenAI is reportedly considering a $3 billion deal to buy AI coding tool Windsurf.
• Netflix is testing a new OpenAI-powered search

• Brendan Carr on X
• The Media and Democracy Project on Bluesky
• Trump excludes smartphones, computers, chips from higher tariffs
• Smartphone tariffs are coming back in ‘a month or two,’ says Trump admin
• TSMC is unfazed by tariffs.
• Microsoft’s Phil Spencer: “I want to support Switch 2.”
• In pursuit of a viral, five-year-old compact camera

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

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It's time, once again, to see what's what in the streaming wars. For the third year in a row, our hosts — this time Nilay, David, and The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes — have to build a roster of streaming options that will win awards, show 4K content, satisfy their live TV needs, and much more. First, the hosts decide who won last year's competition, and then they pick their favorites for 2025.

Make sure you listen to the episode before you read this, but here are the results of the draft:

Jake's picks:

Cheap: Tubi

Awards: Netflix

4K: Hulu

Live: Instagram Live

Niche: PBS Passport

Content: LoFi Girl

Wild Card: Kanopy

Nilay's picks:

Cheap: TikTok

Awards: Max

4K: Disney Plus

Live: Sunday Ticket

Niche: Kaleidescape

Content: CNBC

Wild Card: F1 TV

David's picks

Cheap: Peacock

Awards: Amazon Prime

4K: YouTube Premium

Live: YouTube TV

Niche: BritBox

Content: Stranger Things season 5

Wild Card: Paramount Plus

We want to know who you think won the draft! Email us at vergecast@theverge.com, or call The Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, and tell us all your thoughts. And if you want to catch up, you can check out our draft from 2024 and from 2023. A lot has changed, and nothing has.

The Vergecast was nominated for a Webby, which means we can win a Webby People’s Voice Award and that’s voted online by you! So we’d love your support. You can vote at the link:https://bit.ly/3DXFgpN

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Welcome to tech in 2025, where everything's made up and the numbers don't matter. Nilay, David, and The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes start the show by running down the latest tariff news, the uncertain future facing tech companies of all sizes, and what we're learning so far about how they're responding. After that, the hosts talk about a big week in AI news, including Meta's sketchy benchmark numbers and the latest damning reporting about the future of Siri. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for America's favorite podcast within a podcast, Brendan Carr is a Dummy, along with some news about the TikTok ban and the Pixel 9A. And then some more tariff numbers, because they just never stop.

Further reading:

The Vergecast was nominated for a Webby, which means we can win a Webby People’s Voice Award and that’s voted online by you! So we’d love your support. You can vote at the link:https://bit.ly/3DXFgpN

• Sony adds three new speakers to bass-boosted ULT Power Sound lineup
• Sony seemingly bakes tariff penalty into its new US TV pricing
• Samsung’s The Frame Pro was never going to be cheap — and it isn’t
• Trump’s tariffs are officially in effect, including 104 percent on China
• China retaliates with additional 50 percent tariff on US goods
• Trump announces a ‘90-day pause’ on tariffs outside of China
• Trump believes iPhones can be made in the US, says White House
• Get your screwdrivers ready.
• Apple quickly shipped 600 tons of iPhones to ‘beat’ the new tariffs
• Trump triples tariffs on low value packages from China and Hong Kong
• Some Shein and Temu ‘haul video’ creators are stocking up
• Shein’s supply chain uncertainties.
• Amazon is already changing its ultra-cheap Temu copycat
• Framework stops selling some of its cheapest laptops due to Trump tariffs
• Framework delays Laptop 12 orders in the US over tariffs 
• Framework will open US preorders for Laptop 12 after all: tomorrow, starting at $549.
• Framework raised prices and then un-raised them an hour later because of Trump
• Price hikes, idled factories, layoffs: how car companies are responding to Trump’s tariffs
• China will show fewer US films in response to tariffs
• Trump’s new tariffs leave small creators scrambling
• Arduboy creator says his tiny Game Boy won’t survive Trump’s tariff
• Trump’s latest tariffs may set the smart home industry back
• Nintendo boss on Switch 2 and tariffs: ‘we are actively assessing what the impact may be’
• Trump’s tariffs ‘pause’ could help Nintendo ship more Switch 2s
• Musk calls Trump’s trade chief ‘dumber than a sack of bricks.’
• We just declared a trade war with the world

• Meta gets caught gaming AI benchmarks with Llama 4
• Siri in The Information
• Amazon plays catch-up with new Nova AI models to generate voices and video
• Shopify CEO says no new hires without proof AI can’t do the job 
• Most Americans don’t trust AI — or the people in charge of it
• Adobe is building AI agents for Photoshop and Premiere Pro
• Samsung is finally releasing Ballie, its rolling home robot
• Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s AI project could involve a screenless device.

• Trump Is Now Mandating His Cabinet/Loyalist Wear "Trump Golden Bust" Pins
• From Ars Technica: The speech police: Chairman Brendan Carr and the FCC’s news distortion policy
• From Variety: FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez Sounds Alarm Over Trump Administration’s ‘Absolute Pattern of Censorship and Control’
• From the FCC: Spectrum Is Back—Again!
• FCC eyes major satellite rule revamp in spectrum-sharing shakeup
• Trump delays TikTok ban again
• Trump’s TikTok delay is ‘against the law’ top Senate Intelligence Democrat says
• The US told Apple to keep TikTok in the App Store.
• Instagram might finally release an iPad app
• Google Pixel 9A review: a midrange phone done right
• Pixel 9A hits stores, and it’s still $499.

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

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Last week, The Verge's Ash Parrish got to play with the new Nintendo Switch 2. We got over our outrageous jealousy long enough to ask her all about it: what it's like to hold, how the screen looks, whether the mouse-control is any good, and much more. Ash gives us the good news, and the bad news, on everything we now know about the Switch 2. (We do talk about the price, but we recorded before the Trump administration launched its massive new tariff push — so you can consider the price even worse news than we thought.) After that, The Verge's Tom Warren joins the show to talk about Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration, how the company has stayed so resilient for so long, and whether AI is really the next five-decade project for one of the world's biggest companies. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (866-VERGE11, or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about how you should change your shopping habits in a tariff-filled world. It's hard to know where we'll be in a few months, but it sure doesn't look like gadgets are getting any cheaper.

Further reading:

The Vergecast was nominated for a Webby, which means we can win a Webby People’s Voice Award and that’s voted online by you! So we’d love your support. You can vote at the link:https://bit.ly/3DXFgpN

• Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on: it’s all in the games
• All of the Nintendo Switch 2 news, hands-ons, and trailers
• Donkey Kong Bananza was best in show at the Switch 2 hands-on
• I’m not sold on the Switch 2’s mouse-like controls
• Microsoft turns 50
• Why I’ve covered Microsoft for 25 years
• How Microsoft made it through 50 years
• Trump’s tariffs mean you’ll pay more for all gadgets
• Trump’s tariffs put the iPhone in a tough spot
• From The Wall Street Journal: Here’s the iPhone. Here’s the iPhone With Tariffs.
• New Star GP, the game
• The General Magic documentary

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It's a Nintendo Switch 2. What could it cost, a thousand dollars? In this episode, Nilay, David, and The Verge's Richard Lawler talk through why we don't really know. But first, we talk about the Switch 2, and some of the reasons we're excited — and maybe just a little concerned — about Nintendo's new console. This is likely to be the most interesting device of the year, and we learned an awful lot more about it this week. We also talk about Microsoft's 50th anniversary, the fate of TikTok, and other gadget news. Then we get to tariffs, with the help of Tuneshine creator Tobias Butler, who explains how tariffs affect the way hardware companies do business — and how they're navigating the current uncertainty. After that, in the lightning round, it's time for a little Brendan Carr is a Dummy, followed by the latest on Tesla's sales numbers, Alexa Plus, and Coyote vs. Acme.

Further reading:

 The Vergecast was nominated for a Webby, which means we can win a Webby People’s Voice Award and that’s voted online by you! So we’d love your support. You can vote at the link:https://bit.ly/3DXFgpN

• The 50 best things Microsoft has ever made
• The Nintendo Switch 2 arrives on June 5th for $449.99
• Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on: it’s all in the games
• Nvidia confirms the Nintendo Switch 2 has DLSS and real-time ray tracing
• Nintendo Switch 2 specs: 1080p 120Hz display, 4K dock, mouse mode, and more
• The Nintendo Switch 2 has a camera accessory for video chat
• Nintendo’s Switch 2 ‘C’ button is a Discord-like GameChat feature 
• Verge staffers react to the Nintendo Switch 2
• Here’s everything Nintendo has revealed about the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons
• Nintendo’s Switch 2 preorder process has strict requirements to thwart scalpers
• ‘TikTok America,’ Amazon, and other rumors about who might buy TikTok
• From The New York Times: Trump Set to Meet With Top Aides to Decide TikTok’s Fate
• From Wired: The Founder of OnlyFans Wants to Buy TikTok

• Tuneshine – Your space, your music
• Donald Trump announces tariffs that could raise the price of almost everything you buy
• Reciprocal Tariff Calculations | United States Trade Representative
• Trump’s new tariff math looks a lot like ChatGPT’s
• These are the tariffs about to hit Apple.
• Chris Murphy’s Bluesky thread
• Trump’s tariffs are ‘a debacle of epic proportions’ for the auto industry

• T-Mobile closes Lumos deal after dropping DEI | The Verge
• E&C Democrats Launch Investigation into FCC Chairman Carr’s Repeated Attacks on the First Amendment
• Sony’s new Bravia lineup includes its ‘King of TV’ successor
• Tesla’s sales plummet 13 percent as Musk backlash grows
• Best printer 2025: just buy a Brother laser printer, the winner is clear, middle finger in the air
• Alexa Plus just launched in early access, but it’s missing some features
• Coyote vs. Acme is finally coming to theaters

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David has a Light Phone III, and it's making him wonder a lot of things about technology. So The Verge's Allison Johnson joins the show to talk about the whole trend of minimalist smartphones, and to figure out which features a smartphone absolutely needs, and which ones we could all probably do without. After that, The Verge's Andy Hawkins takes us through a big weekend in the Tesla Takedown movement, what's happening with Elon Musk's car company, how automakers are responding to impending tariffs, and whether we're wrong to be excited about the new Nissan Leaf. Finally, The Verge's Jen Tuohy answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11, or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about all-seeing cameras in our homes. Which mostly don't exist yet. Mostly.

Further reading:

• Light Phone III review: everything in moderation
• There’s no perfect minimalist phone — yet
• One year with the Light Phone 2
• We went to 10 anti-Tesla protests — and a couple counter protests, too
• ‘Tesla Takedown’ protesters planning ‘biggest day of action’
• How Elon Musk turned the Tesla brand so toxic
• The Nissan Leaf lives on as a compact SUV with a Tesla charge port
• Ring’s latest security camera is a drone that flies around inside your house
• Project Astra is the future of AI at Google
• Alexa Plus arrives with promise but plenty of questions

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In this episode, we do a Studio Ghibli-like rendition of The Vergecast. First, Nilay and David discuss some big news in the gadget world, from the mysteriously viral midrange Canon camera to the upgrades we're expecting out of Apple in the next few months. Plus, is it over for Amazon's Echo brand? After all that, The Verge's Kylie Robison joins the show to discuss everything happening at OpenAI: the company launched a new image generator inside of ChatGPT, and it immediately became both a huge hit and a big mess. (Par for the course with OpenAI, really.) Kylie also explains why Perplexity is probably not buying TikTok, no matter how much it might want to. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for everyone's favorite segment, Brendan Carr Is a Dummy, followed by the latest on the Signal attack-planning chaos in the government, some news about Elon Musk pressuring Reddit CEO Steve Huffmann, and what's next for the car industry with huge tariffs looming. Oh, and a little bit of exciting e-bike news

Further reading:

• From Meta: Bringing the Magic of Friends Back to Facebook
• Apple’s AirPods Max with USB-C will soon support lossless audio
• The Apple Watch may get cameras and Apple Intelligence
• Apple’s WWDC 2025 event starts June 9th
• Don’t expect an overhauled Messages app in iOS 19.
• Amazon tests renaming Echo smart speakers and smart displays to just ‘Alexa’ 

• OpenAI reshuffles leadership as Sam Altman pivots to technical focus
• OpenAI upgrades image generation and rolls it out in ChatGPT and Sora
• ChatGPT’s new image generator is delayed for free users
• ChatGPT is turning everything into Studio Ghibli art 
• OpenAI says ‘our GPUs are melting’ as it limits ChatGPT image generation requests
• OpenAI expects to earn $12.7 billion in revenue this year.
• Nvidia Infinite Creative
• Microsoft adds ‘deep reasoning’ Copilot AI for research and data analysis
• Google says its new ‘reasoning’ Gemini AI models are the best ones yet
• Google is rolling out Gemini’s real-time AI video features
• Perplexity’s bid for TikTok continues

• Trump's FCC says it will start investigating Disney, too
• From Status: Sounding the Carr Alarm
• Trump officials leaked a military strike in a Signal group chat
• The Atlantic releases strike group chat messages
• And the Most Tortured Signal-Gate Backronym Award goes to… | The Verge
• Elon Musk pressured Reddit’s CEO on content moderation | The Verge
• Trump’s plans to save TikTok may fail to keep it online, Democrats warn
• Rivian spins out secret e-bike lab into a new company called Also
• BYD beats Tesla.
• Trump says he will impose a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles

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

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Some products are so successful they become snynonymous with their whole category — nobody asks for a facial tissue, they ask for a Kleenex, you know? Today's episode is, at least in part, about two of those products. First, The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins the show to chart the rise and fall of the Roomba, the robot vacuum that practically invented the category and yet seems to have been left behind. Can iRobot get its robot back on its feet? After that, Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn discusses the state of e-readers, what it's like to always be "the best non-Amazon option," and what we all want from devices that aren't our smartphone. Finally, The Verge's Chris Welch helps us answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11, or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about which TV you should buy in 2025. It's a complicated question, but there are answers.

Further reading:

• From CNN: The secret military technology inside the household vacuum robot
• iRobot announces eight new robot vacuums
• iRobot tells investors its future is in doubt
• Will iRobot’s reinvention of the Roomba be at the expense of its history of innovation?
• Amazon wants to map your home, so it bought iRobot
• The death of the Amazon deal could mean goodbye iRobot
• iRobot’s founder is working on a new kind of home robot
• Michael Tamblyn's website
• Kobo announces its first color e-readers
• The best ereader to buy right now

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

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Starlink is in the White House, Siri is still bad, Pebble is back, up is down, everything is chaos. In this episode, Nilay and David start the show by running through some big gadget news, from a Siri-related shakeup at Apple to the new Google Pixel 9A. After that, The Verge's Lauren Feiner talks us through some of the latest in tech regulation: Trump's illegal firings at the FTC, the confusing state of the TikTok ban, OpenAI and Google arguing their case for free-for-all AI, and more. Finally, in the lightning round, Nilay and David talk about the latest Tesla recall, the hugely popular book about Meta, some exciting ActivityPub news, and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos gently zinging Apple TV Plus.

Further reading:

• From Bloomberg: Apple Shuffles AI Executive Ranks in Bid to Turn Around Siri
• The first new Pebble smartwatches are coming later this year
• Europe is trying to get non-Apple smartwatches to work better with iPhones
• Google’s Pixel 9A gets a bigger screen and beefier water resistance
• Google briefly delays Pixel 9A release to investigate ‘component quality issue’ 
• Huawei’s new flip phone is weirdly wide
• Nvidia says ‘the age of generalist robotics is here’
• Nvidia’s cute ‘Digits’ AI desktop is coming this summer with a new name and a big brother
• Nvidia announces Blackwell Ultra GB300 and Vera Rubin, its next AI ‘superchips’

• Musk’s Starlink gets deployed at the White House
• Federal rural broadband program loses head
• Oracle is reportedly in the lead to save TikTok from US ban
• A”high-level” deal to save TikTok can probably happen by the April 5th deadline, Vance says.
• Democratic FTC commissioners say they were ‘illegally fired’ by Trump
• Fired FTC commissioner warns of the ‘corrupting influence of billionaires’
• Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will resign this spring
• WBEZ, 12 other public media stations under investigation 
• CTIA Announces Ajit Pai as New CEO and President
• OpenAI and Google ask the government to let them train AI on content they don’t own
• Hundreds of celebrities warn against letting OpenAI and Google ‘freely exploit’ Hollywood
• Google Search charged with breaking EU antitrust rules
• DHS’s airport panopticon is getting people deported and detained
• Space science is under threat from the anti-DEI purge
• DOGE stranded USAID workers with laptops full of sensitive data
• They’re removing webpages about Black soldiers by adding ‘DEI’ to the URL.
• ‘Tesla Takedown’ protesters planning ‘biggest day of action’



• Tesla recalls more than 46,000 Cybertrucks after trim starts falling off
• From NYMag: Elon Musk Has Become Too Toxic for YouTube
• ‘Careless People’ debuts at the top of the NYT best sellers list.
• Threads finally lets you set the following feed as default
• Ghost connects its newsletters to the open web
• Netflix’s CEO talks Apple TV, Amazon, and the NFL

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

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Handheld gaming looks like the future — so why isn't it more popular? The Verge's Sean Hollister joins the show to talk about some new data about the handheld console market, what it says about the Steam Deck's dominance, whether the Switch 2 might change everything all over again, and why Sony and Microsoft don't appear to be in the game at all. After that, David reports on his trip to Florida to see TGL, the golf league aiming to bring the sport to new places and new fans, with the help of a truly enormous amount of technology. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about iPads — and more specifically, one particularly good reason to upgrade to the Air or the Pro.

Further reading:

• Three years later, the Steam Deck has dominated handheld PC gaming shipments
• Steam Deck OLED review: better, not faster
• Lenovo Legion Go S review: feels good, plays bad
• Asus ROG Ally X review: the best Windows gaming handheld by a mile
• MSI Claw review: an embarrassment
• A night at TGL, the would-be future of golf
• From ESPN: Inside the making of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL
• From Wired: Robotic Putting Greens. Mixed Reality. Loud Spectators. This Is Golf?!
• Apple iPad Air 2025 review: what the M3 upgrade really gets you

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

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Big tech companies are forever making promises about the future. And you might (or might not) be surprised how often they don't come true. On this episode, Nilay and David start by discussing the good and bad of Apple's new iPads and Macs, before diving into the supposedly AI-powered, all-powerful Siri that is delayed indefinitely. Maybe this whole "AI will fix everything" plan wasn't such a good one. After that, The Verge's Andy Hawkins joins to discuss what's going on with Tesla: why sales are down, how the perception of the company has shifted as Elon Musk's job description has changed, and how it happened that President Trump did a Tesla sales pitch on the White House lawn. Everything's computer, you know? Finally, in the lighting round, the hosts discuss Brendan Carr's ongoing shenanigans, Jay Graber's sartorial burns, the future of Pokemon Go, and much more.

Further reading:

• Apple is reportedly planning a design overhaul for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS
• Apple’s plans for a smart display suffer a Siri-related setback
• Apple adds Siri disclaimer to iPhone 16 pages.
• Apple pulled its iPhone 16 ad showing off the good Siri.
• ‘HomePad’ delayed to post-WWDC to ensure iOS 19 design consistency
• All this bad AI is wrecking a whole generation of gadgets
• Apple MacBook Air M4 review: a little more for a little less
• Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) first look: a weekend with an $8,000 powerhouse
• Apple iPad Air 2025 review: what the M3 upgrade really gets you
• Is Tesla cooked?
• Trump says he’ll label attacks on Tesla locations as domestic terrorism
• The Tesla protests are getting bigger — and rowdier
• Trump hosts a Tesla ad at the White House.
• Everything's computer
• Tesla protests continue to escalate.
• Sonos has canceled its streaming video player
• Home Assistant makes it official.
• FCC chair asks if YouTube TV ‘discriminates against faith-based programming’
• Brendan Carr on X:
• FCC chairman asks the public to list every regulation he should remove
• A Trump official has been moonlighting as a fashion influencer
• Pokémon Go developer Niantic to sell gaming business to Saudi group
• TikTok’s mood music will tell teens to ‘wind down’ after 10PM
• Bluesky CEO Jay Graber has a message for Zuck.

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In this episode, what's old is new again, and what's new is... AI again. The Verge's Allison Johnson and Dominic Preston join David to discuss their experience at Mobile World Congress 2025, where they saw the latest devices from Xiaomi, Samsung, Realme, and others — and found themselves confronted with some big, surprising new ideas about how our smartphones should look and work. After that, Kevin Rose and Justin Mezzell talk about the process of bringing Digg back, and how AI can improve the way social networks operate. Digg got a lot of things right two decades ago, and plans to do it all over again now. Finally, we answer a question about printers from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!), with some help from Framework CEO Nirav Patel.

Further reading:

• MWC 2025 was all about the odds and ends
• What if your phone’s camera was much, much bigger?
• You spin me right round, baby, right round.
• Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: ugly phone, beautiful camera
• Digg Reboot
• How Digg helped invent the social internet
• Digg is coming back, with founder Kevin Rose and Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian

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Apple's new gadgets this week were pretty minor updates, so of course we talk about them for a long time. Nilay and David are joined by The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes, and the three hosts discuss the latest iPad, iPad Air, MacBook Air, and Mac Studio. All three have... a lot of thoughts. After that, they run through some more tech news, including the Digg reboot, the end of Skype, VW's cheap new EV, and more. Finally, in the lightning round, they talk about the latest from DOGE and the Trump administration, Brendan Carr's latest assaults on free speech, and a smartphone that is mostly (but not entirely) a camera.

Further reading:

• Apple iPad Air 2025: launch, price, and specs
• Apple refreshes the iPad but doesn’t add Apple Intelligence
• Apple announces MacBook Air with M4 chip and a price cut
• Our first look at Apple’s sky blue MacBook Air
• Apple launches new Mac Studios with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips
• Behold the maxed out Mac Studio.
• Digg is coming back, with founder Kevin Rose and Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian
• Discord is reportedly exploring an IPO.
• Nothing’s Phone 3A and 3A Pro use AI to organize all your stuff
• The Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 is an affordable EV for the masses
• Volkswagen’s cheapest EV ever is the first to use Rivian software
• Microsoft is shutting down Skype in favor of Teams
• The Verge remembers Skype
• Big Tech is now slightly less silent on Trump’s tariffs
• Trump imposes tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China
• Car prices expected to increase by as much as $12,000 thanks to Trump’s tariffs
• Best Buy and Target CEOs say prices are about to go up because of tariffs
• What’s an import?
• Trump to Cabinet: Musk has no authority to fire workers
• FAA staff reportedly ordered to find funding for deal with Musk’s Starlink 
• Trump’s USCIS wants to review all prospective citizens’ social media accounts
• Senate votes to strip the CFPB of its power to regulate X
• MWC: FCC chair says U.S. will defend interests of its tech giants
• FCC’s Carr defends broadcast probes, slams social media ‘threat’
• A camera for your cameraphone: Sony Cyber-shot QX10 and QX100 review
• Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a small update with a big periscope lens



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On this episode, we're diving deep into new ideas about old things. First, Framework CEO Nirav Patel joins David and The Verge's Sean Hollister to talk about Framework's new Laptop 12 and Desktop, plus the company's plan to bring its upgradeable, repairable ethos to other gadgets. After that, Daring Fireball's John Gruber joins the show to talk about the future of James Bond, now that Amazon has complete creative control over the 007 franchise. Do we want to live in the James Bond Cinematic Universe? Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about using smart glasses to replace your computer monitor.

Further reading:

• Framework wants to fix the budget laptop with its first touchscreen machine
• Mint and pink: a closer look at the backflipping Framework Laptop 12
• Framework’s first tiny Desktop beautifully straddles the line between cute and badass
• Framework Desktop hands-on: a possible new direction for gaming desktops
• ‘We’re nowhere near done with Framework Laptop 16’ says Framework CEO
• Amazon now has creative control over the James Bond franchise
• Amazon buys MGM for $8.45 billion
• From David Smith: The Talk Show Bond Anthology
• From Daring Fireball: Amazon MGM Studios Takes Creative Control Over James Bond Franchise
• Xreal’s new glasses are a surprisingly good TV for your face
• The smart glasses era is here — I got a first look

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AI will fix everything, right? In this episode, friend of The Verge (and Waveform co-host) David Imel joins Nilay and David to talk all about Alexa Plus, and the AI-powered voice assistant Amazon thinks can do everything from turn on your lights to order your friend an Uber. The hosts also talk about the other gadgets of the week, from the wild new Sigma BF camera to the boring iPhone 16E. Finally, in the lightning round, they talk about TikTok becoming YouTube and YouTube becoming TikTok and Instagram becoming YouTube and TikTok, plus the latest in Brendan Carr being a dummy and what's coming next from Automattic, DOGE, and everything.

Further reading:

• Amazon Alexa Plus Event 2025: live updates and product announcements
• Amazon announces AI upgrade for Alexa
• Amazon’s Alexa Plus’ AI upgrades cost $19.99, but it’s free with Prime 
• Amazon is launching Alexa.com and new app for Alexa Plus 
• Alexa engagement continues to grow.
• Alexa Plus leaves behind Amazon’s earliest Echo devices
• Sigma’s BF is a minimalist full-frame camera with no memory card slot
• iPhone 16E review: Eh, it’s alright
• Framework’s first tiny Desktop beautifully straddles the line between cute and badass
• More than 1 billion people are now watching podcasts on YouTube every month
• Instagram’s Reels may get its own app
• From TechCrunch: In challenge to YouTube, TikTok revamps its desktop platform
• Someone flooded HUD HQ TVs with an AI-generated video of Trump and Musk.
• Bluesky banned this video
• Elon Musk claims federal employees have 48 hours to explain recent work or resign
• DOGE asks federal workers to justify their recent work or resign.
• Donald Trump and Elon Musk threaten to ‘semi-fire’ workers who don’t answer email
• Amy Gleason officially named as DOGE administrator
• Apple responds to tariff threat with a $500 billion US investment plan
• Trump shed some light on his meeting with Tim Cook.
• Starlink poised to take over $2.4 billion contract to overhaul air traffic control communication
• FCC to brief lawmakers on George Soros investigation in closed-door meeting
• FCC Chairman Brendan Carr Probes iHeartMedia Over How it Pays Musicians
• FCC Chair Brendan Carr taking first steps in eroding key legal protection enjoyed by Big Tech
• Automattic combines its Beeper and Texts.com messaging services

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Robotaxis: in. EVs: Out? The Verge's Andy Hawkins joins the show to talk about the goings-on in the transportation industry, including the reasons car makers are slowing down on EV production (but not giving up entirely) and why suddenly everyone's back in on robotaxis. Then, The Social Web Foundation's Evan Prodromou tells us what's new with the fediverse. We talk about Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, and the increasingly ambitious plans for the ActivityPub protocol. Finally, we talk through some feedback on last week's episode about the pricing of the iPhone 16E, and how the way you buy your phone changes the way you feel about its price.

Further reading:

• EV truck maker Nikola goes bust
• Senate Republicans introduce bills to make EVs more expensive
• Volkswagen claims it’s actually making that $20,000 EV and will show it next month
• Ford lost $5 billion on EVs in 2024, teases new models
• Lyft eyes robotaxi launch in 2026
• Uber to Austin: get ready for Waymo
• The fediverse, explained: Mastodon, Threads, and the open future of social networking
• Flipboard’s Surf app is a feed reader for the fediverse
• Tumblr’s fediverse integration might finally happen soon.
• The Social Web Foundation
• Apple launches the iPhone 16E

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Lots of gadget news this week! David, Jake Kastrenakes, and Allison Johnson start by talking about the iPhone 16E, which is both the cheapest compelling iPhone in a long time and a deeply odd addition to Apple's phone lineup. They also discuss the end of the Humane AI Pin, the latest from the Rabbit R1, and whether AI gadgets are even going to be a thing. After that, it's time for the lightning round: David and Jake talk about Amazon Chime, Mira Murati's new startup, and the future of James Bond. Then, in a special DOGE lightning round, Lauren Feiner joins the show to discuss everything happening with Trump, Musk, DOGE, and the US government. Because there's a lot of it.

Further reading:

• Apple launches the iPhone 16E
• 8 important things to know about the iPhone 16E
• The iPhone is done with home buttons — here’s why I’ll miss it
• Verge staffers react to the iPhone 16E: what we love and don’t love
• Apple no longer sells new iPhones with Lightning ports
• How the new iPhone 16E compares to the rest of Apple’s iPhone 16 lineup
• Apple’s first in-house iPhone modem is the C1
• Oppo Find N5 review: the final evolution of foldables
• The world’s thinnest foldable phone doesn’t come cheap
• Humane is shutting down the AI Pin and selling its remnants to HP
• The Humane AI Pin never had a chance
• Rabbit shows off the AI agent it should have launched with
• Amazon’s revamped Alexa might launch over a month after its announcement event
• Microsoft announces quantum computing breakthrough with Majorana 1 chip
• A death knell for Chime
• Mira Murati launches rival to OpenAI called Thinking Machines Lab
• The New York Times adopts AI tools in the newsroom
• Amazon now has creative control over the James Bond franchise
• Spotify’s HiFi streaming could finally arrive this year
• Treasury inspector general will investigate DOGE payments access | The Verge
• Trump threatens 25 percent ‘and higher’ tariff on chips.
• Acer is the first to raise laptop prices because of Trump
• Trump issues an executive order claiming more oversight of independent agencies like the FTC and FCC.
• Trump administration cancels approval for NYC congestion pricing.
• DOGE’s alleged cost-cutting achievements included a few extra zeroes.
• A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA’s air traffic control system
• Trump admin pulls hundreds of videos from CFPB’s YouTube channel
• DOGE can keep accessing government data for now, judge rules

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This episode is all about companies in flux. First, we chat with The Verge's Alex Heath about all things Meta — whether the company is still serious about the metaverse, why its AI plans seem to be going so well, what "OG Facebook" really means, and what headsets to expect this year. After that, The Verge's Chris Welch takes us through the last year at Sonos, from the disastrous app launch to the pretty good headphones that were totally derailed by the disastrous app launch. Can the company get it together in order to launch its next big swing, a set-top box codenamed Pinewood? Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline all about business cards. Because, yes, it's 2025, but sometimes you still need a place to put a business card.

Further reading:

• Mark Zuckerberg tells Meta employees to ‘buckle up’ in internal meeting
• Meta says this is the make or break year for the metaverse
• Meta’s Ray-Bans smart glasses sold more than 1 million units last year
• Meta’s AR / VR hardware roadmap through 2027
• Meta CTO says the company is working to ‘catch’ leakers
• Zuck wants to bring the “OG Facebook” back.
• The Sonos app fiasco: how a great audio brand nearly ruined its reputation
• Sonos CEO Patrick Spence steps down after disastrous app launch
• Sonos’ interim CEO hits all the right notes in first letter to employees
• Sonos Arc Ultra review: don’t call it a comeback (yet)
• Sonos Ace review: was it worth it? | The Verge
• After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box
• Adobe Scan

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On today's episode, once again, it's OpenAI and DOGE. And some other things! Nilay and David start the show by talking about Elon Musk's surprise bid to buy the nonprofit arm of OpenAI, along with the company's plans for new models and new rules for those models. After that, The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins to catch us up on what's happening with DOGE, how Musk and co. are making boring government information into something deeply fascinating and deeply confusing, and what it's like to work for the government now. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about rumors of a new Apple Studio Display and iPhone SE, the new Powerbeats 2 Pro, Brendan Carr still being a dummy, and some surprising streaming moves from Apple and YouTube.

Further reading:

• Elon Musk just offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion
• OpenAI apparently hasn’t actually received Elon Musk’s acquisition offer. 
• Altman feels bad for Elon 
• OpenAI lays out plans for GPT-5
• OpenAI is reportedly getting closer to launching its in-house chip
• OpenAI is rethinking how AI models handle controversial topics
• Scarlett Johansson calls for anti deepfake laws after AI video goes viral
• Thomson Reuters wins an early court battle over AI, copyright, and fair use
• AI chatbots are distorting news stories, BBC finds
• Waste.gov locks down after people discover it’s a WordPress template
• https://doge.gov/ exists
• Federal workers say they increasingly distrust platforms like Facebook
• The Trump administration restores federal webpages after court order
• Trump administration illegally allowed DOGE to access workers’ data, lawsuit alleges
• State Dept.’s plan to buy $400 million worth of armored Teslas hastily changed to ‘armored EVs’
• Constitutional crisis intensifies.
• Google Maps now shows the ‘Gulf of America’
• Apple Maps now shows the Gulf of America
• Bing jumps on the Gulf of America bandwagon.
• Trump wants news outlets to get on board with “Gulf of America” — or else. Will they?
• Apple’s next Studio Display could get a much-needed Mini LED upgrade
• Tim Cook teases a new Apple launch next week, and it’s probably the iPhone SE
• FCC to investigate Comcast for having DEI programs
• The FCC is a weapon in Trump’s war on free speech
• Trump’s MAGA Media Enforcer Is Having ‘the Time of His Life’
• FCC chairman Brendan Carr has vowed to target all of Donald Trump's enemies.
• Jeep’s Wrangler-like Recon EV is ready to launch this year
• Jeep warranty ads in the infotainment
• Apple TV Plus is finally coming to Android
• YouTube is now even bigger on TVs than phones
• Powerbeats Pro 2 review: the workout buds to beat
• Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus review: incredibly iterative

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AI and politics, politics and AI. That's the story of 2025. On this episode, The Verge's Kylie Robison joins the show to talk about ChatGPT's big new features, Operator and deep research, both of which promise to make the chatbot more useful and more autonomous. To access either one costs $200 a month — is it worth it? After that, The Verge's Liz Lopatto catches us up on the latest from Elon Musk and Doge, including why Musk is doing this thing, this way. Liz also makes the case that this isn't going to slow down anytime soon. Finally, Nilay Patel helps us answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline, and tells us how he felt about the Super Bowl's 4K stream.

Further reading:

• OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent can do things on the web for you
• ChatGPT’s agent can now do deep research for you
• I tested ChatGPT’s deep research with the most misunderstood law on the internet
• Elon Musk’s rapid unscheduled disassembly of the US government
• DOGE wreaked havoc on the government in just one week
• Federal judge blocks DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury records
• How Elon Musk’s Department of Energy access could pose a nuclear threat
• What we know about President Elon’s government takeover

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Nilay, David, and Richard Lawler take on a big week in confusing news stories. First, they talk through the latest from Elon Musk's DOGE, which is running rampant through government computer systems with little pushback. Then they explain the latest on the US government's tariff strategy, and the mass confusion it's causing across tech. Then they pivot away from politics and talk about streaming: the Super Bowl coming to Tubi, the deeply confusing forthcoming Fox streaming service, whatever Comcast is doing this year, and more. Finally, in the lightning round, they talk about Sonos's streaming box, Brendan Carr's latest assaults on free speech, OpenAI's "new" logo, and more.

Further reading:

• DC is just waking up to Elon Musk’s takeover
• Elon Musk is staging a takeover of the federal budget
• Workers are reeling from chaos at federal agencies
• Can anyone stop President Musk?
• “For all practical purposes, I’d call that a coup.”
• Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China
• Canada will retaliate against Trump with tariffs on US goods
• Trump agrees to a one-month pause on Mexico, Canada tariffs
• Qwertykeys halts keyboard shipments to US over tariff costs and confusion
• Shein and Temu depend on a 100-year-old tariff loophole that Trump wants to close
• Your packages are about to get slower and more expensive
• USPS backtracks, will accept parcels from China after all
• China tariffs may already be hiking up import fees
• China opens Google antitrust probe in retaliation to tariffs
• Fox plans to launch a streaming service by the end of 2025
• Super Bowl LIX will stream for free on Tubi
• Comcast is adding Dolby Atmos to its ‘4K’ Super Bowl broadcast this year
• Warner Bros. is streaming full movies for free on YouTube
• Disney teases ESPN’s expansive sports streaming future
• Disney’s streaming business posts another profit.
• CBS is preparing to give Harris interview materials to the FCC.
• FCC launches probe into Soros-backed radio station that revealed live locations of undercover ICE agents
• After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box
• Sonos lays off 200 employees as its struggles continue
• Google has ‘very good ideas’ for native ads in Gemini
• ChatGPT’s agent can now do deep research for you
• Here’s OpenAI’s new logo
• Chairs Are Like Facebook

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Today on the show, it’s all about the future of phones… and your data. The Verge’s Allison Johnson joins the show to talk about the new Samsung Galaxy S25, what’s new in this high-end phone, and what it means for all the other smartphones coming this year. After that, Cooper Quintin, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, talks us through how to think about the privacy implications of RedNote, TikTok, DeepSeek, and all the other tech that puts us in contact with China. Finally, we enlist The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy to help us answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline all about the Meta Portal. Remember the Meta Portal?? If you’re missing yours, we have some ideas.

Further reading:

• The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t so ‘ultra’ anymore
• Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus hands-on: more of the same
• Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus vs. S25 Ultra: specs comparison
• Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days
• TikTok’s service providers still risk billions in penalties for bringing it back online
• TikTok is still on shaky ground in the US
• Chinese social media app RedNote tops App Store chart ahead of TikTok ban
• As Americans flock to RedNote, privacy advocates warn about surveillance
• Will RedNote get banned in the US?
• RedNote: what it’s like using the Chinese app TikTokers are flocking to
• Why everyone is freaking out about DeepSeek
• DeepSeek’s top-ranked AI app is restricting sign-ups due to ‘malicious attacks’
• US Navy jumps the DeepSeek ship.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Facebook’s new Portal Go is great for video calls, but not much else

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Nilay and David dig into the week's biggest story: the new Intel-powered Surface Pro. Kidding! They talk about DeepSeek, the out-of-nowhere AI company that sent both Silicon Valley and the stock market into uproar this week. Then, after the hosts debate what the real killer app for AI is — and whether we've even found one yet — we follow up on our question from last week about how people are actually using AI. We got so many good answers, and we talk through what to make of them all. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about Brendan Carr being a dummy, the return of the Pebble, the continued rise of Bluesky and Threads, and Meta's $25 million check to Trump.

Further reading:

• Why everyone is freaking out about DeepSeek
• DeepSeek says its newest AI model, Janus-Pro can outperform Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 3.
• Microsoft makes DeepSeek’s R1 model available on Azure AI and GitHub
• OpenAI has evidence that its models helped train China’s DeepSeek
• China’s DeepSeek AI is hitting Nvidia where it hurts
• DeepSeek’s AI app is restricting sign-ups due to ‘malicious attacks’ 
• US Navy jumps the DeepSeek ship.
• DeepSeek wakes up Trump.
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on DeepSeek R1: “an impressive model.”
• Mark Zuckerberg tells Meta investors to not worry about DeepSeek
• The Pebble smartwatch is making a comeback, with some help from Google 
• Oracle and Microsoft are reportedly in talks to take over TikTok
• FCC chair says landlords can force bulk internet service on residents
• From NYT: F.C.C. Chair Orders Investigation Into NPR and PBS Sponsorships
• Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle Trump account suspension suit
• Zuckerberg wants to Make Facebook Great Again
• Zuck wants to bring the “OG Facebook” back.

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The Verge’s Victoria Song joins the show to talk about the most popular and most-bailed-on New Year’s Resolution of all: getting in shape. She tells us about the apps that help you work out more without being rude about it, the data you really need to care about in your fitness tracker, and much more. After that, we talk to Anna Valtonen, one of the curators and researchers behind the new Nokia Design Archive. She tells us about the concepts, presentations, and overall culture that made Nokia such an important company in the history of phones. Finally, we answer another question on the Vergecast Hotline about how audio works on your phone. It’s all still too complicated.

Further reading:

• Ladder
• Fantasy Hike
• Stompers
• Runkeeper
• 5K Runner
• Our interview with Adrian Hon about Zombies, Run
• The Nokia Design Archive
• Nokia’s “Morph” concept
• The Nokia Communicator
• The Nokia Moonraker smartwatch
• From Apple: Share audio with AirPods and Beats headphones from iPhone or iPad
• Also from Apple: Play audio through multiple devices at once in Audio MIDI Setup on Mac
• From Samsung: Play music on two Bluetooth devices from your Galaxy phone

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Nilay, David, and The Verge's Allison Johnson run down all the biggest news from the latest Samsung Unpacked. The S25 Edge had everyone excited, but the other new Galaxy S25 models feel a little familiar. Then, The Verge's Lauren Feiner updates us on the many goings-on in the first days of the new Trump administration, from the TikTok ban delay to the executive orders on citizenship and AI. Finally, in the lightning round, David and Nilay talk about Netflix's price increase, smart-home standards, and more.

Further reading:

• This is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
• Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus hands-on: more of the same
• Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus vs. S25 Ultra: specs comparison
• Here’s what Samsung’s first Android XR headset looks like in person
• Samsung and Google are developing AR glasses together
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra stylus: back to boring basics
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on: smoothing out sharp edges
• Samsung claims its new Galaxy S25 Ultra glass can survive head-high drops on concrete
• Google Gemini now works across multiple apps in a single prompt
• The Stargate Project is a $500 million AI data center plan for OpenAI
• The United States Digital Service is now DOGE — here’s what it was responsible for. 
• Vivek Ramaswamy steps down from DOGE
• Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days
• Trump says he’s open to Musk or Ellison buying TikTok
• TikTok’s service providers still risk billions in penalties for bringing it back online
• Bluesky and X launch new video feeds amid TikTok uncertainties
• Instagram announces a blatant CapCut clone
• Apple says it’s following the law by removing TikTok from the App Store
• Sen. Tom Cotton warns TikTok’s service providers of “ruinous liability” for hosting the app.
• Two lawmakers introduce a bill to repeal the TikTok ban.
• Trump is absolutely going to make ByteDance sell TikTok or shut down again.
• Netflix is raising prices again
• YouTube Premium gets more experimental features that can now be tested all at once
• Here’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update
• Samsung is bringing ambient sensing to SmartThings

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First in this episode, a quick update on the TikTok ban (which didn't turn out to be much of a ban at all.) Then, Sportico's Jacob Feldman joins the show to talk about Venu, the much-hyped streaming service that planned to bring all sports into a single platform — and never even managed to launch. After that, The Verge's Kevin Nguyen tells us how to read more books this year, and how to turn all your aimless scrolling time into more productive reading time. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about audio sources on your phone, and why you can't listen to a thousand things at once.

Further reading:

• TikTok ban: all the news on the app’s shutdown and return in the US
• TikTok is back, but where are Marvel Snap, CapCut, and Lemon8?
• Trump touts his plan to save TikTok during his victory rally
• TikTok isn’t back in the App Store yet
• Bluesky and X launch new video feeds amid TikTok uncertainties
• The new ‘Hulu for Sports’ streaming service has a name: Venu Sports
• Venu Sports shuts down before it ever launches
• From Sportico: YouTube TV vs. Fubo Sports Bundle Could Be Next Streaming Fight
• The Boox Palma is an amazing gadget I didn’t even know I wanted
• From GQ: How to Read a Whole Damn Book Every Week

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David Pierce and Richard Lawler are joined by The Verge's Ash Parrish and Andrew Webster to talk about the Nintendo Switch 2 launch — all the things we know, and all the things we don't. (There's a lot of both.) Then The Verge's Adi Robertson joins to talk about the latest machinations in the potential TikTok ban, plus a Supreme Court hearing about adult content that might just be about the future of the internet. Finally, in the lightning round, David and Richard talk about Patrick Spence leaving Sonos, the Blue Origin launch, Drake's latest beef with Kendrick Lamar, and more.

Further reading:

• Nintendo Switch 2 announcement: all the news on the next console
• The Nintendo Switch 2 has officially been announced
• Everything we know about the Switch 2’s Joy-Con controllers
• You’ll be able to try out the Switch 2 starting in April
• Nintendo announces Switch 2 Direct for April
• The Nintendo Switch 2 supports original Switch cartridges
• Nintendo teases a new Mario Kart for the Switch 2
• The Switch 2 is boring — and that’s exactly what Nintendo needs
• The Switch 2’s bigger screen is just what I wanted
• TikTok reportedly plans ‘immediate’ Sunday shutdown in the US if it’s banned
• TikTok ban: Sen. Markey tries to give a 270 day extension
• TikTok says it’s planning for ‘various scenarios’ ahead of possible US ban
• Elon Musk is reportedly trying to save TikTok 
• Donald Trump is reportedly considering an executive order to delay the TikTok ban.
• Duolingo is the real winner in the TikTok ban.
• RedNote: what it’s like using the Chinese app TikTokers are flocking to
• What is RedNote? The Chinese app gaining popularity as TikTok ban approaches 
• The Supreme Court could decide the fate of Pornhub — and the rest of the internet 
• Sonos CEO Patrick Spence steps down after disastrous app launch
• Sonos’ interim CEO hits all the right notes in first letter to employees 
• Sonos’ chief product officer is leaving the company
• The iPhone Air could be coming later this year
• Bezos’ Blue Origin successfully launches SpaceX rival
• Super Bowl LIX will stream for free on Tubi
• Drake sues his label, UMG, saying ‘Not Like Us’ is defamatory
• Drake axes ‘Not Like Us’ diss track petition against UMG and Spotify
• FTC sues John Deere for ‘unfairly’ raising repair costs on farm equipment

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

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In five days, TikTok as we know it could be finished in the US. The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins the show to discuss last week's Supreme Court arguments over the ban, why things don't look good for TikTok, and what's likely to happen in the next five days. After that, Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor talks about the state of the gadget inventor, and what it means to be part of the creator economy in 2025. Finally, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline about magic-link logins, and why passwords remain such a disaster.

Further reading:

• TikTok’s last stand: Supreme Court weighs ban as deadline looms
• TikTok still seems headed for a ban after its Supreme Court arguments
• What it will take for TikTok to survive in the US
• Kickstarter is adding the ability to collect money indefinitely
• Kickstarter’s CEO on why he doesn’t think the company will only do crowdfunding forever
• Passkeys might really kill passwords

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

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In this special live episode of The Vergecast, from the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, it's time to talk CES. Nilay and David run through some of the show's biggest stories, plus the Meta news that dominated the conversations all week in Vegas. Then Allison Johnson, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and Victoria Song join the show to talk about all the newest, best, weirdest, and worst gadgets they've seen this year. AI is everywhere, everyone's making smart glasses, the smart home might be turning a corner, and we've seen it all this week.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the live show! And if you couldn't make it, stay tuned — this won't be the last time we all get to hang out.

Further reading:

• Zuckerberg, inspired by Musk, ditches fact checking for Community Notes
• Zuckerberg says he’s moving Meta moderators to Texas because California seems too ‘biased’
• Meta’s fact-checking changes are just what Trump’s FCC head asked for
• Meta is leaving its users to wade through hate and disinformation
• Here are some of the horrible things that you can now say on Instagram and Facebook
• Samsung announces The Frame Pro: could this be the perfect TV? 
• LG’s 2025 OLED TVs are its best yet — but they risk going overboard with AI
• LG’s StanbyME sequel adds a carrying strap to the portable TV 
• Dell kills the XPS brand: Dell, Pro, Max / Premium, Plus, Base
• Afeela has a price: 89,000, 102,000
• TCL NxtPaper max ink mode 
• Roborock debuts a robot vacuum with a robotic arm at CES
• This toaster-looking gadget boosts your phone’s battery in seconds
• A SodaStream for your Hydro Flask!
• Aqara launches three touchscreen smart home control panels at CES 2025
• The Schlage Sense Pro smart lock is one of the first with hands-free unlocking using UWB
• Bird Buddy’s new camera tracks plants and insects in your garden
• Mirumi is a furry little companion bot that imitates a shy infant

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

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