The Vergecast

It's Election Day in the United States, and data centers have become a core issue in some of the country's most important midterm races. The Verge's Adi Robertson explains why people are uniting against data centers, why they've become a proxy for all kinds of other fights, and how this year's results might change the AI industry going forward.

Further reading:

• Apple is all in on AI — its own and everyone else’s | The Verge

• OpenAI is quietly renaming data centers ‘compute campuses’ | The Verge

• GTA VI’s download will need up to 212GB of hard drive space | The Verge

• Midterm elections 2026: all the news

• The Verge's investigative series: The Center Will Not Hold

• The 2026 iPad Mini is a terrific tiny tablet — for a big price

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Streaming all your video games seems like such a good, simple idea. All your games, everywhere, on any screen you like — it's the dream! The Verge's Sean Hollister explains how the tech works now (which might be better than you think), why it'll take a huge amount of work to make it even a little bit better, and why games like Grand Theft Auto VI probably can't just live in the cloud.

Further reading:

• SpaceX could buy Boost Mobile as part of its big mobile carrier plans | The Verge

• Anthropic’s updated S-1 has even more eye-popping numbers. | The Verge

• More European supermarkets are getting their freezers hacked | The Verge

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay is going to buy the new touchscreen MacBook. But not for the touchscreen. He and David talk through Apple's new laptop, and what it means for Apple's other devices, including the tablet that used to be the future of everything. Then the hosts talk about Instagram's push into long-form video and its battle with AI content. Finally, it's time for Brendan Carr, Anthropic's S-1, robot vacuums, and the rest of the lightning round.

Further reading:

• Apple finally combined a toaster and a refrigerator

• Hands-on with the new OLED iPad Mini

• Instagram doesn’t have a plan to pay long-form video creators

• Adam Mosseri says negativity around AI is ‘going to get worse’

• Invasion of the Sexy A.I. Joke Thieves

• Brendan Carr plans to let prisons jam cellphone signals

• Five weird details from Anthropic’s IPO filing

• Microsoft is ending Copilot support on smart TVs

• Google says its investments in AI are driving more searches

• Palmer Luckey’s Anduril is getting into laptops — and claims they’ll be American-made

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

0:00 ProLED Cold Open

01:04 Touchscreen Mac Arrives

02:39 Why Apple Did Touch

05:27 App Store Pressure

07:54 Touch Is Just Enough

09:49 Influencer Event Demos

13:56 iPad Squeezed Middle

18:34 Luxury Hardware Bet

22:37 Duo Reality Check

28:18 Instagram Going Through It

29:07 AI Agents vs Ads

32:18 Zuck Escapes iPhone

32:41 Instagram Becomes TV

33:23 Slop Meme Deepfakes

36:09 Mosseri AI Crisis

42:58 Longform Video Push

44:34 Creators Demand Revshare

48:19 Loop Closing Arms Race

49:34 Reddit Versus Google Zero

53:22 AI Kills The Web

01:00:20 Brendan Carr is a Dummy

01:02:22 Spectrum Auction Plan

01:03:35 NOAA Weather Spectrum Fight

01:04:29 700 MHz Auction History

01:05:38 FCC Spectrum Power Grab

01:06:09 Privatizing Weather Data

01:09:27 Anthropic S1 Reality Check

01:12:34 AI Products Beat Models

01:16:55 Claude Goes Sentient

01:17:55 Copilot Leaves Smart TVs

01:21:16 Quiet Robot Vacuum Thoughts

01:25:03 Palmer Luckey Laptop Fight

01:30:10 X Replies and Racism

01:32:32 Wrap Up and Next Week

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve Jobs once said touchscreen laptops were a terrible idea. Now Apple is shipping one. The Verge's Antonio Di Benedetto tells us all about the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR, how MacOS is changing for touch, why a laptop user might want a touchscreen, and whether MacBook and iPad are destined to become one.

Further reading:

• Hands-on with Apple’s touchscreen MacBook Pro
• Apple finally combined a toaster and a refrigerator
• DoorDash is acquiring Instacart for $17 billion
• Google says its investments in AI are driving more searches
• Samsung’s expecting the RAM shortage to last until at least 2028.

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon's product launch spree continues, this time with a bunch of new Alexa-powered Echo devices. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy explains what the new Echo Show 16 finally got right, why a digital photo frame could be Amazon's next big Alexa hit, and whether this new way of thinking about smart home gadgets might help Amazon defeat the HomeView and win a space in your kitchen.

Further reading:

• Apple announces its first touchscreen MacBook Pro

• Amazon’s new Echo line is here: the 6 biggest updates

• Here’s Virgin Galactic’s new Apeiron spaceship

• Amazon’s new Echo line is here: the 6 biggest updates

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin Roose's new book, The AGI Chronicles, tells the story of the AI revolution. He joins the show to explain its earliest beginnings: the researchers who discovered what language models could do, the people who debated whether humans or computers should are more special, and the executives who started the companies that currently rule our economy. What do they want, and what are they building?

Further reading:

• Kevin Roose is AGI-pilled. Why aren’t you?
• Machine Gods
• The AGI Chronicles
• Apple refreshes the iMac with M6 chips
• Apple updates the MacBook Pro with M6 chips
• Palmer Luckey’s Anduril is getting into laptops — and claims they’ll be American-made
• OpenAI announces three big science discoveries and a new way to work with academics
• Data center backlash is uniting America

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We talk a lot about where the computer is, and where your stuff is. Paul Ford, a co-founder of Aboard and longtime tech blogger, recently built a tool called TinyLittleOffice that puts all the stuff in an unexpected place: the URL. Paul joins the show to explain how the web and the cloud have become powerful development tools, what it means to store a document in its domain, and why tiny, disposable software could make a comeback in the age of AI.

Further reading:

• A YouTuber dissected an iPhone Duo and thinks he found the cause of crackgate

• Anthropic’s IPO filing lays out a plan to ‘revolutionize every area of human endeavor’ with AI

• Apple updates the iPad Mini with a larger OLED display

• Tiny Little Office

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We gave the iPhone Duo a 7 /10. But that wasn’t always the score we planned, and it might not be the right score forever. Such are the challenges of reviewing — and assessing — a big, new idea about the most popular smartphone in history.

On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay debate whether the Duo deserved the score it got, and try to work through how this device might change over time.

After that, the hosts talk about the huge PHP cybersecurity flaw that rocked the web this week, the ongoing increase in AI shopping, an impending reboot inside of Netflix, and some very confusing Gemini news. Also, Brendan Carr is a Dummy.

Further reading:

• The iPhone Duo is a messy, expensive, good time

• All the news about the iPhone Duo

• Daring Fireball: The iPhone Duo

• PHP: The three little letters wreaking havoc across the web

• AI agents are ready to shop. Some retailers are wary

• Walmart is inviting AI agents to shop for you

• 10 million people have already set up Muse agents.

• Netflix is telling investors not to worry, even though you’re watching less and less

• Google’s more personalized Gemini AI is heading to your car

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

0:00 No Sevens Pact

01:03 Show Agenda Setup

01:46 Duo Score Debate

03:08 App Optimization Phases

07:47 Two Thousand Dollar Problem

10:44 iPad Not iPhone

14:41 Outer Screen Compromises

18:04 Developer Badges Future

20:34 Early Adopter Reality

30:19 Handoff eSIM Limitations

34:49 PHP Shell Chaos

36:17 PHP Under the Hood

37:46 AI Finds the Exploit

40:46 Disclosure Panic Fallout

42:44 Patch Now or Go Dark

45:58 Autonomous Defense Arms Race

48:42 Agents Break the Web

53:04 Muse Adoption Shopping Stats

54:11 Bots Buying Movie Tickets

01:01:05 Instagram Deepfake Crisis

01:07:30 Brendan Carr is a Dummy

01:10:06 FCC Threatens Poll Coverage

01:17:44 FCC Free Speech Alarm

01:20:20 The Lightning Round

01:20:49 Arc Browser Shutdown

01:23:12 AI Browsers Future

01:27:14 Meta Terms Backlash

01:34:04 Netflix Identity Crisis

01:43:16 Gemini Confusion Car

01:49:12 Wrap Up And Awards

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tesla recently showed off a new version of its Roadster. Well, a new version of its old version of the Roadster, anyway. But this one flies! The Verge's Andy Hawkins joins the show to explain the last decade of the Roadster saga, make sense of the flying and kickflipping new vehicle, and cast out into the future of Tesla's cars for humans. If there even is one.

Further reading:

• The incredible flying Tesla Roadster is just for show
• The Tesla Roadster flew, drove upside down, and hit 60mph in under a second
• Trump says Sundar Pichai talked him out of renaming the Atlantic Ocean
• 1Password lets AI agents use your passwords without seeing them
• The world’s first triple 200-megapixel cameraphone is great

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

iPhone Duo reviews are out today and... it's complicated. David Pierce, Nilay Patel and senior smart phone reviewer Allison Johnson talk through The Verge's review and answer your questions LIVE.

Further reading:

• The iPhone Duo is a messy, expensive, good time
• iPhone Duo review: messy, expensive fun

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the last several months, the AI industry has set its sights on some of the problems that have stymied mathematicians for years. In some cases, AI models have made huge progress — though exactly how much isn't always obvious. The Verge's Robert Hart explains what OpenAI and others have actually accomplished, the disastrously bad ways the companies have interacted with researchers, and whether there's a future left for human mathematics.

Further reading:

• ⁠Spotify pulls 50 million AI slop and spam tracks from its recommendations⁠
• ⁠Adobe Lightroom mobile can now open closed eyes in photos with a simple tap⁠
• ⁠Wii Sports is back on the Switch 2, and it rules⁠
• ⁠All the drama around AI’s takeover of mathematics | The Verge⁠
• ⁠OpenAI keeps bulldozing mathematicians | The Verge⁠⁠
• ⁠OpenAI just wants to win | The Verge⁠⁠
• ⁠The AI takeover of mathematics has begun | The Verge⁠⁠
• ⁠‘Pure insanity’: Mathematicians will need years to make sense of OpenAI’s latest drop | The Verge⁠⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Creator life involves using a lot of software. Bad software. Stephen Robles is one of the creators who decided to build something better, for himself and for his community. He tells David how he thinks about his responsibility as a developer, how he makes apps, and how AI is changing the way he builds things for his audience.

Further reading:

• Apple teases MacBook Pro event next week
• You Can See Everything has the biggest opening weekend for a doc in 20 years
• TikTok says ban of Musk documentary account was ‘an error’
• Video game ownership bill introduced in Congress

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well, it's been a couple of days, and David and Nilay have some more information — and a bunch of new questions — about the Apple HomeView. They also talk about the latest Gemini model, and whether building the best model matters if you can't build the best products around them. They then debate the merits of returning to X, why none of the supposed Twitter replacements worked, the latest in Brendan Carr nonsense, and more.

Further reading:

• HomeView doesn’t natively support any video apps yet — not even Apple’s

• Apple’s new Find My-compatible remote will also work with your old Apple TV

• The AI race is back on

• Google finally releases Gemini 4 Argon

• Google brings its AI coding platform to its Gemini app on Mac.

• Google makes it easier to launch your vibe-coded apps

• OpenAI employee arrested for allegedly planting a bug in a conference room

• OpenAI claims an ex-employee took its product plans and presented them to Apple

• Now that Character.AI is going bankrupt, what happens to all of its users’ data?

• Daring Fireball: X Once Again Marks the Spot

• Platformer: Does intelligence need a hard cap?

• SpaceX announces plan to become a ‘major mobile carrier’

• JPMorgan Chase is keeping AI agents out.

• Xbox is officially embracing the chaos of AI-powered game ports

• Global smartphone sales just hit a 14-year low.

• Silicon Valley is falling in line with Trump’s attempt to rename AI

• The US government launched a “Super Intelligence” website.

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

0:00 CarPlay Banter
01:36 HomeView App Confusion
03:40 CarPlay as Home OS
08:31 Apple Hardware Software Bet
13:28 Should It Just Be an iPad?
14:31 Gemini 4 Returns
16:18 Meta Muse Strategy
19:54 Google Product Dilemma
26:28 OpenAI Bugging Scandal
29:49 Character AI Bankruptcy
32:31 Bankrupt Data Goldmine
33:00 Privacy After Shutdown
36:55 Why People Return to X
39:35 Threads Fumbled It
40:49 X Owns AI Talk
49:17 Who Should Use X
49:57 Reporters And Sources
53:00 Video Platforms Win
54:44 Gruber Gets It Wrong
01:01:29 Brendan Carr is a Dummy
01:02:40 Execution Livestream Fallout
01:07:21 Sprint Merger Fallout
01:08:48 Dish Spectrum to SpaceX
01:09:44 Can Starlink Compete
01:11:30 SpaceX Phone Rumors
01:13:55 Smartphone Sales Slump
01:18:37 Agents vs Websites
01:24:21 Why UI Still Matters
01:26:43 Super Intelligence Rebrand
01:30:37 AI Game Decompiling
01:36:35 Wrap Up and Plugs

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta just shipped a pair of smart glasses with no camera — a change that both David and The Verge's Victoria Song are excited about. But these glasses, like the new product from Amazon Bee and seemingly everything else now, are still ready and willing to record the world around you at all times. What do we do in a world where everything, everywhere, might be recording? And can tech companies figure out a way to make us feel better about it?

You have until Thursday to vote for us in the Signal Awards!

• Vote Decoder: Best Business Podcast
• Vote Vergecast: Best Technology Podcast
• Vote Version History: Best History Podcast

Further reading:

• Prep your cart before iPhone Duo preorders open tomorrow
• OpenAI agrees not to use trade secrets it allegedly took from Apple
• Your secrets aren’t safe with this cute robot toy — they’re on Chinese servers ready to be hacked
• I don’t miss the camera on the Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses
• Amazon’s always-listening Bee wearable can now help you buy stuff
• We can’t just change the definition of ‘recording’

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A man named Mike Smith was recently sentenced to 18 months in prison, and a fine in excess of $8 million, for creating an AI system that faked billions of streams and earned him millions in royalties. Wired's Kate Knibbs explains how Smith pulled it off, how he got caught, and what this case means for the internet's growing slop problems.

Vote for us in the Signal Awards!

• ⁠Vote Vergecast: Best Technology Podcast⁠
• ⁠Vote Version History: Best History Podcast⁠
• ⁠Vote Decoder: Best Business Podcast⁠

Further reading:

• ⁠Apple’s HomeView ad is confusing to everyone except parents | The Verge⁠

• ⁠Ocarina of Time’s Switch 2 remake feels modern — and terrifying | The Verge⁠

• ⁠We might not have to wait 13 years for the next GTA | The Verge⁠

• ⁠Epic is bringing Fortnite to Linux | The Verge⁠

• ⁠JPMorgan Chase is keeping AI agents out. | The Verge⁠

• ⁠Wired: Spotify Confirms Streaming Fraud After Kalshi Trader Cries Foul⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple just announced its long-rumored HomeView smart home hub. But that's not all... there are cameras, thermostats and a door lock co-developed with LG and Schneider Electric, refreshed HomePod Minis, even a new Apple TV 4K. The Verge's senior smart home reviewer Jennifer Pattinson Tuohy joined Nilay Patel and David Pierce LIVE to discuss and take your questions about Apple's massive play to take over your house.

You have until Thursday to vote for us in the Signal Awards!

• Vote Decoder: Best Business Podcast
• Vote Vergecast: Best Technology Podcast
• Vote Version History: Best History Podcast

Further reading:

• Apple launches HomeView, its first smart display for the home
• The new Apple Home Collection includes a video doorbell, smart lock, and more
• Apple announces the HomePod Mini 2, but it isn’t ready for Siri AI at launch
• The new Apple TV 4K has built-in microphones so you can talk to Siri AI

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's gadget season. More specifically, it's apparently "new computer for your new AI" season. David and Nilay talk through a slew of announcements — Amazon's Alexa Tablets, Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra, the new Googlebooks, and Apple's upcoming smart home launch — to figure out if anyone has the right idea about the future of computing, and where the AI is supposed to live. After that, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, our thoughts on the Paramount / Warner / Skydance merger, and much more.

Please vote for The Verge's podcasts in the Signal listener's choice awards!

• Vote Vergecast: Best Technology Podcast
• Vote Version History: Best History Podcast
• Vote Decoder: Best Business Podcast

We’re also on video! Check us out on YouTube.

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Read more about the topics discussed in today's 1 hour, 41 minute podcast:

• ⁠Amazon’s Alexa Tablets are powerful, impressive, and designed to take on iPad ⁠
• ⁠Hands-on with Amazon’s Alexa Tablet 12 Pro and its wild new matte display ⁠
• ⁠Amazon is phasing out Fire Tablets because they weren’t ‘giving customers what they were asking for⁠’
• ⁠Amazon’s new Kids Tablets let parents manage access to the Google Play store
• ⁠Apple announces surprise ‘Welcome home’ launch event⁠
• ⁠Apple and LG team up on new smart home gear, starting with a lock, doorbell, and thermostat⁠
• ⁠New leaks provide our first look at Apple and LG’s smart home devices
• ⁠Everything announced at Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra event ⁠
• ⁠The Surface Laptop Ultra finally has a release date — and a starting price of $2,599⁠
• ⁠Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra has built-in magnetic USB-C charging ⁠
• ⁠How Microsoft built its MacBook Pro competitor ⁠
• ⁠Surface RTX Spark Dev Box is available for preorder for $5,999 ⁠
• ⁠The first Nvidia RTX Spark laptops cost up to $7,000 ⁠
• ⁠Microsoft is giving Copilot more control over Windows and your files
• Our first five impressions of Googlebooks — exciting but underbaked
• Android’s physical navigation buttons are back on Googlebooks, but not the way you think
• Google admits not every Android app runs great on Intel Googlebooks
• Politico: ‘Head on a guillotine’: ABC says Trump’s threats are already swaying coverage
• ChatGPT’s ‘Intelligent UI’ update fills its responses with pictures, charts, and buttons
• Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery complete $110 billion media megamerger
• HBO Max and Paramount Plus will merge into a single streamer under Skydance
• CNN’s boss will remain as Paramount and WBD merge into Skydance
• Skydance is merging Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s games teams.
• Sam Altman says ‘some bad things’ will happen, but AI is totally worth it

0:00 Cold Open 00:37 David’s back! 01:10 Parenting Chaos Update 02:49 Gadget News Rundown 03:47 New Amazon Alexa Tablets 05:15 Panos Strategy Shift 06:31 Play Store Bet 11:17 Default Android Tablet 13:18 Ads and Pricing Fears 15:30 Amazon Great Products 21:20 Matte Display Debate 25:01 Apple Smart Home Tease 26:12 Siri AI Reality Check 29:08 Smart Home Too Complex 33:37 Candy Crush Question 34:56 iPad Multiuser Problem 39:04 Microsoft AI Surface Push 40:35 Local AI Computing Shift 47:22 Magnetic USB C Charging 48:37 Google Book Laptop Confusion 54:20 AI Agents Need A Surface 58:50 Skepticism About Agents 01:07:46 Brendan Carr is a Dummy 01:09:23 ABC License Chilling Effect 01:11:24 Brendan Carr Ownership Cap 01:12:30 Cable Companies Sue Back 01:14:44 SXSW Corruption Game 01:15:50 Skydance Mega Merger 01:18:04 Debt Layoffs Streamer Cuts 01:22:58 Go90 Scale Returns 01:24:02 Netflix Loses Its Edge 01:30:44 ChatGPT Interactive UI 01:37:47 Sam Altman Tradeoffs 01:44:49 Wrap Up And Plugs

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon is determined to turn Alexa Plus into a do-everything AI assistant that can compete with Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and the rest. But after a year of testing, The Verge's Jen Tuohy has mixed feelings on how it's all going. And on whether a new tablet is the right way to fix it.

Further reading:

• It appears .agent and .agi are about to be the hot new domains
• GTA VI leaks continue with a lengthy (and very nude) gameplay video
• GTA VI will have in-game podcasts and at least six radio stations
• Joe Rogan and Spotify renew massive podcast deal
• Alexa Plus is better at running my home, but it’s not ready to run my life
• Hands-on with Amazon’s Alexa Tablet 12 Pro and its wild new matte display
• Amazon is phasing out Fire Tablets because they weren’t ‘giving customers what they were asking for’

The Vergecast has been nominated for a Signal Award! You can vote to help us win here.

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bose, Sony, Beats, and seemingly every other headphone maker has recently released a new and excellent set of cans. Or buds. Or both. The Verge's John Higgins explains why the headphone market is suddenly so great, how the companies are competing now, and which new pair is the right one for you.

Vote for us in the Signal Awards!

• Vote Vergecast: Best Technology Podcast

• Vote Version History: Best History Podcast

• Vote Decoder: Best Business Podcast

Further reading:

• The Sonos Ace Ultra are the headphones Sonos should have made the first time

• Nothing’s new flagship Headphone 1 Pro put you in the studio

• The Beats 360 are what I’d bring to the gym if I hated earbuds

• The premium AirPods 5 are the best open-ear earbuds Apple has made

• Six years later, Sony revisits its legendary XM4 headphones

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The next big thing in AI, at least if you ask the tech companies, is assistant agents. David and The Verge's Allison Johnson have both been testing products like Meta's Muse, OpenAI's Dots, and startups like Instinct, in an effort to find out how much you can really get done by messaging with an AI tool – and whether the productivity is worth the tradeoffs.

Further reading:

• Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery complete $110 billion media megamerger
• Amazon reportedly pays $120 million to stream the Emmys for free
• New leaks reveal more details about the Fitbit Edge including its price
• A Trump Mobile breach may have exposed data of more than 3,600 people
• OpenAI’s Dot agent can help you work and order dinner
• Meta’s Muse AI agent is an effective helper and great at spending money

The Vergecast has been nominated for a Signal Award! You can vote to help us win here.

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to http://theverge.com/, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices