The Vergecast

The AI vibes continue to find all-time lows. David and Nilay open the show by talking through the absurd Allbirds pivot to AI, the attacks on Sam Altman, and the increasing divide between what AI companies say is inevitable and what people actually want. Then, the Hype Desk crew talks Coachella and RAMageddon, before David and Nilay catch up on the Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly suit and the increasing price of everything. In the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, satellite internet, brain-computer interfaces, and the Trump Phone. Further reading: Allbirds announced a switch from shoes to AI and its stock jumped 600 percent The Allbirds pivot to… meme stock? The attacks on Sam Altman are a warning for the AI world Sam Altman reportedly targeted in second attack Altman attack suspect proposed “Luigi’ing some tech CEOs.” Stanford’s AI study NYT: Half of Gen Z Uses AI, but Their Feelings Are Souring, Study Shows Reese Witherspoon on Threads on AI Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury finds A jury is about to decide the fate of Ticketmaster Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students YouTube Premium is getting pricier RAMageddon has come for Microsoft’s Surface Pro and Surface Laptop Meta blames RAM shortage for $100 Quest 3 price hike FCC’s Brendan Carr again blasts deals between NFL and streaming services The FCC just saved Netgear from its router ban for no obvious reason Netgear and the FCC have not responded to our emails. Did Neuralink make the wrong bet? Apple and Amazon are teaming up to challenge Starlink’s smartphone ambitions Point, Musk. Amazon’s Starlink competitor now has an airplane antenna. Amazon’s Starlink competitor Leo gets a new date The new Trump Phone design is here Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. --EPISODE RUNDOWN-- (Timestamps are approximate.) 00:00:00 Allbirds Goes AI 00:06:00 From Shoes to Tech Hype 00:09:00 Altman Attacks and Backlash 00:13:00 Why AI Feels Threatening 00:18:00 Gen Z Polls and Trust Gap 00:29:00 Reese Witherspoon AI Pushback 00:35:00 Hype Desk Returns 00:36:00 RAM Apocalypse and Wikifeet 00:39:00 Coachella Livestream Era 00:43:00 Ticketmaster Monopoly Verdict 00:47:00 MacBook Neo Spurs Microsoft 00:49:00 OpenAI Clouds and Copilot Backlash 00:51:00 Windows vs Mac Value Shift 00:54:00 The Pricing Apocalypse Hits 00:55:00 Why YouTube Premium Costs More 01:02:00 Lightning Round 01:03:00 Brendan Carr is a Dummy 01:07:00 NFL Antitrust Exemption Fight 01:15:00 Amazon Buys Globalstar 01:22:00 FCC Router Ban Chaos 01:27:00 Trump Phone Gets Realer 01:31:00 Neuralink Bet 01:32:00 Wrap Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During the height of the cryptocurrency craze a few years ago, the actor Ben McKenzie found himself wondering why no one else was seeing what he was seeing. He joins the show to explain his yearslong attempt to understand Bitcoin and the crypto world, all of which is in his new documentary Everyone Is Lying to You For Money. (You can probably guess how he feels.) After that, The Verge's Victoria Song tells us about her testing of continuous glucose monitors, which have gone from medical device to influencer trend in some worrying ways. Finally, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about why all our gadgets seem the same these days. Vote for The Vergecast in the Webby Awards! A vote for The Vergecast is a vote that Brendan Carr is a dummy, that buttons are good, and that party speakers rule the world. Voting is open until April 16. https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/shows/technology Further reading: Everyone is Lying to You for Money Low interest rates and loneliness: the origins of the pandemic crypto boom Continuous glucose monitoring made me continuously crazy Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. (Timestamps are approximate.) 00:00:00 Sprinkler Duty Intro 00:03:00 Ben McKenzie Crypto Journey 00:04:00 Is Crypto Really Money 00:09:00 El Salvador Reality Check 00:11:00 Could Crypto Ever Work 00:14:00 Crypto Culture 00:19:00 Casino Capitalism And Crime 00:23:00 Why Bitcoin Keeps Rising 00:30:00 CGMs Explained 00:32:00 FDA OTC And Wellness Boom 00:33:00 Government Push For Wearables 00:39:00 Longevity Wearables Boom 00:41:00 Why Try CGMs 00:44:00 Scary Readings Doctor Visit 00:47:00 Living in the Data 00:48:00 Apps Scores Calibration 00:51:00 Disordered Eating Spiral 00:54:00 No Consensus for Non Diabetics 00:57:00 Medication Tradeoffs 01:00:00 Wellness vs Medical Regulation 01:04:00 Using CGMs Thoughtfully 01:10:00 Vergecast hotline 01:11:00 Why Gadgets Got Bland 01:22:00 Final Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a week filled with important news about important people, David and Nilay start the show with the biggest news of all: their silly tech projects. After some updates on iMac repurposing and vibe-coded productivity tools, the hosts turn to the state of OpenAI, and the big story from The New Yorker about whether we should trust CEO Sam Altman with the future of AI. After that, it's time for the lightning round, with the latest Brendan Carr is a Dummy shenanigans, and the New York Times' latest attempt to identify Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. Is it, in fact, Adam Back? And does it even matter? Vote for The Vergecast in the Webby Awards! A vote for The Vergecast is a vote that Brendan Carr is a dummy, that buttons are good, and that party speakers rule the world. Voting is open until April 16. ⁠https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/shows/technology⁠ Further reading: ⁠First photos of solar eclipse from Artemis II crew look almost too good to be real ⁠ ⁠Artemis II astronauts break a record, name a crater ⁠ ⁠Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? | The New Yorker⁠ ⁠The vibes are off at OpenAI ⁠ ⁠Sam Altman is “unconstrained by truth.” ⁠ ⁠OpenAI’s AGI boss is taking a leave of absence ⁠ ⁠OpenAI made economic proposals — here’s what DC thinks of them⁠ ⁠CNN Defends Authenticity Of Iranian “Victory” Statement After Donald Trump Posts Irate Claim It Was A “Fraud”⁠ From The New York Times: ⁠Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto? My Quest to Unmask Bitcoin’s Creator⁠ ⁠The latest Satoshi Nakamoto unmasking. ⁠ Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cookie banners — those pop-ups that appear on practically every webpage demanding you accept their tracking systems — are one of the most consistent low-grade annoyances of life online. But Kate Klonick, a professor and writer, argues they're actually much worse than that, and the only plausible solution is to get rid of them entirely. After that, The Verge's Allison Johnson tells us about her AI-enhanced Google Maps experience, and why the new Ask Maps feature has the potential to be both incredibly cool and incredibly creepy. Then, she helps David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠!) about whether E Ink phones might solve all our problems. Vote for The Vergecast in the Webby Awards! A vote for The Vergecast is a vote that Brendan Carr is a dummy, that buttons are good, and that party speakers rule the world. Voting is open until April 16. ⁠https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/shows/technology⁠ Further reading: ⁠Ban Cookie Banners: A Case Study in Tech Regulation by Kate Klonick⁠ ⁠Kate’s website⁠ ⁠Google Maps is getting AI-powered ‘Ask Maps’ feature and more immersive navigation ⁠ ⁠I let Gemini in Google Maps plan my day and it went surprisingly well ⁠ ⁠TCL’s new Nxtpaper phones have a dedicated button for maximum monochrome ⁠ ⁠Boox Palma 2 Pro review: one step forward, one step back ⁠ Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We love a ranking here on The Vergecast, and it’s time for the hardest one yet: David and Nilay compare notes on the 50 best products Apple has ever made, and see how their answers stack up to the many, many voters on The Verge this week. Before that, though, it’s time for a bit of AI news — surprise, it’s enterprise software! — and the comeback of the Hype Desk. After all that, and after the rankings, we do a round of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, talk about the fediverse, and repurpose our old iMacs. Vote for The Vergecast in the Webby Awards! A vote for The Vergecast is a vote that Brendan Carr is a dummy, that buttons are good, and that party speakers rule the world. Voting is open until April 16. ⁠https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/shows/technology⁠ Further reading: ⁠OpenAI’s big numbers: $122 billion funding round, 900 million weekly ChatGPT users. ⁠ ⁠Why OpenAI killed Sora ⁠ ⁠I think Google is taking a couple digs at OpenAI about Sora. ⁠ ⁠Apple’s third-party Siri Extensions could lead to an AI App Store. ⁠ ⁠Microsoft’s new ‘superintelligence’ game plan is all about business⁠ ⁠OpenAI acquires TBPN | OpenAI⁠ ⁠Apple turns 50: celebrating five decades of the tech giant ⁠ ⁠Everything is iPhone now ⁠ ⁠Steve Jobs and the greatest run of products in tech history ⁠ ⁠How the invention of QuickTime changed computers forever ⁠ ⁠The triumphs and failures of Apple without Steve Jobs ⁠ ⁠The Apple product that really changed the industry: the MacBook Air ⁠ ⁠Apple at 50: a visual history ⁠ ⁠The origin story of Apple’s long-running relationship with Foxconn ⁠ ⁠Apple’s long, bitter App Store antitrust war ⁠ ⁠Snazzy Labs' iMac - Studio Display Mod Guide⁠ ⁠Flipboard Surf launches social websites combining Bluesky, Mastodon, RSS, and more⁠ ⁠These Raspberry Pi price hikes are no joke ⁠ ⁠Today is the final day to save up to $150 on a PS5 before the price goes up ⁠ ⁠Sony temporarily suspends memory card sales due to shortages ⁠ ⁠The White House has an app now, and Trump wants you to report people to ICE on it ⁠ ⁠What’s inside the White House app? ⁠ Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Apple 50 week, so we've got an Apple-filled podcast. First, longtime Apple journalist Jason Snell joins the show to talk about the state of the company as a hardware maker, a software maker, a force for good in the world, and more. Then, blogger and entrepreneur Anil Dash explains why he's worried about the rise of video podcasts, and the role Apple could play to make it better. Finally, The Verge's Allison Johnson helps answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about swapping your phone for a watch. And a tablet. And some other things. Further reading: Rank the 50 best Apple Products⁠ ⁠Apple in 2025: The Six Colors report card⁠ ⁠Apple turns 50: celebrating five decades of the tech giant⁠ ⁠Apple II Forever!⁠ “Wherever you get your podcasts” is a radical statement. Why Apple’s move to video could endanger podcasting's greatest power Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We start with some important business: Nilay has a flight to catch, and is very worried he won't catch it. Also, it's Apple's 50th anniversary next week, and we're going to spend the week debating which Apple products are the best Apple products. (Head to the ad-free Vergecast feed to hear our selection show!) But mostly, this episode is about social media. In two key trials this week, juries found social platforms liable not for the content they display but for the actual structure and features of the platform. That could change the way social media companies act, and how users fight back. After that, it's time for the silliness of the router ban, the latest in the chatbot wars, and an update on what's happening with Grammarly's Expert Voices feature. Further reading: Rank your top 50 Apple products Verge subscribers, here’s how to set up ad-free podcasts The TSA is broken — is privatization next? What is ICE actually doing at American airports? Meta misled users about its products’ safety, jury decides Meta and YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction case Social media on trial: tech giants face lawsuits over addiction, safety, and mental health What it was like to watch grieving parents stare down Mark Zuckerberg in court A bombshell child safety leak changed Meta — for the worse Internal chats show how social media companies discussed teen engagement 2026 is the year of social media’s legal reckoning The US government just banned consumer routers made outside the US The United States router ban, explained FCC green-lights Nexstar's $6.2B merger with rival TV station owner Tegna Cox Communications not liable for pirated music, Supreme Court rules Confronting the CEO of the AI company that impersonated me North Carolina man pleads guilty to AI music streaming fraud. Apple is testing a standalone app for its overhauled Siri OpenAI is planning a desktop ‘superapp’ This is Microsoft’s plan to fix Windows 11 OpenAI just gave up on Sora and its billion-dollar Disney deal The age of piracy ended with LimeWire | Version History Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David is bored with his iPhone. Over the last few months, he has been testing every other phone he could get his hands on, from the Pixel to the Razr to the Unihertz Titan. And at the end of it all... David bought another iPhone. The Verge's Allison Johnson joins the show to recount some of her own phone-testing experiences, to litigate the quality of foldable and flippable phones, to debate Android vs. iOS, and ultimately to help David decide whether he actually bought the right phone. After all that, David answers a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether AI can help us figure out how to use our devices better. Or maybe just use them for us. Devices are too complicated. Further reading: Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) review: looking sharp Google Pixel 10 review: perfectly fine Apple iPhone 17 review: the one to get The iPhone Air makes a strong statement Why flip phones should be the future of smartphones Who needs a laptop when you have a folding phone? Gemini’s task automation is here and it’s wild Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Nilay start the show by exploring the increasing disconnect between the people who make AI products, and the people who keep saying they don't want them. (Or, at least, don't want to pay for them.) The AI industry is starting to retrench to a business-first approach, because there's simply no killer app for it yet. Speaking of no killer apps! Allison Johnson then joins the show to talk about the shockingly short life of the Samsung TriFold, and her bizarre journey to try and review the now-dead foldable. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the fate of the metaverse, and some important internet debunking. Further reading: ⁠OpenAI cuts back on “side quests.” ⁠ ⁠OpenAI’s adult mode will reportedly be smutty, not pornographic ⁠ NYMag: ⁠Should You Be Able to Have Sex With ChatGPT?⁠ ⁠I think VCs are starting to panic about the lack of *broad* consumer | TikTok⁠ ⁠For the second time this week we have VCs vocalizing their frustration | TikTok⁠ ⁠Poll: Majority of voters say risks of AI outweigh the benefits⁠ ⁠How Americans View AI and Its Impact on Human Abilities, Society | Pew Research Center⁠ ⁠Samsung discontinues its Galaxy Z TriFold after just three months ⁠ ⁠Oppo’s nearly creaseless foldable isn’t launching in Europe after all ⁠ From last year: ⁠Just look at Huawei’s trifold phone⁠ ⁠This is not a fly uploaded to a computer⁠ ⁠ChatGPT did not cure a dog’s cancer⁠ ⁠Meta is actually keeping its VR metaverse running, for now⁠ ⁠Nvidia just announced DLSS 5 and Digital Foundry already has a video. ⁠ ⁠Jensen Huang, on the critical reaction to DLSS 5: “Well, first of all, they’re completely wrong.”⁠ ⁠DLSS 5 looks like a real-time generative AI filter for video games ⁠ ⁠Nvidia has lost the plot with gamers ⁠ We're hiring a new podcast producer. Come work with us! Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new era of software development is upon us. Career coders are no longer writing code, but rather managing teams of agents that do the work on their behalf. You can Claude Code your way through seemingly just about any problem. So what does that mean for the software we use, and the people who make it? Paul Ford, a writer and technologist who both writes about code and manages a team of coders, joins the show to explain his somewhat conflicted excitement about the new crop of AI tools, and his worries about what they’ll do to the world. After that, The Verge’s Dominic Preston helps answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠!) about the differences between the US phone market and the global phone market, and whether US buyers are missing anything important. Further reading: ⁠The A.I. Disruption Has Arrived, and It Sure Is Fun⁠ ⁠Claude has been having a moment — can it keep it up?⁠ ⁠How the creator of Claude Code sees the future of AI⁠ ⁠Ftrain⁠ From Bloomberg: ⁠What Is Code?⁠ ⁠Xiaomi, unlike Google and Samsung, thinks camera hardware comes first⁠ ⁠Oppo’s new foldable isn’t quite creaseless, but it’s pretty damn close⁠ ⁠Honor’s Robot Phone is a bad robot, interesting camera, maybe a friend⁠ ⁠Vivo and Oppo’s telephoto extender comes to iPhone⁠ ⁠Subscribe to The Verge⁠ for unlimited access to ⁠theverge.com⁠, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ⁠ad-free podcast feed⁠.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Both David and Nilay bought new computers this week, as the MacBook Neo turned out to be a surprisingly great cheap Apple laptop. The hosts discuss their experiences with the machines, from the processor to the keyboard to the mess that is MacOS Tahoe. After that, they talk about the future of Xbox, Project Helix, and what it might mean for every gaming PC to become an Xbox... and for the Xbox to become a gaming PC. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the latest on Paramount and Warner Bros, Grammarly's sloppelgangers, and more. Further reading: MacBook Neo review: the Mac for the masses Asus chief says Macbook Neo's affordable pricing came as a shock to the entire PC market — compares $599 notebook to a tablet and content-consumption device The MacBook Neo is surprisingly easy to disassemble and repair. From 2007: Ballmer Laughs at iPhone Apple Studio Display XDR review: a great, but expensive, pro option The iPhone 17E is good, but you probably shouldn’t buy it iPad Air review 2026: the M4 and other chip bumps make a difference Apple is going high-end with new ‘Ultra’ products next iPhone Fold rumor: iPad-like multitasking, but no iPad apps and no Face ID Microsoft’s next Xbox, Project Helix, won’t reach alpha until 2027 Microsoft’s ‘Xbox mode’ is coming to every Windows 11 PC Microsoft says you should build next-gen Xbox games by building them for PC. FCC chair blasts Amazon after it criticizes SpaceX megaconstellation Brendan Carr on X FCC chief tells CNBC WBD-Paramount merger deal is ‘cleaner’ than Netflix’s, will be approved ‘quickly’ Grammarly is using our identities without permission Grammarly is turning off the expert review AI feature that stole our identities Grammarly will keep using authors’ identities without permission unless they opt out The Live Nation settlement has industry insiders baffled Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus review: This again Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week, it appeared the US Department of Justice was off to a strong start in its antitrust case against Live Nation Ticketmaster. Then, this week, the two sides surprised everyone by settling. The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins the show to explain the stakes of the case, the facts of the settlement, and why things aren’t entirely over just yet. Then, The Verge’s Hayden Field catches us up on what’s happening between Anthropic, OpenAI, and the Department of Defense. OpenAI got the contract, but it looks like Anthropic might be the real winner here. If the company’s business can survive, that is. Finally, David answers a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether you should get a foldable phone. And why foldable phones even exist. Further reading: Live Nation settles government antitrust suit — that probably doesn’t include a breakup How Live Nation allegedly terrorized the concert industry Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away? Inside Anthropic’s existential negotiations with the Pentagon We don’t have to have unsupervised killer robots How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance Trump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AI Iran Strikes: Anthropic Claude AI Helped US Attack. But How Exactly? - Bloomberg My favorite folding phone is the one that doesn’t exist yet Google Pixel Fold review: closing the gap Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) review: looking sharp Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1997, David Hampton and Caleb Chung took one look at a Tamagotchi and decided they could bring the virtual pet craze into the real world. Their robotic companion, Furby, packed a bunch of advanced technology into a small, adorable, often annoying package. But for all the irritation it caused (Furby famously had no on-off switch) there was a surprising amount of thoughtful philosophy in its design. The Verge’s Vee Song, Sean Hollister and host David Pierce are joined by Coco the Furby to discuss the lore behind the hottest toy of 1998. ⁠Geocities chat with Furby co-inventor David Hampton⁠ If you like the show, ⁠⁠follow the Version History audio podcast feed⁠⁠ to get every new episode.Version History is also on video! Check us out on YouTube.⁠Subscribe to The Verge⁠ for unlimited access to ⁠theverge.com⁠, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ⁠ad-free podcast feed⁠.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While most phone makers work hard to ensure their products don’t start fires, Oukitel made a phone that starts fires on purpose. This week on The Vergecast, Dominic Preston joins Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel to wrap up all the weird and wonderful phones he and the team saw at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Then, Sean Hollister takes us through Google and Epic’s enemies-to-lovers saga: A secret $800 million deal, a non-disparagement agreement, and something about the metaverse for some reason. Plus: Nilay just had the best home movie experience of his life thanks to the Kaleidescape 8TB solid-state server, Dom’s charging his smart phone on a mini racecar, and Sean delivers some disappointing news about the Lego smart brick we were all rooting for. And Brendan Carr is still being a dummy. Further reading: ⁠Nothing is finally covering up with the slim, metal Phone 4A Pro⁠ ⁠Nothing couldn’t wait to show off the Phone 4A⁠ ⁠Nothing’s Headphone A are something worth considering⁠⁠ Honor’s Robot Phone is a bad robot, an interesting camera, and maybe your friend⁠ ⁠Honor claims its Robot Phone will launch later this year⁠ ⁠Honor’s Magic V6 is the first foldable with an IP69 rating⁠ ⁠Xiaomi’s Leica Leitzphone mostly earns the name⁠ ⁠Xiaomi, unlike Google and Samsung, thinks camera hardware comes first⁠ ⁠Xiaomi 17 is a small(ish) phone with a big(ish) battery⁠ ⁠Here’s the upgrade to my favorite phone camera of last year⁠ ⁠Tecno is doing a modular phone (again)⁠ ⁠Lenovo made a Framework-like laptop with modular ports — and a second screen⁠ ⁠ Google isn’t waiting for a settlement — the 30 percent Android app store fee is dead⁠ ⁠Here’s how Google describes its fee-reducing Apps Experience and Games Level Up programs⁠ ⁠Epic and Google have signed a special deal for a new class of ‘metaverse’ apps⁠ ⁠Tim Sweeney signed away his right to criticize Google until 2032⁠ ⁠Fortnite is returning to Google Play globally⁠ ⁠FCC Chair Brendan Carr is pushing for US-based call centers⁠ I’m not ashamed to admit the Kobo Remote is the best gadget I’ve bought this year⁠ Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away?⁠ I charge my phone on a racing car. Do you? ⁠ ⁠Investigating the 61-pound machine that eats plastic and spits out bricks Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple released a bunch of new iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Studio Displays this week. The Verge’s Nilay Patel and David Pierce tried them all this morning, and are back to share their thoughts live. Further reading: All the news about Apple’s MacBook Neo, iPhone 17E, and more Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most mainstream phone options are kind of the same, year in and year out — but that doesn’t mean there’s no innovation to be found. The Verge’s Allison Johnson is at Mobile World Congress, and joins the show to report on all the modular phones, robot phones, small phones, big phones, and (alas) 6G phones set to hit the market this year. After that, The Verge’s Jess Weatherbed explains the phenomenon of the gadget strap, and makes the case that they’re an increasingly useful accessory as our phones become even more important to our daily lives. (Yes, even if you have pockets.) Finally, The Verge’s Jay Peters helps David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether the metaverse, however you want to define it, is ever going to be realized. Further reading: Oh great, here comes 6G Honor claims its Robot Phone will launch later this year Lenovo made a Franken-laptop with modular ports and a second screen Vivo’s next phone will launch with a professional camera rig Tecno’s latest concept phone is lit by neon Honor’s Magic V6 is the first foldable with an IP69 rating The Motorola Razr Fold is shaping up to be pure flagship Xiaomi’s super-slim power bank costs extra in orange. Honor’s thinnest tablet doesn’t come cheap. Peak Design has wearable gadget straps for people who hate bags Apple’s misunderstood crossbody iPhone strap might be the best I’ve seen Meta confirms Reality Labs layoffs and shifts to invest more in wearables Meta’s VR metaverse is ditching VR Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samsung just launched its newest phones, the Galaxy S26 lineup, and wow is it full of Vergecast stories. There’s the very cool new Privacy Display, which seems genuinely useful; there’s the AI-powered camera, which seems like a disaster waiting to happen; and there’s the new agentic AI in Android, which Google and Samsung might be positioned to actually pull off. After talking through all the new stuff, Nilay and David discuss the recent executive shakeup at Xbox, and try to figure out why Microsoft just can’t win in games. Finally, in the lightning round, it’s time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, some truly remarkable charts, and much more. Further reading: ⁠Samsung Unpacked 2026: live updates from the Galaxy S26 ⁠⁠announcement event ⁠ ⁠Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus hands-on: More of the same ⁠ ⁠Samsung AI photos⁠ ⁠Google Gemini can book an Uber or order food for you with new agentic AI features ⁠⁠Google and Samsung just launched the AI features Apple couldn’t with Siri⁠ ⁠I’m super impressed with the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s new Privacy Display ⁠ ⁠Samsung announces Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro at Unpacked 2026⁠ ⁠Xbox shakeup: Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are leaving Microsoft ⁠ ⁠Xbox chief Phil Spencer is leaving Microsoft ⁠ ⁠Read Xbox chief Phil Spencer’s memo about leaving Microsoft ⁠ ⁠Sarah Bond is leaving Xbox ⁠ ⁠Read Xbox president Sarah Bond’s memo about leaving Microsoft. ⁠ ⁠Inside Microsoft’s big Xbox leadership shake-up ⁠ ⁠Read Microsoft gaming CEO Asha Sharma’s first memo on the future of Xbox ⁠ ⁠New Microsoft gaming CEO Asha Sharma says “hear you” to complaints about a lack of Xbox exclusives.⁠ ⁠New Xbox CEO: ‘The plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan.’ ⁠ ⁠Microsoft says today’s Xbox shake-up doesn’t mean game studio layoffs ⁠ ⁠Billions of dollars later and still nobody knows what an Xbox is ⁠ ⁠Chairman Carr Announces Pledge America Campaign⁠ ⁠Does Anthropic think Claude is alive? Define ‘alive’⁠ ⁠Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas AI Scenarios chart⁠ ⁠Youtube Chair Drama⁠ ⁠OpenAI’s Stargate struggles. ⁠ ⁠OpenAI’s first ChatGPT gadget could be a smart speaker with a camera ⁠ ⁠Subscribe to The Verge⁠ for unlimited access to ⁠theverge.com⁠, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ⁠ad-free podcast feed⁠.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Few AI products have found the kind of product-market fit we’ve seen from Claude Code. On the eve of the product’s first anniversary, Anthropic’s Boris Cherny explains why Claude Code is so powerful, all the work left to do, and why he no longer writes any code himself. After that, The Verge’s Hayden Field joins the show to talk about how we should think about giving our data (and our computers) to AI, even when it seems useful. Finally, The Verge’s Allison Johnson helps David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (866-VERGE11) about whether you should go buy a phone, like, right now. Further reading: Claude Code is suddenly everywhere inside Microsoft Claude has been having a moment — can it keep it up? The AI security nightmare is here and it looks suspiciously like lobster OpenClaw’s AI ‘skill’ extensions are a security nightmare Humans are infiltrating the social network for AI bots Anthropic connects Claude to Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive MCP extension unites Claude with apps like Slack, Canva, and Figma The RAM shortage is coming for everything you care about Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once again, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and his bad ideas about free speech have rankled a late night host. And once again, Nilay and David talk through what the equal-time rule actually means, why organizations keep caving, and why it's apparently up to people like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel to fight back. After that, the hosts discuss the facial recognition feature Meta hopes to launch for its smart glasses, plus the gadgets we're likely to see Apple launch in the couple of weeks. In the lightning round, we get some bleak news on Tesla's self-driving skills, a robovac security disaster, and the future of Warner Bros. Further reading: Why CBS Didn't Broadcast Stephen Colbert's Interview With James Talarico Stephen Colbert says CBS banned him from airing this James Talarico interview Why Everyone's Talking About Stephen Colbert, CBS, The FCC And James Talarico Meta reportedly wants to add face recognition to smart glasses while privacy advocates are distracted From the NYT: Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses Apple’s doing something on March 4th Apple is reportedly planning to launch AI-powered glasses, a pendant, and AirPods Apple starts testing end-to-end encrypted RCS messages on iPhone Apple’s Podcasts app will let you ‘seamlessly’ switch between audio and video shows Looks like we can expect more AI from the Galaxy S26 camera. | The Verge Google announces dates for I/O 2026 Western Digital says it’s “pretty much soldout” for 2026. Valve’s Steam Deck OLED will be ‘intermittently’ out of stock because of the RAM crisis Switch 2 pricing and next PlayStation release could be impacted by memory shortage Tesla’s robotaxis have crashed 14 times in 9 months. Tesla won’t use the term ‘Autopilot’ in California anymore Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs? 4chan’s creator says ‘Epstein had nothing to do’ with creating infamous far-right board /pol/ DJI’s first robovac is an autonomous cleaning drone you can’t trust The DJI Romo robovac had security so poor, this man remotely accessed thousands of them DJI says yes, it will fix its other Romo robovac security hole within weeks Samsung ad confirms rumors of a useful S26 ‘privacy display’ Warner Bros. Discovery gives Paramount one week to present its ‘best and final’ offer WordPress’ new AI assistant will let users edit their sites with prompts Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Allison Johnson has recently been doing the unthinkable: she's been leaving her laptop at home. Allison joins the show to explain how she turned her Samsung foldable into a useful computer, and why it feels so good to do so. Then, Sportico's Jacob Feldman joins the show to talk about the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the overall state of sports streaming in 2026. (Unfortunately, it's all still very complicated.) Finally, David answers a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether flip phones might have a future in an AI world. Further reading: YouTube TV reveals pricing for its sports, news, and entertainment packages From Sportico: 2026 Sports Tech: Amazon vs. Youtube vs. ESPN vs. Netflix vs. Tiktok Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: stunning, bendy, and spendy Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) review: looking sharp Logitech’s Keys-To-Go 2 Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices