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The Verge

The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel and David Pierce hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And every Tuesday, David leads a selection of The Verge’s expert staffers in an exploration of how gadgets and software affect our lives – and which ones you should bring into yours.

The Vergecast

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

Further reading:

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

 Valve enters the console wars 

 Valve just built the Xbox that Microsoft is dreaming of 

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

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

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

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

 How the Steam Frame compares to other VR headsets 

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

 Valve is welcoming Android games into Steam 

 Valve has stopped manufacturing its Index VR headset

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

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

 I Tried the First Humanoid Home Robot. It Got Weird

 
Know Your Meme 

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

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

 The Problem with this Humanoid Robot

 Samsung brings a generative AI-powered Bixby to its TVs 

 Gemini for TV is coming to Google TV Streamer starting today 

 
Google says its confusing Gemini Home rollout is going just great 

 
Google Photos lets iPhone users edit images by describing changes 

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

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

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

 Apple made a $230 crossbody… sock 

 
Steve Jobs introduces iPod socks in 2004 

 Mini apps

 Apple will take a mini commission from mini app developers

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

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

Valve made Microsoft's dream console

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

 Kitchen:

 Fridge - Bosch ⁠100 Series⁠

 ⁠I found the first Matter smart fridge⁠

 
⁠Samsung⁠ 

 Bosh ⁠Home Connect app⁠

 ⁠Echo Show 8/11⁠

 ⁠Echo Show 15⁠

 ⁠Echo Dot Max⁠

 ⁠Thermomix⁠

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

 ⁠GE Profile Nugget Ice maker⁠

 ⁠Typhur Dome 2 air fryer⁠

 ⁠Instant Pot Pro⁠

 ⁠Bosch 800 Series Coffee Machine⁠

 Living Room

 ⁠FireTV Omni⁠

 ⁠FireTV Stick with voice remote⁠

 ⁠Inovelli smart switches⁠

 ⁠Philips Hue essentials bulbs⁠

 ⁠Philips Hue lights get bigger, brighter, and cheaper with a major product refresh⁠

 ⁠Philips Hue Bridge Pro / Motion Aware⁠

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

 ⁠Ikea Bilresa Buttons⁠

 ⁠Lutron Caseta⁠

 ⁠SmartWings shades⁠

 ⁠Sonos / Hue⁠

 Bedroom:

 ⁠Philips Hue Twilight⁠

 ⁠Fall into smarter lighting⁠

 ⁠Switchbot Air Purifier table⁠

 ⁠AIDot WeLov Air Purifiers⁠

 ⁠Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor⁠

 ⁠Ikea Alpstuga air quality monitor⁠

 Belkin⁠ Boost Charge Pro⁠ ⁠Echo Spot⁠

 ⁠Big Ass Fans⁠

 Kids room:

 
⁠Echo Glow⁠ 

 ⁠Echo Dot Kids⁠

 ⁠Switchbot robot vacuum K11 Plus⁠

 Office Basement:

 
⁠Philips Hue downlights⁠ 

 ⁠Nanoleaf downlights⁠

 ⁠Nanoleaf Blocks⁠

 ⁠Nanoleaf Skylight ⁠

 ⁠Sense Plus Switch⁠

 ⁠Nanoleaf launches a smart switch after eight years of trying⁠

 ⁠Govee Floor lamp⁠

 ⁠Philips Hue Floor Lamp⁠

 ⁠Nanoleaf Floor Lamp⁠

 ⁠Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror⁠

 ⁠Gardyn Studio Gen 2⁠

 ⁠Aqara Smart Lock U300 Lever Lock⁠

 Garden

 ⁠Hue Festavia Globe Outdoor Lights⁠

 ⁠Nanoleaf String Lights⁠

 ⁠Lifx String lights⁠

 ⁠Eve Aqua⁠

 ⁠Apollo PLT-1 indoor plant multisensor⁠

 Others:

 ⁠All Ikea’s new stuff⁠

 ⁠Shelly Relays⁠

 ⁠Third Reality Zigbee sensors⁠

 
⁠Zooz Z-Wave sensors⁠ 

 ⁠Eve Energy smart plug⁠

 Home Assistant

 ⁠The little smart home platform that could⁠

 
⁠Home Assistant Green⁠ 

 ⁠Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1⁠

 ⁠Home Assistant Z-Wave⁠

 ⁠Home Assistant Energy Management⁠

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

Extreme smart home makeover

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

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

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

Version History: Fire Phone

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

Further reading: 

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

 WEB WAR III 

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

 OpenAI launches its Sora app on Android 

 
Perplexity is going to power AI search in Snapchat. 

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

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

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

 Amazon is building Alexa Plus into its Music app 

 The AI industry is running on FOMO 

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

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

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

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

 Brendan Carr votes to eliminate cybersecurity requirements

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

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

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

 Into the Huluverse: The sonic evolution of Hulu

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

Bring back the iBook, you cowards

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

Further reading:

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

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

 The future of the Roomba, and the best robot vacuums

 This smart smoke alarm could be a worthy Nest Protect replacement

 Home Assistant’s next era begins now

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

 What’s in a smart home reviewer’s backyard

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

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

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

Your smart home questions, answered

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

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

⁠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

Version History: Zune

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

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

Further reading:

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

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

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

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

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

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

 ⁠The next chapter of the Microsoft–OpenAI partnership⁠

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

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

 ⁠OpenAI made ChatGPT better at sifting through your work information ⁠

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

 ⁠The Kingmaker | WIRED⁠

 ⁠Congratulations to the Tesla Cybertruck on its 10th recall.⁠

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

 ⁠Threads is getting disappearing posts ⁠

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

 ⁠The FCC is going after broadband nutrition labels. ⁠

 ⁠Brendan Carr is a Dummy⁠

 ⁠Bending Spoons is buying AOL for some reason ⁠

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

God will be declared by a panel of experts

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

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

Further reading:

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

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

 ⁠The smart glasses race is really on now⁠

 ⁠Stephen Robles' YouTube channel⁠

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

An Apple Shortcuts masterclass

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

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

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

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

Version History: Guitar Hero

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

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

Further reading:

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

 The ChatGPT Atlas browser still feels like Googling with extra steps

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

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

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

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

 Reddit sues Perplexity for allegedly ripping its content to feed AI

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

 OpenAI’s latest legal request is raising eyebrows

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

 Warner Bros. Discovery is ready for a sale

 
WBD already rejected three offers from Paramount Skydance, 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 These nonprofits lobbied to regulate OpenAI — then the subpoenas came

 Why GM will give you Gemini — but not CarPlay

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

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

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

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

ChatGPT enters the browser wars

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

Further reading:

 YouTube makes it easier and more lucrative to go live

 YouTube is inching closer to becoming a shopping channel

 YouTube is going all in on AI

 New YouTube AI tools help creators give viewers what they want

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YouTube wants you to go live

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