The Vergecast

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Tom Warren discuss the biggest announcements from Microsoft Build 2023. Later, the crew discuss the launch of Warner Bros. Discovery's combined streaming service Max. Further reading: Elon Musk fails to launch Ron DeSantis in disastrous Twitter Space Microsoft Build 2023: The 5 biggest announcements Microsoft's Copilot and Bing AI plug-ins will be interoperable with ChatGPT Bing is now the default search for ChatGPT Microsoft 365 Copilot is getting plug-ins Microsoft's Edge browser is getting the 365 Copilot AI assistant Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott thinks Sydney might make a comeback Microsoft announces Windows Copilot, an AI ‘personal assistant' for Windows 11 Max has arrived, and it'll feel very familiar to HBO Max customers Max will stream over 1,000 movies and TV episodes in 4K at launch Warner Bros. Discovery apologizes for crediting writers and directors as ‘creators' on Max HBO Max remote button killed in Max rebrand — 9to5Mac HBO Max now Max: lacks native video player features; 'Up Next' support bugs - 9to5Mac Sony's new Q handheld is official: 8-inch screen, streams PS5 games Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of the Purah Pad: Senator Ed Markey chats with Nilay Patel about the importance of keeping AM radio in cars after many EV manufacturers have started to remove it from new models. Cars would be required to keep AM radio under new bipartisan bill The shift to EVs is slowly killing off AM radio — and that's bad for emergency broadcasts Alex Cranz and Sean Hollister talk with SVP of networking at Nvidia Kevin Deierling live at the Computer History Museum for the 50th anniversary of ethernet about the future of connectivity. Wired: 50 years of ethernet David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Ash Parrish discuss why The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom works so well and what the rest of the gaming world should do about it. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review: new powers, new places, but less wonder A conversation with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's creative leads Tears of the Kingdom's dungeons were designed with seamlessness in mind Tips and tricks to get you through Tears of the Kingdom Zelda players turned Tears of the Kingdom into a Korok torture chamber The wildest Tears of the Kingdom builds we've seen Tears of the Kingdom's puzzle designers are fantastic trolls Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough and guides - Polygon 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Adi Robertson discuss Montana being the first state to ban TikTok, the Supreme Court ruling against reexamining Section 230, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifying before the Senate. Then, David interviews vlogger Hank Green about the TikTok ban in Montana. Later, Verge senior news editor Richard Lawler joins the show to discuss this week in gadgets, from the free Telly TV to the Beats Studio Buds Plus. TikTok is now banned in Montana: here's what you need to know Montana bans Telegram, WeChat, and Temu from government devices Full Hank Green interview here TikTok ban: all the news on attempts to ban the video platform Supreme Court puts off showdown over Texas and Florida social media laws Supreme Court rules against reexamining Section 230 Congress hates Big Tech — but it still seems optimistic about AI This free TV comes with two screens The free TV company briefly wasn't sure what it should do with data from kids Amazon's latest Echo Buds have an all-new design and much cheaper price Amazon's new Echo Pop is a $40 smart speaker Beats Studio Buds Plus review: it's cool to be clear CueCat  YouTube is bringing unskippable 30-second ads to TV  Max promises shorter ad breaks than other streamers when it launches May 23rd Netflix's ad tier has attracted almost 5 million users Apparently, they were all losers in the race to 5G. Tesla's humanoid robot can pick things up and put them down 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

Today we're sharing an episode of Into It: A Vulture Podcast with Sam Sanders AI is making fake Drake/The Weeknd songs, weird images, and there's a worry that TV and movie scripts could be written by ChatGPT. But it's also about to dramatically change the way we consume, share, and obsess over pop culture. Nilay Patel, Editor-in-Chief of The Verge, explains to Sam how pretty much everything we search on the internet is mediated by Google… and how AI is about to disrupt it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss the big announcements and takeaways from Google I/O 2023. Further reading: The nine biggest announcements from Google I/O 2023  The AI takeover of Google Search starts now  Google Perspectives: the new search feature helps you find human information online Google rebrands AI tools for Docs and Gmail as Duet AI — its answer to Microsoft's Copilot Google's new Magic Editor uses AI to totally transform your photos Google drops waitlist for AI chatbot Bard and announces oodles of new features Google announces PaLM 2 AI language model, already powering 25 Google services  Google teases Project Tailwind — a prototype AI notebook that learns from your documents  Android's new generative AI can reply to your texts and design its own wallpaper  Google's Find My Device will soon use billions of Android devices to locate your stuff  Google is bringing YouTube, Waze, and Zoom to cars with native Android software The Pixel Fold is Google's $1,800 entry into folding phones Google's new Pixel Tablet is a $500 slate for the home Google Pixel 7A review: a better deal Google's new Project Starline prototype isn't a giant booth Disney is finally combining Hulu and Disney Plus into the same app  Apple launches Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on iPad with new subscription pricing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of unfolded aspect ratios: 01:03 -The Verge's David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Alex Cranz discuss the present and future state of Google — it's this big, complicated, massively successful company that suddenly feels like it's under threat in a huge number of ways. The crew lay out the stakes and try to figure out where Google is headed. Hot takes included. 38:55 - David, Allison Johnson, and Dan Seifert talk about the hardware revealed at Google I/O: the Pixel 7A, the Pixel Tablet, and the Pixel Fold. Further reading: Google I/O 2023: news, rumors, and announcements  What happens when Google Search doesn't have the answers? The Pixel Fold is Google's $1,800 entry into folding phones Google's new Pixel Tablet is a $500 slate for the home Google Pixel 7A review: a better deal 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Sarah Jeong discuss Bluesky gaining popularity and why it may be Twitter's most chaotic successor. Also: is AI going too far too soon? Further reading: shop.theverge.com Google announces the Pixel Fold Everything happening on Bluesky, Twitter's most chaotic successor Bluesky is starting to feel like Twitter Mozilla's new Mozilla.Social Mastodon instance is an attempt to reinvent content moderation ‘Godfather of AI' quits Google with regrets and fears about his life's work White House rolls out plan to promote ethical AI Snapchat is already testing sponsored links in its My AI chatbot New ChatGPT Zillow plug-in rolls out to select users today AI is being used to generate whole spam sites AI offers new tools for making games, but developers worry about their jobs Writers are striking and AI rights are on the table. Microsoft is forcing Outlook and Teams to open links in Edge, and IT admins are angry Microsoft's Bing chatbot gets smarter with restaurant bookings, image results, and more Andreessen Horowitz saw the future — but did the future leave it behind? Now Gmail has blue verified checkmark icons too  Google accounts now support passkeys for password-free sign-in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of questionable .mkv files:  02:46 - The Verge's David Pierce chats with Matt Johnson, director of the upcoming movie BlackBerry about what tech movies get wrong, why the BlackBerry really died, and how to portray the rise and fall of a top-of-the-world gadget. 30:38 - David and Vergecast producer Andru Marino try to find out why it's so hard to find director's commentary on streaming services and the obstacles movie fans go through to listen to them. 57:25 - David talks with the directors and producer of the movie Missing about a new genre of movies that take place entirely on a computer screen, and how they get made. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Andrew Hawkins discuss what's happening in the world of EVs and where that industry is headed. Also: more Apple headset rumors and whatever the heck that Humane demo was last week. Further reading: Apple's AR/VR Headset Plans: iPad Apps, Fitness+, Sports Viewing, Gaming, Music - Bloomberg  Apple's mixed reality headset could connect to a battery pack that looks like the iPhone's Humane's wearable screenless AI assistant leaks in first demo clips Apple is reportedly building a paid AI health coach Should we trust Apple with mental health data? 2023 Toyota Prius review: EV reality check GM is ending Chevy Bolt EV and EUV production at the end of the year GM killed the Chevy Bolt — and the dream of a small, affordable EV GM, Hyundai announce EV battery plants for the US Honda's making a bigger electric SUV to follow the Prologue — due 2025 Tesla's carbon footprint is finally coming into focus, and it's bigger than the company let on in the past Cruise continues to burn GM's cash as robotaxis expand to daylight hours Amazon shuts down Halo division and discontinues all devices  Disney sues Florida for ‘government retaliation' in escalating feud y Apple is reportedly developing its own journaling app for the iPhone Dyson Zone review: an absurd pair of air purifying ANC headphones Come see a screening of Blackberry with us! 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

Today on the flagship podcast of overthinking thermometers:  The Verge's David Pierce and Dan Seifert discuss what's happening in the weather app world, and hear from the developers of Carrot Weather and Hello Weather.  Apple's Weather chaos is restarting the weather app market A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece  forecastadvisor.com Carrot Weather Hello Weather Flipboard CEO Mike McCue joins David and Nilay Patel to discuss the potential of ActivityPub, a new standard for social networking that is more open, more user-centric, and potentially more powerful than Twitter and Facebook. Can ActivityPub save the internet? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, things got a little loose in the studio of The Vergecast. Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding joins Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce to make their own version of Drake's AI summer classic. We're not saying a laser bong was involved, but we're not not saying that either. Then deputy editor Alex Heath stops by to tell us about Snaps latest announcements and give us an update on the latest round of layoffs at Meta. Finally, a lightning round with all the big headlines in tech from this week. Further reading: AI Drake just set an impossible legal trap for Google Google employees label AI chatbot Bard ‘worse than useless' and ‘a pathological liar': report What's really going on with ‘Ghostwriter' and the AI Drake song? Family of F1 legend Michael Schumacher plans legal action over fake AI interview Snapchat releases My AI chatbot to all users for free Google's big AI push will combine Brain and DeepMind into one team Netflix is shutting down its original DVD business after 25 years Netflix is out of the DVD business because streaming won – now, can Netflix still win? Twitter begins removing blue checkmarks from all legacy users It's a laser bong SpaceX's Starship successfully takes off before bursting into flames BuzzFeed News is being shut down Social media is doomed to die Google Fi has a new name and expanded connectivity support for smartwatches Leak: Google will announce the Pixel Fold at I/O and beat Samsung on battery Everything spy movies get right (and wrong) about smart glasses Microsoft is reportedly working on a smaller Surface Pro and Arm-powered Surface Go 4 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

Today on the flagship podcast of quantum dots:  02:33 - Makena Kelly explains the various attempts from the US government to ban TikTok, and how that could actually work.  TikTok ban: all the news on attempts to ban the video platform Inside the US government's fight to ban TikTok 25:06 - Allison Johnson explains the state of the Android phone market, and where it's headed next this year.  The best Android phone to buy in 2023 51:28 - Chris Welch explains why this may be the best time to buy an OLED TV.  This is the best time in a decade to splurge on a premium OLED TV Making sense of new TV features in 2022  Vote for us in the People's Voice Webby Awards for Best Technology Podcast: http://bit.ly/3moCTDs  Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss Warner Bros. Discovery's new streaming service, Sony's mobile gaming move, and Twitter's feud with Substack. Further reading: HBO and Discovery's ‘Max' streaming service is here Max is charging more money for 4K, and that means it can't suck this time  What we've learned about Sony PlayStation's new smartphone games team Sony is gearing up for a new cloud gaming push amid rumors of a PlayStation handheld NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube starts at $249 for the 2023 season Google TV's live guide is getting crammed full of over 800 free channels Microsoft is experimenting with a Windows gaming handheld mode for Steam Deck-like devices  NPR becomes first major news organization to leave Twitter  PBS also stops tweeting after being hit with ‘government-funded media' label Is Substack Notes a ‘Twitter clone'? We asked CEO Chris Best Mini's cars are getting an ‘intelligent personal assistant' named Spike You can now talk to Microsoft's Bing chatbot from your keyboard in iOS with SwiftKey Nvidia RTX 4070 review: a $599 RTX 3080 — kind of  Vote for us in the People's Voice Webby Awards for Best Technology Podcast 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

What are the best streaming services in 2023? Nilay, Alex, and David decide in the most chaotic way possible: with draft-style picks. The crew debates the best roster for the future of entertainment — from Netflix to Hulu to HBO Max to a few surprises. Who is the MVP, and who gets snubbed? Find out in our inaugural Vergecast streaming draft. Read more: theverge.com/streaming-wars Vote for us in the People's Voice Webby Awards for Best Technology Podcast: http://bit.ly/3moCTDs  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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss the end of Twitter and the future of infotainment. Links: The color quiz Twitter tried to hide who pays for their checkmark, but life finds a way. https://twitter.com/AlexBlechman/status/1641905502043926530 Substack is getting a Twitter-like ‘Notes' feed Elon Musk's obsession with blue checks is a verified problem Twitter yanks the New York Times' checkmark in verification overhaul Today in Twitter: where are the retweet labels, and why did Doge replace the bird? Spotify shuts down its Clubhouse competitor Spotify shows how the live audio boom has gone bust Everybody hates GM's decision to kill Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for its EVs The rest of the auto industry still loves CarPlay and Android Auto GM is cutting off access to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for its future EVs Could a new PlayStation handheld be built for Remote Play? I like the idea Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC is no April Fools' joke Walmart's redesigned website looks better than Amazon Donald Trump was arrested, please like and subscribe The Home Assistant SkyConnect is a combination Zigbee and Thread dongle for better smart home control Vote for us in the People's Voice Webby Awards for Best Technology Podcast! 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

Today on the flagship podcast of peer-to-peer wireless networking:  02:31 - David Pierce talks with smart home reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy about Amazon's network of smart home devices called Sidewalk and the state of Matter, the promised smart home standard.  Amazon just opened up its Sidewalk network for anyone to build connected gadgets on 32:16- Monica Chin brings six laptops to Times Square in New York City to test out the microphones. 48:47 - Tom Warren joins the show to explain how AI is being integrated into Microsoft's products, which may be more promising than Bing's chatbot. Microsoft's new Copilot will change Office documents forever Microsoft Security Copilot is a new GPT-4 AI assistant for cybersecurity Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Vote for us in the People's Choice Webby Awards for Best Technology Podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss AI image generators getting better, WWDC 2023 rumors, and the other big stories in tech this week. Further reading: The swagged-out pope is an AI fake — and an early glimpse of a new reality Another hurdle for AI image generators: unicycles It's so hard to be worried about AI when the shit is so funny. AI-generated video is still in its “demonic phase.” Elon Musk and top AI researchers call for pause on ‘giant AI experiments' UK rejects idea of dedicated AI regulator. The US government is gearing up for an AI antitrust fight FTC should stop OpenAI from launching new GPT models, says AI policy group Apple's WWDC 2023 kicks off on June 5th Apple staff reportedly express doubts about mixed-reality headset months ahead of launch Apple Pay Later is finally launching The ugly economics behind Apple's new Pay Later system  Apple Music Classical is now available from the App Store Disney just laid off the guy it bought Marvel from... but that's probably a good thing Elon Musk is now the most-followed person on Twitter Twitter is secretly boosting Elon Musk, Dril, and MrBeast for some reason  Google's ADT partnership finally has a new home security product to show for it Sony's new ZV-E1 camera is designed to help your vlogs suck less The TikTok ban is a betrayal of the open internet Can Mastodon seize the moment from Twitter? Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge answers questions from The Vergecast Hotline.  We hear from David Pierce on balancing privacy and modern conveniences for digital journaling, Alex Cranz on tablets for reading, Dan Seifert and Allison Johnson on tech reviews at The Verge, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on smart home routers and doorbells, and Monica Chin on laptops for college. Further reading:  The best iPad to buy in 2023 Ethics Statement - The Verge  Nest Wifi Pro review: better, faster, shinier Eero Pro 6E review: faster Wi-Fi but flakier performance Aqara Video Doorbell G4 review: this battery-powered buzzer needs to go back to basics The FTC wants to ban those tough-to-cancel gym and cable subscriptions Best laptop 2023: 15 best laptops you can buy 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce are joined by policy reporter Makena Kelly, who is on the ground in Washington for the House Energy and Commerce Committee's hearing on TikTok. Later, we dive into all the other news from this week, from Google's release of Bard to OpenAI's rapid expansion of ChatGPT. It was a big week. Further reading: TikTok ban hearing: all the news on the US's crackdown on the video platform   TikTok bans deepfakes of nonpublic figures and fake endorsements in rule refresh Google opens early access to its ChatGPT rival Bard — here are our first impressions Google says its Bard chatbot isn't a search engine — so what is it?  Testing Google Bard: the chatbot doesn't love me, but it's still pretty weird Google and Microsoft's chatbots are already citing one another in a misinformation shitshow Sundar Pichai expects that ‘things will go wrong' with Bard Can AI generate a way to pay for itself? GitHub Copilot gets a new ChatGPT-like assistant to help developers write and fix code Mozilla.ai is a new startup created to build more open and trustworthy AI OpenAI is massively expanding ChatGPT's capabilities to let it browse the web and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of over-the-air interactive television: David Pierce is joined by Alex Cranz and Janko Roettgers to talk about ATSC 3.0, the new standard for over-the-air broadcasting. The future of TV is up in the air Mitchell Clark joins the show to discuss his next endeavor. Mitchell's gear list Dan Seifert explains which iPad you should buy and how to make the iPad work better for writing by hand. The best iPad to buy in 2023 Yes, paper-feel screen protectors for the iPad are good This Apple Pencil clone provides 80 percent of the experience for a quarter of the price Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the final episode of our Solo Acts mini series, Ashley Esqueda talks with Marco Arment about being a solo app developer, going from Tumblr to Instapaper to his own podcast app Overcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, David Pierce, and James Vincent discuss OpenAI announcing GPT-4, the next generation of its AI language model. Further reading: The night sky is always getting faked Samsung responds to fake Moon controversy Samsung's fake Moon photos aren't a giant leap for mobile photography OpenAI announces GPT-4 — the next generation of its AI language model The Bing AI bot has been secretly running GPT-4  OpenAI co-founder on company's past approach to openly sharing research: ‘We were wrong'  What's new with GPT-4 — from processing pictures to acing tests Microsoft Business Chat is like the Bing AI bot but as a personal assistant  Microsoft spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a ChatGPT supercomputer  Google announces AI features in Gmail, Docs, and more to rival Microsoft   Google opens up its AI language model PaLM to challenge OpenAI and GPT-3  Google-backed Anthropic launches Claude, an AI chatbot that's easier to talk to   How Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant Lost the A.I. Race The BlackBerry trailer shows the rise and fall of the keyboard phone Biden administration reportedly demanding that TikTok sell or face a ban T-Mobile is buying Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile for up to $1.35 billion Belkin's smart home brand Wemo is backing away from Matter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss Samsung faking photos of the moon on its phones, what happened with Silicon Valley Bank, and hottest topic of the season: ChatGPT and AI. This episode was recorded live at SXSW 2023. Further reading: Samsung caught faking zoom photos of the Moon Silicon Valley Bank has failed The tech industry moved fast and broke its most prestigious bank Bing, Bard, and ChatGPT: AI chatbots are rewriting the internet Email us at vergeast@theverge.com or call us on the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's episode of our Solo Acts mini series, Ashley Esqueda talks with Tiny of tinymakesthings, who makes artisan keycaps for mechanical keyboards. Tiny explains how she got started making her projects on Twitch, the process for designing the keycaps, and the community she built with her art. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Richard Lawler discuss Spotify's changes within its app, what happening this week at Twitter, Gigi Sohn withdrawing her nomination for FCC commissioner, and a whole lot more. Further reading: The Cybertruck wiper does not appear to extend Spotify's new design is part TikTok, part Instagram, and part YouTube  Spotify is going big on video podcasts After layoffs, SiriusXM looks to star-studded podcasts  Apple will launch its standalone classical music app on March 28th  All the streaming boxes suck now How a single engineer brought down Twitter Twitter just let its privacy- and security-protecting Tor service expire The FTC's Twitter privacy investigations have ramped up since Elon Musk's takeover Hey, where's the Twitter Blue revenue sharing Elon Musk promised a month ago? Tesla under investigation after Model Y steering wheels fall off Congress rolls out new bill allowing nationwide TikTok ban Gigi Sohn withdraws her nomination for President Joe Biden's FCC Now the Florida GOP wants political bloggers to register with the government Dish CEO says data was stolen in cyberattack that's kept systems down for days Dish Network's internal systems are so broken some employees haven't worked in over a day  Microsoft Bing hits 100 million active users in bid to grab share from Googlet Is buzzy startup Humane's big idea a wearable camera? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, Sonos announced a new line of speakers — the Era 100 and the Era 300 — with the latter finally taking on this format that has been a hit-or-miss experience for music lovers, supporting Amazon Music and Apple Music's spatial audio. Though spatial format Dolby Atmos has been supported on the Sonos Arc soundbar, the Era 300 signals a music-first approach to its speakers supporting 3D soundscapes. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence believes this is the right time to do it. “We didn't know that, in 2022, 85 of the top Billboard 100 artists would actually release Atmos tracks, but they did,” Spence says. “We feel like we're at an inflection point.” On board with Sonos for this shift in music listening is record producer Giles Martin, who mixed the first-ever spatial audio album (a remix of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles album that his father, George Martin, originally produced) and several albums and live experiences in Dolby Atmos since. Martin is also the senior vice president of sound experience at Sonos and was involved in the development of the speaker. “When you're building a product which has multi sort of use and orientations, you do prioritize ... in a way of, what's the wow factor?” Martin explains. “The wow factor, which I think is truly extraordinary out of the 300, is the fact that it does spatial out of a single box. And it's really compelling.” Both Patrick and Giles joined Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel for The Vergecast to talk about the new speakers, supporting spatial audio, and why this is the time to do it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On episode three of our Solo Acts miniseries, Ashley Esqueda chats with Madison Karrh, an indie game developer who launched her most recent game Birth a few weeks ago. Birth is an adventure puzzle game about constructing a creature from spare bones & organs found around the city in order to quell your loneliness. Madison explains the challenges of making an entire game on your own and why that path is so important to her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Richard Lawler discuss the phones and laptops announced at Mobile World Congress, Meta's AR and VR hardware roadmap for the next few years, Tesla's "Master Plan", and more of this week's tech news. Further reading: MWC 2023 was a preview of what future phones could (and should) look like HMD's latest Nokia phone is designed to be repaired in minutes  The Xiaomi 13 Pro is going global  Realme's ridiculous 240W fast-charging phone is getting an international release  Motorola's new Razr foldable is arriving this year Lenovo's rollable laptop and smartphone are a compelling, unfinished pitch for the future  This is Meta's AR / VR hardware roadmap for the next four years Elon Musk says Twitter employees will receive ‘very significant' stock awards on March 24th Twitter shut off its internal Slack, and now ‘everyone is barely working' Twitter Blue head Esther Crawford is out at Twitter  Elon Musk's 'lab leak' tweets could be an issue for Tesla's plans in China Tesla's new ‘Master Plan' is coming — let's grade the first two Elon Musk unveils a new Master Plan, a path to sustainable energy future, no new cars  Why won't TikTok confirm the Bold Glamour filter is AI?  OpenAI announces an API for ChatGPT and its Whisper speech-to-text tech  Microsoft now lets you change Bing's chatbot personality to be more entertaining Microsoft's Phone Link app now lets you use iMessage from your PC Sony announces 2023 TV lineup: better late than never Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call our Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of hyper specific wearable sensors:  01:19 - Victoria Song joins Alex Cranz to talk about the latest rumors around Apple's big progress in blood glucose monitoring.  Apple Makes Major Progress on No-Prick Blood Glucose Tracking for Its Watch  Continuous glucose monitor startups still have to prove their worth Apple is looking at opportunities to do great things in health in India: Sumbul Desai 17:14 - Ariel Shapiro talks with Valerie Wirtschafter, a data analyst at the Brookings Institution, about how often podcasts spread political misinformation, and what that means for the medium. Audible reckoning: How top political podcasters spread unsubstantiated and false claims Policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts 43:57 - Alex and Charles Pulliam-Moore chat about the latest episode of The Last of Us and all the Marvel movie fatigue that has cropped up since Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania came out. [Warning: Spoiler alert] HBO's The Last of Us is pushing all the right buttons by telling new stories HBO's The Last of Us is wisely skipping to the cutscenes Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania review: this is your brain on Kangs Email us at vergecast@theverge.com, or call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this next episode of our Vergecast Solo Acts mini series, Ashley Esqueda talks with Alan Klein, the creator of the McRib Locator, a website that helps people track and submit where McDonald's BBQ pork sandwich is available in stores. Alan shares what drove him to make this free tool for people back in 2009, what he does with the data he's collected, what's next for the site after the McRib's "farewell tour" this past fall, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, T.C. Sottek, and Adi Robertson discuss the Supreme Court cases that could reshape the future of the internet. Later, Verge policy reporter Makena Kelly joins the show to discuss new charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Further reading: The Supreme Court hears arguments for two cases that could reshape the future of the internet Thomas starts talking about pagers for some reason Google: it's not helpful when states make their own decisions that affect us A Signal group is at the center of Bankman-Fried's latest woes Spotify's new AI-powered DJ builds and commentates on custom playlists Microsoft recruited Nintendo and Nvidia to help fight Sony over the Activision deal   Tesla announces new engineering headquarters in California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of not-yet-announced Sonos speakers: Adi Robertson and Sean Hollister discuss their review of the PSVR2, and how it ranks among the other VR options today, along with its predecessor.  PSVR 2 review: love on a leash We plugged the PSVR2 into a PC, and here's what it does Meta is improving Quest hand tracking so you can touch buttons and type on virtual keyboards Alex Cranz, Chris Welch, Chris Person, and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy discuss the world of multi-room audio devices to play music. How do smart speakers like Sonos, Amazon Echo, and Google Home compare to audiophile gadgets like the WiiM Mini and the Raspberry Pi? WiiM's Mini and Pro are the Chromecast Audio's real replacement Exclusive: these are the new Sonos Era speakers  Amazon's Alexa app gets more Sonos-y with new multiroom audio controls How to set up multiroom music playback with Google Home speakers Email us at vergecast@theverge.com, or call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is episode one of our Vergecast mini-series "Solo Acts", which features people who are working independently to create great things on the internet, hosted by Ashley Esqueda. Today, Ashley talks with Raluca Pop, founder of the social media app Hive Social, which was created when Raluca was only 19. Ashley and Raluca discuss the challenges of building a social media app from scratch in the world of Big Tech, what happens when you need to address problem like a mass influx of users and security issues, and working with such a small team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of wanting to smooch your laptop: 01:23 - The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, Richard Lawler, Adi Robertson, and James Vincent discuss the flaws with Microsoft's Bing AI, and why it can be an "emotionally manipulative liar." 34:56 - Platformer managing editor Zoë Schiffer joins to explain why Twitter is showing everyone all of Elon Musk's tweets. 50:33 - The crew discuss YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki stepping down after nine years at the helm. Further reading: Microsoft's Bing is an emotionally manipulative liar, and people love it   AI search engines are not your friends These are Microsoft's Bing AI secret rules and why it says it's named Sydney Microsoft says talking to Bing for too long can cause it to go off the rails The Supreme Court could be about to decide the legal fate of AI search Microsoft's Bing AI, like Google's, also made dumb mistakes during first demo From Bing to Sydney (Stratechery) A Conversation With Bing's Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled (The New York Times) Seeing other people's AI art is like hearing other people's dreams Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first  Elon Musk's reach on Twitter is dropping — he just fired a top engineer over it  Twitter is just showing everyone all of Elon Musk's tweets now Elon Musk says Twitter should be ready for new CEO by end of year YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki steps down after nine years at the helm  The maze is in the mouse (Praveen Seshadri) Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review: practically peerless Razer Blade 18 review: the price is going up  Tesla recalls 362,758 vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving beta for ‘crash risk' Mazda MX-30 electric SUV review: a perfect storm of range anxiety  Hyundai and Kia forced to update software on millions of vehicles because of viral TikTok challenge Less money and more fear: what's going on with tech Erase browser history: can AI reset the browser battle? Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call our Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of home theater remotes: repairing broken gadgets and why you should do it.  01:55 - David Pierce talks with Nic of Nic's Fix, a repair service specializing in Apple's original HomePod.  Nicsfix.com New Apple HomePod 2023 Comparison and Teardown; Is it better? Is it fixed??  28:15 - Alex Cranz talks with Quin at Harmony Remote Repair, who offers fixes for the discontinued universal remote from Logitech.  harmonyremoterepair.com Logitech officially discontinues its Harmony remote 47:07 - iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens joins the show to talk about the state of fixing your own stuff and what's next in the fight for the right to repair. Rebble with a Cause: How Pebble Watches Were Granted an Amazing Afterlife | iFixit News  New York breaks the right to repair bill as it's signed into law Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call the Vergecast hotline at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, Richard Lawler, and James Vincent discuss Microsoft's upgraded Bing search engine with ChatGPT AI. Can Microsoft beat Google at search? Is it actually an upgrade? Also: Disney layoffs, Elon's Twitter reach is dropping, and more of this week's tech news. Further reading: Microsoft and Google are about to Open an AI battle Microsoft announces new Bing and Edge browser powered by upgraded ChatGPT AI Microsoft's ChatGPT-powered Bing is open for everyone to try starting today  Microsoft thinks AI can beat Google at search — CEO Satya Nadella explains why  Google announces ChatGPT rival Bard, with wider availability in ‘coming weeks'  Google shows off new AI search features, but a ChatGPT rival is still weeks away Google is still drip-feeding AI into search, Maps, and Translate  Google's AI chatbot Bard makes factual error in first demo  Elon Musk's reach on Twitter is dropping — he just fired a top engineer over it Disney's laying off 7,000 as streaming boom comes to an end  Bob Iger wants more Zootopia, Frozen, and Toy Story sequels from Disney Nintendo Direct February 2023: the biggest news and trailers  Fox's Super Bowl LVII ads won't include any crypto companies  Email at vergecast@theverge.com, we love to hear from you. Or call our hotline at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are sharing an episode of Land of the Giants: Dating. Big tech is transforming every aspect of our world. But how? And at what cost? In this season of Land of the Giants: Dating Games, The Verge and New York Magazine's The Cut trace the evolution of the multi-billion dollar dating app industry. Hosts Sangeeta Singh Kurtz and Lakshmi Rengarajan explore the modern dating landscape forged by companies like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge, and their impact on our hopes for connection. They answer the question – are the business goals of dating app companies aligned with users' romantic aspirations? Follow Land of the Giants to hear new episodes every Wednesday.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Richard Lawler, Allison Johnson, and Monica Chin discuss the announcements from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event. Further reading: Samsung's S23 and S23 Plus look a little more Ultra  The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a minor update to a spec monster Where's the Galaxy S23's satellite connectivity, Samsung? Samsung Galaxy S23 vs. S23 Plus vs. S23 Ultra: spec comparison  The Galaxy Book3 Ultra is Samsung's shot at the MacBook Pro   Samsung's Galaxy Book3 gets new chips and a big display upgrade  Anker launches cheaper USB-C fast charging options for Samsung Galaxy phones  Where's the Galaxy S23's satellite connectivity, Samsung? Apple's iPhone 14 Pro supply problems sank its holiday revenues Apple won't name a new head of hardware design Anker finally comes clean about its Eufy security cameras Mark Zuckerberg says Meta is making this the ‘year of efficiency' White House goes after app store ‘gatekeepers' Apple and Google Apple and Google face mounting pressure to remove TikTok from app stores Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of removable power cords: 02:14 - The Verge's Alex Cranz, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Chris Welch, and Nilay Patel discuss the updated version of the Apple HomePod.  Apple's new HomePod plays it safe How to use the Apple HomePod's temperature and humidity sensors 43:23 - Katharine Trendacosta joins the show to discuss why and how faking your death has been a common practice in online communities.  A Fake Death in Romancelandia She created a fake Twitter persona — then she killed it with COVID-19 1:05:19 - Verge senior editor Sean Hollister gives an updated review of Valve's Steam Deck, which had a buggy start in 2022. The Steam Deck wasn't born ready, but it's ready now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of staring directly down the barrel of a camera, The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, Richard Lawler, and Monica Chin start the show with an inside look at our M2 MacBook Pro and Mac Mini reviews. After that, the crew breaks down the case the US Department of Justice has filed against Google's ad business and of course we try to make sense of the latest Elon Musk shenanigans. Further reading: The Vergecast - YouTube Apple Mac Mini (2023) review: Mac Studio junior  Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) review: the core count grows Google is being sued by the US government and eight states over online advertising  Google plans to demo AI chatbot search as it panics about ChatGPT More details come out on which departments saw layoffs at Google, Microsoft, and Amazon  Tesla made more money in 2022 than ever before, but its future still looks rocky Elon Musk is theoretically sad that Tesla investors lost money because of his tweets Elon Musk thinks Twitter is real life Elon Musk's Twitter is caving to government censorship, just like he promised  Elon Musk gets serious about 420 at securities fraud trial - The Verge   Tesla's new $3.6 billion Nevada investment includes a ‘high-volume' Semi factory  Tesla Cybertruck mass production won't start until 2024 Microsoft Q2 2023: Windows, devices, and Xbox down as cloud holds strong Senators and Swifties take on Ticketmaster in Washington  GoldenEye 007 is coming to Nintendo Switch and Xbox on January 27th TikTok confirms that its own employees can decide what goes viral Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of zombie kisses: 02:02 - The Verge's managing editor Alex Cranz chats with film & TV reporter Charles Pulliam-Moore about HBO's The Last of Us and how it handles the video game adaptation. [Spoilers for episode 1 + 2] 22:40 - Historian and author of the book The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America Margaret O'Mara talks about how the lack of non-compete clauses shaped Silicon Valley. 38:30 - We answer your questions left on our Vergecast Hotline! Thunderbolt docks, end-to-end encryption, and smart assistants. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of automated content creation: 02:23 - The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, Richard Lawler, and Alex Heath start the show with an overview of what we've learned from Elon Musk running Twitter over the past few months. 24:50 - Inside CNET's AI-powered SEO money machine 48:34 - Apple's Mac and HomePod announcements from this week Further reading: Inside Elon Musk's “extremely hardcore” Twitter Twitter Blue arrives on Android for $11 a month  Inside CNET's AI-powered SEO money machine Apple announces MacBook Pros with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips Apple announces a Mac Mini with the M2 and M2 Pro How the new MacBook Pros compare to the rest of Apple's MacBook lineup  Apple is reportedly working on an iPad-like smart display  Apple announces revamped full-size HomePod two years after discontinuing original Apple's new HomePod unsurprisingly sounds close to the original Apple reportedly shelved its plans to release AR glasses any time soon  Reed Hastings is stepping down as Netflix's co-CEO Microsoft announces big layoffs that will affect 10,000 employees Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call the hotline at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Alex Cranz talks with senior reviewer Monica Chin about the laptops she saw at CES this year and what it means for 2023's computer trends. Verge reviewer Victoria Song joins the show to discuss the FDA regulations behind health tech, and whether the stuff we saw at CES will ever be available in the United States. Further reading: The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i is the CES 2023 gadget I'm most excited for Lenovo Yoga Book 9i hands-on: the dual-screen future OLED plus E Ink: Lenovo's ThinkBook Twist is halfway to my dream laptop  Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola hands-on: a ThinkPad's best friend The new Asus ZenBook Pro 14 leads a line of impressively refreshed OLED laptops  Acer's new Predator Helios laptops can pack a bright 250Hz Mini LED screen The LG Gram Style might be the prettiest laptop of 2023 With PC sales down, laptop makers turn to services The HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is neat, but what's with the RGB? The regulatory maze behind health tech vaporware Withings wants you to pee on its latest device  How do you sell over-the-counter hearing aids when nobody knows who you are? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Alex Cranz, Richard Lawler, and Dan Seifert discuss the numerous Apple rumors we heard about this week, a Samsung Unpacked preview, and the latest gadget news. Further reading: Apple might finally make a touchscreen Mac Apple is reportedly making an all-in-one cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth chip iPhone 16 Pro models could feature under-display Face ID  Apple's next custom hardware trick might be its own Micro LED screens  Apple's MicroLED dream: what it means for the Apple Watch and beyond $99 AirPods could ship as early as next year alongside next-gen AirPods Max Official Samsung Galaxy S23 images leak early  Samsung confirms February 1st Unpacked, its first in-person event in three years  Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2 Pro can now record lifelike 3D audio HBO Max's first price hike raises the monthly rate by $1  John Deere commits to letting farmers repair their own tractors (kind of)  At CES one company was showing off...an E-Ink headset?  The Pinecil is the best soldering iron for most people Six smart home finds from CES 2023 you may have missed  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Alex Cranz, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Chris Welch, and Andrew Hawkins discuss the best TVs, cars, and smart home gadgets they saw at CES 2023 — from a color-changing car to a vacuum suction system on an OLED TV. Further reading: CES 2023: Verge Video's best of Why Matter mattered at CES The $3,000 totally wireless Displace TV is the definition of CES absurdity Roku does the obvious thing and announces its own TV line  TCL's 2023 TVs have new branding and are gaming powerhouses Samsung's 2023 TV lineup bets everything on picture upgrades and AI tricks LG's latest Signature OLED TV receives all of its audio and video wirelessly LG's 2023 OLED TVs are brighter (again) and make webOS smarter LG wants to reinvent how you think of TV picture modes Sony breaks from tradition and won't announce new TVs at CES 2023  Sony and Honda just announced their new electric car brand, Afeela The Peugeot Inception concept is an EV knife aimed straight at the future The BMW i Vision Dee is a future EV sports sedan that can talk back to you Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices