The Vergecast

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by 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. 

13 episodes summarized

Episodes

How Epstein became a tech influencer

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A new tranche of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails makes one thing painfully clear: Epstein was a central figure in the lives of a lot of big names in tech, and had influence on a surprising number of companies and executives. David and Nilay talk through what we’ve learned from the new emails so far. Then they turn to Anthropic’s spicy new Super Bowl ads about... ads, which caused a big reaction from OpenAI (which is betting big on ads). They also discuss this week’s antitrust hearing about Netflix’s purchase of Warner Bros., the latest in Brendan Carr is a Dummy, Google Home’s big buttons upgrade, and much more. Further reading: Here's how Epstein broke the internet Former Windows 8 boss recruited Epstein to help negotiate his messy Microsoft exit Jeffrey Epstein arranged a meeting with Tim Cook for the former head of Windows The Epstein files  Google co-founder Sergey Brin visited Epstein’s private island and traded emails with Ghislaine Maxwell. It turns out Elon Musk didn’t exactly ‘refuse’ the invite to Jeffrey Epstein’s island.  Will Elon Musk’s emails with Jeffrey Epstein derail his very important year?  Bill Gates says accusations contained in Epstein files are ‘absolutely absurd' Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live  ‘We’ve basically funded an elite global pedophile ring since 2015.’  Anthropic says ‘Claude will remain ad-free,’ unlike an unnamed rival Anthropic’s blog post: Claude is a space to think Sam Altman responds to Anthropic’s ‘funny’ Super Bowl ads  OpenAI’s CMO on X Nvidia CEO denies he’s ‘unhappy’ with OpenAI Netflix lands in the middle of a culture war during Senate hearing Everyone is stealing TV  Disney says Josh D’Amaro will replace Bob Iger as CEO  FCC aims to ensure “only living and lawful Americans” get Lifeline benefits Elon Musk is merging SpaceX and xAI to build data centers in space — or so he says  Peloton’s gamble on expensive new hardware has yet to pay off Google Home finally adds support for buttons  Raspberry Pi is raising prices again as memory shortages continue  Valve’s Steam Machine has been delayed, and the RAM crisis will impact pricing  Aluminium: Why Google’s Android for PC launch may be messy and controversial 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

February 6, 20261:34:03

Millions of books died so Claude could live

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AI companies want all the data, everywhere, to make their models bigger and better. That means a lot of questions about piracy and copyright, and at least in one case it means Anthropic systematically destroying countless books just to feed them to the model. The Washington Post's Will Oremus joins the show to explain how that worked, why Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI and others are doing it, and what the law has to say. Then, Puck's Julia Alexander helps David figure out whether Netflix is serious about showing movies in theaters, and what theaters need to do to survive in the entertainment business going forward. Further reading: From The Washington Post: Anthropic ‘destructively’ scanned millions of books to build Claude Anthropic wins a major fair use victory for AI — but it’s still in trouble for stealing books Meta’s AI copyright win comes with a warning about fair use Did AI companies win a fight with authors? Technically From Puck: Why Netflix Needs Warner Bros. Welcome to the big leagues, Netflix 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

February 3, 20261:28:35

Tim Cook is destroying his own legacy

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We've been covering what's happening in Minnesota, and the killing of Alex Pretti, all week on The Verge. To begin this episode, Nilay explains why — and why so many others seem to feel the same way right now. After that, the hosts talk about the CEO-studded screening of Melania Trump's documentary last weekend, the disastrous public appearance from Tim Cook, and whether Cook and other CEOs have any other option but to capitulate to the Trump administration. Then it's time for some gadgets: we talk about the super-foldy, super-expensive Samsung Galaxy  Z Trifold, the Clawdbot / Moltbot phenomenon, and whether Google can finally put Chrome OS and Android together the right way. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, Tesla's anti-car pivot, Apple's design hires, and more. Further reading: On the ground in Minneapolis after the killing of Alex Pretti  I grew up with Alex Pretti  Creators and communities everywhere take a stand against ICE  It doesn’t matter if Alex Pretti had a gun  Why won’t anyone stop ICE from masking?  Tim Cook, Andy Jassy, and AMD CEO Lisa Su are at the White House for a VIP screening of the Melania doc. Tim Cook had ‘a good conversation’ with Trump about deescalation  Cook in 2020: Speaking up on racism From The New York Times: Amazon’s $35 Million ‘Melania’ Promotion Has Critics Questioning Its Motives From The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Melania’ Set for a $3 Million Opening Despite Amazon’s $35 Million Marketing Push Here’s Tim Cook hanging out with accused rapist Brett Ratner at the Melania screening What TikTok’s new owners mean for your feed  TikTok USA is broken  TikTok is still down, here are all the latest updates  TikTok is still struggling in the US due to a “cascading systems failure.”  TikTok US is mostly back up and running  TikTok blames its US problems on a power outage  Oracle admits it broke TikTok. Congress doesn’t seem to know if the TikTok deal complies with its law  Is New TikTok banning the word “Epstein” in DMs? Not really.  TikTokers are heading to UpScrolled following US takeover  Mark Zuckerberg is all in on AI as the new social media  Meta is stopping teens from chatting with its AI characters  Bluesky is testing ‘live’ features to take on X  Best gas masks The Samsung Trifold will cost nearly three grand  Google just leaked a first look at Android for PC in action  Chromebooks train schoolkids to be loyal customers, internal Google document suggests  Moltbot, the AI agent that ‘actually does things,’ is tech’s new obsession Clawdbot’s bad day  I used Claude to vibe-code my wildly overcomplicated smart home The FCC’s Late Night Comedy Show Tesla discontinuing Model S and Model X to make room for robots  Tesla says production-ready Optimus robot is coming soon  Tesla hits a grim milestone: its second straight year of decline Elon Musk invests $2 billion in Elon Musk Hang on, there’s a Trump Phone Ultra coming too?  Halide co-founder Sebastiaan de With is joining Apple’s design team  The Stream Deck-packed gaming keyboard is a monster of good ideas 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

January 30, 20261:35:11

Truth and AI in Minneapolis

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Like so many others, we’re still reeling from the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. To open the show, we talk with Adi Robertson about how videos of the incident moved around social platforms, how even well-intentioned people got confused by AI imagery, and what we’ve learned about the state of misinformation. Then Adi explains the new TikTok, which is both the same and very different from the old TikTok. The newly US-centric version of the app has had some switching pains so far, and the changes may only be just beginning. After that, it’s time for a hard pivot, as Vulture’s Nick Quah joins the show to talk about Netflix’s entry into podcasts — and whether what Netflix is doing can even be called “podcasts” anymore. Finally, David answers an old Vergecast Hotline question that got him thinking about all the ways we hold our phones to make calls, and which one is the best.  Further reading: It doesn’t matter if Alex Pretti had a gun The day of the second killing TikTok USA is broken Everything (Including Netflix) Will Become YouTube This Year It’s finally time to retire the word ‘podcast’ 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

January 27, 20261:15:22

The end of the Sony era in TVs

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Nilay owns a Sony TV. He loves his Sony TV, and he's a little sad that it appears this era of Sony TVs is ending. He and David talk through the news of a new joint venture between Sony and TCL, before digging into OpenAI's new-fangled plan to make money (spoiler alert: it's ads!), and some new news about an AI gadget Apple may or may not be working on. Then it's time for the lightning round: Brendan Carr, Netflix, the Trump Phone, and much more. Further reading: The TikTok deal could finally close this week. Epic and Google have a secret $800 million Unreal Engine and services deal Sony’s TV business is being taken over by TCL  What a Sony and TCL partnership means for the future of TVs OpenAI’s 2026 ‘focus’ is ‘practical adoption’  OpenAI releases a cheaper ChatGPT subscription  Ads are coming soon to ChatGPT, starting with shopping links  Opinion | A.I. Is Real. But OpenAI Might Still Fail.Apple is reportedly working on an AirTag-sized AI wearable  Apple is turning Siri into an AI bot that’s more like ChatGPT  FCC Targets Colbert and Kimmel in New Crackdown on Late-Night TV - The New York Times Bureau Provides Guidance on Political Equal Opportunities Requirement | Federal Communications Commission Free TV startup Telly only had 35,000 units in people’s homes last fall Microsoft wants to build 15 data centers in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin  OpenAI says its data centers will pay for their own energy and limit water usage Netflix will revamp its mobile UI this year  600,000 Trump Mobile phones sold? There’s no proof. YouTubers will be able to make Shorts with their own AI likenesses  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

January 23, 20261:41:43

How BYD beat Tesla

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There’s a new biggest name in EVs, and if you live in the US, you pretty much can’t buy one. But before we get to that, we have some stuff to catch up on: The Verge's Hayden Field joins us for a round of “Big Deal Medium Deal Small Deal” with some AI news, from the launch of ChatGPT Health to the recent viral moment for Claude Code. After that, The Verge’s Andy Hawkins joins the show to explain how BYD recently eclipsed Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles, what makes its cars so desirable, and when you, too, might be able to buy a Dolphin Surf. Finally, David tackles a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about giving your kids iPads instead of iPhones, and whether all screen time is created equal. Further reading: Car influencers love Chinese EVs — and China loves them back Tesla’s fourth quarter sales fell a lot more than expected From Inside EVs: A Guide To BYD, The Chinese Automaker That Just Surpassed Tesla Anthropic wants you to use Claude to ‘Cowork’ in latest AI agent push Anthropic shakes up C-suite to expand its internal incubator OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, encouraging users to connect their medical records Google brings buy buttons to Gemini and AI search Grok is undressing children — can the law stop it? Google is taking over your Gmail inbox with AI 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

January 20, 20261:18:32

Siri is a Gemini

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Nearly two years ago, Apple showed off what an AI-powered Siri might do. That Siri never materialized, but thanks to a deal with Google for its Gemini tech, it might finally have a chance to work. David and Nilay discuss the ins and outs of the deal, and what it might mean for both Apple's and Google's ambitions in AI. (They also talk about the onslaught of new lawsuits from publishers related to Google's adtech antitrust case, including from our parent company Vox Media. Disclosure is our brand.) After that, they talk about Grok's horrific deepfake problem on X, and why everyone involved deserves the blame. Then it's time to pour one out for VR and the metaverse, which is losing steam as Meta loses interest and continues to pivot to AI. RIP Supernatural, a surprise hit of an exercise app! Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the latest Paramount / Warner / Netflix drama, the Trump Phone, and the Digg reboot. Further reading: The Atlantic, Penske, and Vox Media have all sued Google for antitrust violations Apple picks Google’s Gemini AI for its big Siri upgrade What Apple and Google’s Gemini deal means for both companies Google’s Gemini AI will use what it knows about you from Gmail, Search, and YouTube  Why Google Gemini looks poised to win the AI race over OpenAI  A “conscious decision” from OpenAI.  X hasn’t really stopped Grok AI from undressing women in the UK  Advocacy groups demand Apple and Google block X from app stores  UK pushes up a law criminalizing deepfake nudes in response to Grok X claims it has stopped Grok from undressing people, but of course it hasn’t   Meta plans to lay off hundreds of metaverse employees this week  Meta confirms Reality Labs layoffs and shifts to invest more in wearables  Meta is closing down three VR studios as part of its metaverse cuts  Meta’s layoffs hit the studio that made Batman: Arkham Shadow, too.   Supernatural Will No Longer Get New Content Or Features  FTC won’t appeal court decision permitting Meta to buy Within The best thing to do in VR is work out FCC chair Brendan Carr is pressed on removing ‘independent’ from its website.  Verizon gets FCC permission to end 60-day phone unlocking rule  Anthropic wants you to use Claude to ‘Cowork’ in latest AI agent push  Paramount sues after Warner Bros. Discovery rejects its latest deal Netflix is reportedly considering an all-cash offer for Warner Bros.  The new Digg is launching an open beta.  Elon Musk Cannot Get Away With This 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

January 16, 20261:39:36

It's code red for ChatGPT

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First things first: David and Nilay are both having some TV problems, and they need to talk it out. But then they get to the news of the week, including Samsung's new extra-foldy foldable phone, and a big change in the design departments at both Apple and Meta. What does it all say about the future of smart glasses? After that, the hosts talk through why Sam Altman declared a code red inside of OpenAI in order to redirect focus to ChatGPT — and whether the technology that has made all these products possible is actually the right technology moving forward. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, recap season, "dear algo," and thermostats. Further reading: Samsung’s Z TriFold is official and it looks like a tablet with a phone attached  Huawei tris again.  Huawei’s first trifold is a great phone that you shouldn’t buy  Apple’s head of UI design is leaving for Meta  Apple AI chief steps down following Siri setbacks  Louie Mantia’s blog post about Dye Zuck’s post about the new team Linux usage on Steam hits a record high for the second month in a row  OpenAI declares ‘code red’ as Google catches up in AI race  OpenAI just made another circular deal  Anthropic’s AI bubble ‘YOLO’ warning  Anthropic’s racing OpenAI to go public  Normalizing extraterrestrial data centers I tested five AI browsers and lost my mind in the process The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake Ilya Sutskever – We're moving from the age of scaling to the age of research FCC boss Brendan Carr claims another victory over DEI as AT&T drops programs First there was nothing, then there was Hoto and Fanttik This new Honeywell Home smart thermostat can answer your Ring doorbell Spotify Wrapped 2025 turns listening into a competition  YouTube introduces its own version of Spotify Wrapped for videos  Amazon Music Delivered puts your top tunes on a festival poster.  Google Photos Recap will tell you how many selfies you took this year “Dear algo.”  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

December 5, 20251:36:28

It's not your job to fix the internet

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Enshittification. It's fun to say, hard to spell, and a useful descriptor of exactly how the internet has gone wrong. Cory Doctorow, the author and activist who coined the term a few years ago, recently published a book on the subject, called Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It. He was on Decoder a few weeks ago to explain what happened, and joins The Vergecast this week to help us figure out what to do about it. Can we, as regular people on the internet, help to de-enshittify the place? What responsibility do we have, and what kinds of choices should we be making? Cory has lots of thoughts on whether you can shop your way out of a monopoly, and what it really takes to enact structural change online. Further reading: Cory Doctorow on Decoder Read Cory's book, Enshittification Cory's last Vergecast appearance From Pluralistic: How monopoly enshittified Amazon AI is killing the old web, and the new web struggles to be born FTC files a massive antitrust lawsuit against Amazon 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

November 18, 20251:04:25

Version History: LimeWire

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You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't steal a handbag. But plenty of people used LimeWire and other file sharing services to share music, movies and more. If Napster was the beginning of the piracy story, LimeWire may have been the final chapter. Nilay Patel and Sarah Jeong join David Pierce to chart the history of LimeWire and the legal cases that shaped U.S. copyright law and the lives of college students taxing the bandwidth of their dormitory internet. 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

November 16, 20251:13:50

Valve made Microsoft's dream console

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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

November 14, 20251:40:16

Extreme smart home makeover

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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

November 11, 20251:22:46

Google's extreme smart home makeover

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Oh, you thought AI was just in your browser and on your phone? Well, the AI is coming from inside the house. The Verge's Jen Pattison Tuohy and Google's Anish Kattukaran both join the show to discuss last week's Google smart home news, including the company's big bet on the Gemini assistant. Anish explains why Google cares about the smart home in the first place, why things haven't exactly gone great so far, and why he's so convinced the new generation of AI can make it work. After that, The Verge's Vee Song joins the show to talk about Peloton's newest gear, including a $6,695 treadmill and a huge new push into personalized AI training features. Vee then sticks around to help David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about how many smartwatches is too many smartwatches. Spoiler alert: the answer is two. But it's not quite as simple as that. Further reading: Peloton increases fees and introduces new hardware including a $6,695 treadmill Peloton appoints Apple Fitness Plus cofounder as new CEO Peloton is a media company now, with media company problems Google dismantled Nest — can Gemini save what’s left? Hey Google, meet Gemini: the new voice of your smart home The new Google Home Speaker is built for Gemini Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

October 7, 20251:23:15