Overview of Live at SXSW 2026: Can They Convince Marques to Shoot 24fps?
Hosts Marques (MKBHD), Andrew, and David recorded the Waveform Podcast live at SXSW 2026 with Ellis and Adam roaming the crowd for audience questions. The show covered the week’s biggest tech stories (with updates on earlier predictions), a deep dive into Rivian’s newly announced R2 pricing/timelines, big Apple/AI updates, hardware rumors, and a long audience Q&A covering autonomous vehicles, CES highlights, phones/form factors, production choices, and the role of AI in devices and content.
Main segments & news updates
- Rivian R2 pricing, specs and launch windows
- R2 Performance (Launch/Performance trim): ~ $57k (just under $60k), ~330 miles range, ~0–60 mph in ~3s, ~656 hp. Earliest release: spring 2026 (first to arrive).
- R2 Premium: $53.9k (~$54k). Expected late 2026.
- R2 Standard: ~$48k (advertised $45k-ish base); expected in 2027.
- Notes: reviewers typically test high-trim units; colors for R2 were described as muted (many grays, blues, deep plum) vs. the bolder R1 palette. R3 discussed as a later, cheaper model (speculation 2029+).
- Apple / AI / Siri / Apple Intelligence
- Recap: Apple delayed its “Apple Intelligence” rollout; many anticipated agentic Siri features (app actions, deep system integration).
- Current status: Apple announced Gemini will power aspects of Apple Intelligence (announced in January), meaning Google tech plays a role in Apple’s roadmap. Full agentic Siri remains pending.
- Dig relaunch (Alexis Ohanian, Dig)
- Relaunched site exists but appears to have had weak early engagement; community is the key hurdle for new social platforms.
- Apple hardware rumors revisited
- Foldable iPhone: stronger rumors for a passport-style fold (wide fold like Galaxy Fold / Oppo Find series) this year; pricing likely premium (~$2,000 rumored).
- MacBook touchscreen / “MacBook Ultra” rumors: expectations of OLED, Dynamic Island-style UI; debate about naming (Ultra vs Studio) and whether Apple will add Apple Pencil support for Mac.
Audience Q&A — highlights and notable discussions
- Autonomous vehicles
- Marques and others have ridden Waymo and Tesla robo-taxi tech; general comfort level was positive for slow, gated city testing (Marques: “these are fine”), though concerns remain about consolidation of power and safety edge cases.
- Marques’ bet: he’ll shave his head if Tesla ships a $30k, steering-wheel-less CyberCab on the public market by end of 2026 — audience largely thought the bet was safe.
- Personal tech purchases
- Marques: planning Studio Displays / desk refresh (Studio Display XDRs) and evaluating Mac setup.
- Andrew: maybe a Leica M7 (film camera) or mechanical keyboard purchase.
- David/others: eventual Rivian is on the radar for some.
- CES / gadget takeaways
- Practical robotics (autonomous snowblowers, lawnmowers) stood out as compelling consumer use cases.
- Ultrasonic kitchen knife and some unusual phone form factors (Clix communicator, “robot phone”) were interesting but mixed in effectiveness.
- Form factor trends (phones)
- Conversation about whether smaller phones will return. Consensus: there’s demand, but larger phones dominate mainstream sales; small/form-factor phones likely remain niche or driven by startups. Android’s flexibility may allow more experimental form factors.
- Production choices & frame rate debate
- Marques (MKBHD) and team prefer 30 fps for tech videos — a middle ground: avoids 24 fps stutter on slow pans and avoids the “video-game” look of high frame rates (60+). Audience tried (lightheartedly) to convince Marques to shoot 24 fps for a more cinematic look; he prefers 30 fps for reviews and product demos.
- Pre-production insight: they run a streamlined studio workflow, outsource specialist arms of the “octopus,” and are ramping up fact-checking and multi-eye reviews given scale and frequency of releases.
- Android XR / mixed reality OS
- Android XR expected to be a flexible platform for multiple XR form factors. The longer-term winner will likely be lighter, glasses-style AR rather than headset-first experiences (higher ceiling than VisionOS in some scenarios).
- AI on phones / Gemini
- Gemini integration into phones (e.g., Samsung S26 Ultra, Pixel rollouts) is growing; Google is positioning Gemini as a core OS-level capability. Uses today are still limited (assistant tasks, queries), but the trend is toward deeper integration — with open questions about convenience vs privacy.
- AI content and consumption
- AI-generated content spikes from novelty; hosts believe audiences will continue to prefer human-made content for connection and authenticity after the novelty fades.
Key takeaways
- Rivian is pacing launches to sell higher-margin trims first — Performance arrives spring 2026, cheaper base models follow in 2026–27.
- Apple’s big “assistant”/agentic features have been delayed; Apple is leveraging Google Gemini, which complicates the narrative of Apple-built AI.
- Hardware rumors (foldable iPhone, touchscreen Mac) remain viable but uncertain; Apple’s strategy seems driven by ecosystem and product positioning (protecting iPad vs Mac differentiation).
- Practical robotics (snowblowers, lawnmowers) are a clearer near-term consumer win than flashy AR/VR for many everyday tasks.
- The team defends 30 fps as the best compromise for tech video production (smooth motion + natural look).
Notable quotes & lines
- “We always joke how things come out on Thursday.” — about prediction fallibility.
- “We turn into an octopus” — visual for creators doing many roles and the value of delegating.
- “YouTube is TV, so YouTube should be 30 fps.” — succinct defense for frame-rate choice.
- “The hardest part of launching a social product is the people.” — on Dig and community-dependent platforms.
Action items & recommended follow-ups from the episode
- Expect to see Rivian R2 Performance on the road in spring 2026; watch pricing shifts as lower trims roll out in late 2026–2027.
- If you’re concerned about AI/device privacy, read the investigative coverage about Meta / Ray-Ban and data annotators (hosts recommended this as required reading).
- If you want more behind-the-scenes on the Waveform production process, watch the studio’s “Year in the Life” (mentioned as a deep-dive on their pre/post-production).
- Keep an eye on Gemini integrations and Apple’s WWDC announcements for further clarity about Apple Intelligence and Siri’s capabilities.
If you want, I can produce a one-paragraph blurb suitable for social sharing or pull out timestamps/topics for a “what to watch” clip list from the episode.