The Vergecast

David and Nilay start the show by exploring the increasing disconnect between the people who make AI products, and the people who keep saying they don't want them. (Or, at least, don't want to pay for them.) The AI industry is starting to retrench to a business-first approach, because there's simply no killer app for it yet. Speaking of no killer apps! Allison Johnson then joins the show to talk about the shockingly short life of the Samsung TriFold, and her bizarre journey to try and review the now-dead foldable. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the fate of the metaverse, and some important internet debunking.

Further reading:

⁠OpenAI cuts back on “side quests.” ⁠

⁠OpenAI’s adult mode will reportedly be smutty, not pornographic ⁠

NYMag: ⁠Should You Be Able to Have Sex With ChatGPT?⁠

⁠I think VCs are starting to panic about the lack of *broad* consumer | TikTok⁠

⁠For the second time this week we have VCs vocalizing their frustration | TikTok⁠

⁠Poll: Majority of voters say risks of AI outweigh the benefits⁠

⁠How Americans View AI and Its Impact on Human Abilities, Society | Pew Research Center⁠

⁠Samsung discontinues its Galaxy Z TriFold after just three months ⁠

⁠Oppo’s nearly creaseless foldable isn’t launching in Europe after all ⁠

From last year: ⁠Just look at Huawei’s trifold phone⁠

⁠This is not a fly uploaded to a computer⁠

⁠ChatGPT did not cure a dog’s cancer⁠

⁠Meta is actually keeping its VR metaverse running, for now⁠

⁠Nvidia just announced DLSS 5 and Digital Foundry already has a video. ⁠

⁠Jensen Huang, on the critical reaction to DLSS 5: “Well, first of all, they’re completely wrong.”⁠

⁠DLSS 5 looks like a real-time generative AI filter for video games ⁠

⁠Nvidia has lost the plot with gamers ⁠

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A new era of software development is upon us. Career coders are no longer writing code, but rather managing teams of agents that do the work on their behalf. You can Claude Code your way through seemingly just about any problem. So what does that mean for the software we use, and the people who make it? Paul Ford, a writer and technologist who both writes about code and manages a team of coders, joins the show to explain his somewhat conflicted excitement about the new crop of AI tools, and his worries about what they’ll do to the world. After that, The Verge’s Dominic Preston helps answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email ⁠[email protected]⁠!) about the differences between the US phone market and the global phone market, and whether US buyers are missing anything important.

Further reading:

⁠The A.I. Disruption Has Arrived, and It Sure Is Fun⁠

⁠Claude has been having a moment — can it keep it up?⁠

⁠How the creator of Claude Code sees the future of AI⁠

⁠Ftrain⁠

From Bloomberg: ⁠What Is Code?⁠

⁠Xiaomi, unlike Google and Samsung, thinks camera hardware comes first⁠

⁠Oppo’s new foldable isn’t quite creaseless, but it’s pretty damn close⁠

⁠Honor’s Robot Phone is a bad robot, interesting camera, maybe a friend⁠

⁠Vivo and Oppo’s telephoto extender comes to iPhone⁠

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David and Nilay bought new computers this week, as the MacBook Neo turned out to be a surprisingly great cheap Apple laptop. The hosts discuss their experiences with the machines, from the processor to the keyboard to the mess that is MacOS Tahoe. After that, they talk about the future of Xbox, Project Helix, and what it might mean for every gaming PC to become an Xbox... and for the Xbox to become a gaming PC. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the latest on Paramount and Warner Bros, Grammarly's sloppelgangers, and more.

Further reading:

MacBook Neo review: the Mac for the masses 

 Asus chief says Macbook Neo's affordable pricing came as a shock to the entire PC market — compares $599 notebook to a tablet and content-consumption device

The MacBook Neo is surprisingly easy to disassemble and repair.

From 2007: Ballmer Laughs at iPhone

Apple Studio Display XDR review: a great, but expensive, pro option

The iPhone 17E is good, but you probably shouldn’t buy it 

iPad Air review 2026: the M4 and other chip bumps make a difference 

Apple is going high-end with new ‘Ultra’ products next 

iPhone Fold rumor: iPad-like multitasking, but no iPad apps and no Face ID 

Microsoft’s next Xbox, Project Helix, won’t reach alpha until 2027 

Microsoft’s ‘Xbox mode’ is coming to every Windows 11 PC 

Microsoft says you should build next-gen Xbox games by building them for PC. 

FCC chair blasts Amazon after it criticizes SpaceX megaconstellation

Brendan Carr on X

FCC chief tells CNBC WBD-Paramount merger deal is ‘cleaner’ than Netflix’s, will be approved ‘quickly’

Grammarly is using our identities without permission 

Grammarly is turning off the expert review AI feature that stole our identities 

Grammarly will keep using authors’ identities without permission unless they opt out 

The Live Nation settlement has industry insiders baffled

Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus review: This again 

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Last week, it appeared the US Department of Justice was off to a strong start in its antitrust case against Live Nation Ticketmaster. Then, this week, the two sides surprised everyone by settling. The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins the show to explain the stakes of the case, the facts of the settlement, and why things aren’t entirely over just yet. Then, The Verge’s Hayden Field catches us up on what’s happening between Anthropic, OpenAI, and the Department of Defense. OpenAI got the contract, but it looks like Anthropic might be the real winner here. If the company’s business can survive, that is. Finally, David answers a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email [email protected]!) about whether you should get a foldable phone. And why foldable phones even exist.

Further reading:

Live Nation settles government antitrust suit — that probably doesn’t include a breakup

How Live Nation allegedly terrorized the concert industry

Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away? 

Inside Anthropic’s existential negotiations with the Pentagon 

We don’t have to have unsupervised killer robots 

How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance 

Trump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AI 

Iran Strikes: Anthropic Claude AI Helped US Attack. But How Exactly? - Bloomberg

My favorite folding phone is the one that doesn’t exist yet 

Google Pixel Fold review: closing the gap

Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) review: looking sharp

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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In 1997, David Hampton and Caleb Chung took one look at a Tamagotchi and decided they could bring the virtual pet craze into the real world. Their robotic companion, Furby, packed a bunch of advanced technology into a small, adorable, often annoying package. But for all the irritation it caused (Furby famously had no on-off switch) there was a surprising amount of thoughtful philosophy in its design. The Verge’s Vee Song, Sean Hollister and host David Pierce are joined by Coco the Furby to discuss the lore behind the hottest toy of 1998.

⁠Geocities chat with Furby co-inventor David Hampton⁠

If you like the show, ⁠⁠follow the Version History audio podcast feed⁠⁠ to get every new episode.Version History is also on video! Check us out on YouTube.⁠Subscribe to The Verge⁠ for unlimited access to ⁠theverge.com⁠, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ⁠ad-free podcast feed⁠.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to ⁠[email protected]⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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