The Vergecast

The Ferrari Luce is here, and suffice to say it is not the electric Ferrari anyone expected. Nilay and David dig into the Jony Ive-designed car, from its marvelously appointed interior to its decidedly non-Ferrari-like exterior. (You might even call it... Nissan Leaf-like.) After that, the hosts discuss some of the latest backlash against AI, Google's ongoing AI-based changes to Search, and AI content labels. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, some deeply nerdy display tech, and the incredible rising price of everything. Further reading: ⁠Ferrari reveals its first EV, with design help from Jony Ive ⁠ ⁠Jony Ive’s Ferrari looks nothing like a Ferrari ⁠ ⁠This Ferrari should have been a Volkswagen ⁠ ⁠Ferrari’s stock plummets after disappointing Luce unveil. ⁠ ⁠‘If I were to say what I think, I would be hurting Ferrari.’ ⁠ ⁠All the news about Ferrari’s polarizing Luce EV⁠ ⁠YouTube is putting AI labels where you’ll actually see them⁠ ⁠People sure do hate Google’s AI Search updates.⁠ ⁠Pope Leo warns of the risks of AI in major papal document ⁠ ⁠The Pope isn’t AGI-pilled ⁠ ⁠Did the Pope use AI to write about the dangers of AI? ⁠ ⁠Sony’s first RGB TV is a statement piece⁠ ⁠Facebook launches a ‘Plus’ subscription that gives you extra features ⁠ ⁠Valve raises Steam Deck prices by more than $200 ⁠ ⁠It’s not stopping any time soon. ⁠ ⁠The golden age of handheld gaming is already over⁠ 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. ((Timestamps are approximate.) 00:01:00 Intro 00:02:00 Daily Vergecast Era 00:03:00 Ferrari First EV 00:06:00 Why Luce Looks Wrong 00:07:00 Media Junket Ethics 00:08:00 Apple Car Vibes Inside 00:10:00 Comparisons to Leaf 00:13:00 Ferrari Legend Backlash 00:16:00 EVs Should Feel Normal 00:19:00 Cadillac EV Counterpoint 00:23:00 Jony Ive Constraints Debate 00:30:00 Anti AI Search Shift 00:32:00 Google Search Randomness 00:37:00 Beta Testing Users 00:42:00 Personalized Buying Future 00:45:00 Bad AI Products Everywhere 00:46:00 YouTube AI Labels 00:49:00 Auto Detection Doubts 00:51:00 Ads Versus AI Opt Out 00:52:00 Pope On Humanity 00:55:00 Uber Questions Productivity 01:03:00 Brendan Carr’s Hard Hat 01:07:00 Meta Subscription Squeeze 01:14:00 Sony RGB Backlight TVs 01:19:00 Roku Home Screen Ads 01:21:00 Gaming Prices Spike 01:26:00 Wrap Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's now surprisingly easy to watch most of a movie without ever trying to, or to spend hours with a podcast without ever playing an episode. In the burgeoning clip economy, everything is being cut into bite-sized pieces and being blasted around the internet hoping to land in your feeds. The Verge's Mia Sato explains the machinery of how all this works, and wonders what it means for our social media experience. After that, The Verge's Victoria Song joins to discuss the Fitbit Air, the new $99 Google fitness tracker she and David have both been testing. It's a fascinating, thoroughly AI-ified device, and it actually has some pretty good ideas. (And some bad ones!) Finally, Vee sticks around to help David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email [email protected]!) about smart glasses, and whether helping you find your other gear might just be a killer app. Further reading: Inside the cutthroat community of ‘clippers’  Google’s taking a big swing at AI health with the Fitbit Air   What’s the role of a simple fitness band in the AI health era? All these smart glasses and nothing to do 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. (Timestamps are approximate.) 00:00:00 Brick Your Phone 00:03:00 Clips Go Industrial 00:06:00 How Clipping Platforms Work 00:08:00 Why It Looks Organic 00:11:00 Clavicular Case Study 00:13:00 Shady or Just Marketing 00:20:00 Platform Rules and Reality 00:26:00 Slop and the Future of Clips 00:36:00 Watch Band Color Debate 00:38:00 Why Fitbit Air Matters 00:40:00 Whoop Dupe Or Fitbit Roots 00:45:00 Google Health AI Coach 00:50:00 Limits And Lab Upload Friction 00:53:00 Privacy And Data Tradeoffs 00:56:00 AI Health Personalities Compared 01:04:00 Hotline Smart Glasses Tracking 01:09:00 Future Of All Day Glasses 01:13:00 Wrap Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before we get into this week's tech news, we have some corporate news to discuss, and some very exciting Vergecast news to share. (If you have questions about either one, hit us up: [email protected] or 866-VERGE11!) Then, Nilay and David get back into the weeds on all things Google I/O, and in particular the ways AI is changing the Google Search experience. When Gemini can find things for you, make things for you, even buy things for you, are you even searching anymore? Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr is a Dummy, SpaceX, the Trump Phone, and some very confusing social networks. Further reading: The future of Google is a search box that does everything  Google is building a ‘universal’ AI shopping cart that tracks prices, offers suggestions, and finds discounts  Demis Hassabis said this might be the ‘foothills of the singularity.’ What?  Google is trying to make deepfake detection more accessible  Google Search’s AI evolution includes more ads  Google’s AI future demands trust — and your personal data  Why does the Googlebook exist? The FCC voted to ‘streamline’ tracking US broadband quality. In SpaceX’s IPO, Elon Musk is the risk factor Spotify is verifying podcasts made by real people too. NBC just got the Trump phone. 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. (Timestamps are approximate.) 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:00 Vox Media Sale 00:08:00 What Changes for The Verge 00:12:00 Vergecast Goes Daily 00:18:00 Feedback and Launch Details 00:23:00 Google I O Vibe Check 00:24:00 Agents Everywhere at Google 00:25:00 Search Becomes the Platform 00:26:00 Singularity Talk Whiplash 00:31:00 Monetizing AI and Google Zero 00:37:00 Shopping Web Takes Over 00:39:00 Agents Replace Browsing 00:43:00 Canvas Makes Apps 00:49:00 Google Book Devices Pitch 00:51:00 Agents Break App Economics 00:53:00 Traffic Deal Is Over 01:01:00 Hype Desk Forza Horizon 6 01:07:00 Subnautica 2 Surprise Hit 01:11:00 Brendan Carr is a Dummy 01:14:00 Broadband Map Complaints 01:21:00 Spotify AI Whiplash 01:25:00 Deepfake Detection Reality 01:30:00 SpaceX IPO Breakdown 01:34:00 Trump Phone In Wild 01:37:00 Wrap Up And Plugs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google I/O was, predictably, all about AI this year. And if it actually works, a lot of this stuff could be pretty useful! Immediately after the two hour long keynote (that contained approximately 190 total mentions of the terms "AI" and "Gemini") The Verge’s senior AI reporter Hayden Field and executive editor Jake Kastrenakes went live on YouTube with their reactions. Further reading: The 13 biggest announcements at Google I/O 2026 The 5 biggest changes coming to Gemini Google Search is getting its biggest changes ever Inside Google’s Beam Lab, an AI face appears We’re 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Musk v. OpenAI trial continues, which means so do the allegations and leaks surrounding some of the most influential people in tech. Nilay and David recount the most interesting and entertaining moments from the courtroom this week, before digging into what we've learned about when Sam Altman was fired. After that, the hosts discuss OpenAI's apparent plans to build a phone, which seem utterly necessary and utterly doomed, along with the new Fitbit Air and a truly strange new home robot. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the Chinese company that wants to make everything, and the next big rebrand for xAI. Further reading: ⁠Internal Tech Emails on X: "Sam Altman texts Mira Murat⁠ ⁠We are going through the removal of Sam Altman from OpenAI in detail. ⁠ ⁠Toner is relating how Sam Altman’s firing happened. ⁠ ⁠Toner says she found out about ChatGPT by seeing screenshots on Twitter. ⁠ ⁠Zilis sent Altman a text message of support after his 2023 ouster. ⁠ ⁠Google’s taking a big swing at AI health with the Fitbit Air⁠ ⁠OpenAI is reportedly launching a phone for ChatGPT ⁠ ⁠The creator of Roomba is back with a furry robot companion ⁠ ⁠Inside Dreame’s wild launch event — packed with products no one can buy⁠ ⁠Dreame — the vacuum company — just ‘launched’ its own phones | The Verge⁠ ⁠Dreame’s rocket-powered car can do 0–60 in 0.9 seconds because you can just say things now⁠ ⁠A foldable iPhone dummy — on video. ⁠ ⁠Apple agrees to pay iPhone owners $250 million for not delivering AI Siri ⁠ ⁠DOJ assault on the NFL could end the Packers as we know them.⁠ ⁠Apple could let you pick a favorite AI model in iOS 27 ⁠ ⁠xAI is becoming SpaceXAI.⁠ ⁠Microsoft gives up on Xbox Copilot AI ⁠ ⁠Microsoft’s new Xbox shake-up is all about platform changes ⁠ ⁠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. (Timestamps are approximate.) 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:00 Trial Discovery Era 00:06:00 Early OpenAI Origins 00:11:00 Elon Power Struggle 00:17:00 Altman Firing Texts 00:27:00 Why The Board Panicked 00:36:00 ChatGPT Phone Rumor 00:39:00 OpenAI Phone vs App Store 00:41:00 Why Apps Still Matter 00:44:00 Apple Siri Power Play 00:49:00 Apple Intelligence Lawsuit 00:53:00 Google Fitbit Air 00:57:00 Google Health Rebrand Backlash 01:01:00 Familiar Robot Pet Debate 01:10:00 Nintendo Star Fox Returns 01:12:00 Nintendo Weirdness Wins 01:15:00 Furry Overlap Discourse 01:16:00 Zach Gardening Surprise 01:21:00 Brendan Carr Broadband Fight 01:23:00 NFL Antitrust And Packers 01:29:00 Dreame Vaporware Parade 01:32:00 Rocket Car Reality Check 01:34:00 Elon Corporate Matryoshka 01:36:00 Xbox Ditches Copilot 01:37:00 Wrap Up And Schedule Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices