The Vergecast

We’ve got a bloggy Vergecast today. In between review weeks, a few things popped up in the news that Nilay, Dieter, and Paul needed to talk about. Google is integrating video chat into a phone but still not text; you can now watch all the movies you’ve purchased online in one place; Apple is on a “hype cycle” talking about AR; and Windows Phone died again. But that’s not all. There’s a whole lot in between that — like the segment Paul does every week, “You know Dan, the duck face is no longer cool” — so listen to it all and you’ll get it all.  07:28 - Android Messaging rant 18:49 - Hollywood studios join Disney to launch Movies Anywhere digital locker service 26:07 - Google will “permanently remove” Home Mini feature that led to constant recording 32:21 - Apple hype cycle 38:02 - Oculus announces new $199 self-contained VR headset called Oculus Go 49:59 - Windows Phone is dead 58:17 - Paul’s weekly segment “You know Dan, the duck face is no longer cool” 1:01:50 - Amazon finally makes a waterproof Kindle, after 10 years of Kindles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another week, another tech event: on Wednesday, Google had its fall hardware event. Nilay, Paul, and Dieter try to fit everything they want to say into 90 minutes. Dieter had some exclusive looks at the products, and was able to talk to CEO Sundar Pichai and senior vice president of hardware Rick Osterloh, so the crew lets Dieter talk this week to get more of the details. There’s a whole lot in between that — including everyone’s favorite segment “Micro is more mini than mini” — so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. 01:46 - Google event 13:12 - Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL 29:02 - Google Buds 51:43 - Pixelbook 1:02:14 - Google Home Mini and Max 1:10:30 - Google Clips 1:26:18 - Paul’s weekly segment “Micro is more mini than mini” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon announced a few more Echo devices this week, and The Vergecast is here to recap it all. Nilay, Dan, Dieter, and Paul discuss Amazon’s strategy with these new products, as well rumors of stuff that will be announced at Google’s event next week. There’s a whole lot of stuff in between that — like Twitter’s new 280 character limit — so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. 02:22 - Twitter just doubled the character limit for tweets to 280 06:08 - The 5 biggest announcements from Amazon’s surprise hardware event 09:23 - Amazon’s Echo and Echo Plus are hiding a lot of new tech 16:41 - Amazon's Echo Spot is a sneaky way to get a camera into your bedroom 24:31 - Google pulls YouTube off the Amazon Echo Show 41:16 - This week in TV stuff 46:52 - Amazon announces new Fire TV with 4K and HDR for only $70 52:33 - Paul’s weekly segment “Kitsch in the Kloud” 54:14 - Google Pixel 2 event: what to expect Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week, we brought you The Vergecast live from San Francisco after the Apple event. This week, The Vergecast is back in NYC for Apple reviews week. Nilay Patel, Paul Miller, Lauren Goode, and Dan Seifert go through the reviews, including the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE, and the 4K Apple TV. There’s a lot more in between that — more leaks about the upcoming Google event! — so listen to it all, and you’ll get it all. 02:51 - iPhone 8 and 8 Plus review 35:32 - Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE review 1:00:26 - Apple TV 4K review 1:24:27 - Google leaks 1:27:19 - Paul’s weekly segment “DOG FOOD PODS” 1:29:40 - Google is buying part of HTC’s smartphone team for $1.1 billion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recorded live in front of an audience in San Francisco after Apple's iPhone X event, Nilay, Dieter, and Paul welcome Lauren Goode and Casey Newton back to The Vergecast to run through everything announced at the new Steve Jobs theater in Apple Park.  The gang also takes questions from the audience.  If you weren't able to make it to the show, we've got the tape for you here.  02:11 - Apple park 07:54 - Apple TV 4K  12:32 - iPhone 8  17:52 - iPhone X  28:57 - "the notch"  38:38 - Apple Watch 48:41 - Paul's weekly segment "Is there a refrigerator in this thing?" 53:40 - Animoji 1:02:34 - The state of Apple 1:17:37 - Q & A  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re one week away from The Vergecast Live in San Francisco, so Nilay, Dieter, and Paul talk through the last-minute rumors about what to expect at Apple’s event on September 12th. We also dedicate part of the show to the Galaxy Note 8, which was reviewed on the site this week. And for the season finale of her video series Space Craft, Loren Grush stops by to tell us what it was like being in zero gravity on a parabolic plane. There’s a lot more in between that, so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. 03:14 - Juicero, maker of the doomed $400 internet-connected juicer, is shutting down 06:41 - The Boston Red Sox used an Apple Watch to steal pitching signs 10:44 - Galaxy Note 8 review 31:09 - Space Craft episode 4 with Loren Grush 52:41 - Apple iPhone 8 event: what to expect 1:16:32 - Paul’s weekly segment “Untitled” 1:20:34 - lots of TV stuff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Vergecast returns to the New York studio this week. Dieter, Nilay, and Paul run through what was announced so far at IFA 2017, including the LG V30, Sony Xperia XZ1, and lots of smart speakers. Halfway through the show, Loren Grush makes a pit stop on her way to space to talk about episode 3 of her new video series Space Craft. 04:01 - LG’s V30 loses the gimmicks and gains a beautiful OLED screen 12:41 - Sony’s Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact have refreshed designs and Android Oreo 21:10 - Lenovo made a weird $70 Alexa speaker that only works with its Android tablets 23:26 - Lenovo’s new Yoga 920 laptop has far-field microphones so you can shout at Cortana 24:56 - Google announces three third-party speakers with Assistant, plus LG appliance integration 34:07 - Space Craft episode three with Loren Grush 51:46 - In colossal screw up, Essential shared customers’ driver’s licenses over email 57:34 - Fitbit has a lot to prove with Ionic, its new smartwatch 1:08:56 - Paul’s weekly segment “Who will let me out of this yarn prison?” 1:11:03 - Sony's new wireless earbuds include noise-cancellation technology 1:12:36 - Apple’s iPhone 8 event is happening on September 12th Oh yeah, and Apple announced that its next event will be September 12th. So we announced we are doing a live Vergecast on September 13th in San Francisco! Join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Verge, Dieter was able to get his hands on the new Galaxy Note 8. So on The Vergecast, Nilay, Dieter, and Paul go over the first impressions of Samsung’s latest product and what the pricing will mean for future smartphones. Next up, Loren Grush returns to the show to talk about the second episode of Space Craft, as well as her experience seeing the eclipse this week in Nashville. There’s a lot more in between, like Android Oreo’s name announcement, Verizon’s new unlimited data plans, and some new smart speakers on the horizon, so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. 02:43 - Note 8 specs and features 17:06 - Apple reportedly planning $999 price for new iPhone 26:36 - How I outran clouds to get the perfect eclipse photo with Loren Grush 34:12 - Space Craft episode two with Loren Grush 44:34 - Android O is now officially Android Oreo 47:40 - Google may take on the Echo Dot with a mini Google Home 51:26 - Samsung confirms it’s working on a smart speaker 52:13 - Paul revisits Intel’s new chip announcements 57:41 - Verizon’s good unlimited data plan is now three bad unlimited plans 1:09:38 - Paul’s weekly segment “YotaPhone 3; still Yota-ing” 1:12:07 - Apple TV is losing badly to Roku and Amazon in the living room, survey finds 1:13:28 - iOS 11 Safari will turn Google AMP links back into regular ones when sharing 1:19:34 - Nikon’s new D850 has 45.7 megapixels and enough features to tempt Canon shooters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Verge’s flagship / only podcast, Nilay, Dieter, and Paul go through the weekly rundown of news that hit the site this week. The show begins by addressing the accumulation of online hate as a result of the Charlottesville attack, and how it’s affecting the topics we cover. Also, the Essential Phone is out today, and Dieter had the chance to review it. Nilay, Paul, and Dieter discuss where phones like Essential are headed with this release and the other upcoming releases this fall. We’ve got a new segment for you as well! Loren Grush, science reporter and friend of the show, steps into the studio to talk about her new video series Space Craft, where she finds out what it takes to be an astronaut in modern-day space programs. There’s a whole lot in between, so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. Here’s a list of stories we talked about on the show: 05:46 - Charlottesville attack puts a spotlight on online hate 23:09 - Essential Phone review 43:25 - Headphone jack still missing 49:43 - Space Craft episode 1 with Loren Grush 1:09:30 - Paul’s weekly segment “You say surveillance, I say sousveillance” 1:11:52 - Eclipse toolkit 1:14:07 - Samsung’s new fitness smartband leak reveals offline Spotify support, 5 ATM water resistance 1:14:48 - Apple is reportedly investing $1 billion in original video content 1:15:42 - Walmart’s Vudu video streaming service is coming to Apple TV on August 22nd 1:19:03 - Intel announces its next-generation Ice Lake chips unexpectedly early 1:22:02 - iOS 11 has a “cop button” to temporarily disable Touch ID 1:23:32 - Meet the streamers using Twitch to pay for college 1:23:42 - The Docx games: three days at the Microsoft Office World Championship 1:24:03 - Science doesn’t explain tech’s diversity problem — history does 1:25:12 - Paul’s podcast “Why watch people play video games?” If you enjoyed this podcast and want to hear more, let us know what you want to hear! We’re starting some new podcasts soon and want your feedback. In the meantime, you might want to check out Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, and Too Embarrassed to Ask hosted by The Verge’s Lauren Goode! You can find them all in iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Vergecast, Nilay, Lauren, Dieter, and Paul begin by discussing the controversy over the Google engineer who was fired over writing a 10-page viral memo about diversity. The story illustrates a deeper problem in Silicon Valley, which Lauren has discussed in her podcast recently, so the cast talks about the science of the claims, the responsibly of Google, and what it means in the larger tech industry. In the second half of the show, the crew runs through the latest leaks, releases, and controversies in the gadget world, including Paul’s segment he does every week, “FROYO PODS.”  01:46 - Google engineer fired over memo files labor complaint 33:09 - Consumer Reports stops recommending Microsoft Surface PCs over reliability concerns 37:41 - The new iPhone could have a resizable home button and face recognition for payments 46:22 - 4K Apple TV with HDR spotted in HomePod firmware 48:54 - Essential promises a new phone release date 'in a week' 56:19 - Another Pixel 2 leak shows the phone’s large front bezels 58:14 - Paul’s weekly segment “FROYO PODS” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices