The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition

Sean Hollister, senior reporter covering platforms and gadgets. Dominic Preston, mobile-hardware journalist who scoured Mobile World Congress. They tour MWC’s weirdest phones and accessories. Talk about a fire-starting rugged phone, Honor’s gimbal-style Robot Phone, modular and waterproof foldable designs. They also dig into Lenovo modular laptops, Nothing’s Phone 4A updates, and the Google–Epic settlement saga.

Hands‑on reactions to Apple’s surprise MacBook Neo reveal and its budget tradeoffs. A deep look at the new Studio Display XDR and why pros might pay a premium. First impressions of the iPhone 17e’s compromises and display confusion. Discussion of the refreshed iPad Air, wireless upgrades, and who should consider each new product.

Allison Johnson, MWC mobile reporter with hands-on phone coverage; Jess Weatherbed, gadgets reporter who explains strap culture; Jay Peters, VR and metaverse reporter answering listener questions. They tour modular and robot phones, debate 6G hype, and unpack gadget straps as practical fashion. They also tackle whether immersive platforms will become everyday living spaces.

They dissect Samsung’s S26 launch, from the clever Privacy Display to risky AI photo tools that can fabricate images. They unpack Google and Samsung’s agentic AI plans that can run apps and book services for you. They analyze Microsoft’s Xbox leadership shakeup and what it means for the platform’s identity. The show closes with sharp takes on AI hype, creator economy quirks, and odd political PR stunts.

Hayden Field, The Verge senior AI reporter who covers privacy and security, and Boris Cherny, Anthropic engineer and creator of Claude Code, who built and explains the product. They discuss why Claude Code took off and how it changed Boris’s role. They talk about CoWork’s rapid adoption, interfaces from terminals to consumer surfaces, sandboxed security choices, and how to think about sharing data and device access with AI.

Once again, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and his bad ideas about free speech have rankled a late night host. And once again, Nilay and David talk through what the equal-time rule actually means, why organizations keep caving, and why it's apparently up to people like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel to fight back. After that, the hosts discuss the facial recognition feature Meta hopes to launch for its smart glasses, plus the gadgets we're likely to see Apple launch in the couple of weeks. In the lightning round, we get some bleak news on Tesla's self-driving skills, a robovac security disaster, and the future of Warner Bros. Further reading: ⁠Why CBS Didn't Broadcast Stephen Colbert's Interview With James Talarico⁠ ⁠Stephen Colbert says CBS banned him from airing this James Talarico interview ⁠ ⁠Why Everyone's Talking About Stephen Colbert, CBS, The FCC And James Talarico⁠ ⁠Meta reportedly wants to add face recognition to smart glasses while privacy advocates are distracted⁠ From the NYT: ⁠Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses⁠ ⁠Apple’s doing something on March 4th ⁠ ⁠Apple is reportedly planning to launch AI-powered glasses, a pendant, and AirPods ⁠ ⁠Apple starts testing end-to-end encrypted RCS messages on iPhone ⁠ ⁠Apple’s Podcasts app will let you ‘seamlessly’ switch between audio and video shows ⁠ ⁠Looks like we can expect more AI from the Galaxy S26 camera. | The Verge⁠ ⁠Google announces dates for I/O 2026 ⁠ ⁠Western Digital says it’s “pretty much soldout” for 2026. ⁠ ⁠Valve’s Steam Deck OLED will be ‘intermittently’ out of stock because of the RAM crisis ⁠ ⁠Switch 2 pricing and next PlayStation release could be impacted by memory shortage ⁠ ⁠Tesla’s robotaxis have crashed 14 times in 9 months. ⁠ ⁠Tesla won’t use the term ‘Autopilot’ in California anymore⁠ ⁠Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs?⁠ ⁠4chan’s creator says ‘Epstein had nothing to do’ with creating infamous far-right board /pol/⁠ ⁠DJI’s first robovac is an autonomous cleaning drone you can’t trust⁠ ⁠The DJI Romo robovac had security so poor, this man remotely accessed thousands of them⁠ ⁠DJI says yes, it will fix its other Romo robovac security hole within weeks⁠ ⁠Samsung ad confirms rumors of a useful S26 ‘privacy display’ ⁠ ⁠Warner Bros. Discovery gives Paramount one week to present its ‘best and final’ offer ⁠ ⁠WordPress’ new AI assistant will let users edit their sites with prompts ⁠ Thank you for subscribing to The Verge. 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

Allison Johnson, a Verge senior reviewer who tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 as a “purse computer,” explains why a foldable can replace a laptop for many tasks. Jacob Feldman, a Sportico sports business reporter, breaks down the messy state of sports streaming, rights deals, and big-event coverage. They discuss multitasking, keyboards, app friction, Olympic streams, Super Bowl performance, and where streaming is headed.

They debate whether a heartwarming Ring ad hides a future of always-on neighborhood surveillance. They unpack Ring’s Search Party feature, Wyze’s response, and broader privacy tradeoffs from private cameras. They cover AI industry departures and alarmist exit letters, the fake OpenAI Super Bowl ad, and the arrival of ads inside ChatGPT. Quick takes include Siri delays, a Ferrari interior by Jony Ive, and streaming studio bidding drama.

Dom Preston, The Verge news editor who investigated the T1, gives a firsthand rundown of the Trump Phone’s hardware, specs, and corporate smoke and mirrors. Hayden Field, AI reporter, explains OpenClaw and Maltbook and the privacy and security tradeoffs of agent platforms. Andy Hawkins, transportation editor, tackles whether Tesla might pivot away from selling cars and the hurdles of that shift.

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 Thank you for subscribing to The Verge. 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