The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition

In episode two of our Five Senses of Gaming miniseries, David Pierce dives into the world of hearing with audio-only video games with Paul Bennun, who has been in this space longer than most. Years ago, Bennun and his team at Somethin’ Else made a series of games called Papa Sangre that were among the most innovative and most popular games of their kind. He explains what makes an audio game work, why the iPhone 4 was such a crucial technological achievement for these games, and more.Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss Apple's iPad event, the evolution of the streaming business, updates on the Wisconsin Foxconn site, and much more tech news. Apple iPad event: all the news from Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ reveal  The 7 biggest announcements from Apple’s iPad event  Here's how the latest iPad Pro compares to the new iPad Air (and prior models)   Apple adds a 13-inch iPad Air to the mix The iPad Air is now heavier than the iPad Pro  Apple announces new iPad Pros with OLED displays and thinnest design ever  Apple announces its M4 chip Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro M4: bigger trackpad and a function row  Hands-on with the new iPad Pro: yeah, it's really thin  You can upgrade the iPad Pro’s processor now, too  The new Apple Pencil Pro is harder to lose and better to draw with Apple puts more ‘Pro’ in Final Cut and Logic Pro for the iPad  Apple quietly kills the old-school iPad and its headphone jack The new iPads are ditching physical SIM cards Goodbye to Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio, the best iPad Pro accessory People sure are pressed about Apple’s crushing iPad commercial A Disney, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle is on the way The streaming business will look “very different” in the next couple of years. Max nears 100 million subscribers globally. Max price hike incoming. Disney’s streaming business gets closer to becoming profitable ESPN is coming to the Disney Plus app Sony is now in play to buy Paramount. The Office is getting a Peacock spinoff about local newspapers The new Sonos app is missing a lot of features, and people aren’t happy  Inside Microsoft’s Xbox turmoil Microsoft says it needs games like Hi-Fi Rush the day after killing its studio Epic v. Apple judge seems displeased over style restrictions on iOS buttons The new Sonos app is missing a lot of features, and people aren’t happy  President Joe Biden to announce AI data center at failed Foxconn site in Wisconsin TikTok sues the US government over ban The Google Pixel 8A is a midrange phone that might go the distance  Google’s Pixel Tablet relaunch at $399 makes its magnetic dock optional  Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of enterprise certificate hacks: 03:22 - The Verge’s David Pierce chats with Riley Testut, founder of AltStore and developer of the game emulator app Delta, about how his app finally made it into Apple’s App Store.  The free Delta game emulator for iPhones is live on Apple’s App Store Third-party iPhone app store AltStore PAL is now live in Europe Delta is the game emulator your iPhone has been missing 46:17 - David walks us through his experimentation with the many software and hardware solutions for “AI voice notes.” Cleft Notes is an AI voice notes app that really works1:02:02 - David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline about the Rabbit R1. Rabbit R1 review: nothing to see hereEmail us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re kicking off our “Five Senses of Gaming” miniseries today, starting with “touch.” The Verge’s William Poor explores a controller crisis in the Nintendo 64 speedrunning community, and follows one speedrunner’s quest to recreate a mythical controller he lost.Further reading/viewing: How Sticks Are Sabotaging Speedrunners (Stick Crisis History) abney317 on Twitch The Quest to Beat abney317 Mariokart64.com More on Beck Abney’s controller problems Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss this week's tech and gadget news.Further reading: Rabbit R1 review: an unfinished, unhelpful AI gadget  The Rabbit R1’s first software update addresses its dismal battery life - The Verge  Turns out the Rabbit R1 was just an Android app all along TikTok and Universal Music Group end feud with new agreement  Microsoft’s OpenAI investment was triggered by Google fears, emails reveal Peloton announces new round of layoffs as CEO quits Elon Musk goes ‘absolutely hard core’ in another round of Tesla layoffs  Tesla layoffs hit Supercharger team just as it’s poised to take over EV charging LinkedIn is the latest company to get in on gaming  Pixel 8A leak reveals $499 starting price Beats announces Solo 4 headphones and $79.99 Solo Buds Beats Solo 4 review: playing both sides  Walmart is about to launch a 4K Chromecast that’s also a smart speaker SwitchBot S10 review: with plumbing hookups, this robovac and mop is actually hands-free iOS 17.5 beta lets you keep Find My on during iPhone repairs Razer made a million dollars selling a mask with RGB, and the FTC is not pleased Instagram’s updated algorithm prioritizes original content instead of rip-offs  Meta is “exploring” algorithm changes on Threads. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of dedicated AI hardware: The Verge’s David Pierce and Allison Johnson debate whether the emergence of standalone AI gadgets like the Humane Pin and the Rabbit R1 are better off as apps or should exist as its own hardware.  Humane AI Pin review: not even close  The Humane AI Pin worked better than I expected — until it didn’t  A morning with the Rabbit R1: a fun, funky, unfinished AI gadget Can Rabbit’s R1 outsmart the smartphone assistants? Let’s find out! The future of AI gadgets is just phones The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses actually make the future look cool   The Verge’s Alex Heath joins the show to discuss Meta’s big move into AI with its multimodal AI smart glasses and a new AI model called Llama 3.  Q&A: Mark Zuckerberg on winning the AI race  Meta wants to be the Microsoft of headsets Zuckerberg says it will take Meta years to make money from generative AI Nilay Patel answers a question from The Vergecast Hotline about Microsoft and antitrust. Microsoft splits Teams from Office as antitrust pressure ramps up Microsoft and OpenAI deal may face anti-trust investigations in the EU.  Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss President Biden signing the TikTok ban bill, Apple's May 7th iPad event, Tesla's flop era, and more.Further reading: Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to President Biden’s desk Biden signs TikTok ‘ban’ bill into law, starting the clock for ByteDance to divest it Rabbit R1 hands-on: early tests with the $199 AI gadget  Apple announces May 7th event for new iPads What to expect at Apple’s May ‘Let Loose’ event The Mercedes G-Wagen, the ultimate off-road status symbol, goes electric  The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses have multimodal AI now  Kuo: Apple cuts Vision Pro shipments due to low demand Tesla’s in its flop era Tesla lays off ‘more than 10 percent’ of its workforce, loses top executives Tesla recalls all 3,878 Cybertrucks over faulty accelerator pedal  Tesla reveals a new Model 3 Performance with more horsepower and faster acceleration A cheaper Tesla is back on the menu Sonos announces redesigned app that puts everything on your homescreen Qualcomm announces Snapdragon X Plus and Elite processors  Apple might be the streaming home of soccer’s next big tournament  Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of forced app divestiture: 03:07 - The Verge’s David Pierce and Lauren Fiener discuss the latest tech policy bills floating through Congress, including a privacy bill, a generative AI bill, and the TikTok divest-or-ban bill. TikTok ‘ban’ passes in the House again TikTok divest-or-ban legislation could suddenly be fast-tracked in the Senate Lawmakers unveil new bipartisan digital privacy bill after years of impasse  A real privacy law? House lawmakers are optimistic this time  New bill would create public datasets to train AI and incentivize innovation. 34:17 - David talks with Nikola Todorovic and Tye Sheridan about their company Wonder Dynamics, which is creating AI-powered production tools for filmmakers. 1:09:16 - David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline about messaging apps.Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss third-party iPhone app stores, game emulators, Google Android and hardware team restructuring, the latest TikTok news, and more.Further reading: Third-party iPhone app store AltStore PAL is now live in Europe The free Delta game emulator for iPhones is live on Apple’s App Store A new NES emulator was briefly available on the Apple App Store The first Apple-approved emulator for the iPhone has arrived... and been pulled Apple opens the App Store to retro game emulators Google is combining its Android and hardware teams — and it’s all about AI Meta’s battle with ChatGPT begins now AI isn't useless. But is it worth it? Facebook’s AI Told Parents Group It Has a Gifted, Disabled Child Big Papa Joe, world's biggest TouchWiz Fan - The Vergecast (clip) Facebook’s AI Told Parents Group It Has a Gifted, Disabled Child   Sony might have perfected Mini LED TVs with its new 2024 lineup Broadcast TV still exists, and now it’s sort of getting a built-in DVR TikTok Notes starts rolling out as a new rival to Instagram TikTok gives users more in-app ways to buy event tickets. TikTok divest-or-ban legislation could suddenly be fast-tracked in the Senate Report: ByteDance still has access to US users’ TikTok data despite Project Texas The president could delay a TikTok ban an extra six months under a reported House proposal. TikTok to restrict users who repeatedly post problematic topics from ‘For You’ feed Twitch’s new TikTok-style Discovery feed is rolling out to everyone soon Spotify is developing a remix feature to rival sped-up TikTok tunes Samsung shifts executives to six-day workweeks to ‘inject a sense of crisis’ Boston Dynamics’ new electric Atlas robot is swiveling nightmare fuel Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the flagship podcast of undersea cable management: 04:10 - The Verge’s David Pierce and Josh Dzieza discuss the industry of laying and maintaining undersea cables that connect us to the internet. The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat43:43 - Tom Warren and Joanna Nelius join the show to discuss the future of Arm chips on PCs and whether or not we’re about to get a huge jump in performance on most laptops.  Microsoft is confident Windows on Arm could finally beat Apple Microsoft to hold a special Windows and Surface AI event in May Microsoft’s first AI PCs are the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 for businesses Qualcomm claims its Snapdragon X Elite processor will beat Apple, Intel, and AMD Qualcomm says most Windows games should ‘just work’ on its unannounced Arm laptops 1:11:18 - Alex Cranz answers questions from the Vergecast Hotline about e-readers and the latest Kobo devices.  Kobo announces its first color e-readers The best ebook reader to buy right now Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices