The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and Dan Seifert discuss the tech headlines from this site this week — including Google's deal with Spotify over app fees, Nothing's first smartphone, and the struggle with TV projectors. Google will test letting Android developers use their own billing systems, starting with Spotify Nothing’s first smartphone is aimed at Apple, not OnePlus OnePlus 10 Pro gets its global launch on March 31st Dell’s XPS 15 and XPS 17 get 12th Gen chips  Intel looks on track to fix its core problems Asus’ ROG flow Z13 is a Surface Pro that’s got game Apple has resolved the outage affecting iMessage, Apple Music, the App Store, and other services Apple’s Studio Display has 64GB of storage in addition to its iPhone 11-caliber processor The Mac Studio’s removable SSD is reportedly blocked by Apple on a software level Apple service centers can reportedly replace the Studio Display’s ‘built-in’ stands How Microsoft built its smart Surface camera iFixit teardown offers a detailed look inside the Mac Studio and Studio Display Apple will reportedly sell the iPhone as a subscription service Google won’t give old Pixels the best 5G, even though it admits it could Eero’s new Wi-Fi 6E mesh router supports over gigabit speeds and costs under $500 Matter’s delays mean fewer new smart home products today Google tidies up its smart home app Apple TV app on Android TV no longer allows rentals, purchases, or subscriptions YouTube is taking on over-the-air TV with nearly 4,000 free episodes of TV  Sonos might make your next TV streaming OS Yes, Netflix just got even more expensive HBO Max adds a shuffle button to help you find something to watch  Google won’t let you buy movies and TV shows from the Play app starting in May Samsung’s Freestyle Projector doesn’t live up to it’s $900 price Spider-Man: No Way Home’s VFX wizards couldn’t see the Doc Ock memes coming How SiriusXM bought and bungled a beloved podcast network Inside the fight to save video game history  How Robinhood’s Aparna Chennapragada is building the future of investing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, Monica Chin, Allison Johnson, and Dan Seifert discuss The Verge's reviews of the Apple products announced last week: the new iPhone SE, iPad Air, Mac Studio, and Studio Display.Further reading: Apple’s new iPhone SE is a modern phone stuck in yesterday’s design Samsung’s really good midrange phone just got a bigger battery and a price cut Apple Mac Studio review: finally Apple Studio Display review: nothing to see here  ‘Pro’ has lost all meaning, and Apple knows it Apple’s chips are on the table Apple’s charts set the M1 Ultra up for an RTX 3090 fight it could never win Apple iPad Air (2022) review: it’s the nice one  Universal Control is Apple’s most impressive new feature in years The Mac Studio is myth fulfillment  Vimeo is telling creators to suddenly pay thousands of dollars — or leave the platform Ukrainian influencers ring the frontlines to TikTok How Wordpress and Tumblr are keeping the internet weird  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 Dan Seifert discuss all the announcements from Apple's Peek Performance event this week.Further reading: The 7 biggest announcements from Apple’s Peek Performance event Apple iPhone SE gains 5G, A15 processor, and a higher $429 price tag The 5G iPhone SE will be for carriers, not customers 5G’s false start is over and the iPhone SE proves it The iPhone 13 and 13 Pro each get green finishes The iPhone SE’s $30 price bump looks like a pure 5G tax Give me a bigger iPhone SE Apple announces updated iPad Air with M1 processor and 5G How the M1-powered iPad Air compares to other iPad models Apple announces new flagship M1 Ultra desktop processor for its most powerful computers Apple’s new M1 Ultra aims to beat Nvidia’s RTX 3090 The redesigned MacBook Air might have an M1, not an M2 Apple’s Mac Studio is a new desktop for creative professionals Apple explains why the M1 Ultra-equipped Mac Studio is two pounds heavier A fully specced-out Mac Studio will cost $8,000 Apple’s new strategy is to give — not tell — users what they want Screw it, the rectangles are back The Mac Studio’s ports are a step back in all the right ways The 27-inch iMac has been discontinued Apple announces 27-inch 5K Studio Display for $1,599 Apple’s Studio Display actually comes with a stand Here’s why Apple put a powerful iPhone chip in its new Studio Display Apple’s Studio Display should work with Windows — including the webcam The future of makeup is lipstick you can print  The Steam Deck now runs Windows Hands-on with Alienware’s new, curved QD-OLED gaming monitor  Nothing can’t stop smartphone leaks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This was a tough one. The Verge co-founder and Executive Editor Dieter Bohn is leaving us. Nilay Patel, Walt Mossberg and Dieter Bohn walk down memory lane and discuss their first meeting, founding The Verge, CES memories, and what Dieter is doing once he leaves.Behringer's iNuke Boom is the essence of VegasAnd now, a brief definition of the webDieter on Twitter 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 Dan Seifert discuss what could possibly be announced by Apple next week.Senior reporter Loren Grush explains what's going on with Russia and space. And Andrew Hawkins talks about Ford splitting itself into two companies.Further reading: Elon Musk’s promised Starlink terminals have reached Ukraine Ukraine engineer talks testing SpaceX’s new Starlink service Russian space director’s wild threats could have real implications for the ISS European Space Agency claims joint Russian Mars rover probably won’t launch this year Russia holds OneWeb rocket launch hostage, issues conditional demands Russia says it will no longer sell rocket engines to the United StatesFord’s ‘radical’ move to split the company won’t come easy Elon Musk dares autoworkers union: hold a vote at Tesla’s California factory  Rivian has altered the deal, and now its EVs will cost buyers up to $20K more Rivian apologizes for ‘broken trust’ and axes preorder price increases that hit as much as $20K The Arc One is an electric boat with a battery pack three times the size of Tesla’s Apple officially announces ‘Peek Performance’ March 8th event Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Senior news editor Sean Hollister joins Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Alex Cranz to discuss his review of the Steam Deck, the latest portable gaming system.Verge reviewer Allison Johnson continues the gadget talk with her review of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra.Further reading: Ukraine internet outages spark concerns of broader blackout US and Russia still tethered by International Space Station during Ukraine conflict Twitter accounts sharing video from Ukraine are being suspended when they’re needed most Steam Deck review: it’s not ready The official Steam Deck dock won’t be available at launch Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review: notably unique Dish says its 5G buildout is going great, thanks for asking, how are you? Apple will reportedly debut an M2 chip with four new Macs this year Spotify’s Car Thing goes on general sale for $90 Sony finally reveals the PlayStation VR2’s design  Tesla CEO Elon Musk accuses the SEC of ‘leaking’ information Inside Pornhub Why Trump’s Truth Social may not survive the hype Inside Galactic Starcruiser, Disney's hotel where everyone becomes a Star Wars character 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, Dieter Bohn, Alex Cranz, and Monica Chin discuss phones, laptops, and chips announced and reviewed this week.Senior reporter Ashley Carman joins the show to discuss the latest podcast industry news.Further reading: Samsung’s Galaxy S22 phones are the safe bet OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: a great Oppo-tunity Realme 9 Pro and Pro Plus announced with color-changing new design Oppo releases official images of new Find X5 flagship phonet Apple reportedly plans to reveal the first iPhone SE with 5G in March AMD’s new Ryzen 6000 H-series processors are launching in laptops starting today Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review: the price is no longer right The Asus ROG Strix Flare II Animate: feature-packed, but overpriced Cooler Master’s Sneaker X PC case has a lot of sole Intel's first discrete Arc desktop GPUs are coming in Q2 2022 This DIY ultracompact computer has a mechanical keyboard Samsung teases new Galaxy Book and more at February 27th event Spotify’s COVID problems are bigger than Joe Rogan Spotify is acquiring two major podcast tech platforms Spotify wants to beat YouTube at audio Spotify reportedly paid $200 million for Joe Rogan’s podcast Hot Pod Summit is back at On Air Fest 2022! The LinkBuds are Sony’s strangest earbuds in years — and surprisingly good Audio-Technica’s new $200 earbuds promise an impressive 20 hours of battery life Garmin’s Epix 2 multisport watch made me a touchscreen convert Garmin's Fenix 7S Sapphire Solar makes the case for smaller fitness watches iFixit has a Steam Deck teardown — and will officially sell replacement parts from Valve Disney is developing planned communities for fans who never want to leave its clutches Google is bringing Chrome OS to PCs and Macs Facebook rebrands News Feed after more than 15 years Elon Musk tells a judge the SEC’s ‘endless’ investigation is stifling his free speech 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, Dieter Bohn, Alex Cranz, and Chris Welch discuss all the announcements from Samsung's Galaxy S22 Unpacked event.Senior reporter Adi Robertson explains Microsoft's Open App Store Principles and the other tech policy news from the week.Wearables reporter Victoria Song joins the show to discuss Peloton's business troubles.Further reading: Everything announced at Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Unpacked event Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is a Note successor with a built-in stylus Samsung’s Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus put improved cameras and performance in a samey design Samsung phones will get an extra year of Android updates versus Google’s Pixel Samsung’s new tablets go bigger than ever Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 will track your sleep with cartoon animals Microsoft announces open app store rules to prove it’s okay with new laws Microsoft hints it will open up Xbox store, changing its entire business model Microsoft says it will keep Call of Duty on PlayStation ‘beyond the existing agreement’ Everything you need to know about the bill that could blow up the app store Nvidia’s huge Arm deal has just been scrapped WarnerMedia and Discovery get US government approval to create their new media giant Anti-exploitation bill advances in Senate despite free speech concerns What on Earth is going on with Peloton? Peloton fired 2,800 employees and gave them free Peloton memberships Fired Peloton employees crash new CEO’s first all-hands Mazda head units are getting bricked by a local NPR station in Seattle Twitter finally agrees that 1x is not the only speed for watching a video Is ‘realityOS’ Apple’s newest operating system? Sports streaming is busted — the Super Bowl likely won’t be any different Apple’s Tap to Pay feature lets newer iPhones accept contactless payments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and streaming reporter Catie Keck talk with YouTube Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan about new features coming to YouTube: more tools for Shorts, interactive live streaming, a new YouTube TV interface, and more.Further reading: YouTube is adding new ways for creators to make money with Shorts and shopping YouTube TV to finally add picture-in-picture on iOS 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, Ashley Carman, and Alex Heath discuss Meta's rough week: Facebook reported its first-ever quarterly decline of daily users globally, along with lower-than-expected ad growth that sent its stock plunging roughly 20 percent.The crew also discuss Spotify's response to the Joe Rogan controversy and how it will be handling moderation going forward.Further reading: Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarter Meta’s stock price plunges 25 percent overnight Google parent company Alphabet broke $200 billion in annual revenue for the first time Epic largely lost to Apple, but 35 states are now backing its fight in a higher court Spotify CEO defends Joe Rogan deal in tense company town hall Spotify says it’s a creator company now Here is the Spotify COVID content policy that lets Joe Rogan slide Spotify finally responds to Joe Rogan controversy with a plan to label podcasts that discuss COVID-19 Joe Rogan defends podcast and apologizes to Spotify for backlash The Joe Rogan controversy is what happens when you put podcasts behind a wall  Sony is buying Bungie, the developer of Destiny and original creator of Halo Big video game companies just can’t stop buying studios Wordle has been bought by The New York Times, will ‘initially’ remain free for everyone to play Peloton’s latest gadget is a $90 heart rate monitor for your arm Echelon persuades USPTO that Peloton’s streaming tech is unpatentable Appeals court upholds California’s net neutrality law Google leaks Pixel 6A name in, of all things, a coloring book Tesla has a new feature that will disable your seat controls if you keep messing with them Public accountants are deducting themselves from their jobs  What’s the difference between 5G, 5G Plus, 5G UW, and 5G UC? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices