The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition

The Epic v. Apple trial continues with big drama about naked bananas and weird game definitions. Nilay tries to get Starlink space internet working, and there's new Intel chips. Adi Robertson and Monica Chin join this week. Epic and Apple are now fighting over a naked banana Roku removes YouTube TV from channel store as dispute with Google escalates Apple employees circulate petition demanding investigation into ‘misogynistic’ new hire A Big Map of America’s Broadband problem Secretary Pete Butitgieg on the future of transportation Intel’s flagship Tiger Lake-H mobile chips are here to take on Ryzen 5000 Razer claims its new Blade 15 is the ‘thinnest’ 15-inch RTX gaming laptop Asus’ new Zephyrus M16 has a 16:10 screen and Intel Tiger Lake H processor How a university got itself banned from the Linux kernel University of Minnesota banned from contributing to Linux kernel Watch Elon Musk play Wario, parody SpaceX, and hype dogecoin on Saturday Night Live Tesla stops taking Bitcoin for vehicle purchases, citing environmental harm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay and Dieter talk with Verge senior reporter Adi Robertson and senior editor Tom Warren about the first week of the Epic Games v Apple trial. Why Epic is burning its own cash to cook Apple Apple antitrust trial kicks off with Tim Sweeney’s metaverse dreams The Epic Games v. Apple trial kicks off with kids screaming ‘free Fortnite’ Here are Apple’s and Epic’s full slideshows arguing why they should win at trial I watched the Epic v. Apple trial on Discord Tim Sweeney emailed Tim Cook personally to call for open app sales after WWDC in 2015 Apple exec suggested cutting App Store commission to 20 percent as early as 2011 Epic v. Apple turns into Windows v. Xbox  Why the bad iPhone web app experience keeps coming up in Epic v. Apple Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay Patel is joined by Verge deputy editor Dan Seifert and news editor Chaim Gartenberg to discuss i0S14.5, Apple's earnings, Epic vs. Apple, chip shortages, and Samsung's new laptops.Senior reporter Ashley Carman joins the show to talk about the wave of action in the podcast industry this past week.Further reading: People who are vaccinated don’t need to wear masks during many outdoor activities, CDC says Social media platforms become triage centers as India struggles with a COVID-19 surge The first problem was vaccine supply. Now, it’s demand. Officials lift pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine iOS 14.5 is out now with new Face ID mask features and Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Why Apple’s new privacy feature is such a big deal Apple’s iPhone 12 and Mac sales skyrocket despite ongoing pandemic Here’s who Apple and Epic are calling to testify in next week’s trial Eddy Cue wanted to bring iMessage to Android in 2013 Apple fined $12M by Russian regulator over App Store monopoly abuse Can Apple get you to pay for podcasts?  Spotify launches podcast subscriptions, but you can’t subscribe in-app Spotify’s miniplayer for Facebook launches today Facebook is building its own in-app podcast player Clubhouse is partnering with the NFL for draft week programming SiriusXM acquires Roman Mars’ 99% Invisible and a bigger stake in the podcasting world Spotify is raising prices for lots of its plans Spotify premium subscriber count increases 21 percent to 158 million Spotify is okay with Joe Rogan telling 21-year-olds not to get vaccinated Samsung’s new Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 are lightweight laptops with OLED screens Samsung announces a cheaper entry-level Galaxy Book with no OLED Samsung’s Galaxy Book Odyssey introduces Nvidia’s new RTX 3050 Ti Elon Musk says Tesla made ‘significant mistakes’ with solar roof project Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vergecast hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn discuss all the product announcements from Apple's Spring Loaded event this week with Verge news editor Chaim Gartenberg.Verge politics reporter Makena Kelly details what happened at Wednesday's congressional hearing focusing on competition in Apple's App Store.Further reading: What we’re learning from the rare cases of COVID-19 in vaccinated people Alexa can now tell you where to find a COVID-19 vaccine Doctors are testing a prescription video game for COVID-19 ‘brain fog’ Wisconsin amends Foxconn’s contract to reflect radically smaller project Apple’s Spring Loaded event: the 8 biggest announcements Apple Podcasts launches in-app subscriptions Can Apple get you to pay for podcasts? Apple AirTag hands-on Apple’s AirTags don’t have a built-in keychain loop, and we have some thoughts Apple announces new Apple TV 4K Apple unveils an improved remote for its Apple TV Yes, older Apple TVs can also be calibrated with your iPhone Apple announces thinner iMac with M1 chip and bright colors New Touch ID Magic Keyboards work with all M1 Macs, not just the iMac Apple launches new iPad Pro with M1 processor How the M1-powered iPad Pro compares to other iPad models Any video conferencing app can use the iPad Pro’s fancy zoom and pan camera Big iPad, Mini LED: why Apple’s new iPad Pro display is better and brighter Put macOS on the iPad, you cowards Congress is diving into the App Store fight Lina Kahn on Amazon’s antitrust paradox Apple’s $64 billion-a-year app store isn’t catching the most egregious scams Sen. Tammy Duckworth on hate crimes, racism, and environmental justice Asian Activists are tracking the surge in hate crimes as police reporting falls short Inside the glass fibers connecting our wireless world Subscribe to The Hill Report newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Chris Welch dive into the tech and gadget news from this week — including theories on what will be announced at Apple's spring event next week, LG quitting the smartphone business, and Sonos' next speakers.Further reading: US recommends pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine use over extremely rare blood clots How the Johnson & Johnson pause could move the needle on vaccine fears For many, COVID-19 vaccines come with a side of side effects How CO2 sensors might help us return to ‘normal’ Airbnb is trying to preemptively cancel post-pandemic bacchanals Celebrate your COVID vaccination with these off-the-wall tchotchkes Expedia launches a new tool to check coronavirus travel restrictions Apple officially announces Spring Loaded event for April 20th New iPad Pro still coming soon but supply could be short, says Bloomberg Apple officially starts letting your iPhone help find lost third-party products Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag Plus with UWB to track items with AR is out April 16th Logitech officially discontinues its Harmony remotes Apple gets its own button on Roku’s latest remotes Roku announces Express 4K Plus streaming player and rechargeable Voice Remote Pro Roku OS 10 adds instant resume for streaming apps, brings AirPlay 2 to more devices Apple reportedly developing an Apple TV with a built-in camera and speaker LG is quitting the smartphone business LG had a few smartphone hits, but it’ll still be missed LG leaves behind more than a flip phone-shaped hole in our hearts  Google announces Pixel 5A 5G by denying rumors it’s canceled TCL aims to build a better budget phone with the 20 Pro 5G TCL’s Fold ‘n Roll concept transforms a 6.87-inch phone into a 10-inch tablet Sony announces the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III with variable telephoto lenses US carriers have thankfully abandoned at least one bad plan for RCS Apple says iMessage on Android ‘will hurt us more than help us’  Sonos Roam review: portable potential  Ikea is working with Sonos on a hidden speaker built into art you hang on the wall Spotify’s Car Thing debuts as a limited release for selected US users Amazon announces new Echo Buds with more powerful ANC and better comfort ONEPLUS WATCH REVIEW: BIG, BASIC, AND BORING Microsoft announces Surface Laptop 4 with choice of Intel or AMD processor Can Clubhouse keep the party going?  Apple trusts Phobio for its trade-ins, but maybe you should think twice Google is poisoning its reputation with AI researchers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vergecast is on vacation this week, so instead we'll share an episode of Land of the Giants from our friends at Recode.Land of the Giants is a podcast that explores the five biggest tech companies and their impact on our world, and this season is all about Google.The episode we're sharing tells the story of how two grad school students with a unique way to search the internet launched a company that would become the gateway to the internet for the entire world.In the rest of the season, Land of the Giants: The Google Empire will cover issues like Google’s relationship with the government, the origins of their antitrust troubles, and what their future may look like as they face off against Congress and the Biden Administration.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn talk with Verge deputy editor Dan Seifert about this week's Apple rumors ahead of WWDC 2021 — from their AR headset to new iPads.Senior reporter Ashley Carman joins the show to discuss social audio platform Clubhouse and the rise of competitors from other companies.Further reading: Real-world evidence shows that the COVID-19 vaccines work Biden administration looks to organize ‘vaccine passport’ development Apple Maps will show COVID-19 travel guidances so you know what to expect at the airport Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine highly effective in adolescents Amazon gets FDA authorization for an at-home COVID-19 test kit Errors ruin 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine Apple WWDC 2021 announced as online-only event Apple Aiming to Announce Mixed-Reality Headset With In-Person Event in 'Next Several Months' Ming-Chi Kuo Says Apple’s AR/VR Headset Will Weigh Less Than 150 Grams Apple reportedly plans revamped AirPods for as early as next year New iPad Pros reportedly launching as soon as April, and the 12.9-inch model may have a Mini LED screen Apple reportedly mulls rugged smartwatch coming as soon as this year Casio announces first Wear OS smartwatch in iconic G-Shock lineup Google Chrome FLoC: how it replaces cookies and what it means for privacy  T-Mobile is betting big on Google’s Android services: RCS, YouTube TV, Pixel, and more T-Mobile is already shutting down its live TV service, partners with YouTube TV and Philo Google Nest Hub (2nd-Gen) review: sleep on it Huawei's Mate X2 foldable adopts Samsung's dual-screen ... Xiaomi announces the Mi Mix Fold, its first folding phone The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra’s camera bump is no moon; it’s a space station Bose Frames Tempo review: the specs to beat Spotify is launching its own Clubhouse competitor Even LinkedIn is making a Clubhouse clone Discord’s new Clubhouse-like feature, Stage Channels, is available now Slack is getting Instagram-like stories and push-to-talk audio ... Instagram launches its own TikTok Duet feature called Reels Remix Facebook shorted video creators thousands of dollars in ad revenue Samsung created a whole Hulu series that’s sponcon for the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Biden plans to connect every American to broadband in new infrastructure package NBA on NFT We read your phone plan’s fine print so you don’t have to The unsettling surveillance of anti-Asian racism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn talk with Verge reporter Allison Johnson about her review of the One Plus 9 and how it compares with their 9 Pro and other Android flagship phones.Politics reporter Makena Kelly joins the show the discuss Congress’ first hearing of 2021 with the chief executives of Facebook, Google, and Twitter.Further reading: AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine 79 percent effective in US study US officials publicly question AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine data Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine website builds on a swine flu tool OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro announced with Hasselblad-branded cameras OnePlus 9 review: cheaper than the Pro and almost as good The lower-cost OnePlus 9R is official, and it sounds surprisingly strong OnePlus 9 Pro review: the elegant Android alternative Here’s how the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro compare to Samsung and Apple’s flagships The $159 OnePlus Watch is OnePlus’ first smartwatch Angry MacBook owners get class action status for butterfly keyboard suit Intel invests $20 billion into new factories, will produce chips for other companies Intel Unleashed, Gelsinger on Intel, IDM 2.0 - Stratechery The startup trying to augment audio reality in public spaces Yes or no: Are these tech hearings doing anything? Mark Zuckerberg proposes limited 230 reforms ahead of congressional hearing Jack Dorsey is just trolling Congress with Twitter polls now  Lina Khan is just the first step toward tougher US tech regulation Congress tries to get the FTC in fighting shape Microsoft rebrands Xbox Live to Xbox network The street prices of Nvidia and AMD GPUs are utterly out of control Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn talk to Verge reporter Julia Alexander about the long-awaited release of "the Snyder cut" of the Justice League film on HBO Max and more updates in the world of streaming services.Verge senior reporter Andrew Hawkins joins the show to discuss the new electric vehicles that were announced this week, talking to Sen. Chuck Schumer about infrastructure, and the state of e-bikes in America.Further reading: People aren’t missing their second COVID-19 vaccine dose, CDC data says Some research has gotten a huge boost during the pandemic Biden promises May 1st vaccine eligibility for all adults and a federal vaccine website Disneyland will reopen on April 30th, for California residents only Tinder is giving away free mail-in COVID-19 tests Apple Maps now shows COVID-19 vaccination locations Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine website builds on a swine flu tool You will watch the Snyder Cut in 4:3 aspect ratio because HBO Max respects cinema Zack Snyder’s Justice League remains overshadowed by its social media campaign Netflix is trying to crack down on password sharing with new test HBO Max will debut its cheaper, ad-supported tier in June YouTube Shorts arrives in the US to take on TikTok, but the beta is still half-baked Chuck Schumer wants to replace every gas car in America with an electric vehicle E-bikes are expensive, but this congressman wants to make ... Canoo reveals a bubbly electric pickup truck Kia shows off first full images of new EV6 electric car Here are the biggest announcements from Volkswagen’s battery event Elon Musk crowns himself ‘Technoking’ of Tesla Foxconn says it might build EVs at empty Wisconsin site, or in Mexico Samsung’s midrange phones now feature fast refresh rate screens, stabilized cameras Samsung says it might skip the Galaxy Note this year Apple discontinues the HomePod, but the HomePod mini will live on New iPad Pros reportedly launching as soon as April, and the … Intel puts Apple’s ‘I’m a Mac’ guy into new ads praising PCs Biden to tap former Senator Bill Nelson as NASA chief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn talk to Verge deputy editor Elizabeth Lopatto about the NFT craze from the past few weeks and explains how the transactions work.Verge deputy editor Dan Seifert joins the show for a gadget roundup — from the Asus ROG phone 5 review to the new Sonos Roam bluetooth speaker.Further reading: COVID-19 took disease tests out of the lab — and may keep them there People who are vaccinated can socialize together without masks, CDC says COVID-19 vaccine supplies are on the rise in the US Single-shot COVID-19 vaccine is popular at vaccination sites Artifacts from the first COVID-19 vaccination in the US are headed to the Smithsonian Meet Dr. B, the startup connecting people to leftover vaccines Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million NFTs, explained Of course John Legere bought an $888,888.88 NFT from Steve Aoki Jack Dorsey’s first tweet may fetch $2.5 million, and he’ll donate the NFTy proceeds to charity Sonos Roam officially announced for $169, preorders start now Sonos partners with Audi to bring its audio tech to cars Asus ROG phone 5 review  Leaked OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 renders leave little to the imagination OnePlus’ next phones will come out on March 23rd Samsung will host another Unpacked event on March 17th Apple reportedly overestimated iPhone 12 mini demand, by a lot Insta360’s Go 2 is a $299 action camera with a surprisingly powerful case The most powerful Wear OS watches are held back by Wear OS Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 review: AMD and Nvidia at their best Razer Blade 15 Base review: losing its edge Best gaming laptops in 2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices