The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition

For a special Vergecast holiday episode, The Verge’s Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Chris Welch talk to three industry experts about the new HDMI 2.1 standard: Polygon's front page editor Samit Sarkar, Vizio CTO Bill Baxter, and HDMI Forum president David Glen.The Vergecast crew discuss what to look for when buying a new TV, how serious the TV manufacturers are on supporting 2.1, and how the new standard is being implemented throughout the industry.Happy holidays! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Dieter Bohn, Nilay Patel, and Adi Robertson discuss the two antitrust lawsuits against Google announced this week. Chris Welch joins to discuss his review of Apple's AirPods Max.Further reading: FDA authorizes first COVID-19 vaccine in US Health care workers in US start receiving COVID-19 vaccines Texas attorney general announces ad tech antitrust probe against Google Google accused of search manipulation in third major antitrust lawsuit Prosecutors say Google accessed private WhatsApp messages — but the evidence is thin Apple launches new App Store privacy labels so you can see how iOS apps use your data Facebook criticizes Apple’s iOS privacy changes with full-page newspaper ads Facebook hits back at Apple with second critical newspaper ad Apple defends upcoming privacy changes as ‘standing up for our users’ Epic Games Store now offers Spotify, signaling app store ambitions beyond just games Judge orders Tim Cook and Craig Federighi to testify in Epic’s Fortnite case Apple AirPods Max review: superb headphones, awful case Apple Fitness Plus is now available iOS 14.3 has arrived with ProRAW for iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max Halide: Understanding ProRAW Samsung confirms stylus support is coming to Galaxy phones like the S21 Samsung’s Galaxy Note series will reportedly still continue next year Here’s the best look yet at Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro wireless earbuds OnePlus 9 leak shows off the upcoming 2021 flagship in photos 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 discuss Apple's announcement of their AirPods Max noise-canceling headphones and give their first impressions.Second half of the show, Nilay and Dieter talk with Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon about Qualcomm's new flagship processor the Snapdragon 888, the potential of 5G, and what he thinks about Apple's new M1 processor. COVID-19 vaccine starts working within two weeks after first shot Apple and Google’s COVID contact tracing tech is finally coming to their home state of California COVID-19 vaccine monitoring program may be at risk of false reports With guns drawn, police raid home and seize computers of COVID-19 data whistleblower Florida’s justification for raiding COVID data whistleblower Rebekah Jones is looking a little shaky The pandemic turned the volume down on ocean noise pollution Uber asks governors to give drivers early access to COVID-19 vaccines Apple announces $549 AirPods Max noise-canceling headphones, coming December 15th AirPods Max first look Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a bonus episode of The Vergecast, Nilay Patel talks with Verge policy editor Russell Brandom, senior reporter Adi Robertson, and contributing editor Casey Newton about the FTC suing Facebook to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.Further reading: The FTC is suing Facebook to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp The good and the bad in the government’s case against Facebook Facebook calls antitrust lawsuits ‘revisionist history’ Instagram would be better off without Facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Verge reporter Julia Alexander joins Nilay and Dieter to discuss WarnerMedia's decision to release all of its new 2021 movies simultaneously on HBO Max. News editor Chaim Gartenberg explains Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 888 processor for upcoming Android phones in 2021. Stories from this week: Facebook will remove COVID-19 vaccine misinformation The people saving our lives should get vaccinated first, experts say Moderna to ask FDA for COVID-19 vaccine authorization Wonder Woman 1984 will be released on HBO Max the same day it’s in theaters for no extra cost  Warner Bros. will release all of its new 2021 movies simultaneously on HBO Max Discovery, home of Shark Week, HGTV, and Food Network, enters the streaming wars with Discovery Plus  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will step down on January 20th Trump’s bias hawk FCC nominee is one step closer to confirmation Trump calls for last-minute 230 repeal as part of defense spending bill Comcast to impose home internet data cap of 1.2TB in more than a dozen US states next year Comcast to raise internet and TV prices nationwide next year Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 888 processor will power the Android flagships of 2021 Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 888 promises faster speeds, better cameras, and more powerful AI Samsung begins wider rollout of Android 11 and One UI 3.0 to latest phones Verizon’s Galaxy S20 models are the first to get Android 11 and One UI 3.0 Samsung rumored to discontinue Galaxy Note line, add stylus support to 2021 Galaxy S and Z Fold Leaked Galaxy Buds Pro image reveals new rounded design Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of Decoder, Nilay talks with Shelli Taylor, the CEO of Alamo Drafthouse. Shelli stepped into her new role as CEO during the pandemic.In the conversation, Nilay and Shelli discuss the steps she had to take to get her company back on solid ground — including justifying high fixed costs of expensive lightbulbs — and how the government has failed to manage the pandemic effectively for business owners. They also talk about what it will take to safely reopen theaters and what the future looks like, especially in the streaming age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Decoder Nilay Patel talks to Phil Spencer, the guy in charge of Xbox at Microsoft. They discuss not only the next-generation Xbox and PS5 just arriving in stores now, but how gaming itself has become part of mainstream culture, a trend that has definitely accelerated during the pandemic. We’ve also reached an inflection point for game streaming: Google, Amazon, and Microsoft all have services that allow consumers to play games on any device by streaming them over the internet, kind of like Netflix for games. Is that the future? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walt Mossberg joins the show to discuss his experience with Apple's Macbooks with the new M1 chip. Nilay, Dieter, Chris, and Dan discuss The Verge's reviews of the computers.Stories from this week: Trump’s post-election tantrum is holding up federal vaccine planning Virus surges complicate the distribution of scarce COVID-19 treatments CDC says people should not travel for Thanksgiving due to COVID-19 surges The COVID-19 pandemic hits new highs and new lows  Apple Macbook Air with M1 review: new chip, no problem Apple Macbook Pro with M1 review: flexing Arm Apple Mac Mini with M1 review: over-performer macOS Big Sur review Here’s how to run any iOS app you own on Apple’s new M1 Macs Apple will reduce App Store cut to 15 percent for most developers starting January 1st Apple’s biggest App Store critics are not impressed with its new fee cut for small developers Google Stadia is coming to iOS officially as a web app Google Pay's massive relaunch makes it an all-encompassing ... Google is rolling out end-to-end encryption for RCS in Android .. Google’s latest Chrome update delivers ‘largest performance gain in years’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the next few Tuesday's, we'll be sharing Nilay Patel's new podcast Decoder, an interview show that puts a spotlight on how innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology are navigating an ever-changing landscape.On this week’s episode of Decoder, Nilay Patel talks with Sal Khan, the co-founder and CEO of Khan Academy, a nonprofit online learning platform for students in kindergarten through high school. Khan Academy is an organization that exists because of technology. What started with Sal tutoring his niece in math over video using off the shelf cameras and software, has grown into an organization with nearly 20 million users per month, available in 46 languages and used in more than 190 countries. And online learning has gotten even more vital with the pandemic.In this conversation, Nilay and Sal discuss the future of learning, what online education is good at and where it struggles, how Khan Academy is growing, and how Sal’s thinking about handling trickier subjects like history and social studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay, Dieter, Dan, and Chaim discuss the new computers Apple announced at their "One More Thing" hardware event, as well as their reviews of the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and HomePod mini.Stories from this week: US sees two days with over 100,000 reported COVID-19 cases COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective, manufacturers report iPhone 12 mini review: fit to size iPhone 12 Pro Max review: the best smartphone camera The 5 biggest announcements from Apple’s ‘One More Thing’ hardware event Mac users couldn’t launch apps this afternoon after Apple verification server issue Apple announces MacBook Air with Apple’s Arm-based M1 processor Apple says new Arm-based M1 chip offers the ‘longest battery life ever in a Mac’ All the apps and games Apple promises for Arm-based Macs Apple announces new Arm-based Mac mini with M1 chip, starting at $699 Apple’s first Arm-based 13-inch MacBook Pro is here with an M1 chip Apple’s new M1 computers top out at 16GB of RAM The biggest difference between the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is a fan Apple’s M1 Mac design emphasizes continuity over complexity HomePod mini review macOS Big Sur is now available to download Google will end its free unlimited Photos storage on June 1, 2021 Microsoft: ‘please do not blow vape smoke into your Xbox Series X’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices