The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition

This week on The Vergecast, Nilay returns to the show after welcoming a child! Dieter is out this week, so Nilay and Paul bring on Adi Robertson and Casey Newton to discuss what happened at Facebook’s F8 developer conference, the Oculus Go, and some earnings talk. There are also a lot of new Instagram features. Is it slowly just becoming Facebook? There’s a lot more in between that — like Paul’s weekly segment “Safety first!’ they said” — so if you listen through this whole episode, you’ll be all caught up on the tech news this week. 05:51 - All of the news from Facebook’s F8 developer conference 22:51 - Oculus Go review 36:47 - Video calls are coming to Instagram 42:21 - Over 400 Startups Are Trying to Become the Next Warby Parker. Inside the Wild Race to Overthrow Every Consumer Category — Inc. 46:14 - Paul’s weekly segment “Safety first!’ they said” 47:45 - Koss Porta Pro Wireless 49:13 - Sprint and T-Mobile have announced that they will merge 59:56 - Verizon is putting Oath bloatware like Go90 on its Galaxy S9 phones 1:04:18 - Apple reports solid iPhone revenue but stays quiet on HomePod sales Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Vergecast, Dieter, Natt, and Paul are still without Nilay but there’s a whole lot to talk about. Google made some changes with Gmail — which is now live, and Snap surprised us this week with their new edition of Spectacles — but what makes them different from the original model? Also, there’s a whole bunch of Amazon news and rumors this week, including an Echo Dot for your child. There’s even a whole lot more in between that — like the segment Paul does every week (say it with me) “I’ve carved this for you out of aluminum” — so listen if you listen to this whole episode of The Vergecast, you’ll be all up to date with the tech news of the week and won’t have to worry about much else the rest of your weekend.  01:20 - Gmail’s biggest redesign is now live 09:49 - Google is finally making a standalone Tasks app 16:38 - Snap’s second-generation Spectacles are more grown up — and more expensive 28:05 - Amazon will now deliver packages to the trunk of your car 32:33 - Amazon’s new Echo Dot Kids Edition comes with a colorful case and parental controls 37:04 - Amazon is reportedly working on its first home robot 40:29 - Amazon teases upcoming Fire TV Cube 43:41 - Paul’s weekly segment “I’ve carved this for you out of aluminum” 45:53 - Dieter essential phone feels 47:47 - There are a ton of sketchy rumors about an upcoming iPhone SE 2 50:44 - The OnePlus 6 is coming on May 16th 52:56 - Spotify launches a redesigned app with on-demand playlists for free users Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was a slow week until Google decided to attempt another fix for Android messaging and Nintendo made the entire staff fall in love with cardboard. Nilay’s still on paternity leave, but Dieter and Paul are joined again by Technology Editor Natt Garun to explain it all. We also jumped on the hot-button issues like the Russian ban of Telegram and how Alexa Skill Blueprints aren’t Turing complete. And, of course, Paul’s weekly segment “Ring-a-ding-ding” has all the insightful Bluetooth MIDI accessory commentary you crave. 1:20 - Chat for Android 20:48 - Telegram 29:22 - Nintendo Labo 37:41 - Amazon Skill Blueprints 41:09 - Motorola G6 43:44 - Paul’s Weekly Segment "Ring-a-ding-ding" 46:39 - New free Spotify 48:51 - RIP vaunt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a week of Facebook-intensive news, The Vergecast is here to break it all down for you. Nilay is out this week, so Dieter and Paul welcome senior editor Natt Garun and Silicon Valley editor Casey Newton to the show to go over all the news. Even though Mark Zuckerberg took up most of the site this week, there was a still a lot of other stuff happening. Spotify may be releasing some hardware products, we reviewed the Huawei P20 Pro, and the cast gets into some classic talk about the web. There’s a whole lot more in between that — like Paul’s weekly segment “Record resolution revolution” — so listen to it all, and you’ll get it all. 02:03 - Mark Zuckerberg testifies in front of Congress 33:17 - Spotify’s first hardware device might be this music player for your car 43:00 - Apple’s RED iPhone 8 43:37 - Huawei P20 Pro review 49:15 - Paul’s weekly segment “Record resolution revolution” 51:34 - Web apps are only getting better 52:52 - HP goes up against the iPad Pro with its $599 Chromebook x2 52:56 - This is the new Gmail design Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is episode 300 of The Vergecast! To celebrate, Nilay, Dieter, and Paul start the show by explaining inside jokes that have been stamped into the show over the past few years. Don’t understand what Scissor Vodka is? Are you wondering why Bixby is a dog? Do you need to know why Paul says his name at the end of each episode? Well, we took the time to answer that. Also, there’s some news that came out this week. We have an iPad review, some Mark Zuckerberg updates, and a little bit of Apple drama. There’s a lot more in between that — like Paul’s segment he does every week with the same name “Lonely Alone” — so listen to it all, and you’ll get it all. 03:14 - Joke explainer 16:13 - Mark Zuckerberg calls Tim Cook’s comments on Facebook ‘extremely glib’ 21:54 - Apple Music had a better Weeknd than Spotify 24:03 - Apple hires Google’s former AI boss to help improve Siri 31:16 - Apple iPad (2018) review 35:50 - Apple’s redesigned Mac Pro is coming in 2019 46:30 - Paul’s weekly segment compilation 49:38 - Paul’s weekly segment “Lonely Alone” 52:18 - Facebook wants a social media supreme court so it can avoid hard questions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve got a bunch of tech luminaries on The Vergecast this week to help us understand the week in tech news. Nilay, Dieter, and Paul welcome Lauren Goode back to the show for her last week at The Verge to discuss the new iPads that Apple released this past Tuesday. Lauren and Dieter went to Chicago for the event, so they share their experience and insight on the new products and their relationship with the education field. After that, the crew bring in senior reporter Russell Brandom to help us understand how Europe’s new privacy rule is reshaping the internet. And finally, senior editor Tom Warren returns to the show to share his expertise with Microsoft and break down Microsoft’s announcement of the reorganization of their company. There’s a whole lot more in between all of that — like Paul’s weekly segment “The little robot that could” — so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. 03:12 - The 5 biggest announcements from the Apple education event 32:18 - How Europe’s new privacy rule is reshaping the internet 51:17 - Paul’s weekly segment “The little robot that could” 53:12 - Microsoft is ready for a world beyond Windows If you enjoyed this podcast and want to hear more audio from The Verge, well you’re in luck. Season 2 of Why’d You Push That Button hosted by Kaitlyn Tiffany and Ashley Carman is here! This week’s episode is about Facebook event invites. You can subscribe anywhere, including on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play Music, and our RSS feed. And get caught up on season 1 if you missed out. Also! You can check out Lauren Goode’s podcast Too Embarrassed to Ask. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay talks one-on-one with Casey Neistat about a multitude of topics, including Beme, his view of YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms, sponsorship, and what he’s up to next. It’s exactly what you’d expect from Neistat, honest and direct. If you already listened to the edited version on The Vergecast this week, skip to 11:50. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s loaded Vergecast this week. Nilay, Paul, and Dieter welcome back Silicon Valley editor Casey Newton to break down the Cambridge Analytica scandal at Facebook, after talking through predictions for next week’s Apple event. But first, another Casey makes his debut on The Vergecast — Casey Neistat! Nilay talks one-on-one with Casey about a multitude of topics, including Beme, his view of YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms, sponsorship, and what he’s up to next. It’s exactly what you’d expect from Neistat, honest and direct. 02:36 - What to expect from Apple’s education event 20:56 - Casey Neistat interview 52:07 - Paul’s weekly segment “Swag for Me? Swag for you too” 54:59 - Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data scandal, explained Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Vergecast, Nilay, Dieter, and Paul are back in New York City after being at SXSW last weekend. To kick off the show, they welcome back senior writer Sarah Jeong to explain a $1.6 billion lawsuit between Spotify and Wixen Publishing. In the second half of the show, the trio discusses recent reports of the inner workings of Siri — including the history and how it stands today. There’s a lot more in between that — like the segment Paul does every week, “Untitled” — so listen to it all, and you’ll get it all. 02:27 - A $1.6 billion Spotify lawsuit is based on a law made for player pianos 31:45 - What went wrong with Siri 47:38 - Paul’s weekly segment “Untitled” 48:45 - Never forget a letter value with this Scrabble-themed keyboard 49:13 - These gargantuan ‘headphones’ massage your ears 49:43 - Google’s NSynth Super is an AI-backed touchscreen synth 50:28 - BreadBot is an insanely over-engineered gadget just for baking loaves of bread 51:03 - This Japanese startup is making a hover backpack to augment jumping ability 52:05 - Bose is developing augmented reality glasses with a focus on sound 57:04 - Fitbit takes a second swing at smartwatches with the $199 Versa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, The Vergecast is down in Austin, Texas for South by Southwest 2018 in front of a live audience. Nilay, Dieter, Casey, and Ashley run through the news and share their expertise about Google’s new plan to make the web faster, using Samsung’s Galaxy S9, and Android P for developer testing. If you wanted to see the show, sorry you missed it! But good news for you, I recorded it so you can listen to it whenever you want. And here’s the articles discussed on the show this week: 00:45 - Google’s latest plan could change how you browse the web 10:03 - Amazon has a fix for Alexa’s creepy laughs 17:16 - Samsung Galaxy S9 review 27:17 - Android P is available for developer testing 32: 57 - Paul’s weekly segment “Shoes — You’ve got em” 35:24 - On Twitter, lies spread faster than the truth 41:02 - Snap confirms layoffs of ‘just over 120’ engineers 45:00 - Barack Obama is reportedly planning Netflix shows 50:59 - Q&A Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices