How Apple lost control of the App Store

The Verge's David Pierce, Alex Cranz, Allison Johnson, and Richard Lawler discuss the Google Pixel 9 review and its controversial reimagine AI feature, a Chick-fil-A streaming service, Sonos app updates, and more. Further reading: Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL review: AI all over the place Google’s AI tool helped us add disasters and corpses to our photos  This system can sort real pictures from AI fakes — why aren’t platforms using it?  The AI photo editing era is here Donald Trump posts a fake AI-generated Taylor Swift endorsement From Digital Trends:I tried Google's new Pixel Studio app, and it's a mess OpenAI exec says California’s AI safety bill might slow progress https://www.threads.net/@chriswelch/post/C-8wxAGOpyP https://www.threads.net/@chriswelch/post/C-8LGwKOlPj?xmt=AQGzGV_vvL3vxoEhZ_nM263bP8n-Pu9Dxz5Ngmib-0wzgA https://www.threads.net/@chriswelch/post/C-8wxAGOpyP A new $6 billion bid to take over Paramount could undo plans to merge with Skydance. I hope the next CEO of Disney is just Bob Iger with a fun mustache. Paramount Plus plans are 50 percent off ahead of the 2024 NFL season  The 2024 Olympics were a big win for TV of all kinds The Acolyte has been canceled Chick-fil-A is reportedly launching a streaming service for some reason Apple Podcasts now has a web app Spotify star Alex Cooper is jumping to a new podcast network JBL made its charging case touchscreen more useful with a size boost  Meta and Snap are about to show off their new AR glasses  Amazon cancels the Echo Show 8 Photos Edition’s main feature — focusing on photos 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

23 Aug 20241h 22min

Today on the flagship podcast of hydrogen futures:  The Verge’s William Poor, Andrew Marino, and Alex Parkin head to California to figure out why hydrogen fuel cell technology, once a super-promising successor to gasoline, lost out to battery electric cars. They also put the embattled tech to the test with a road trip across California’s “hydrogen highway.” Further reading:  Check out the interactive map of our trip here, and the video version of the story here. Read Andrew Hawkins’ story about the future of hydrogen fuel cell tech here. Read Justine Calma’s coverage of federal green hydrogen programs here. Go deep into California zero emission transportation policy here. Credits: Fact Check by Jasmine Arielle Ting Thanks to: Bill Elrick, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership Michael McCurdy, California State Library Archival footage courtesy of Global ImageWorks, LLC 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

20 Aug 202454min

Laura Mae Martin is a big believer in the settings menu. Martin is Google’s Executive Productivity Advisor, and spends much of her time working with other Googlers on improving their productivity and communication systems — and one of the things she often recommends is taking a few minutes to poke through the options. “With your phone, with your email, your Slack, all these things, the features are there but we don’t take the time to dive into them,” she says. She even thinks you should maybe have to look at settings before you can use the app. “Like, you can’t get into the app unless you spend 10 minutes figuring out what it can do.” On this episode of The Vergecast, the first in our three-part miniseries about all things productivity and work, we talk to Martin about how she sees things changing. Four years after the pandemic forced us all to work from home, are we finally figuring out remote and hybrid work? Are managers realizing that butts-in-seats isn’t, and maybe was never, a good metric for productivity? And is the era of the hard-charging hustle bro finally giving way to a healthier, more holistic way of thinking about being productive? Martin sees all these things from so many perspectives, and has lots of thoughts on everything from communication styles to energy flows. We also talk about the rise in digital productivity tools like Notion and Slack, and why email is still so important — and still so terrible. One of Martin’s jobs at Google is to consult with the teams building Workspace apps like Docs and Gmail, and she has lots of thoughts on how those product works and how they could be better. We also talk about whether AI stands to change the way we get things done, and whether it’ll help us do more or just give us more to do. Along the way, Martin offers us lots of practical tips on how to manage our digital lives a little better. Charging your phone outside the bedroom, no-tech Tuesdays, and a couple of prettier email labels might actually go a long way. And if you have too many notes in too many places, it’s time to get a Main List going. If you want to know more on everything we talk about in this episode, here are a few links to get you started: Laura Mae Martin’s website Her book, Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing’ The Google Workspace guide to productivity and wellbeing The Verge’s favorite tools to stay organized The best note-taking apps for collecting your thoughts and data All I want is one productivity app that can handle everything 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

18 Aug 202457min

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss AI tools announced at this weeks Pixel 9 event, Nilay's TV competition, tech regulatory news, and more. Further reading: AI overshadowed Pixel at the Pixel event All the AI features coming to Google's Pixel 9 series  Google debuts Pixel Studio AI image-making app Google makes your Pixel screenshots searchable with Recall-like AI feature Every time Google dinged Apple during its Pixel 9 launch event Google Gemini’s voice chat mode is here Using Gemini Live was faster than Google, but also more awkward Google Pixel 9 launch event: all the announcements and products  Google's Pixel 9 lineup is a Pro show  The Pixel 9 Pro XL showed me the future of AI photography Google’s Zoom Enhance camera trick is finally available  Inside the competition that named the Sony A95L the best TV of 2024 Patreon adds Apple tax to avoid getting kicked out of the App Store  Apple is finally going to open up iPhone tap-to-pay Apple relents and approves Spotify app with EU pricing  AltStore PAL drops its annual subscription thanks to a grant from Epic Epic judge says he’ll ‘tear the barriers down’ on Google’s app store monopoly The FTC’s fake review crackdown begins this fall Ex-Google CEO: AI startups can steal IP, hire lawyers to “clean up the mess” Flipboard is going to let you follow fediverse accounts right inside the app Halide’s Process Zero feature captures photos with no AI processing Realme’s 320W fast charging can fully charge a smartphone in four and a half minutes 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

16 Aug 20241h 38min

Today on the flagship podcast of the correct height-to-width ratio of a foldable phone:  The Verge’s David Pierce, Allison Johnson, Victoria Song, and Chris Welch discuss all the new gadget announcements from Google’s Pixel event — including the Pixel 9, the Pixel Watch 3, the Pixel buds, and more. Further reading: Google Pixel 9 launch event live coverage: all the news Google’s Pixel 9 lineup is a Pro show Google’s new Pixel Buds Pro 2 seem better in every way that matters The Pixel 9 Pro XL showed me the future of AI photography Google Pixel Watch 3 hands-on: a big leap forward The Google TV Streamer might be the Apple TV 4K rival we’ve been waiting for Why Google decided now’s the time to move on from Chromecast The Nest Learning Thermostat gets its biggest upgrade in over a decade Google’s Pixel Fold one year later: I can’t wait for the sequel 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

13 Aug 202456min

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, Alex Heath, and Lauren Feiner discuss a federal judge ruling that Google violated US antitrust law, X suing a group of major advertisers over an “illegal boycott”, and the rest of this week's wild tech news. Further reading: Judge rules that Google ‘is a monopolist’ in US antitrust case All the spiciest parts of the Google antitrust ruling X files antitrust lawsuit against advertisers over ‘illegal boycott’  The Global Alliance for Responsible Media is 'discontinuing' after Elon Musk's X filed an antitrust lawsuit against it Disney’s password-sharing crackdown starts ‘in earnest’ this September Disney’s streaming business turned a profit for the first time The price of Disney Plus is about to go up Logitech’s ‘forever’ mouse isn’t happening Google is discontinuing the Chromecast line The Google TV Streamer might be the Apple TV 4K rival we’ve been waiting for Humane’s daily returns are outpacing sales  Samsung’s Frame TV is finally getting the knockoffs it deserves  Microsoft says Delta ignored Satya Nadella’s offer of CrowdStrike help Hands-on with Google’s new Nest Learning Thermostat OpenAI won’t watermark ChatGPT text because its users could get caught 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

9 Aug 20241h 23min

Today on the flagship podcast of what the future of Kindle turns out to be:  We’re once again trying out a couple of our favorite new show formats.  In Version History, we talk through the whole story of Quibi, from its early days as NewTV to its extremely ill-timed launch to its ultimate demise.  From Variety: Quibi Has Raised $1.75B After Closing $750M Round to Fund Launch From Variety: Jeffrey Katzenberg’s NewTV Closes $1B, Major Studios Among Investors Quibi’s CES 2020 launch Quibi app review: short-form streaming in a shifting landscape Steven Spielberg is writing a horror series you’ll only be able to at night Quibi’s Super Bowl 2020 commercial From The Wall Street Journal: Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman Struggle With Their Startup—and Each Other How Quibi imploded less than six months after launch 11 reasons why Quibi crashed and burned in less than a year Next, we try out our as-yet-untitled debate show. The Verge’s Kevin Nguyen and Alex Cranz take on a surprisingly contentious topic: is the future of books print or digital?  The Boox Palma is an amazing gadget I didn’t even know I wanted Kobo’s great color e-readers are held back by lock-in From The Wall Street Journal: How the Kindle Became a Must-Have Accessory (Again) The Playdate makes a surprisingly good e-reader Later, producer Andru Marino answers a question from The Vergecast Hotline about a very unusual shopping situation for MP3 players.  NW-E394 Walkman Digital Music Player  Mighty’s ‘iPod shuffle for Spotify’ gets upgraded battery and Bluetooth 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

6 Aug 20241h 14min

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Allison Johnson, and Victoria Song discuss Apple iOS 18.1 beta. upcoming Pixel 9 rumors, Olympics coverage, AI deepfake regulation, and more. Further reading: The best way to watch the Olympics is on TikTok Apple releases iOS 18.1 developer beta with the first ‘Apple Intelligence’ iPhone features  Apple’s iOS 18.1 developer beta adds AI call recording and transcription A first look at Apple Intelligence and its (slightly) smarter Siri Apple’s new AI features will reportedly miss the iOS 18 launch and wait for iOS 18.1.  Google Pixel 9 event: rumors and what to expect  Pixel 9’s ‘Add Me’ feature puts you in a group photo even when you’re not there   Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review: if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em  Samsung hypes the Galaxy Z Flip as a great police bodycam Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber wants your next mouse to last forever Microsoft wants Congress to outlaw AI-generated deepfake fraud Google tweaks Search to help hide explicit deepfakes Lawmakers want to carve out intimate AI deepfakes from Section 230 immunity  Elon Musk posts deepfake of Kamala Harris that violates X policy The Copyright Office calls for a new federal law regulating deepfakes.  Senators will introduce the No Fakes Act to keep AI ... 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

2 Aug 20241h 34min