How to save a smart home company

This week, we saw the two founders of Instagram abruptly leave, so Casey Newton comes on the show to talk about all that drama and what it might mean for Facebook’s prized possession. Then, Dan Seifert joins us to talk about all of the cameras that were announced at Photokina this year, plus all the models that were announced before the show even started. Finally, Liz Lopatto comes on for an impromptu This Week In Elon to discuss the fact that the SEC has filed a lawsuit against Mr. Musk, which happened just before we started recording the show. 1:28 - Instagram founders resign from Facebook 5:00 - 5 times Facebook messed with Instagram 20:43 - Whats App co-founder Forbes interview 22:32 - Former boss of Facebook Messenger calls Brian Acton “low class” 32:31 - Photokina 2018 recap 38:39 - Zeiss camera with built-in Adobe Lightroom 51:16 - Paul’s weekly segment “Space Egg” 56:07 - This week in Elon Musk: Live Edition™ with Liz Lopatto 1:09:52 - Oculus Quest Also, in case you missed it, Nilay talked to Google AMP’s Malte Ubl about how he’s trying to make the mobile web better. You can listen to that in the Vergecast feed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Sep 20181h 12min

You may not have heard of Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) but you almost certainly have used it. The Google open-source project has been making waves since it launched in 2016 in an effort to make the mobile web faster to load and smoother to navigate. This week, Nilay sat down with Malte Ubl, creator and tech lead of AMP, to talk about the controversy of bifurcating the web, forming a technical steering committee to co-lead the project, and Ubl’s vision for the future of the mobile web. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 Sep 201829min

This past week, Nilay reviewed the new iPhone XS and XS Max while Dieter reviewed the Apple Watch series 4. Paul, Dieter, and Nilay dedicate half the show to their review and whether it’s worth upgrading to the new model. Second half of the show, the crew tries to cover all of the insane amount of gadgets that Amazon announced this week, including a DVR for over-the-air channels. There’s a whole lot more in between that — like deputy editor Liz Lopatto’s “This week in Elon” segment — so listen to it all and you’ll get it all. 01:26 - Apple iPhone XS and XS Max review: smoothed out 32:10 - Apple Watch Series 4 review: the best gets better 54:44 - This week in Elon Musk with Liz Lopatto 59:00 - Paul’s weekly segment “Spin to win” 1:03:46 - The 14 biggest announcements from Amazon’s surprise hardware event 1:33:09 - Sony is launching a PlayStation Classic console this December loaded with 20 games Also, in case you missed it, Nilay along with transportation reporter Sean O’Kane talked to Ford AV CEO Sherif Marakby about self-driving cars and what Ford is doing with them. You can listen to that right in the Vergecast feed.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Sep 20181h 36min

Big car companies like Ford have broken themselves up to enter the market of self-driving cars and compete with Silicon Valley companies like Tesla and Uber. Ford Autonomous Vehicles hopes to become the go-to supplier of autonomous driving software, and have even set the ambitious goal of shipping a self-driving car without a steering wheel or pedals in the next few years. For this week’s interview episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and Verge transportation reporter Sean O’Kane sit down with Ford Autonomous Vehicles President and CEO Sherif Marakby to discuss the past, present, and future of self-driving cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Sep 201848min

Vergecast hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn attended the Apple event on Wednesday, and they were able to get their hands on the new iPhones and Apple Watch that were on display. After the event, they headed to our San Francisco studio to Skype with Paul Miller to record their first impressions, a summary of the event, and lay to rest some conspiracies. That’s all you really need to know before listening! 3:11 - Apple’s AirPower charger is still a no-show, one year after it was first announced 5:18 - September Keynote 2018 — Opening Film 08:33 - iPhone XS and XS Max: hands-on with Apple’s giant new phone 13:18 - The 3 best and worst features of the iPhone XS and XS Max 20:32 - iPhone XS Max overview 31:16 - Apple iPhone XR hands-on: the new default iPhone 47:15 - Paul’s weekly segment “E-skates arm race” 49:39 - Apple watch4 hands-on: bigger is better 1:04:15 - Apple adds lyric search, phone calls, and multiple timers to the HomePod 1:14:47 - What’s worse than a dongle? No dongle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Sep 20181h 17min

Anki, known for creating “robots that move you,” just finished a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund their new home robot, Vector. Anki CEO Boris Sofman sat down with Nilay for this week’s interview episode of The Vergecast to talk about the new companion robot, why gendering the robots is important, and how to avoid the uncanny valley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Sep 201839min

This week on The Vergecast, Nilay, Paul, Russell, and Dieter dedicate half the show to The Verge’s monopoly week, which dives into the future of tech monopolies. They also discuss the social media hearings that happened on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. In the second half of the show, the crew updates us on what to expect for next week’s Apple event, from the mysterious third phone to the updated AirPods rumors. There’s a whole lot in between that — like a whole section dedicated to Roombas — so listen to it all, and you’ll get it all. 01:33 - Trump says Amazon, Facebook, and Google represent a ‘very antitrust situation’ 08:08 - The 7 biggest moments from Wednesday’s social media hearings 26:13 - This week in Elon Musk with Sean O’Kane 30:39 - The 9 most plausible rumors about the new iPhones 35:28 - Pixel 3 XL found in a Lyft, had already leaked enough for driver to recognize it 37:39 - New 6.5-inch iPhone X model reportedly called the ‘iPhone XS Max’ 38:25 - Third-party USB-C to Lightning cables are reportedly happening 42:41 - Five things to expect at the Apple event next week 45:16 - Paul’s weekly segment “The decline of dirt” 50:59 - Google’s Pixel 3 event will take place on October 9th 51:53 - BMW is the latest automaker to introduce its own in-car voice assistant 52:04 - Netflix and YouTube are most throttled mobile apps by US carriers, new study says 52:20 - Razer confirms it’s working on a second-generation Razer Phon 53:17 - Samsung teases foldable smartphone launch for later this year Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Sep 201857min

Best known for coining the phrase “net neutrality” and his book The Master Switch, Tim Wu has a new book coming out in November called The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age. In it, he argues compellingly for a return to aggressive antitrust enforcement in the style of Teddy Roosevelt, saying that Google, Facebook, Amazon, and other huge tech companies are a threat to democracy as they get bigger and bigger. Nilay sits down with Wu for this week's interview episode of The Vergecast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

4 Sep 201845min