The Vergecast

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss Google's algorithm leak, OpenAI content deals, and more tech news from this week. Further reading: Google won’t comment on a potentially massive leak of its search algorithm documentation Google confirms the leaked Search documents are real An Anonymous Source Shared Thousands of Leaked Google Search API Documents with Me; Everyone in SEO Should See Them Secrets from the Algorithm: Google Search’s Internal Engineering Documentation Has Leaked Unpacking Google's massive Search documentation leak How SEO moves forward with the Google Content Warehouse API leak Google responds to leak: Documentation lacks context Vox Media and The Atlantic sign content deals with OpenAI Google scrambles to manually remove weird AI answers in search  Apple’s WWDC may include AI-generated emoji and an OpenAI partnership OpenAI CEO Cements Control as He Secures Apple Deal Custom GPTs open for free ChatGPT users OpenAI has a new safety team — it’s run by Sam Altman Why the OpenAI board fired Sam Altman  Elon Musk’s xAI raises $6 billion to fund its race against ChatGPT and all the rest New Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Ring details have leaked, courtesy of the FCC The Fitbit Ace LTE is like a Nintendo smartwatch for kids  Discord’s turning the focus back to games with a new redesign The business behind Unnecessary Inventions’ millions of followers Welcome to Notepad, a newsletter on Microsoft’s era-defining bets by Tom Warren 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

Today on the flagship podcast of open smart home standards:  03:25 - Microsoft’s Pavan Davuluri, leader for Windows and Devices, joins the show to discuss the future of the AI PC and what’s next for Microsoft’s hardware Microsoft’s new Windows chief on the future of the OS, Surface, and those annoying ads Microsoft’s big bet on building a new type of AI computer  Microsoft Build 2024: everything announced 30:25 - The Verge’s Jen Tuohy and David Pierce discuss the latest updates in the smart home world in a segment called “Does Matter matter yet?” The Dyson WashG1 is the company’s first dedicated mop Amazon’s Matter Casting is shaping up so nicely, I want to use it everywhere Matter 1.3 arrives with new device type and features Smart lighting company Brilliant is looking for a buyer Google launches new Home APIs and turns Google TVs into smart home hubs  01:13:20 - David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline about AI-powered search engines.  Google is redesigning its search engine — and it's AI all the way down  Google CEO Sundar Pichai on AI-powered search and the future of the web 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

On this episode of The Vergecast, the fourth and final installment of our series on the five senses of video games, we asked Polygon’s Charlie Hall to help us make sense of the current state of the art in flight simulation. Hall, who once spent more than four months in VR mapping the edge of the Milky Way galaxy in Elite: Dangerous, has more experience in a virtual cockpit than most. We wanted to know how the pros set up their simulators to get the most realistic experience and why it’s so complicated to make a virtual world look like the real one. Further reading: It’s time to build the cockpit of your dreams Microsoft Flight Simulator’s most-needed feature is co-op My first kill as a Star Citizen If Microsoft Flight Simulator has you craving air combat, try this flight sim next 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss announcements from Microsoft Build, the OpenAI's trouble with Scarlett Johansson, new Sonos headphones, and more. Further reading: Microsoft’s big bet on building a new type of AI computer  Recall is Microsoft’s key to unlocking the future of PCs  https://www.theverge.com › microsoft-surface-pro-pric... Here’s the eight-inch Snapdragon PC for your Windows on Arm experiments  How does the Microsoft Surface Laptop stack up to the MacBook Air?  Microsoft Build 2024: everything announced Windows now has AI-powered copy and paste Microsoft is making File Explorer more powerful with version control and 7z compression Here’s the eight-inch Snapdragon PC for your Windows on Arm experiments Microsoft Edge will translate and dub YouTube videos as you’re watching them Microsoft brings out a small language model that can look at pictures  Microsoft’s new Copilot AI agents act like virtual employees to automate tasks  Microsoft outage took down Copilot, DuckDuckGo, and ChatGPT search features OpenAI is ‘in conversations’ with Scarlett Johansson over the ChatGPT voice that sounds just like her OpenAI pulls its Scarlett Johansson-like voice for ChatGPT Lawyers say OpenAI could be in real trouble with Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Johansson told OpenAI not to use her voice — and she’s not happy they might have anyway OpenAI didn’t copy Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT, records show OpenAI Just Gave Away the Entire Game OpenAI’s News Corp deal licenses content from WSJ, New York Post, and more OpenAI strikes Reddit deal to train its AI on your posts The US government is trying to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster The Sonos Ace headphones are here, and they’re damn impressive Sonos CEO Patrick Spence addresses the company’s divisive app redesign here’s an electric salt spoon that adds umami flavor  Apple needs to explain that bug that resurfaced deleted photos  Humane is looking for a buyer after the AI Pin’s underwhelming debut  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

Today on the flagship podcast of Arm-based chipsets: 03:08 - The Verge’s Tom Warren and David Pierce discuss the announcements from Microsoft’s Surface event, including the new Arm-powered Surface Laptop, and Copilot Plus PCs. Microsoft’s Surface AI event: news, rumors, and lots of Qualcomm laptops  Microsoft announces an Arm-powered Surface Laptop Microsoft’s new Surface Pro gets an OLED display for the first time Microsoft announces Copilot Plus PCs with built-in AI hardware The new, faster Surface Pro is Microsoft's all-purpose AI PC  Recall is Microsoft’s key to unlocking the future of PCs 27:29 -Verge senior AI reporter Kylie Robison joins the show to chat about OpenAI’s GPT-4o demo and where we’re headed in the next few years of AI.  ChatGPT is getting a Mac app OpenAI’s custom GPT Store is now open to all for free OpenAI releases GPT-4o, a faster model that’s free for all ChatGPT users  ChatGPT will be able to talk to you like Scarlett Johansson in Her  OpenAI pulls its Scarlett Johansson-like voice for ChatGPT  OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever is officially leaving OpenAI researcher resigns, claiming safety has taken ‘a backseat to shiny products’ We tried out the Project Astra demo at Google I/O which worked well un... | tech | TikTok  57:40 - Nilay Patel answers a question about iPads for this week’s Vergecast Hotline. Apple iPad Pro (2024) review: the best tablet money can buy 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

Today on the flagship podcast of refillable scent cartridges:  Producer Andru Marino tries out a gadget called the Gamescent, an AI-powered scent machine that syncs with your gaming and movie watching experience. He walks David Pierce through the experience and whether integrating olfaction could be the future of gaming.  We also hear from Nimesha Ranasinghe, an assistant professor at the University of Maine working on taste sensations and taste simulation in virtual reality experiences, which can lead to adding another sense into the world of gaming.  Further reading: A Brief History of Smell-O-Vision “Scent of Mystery”, the First and Only Use of Smell-O-Vision The sights, smells, and sprays of ‘Iron Man 3’ in 4DX The iSmell story Smell-O-Vision is REAL: Linus Tech Tips VR pioneer Jaron Lanier on dystopia, empathy, and the future of the internet The sense of taste in virtual reality Virtual lemonade sends colour and taste to a glass of water 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss announcements from Google I/O and OpenAI's GPT4o event. Further reading: Google and OpenAI race to build the feature of search OpenAI releases GPT-4o, a faster model that’s free for all ChatGPT users ChatGPT will be able to talk to you like Scarlett Johansson in Her ChatGPT is getting a Mac app OpenAI’s custom GPT Store is now open to all for free OpenAI’s “ChatGPT and GPT-4” Spring Update stream starts in 20 minutes OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever is officially leavingl Project Astra: the future of AI at Google is fast, multi-modal assistants like Gemini Live Google’s Gemini AI is getting a chatty new voice mode  Google will let you create personalized AI chatbots Google’s Gemini can build an entire vacation itinerary ‘in a matter of seconds’  Google’s Circle to Search will help you with your math homework Google’s Gemini video search makes factual error in demo We have to stop ignoring AI’s hallucination problem Google I/O 2024: everything announced Google is redesigning its search engine — and it's AI all the way down  Google now offers ‘web’ search — and an AI opt-out button Gemini is about to get better at understanding what's on your phone screen  Google is building Gemini Nano AI right into Chrome Google makes its AI way faster with Gemini Flash  Google’s new LearnLM AI model focuses on education Android apps will soon let you use your face to control your cursor Android is getting an AI-powered scam call detection feature Google targets filmmakers with Veo, its new generative AI video model Google’s invisible AI watermark will help identify generative text and video Google Photos is getting its own ‘Ask Photos’ assistant this summer Blink and you missed it: Google has a new pair of prototype AR glasses We have to stop ignoring AI’s hallucination problem Google launches new Home APIs and turns Google TVs into smart home hubs 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

Today on the flagship podcast of tandem OLEDs:  The Verge’s David Pierce and Chris Welch discuss the new iPad Pros with an OLED screen, Sonos’ controversial new app, and Sonos’ leaked headphones.  Apple iPad Pro (2024) review: the best kind of overkill The new Apple iPad Air is great — but it's not the one to get The new Sonos app is missing a lot of features, and people aren’t happy Sonos Ace headphones will have magnetic ear cushions and 30-hour battery life The Verge’s Will Poor buys a bunch of broken iPhones on eBay, and pits the Apple Store against independent repair techs. Jet City Device Repair iFixit’s iPhone 8 charge port repair guide Hugh Jeffreys’ iPhone 12 investigation Apple’s plan to allow used parts in iPhone repairs David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline about why some people think the iPad should be a Macbook replacement.  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

In episode two of our Five Senses of Gaming miniseries, David Pierce dives into the world of hearing with audio-only video games with Paul Bennun, who has been in this space longer than most. Years ago, Bennun and his team at Somethin’ Else made a series of games called Papa Sangre that were among the most innovative and most popular games of their kind. He explains what makes an audio game work, why the iPhone 4 was such a crucial technological achievement for these games, and more. 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss Apple's iPad event, the evolution of the streaming business, updates on the Wisconsin Foxconn site, and much more tech news. Apple iPad event: all the news from Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ reveal  The 7 biggest announcements from Apple’s iPad event  Here's how the latest iPad Pro compares to the new iPad Air (and prior models)   Apple adds a 13-inch iPad Air to the mix The iPad Air is now heavier than the iPad Pro  Apple announces new iPad Pros with OLED displays and thinnest design ever  Apple announces its M4 chip Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro M4: bigger trackpad and a function row  Hands-on with the new iPad Pro: yeah, it's really thin  You can upgrade the iPad Pro’s processor now, too  The new Apple Pencil Pro is harder to lose and better to draw with Apple puts more ‘Pro’ in Final Cut and Logic Pro for the iPad  Apple quietly kills the old-school iPad and its headphone jack The new iPads are ditching physical SIM cards Goodbye to Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio, the best iPad Pro accessory People sure are pressed about Apple’s crushing iPad commercial A Disney, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle is on the way The streaming business will look “very different” in the next couple of years. Max nears 100 million subscribers globally. Max price hike incoming. Disney’s streaming business gets closer to becoming profitable ESPN is coming to the Disney Plus app Sony is now in play to buy Paramount. The Office is getting a Peacock spinoff about local newspapers The new Sonos app is missing a lot of features, and people aren’t happy  Inside Microsoft’s Xbox turmoil Microsoft says it needs games like Hi-Fi Rush the day after killing its studio Epic v. Apple judge seems displeased over style restrictions on iOS buttons The new Sonos app is missing a lot of features, and people aren’t happy  President Joe Biden to announce AI data center at failed Foxconn site in Wisconsin TikTok sues the US government over ban The Google Pixel 8A is a midrange phone that might go the distance  Google’s Pixel Tablet relaunch at $399 makes its magnetic dock optional  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

Today on the flagship podcast of enterprise certificate hacks:  03:22 - The Verge’s David Pierce chats with Riley Testut, founder of AltStore and developer of the game emulator app Delta, about how his app finally made it into Apple’s App Store.  The free Delta game emulator for iPhones is live on Apple’s App Store Third-party iPhone app store AltStore PAL is now live in Europe Delta is the game emulator your iPhone has been missing 46:17 - David walks us through his experimentation with the many software and hardware solutions for “AI voice notes.”  Cleft Notes is an AI voice notes app that really works 1:02:02 - David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline about the Rabbit R1.  Rabbit R1 review: nothing to see here 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

We’re kicking off our “Five Senses of Gaming” miniseries today, starting with “touch.” The Verge’s William Poor explores a controller crisis in the Nintendo 64 speedrunning community, and follows one speedrunner’s quest to recreate a mythical controller he lost. Further reading/viewing: How Sticks Are Sabotaging Speedrunners (Stick Crisis History) abney317 on Twitch The Quest to Beat abney317 Mariokart64.com More on Beck Abney’s controller problems 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss this week's tech and gadget news. Further reading: Rabbit R1 review: an unfinished, unhelpful AI gadget  The Rabbit R1’s first software update addresses its dismal battery life - The Verge  Turns out the Rabbit R1 was just an Android app all along TikTok and Universal Music Group end feud with new agreement  Microsoft’s OpenAI investment was triggered by Google fears, emails reveal Peloton announces new round of layoffs as CEO quits Elon Musk goes ‘absolutely hard core’ in another round of Tesla layoffs  Tesla layoffs hit Supercharger team just as it’s poised to take over EV charging LinkedIn is the latest company to get in on gaming  Pixel 8A leak reveals $499 starting price Beats announces Solo 4 headphones and $79.99 Solo Buds Beats Solo 4 review: playing both sides  Walmart is about to launch a 4K Chromecast that’s also a smart speaker SwitchBot S10 review: with plumbing hookups, this robovac and mop is actually hands-free iOS 17.5 beta lets you keep Find My on during iPhone repairs Razer made a million dollars selling a mask with RGB, and the FTC is not pleased Instagram’s updated algorithm prioritizes original content instead of rip-offs  Meta is “exploring” algorithm changes on Threads. 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

Today on the flagship podcast of dedicated AI hardware:  The Verge’s David Pierce and Allison Johnson debate whether the emergence of standalone AI gadgets like the Humane Pin and the Rabbit R1 are better off as apps or should exist as its own hardware.  Humane AI Pin review: not even close  The Humane AI Pin worked better than I expected — until it didn’t  A morning with the Rabbit R1: a fun, funky, unfinished AI gadget Can Rabbit’s R1 outsmart the smartphone assistants? Let’s find out! The future of AI gadgets is just phones The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses actually make the future look cool   The Verge’s Alex Heath joins the show to discuss Meta’s big move into AI with its multimodal AI smart glasses and a new AI model called Llama 3.  Q&A: Mark Zuckerberg on winning the AI race  Meta wants to be the Microsoft of headsets Zuckerberg says it will take Meta years to make money from generative AI Nilay Patel answers a question from The Vergecast Hotline about Microsoft and antitrust. Microsoft splits Teams from Office as antitrust pressure ramps up Microsoft and OpenAI deal may face anti-trust investigations in the EU.  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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss President Biden signing the TikTok ban bill, Apple's May 7th iPad event, Tesla's flop era, and more. Further reading: Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to President Biden’s desk Biden signs TikTok ‘ban’ bill into law, starting the clock for ByteDance to divest it Rabbit R1 hands-on: early tests with the $199 AI gadget  Apple announces May 7th event for new iPads What to expect at Apple’s May ‘Let Loose’ event The Mercedes G-Wagen, the ultimate off-road status symbol, goes electric  The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses have multimodal AI now  Kuo: Apple cuts Vision Pro shipments due to low demand Tesla’s in its flop era Tesla lays off ‘more than 10 percent’ of its workforce, loses top executives Tesla recalls all 3,878 Cybertrucks over faulty accelerator pedal  Tesla reveals a new Model 3 Performance with more horsepower and faster acceleration A cheaper Tesla is back on the menu Sonos announces redesigned app that puts everything on your homescreen Qualcomm announces Snapdragon X Plus and Elite processors  Apple might be the streaming home of soccer’s next big tournament  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

Today on the flagship podcast of forced app divestiture:  03:07  - The Verge’s David Pierce and Lauren Fiener discuss the latest tech policy bills floating through Congress, including a privacy bill, a generative AI bill, and the TikTok divest-or-ban bill. TikTok ‘ban’ passes in the House again TikTok divest-or-ban legislation could suddenly be fast-tracked in the Senate Lawmakers unveil new bipartisan digital privacy bill after years of impasse  A real privacy law? House lawmakers are optimistic this time  New bill would create public datasets to train AI and incentivize innovation. 34:17 - David talks with Nikola Todorovic and Tye Sheridan about their company Wonder Dynamics, which is creating AI-powered production tools for filmmakers.  1:09:16 - David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline about messaging apps. 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce discuss third-party iPhone app stores, game emulators, Google Android and hardware team restructuring, the latest TikTok news, and more. Further reading: Third-party iPhone app store AltStore PAL is now live in Europe The free Delta game emulator for iPhones is live on Apple’s App Store A new NES emulator was briefly available on the Apple App Store The first Apple-approved emulator for the iPhone has arrived... and been pulled Apple opens the App Store to retro game emulators Google is combining its Android and hardware teams — and it’s all about AI Meta’s battle with ChatGPT begins now AI isn't useless. But is it worth it? Facebook’s AI Told Parents Group It Has a Gifted, Disabled Child Big Papa Joe, world's biggest TouchWiz Fan - The Vergecast (clip) Facebook’s AI Told Parents Group It Has a Gifted, Disabled Child   Sony might have perfected Mini LED TVs with its new 2024 lineup Broadcast TV still exists, and now it’s sort of getting a built-in DVR TikTok Notes starts rolling out as a new rival to Instagram TikTok gives users more in-app ways to buy event tickets. TikTok divest-or-ban legislation could suddenly be fast-tracked in the Senate Report: ByteDance still has access to US users’ TikTok data despite Project Texas The president could delay a TikTok ban an extra six months under a reported House proposal. TikTok to restrict users who repeatedly post problematic topics from ‘For You’ feed Twitch’s new TikTok-style Discovery feed is rolling out to everyone soon Spotify is developing a remix feature to rival sped-up TikTok tunes Samsung shifts executives to six-day workweeks to ‘inject a sense of crisis’ Boston Dynamics’ new electric Atlas robot is swiveling nightmare fuel 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

Today on the flagship podcast of undersea cable management:  04:10 - The Verge’s David Pierce and Josh Dzieza discuss the industry of laying and maintaining undersea cables that connect us to the internet.  The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat 43:43 - Tom Warren and Joanna Nelius join the show to discuss the future of Arm chips on PCs and whether or not we’re about to get a huge jump in performance on most laptops.  Microsoft is confident Windows on Arm could finally beat Apple Microsoft to hold a special Windows and Surface AI event in May Microsoft’s first AI PCs are the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 for businesses Qualcomm claims its Snapdragon X Elite processor will beat Apple, Intel, and AMD Qualcomm says most Windows games should ‘just work’ on its unannounced Arm laptops 1:11:18 - Alex Cranz answers questions from the Vergecast Hotline about e-readers and the latest Kobo devices.  Kobo announces its first color e-readers The best ebook reader to buy right now 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

The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Piece, and Alex Cranz discuss David's review of the Humane AI Pin, Taylor Swift's music back on TikTok, a new party speaker, and much more. Further reading: Humane AI Pin review: the post-smartphone future isn’t here yet Here’s What Reviewers Are Saying About the Humane Pin We now have a better look at what’s inside the Humane AI pin OpenAI transcribed over a million hours of YouTube videos to train GPT-4  Taylor Swift’s music is back on TikTok Apple will open the iPhone to repair with used parts Kobo announces its first color e-readers Sony’s new headphones and speakers are all about skull-rattling bass Official: here’s the DJI Avata 2, possibly one of the best sequels in years Google Vids is the latest AI-powered app in Workspace Meta says it’s fixing ‘HD’ photo sharing in Facebook Messenger  Marissa Mayer’s eternal Sunshine The MPA has big plans to crack down on movie piracy again Vote for The Vergecast in the Webbys! Join The Verge at the 2024 Chicago Humanities Spring Festival 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

The Verge’s David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Alex Cranz answer questions from The Vergecast Hotline all about the TikTok ban debate and the US v Apple case.  Further reading:  TikTok ban: all the news on attempts to ban the video platform US v. Apple: everything you need to know The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age Vote for The Vergecast in the Webbys! Join The Verge at the 2024 Chicago Humanities Spring Festival 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