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The Verge

The Vergecast is the flagship daily podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, Nilay Patel and David Pierce hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And Monday through Thursday, David leads a selection of The Verge’s expert staffers in an exploration of how gadgets and software affect our lives – and which ones you should bring into yours.

The Vergecast

It's a big week for new ideas about computers, so David and Nilay spend some time on Samsung's vision for foldables and Mark Zuckerberg's vision for AI agents that do absolutely everything. Then they talk about the fallout from last week's OpenAI Hugging Face hack, and whether all this talk about AI safety will actually amount to anything. Finally, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the vertical video takeover, and the smashing success of the Ferrari Luce.

Further reading:

 Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels like the future

 Apple launches ‘Upgrade’ program to lease new devices 

 What’s the catch with the Apple Upgrade program?

 Mark Zuckerberg is planning a big push into personal AI agents

 Mark Zuckerberg wrote an op-ed about AI for the WSJ. 

 We’re running out of reasons to ignore AI safety

 OpenAI reportedly didn’t notice its AI agent hacking Hugging Face until a week later. 

 Nvidia, Microsoft launch open AI security alliance — without OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic

 OpenAI’s rogue AI agent didn’t stop at hacking Hugging Face 

 AI leaders sign a statement asking the government to do something about automated AI 

 Former FCC chairs blast Carr’s early renewal of ABC licenses as an ‘assault on free speech.’

 ABC demands FCC drop its ‘punitive’ early license renewal of its stations

 Qualcomm is raising phone chip prices starting September 1st

 The Ferrari Luce reportedly already hit its 2026 sales target 

 Samsung’s smartphone biz posts first ever loss, but profit still soars 1,300 percent on RAM.

 Facebook considers giving up and becoming TikTok 

 YouTube Premium will include Peacock starting next year 

 HBO Max is putting on vertical shorts 

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:00 Baby Announcement

00:06:00 Galaxy Z Fold

00:12:00 Apple Leasing Program

00:15:00 Kill Switch Concerns

00:19:00 Zuck Agent Future

00:34:00 AI Safety Week Recap

00:42:00 Regulation Versus China

00:49:00 Winning AI Race

00:53:00 Security Arms Race

00:57:00 Brendan Carr Is a Dummy

01:07:00 Facebook Becomes TikTok

01:12:00 Ramageddon Price Hikes

01:16:00 HBO Max Shorts

01:23:00 Ferrari Luce Buzz

01:26:00 Wrap Up and Plugs
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It's time to panic about AI safety

A new study from the Oversight Board found that leading AI systems are less likely to criticize authoritarian governments than democratic ones. It's a wild finding — but wait? Why is the Oversight Board studying systems from OpenAI and Anthropic in the first place? Suzanne Nossel, who sits on the board, joined us to discuss the findings and why the Oversight Board's future might involve looking at more than just Meta.

Further reading:

 Zoox can now charge for rides in its steering-wheel-free robotaxis

 Spotify Running Mode helps match tunes to tempo

 Friend re-launches its AI pendant with a speaker that talks to you, for twice the price

 ⁠How Facebook undercut the Oversight Board⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Meta's Oversight Board is coming for ChatGPT and Claude

The wide foldable is here, and it's glorious. The Verge's Dominic Preston has been reviewing Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8, and joins the show to explain what this shorter, wider device gets right, what it's still missing, and why this looks like the right kind of foldable for most people. (Once the price comes down, anyway.) With a similar foldable iPhone likely coming soon, it's shaping up to be a fun year of foldables.

Further reading:

 OpenAI’s rogue AI agent didn’t stop at hacking Hugging Face | The Verge

 The US is banning foreign robots | The Verge

 DoorDash is going airborne with new drone delivery division

 Willie Nelson is pushing back against data centers in his hometown.

 Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels like the future

 Huawei beats Samsung and Apple to market with the first wide foldable

 A wide foldable iPhone dummy emerges amid rumors of a delay

 So long, small phones

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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The Z Fold 8 is the new foldable to beat

The team at Light has been working on minimalist phones for more than a decade. Its last device had a lot in common with a smartphone, but the newest model, the Light Flip, is something very different. Light CEO Kaiwei Tang explains why Light made a flip phone, how the world's opinion of smartphones is changing, and whether you can cure your tech problems with more tech.

Further reading:

 ⁠Apple launches ‘Upgrade’ program to lease new devices⁠

 ⁠Apple’s reported ‘HomePad’ may launch as early as October⁠

 ⁠X Money is launching in the US starting today⁠

 ⁠The Light Flip is a minimalist flip phone with a point to prove⁠

 ⁠Light Phone III review: everything in moderation⁠

 ⁠The high hopes of the low-tech phone⁠

 ⁠There’s no perfect minimalist phone — yet⁠

⁠Subscribe to The Verge⁠ for unlimited access to ⁠theverge.com⁠, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ⁠ad-free podcast feed⁠.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Flip phones are so back

Some of the biggest players in AI — in particular OpenAI, SpaceX, and Amazon — are heavily invested in creating a world after smartphones. They're also all rumored to be building devices that sound a lot like smartphones. Verge contributor David Imel helps us figure out what these companies might actually be building, what an AI smartphone looks like, and whether anyone can unseat Apple and Google.

Links: 

 Elon Musk denies a report about SpaceX’s AI phone prototype

 OpenAI is reportedly launching a phone for ChatGPT

 Amazon is making an Alexa phone

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here's what an AI-first phone might look like

Google Zero continues to affect website after website, and publisher after publisher. David and Nilay discuss Google's increased focus on AI, the web companies finally starting to fight back, and whether there's a way forward for Google's pact with the open web. After that, they talk about a big week in AI detection software, which sometimes works and frequently doesn't. Then it's time for the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr is a dummy, the Light Flip, and more.

Further reading:

 Google hit with $1 billion fine for breaking EU antitrust rules

 Reddit might cut ties with Google as traffic drops. 

 From the NYT: How Google’s A.I. Search Is Imperiling the Open Web

 Google says Gemini now has 950 million monthly users. 

 Google earnings

 China delivers a one-two punch to America’s AI dominance 

 OpenAI says it accidentally hacked Hugging Face with a new AI system 

 Substack adds an AI detector to help spot blogs written by no one 

 Anthropic’s $1.5 billion book piracy settlement approved by judge 

 Jeff Bezos is getting involved with centering Amazon’s AI in Prime Video

 Meta made its own AI detection system. It should have just used Google’s 

 Ford picks Apple Maps for its next EV platform and updated BlueCruise

 Apple’s rumored ‘Upgrade’ program brings lease-to-own pricing for iPhones, Macs, and iPads

 iOS code could reportedly let Apple cut off apps when users miss iPhone payments 

 Framework’s premium laptop is shipping with less RAM 

 The higher-end prebuilt Framework Laptop 13 Pro now costs $800 more. 

 The Light Flip is a minimalist flip phone with a point to prove 

 Judge pauses Paramount’s attempt to buy Warner Bros. Discovery 

 Paramount’s Warner deal gets conditional approval in the EU. 

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:00 Claude Reads the Meters

00:04:00 Google Zero and Reddit Deal

00:15:00 AI Overviews Death Spiral

00:25:00 OpenAI Hacks Hugging Face

00:32:00 Substack AI Detector Debate

00:39:00 Prime Video Goes All In

00:44:00 Meta Content Seal Cynicism

00:53:00 Avengers Doomsday

01:03:00 Comic Con And Feige Reset

01:04:00 Brendan Carr Is a Dummy

01:12:00 Ramageddon Hits Framework

01:17:00 Apple Leasing Lockdown

01:21:00 Light Flip Phone Trend

01:26:00 Ford Picks Apple Maps

01:35:00 Paramount Merger Mess

01:35:00 Wrap Up And Plugs
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You can't ignore Google Zero anymore

TikTok is endless. Netflix is already starting the next episode. Who's making time to read a book? Today we're chatting with The Atlantic's Rose Horowitch to discuss her story "The End of Reading is Here" and the role technology plays in reducing how much time — and attention — people have to read long pieces of writing. In a world where we're inundated with more text than ever from social media feeds, AI, and group chats, is it really possible that we're taking in less than before?

Further reading:

 ⁠The End of Reading Is Here⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Why read anymore?

Samsung just kicked off phone season with the new Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, and Z Flip 8, along with two new watches and a look at its smart glasses. David and Nilay talk through all the new devices, Samsung's overall case for foldable phones, and what it'll take for Samsung — or anyone — to convince people to spend $2,000 on a phone.

Further reading:

 Samsung’s wider Z Fold 8 feels just right

 Samsung’s newest foldable finally feels Ultra

 I almost forgot Samsung’s Z Flip 8 was a foldable

 Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2 bet big on battery

 Samsung and Google’s smart glasses get two new designs

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samsung's next-generation foldables are here | The Vergecast Livestream

So far, most electric vehicles have looked more or less like cars. But recently, a few companies have looked to another, smaller mode of transport for inspiration. The Verge's Andy Hawkins explains why companies like Amble and Chip are reinventing the golf cart, in the hopes of creating an entirely new kind of street-legal vehicle. As long as the speed limit stays low.

Further reading:

 ⁠The Light Flip is a minimalist flip phone with a point to prove | The Verge⁠

 ⁠Anthropic has to pay authors. | The Verge⁠

 ⁠The cost of GPUs goes far beyond AI data centers | The Verge⁠

 ⁠Is America ready for this quirky Jeep-looking EV that can park itself?⁠

 ⁠The ‘G-Wagen of golf carts’ could be the ideal second car⁠

 ⁠America’s cheapest new EV is smaller than a ping-pong table and tops out at 19mph⁠

 ⁠Zoox’s purpose-built robotaxi is getting a refresh⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The car of the future is an EV golf cart

Since the beginning of the AI revolution, a few companies have claimed to be building the best and most powerful AI models. All of them were American. More recently, a few Chinese companies seem to have caught up, shipping models that are much cheaper and maybe also just as good. The Verge's Hayden Field and Lauren Feiner join the show to explain how China made so much progress, the threat that progress represents to US companies and the US government, and what might happen next.

Further reading:

 ⁠China and the US are battling to become the world’s first AI superpower⁠

 ⁠Trump’s Anthropic shutdown just made the case for non-American AI⁠

 ⁠China delivers a one-two punch to America’s AI dominance⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. 

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The US is losing its lead in AI

In “The Trauma Floor,” The Verge’s Casey Newton uncovered the horrendous working conditions for contract Facebook moderators. On this week’s Vergecast, he and editor-in-chief Nilay Patel discuss how he uncovered them.
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Casey Newton on the secret life of Facebook moderators

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