The new smart glasses from Snap look like an impressive bit of technology, and some of the most advanced glasses we've seen. But Nilay and David start the show by wondering, does that matter if nobody wants to put them on? What would it take to overcome the ear-smashing? After that, they discuss the reasons for (and problems awaiting) Fox's acquisition of Roku, the latest updates from Matter, Facebook's wild AI Mode, and more.

Further reading:

• Snap is finally about to ship AR glasses — and they cost a fortune

•  Snap Unveils Specs Smart Glasses at AWE 2026

• From CNBC: Snap CEO Evan Spiegel on new AR Specs: New opportunity to bring computing to the world around you

• Qualcomm’s latest chip hints that more powerful smart glasses could be on the way

• The Microsoft Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 now come with Snapdragon X2 chips 

• Commodore’s Callback 8020 is a retro flip phone with modern ideals 

• Google’s first smart speaker in six years arrives next week

• Fox is buying Roku 

• Fox wants to take over your TV — and the tech inside it 

• Netflix was reportedly worried about antitrust scrutiny if it bought Roku instead of Fox.

• Fox is taking over Roku City 

• How Stephen Colbert’s Replacement Is Helping Tank the Rest of CBS

• Will Matter finally be able to do what it should have always done? | The Verge

• Thread Direct looks to solve Matter’s biggest setup headache | The Verge

• Half a billion people are using Threads every month 

• Facebook’s new AI Mode search gets its info from public posts 

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We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:01:00 Intro

00:02:00 Snap Specs revealed

00:06:00 Snap software advantage

00:08:00 Price comfort reality check

00:10:00 True AR breakthrough

00:15:00 Demos vs daily life

00:21:00 Privacy and moderation risks

00:27:00 Fox buys Roku why

00:29:00 Distribution is power

00:33:00 Roku neutrality ends

00:37:00 Roku Lock-In Debate

00:41:00 Piracy Exit Ramp

00:42:00 Tubi Meets Roku Channel

00:46:00 Go90 Scale Rankings

00:52:00 Distribution Matters CBS

00:57:00 Hype Desk Movies

01:03:00 Knicks Laptop Festival

01:06:00 Brendan Carr Is A Dummy

01:10:00 Radio Ownership Waivers

01:12:00 Threads User Numbers

01:16:00 Meta AI Mode Risks

01:19:00 Matter Joint Fabric

01:28:00 Wrap Up and Plugs

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Your headphones' microphone matters. A lot. And yet we never know how we sound to others, or whether we're clear to our AI assistants! So from time to time, we like to grab a bunch of headphones and put their microphones through some tough real-world tests. This time, with the help of The Verge's John Higgins, we discover the best-sounding mic we've ever tested. And no, it's not on a pair of AirPods. Not even close.

Further reading:

• Anker’s new earbuds have the best call quality I’ve ever heard

• AirPods Pro 3 review: tripling down on a good thing

• Sennheiser’s new Momentum 5 headphones have upgraded ANC and a replaceable battery

• The tech world is sleeping on the most exciting Bluetooth feature in years

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 [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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Anthropic and the US government are once again at odds, this time over the Claude Fable 5 model that either is, or is not, or might be, far too dangerous to release to the world. The Verge's Hayden Field explains what's going on with Fable, Mythos, and the whole idea of American AI exceptionalism, before also answering your questions about how WhatsApp and Siri might one day work together, and whether Apple messed up by calling it Siri AI.[10:24 AM]

• ⁠Inside the fight over Claude Mythos 5⁠

• ⁠Anthropic cuts off Fable 5 and Mythos 5 access following government order⁠

• ⁠I tried Siri AI, and so far it actually works⁠

⁠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 ⁠[email protected]⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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Markdown is a system for writing that makes it readable to both humans and computers. It's all about the symbols. You use - to make a list, * for emphasis, ** for even more emphasis. Brackets and parentheses turn into links. Once you know Markdown, you might begin to think in Markdown. Right now it is absolutely everywhere: people are maintaining their Claude.MD files for conversing with AI bots, and writing their notes in Markdown editors like Obsidian. So where did Markdown come from? It came from John Gruber. John joins the show, along with Anil Dash, to tell the story of where Markdown came from and how it took over the world.

Further reading:

• ⁠The Markdown spec⁠

• ⁠How Markdown took over the world⁠

• ⁠Gruber on Apple Notes Markdown support⁠

•  ⁠9to5mac: iOS 26 to bring new features for Messages, CarPlay, and more

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 ⁠[email protected]⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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We're all starting to test Apple's newest software post-WWDC, and the most surprising thing has happened: Siri actually seems to be pretty good now. Nilay and David discuss how that happened, and what it means for the AI industry, and all of us, that Apple's voice assistant is finally useful. Then, we have some news about Bluesky, Threads, and YouTube that adds up to a big change in social networks, plus the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr, the Trump Phone, and a really great deal for iPad users

Further reading:

• Apple announces Siri AI and its next generation of Apple Intelligence 

• I tried Siri AI, and so far it actually works 

• Apple’s new Siri AI knows when to shut up 

• I’m relieved Siri AI isn’t trying to be a health coach 

• You can just tell the Instagram algorithm what you want now 

• YouTube is introducing DMs (again) 

• Bluesky is getting ‘communities’ 

• Anthropic releases its first Mythos-class model Claude Fable  

• Claude Fable won’t answer basic biology questions 

• Anthropic apologizes for invisible Claude Fable guardrails 

• Microsoft restricts Claude Fable for employees over data retention concerns 

• YouTube is introducing DMs (again) 

• Bluesky is getting ‘communities’ 

• iFixit Trump phone teardown confirms it’s an HTC dupe

• Solar has overtaken coal in the US for the first time

• AT&T is launching $3 ‘unlimited’ day passes for iPads

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 [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:00 New Siri is good

00:04:00 Search Index Breakthrough

00:08:00 Cloud vs On Device

00:11:00 Siri Upends AI Apps

00:20:00 Where Is The Computer

00:24:00 EU Interoperability Fight

00:31:00 Social News Lightning Trio

00:33:00 Mosseri Algorithm Control

00:35:00 Bluesky Communities

00:37:00 YouTube DMs Social Push

00:41:00 Bluesky Bets on Communities

00:50:00 Talking to Your Algorithm

00:51:00 AI Made-to-Order Instagram

00:54:00 Bespoke Apps Break Reality

01:01:00 Hype Desk

01:02:00 Social Reckoning Trailer Breakdown and Casting

01:14:00 CBS News Meltdown

01:17:00 Carr vs Newsrooms

01:20:00 SpaceX IPO Favors

01:24:00 Claude Fable Guardrails

01:30:00 Trump Phone Teardown

01:34:00 AT&T iPad Day Pass

01:36:00 Solar Beats Coal

01:38:00 Signoff

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Movies directed by YouTubers are suddenly blowing up at the box office. Backrooms and Obsession are both smash hits, and The Amazing Digital Circus had a big debut last week. Is this the moment YouTube truly takes over Hollywood? Julia Alexander, media correspondent at Puck, walks us through the much longer history of YouTube on the big screen, and helps us figure out where this all goes next. Is the future just really, really big YouTube videos?

Further reading:

• ⁠Backrooms is at the forefront of horror’s YouTube wave⁠

• ⁠Iron Lung’s path to theaters was unique, even if the movie isn’t⁠

• ⁠YouTube is everything and everything is YouTube⁠

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 [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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Now that we've had a couple of days to digest all the Siri AI updates, the new corner radii, and everything else Apple announced at its developer conference, we spend the episode answering all your most burning questions. What non-AI stuff are we excited about? How much catching up did Siri really do this week? And wait: what about the HomePod?

Further reading:

• ⁠WWDC 2026: All the news from Apple’s developers conference⁠

• ⁠5 things I already love from the iOS 27 beta⁠

⁠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 ⁠[email protected]⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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Long before Steve Jobs was the unstoppable force of nature atop Apple, shipping hit product after hit product, he was practically run out of the company after a series of bad product and management decisions. But as Geoffrey Cain argues in his new book, Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary, the 12 years Jobs spent outside of Apple turned him into the leader the world came to know. Cain joins the show to talk about Jobs' experiences at NeXT and Pixar, how Jobs learned to be a successful leader, and the true power — and danger — of the reality distortion field.

Further reading:

• Steve Jobs in Exile

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 [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:01:30 Intro

00:01:56 90 Seconds on The Verge

00:03:46 Interview with Geoffrey Cain

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Apple's annual developer conference keynote was a strange one this year. The company breezed by its normal slew of operating system upgrades, and talked instead about helping people manage their relationships with their devices, and AI. Lots and lots of AI. On this post-keynote livestream, David Pierce, Hayden Field, and Jake Kastrenakes give their first takes on Siri AI, the Apple Intelligence features coming this fall, Apple's new Screen Time design, and everything else we liked and disliked from the keynote. Including the corner radii.

Further reading:

• ⁠Apple WWDC 2026: The 7 biggest announcements⁠

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 [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:00 Why This Keynote Felt Chaotic

00:05:00 AI Takes Center Stage

00:06:00 Apple Plays Catch Up

00:09:00 Privacy and Private Cloud

00:12:00 Useful Versus Creepy AI

00:18:00 Why Apple Went All In

00:25:00 New Siri Voice

00:33:00 Siri App Intents

00:37:00 Vibe Coding Shortcuts

00:39:00 Siri Goes Orb Mode

00:41:00 Too Many Siri Gestures

00:42:00 Apple Trust and Screen Time

00:46:00 Kids Safety and App Responsibility

00:50:00 App Store Dissonance and Regulation

00:52:00 OS 27 Device Cutoffs

00:59:00 Favorite Features and Liquid Glass

01:04:00 Dictation Confusion and Wrap Up

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It's developer conference season, and one of the themes so far has been big swings at AI apps. We've seen Gemini Spark, Microsoft Scout, and so many other attempts to figure out what people, and companies, actually want their AI to do. Nilay and David discuss their experiences with the apps, before turning to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's vision for the AI-filled laptop of the future. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr is a Dummy, a deeply dumb Meta hack, and the future of a favorite VR game.

Further reading:

• ⁠Testing Google’s Gemini Spark AI agent: it’s incredible, and creepy ⁠

• ⁠Gemini’s new AI agent is about as good as Google’s demo ⁠

• ⁠Microsoft Scout is a new AI personal assistant built on OpenClaw ⁠

• ⁠Microsoft’s Project Solara is an OS for AI agent gadgets ⁠

• ⁠As AI gets better, it reveals an empty promise ⁠

• ⁠Let us filter AI slop, you cowards⁠

• ⁠Microsoft and OpenAI broke up — now they’re ready to fight ⁠

• ⁠These are the first Nvidia RTX Spark laptops ⁠

• ⁠This is the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra with Nvidia RTX Spark ⁠

• ⁠A first look at Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra and Surface Dev Box⁠⁠ ⁠

• ⁠Nvidia is already planning N2X and N3X chips — the goal is the Star Trek computer ⁠

• ⁠This could be Windows’ M1 moment — but expect it to cost a ton ⁠

• ⁠Computex 2026: All the news and announcements ⁠

• ⁠Meta’s own AI was exploited to hijack Instagram accounts⁠

• ⁠Apple’s strategy for smart glasses is the same as for smart watches ⁠

• ⁠It sure seems like the Vision Pro isn’t getting upgraded for a while — if ever.⁠

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 [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:01:00 Intro

00:03:00 New Verge Merch Drop

00:09:00 Gemini Spark Test Drive

00:13:00 Privacy Tradeoffs Debate

00:21:00 Software Brain Pushback

00:36:00 Jensen Huang Computer Future

00:39:00 Microsoft Build Reality Check

00:41:00 Nvidia Spark Recall

00:42:00 Microsoft Badge Agents

00:54:00 Escaping Apple Tax

00:57:00 Wearables Walled Gardens

01:05:00 Hype Desk

01:06:00 Bond Game Streaming

01:09:00 Summer Games Fest

01:11:00 State of Play Highlights

01:11:00 God of War

01:14:00 Wolverine Gore Talk

01:15:00 Widows Bay

01:17:00 Lightning Round

01:17:00 Brendan Carr is a Dummy

01:26:00 Apple Glasses Rumors

01:36:00 Privacy Backlash Risk

01:38:00 Meta AI Hack Fiasco

01:43:00 Supernatural Returns

01:47:00 Wrap and Next Week

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Microsoft's commitment to AI is not news. Copilot has been everywhere for... a while now. But at this week's Build developer conference, the company made clear that it wants — and needs — to be a bigger player in the space. The Verge's Tom Warren joins David to talk about the new Scout AI assistant, the Solara operating system concept, and whether Microsoft can hang with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Also: How's the new era of Xbox going?

We’re also on video! Check us out on YouTube.

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 [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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