The Vergecast

• How the tech world is responding to tariff chaos

  Welcome to tech in 2025, where everything's made up and the numbers don't matter. Nilay, David, and The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes start the show by running down the latest tariff news, the uncertain future facing tech companies of all sizes, and what we're learning so far about how they're responding. After that, the hosts talk about a big week in AI news, including Meta's sketchy benchmark numbers and the latest damning reporting about the future of Siri. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for America's favorite podcast within a podcast, Brendan Carr is a Dummy, along with some news about the TikTok ban and the Pixel 9A. And then some more tariff numbers, because they just never stop. Further reading: The Vergecast was nominated for a Webby, which means we can win a Webby People’s Voice Award and that’s voted online by you! So we’d love your support. You can vote at the link:https://bit.ly/3DXFgpN Sony adds three new speakers to bass-boosted ULT Power Sound lineup Sony seemingly bakes tariff penalty into its new US TV pricing Samsung’s The Frame Pro was never going to be cheap — and it isn’t Trump’s tariffs are officially in effect, including 104 percent on China China retaliates with additional 50 percent tariff on US goods Trump announces a ‘90-day pause’ on tariffs outside of China Trump believes iPhones can be made in the US, says White House Get your screwdrivers ready. Apple quickly shipped 600 tons of iPhones to ‘beat’ the new tariffs Trump triples tariffs on low value packages from China and Hong Kong Some Shein and Temu ‘haul video’ creators are stocking up Shein’s supply chain uncertainties. Amazon is already changing its ultra-cheap Temu copycat Framework stops selling some of its cheapest laptops due to Trump tariffs Framework delays Laptop 12 orders in the US over tariffs  Framework will open US preorders for Laptop 12 after all: tomorrow, starting at $549. Framework raised prices and then un-raised them an hour later because of Trump Price hikes, idled factories, layoffs: how car companies are responding to Trump’s tariffs China will show fewer US films in response to tariffs Trump’s new tariffs leave small creators scrambling Arduboy creator says his tiny Game Boy won’t survive Trump’s tariff Trump’s latest tariffs may set the smart home industry back Nintendo boss on Switch 2 and tariffs: ‘we are actively assessing what the impact may be’ Trump’s tariffs ‘pause’ could help Nintendo ship more Switch 2s Musk calls Trump’s trade chief ‘dumber than a sack of bricks.’ We just declared a trade war with the world Meta gets caught gaming AI benchmarks with Llama 4 Siri in The Information Amazon plays catch-up with new Nova AI models to generate voices and video Shopify CEO says no new hires without proof AI can’t do the job  Most Americans don’t trust AI — or the people in charge of it Adobe is building AI agents for Photoshop and Premiere Pro Samsung is finally releasing Ballie, its rolling home robot Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s AI project could involve a screenless device. Trump Is Now Mandating His Cabinet/Loyalist Wear "Trump Golden Bust" Pins From Ars Technica: The speech police: Chairman Brendan Carr and the FCC’s news distortion policy From Variety: FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez Sounds Alarm Over Trump Administration’s ‘Absolute Pattern of Censorship and Control’ From the FCC: Spectrum Is Back—Again! FCC eyes major satellite rule revamp in spectrum-sharing shakeup Trump delays TikTok ban again Trump’s TikTok delay is ‘against the law’ top Senate Intelligence Democrat says The US told Apple to keep TikTok in the App Store. Instagram might finally release an iPad app Google Pixel 9A review: a midrange phone done right Pixel 9A hits stores, and it’s still $499. Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Switch 2: the good news and bad news

  Last week, The Verge's Ash Parrish got to play with the new Nintendo Switch 2. We got over our outrageous jealousy long enough to ask her all about it: what it's like to hold, how the screen looks, whether the mouse-control is any good, and much more. Ash gives us the good news, and the bad news, on everything we now know about the Switch 2. (We do talk about the price, but we recorded before the Trump administration launched its massive new tariff push — so you can consider the price even worse news than we thought.) After that, The Verge's Tom Warren joins the show to talk about Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration, how the company has stayed so resilient for so long, and whether AI is really the next five-decade project for one of the world's biggest companies. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (866-VERGE11, or email [email protected]!) about how you should change your shopping habits in a tariff-filled world. It's hard to know where we'll be in a few months, but it sure doesn't look like gadgets are getting any cheaper. Further reading: The Vergecast was nominated for a Webby, which means we can win a Webby People’s Voice Award and that’s voted online by you! So we’d love your support. You can vote at the link:https://bit.ly/3DXFgpN Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on: it’s all in the games All of the Nintendo Switch 2 news, hands-ons, and trailers Donkey Kong Bananza was best in show at the Switch 2 hands-on I’m not sold on the Switch 2’s mouse-like controls Microsoft turns 50 Why I’ve covered Microsoft for 25 years How Microsoft made it through 50 years Trump’s tariffs mean you’ll pay more for all gadgets Trump’s tariffs put the iPhone in a tough spot From The Wall Street Journal: Here’s the iPhone. Here’s the iPhone With Tariffs. New Star GP, the game The General Magic documentary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  1:20:00
• How tariffs will change your gadgets

  It's a Nintendo Switch 2. What could it cost, a thousand dollars? In this episode, Nilay, David, and The Verge's Richard Lawler talk through why we don't really know. But first, we talk about the Switch 2, and some of the reasons we're excited — and maybe just a little concerned — about Nintendo's new console. This is likely to be the most interesting device of the year, and we learned an awful lot more about it this week. We also talk about Microsoft's 50th anniversary, the fate of TikTok, and other gadget news. Then we get to tariffs, with the help of Tuneshine creator Tobias Butler, who explains how tariffs affect the way hardware companies do business — and how they're navigating the current uncertainty. After that, in the lightning round, it's time for a little Brendan Carr is a Dummy, followed by the latest on Tesla's sales numbers, Alexa Plus, and Coyote vs. Acme. Further reading:  The Vergecast was nominated for a Webby, which means we can win a Webby People’s Voice Award and that’s voted online by you! So we’d love your support. You can vote at the link:https://bit.ly/3DXFgpN The 50 best things Microsoft has ever made The Nintendo Switch 2 arrives on June 5th for $449.99 Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on: it’s all in the games Nvidia confirms the Nintendo Switch 2 has DLSS and real-time ray tracing Nintendo Switch 2 specs: 1080p 120Hz display, 4K dock, mouse mode, and more The Nintendo Switch 2 has a camera accessory for video chat Nintendo’s Switch 2 ‘C’ button is a Discord-like GameChat feature  Verge staffers react to the Nintendo Switch 2 Here’s everything Nintendo has revealed about the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons Nintendo’s Switch 2 preorder process has strict requirements to thwart scalpers ‘TikTok America,’ Amazon, and other rumors about who might buy TikTok From The New York Times: Trump Set to Meet With Top Aides to Decide TikTok’s Fate From Wired: The Founder of OnlyFans Wants to Buy TikTok Tuneshine – Your space, your music Donald Trump announces tariffs that could raise the price of almost everything you buy Reciprocal Tariff Calculations | United States Trade Representative Trump’s new tariff math looks a lot like ChatGPT’s These are the tariffs about to hit Apple. Chris Murphy’s Bluesky thread Trump’s tariffs are ‘a debacle of epic proportions’ for the auto industry T-Mobile closes Lumos deal after dropping DEI | The Verge E&C Democrats Launch Investigation into FCC Chairman Carr’s Repeated Attacks on the First Amendment Sony’s new Bravia lineup includes its ‘King of TV’ successor Tesla’s sales plummet 13 percent as Musk backlash grows Best printer 2025: just buy a Brother laser printer, the winner is clear, middle finger in the air Alexa Plus just launched in early access, but it’s missing some features Coyote vs. Acme is finally coming to theaters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  1:51:50
• Searching for the perfect minimalist smartphone

  David has a Light Phone III, and it's making him wonder a lot of things about technology. So The Verge's Allison Johnson joins the show to talk about the whole trend of minimalist smartphones, and to figure out which features a smartphone absolutely needs, and which ones we could all probably do without. After that, The Verge's Andy Hawkins takes us through a big weekend in the Tesla Takedown movement, what's happening with Elon Musk's car company, how automakers are responding to impending tariffs, and whether we're wrong to be excited about the new Nissan Leaf. Finally, The Verge's Jen Tuohy answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11, or email [email protected]!) about all-seeing cameras in our homes. Which mostly don't exist yet. Mostly. Further reading: Light Phone III review: everything in moderation There’s no perfect minimalist phone — yet One year with the Light Phone 2 We went to 10 anti-Tesla protests — and a couple counter protests, too ‘Tesla Takedown’ protesters planning ‘biggest day of action’ How Elon Musk turned the Tesla brand so toxic The Nissan Leaf lives on as a compact SUV with a Tesla charge port Ring’s latest security camera is a drone that flies around inside your house Project Astra is the future of AI at Google Alexa Plus arrives with promise but plenty of questions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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  1:24:02
• OpenAI has a Studio Ghibli problem

  In this episode, we do a Studio Ghibli-like rendition of The Vergecast. First, Nilay and David discuss some big news in the gadget world, from the mysteriously viral midrange Canon camera to the upgrades we're expecting out of Apple in the next few months. Plus, is it over for Amazon's Echo brand? After all that, The Verge's Kylie Robison joins the show to discuss everything happening at OpenAI: the company launched a new image generator inside of ChatGPT, and it immediately became both a huge hit and a big mess. (Par for the course with OpenAI, really.) Kylie also explains why Perplexity is probably not buying TikTok, no matter how much it might want to. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for everyone's favorite segment, Brendan Carr Is a Dummy, followed by the latest on the Signal attack-planning chaos in the government, some news about Elon Musk pressuring Reddit CEO Steve Huffmann, and what's next for the car industry with huge tariffs looming. Oh, and a little bit of exciting e-bike news Further reading: From Meta: Bringing the Magic of Friends Back to Facebook Apple’s AirPods Max with USB-C will soon support lossless audio The Apple Watch may get cameras and Apple Intelligence Apple’s WWDC 2025 event starts June 9th Don’t expect an overhauled Messages app in iOS 19. Amazon tests renaming Echo smart speakers and smart displays to just ‘Alexa’  OpenAI reshuffles leadership as Sam Altman pivots to technical focus OpenAI upgrades image generation and rolls it out in ChatGPT and Sora ChatGPT’s new image generator is delayed for free users ChatGPT is turning everything into Studio Ghibli art  OpenAI says ‘our GPUs are melting’ as it limits ChatGPT image generation requests OpenAI expects to earn $12.7 billion in revenue this year. Nvidia Infinite Creative Microsoft adds ‘deep reasoning’ Copilot AI for research and data analysis Google says its new ‘reasoning’ Gemini AI models are the best ones yet Google is rolling out Gemini’s real-time AI video features Perplexity’s bid for TikTok continues Trump's FCC says it will start investigating Disney, too From Status: Sounding the Carr Alarm Trump officials leaked a military strike in a Signal group chat The Atlantic releases strike group chat messages And the Most Tortured Signal-Gate Backronym Award goes to… | The Verge Elon Musk pressured Reddit’s CEO on content moderation | The Verge Trump’s plans to save TikTok may fail to keep it online, Democrats warn Rivian spins out secret e-bike lab into a new company called Also BYD beats Tesla. Trump says he will impose a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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