Today on the flagship podcast of answering machines: 
We answer your questions from The Vergecast Hotline! 
01:51 - LDAC and other audio codecs
06:21 - Samsung TV
07:58 - Smartwatches for marathons
16:38 - iPhone upgrades
23:09 - Threads 
29:52 - Security cameras
40:46 - Laptops
39:13 - Google Pixel
50:54 - Android phones

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Gadget tips for your next upgrade | Vergecast Hotline

The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And every Tuesday, 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.

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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


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The smells and tastes of a great video game

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


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AI assistants are so back

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.
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The case for the iPad Pro

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.
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The rise of the audio-only video game

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.
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Gadget tips for your next upgrade | Vergecast Hotline

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