The Engadget Podcast

Can you believe CES is just a week away? For our final episode of 2022, Cherlynn, Devindra and Senior Writer Sam Rutherford dive into their expectations for CES 2023. We’ll definitely hear more from Intel and AMD when it comes to CPUs, as well as AMD and NVIDIA’s latest mobile video cards. But we’re always keeping our eyes out for the weird stuff at the show, like Lenovo’s wild swiss army lamp, a combination webcam, facelight and USB hub. And of course, there will likely be tons of news around new TVs, PCs and cars.

CES 2023 Preview – 1:27

PC hardware to look forward to – 5:06

Phones and mobile at CES – 22:16

New TVs and gaming monitors to expect – 28:11

Wearables at CES 2023 – 35:38

Other news – 42:07

Working on – 44:47

Pop culture picks – 46:06

We made it, folks! The end of the year is upon us, so Cherlynn, Devindra and UK Bureau Chief Mat Smith have gathered to break down the high and low points for the tech world. And for the first time, we duke it out to decide the first ever Engadget Podcast awards for the best and worst tech of the year. Let’s just hope things look brighter in 2023.

Engadget’s best / worst of 2022 – 1:23

Devindra, Cherlynn and Mat’s personal best / worst of the year – 27:07

Engadget Podcast Official Best / Worst of the Year – 47:36

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas – 1:00:09

Dell’s Concept Luna laptop can be dismantled in seconds – 1:02:41

Google’s smart home devices now support the Matter standard – 1:10:25

Working on – 1:13:22

Pop culture picks – 1:15:00

This week, many of us saw our social media feeds taken over by colorful, surreal pictures of people we follow, except they don’t quite look like themselves. The images were generated by Lensa AI, and it’s the latest in what feels like a now-annual trend to use a new app to create mockups of your face in various scenarios. Alongside Lensa, some folks also saw blocks of text from another AI generator, ChatGPT. So on this episode of the podcast, Devindra and Cherlynn chat the appeal, implications and possible future of these types of AI, before being joined by Engadget editor-at-large James Trew for a check in on the state of action cameras.

Lensa AI magic avatars and Chat GPT – 1:27

What’s the state of the GoPro-style action camera in 2022? – 23:47

iPhone users can now share digital car keys with Pixel owners – 43:02

iOS 16.2 includes time limits on AirDrop receiving – 47:44

Carl Pei said Nothing wants to come to the US – 53:40

Working on – 1:08:02

Picks – 1:10:51

Finally, a Kindle you can write on! This week, we dive into Cherlynn’s review of the Kindle Scribe, Amazon’s first e-reader that can also capture handwritten notes. The hardware is great, but as usual, Amazon’s software feels half-baked. Also, Devindra and Cherlynn discuss the rise of new Twitter alternatives like Hive Social and Post. It looks like many communities are already splintering off to these services, but unfortunately, they can’t yet replicate the magic of Twitter.

Kindle Scribe review – 1:13

Rise of the Twitter clones: Hive Social, Post, and Mastodon – 19:28

Amazon will lose $10 billion on its Alexa division this year – 34:12

We’ve got a new trailer for the Super Mario Bros. animated movie – 38:01

Working on – 43:58

Pop culture picks – 45:30

This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat with Senior Commerce Editor, Valentina Palladino, about our massive Holiday Gift Guide. If you’re looking for a decent laptop to gift, or maybe some budget gear for yourself, we’ve got you covered! Also, they dig into the FTX debacle (which got much worse than last week!), and Elon Musk’s ongoing fail whale Twitter acquisition. And on a surprising note, we end up having strong feelings about Amazon’s chat-based virtual healthcare service.

Engadget 2022 Holiday Gift Guide – 1:24

NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket finally launches – 27:20

Cherlynn got to try Apple’s SOS satellite text message service – 28:56

Qualcomm announces Snapdragon chips with hardware-accelerated ray tracing – 34:33

Tuvalu turns to the metaverse to save its culture from climate change – 38:38

Meta axes its Portal video chat device – 40:21

FTX continues to collapse as regulator investigations begin – 43:15

Elon Twitter is a mess: your weekly update – 48:36

Working on – 1:02:47

Pop culture picks – 1:05:59

We’re still waiting for Apple to deliver a real foldable iPhone, but that didn’t stop a group of engineers in China from crafting their own prototype. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra dive into the possibility of a real foldable iPhone, plus they discuss Meta’s massive layoffs and the fast downfall of the crypto exchange FTX. Also, what are the ethics of Apple limiting AirDrop in China (and eventually the rest of the world)?

Chinese modders made a foldable iPhone – 1:32

Meta lays off 11,000 people worldwide – 12:48

Sale of crypto exchange FTX to Chinese-based Binance fails – 20:56

Musk Twitter is a mess: the weekly update – 26:41

Apple sets time limit for receiving Airdrops in China – 31:38

Volvo unveils its EX90 EV SUV – 35:52

Instagram’s web client has finally been redesigned – 39:37

Google starts issuing Stadia refunds – 41:22

Working on – 47:03

Pop culture picks – 49:10

Well, it finally happened: Elon Musk has officially taken over Twitter. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra are joined by Engadget’s Karissa Bell to discuss how Musk is reshaping the social network. Are all the changes bad, or is there some method to his madness? (Spoiler: It looks more like desperation than anything else.) Also, we dive into some recent Google AI news, and Devindra explains why the new Apple TV 4K is genuinely great.

Elon Musk’s Twitter fiasco – 1:26

Thinking of leaving Twitter? Here are some platforms to check out – 21:49

Google announces package tracking in Gmail – 29:55

Texas AG sues Google over facial recognition data collection – 35:23

The PS VR2 will cost $550, arrives February 22, 2023 – 38:07

Xiaomi’s 12S Ultra concept phone has a massive camera with interchangeable lenses – 40:35

Working on – 43:42

Pop culture picks – 48:57

This week, Devindra and Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham dive into Apple’s latest iPad and iPad Pro. The new base iPad seemingly justifies its price, but it also leaves out plenty of consumers who were well-served by the old $329 iPad. We hope that model sticks around for a long while. Also, we discuss if anyone needs M2 power in an iPad Pro (why not just get a MacBook?!), and we prepare for Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. (Note: When this episode was recorded, his acquisition wasn’t finalized yet.)

Timestamps

• 1:40: iPad and iPad Pro (2022) reviews
• 25:50: Surface Pro 9 5G review
• 37:10: Elon Musk is buying Twitter, for real
• 50:20: Brief thoughts on God of War Ragnarok
• 52:50: Pop culture picks: Barbarian is on HBO Max, thoughts on Bad Sisters

Apple just dropped several new devices on us this week, seemingly out of nowhere. In this episode, Cherlynn and Devindra break down Apple’s new base iPad and iPad Pro with M2. They chat about why the iPad lineup is now more confusing than ever, and what that means going forward. (At least the new Apple TV 4K seems likely a genuinely solid upgrade.)

Apple announces updated base iPad and Apple TV 4K – 1:36

Microsoft lays off hundreds of workers – 20:22

Netflix announces “extra user” fee to crack down on password sharing – 27:40

Intel says the next generation of Thunderbolt is on the way – 35:47

Silent Hill 2 remake and a movie are on the way – 41:29

Working on – 47:37

Pop culture picks – 53:21

What a week! This episode, Cherlynn, Devindra and Engadget’s Sam Rutherford dive into everything we learned at Microsoft’s Surface event. No, there was no new Surface Duo or Neo, and the actual fresh hardware was mostly incremental. We also reviewed the Pixel 7, 7 Pro and Pixel Watch, and Sam had some hands-on time with the latest Quest VR headset. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s some other news from Samsung, Chromebooks and more.

Surface Studio 2+, Surface Laptop 5 and Surface Pro 9 – 1:32

Microsoft's new Designer app is powered by Dall-E – 4:56

Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro review – 32:48

Pixel Watch review – 40:34

Sam Rutherford’s Meta Quest Pro hands-on thoughts – 55:24

Other news – 1:11:47

Working on – 1:21:23

Pop culture picks – 1:24:32