This week, EA announced that it plans to go private as part of a massive $55 billion sale, a move that will likely have huge implications for the gaming landscape. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Sam Rutherford chat about what this deal really means (and why it includes a Saudi Arabian investment fund), and also dive into the messy state of Xbox. Is the ROG Ally Xbox X already a failure at $1,000?
 

Electronic Arts to go private in a deal worth $55 Billion – 1:43

What the heck is going on with Xbox? The $1,000 ROG Ally Xbox X could be a failure even before launch – 15:23

Great games out now: Final Fantasy Tactics, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades II and more – 42:46

Amazon’s fall hardware event announced new Echoes, a new Fire TV and a panopticon powered by Ring – 59:10

Google announces new Nest Doorbell along with a couple of Nest Cams – 1:09:34

Hollywood film stars recoil in disgust at Tilly Norwood, an AI actress created by a Dutch production studio –1:14:30

OpenAI’s Sora video app is full of fake shoplifting clips – 1:14:13  

Working on – 1:17:35

Pop culture picks – 1:19:01 

Buying a car in America is usually a hellish experience involving pushy salespeople, mysterious fees, and hours-long financing negotiations. That’s something Carvana aimed to solve with its online used car marketplace when it launched 13 years ago. In this episode, Devindra chats with Carvana Chief Product Officer Dan Gill about how the company moved beyond the flashy marketing of its early car vending machines, and how it’s still trying to perfect the online car buying experience. We also dive into some of the issues the company has faced – including delayed registrations and vehicle issues – and how it’s trying to learn from them. 

We're still in iPhone mode this week, as all of our reviews of Apple's new hardware are rolling out. In this episode, Senior Writer Sam Rutherford joins us to chat about his experience with the iPhone Air and our final thoughts on the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup. Also, we dive into all of the news from Meta Connect 2025, including the Ray-Ban Display smart glasses. Is Meta actually on to something with these smart glasses? Or is Zuck just desperate to get people away from phones?


iPhone 17 Air review: Thinness with a purpose – 1:21

What’s the iPhone 17 Air’s battery life like? – 14:47

iPhone 17 Pro: a more substantive update than meets the eye – 24:54

The base iPhone 17 is a great phone for pretty much everyone – 35:26

Mark Zuckerberg announces Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses during his Connect keynote – 39:35

Other News: The ‘framework’ of a TikTok deal is in place, U.S. may license ByteDance’s original algorithm – 1:09:08

New rumors about a touchscreen MacBook Pro – 1:10:41

Working on – 1:14:32

Pop culture picks – 1:15:02 

This week, managing editor Cherlynn Low and senior reporter Karissa Bell are joined by The Verge's Allison Johnson to talk all about the new iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17s. We also answered some questions from Threads and talk about our hopes and dreams from the next Apple event. Also, Devindra and Ben chat about some recent news, including a truly awful AI podcasting company.

Cherlynn, Karissa, and a special guest break down the iPhone 17 news from Apple headquarters – 1:04

Notes from the iPhone Air hands on – 14:59

Once again, a big Apple event with no mention of Apple Intelligence – 40:27

Animated movie Critterz will use OpenAI’s tech to try to make a CGI movie on a shoestring budget – 59:24  

Inception Point AI wants to use virtual hosts to make 5,000 new podcast episodes a week – 1:04:26

David Zaslav thinks HBO Max should be more expensive, because of course he does – 1:23:27

Working on – 1:25:41

Pop culture picks – 1:28:29 

We've survived Apple's iPhone 17 event and we're here to dive into all of the news. In this bonus episode, Devindra and Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham recap all of Apple's new hardware and try to determine if the iPhone Air has any substance behind all that style.  

We're just days away from Apple's September 9th iPhone 17 event, and the hype seems practically nonexistent. Did the many (many) leaks splash cold water on an enthusiasm, or are we just tired of annual iPhone events? In this episode, Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham joins Devindra to discuss why even the rumored iPhone Air isn't really tingling our gadget geek senses. Also, we dive into the final repercussions of the US. v. Google antitrust trial: Turns out Google doesn’t have to sell Chrome, or give up much of anything else.   

The iPhone 17 is almost here, does anyone care? – 1:36

U.S. antitrust judge rules that Google won’t have to sell Chrome – 23:24

More Gemini-powered smart home products will be revealed on October 1 – 30:02

The Browser Company’s sale to Jira parent company Atlassian shows how hard upstart browsers have it – 33:15

After 15 years Instagram is finally getting an iPad app – 40:41

Dolby announces Dolby Vision 2 with a bunch of AI features that seem useful – 44:25

There’s AI in your pizza oven: Ooni’s Volt V2 will cook a pie in 90 seconds using machine learning – 49:02

Around Engadget: Remarkable Paper Pro Move, Acer Chromebook 14 Spin Plus, and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 – 52:51

Working on – 56:55

Pop culture picks – 57:20

Now that Apple has scheduled its iPhone 17 event for September 9th, it's time to dive into everything we’re  expecting. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Igor Bonifacic chat with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman about his latest Apple scoops. We're expecting an ultra-thin iPhone Air (which may turn out to be a dud), but when will we hear more about Apple's rumored move into robotics and that darned foldable iPhone?

iPhone 17 event preview with Mark Gurman: Apple’s rumored iPhone Air will be rough around the edges at first  – 1:03

What to expect from the main iPhone 17 line: more of the same, for better or worse – 10:24

OpenAI faces first known Artificial Intelligence wrongful death lawsuit – 26:32

U.S. government converts Intel’s CHIPS act grant into 9.9% equity – 32:28

Working on – 37:15

Pop culture picks –  39:01

This week, Google unveiled its full suite of Pixel 10 devices during an event hosted by Jimmy Fallon, of all people. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Sam Rutherford dive into all of the new phone models and try to determine if Google has finally cracked the code on premium smartphones. Also, they chat about a few announcements from Gamescom 2025.

Google announces Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro – 1:08

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold – 7:13

Pro Res Zoom promises up to 100x virtual zoom with an AI assist – 20:34

Pixel Watch 4: a more vibrant screen and satellite connectivity – 26:04

What’s hot at Gamescom: new details on the Xbox ROG Ally handset – 29:43

New updates to NVIDIA GeForce now – 34:43

Unfortunately, Elden Ring Tarnished Edition runs poorly on the Switch 2 – 37:43

Working on – 40:56

Pop culture picks – 41:57  

Ford has big plans for 2027: This week, the American carmaker announced a new "Universal EV Platform" for future electric cars, spearheaded by a $30,000 mid-sized EV pickup. In this episode, we're joined by SAE International Editor Roberto Baldwin to break down all of Ford's claims, as well as where its $5 billion manufacturing investment is going. Can Ford really rebound after slow EV sales and last year's disappointing product delays?
 

Ford has a plan for a ‘Universal EV Platform’ and a $30,000 mid-size electric pickup, can they pull it off? – 0:49

OpenAI releases GPT-5, the reception so far is mixed – 24:45

NVIDIA and AMD may tithe 15% of their Chinese GPU sales to the U.S. government – 30:18

Goodbye: AOL will phase out dial-up at the end of September – 33:25

AI-powered “Smarter Siri” likely won’t hit iPhones until Spring 2026 – 36:42

Perplexity makes an unsolicited offer to buy Chrome for $34 billion, which is more than the company is worth – 41:03

Listener Mail: Gaming on a MacBook Air – 52:31

Working On – 57:05

Pop culture picks – 59:13

This week, Apple committed another $100 billion towards US investments in a bid to avoid the Trump administration’s chaotic tariff plans. Oh, and Tim Cook gave Trump a unique plaque with a 24-karat gold base. Just a normal business meeting in a normal country. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Sam Rutherford discuss what this latest Apple investment ultimately means (and just how embarrassing appeasing the Trump administration looks). And since the news is fairly slow, we also take some time to answer a few listener questions. 

Apple attempts to avoid tariffs with another $100 billion U.S. investment and a shiny object for the president – 1:21

Nintendo announces blockbuster Switch 2 sales numbers, price hikes for original Switch models – 12:39

Trump demands Intel’s new CEO to step down over conflicts of interest – 16:51

ChatGPT conversations no longer searchable in Google (why were they there in the first place?) – 18:55

Hulu to shut down app in 2026 and be absorbed into Disney+ – 22:15

Listener Q&A: HDMI or Optical for sound bar connection, moving off of Windows 10, and good alternatives to the Lenovo Yoga 7 – 26:59

Working on – 48:04

Pop culture picks – 53:29.