For years, big tech companies have embedded their products into the classroom whether through Google's Chromebooks or computer science curricula developed by Apple or Microsoft. The industry pushed a generation of kids to foster coding skills with the promise of high-paying jobs. Now, those students are finding themselves less in demand as AI takes over, and the industry seems to be repeating its playbook. Senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner talks to Natasha Singer, author of the new book "Coding Kids," about how big tech worked its way into the classroom, and why Natasha is optimistic about educators’ response to the AI push.

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Live from Apple Park, Nilay Patel and Victoria Song join Jake Kastrenakes, Dominic Preston and Cameron Faulkner to talk about the iPhone Duo and the new Apple Watches. We also talk about the new iPhone 18 Pro's variable aperture and the AirPods 5.

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At this year's London Marathon, two runners completed the route in under two hours, becoming the first people to ever do so on an official course. It's a feat that Outside magazine's Alex Hutchinson once thought wouldn't be accomplished until 2075. The Verge's senior policy reporter (and marathoner) Lauren Feiner talks to Alex about "super shoes" and the other surprising technological advances that led to this moment.

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OpenAI announced its next big model, GPT-6 Astra, and also, by the way, that AGI is here now.
Today on The Vergecast, we've got an all-star panel to break down the news of the week.
First, senior AI reporter Hayden Field joins us to talk about our supposed AGI era and Nvidia's acquisition of Hugging Face. Then, our friend Joanna Stern pops in to talk about new Apple CEO John Ternus, old Apple CEO Tim Cook, and to, most importantly, speculate on the format of next week's Apple keynote.
We wrap things up with a super-special lightning round from the IFA electronics show in Berlin. Senior reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy and editor Dominic Preston each pick out the five most interesting gadgets they saw at the show.
And two more things: Vergecast producer Travis Larchuk pops in to tell his tale of identity theft woe and warn you that he isn't the one DMing you on Twitter to ask you to be on The Vergecast. Plus, Brendan Carr is a dummy.

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0:00 Welcome
00:46 Fake Travis warning
03:01 OpenAI's Astra model
05:45 Safeguards and delays
08:55 Opaque recurrence fears
13:08 What Astra does well
18:08 Access tiers and rollout
19:53 Nvidia buys Hugging Face
23:04 Is this really AGI
26:28 AGI vibes and Microsoft clause
32:17 Apple event preview
33:41 Ternus keynote politics
39:43 Keynote Vibes Shift
40:23 Tim Cook Era Review
44:56 Services And Fees Machine
47:15 Phil Schiller Steps Back
49:52 Event Predictions Fold And AI
55:43 Siri AI Real Use Cases
58:32 Smart Home Display Rumors
59:47 Bets And Keynote Structure
01:05:19 Brendan Carr Is A Dummy
01:09:23 IFA Lightning Round
01:10:49 Philips Hue Smart Lighting
01:11:03 Hue Rope Light Rave
01:11:44 Sticker Shock Pricing
01:13:03 Xiaomi Wide Foldable
01:15:43 Dyson Camera Toothbrush
01:20:31 Tecno Bezelless Concept
01:22:42 Local AI Smart Home Hub
01:27:09 MacBook Neo Clones
01:29:35 Homey Dial Controller
01:33:39 Acer DualPlay Handheld
01:36:19 Dreame Humanoid Robot
01:39:44 Packard Bell Revival
01:42:17 Wrap Up And Credits

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Apple's big hardware event is coming next week. iPhones are the main draw, but senior reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy has her eyes on the rumors around — what else? — smart home gadgets. Andrew O'Hara from the Smart Home Insider podcast joins Jen to fire up the Rank-o-Matic and speculate on which rumored gadgets are most likely to see the light of day.

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Data centers have been a staple of Loudoun County since the early dot-com boom, but recent expansions have left some residents wondering how much more the county can take. In this episode, guest host David Imel talks to Lauren Feiner about her recent article detailing the buildout of “Data Center Alley,” what it means for residents, and what other counties reeling with similar buildouts can learn from it.

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Elizabeth Lopatto recently wrote about Mark Zuckerberg's 6,500-word AI manifesto in her piece, "Mark Zuckerberg doesn't understand how to live." Today, she joins guest host David Imel and senior wearables reviewer Victoria Song for a freewheeling discussion about what happens when we let AI make decisions for us.

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Skyrocketing RAM prices put a spotlight on product longevity and repairability, which makes this a particularly apt time for Fairphone to launch its first smartphone sold directly in the United States. Today, David Imel talks to CEO Raymond van Eck about the Fairphone 6+, the company's goals of user-repairability and ethically-sourced materials, and what place AI has in the future of Fairphone.

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This week Apple announced a Mac Mini made for AI and a Mac Studio made for AI, both with faster M6 and M5 Pro chips made for AI. But that's all an amuse-bouche to Sept. 9's (expected) main course: the long-awaited folding iPhone. Nilay Patel, Jake Kastrenakes, and David Imel run through all of this week's Apple news, including the most important story: a surprise discount on the legendary polishing cloth.
Then, they react to Meta's settlement in its latest kids safety trial, geek out about Grand Theft Auto VI with the Hype Desk's Ashley Esqueda, check out the Pokémon Fitbit, and decide if Nvidia just saved the global economy.

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0:00 Welcome to the Vergecast
01:26 Apple Mac AI Hype
02:26 Mac Mini Agent Craze
06:32 Mac Studio vs Nvidia
11:43 Price Hikes and Cloth
17:01 iPhone Event Invite
17:38 iPhone Fold Debate
21:30 Camera Crash Out
26:57 Meta Settlement Breakdown
28:59 First Amendment Fallout
36:59 Age Verification Push
39:30 Filter Rules and Loopholes
44:11 Will Teens Just Switch Apps
45:20 Reels Versus Shorts
46:35 Government Next Steps
47:39 Break And Reset
47:50 GTA VI Showcase
54:29 Leaks And Spoilers
57:12 Can GTA Save Games
01:00:51 GTA Online Money
01:02:04 Brendan Carr is a Dummy
01:03:45 E Rate Fight
01:08:46 Nvidia Earnings Hype
01:17:50 Pokemon Sleep Fitbit
01:22:41 Waymo Versus Tesla
01:28:34 Decoder And Goodbye

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If, after months of increasingly dire RAMageddon warnings, you just now find yourself in the market for a new laptop... we're here to help. In the latest installment of our "RAMageddon Survival Guide," laptop reviewer Antonio G. Di Benedetto joins David Imel to offer his recommendations.

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