The Vergecast

Senior reviewers Allison Johnson and Victoria Song trade host and guest duties in a Vergecasting ouroboros that's never been attempted before and will probably never be attempted again. Allison talks about the iPhone 18 Pro's new camera, Victoria talks about the Watch 12 and Ultra 4's new sensors, and they both give their verdicts on who should upgrade.

Further reading:

The iPhone 18 Pro’s big camera update is all about the small gains

The Apple Watch Series 12 is the start of a new wearable era

Your ‘health age’ is fake

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Last week, an Anthropic researcher resigned and posted on X, "The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade." These warnings are nothing new, but this one managed to break into the mainstream. So, do the people making AI really think it could kill us all? How? And if it really could be as dangerous as they say, why would anyone continue to work on it? Senior AI reporter Hayden Field joined us to answer your questions about the AI freakout.

Further reading:

The iPhone 18 Pro’s big camera update is all about the small gains

Meta is reportedly ready to launch less pervy smart glasses

The Boox Palma 3 gets stylus support and a sleek redesign

Worried Anthropic researchers warn that AI ‘could kill all humans’

What execs and politicians are saying about slowing down AI development

Is Big Tech’s AI slowdown a safety pact or a cartel?

Trump and Mike Johnson think the AI industry is overreacting

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Two years ago, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt released his book, The Anxious Generation. In it, he argued that the rise of social media and smartphone use is to blame for the prominent decline in teen mental health since 2010. This month, psychology researcher Peter Gray takes on that narrative with his book, Restoring Childhood. In a conversation with senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner, Gray argues that school — not social media — is the real culprit.

Further reading:

The premium AirPods 5 are the best open-ear earbuds Apple has made

All dressed up with hardware to go.

A street photographer tested Dyson’s new CameraJet toothbrush.

What if social media isn’t hurting kids?

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Sean Hollister got his hands and face on Valve's new VR headset, the Steam Frame. It's expensive, starting at more than $1,000. It's buggy — he and CNET's Scott Stein both felt like beta testers as they reviewed it. But it's also full of interesting ideas, including the promise that Steam games could one day come to your mobile phone. This week on The Vergecast, Sean and Scott discuss who exactly this device is for, in a world that mostly seems to have moved on from VR.

Further reading:

Is it time for AI companies to press pause?

Waymo pulls over, calls cops on riders with a ghost gun

Your car is selling your data

LG responds to TV spying allegations

The Steam Frame is made for irresponsible hardware nerds like me

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We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Apple did the one more thing: This week it announced its much-anticipated folding phone. It also announced some surprising and controversial new AI features for Apple Watch, including "Live Rewind," which gives the user a text transcript of the last 15 seconds of real life.

On today's Vergecast, Allison Johnson and Vee Song report back from California after having more hands-on time with Apple's new devices. Plus, Nilay Patel and David Imel take another swing at discussing Mac Minis and local LLMs with AI researcher CJ Trowbridge. Finally, Allison and Jake tackle some non-Apple stories in the truly rapid-fire thunder round.

Further reading:

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: Our first hands-on impressions

The variable aperture isn’t the cool part of the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera

Hands-on with the foldable iPhone Duo

Hands-on with the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4

Apple Watch Series 12 has an always-on Siri that makes AI recaps of your day

Read the Apple document explaining how new listening features still protect your privacy

Mathematicians want proof OpenAI didn’t use their work

OpenAI’s sly mathematical breakthrough sends a chill through academia

Drama swirls around OpenAI’s legendary mathematical milestone

The Trump phone just got a $250 price hike

Six years later, Sony revisits its legendary XM4 headphones

Hori’s electronic Ocarina of Time requires no musical talent.

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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