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Download

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From products and companies to services and trends, Download’s weekly panel of experts analyzed the biggest topics in tech … and a few you may have missed. Hosted by Jason Snell and Stephen Hackett.

Episodes

78: Great for Robots; Bad for People

This week it's all about Apple's event in New York. What does the iPad Pro tell us about how Apple's software effort is lagging behind its hardware design? The MacBook Air enters an already confusing set of Apple laptops. We have a Mac Mini sighting! And the prices of Apple products keep cranking higher and higher...

Nov 01, 20181 hr 15 minEp. 78

77: Data-Industrial Complex

Apple's CEO speaks out in favor of regulating online privacy, while his company plans an iPad and Mac product event for next week; Tesla's quarterly results suggest that things are looking up for electric cars; and another Oculus executive departs as we question the future prospects of VR tech.

Oct 25, 201857 minEp. 77

76: Li'l Buddy Phone

This week there's strange news from the phone world as Essential circles the drain while Palm climbs back out of the drain with a strange new accessory smartphone; Adobe embraces the iPad at last with a new version of Photoshop; Amazon refreshes the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader; and Google has to follow some intriguing new rules for Android in the EU.

Oct 18, 201851 minEp. 76

75: The Internet of Sharks

Google unloads a bunch of new hardware, including the Google Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL, the Pixel Slate, and the Home Hub; a major security flaw in Google+ leads Google to kill the entire product off; Magic Leap ships something; and taco-related news is more interesting than we initially thought.

Oct 11, 201851 minEp. 75

74: An Advantage and an Albatross

This was a big week for Microsoft, with new Surface hardware and some big announcements about how Windows will work better with Android. There was also scary news about servers being infected by spy hardware that could compromise privacy and security. Happy National Taco Day! 🌮

Oct 04, 201851 minEp. 74

73: The Crocodile Is Changing Its Diet

Microsoft sets its eyes on the cloud and suddenly finds itself on the side of the angels; Instagram's founders leave their creation in Mark Zuckerberg's hands; and Oculus debuts a new standalone VR headset.

Sep 27, 201859 minEp. 73

72: Just Stop Talking

Apple updates most of its operating systems, and prepares to ship its new iPhones and Apple Watches; Elon Musk announces a trip around the moon while also getting some unwanted scrutiny from the government; and Amazon announces a slew of new Echo-powered products.

Sep 20, 20181 hr 9 minEp. 72

70: Tennis and Excess

Apple's event nears, but the rumored names for its new iPhones are really weird; young people are abandoning Facebook in droves; social-media giants spend a day in the barrel on Capitol Hill; and Evernote loses much of its executive team amid rumors it's circling the drain.

Sep 06, 201852 minEp. 70

69: Salad? Let's Not Be Hasty

Apple rumor season is in full swing, Google brings "digital well-being" to YouTube viewing stats, Uber embraces scooters and ebikes, and conservatives complain about Google having a liberal bias.

Aug 30, 201846 minEp. 69

68: False Flag

Graphics cards get way better; the App Store comes under criticism; and Facebook spends another week in the news. Plus we've got some operating-system nostalgia and some exciting news about tacos.

Aug 23, 201847 minEp. 68

67: Anything With a 'C'

This week we learn that our apps may be watching us far more than we might have expected, imagine a wacky buddy comedy featuring two voice assistants who have to live together in a single device, observe Twitch and YouTube fighting over streaming stars, and count how many app subscriptions we've got.

Aug 16, 201854 minEp. 67

66: This Year Has Felt Like 10 Years

Several tech giants move to ban a guy who peddles conspiracies and snake oil from their platforms, while Twitter doesn't; MoviePass nears death, but everything may still be a service and the movies still need a shot in the arm; and Samsung rolls out a new Note, watch, and smart speaker.

Aug 09, 201856 minEp. 66

65: Death March With Cocktails

Google may be returning to the (censored) search business in China, YouTube Premium and Facebook Watch face the icy stares of skeptical TV critics; and Apple breaks a trillion but still has trouble with the Mac.

Aug 02, 201857 minEp. 65

64: A Perfect Storm of Outrage

Apple's much-criticized MacBook Pro weathers a weeklong PR crisis; Google makes money but struggles with its identity; and Facebook continues to have a really bad year.

Jul 26, 201857 minEp. 64

63: Satisfying the Punisher

Google gets fined, swallows Nest whole, and plots its next-generation operating system. In other news, there are new moons and even newer emojis. 😎

Jul 19, 201851 minEp. 63

62: Get My Gecko Out of Hiding

Is Microsoft's new Surface a laptop or tablet, and what it does it mean for the future of computing? Also, HBO's new owner AT&T wants to make it more like Netflix, and we celebrate 10 years of the App Store.

Jul 12, 20181 hr 1 minEp. 62

61: Someone Else Call 911

Companies love buying other companies; Disney and Amazon are making big moves this week, while Apple is getting serious about midterm election news coverage and nerds get to play with beta software all summer.

Jun 28, 201850 minEp. 61

60: Evil Spreadsheets

Tech finds itself in the middle of a U.S.-China trade war and discovers that taking on governmental clients might make employees uncomfortable. Also, Instagram dives into longform video.

Jun 21, 201855 minEp. 60

59: Infinite Hyde Park Corner

We list our favorite game announcements from E3, ponder the industry trend toward consolidation, watch as Twitter continues to rearrange deckchairs, celebrate Tennesseean supercomputers, and then Jason tries to mend the hearts he broke during last week's Fuzzy Puppy Update.

Jun 14, 201843 minEp. 59

58: Focus on our Most Profitable Children

Live from Apple's developer conference in San Jose, we're joined by some Apple experts to discuss iOS and macOS announcements. Plus Amazon and Sonos make some home theater announcements.

Jun 07, 201857 minEp. 58

57: Extra Letters!

Google's struggle with AI and military projects, Plex expands to podcasting, and we talk the joys of mechanical keyboards with one of the editors from The Wirecutter.

May 31, 201851 minEp. 57

56: President of Netflix

Elon Musk reacts badly to media criticism of Tesla's products and labor practices; The Obamas get a production deal with Netflix; Comcast tries to snipe Disney in a bid for Fox; and cities move to tax their local tech giants. This week's Download is totally GDPR compliant.

May 24, 201857 minEp. 56

55: Tachy Goes to Coventry

Microsoft has a Surface so big you can hang it on a wall, and is making one small enough to take on Chromebooks and iPads. Meanwhile, Twitter tries to fight trolls with algorithms and continues to tighten the screws on third-party Twitter apps.

May 17, 201857 minEp. 55

54: Give Me All the Nannies

This week brought developer conferences from Google and Microsoft, and with them came a lot of news. We discuss Google's commitment to "digital well-being", updates to Google Assistant, an unnerving phone call from a robot, Microsoft's snuggling up to your iPhones and Android devices, and there's potential fraud in the land of fuzzy puppies.

May 10, 201857 minEp. 54

53: Horizontal Integration of Relationships

T-Mobile and Sprint take another run at merging together; Facebook releases its standalone VR headset, gets into the dating game, and offers some data opt outs; and the gig economy takes a body blow.

May 03, 201857 minEp. 53

52: Danger Bubble

Google fails to get the message about texting privacy, Amazon's got home robots and is now letting people open your car, and on this podcast's first birthday we consider some trends we've noticed over the past year.

Apr 26, 20181 hr 6 minEp. 52

51: Planet Netflix

The U.S. takes on ZTE, Russia takes on Telegram, San Francisco takes on scooters, and video-streaming services take on your wallet.

Apr 19, 201849 minEp. 51

50: I Ran Out of Metaphor

Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Washington, Apple goes all in on renewable energy, Hulu and Spotify rebuild the bundle, Snap gives it a second try, and Google releases its own fuzzy-puppy update.

Apr 12, 201850 minEp. 50

49: Good Plus

Intel unveils new mobile chips, Apple dumps Intel, Google loses its AI chief to Apple, and Microsoft reorgs Windows. All that, plus scooters litter the streets of San Francisco, drones are crashing all around us, oh the humanity!

Apr 05, 20181 hrEp. 49