This week we're diving into the new 12-inch Surface Pro, which, alongside the 13-inch Surface Laptop, is a foray into smaller Surface hardware. You can thank Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus chips for that. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Igor Bonifacic explore the compromises Microsoft had to make for these devices, and they dive into the rumors around Half Life 3 and the surprise leaked photos of Microsoft and ASUS's potential Xbox handheld. Surface Pro 12-inch review: less weight, less p...
May 09, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 267
This week Meta held its first-ever AI dev conference, LlamaCon, focused on the development of its Llama generative AI model. But while there was plenty of hype, not much happened, besides the launch of the Meta AI app and a new Llama API. In this episode, Engadget Senior Reporter Karissa Bell joins us to talk about her thoughts on LlamaCon after attending in person. After just announcing its latest Llama models a few weeks ago, it was as if Meta didn't have much else to say. Meta’s Muted LlamaCo...
May 01, 2025•55 min•Ep. 266
4chan, one of the trolliest places on the internet, could be gone for good following last week's hack. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn break down what 4chan was and why it's influence can be found practically everywhere now. It's like we're living in a poster's paradise. Also, we discuss YouTube's 20th birthday and all of the memories (and frustrations) it's given us over the years. 4chan is dead, RIP? – 2:08 Youtube turns 20 – 15:59 Nintendo’s Switch 2 is finally available for preorder a...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 265
This week, we're diving into Engadget's coverage from the 2025 New York Auto Show. There are tons of EVs, as we expected, as well as some surprising disappointments (what the heck did Subaru do to the Outback?!). Also, we once again try to make sense of the Trump administration's tariff mess. Stay tuned to the end of this episode for a chat with Isaiah Saxon, the director of A24’s The Legend of Ochi, about his puppet-filled kid’s adventure. What’s hot in EVs from New York Auto Show 2025 – 1:56 F...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 264
This week, Engadget's Sam Rutherford dives into his experience with Google's new $499 mid-range smartphone, the Pixel 9a. Is it really the new mid-range king, as we previously predicted? Or is it worth spending more for the Pixel 9? Also, we chat about how the Trump administration's volatile tariff strategy will affect consumer technology (not to mention everything else you buy). Sam Rutherford’s Pixel 9a Review: Basic in just the right way – 1:16 Tariff Watch: Switch 2 preorders delayed, Razer ...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 263
After Nintendo revealed the full details around the Switch 2 this week, Engadget's Sam Rutherford got some hands-on time with the new console. In this episode, he talks about the major improvements in the new hardware (especially that 1080p, 120 fps screen) and why he doesn't really miss the older Switch OLED. Also, Sam discusses his time with Mario Kart World, the new semi-open world version of Nintendo's classic racer. In other news, we dive into the latest updates around the TIkTok ban, and w...
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 262
This week, we learned that even government officials are addicted to their group chats -- except with the Trump administration those chats include war plans and potentially classified information. In this episode, we dive into the sheer recklessness and stupidity of Signalgate. And speaking of reckless, we also discuss 23andMe's bankruptcy and the privacy concerns around selling off customer DNA data. Signalgate: What happened, who was involved, and how to safely add someone to a Signal group ch...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 261
After a ton of leaks, Google officially announced the $499 Pixel 9a, which has the potential to be the new king of mid-range phones. It has dual cameras and access to Google's AI features -- in many ways, it's everything the iPhone 16e should have been (especially its price). In this episode, Senior Writer Sam Rutherford joins us to discuss what's great about the Pixel 9a, as well as its potential downsides compared to the Pixel 9. Google’s announces the Pixel 9a - potentially the new midrange k...
Mar 20, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 260
It's both a great and bad week for Apple. In this episode, we dive into Devindra's review of the excellent M4-equipped MacBook Air (and briefly chat about the new Mac Studio). We also discuss Apple's surprise announcement that it's delaying its smarter, AI-infused Siri, which may not arrive until next year. Did Apple over-promise last year, or is it wise to hold off on advanced AI features until they're ready? After all, Apple doesn't want a fiasco like Microsoft's Recall announcement. The MacBo...
Mar 13, 2025•55 min•Ep. 259
Apple finally dropped some long-awaited updates this week: An M4 MacBook Air (now starting at $999!), M3 iPad Air, as well as a refreshed Mac Studio with M3 Ultra and M4 Max chips. In this episode, Cherlynn, Devindra and Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham chat about all of Apple's new hardware, as well as some interesting tidbits from Mobile World Congress 2025. Devindra also dives into his reviews of NVIDIA's RTX 5070 and AMD's Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT. It turns out AMD has finally delivered some ...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 258
The keyword for the iPhone 16e seems to be "compromise." In this episode, Devindra chats with Cherlynn about her iPhone 16e review and try to figure out who this phone is actually for. Also, they dive into Amazon's Alexa+ event, where we finally learned more about the company's AI-powered voice assistant. Alexa+ seems useful, but can we trust it? iPhone 16e review: too expensive with too many compromises – 1:28 Amazon Alexa+ is a conversational assistant powered by AI – 18:39 Framework unveils a...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 257
Well we didn't get the iPhone SE fourth-gen this week -- instead Apple debuted the iPhone 16e, a $599 model based on the iPhone 14's design. It has a 6.1-inch OLED screen and the A18 chip for Apple Intelligence, but should we really consider it a cheap iPhone? In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn dive into the iPhone 16e and how it compares to the rest of the iPhone 16 family. Apple unveils its SE successor, the iPhone 16e for $599 – 1:22 Trump administration planning on 25 percent tariffs on ...
Feb 20, 2025•55 min•Ep. 256
We joked about "President Musk" shortly after Donald Trump took office, but it turns out that wasn't far from the truth. Over the past few weeks, Elon Musk and his DOGE team wasted no time in trying to dismantle the American administrative state. They've illegally accessed the Treasury Department's federal payment system, pushed for USAID to be dismantled, and have also infiltrated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In this episode, we chat with 404 Media's Jason Koebler about what Musk a...
Feb 13, 2025•50 min•Ep. 255
This week, Devindra chats with Volvo Group CTO Lars Stenqvist about the company’s progress developing zero emissions trucks, both of the electric variety and experimental hydrogen options. While it’s a completely different company from Volvo Cars, Volvo Group still impacts consumers as one of the largest producers of heavy trucks. Stenqvist dives into how Volvo is thinking about new technology, and we chat a bit about how it’s approaching completely autonomous vehicles. (Note: This interview was...
Feb 06, 2025•26 min
In the span of a week, the Chinese startup DeepSeek has completely disrupted the AI landscape with its free and "open source" R1 model. In this episode, Devindra, Engadget Senior Reporter Igor Bonifacic and Producer Ben Ellman dive into what makes R1 so special, and what DeepSeek is doing differently from OpenAI and other competitors. Also, we try to figure out what’s up with “Incention,” a weird AI/blockchain project for creating new Hollywood IP, and wonder if Helion’s fusion reactor is actual...
Jan 30, 2025•58 min•Ep. 254
It feels like CES again with a slew of tech news this week! In this episode, Devindra dives into his final thoughts on NVIDIA's $2,000 GeForce RTX 5090, a super-powered video card with a healthy dose of AI. Senior Reporter Sam Rutherford also joins to explain everything Samsung launched at its Galaxy S25 Unpacked event. And of course, we'll chat about some of the technology industry and policy changes from the new Trump administration. Stay tuned to the end of this episode for our chat with YouT...
Jan 23, 2025•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 253
So it looks like the TikTok ban may actually be happening, barring a last-minute Supreme Court decision. In this episode, Senior Writer Karissa Bell joins Devindra and Ben to discuss the potential finale of TikTok in America, as well as why some users are finding refuge in RedNote, a Chinese Instagram clone. They also dive into why Meta is giving up on third-party fact checkers, and how this relates to Mark Zuckerberg's descent into the right-wing world. Finally, we explore the tidbits of inform...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 252
We’re officially recovering from CES 2025! In this episode, Devindra and Senior Reporter Sam Rutherford dive into their favorite PCs from the show, and debate the merits of Lenovo’s extra-large Legion Go S handheld. They explain why they like ASUS’s ultra-light Zenbook A14, and Sam gives us his final thoughts on Dell’s clunky brand transition. Lenovo’s surprising CES showing: ThinkBook Plus Gen 6’s rollable screen – 0:47 Legion Go S by Lenovo is the first third-party handheld to run SteamOS – 4:...
Jan 09, 2025•34 min•Ep. 251
We've survived two days of CES! In this bonus episode, Cherlynn and Devindra discuss the latest innovations in robot vacuums, new AI PC hardware from AMD and Intel, and Dell's decision to nuke its PC brands in favor of Apple-esque "Dell Pro" and "Dell Pro Max" branding. (Note: We recorded this episode before NVIDIA announced its new RTX 5000 GPUs, but we'll have more to say on that soon!)
Jan 07, 2025•19 min
We're ringing in 2025 with everything we're expecting to see at CES! That includes new video cards from AMD and NVIDIA, a holographic windshield from Hyundai and potentially more satellite enabled phones. AI will still be a major topic -- like the next generation of AI PCs -- but it also seems like we'll be hearing a lot more about classic CES stories. In addition, we explore why Meta wants to start adding AI users to Facebook and Instagram. CES 2025 Preview: LG’s bendable 5K OLED, AI PCs, and a...
Jan 03, 2025•48 min•Ep. 250
This week, we're looking back at our hellish 2024 and trying to figure out where to go from here. We began the year with enormous hype around artificial intelligence, but that's cooled off after seeing how useless many AI features have been. It's also clear that many companies, including Microsoft and Apple, are trying to push half-baked AI concepts onto users. Looking forward, we're expecting a rough few years for the tech industry (not to mention the world as a whole). 2024 in review: AI hype ...
Dec 20, 2024•56 min•Ep. 249
At long last, iPhone users have access to Apple's AI image generation tools, Genmoji (for customized emoji) and Image Playground. But based on our testing, these Apple Intelligence features aren't fully baked. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn discuss why these AI tools aren't very useful and dive into some of Apple's most egregious image generation fails. iOS 18.2 AI image generation arrives half baked. Genmoji are fun, but weird – 1:13 OpenAI’s Sora video generation model was finally rele...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 248
Our review-in-progress of the Kindle Scribe 2 is live, and this week on the Engadget Podcast our host Cherlynn Low talks about Amazon’s latest writing tablet with noted ereader aficionado Alex Cranz. The pair are joined by Engadget’s own ereader expert Valentina Palladino, and they all get deep on the state of reading on books, tablets and phones. Our hosts also dive into what’s happening at Intel, as well as modern cars and personal listening habits. Kindle Scribe 2, Kobo, Boox and more: the st...
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 247
Senior reporter Jess Conditt joins host Cherlynn Low and producer Ben Ellman on a quiet news week to talk about the latest developments at Sony, Threads, TikTok and more. We also take a look at some gadget announcements and discuss the impact that social media and technology have had on the way we work and how we think of celebrity and success. A chill Thanksgiving week chat: Social media and how it affects all of us – 1:07 Gaming news with Jess: Sony is reportedly working on a new portable cons...
Nov 29, 2024•47 min•Ep. 246
Well, the rumors were true: this week the DOJ argued that Google should sell off Chrome to make up for its monopolistic search practices. On top of that, the US government also suggested a potential sale of Android if it can't stop prioritizing its own search on Android smartphones. In this episode, Devindra and Producer Ben discuss why neither outcome seems likely under the upcoming Trump 2.0 administration, which will likely focus on defanging any sort of regulation. U.S. regulators want Googl...
Nov 21, 2024•59 min•Ep. 245
For obvious reasons, Twitter users are leaving en masse and heading to Bluesky, its most prominent decentralized competitor. In this episode, we discuss why Bluesky now feels like the best of early Twitter, filled with vibrant conversations and people discovering a new social network filled with useful features (like serious blocking and content filtering). And of course, the lack of an algorithmic feed surely helps. Also, we chat with Justin Hendrix from Tech Policy Press about how Elon Musk ha...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 244
In this episode, Devindra and producer Ben Ellman recover from the election by discussing our final thoughts on the PlayStation 5 Pro, as well as Apple’s M4 Mac mini (so cute, so powerful!) and new MacBook Pros. The M4 chip is a solid upgrade, but the M4 Pro is shockingly fast (so much so that it outscored every other system we reviewed this year in Geekbench). PlayStation 5 Review: Your Mac mini M4 Pro Review: Phenomenal power with a tiny footprint – 16:51 MacBook Pro M4 and M4 Pro Review: Main...
Nov 07, 2024•51 min•Ep. 243
It's been a Mac-heavy week! In this episode, Devindra and producer Ben Ellman dive into all of Apple's new M4 hardware: the new iMac, Mac mini and refreshed Macbook Pros. The Mac mini, in particular, looks like it'll be a huge hit for anyone who needs a simple desktop system. Also, we dive into why Apple is pushing for every Mac to get 16GB of RAM at a minimum. That will benefit all users, even if they don't care about Apple Intelligence. Unofficial Mac Week: Apple announces M4 Pro and M4 Max ch...
Oct 31, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 242
We finally got an iPad Mini refresh, and it's not particularly exciting. But that's fine! It's still a useful little tablet, and now thanks to the A17 Pro chip, it's already ready for upcoming Apple Intelligence features. In this episode, Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham joins to discuss what he liked about the new iPad Mini, and what he hopes Apple will eventually fix in future models. Also, we chat about Netflix abandoning its AAA game studio, and why over 10,500 artists signed a letter ...
Oct 24, 2024•49 min•Ep. 241
Amazon finally did it! This week the company announced the Kindle Colorsoft, its first color E Ink e-reader. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn discuss where this device sits in a world of cheap tablets, and they dive into the updated Kindle Paperwhite and the writable Kindle Scribe. Also, we've got final thoughts on the Meta Quest 3S, the updated iPad Mini and tons of news. Amazon announces new Kindle Colorsoft, updated Kindle Scribe and Paperwhite – 0:51 Devindra’s Meta Quest 3S review: im...
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 240
