The Engadget Podcast

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 LlamaCon: who was the AI dev conference really for? – 1:31Court orders Apple to stop collecting app fees outside of the iTunes store – 21:44Microsoft announces Xbox series X and S prices are going up – 25:22NPR report: DOGE employees may have access to U.S. nuclear secrets – 26:44New EV startup Slate to offer a barebones pickup for $20k (after tax breaks) – 30:47Swiss academics use AI to influence public opinion on Reddit – 35:08Duolingo to replace contract workers with AI – 40:19Working on – 47:50Pop culture picks – 50:56

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? – 2:08Youtube turns 20 – 15:59Nintendo’s Switch 2 is finally available for preorder at the same price – 33:03Apple and Meta fined a combined €800m under Europe’s New Digital Markets Act – 34:44  OpenAI might be interested in Chrome if Google was compelled to sell – 35:30Google pays Samsung an “enormous” amount to put Gemini on phones – 37:50The Washington Post partners with OpenAI to bring its content to ChatGPT – 38:43Around Engadget – 41:52Listener Mail: Transitioning from Windows to Mac for CAD / 3D design – 47:01Pop culture picks – 54:55

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 – 1:56Federal Judge rules that Google has a monopoly on U.S. digital ads – 17:42Facebook antitrust trial begins after several attempts to scuttle the case – 22:18Tariff Watch: tariffs on semiconductors and electronics to be announced later – 31:16PS5 prices are rising around the world – 34:22NPR: Whistleblower shows evidence DOGE took sensitive data from federal labor board – 42:35Sidewalk alerts in Seattle and Palo Alto hacked to play AI-generated messages – 47:18New details for Mario Kart World – 48:43Around Engadget / Working On – 51:42Picks – 54:31Interview with Legend of Ochi director Isaiah Saxon – 59:59

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 – 1:16Tariff Watch: Switch 2 preorders delayed, Razer pauses laptop sales in the U.S. – 30:27TikTok ban deadline extended for another 75 days – 42:40Samsung’s Ballie robot with Google Gemini arrives this Summer (allegedly) – 43:31Listener Mail – 46:53Working on – 57:41Pop Culture picks – 59:23

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 we discuss how the Trump administration's tariff push will affect everything in the technology world and beyond. Stay tuned to the end of the show for our chat with Shinichiro Watanabe, the creator of Cowboy Bebop, about his new anime series Lazarus.Switch 2 details are finally here, Sam Rutherford got hands-on time with it – 1:47U.S.’s broad new tariffs on China and beyond could make everything from keyboards to cars more expensive – 49:32TikTok’s divest-or-ban deadline is April 5, here are the possible buyers – 54:57xAI buys X, but how much does that matter? – 58:24Working on – 1:00:59Pop culture picks – 1:02:31 

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 chat – 0:4823andMe files for bankruptcy, customers are urged to delete their sensitive data – 21:25Canon’s PowerShot V1 and R50 V cameras go all in on vlogging – 27:21Apple announces WWDC dates, updates Airpods Max, and dodges fines in the EU – 32:52How did Napster sell for $207 million in 2025? – 45:32Around Engadget – 48:44Working On – 55:22Pop Culture picks – 57:56 

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 king – 1:15Fujifilm’s GX100RF: a 102MP medium format camera (nice!) with only one F4 lens (boo!) – 21:31Karissa Bell’s roundup of the craziest stuff from Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams’ book – 24:14Donald Trump attempts to fire FTC’s two Democratic commissioners – 29:34Amazon will send all Alexa recordings to the cloud, no more local processing – 32:52Chinese EV maker BYD announces chargers that give 249 miles of range in 5 minutes – 39:10Pebble founder introduces two new e-paper smartwatches – 46:47Listener Mail: Trying to choose an OLED TV – 57:35Around Engadget – 1:03:49Working on – 1:09:56Pop culture picks – 1:10:28 

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 MacBook Air M4 refresh maintains Apple’s seat on the ultraportable throne – 1:40…but the delay on a Siri upgrade could spell trouble long-term – 15:32Xbox’s first handheld might not be made by Microsoft – 34:29The White House turns into a Tesla dealership – 41:30Meta attempts to block unflattering expose book already on sale – 45:52Around Engadget: Ninja Swirl and Eero Pro 7 router reviews – 46:38Working on – 49:21Pop culture picks – 50:26  

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 killer GPUs to counter NVIDIA's dominance. We mentioned a bunch of stuff from our Mobile World Congress Roundup, you can check it out here MacBook Air refresh announced with an M4 chip and a slight price drop – 2:04What’s hot at Mobile World Congress 2025 – 23:10Lenovo’s Solar PC – 35:20Xiaomi 15 Ultra (with a fancy Leica camera) – 37:53New releases from Nothing – 39:16Samsung releases a trio of A series devices – 40:35  NVIDIA vs. AMD part ∞: AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT edge out the GeForce RTX 5070 – 46:20Pop culture picks – 54:11 

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 – 1:28Amazon Alexa+ is a conversational assistant powered by AI – 18:39Framework unveils a cheap 2-in-1 laptop and a…modular desktop? – 40:53Clone Robotics released a video of a robot with fake skin that will haunt your nightmares – 43:26NYT: American Psychologists are getting ready to fight AI clone therapists – 44:05Working on – 47:59Pop culture picks – 49:02Interview with Daniel Rausch, VP of Amazon’s Alexa division – 55:34