Fitbit Air review + The Pope takes on AI (with Fr. Robert Ballecer)

This week, Cherlynn dives into her review of the new screen-less FitbIt Air, Google's new wearable meant to take on Whoop's popular bands. Also, we dive into Pope Leo's first Encyclical, which is focused on reining in AI and Big Tech's dominance and prioritizing humanity instead. We also chat with "Padre" Fr. Robert Ballecer, who's seen the Encyclical and the ideas around it take shape for years at the Vatican.Cherlynn’s Fitbit Air Review: health tracking for the AI generation with a form that competes with Whoop – 1:31 Pope Leo criticizes AI in his first Encyclical – 26:45We asked Jesuit Priest (and huge techie) Father Robert Ballecer to break down Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence – 38:38Steam Deck price goes up by $300 (almost 50%) for the 1TB model – 54:50 Trump Mobile finally releases phones, immediately leaks customer data – 1:01:10 Meta has paid tiers for Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp Now – 1:05:48 Around Engadget – 1:09:39 Working on – 1:11:11 Pop culture picks – 1:11:29 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s a good weekend to think about buying a new TV! In this episode, Devindra is joined by Dipin Sehdev, the founder of CECritic, to discuss the new RGB TVs and how they compare to OLED, the previous high-end TV technology of choice. Is RGB tech actually worth the premium, especially when OLED TVs have come way down in price? We also offer up a few tips for choosing the best TV today.RGB gets added to the TV alphabet soup, Dipin Sehdev from CECritic explains where it sits in the landscape – 1:10  Elon Musk loses OpenAI lawsuit, plus he owes a lot of xAI employees $420 for their tax returns – 30:50 SpaceX IPO date set for June 12 – 35:02 Alexa+ now makes “”podcasts”” – 37:26 Firefox lets you turn off all AI features with one tap on mobile – 41:32Around Engadget – 49:06Working on – 50:41 Pop culture picks – 50:51Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this bonus episode, Devindra and Executive Editor Cherlynn Low break down all of the major news from Google's I/O 2026 developer conference. And yes, you guessed it, it's pretty much all about AI. We dive into the new Gemini Omni model, the massive AI integration with Google Search, the usefulness of agentic personal assistants like Spark and our impressions of the first Android XR glasses.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As usual, Google delivered much of its consumer-focused news this week during the Android Show, ahead of its I/O developer conference next week. We've gotten a closer look at Android 17, which will sport a slew of new Gemini AI integrations, including some new agentic upgrades. The company also officially announced Googlebooks, its latest line of laptops built around AI features and Android interoperability. It looks like a major evolution on the concept of Chromebooks, though Google says those won't be going anywhere.  What’s new at The Android Show: Googlebooks, Gemini Intelligence, and file sharing with iOS – 1:25eBay rejects Gamestop’s offer as “not credible or attractive” – 32:18 U.S. cell carriers form a joint venture to fix service dead spots – 33:41 OpenAI sued by spouse of FSU shooting victim, who used ChatGPT to plan shooting spree – 38:44Apple is making the iOS Camera app more customizable – 44:06 RIP Rufus, we hardly knew ye: Amazon dubs Alexa its new shopping assistant – 44:58Around Engadget – 47:14 Working on – 49:26 Pop culture picks – 51:15Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Can a meme stock buy a real company? This week, Gamestop proposed a $56 billion takeover of eBay, despite seemingly not being able to afford such a deal. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Daniel Cooper discuss what the heck is going on (and why this deal most likely won't happen). Also, Dan chats about his review of the reMarkable Paper Pure, the company's latest stab at a relatively affordable e-paper tablet.Gamestop submits an unsolicited $56 billion offer to buy eBay. How serious are they? – 1:33Dan Cooper’s reMarkable Paper Pure review: beautiful, but missing a few crucial features – 21:15 Fitbit’s Air band takes aim at Whoop for no-screen fitness tracker dominance – 39:49 Apple ordered to pay $250M to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 users over smarter Siri misfire – 40:33  Anthropic makes a deal with SpaceX’s mega-polluting Memphis data center to increase Claude rate limit – 44:05 Pornhub unblocks UK users who verify ID with Apple – 46:51Starfox 64 remake coming to the Switch 2 – 50:42 Working on – 52:28 Pop culture picks – 53:06Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're still waiting for Valve's Steam Machine to arrive, but until then, the company has finally given us a full look at its new Steam Controller. At $100, it sure is steep, but it looks like a solid way to enjoy games on Steam. In this episode, Engadget's Jessica Conditt joins to chat about her experience with the Steam Controller, and where Valve could be going next with the Steam Machine. And we'll also take some time to chat about the games we're currently playing. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Apple rumors were true, once again. This week, the company announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down from his CEO role on September 1. Replacing him will be John Ternus, who currently serves as Apple's SVP of hardware engineering. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Nathan Ingraham discuss Cook's legacy as Apple's CEO, and pontificate about how Ternus may change things. We're going from Apple being led by a logistics guru, to Apple being driven by a product and engineering wizard. Surely, that will have some impact on future products.   Tim Cook steps down as Apple CEO after 15 years, John Ternus will take his place on September 1 – 1:22 Palantir woke up last Saturday morning and posted a comic book villain manifesto on X – 26:01 DHS wants to make facial recognition smart glasses for ICE – 31:53 A lot of people panic bought PCs to avoid RAMageddon – 36:25 Meta faces a new lawsuit over running ads for outright scams – Employees at Meta will have they keystrokes and mouse moves recorded for AI training – 40:10 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price goes down, but it won’t include Call of Duty – 44:55 Around Engadget: a great (expensive) Dyson vac with a silly name – 49:15 Working on – 51:58 Pop culture picks – 52:55 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

So a shoe company turned into an AI company…. That’s it, that’s the joke. In this episode, Devindra chats with Engadget’s Daniel Cooper about Allbirds’ sudden transformation and what it says about the AI economy. Also, they chat about the Artemis II moon mission, Meta being warned about the dangers of facial recognition (again) and how teens think social media is really shaping them.   Near-dead shoe company Allbirds is doing AI now – 1:47 Artemis II safely returns to Earth, did you know they had DLSRs and iPhones up there? – 15:57 Meta warned by dozens of civil rights organizations that facial recognition in its smart glasses will enable predators – 28:41 Social media isn’t bad for teens, say teens – 36:00 NAACP sues xAI over data center pollution – 44:30 Around Engadget –  50:28   Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For a 50-year-old company, Apple remains pretty hip and nimble. This week, Devindra and Senior Reporter Igor Bonifacic dive into Apple's big birthday, the state of the company today and what the next 50 years could bring. Also, we celebrate the successful launch of NASA's Artemis II mission, which will bring us back to the Moon (but just for a close look).   Apple at 50: Why it’s still all about personal computing – 1:16 Artemis II is safely on its way to the moon, but they’re having problems with Outlook – 37:48 SpaceX files for the largest IPO ever, what’s driving their hopes for a 1.75 Trillion valuation? – 40:52 Another Starlink satellite broke up in orbit, the second in 6 months – 47:21 Anthropic accidentally leaked source code for Claude Code – 52:17 FCC issues ban on all foreign-made WiFi routers – 57:18 Around Engadget – 1:02:09 Working On – 1:07:18 Pop culture picks – 1:08:20  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

If you're feeling anxious about AI and what it means for the future of humanity, you should watch The AI Doc: Or, How I Became an Apocaloptimist. As I noted in my review, the film aims to deliver some clarity amid all the AI hype with a plethora of interviews from AI CEOs, boosters, and critics. Now that it's in theaters, we sat down with the film's Oscar-winning director, Daniel Roher (Navalny), to dive deeper into his complicated feelings around AI.     Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy