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!)

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 broadening satellite phone market – 2:17New video cards from AMD and NVIDIA at CES – 12:092024’s biggest losers in tech – 18:46Meta announces AI personas are coming to Instagram and Facebook – 32:22Pop culture picks – 41:02 

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 hasn’t led to much and the social media vibes are in flux – 1:12What we’re looking forward to in 2025 – 21:43Tiktok appeals its ban all the way to the US Supreme Court – 29:53TP-Link routers are being investigated by US authorities – 32:39Quick thoughts from last week’s Game Awards – 35:35Working on – 38:26Pop culture picks – 39:17Interview with Tim Miller and Dave Wilson of Prime’s Secret Level – 49:20

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 – 1:13OpenAI’s Sora video generation model was finally released – 37:17GM kills its Cruise robotaxi project – 45:43Google’s Gemini 2.0 is now available for preview – 49:51Tiktok is running out of options to avoid a ban in the U.S. – 57:36Working on – 1:00:04Pop culture picks – 1:02:20 

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 state of ereaders in 2024 – 2:12Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger retires – 45:13Intel claims its $250 Battlemage Arc GPU can top the NVIDIA RTX 4060  – 50:57MSI’s upcoming Claw 8 AI+ and 7 AI+ are faster than ever, but you still need to navigate Windows with joysticks – 52:18Jaguar’s strange concept EV doesn’t even have a rear window – 57:26It’s music streaming recap season! How do you feel about yours? – 1:04:33Working on / Around Engadget – 1:09:13Pop culture picks – 1:11:20  

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 – 1:07Gaming news with Jess: Sony is reportedly working on a new portable console – 21:18PlayStation’s head of indie games Shuhei Yoshida is leaving Sony after 30 years – 28:34Obsidian’s Avowed looks like a great reason to pick up an Xbox controller – 31:53FTC warns that most connected devices aren’t supported for very long – 37:08Working on – 41:14Pop culture picks – 42:17

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 Google to sell its Chrome division (and why that probably won’t happen) – 1:05Comcast spins off Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, and a handful of cable networks into their own company – 22:23Sony is in talks to buy Kadokawa, Japanese publisher behind FromSoft games and Kill la Kill – 24:38German authorities suspect Baltic Sea data cables between Lithuania and Sweden were sabotaged – 26:21Pokémon Go devs Niantic reveal plans to create a Large Geospatial Model to power future AR and robots – 32:26Working on – 45:49Pop culture picks – 51:38

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 has become a crucial ally to the upcoming Trump administration.  Bluesky ascendent: the federated platform could actually be the next Twitter – 2:22Musk cozies up to President-elect Trump, could a Department of Government Efficiency be next? – 23:37Interview with Justin Hendrix, founder of Tech Policy Press, on Trump and Musk – 31:50The Onion buys InfoWars with plans to turn the brand into gun control satire – 48:02LG Display’s stretchy new screen – 54:34The Beatles have been nominated for two Grammys with the help of AI – 56:50Goodbye: AOL voiceover Elwood Edwards has died – 58:29Working on – 1:00:11Pop culture picks – 1:02:38 

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 – 16:51MacBook Pro M4 and M4 Pro Review: Maintaining and extending Apple’s premium laptop dominance – 31:15NYT tech guild on strike made their own games you can play without crossing their digital picket line – 38:28Pop culture picks – 43:25    

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 chips in refreshed iMac, Mac Mini, and Macbook Pro models – 0:58Regulators force Lyft to tell U.S. drivers accurate numbers of how much money they’ll make – 45:30AP report: OpenAI’s Whisper transcription model invents parts of audio transcripts – 49:06AOC and Tim Walz streamed Crazy Taxi on Twitch – 53:11McDonalds can finally repair their own McFlurry machines in significant win for Right to repair – 55:54Around Engadget – 59:45Pop culture picks – 1:03:42