The Engadget Podcast

We’re gearing up for CES 2026! Engadget will be on the ground, once again, to dive into the latest TVs, wearables and other wild tech from the world’s biggest consumer electronics show. In this episode, we chat about some new products we expect to see, like MicroRGB LED TVs and AI devices, and peer into what’s ahead for the rest of 2026.

Over the past two years, the Nex Playground has carved out a niche for itself with kids and parents alike. It's a small box that sits in front of your TV and uses a camera, along with computer vision AI processing, to track your movement for interactive games. Think of it like a simplified version of Microsoft's Kinect (RIP), with a bit of the local multiplayer we see from the original Wii. In this bonus episode, we chat with David Lee, Nex's CEO and co-founder, about how he went from building a basketball tracking app to one of the most intriguing gaming console alternatives on the market. (The Nex Playground even managed to outsell Xbox in November!)

This week, Engadget Managing Editor Cherlynn Low joins us to look back at some of the highlights (and lowlights) of 2025. We dive into our favorite gadgets of the year, the many ways Big Tech bowed to Trump, the disappointment of AI PCs and the rise of smart glasses. Our favorite gadgets of 2025: Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, Airpods Pro 3, bluetooth lav mics and more – 2:26Favorite Media of 2025: Andor, self-improvement via podcast, and a shoutout to your library – 34:30iRobot declares bankruptcy – 47:29Warner Bros. Discovery board rejects Paramount’s hostile bid, shareholders yet to vote  – 53:47The Oscars will air on Youtube starting in 2029 – 56:05Ford to turn its F-150 Lightining into a gas generator EV – 57:41Around Engadget: smart glasses had a great run in 2025, against social media age verification – 58:20 

Last week, Netflix surprised us all when it announced plans for an $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., a move that would fundamentally reshape the world of streaming video and Hollywood. But Paramount isn't giving up on WB -- this week it launched a $108 billion hostile takeover effort. In this episode, we discuss why everyone is fighting for WB, and why Netflix may be the best worst option for the storied movie studio.What the Netflix bid for Warner Bros. means for at-home streamers and moviegoers – 1:55Disney characters are coming to Sora after OpenAI struck a deal – 32:59Meta may be giving up on open source for Llama – 43:53  Google CEO says we’re just going to have to grin and bear societal disruption via AI – 46:46Around Engadget: The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is good, but is it $630 good? – 49:06The best trailers and announcements from The Game Awards’ Day of the Devs stream – 51:28Here’s why projectors won in 2025 – 54:31Working on – 56:15  Pop culture picks – 57:33

RAM prices have gone wild, mostly thanks to AI. In this episode, Devindra chats with Will Smith (Brad and Will Made a Tech Pod) about the state of the RAM industry, as well as other hardware we expect to get more expensive. (SSD prices are definitely creeping up too!). Also, we discuss Meta poaching Alan Dye, one of Apple's design executives, and what this could mean for Meta's upcoming devices. And yes, whatever they have next will likely revolve around AI. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, plans deep cuts to his company’s metaverse development – 1:09Longtime Apple UI designer Alan Dye to join Meta’s AI division – 7:08US DOT cuts fuel efficiency standards, doubles down on gas cars – 25:40Waymo autonomous cars recently started driving more aggressively – 31:30Amazon halts its anime dub beta because it sounded terrible – 38:00WTF, RAM?? Will Smith joins to talk about why RAM prices are spiraling upward – 44:05Around Engadget: Metroid Prime 4 is a return to form after 18 years on ice – 1:04:42Working on – 1:07:36Pop culture picks – 1:08:32

So it turns out Meta isn't a monopoly, at least according to a federal judge. In this episode, we dive into Meta's victory in the FTC's antitrust case, which it seems to have won mainly thanks to TikTok's existence. Also, we chat about the Cloudflare issue that took down a huge portion of the web this week, as well as Roblox's plan to collect kids' selfies for age verification. We also carve out some time to chat with the audience and answer your pressing tech questions. Meta won its antitrust case, will keep control of Instagram and WhatsApp – 2:30Chat with the Livestream: Flickr’s repository of aughts memories and who uses Facebook anymore – 23:59The Cloudflare issue that took down a lot of the web? It was a database error – 32:49Google’s new Gemini 3 model is now available – 34:57Roblox wants tens of millions of kids to send them a selfie for age verification – 38:27TikTok’s screen time management function now includes an…affirmation journal? – 41:30Around Engadget – 43:47Working on – 50:36Pop culture picks – 52:27    

This week Valve surprised us all with the announcement of three new devices: The tiny Steam Machine PC gaming desktop, the Steam Frame VR headset and a new Steam Controller. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's gaming reporter Jessica Conditt discuss how these devices fit into the PC gaming world, which has already been reshaped by Valve's Steck Deck portable. Also, we discuss our favorite games of 2025, as well as the upcoming titles we're looking forward to.  Valve reshapes PC gaming with a new Steam Machine, Steam Frame VR headset and updated Steam Controller – 1:10It’s not just Silksong! A look at our favorite indie games of 2025 with Jess Conditt – 25:25Michael Burry places his next big short on Palantir and NVIDIA – 46:09WSJ Report: OpenAI faces 7 lawsuits claiming ChatGPT encouraged user suicides – 50:57Apple unveils Digital IDs for iPhones, to hold passports and other IDs – 59:35Deezer-Ipsos survey says 97% of people can’t tell if music is AI generated – 1:01:37Around Engadget – 1:07:18Working on – 1:08:42Pop culture picks – 1:09:10

2025 is almost over (gasp!), so it's time to look back at all of the best devices we've seen so far. In this episode, Engadget Deputy Editor Billy Steele joins Devindra to talk about the highlights of the year, which range from the usual suspects (like Google's Pixel and the iPhone 17 Pro), to surprises like the Ninja Swirl. Also, we chat about yet another super-thin phone and the latest sampler from Teenage Engineering. Engadget’s Best of 2025: phones, tablets, cameras, even EVs! – 1:40Reuters reports Meta projected 10% of its revenue ($16B) came from ads for scams this year – 32:20Moto Edge 70 is another super thin smartphone, but who wants it? – 41:43Netflix is going big on video podcasts in 2026 – 42:56You can now stream PS5 games you own to the PS Portal via the cloud – 48:23Around Engadget: Why DJI drones may be banned in the U.S. – 52:27Pop culture picks – 56:05

Home robots are moving way beyond Roombas. 1X unveiled its NEO helper bot this week, a terrifying $20,000 machine that can perform basic tasks after you've trained it, and more complex tasks via teleoperation. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's Igor Bonafacic try to figure out why 1X made the Neo look like a murderbot, as well as the future they see for home robots. Also, we discuss last week's AWS outage and our over-reliance on a single cloud provider, as well as Apple's rumored push for OLED devices in 2026.   Devindra also what’s with John Gearty, a former Apple Vision Pro engineer, about the state of Apple’s headset and the world of XR. Interview with John Gearty, former Apple Vision Pro engineer and founder of PulseJet Studios – 1:30Robotics company 1X announces Neo, a $20k home assistant that *might* become autonomous…someday – 33:05Amazon says automation bug caused AWS outage – 45:11NVIDIA is the first company in history to hit a $5T market cap – 50:55OpenAI finishes reorganization that paves path for future IPO – 55:21U.S. Customs and Border Protection announces plan to photograph non-citizens entering the country for facial recognition – 1:08:45Around Engadget: Billy Steele’s Echo Studio 2025 review – 1:17:25Working on – 1:19:39Pop culture picks – 1:22:07 

The era of AI video is upon us, and honestly it's kind of terrifying. Between OpenAI's Sora and official communications from the Trump White House, it's clear that we're not ready for an unending onslaught of AI video. In this episode, Devindra and producer Ben chat with the Washington Post's technology reporter Drew Harwell and Jeremy Carrasco (AKA "ShowtoolsAI"), a former livestream and media producer turned AI video literacy creator. Also, we chat about our final thoughts on Apple's M5 MacBook Pro and iPad Pro, with a few quick notes about the new Vision Pro.Google and Open AI’s video generation models have upended our sense of reality online, what comes next? – 1:10Apple’s M5 chip is a significant boost in graphics power on the Macbook Pro – 34:11The iPad Pro M5 is a solid speed boost for whoever wants it – 39:36Preview of the Vision Pro M5 review – 44:00Working on – 50:23Pop culture Picks – 51:45