The Engadget Podcast

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

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 – 1:22Trump administration planning on 25 percent tariffs on auto and semiconductor imports – 32:02Acer to raise prices by 10 percent following tariff talk – 34:26Humane AI sells to HP, pin will go offline February 28 – 36:42Microsoft’s new quantum computing chip runs on topological qubits – 41:14Working on – 47:28Pop culture picks – 50:06 

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 and his young tech cronies are up to, and how it ties into Silicon Valley's approach to the new Trump administration.Move Fast and Break Things: What is Elon Musk’s DOGE doing to the United States government? – 1:04iPhone SE 4 announcement expected soon – 34:54Elon Musk makes $97.4 billion offer for OpenAI, Altman declines in a tweet – 39:03France wants to build a gigawatt of new nuclear plants to power AI ambitions – 41:27Working on – 44:05Pop culture picks – 44:48 

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 recorded in early January, so we didn’t have a chance to talk about this week’s partnership between Volvo and the self-driving truck startup Waabi.)

A Chinese startup has shaken the AI scene with its open-source R1 model, promising to outshine giants like OpenAI. The conversation also critiques an odd AI/blockchain project aimed at Hollywood, highlighting the confusion around such ventures. Meanwhile, Helion's ambitious fusion reactor plans spark debate about sustainability and energy innovation amid skepticism about feasibility. Plus, tech stagnation in smartphones and gaming industries raises eyebrows, and a dive into quirky anime brings forth delightful recommendations.

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 YouTube Director of Product Management Jack Greenberg about some new features headed to YouTube Premium.TikTok was only banned for 14 hours, what happened? – 1:27Devindra’s NVIDIA RTX 5090 Review: more power than most people need – 13:53Samsung Unpacked announces Galaxy S25 series and teases a thinner phone – 30:25What the new administration’s Executive Orders mean for AI, EVs and the environment – 54:23Pop culture picks – 1:03:41What’s coming to Youtube Premium with project manager Jack Greenberg – 1:07:06

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 information from Nintendo's Switch 2 unveiling.Stay tuned to the end of this episode for Devindra’s chat with Dan Erickson, the creator of Severance, about season two of his hit show.RIP TikTok, Part ??? – 2:24Meta abandons fact checking, loosens hate speech rules on its platforms – 22:21We finally have confirmation of the Switch 2, full unveil scheduled for April 2 – 40:57Pop culture picks – 49:29.187

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 – 0:47Legion Go S by Lenovo is the first third-party handheld to run SteamOS – 4:35NVIDIA’s RTX 5000 seems great… – 10:16…But Jensen Huang’s keynote on NVIDIA’s future lacked focus – 15:29MicroLED TVs shown at CES are gorgeous and pricy – 30:11