The Engadget Podcast

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 – 1:25
eBay 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 – 38:44
Apple is making the iOS Camera app more customizable – 44:06 
RIP Rufus, we hardly knew ye: Amazon dubs Alexa its new shopping assistant – 44:58
Around Engadget – 47:14 
Working on – 49:26 
Pop culture picks – 51:15

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? – 1:33
Dan 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 – 46:51
Starfox 64 remake coming to the Switch 2 – 50:42 
Working on – 52:28 
Pop culture picks – 53:06

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.

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

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