About this episode
OpenAI announced its next big model, GPT-6 Astra, and also, by the way, that AGI is here now. Today on The Vergecast, we've got an all-star panel to break down the news of the week. First, senior AI reporter Hayden Field joins us to talk about our supposed AGI era and Nvidia's acquisition of Hugging Face. Then, our friend Joanna Stern pops in to talk about new Apple CEO John Ternus, old Apple CEO Tim Cook, and to, most importantly, speculate on the format of next week's Apple keynote. We wrap things up with a super-special lightning round from the IFA electronics show in Berlin. Senior reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy and editor Dominic Preston each pick out the five most interesting gadgets they saw at the show. And two more things: Vergecast producer Travis Larchuk pops in to tell his tale of identity theft woe and warn you that he isn't the one DMing you on Twitter to ask you to be on The Vergecast. Plus, Brendan Carr is a dummy. Further reading: OpenAI’s next big AI model has ‘entered the AGI era’ Researchers fear safety disaster ahead of OpenAI’s Astra release OpenAI delayed its new model’s development after the Hugging Face hack Nvidia is buying Hugging Face for almost $13 billion John Ternus sends first memo as Apple CEO teasing a ‘huge launch next week’ Phil Schiller is leaving his biggest jobs at Apple Siri AI is already changing how I use my iPhone IFA 2026: the biggest tech and gadget announcements This might be the fanciest toothbrush launch ever. Anker’s new MindBase is an AI-powered brain for your smart home This NAS company wants to run your local smart home I want to wrap myself in Hue’s new Liane rope lights Homey just made the smart home controller I hoped Apple would The robot butler dream doesn’t have legs Here’s Xiaomi’s wide 18 Fold I held the first truly bezel-free phone Acer’s new concept hardware is a gaming handheld with a keyboard Lenovo’s new MacBook Neo competitor comes in two sizes and seven colors Packard Bell is back, and more colorful than ever. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com , subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed . We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11. 0:00 Welcome 00:46 Fake Travis warning 03:01 OpenAI's Astra model 05:45 Safeguards and delays 08:55 Opaque recurrence fears 13:08 What Astra does well 18:08 Access tiers and rollout 19:53 Nvidia buys Hugging Face 23:04 Is this really AGI 26:28 AGI vibes and Microsoft clause 32:17 Apple event preview 33:41 Ternus keynote politics 39:43 Keynote Vibes Shift 40:23 Tim Cook Era Review 44:56 Services And Fees Machine 47:15 Phil Schiller Steps Back 49:52 Event Predictions Fold And AI 55:43 Siri AI Real Use Cases 58:32 Smart Home Display Rumors 59:47 Bets And Keynote Structure 01:05:19 Brendan Carr Is A Dummy 01:09:23 IFA Lightning Round 01:10:49 Philips Hue Smart Lighting 01:11:03 Hue Rope Light Rave 01:11:44 Sticker Shock Pricing 01:13:03 Xiaomi Wide Foldable 01:15:43 Dyson Camera Toothbrush 01:20:31 Tecno Bezelless Concept 01:22:42 Local AI Smart Home Hub 01:27:09 MacBook Neo Clones 01:29:35 Homey Dial Controller 01:33:39 Acer DualPlay Handheld 01:36:19 Dreame Humanoid Robot 01:39:44 Packard Bell Revival 01:42:17 Wrap Up And Credits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices