A weekly news show where your favorite Engadget editors tear themselves away from their crippling technology addiction, to discuss our collective crippling tech...
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
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1:13:06
iPhone 16e: Apple’s cheaper, but not budget, iPhone
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
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54:30
What's up, DOGE? Diving into Elon Musk's hack on America
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
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50:14
Volvo Group’s CTO on his vision for zero-emissions trucks
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.)
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26:03
DeepSeek blows up the AI world
In the span of a week, the Chinese startup DeepSeek has completely disrupted the AI landscape with its free and "open source" R1 model. In this episode, Devindra, Engadget Senior Reporter Igor Bonifacic and Producer Ben Ellman dive into what makes R1 so special, and what DeepSeek is doing differently from OpenAI and other competitors. Also, we try to figure out what’s up with “Incention,” a weird AI/blockchain project for creating new Hollywood IP, and wonder if Helion’s fusion reactor is actually legit. DeepSeek’s R1 model shakes up the AI landscape – 1:55Quick mention: Sam Rutherford’s Galaxy S25 review “Too much AI, not enough Ultra” – 30:19Incention is proof that blockchain nonsense is alive and well – 37:16Fusion startup Helion has Altman and Thiel on its side, but maybe not physics – 42:50Google agrees to rename Gulf of Mexico on U.S. version of its maps – 49:19Working on – 50:07Pop culture picks – 51:32
A weekly news show where your favorite Engadget editors tear themselves away from their crippling technology addiction, to discuss our collective crippling technology addiction.
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