Photo by Amanda Lopez for The Verge
Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast, where co-hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn discuss the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories.
This week on The Vergecast, Nilay and Dieter bring in Verge senior reporter Alex Heath to talk about his discussion with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss on making The Matrix Awakens with Epic Games to demo Unreal Engine 5 and how technology is blurring the line between what’s real and virtual.
Alex stays on for the entire show because there is so much to talk about — including a hands-on experience of Snap’s first AR Spectacles, Google bringing Android games to Windows next year, the clash between Roku and YouTube, and this week in metaverse news.
Listen here or in your preferred podcast player for the full discussion.
Stories discussed:
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss on making The Matrix Awakens with Epic Games
Snap’s first AR Spectacles are an ambitious, impractical start
How Snap is sidestepping the metaverse
The Matrix Awakens is an interactive tech demo for PS5 and Xbox Series X / S
Google is bringing Android games to Windows in 2022
Meta opens up access to its VR social platform Horizon Worlds
Apple’s AR headset reportedly uses 3D sensors for hand tracking
Your LG TV can now play Google Stadia if it’s running webOS 5.0 or later
Matter could bring universal casting that actually works
Roku settles YouTube dispute and locks down apps in ‘multi-year’ deal
Spotify removes popular comedians’ content over royalties dispute
Apple Music’s voice plan likely to launch with iOS 15.2
Sonos now supports Amazon Music’s Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos tracks
Google Pixel’s lock screen Snapchat shortcut is here
Google releases first Android 12L beta for large-screen devices
Google Pixel mail-in repairs have allegedly twice resulted in leaked pics and a privacy nightmare
5G now means some flights won’t be able to land when pilots can’t see the runway
Jessica Rosenworcel confirmed by Senate to lead the FCC
Verizon might be collecting your browsing history and here’s how to stop it
Sonos announces plans to make its products more efficient and repairable
Instagram head says it’s bringing back the chronological feed
The vice president should not be using Bluetooth headphones
Kickstarter says it’s switching to crowdfunding via the blockchain
Epic v. Apple ruling put on hold after appeals court grants a stay