The Engadget Podcast

For obvious reasons, Twitter users are leaving en masse and heading to Bluesky, its most prominent decentralized competitor. In this episode, we discuss why Bluesky now feels like the best of early Twitter, filled with vibrant conversations and people discovering a new social network filled with useful features (like serious blocking and content filtering). And of course, the lack of an algorithmic feed surely helps. Also, we chat with Justin Hendrix from Tech Policy Press about how Elon Musk has become a crucial ally to the upcoming Trump administration.  Bluesky ascendent: the federated platform could actually be the next Twitter – 2:22Musk cozies up to President-elect Trump, could a Department of Government Efficiency be next? – 23:37Interview with Justin Hendrix, founder of Tech Policy Press, on Trump and Musk – 31:50The Onion buys InfoWars with plans to turn the brand into gun control satire – 48:02LG Display’s stretchy new screen – 54:34The Beatles have been nominated for two Grammys with the help of AI – 56:50Goodbye: AOL voiceover Elwood Edwards has died – 58:29Working on – 1:00:11Pop culture picks – 1:02:38 

In this episode, Devindra and producer Ben Ellman recover from the election by discussing our final thoughts on the PlayStation 5 Pro, as well as Apple’s M4 Mac mini (so cute, so powerful!) and new MacBook Pros. The M4 chip is a solid upgrade, but the M4 Pro is shockingly fast (so much so that it outscored every other system we reviewed this year in Geekbench). PlayStation 5 Review: Your Mac mini M4 Pro Review: Phenomenal power with a tiny footprint – 16:51MacBook Pro M4 and M4 Pro Review: Maintaining and extending Apple’s premium laptop dominance – 31:15NYT tech guild on strike made their own games you can play without crossing their digital picket line – 38:28Pop culture picks – 43:25    

It's been a Mac-heavy week! In this episode, Devindra and producer Ben Ellman dive into all of Apple's new M4 hardware: the new iMac, Mac mini and refreshed Macbook Pros. The Mac mini, in particular, looks like it'll be a huge hit for anyone who needs a simple desktop system. Also, we dive into why Apple is pushing for every Mac to get 16GB of RAM at a minimum. That will benefit all users, even if they don't care about Apple Intelligence.Unofficial Mac Week: Apple announces M4 Pro and M4 Max chips in refreshed iMac, Mac Mini, and Macbook Pro models – 0:58Regulators force Lyft to tell U.S. drivers accurate numbers of how much money they’ll make – 45:30AP report: OpenAI’s Whisper transcription model invents parts of audio transcripts – 49:06AOC and Tim Walz streamed Crazy Taxi on Twitch – 53:11McDonalds can finally repair their own McFlurry machines in significant win for Right to repair – 55:54Around Engadget – 59:45Pop culture picks – 1:03:42 

We finally got an iPad Mini refresh, and it's not particularly exciting. But that's fine! It's still a useful little tablet, and now thanks to the A17 Pro chip, it's already ready for upcoming Apple Intelligence features. In this episode, Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham joins to discuss what he liked about the new iPad Mini, and what he hopes Apple will eventually fix in future models. Also, we chat about Netflix abandoning its AAA game studio, and why over 10,500 artists signed a letter against AI training. The refreshed iPad Mini is playing it safe and that’s totally fine – 0:58Netflix closes Team Blue, its attempt at a AAA game studio – 24:16Over 10,000 of the world’s top artists sign a letter protesting AI training using their work – 28:27X Terms of Service changes on account blocking, AI training spurs a fresh wave of Bluesky signups – 30:07Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica) chosen to helm Amazon’s God of War series – 38:35Working on – 42:11Pop culture picks – 43:17