PodcastsGadgetsTechThe AI is in the computerOn The Vergecast: Alexa Tablets, Googlebooks, HomePads, and other ideas.On The Vergecast: Alexa Tablets, Googlebooks, HomePads, and other ideas.by David PierceOct 9, 2026, 3:10 PM UTCShareGiftDavid Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.It’s gadget season, and a lot of companies are launching a lot of new products. But whether it’s Microsoft dropping a high-end laptop, Amazon shipping a fancy Android tablet, or Apple diving headlong into the smart home, the actual strategy appears to be almost always the same. All these companies believe AI assistants and agents are the future of computing, and they’re building devices that put them front and center.On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay dig into all this new hardware to figure out whether any of it has the right take on AI. (Or if “the AI should run the computer” is even the right idea in the first place.) They discuss Amazon’s ambitions to be a maker of great hardware, Microsoft’s powerful new take on Surface, and even whether Googlebooks can be the AI-centric future of laptops.After all the hardware talk, it’s time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, some talk about the Paramount / Warner acquisition and what it means for the streaming landscape, the dream of “intelligent UI,” and more.
Watch | Listen | Get ad-freeIn case you missed it this week: We also talked about vibe-coded apps, our relationships with AI agents, the state of the headphone market, and lessons from a year of Alexa Plus. And we want to hear all your thoughts about all of it! Call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, send us an email at vergecast@theverge.com, and tell us everything that’s on your mind. And make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!P.S., We’d love for you to vote for us in the Signal Awards!
Thanks in advance.Vote Decoder: Best Business PodcastVote Vergecast: Best Technology PodcastVote Version History: Best History PodcastFollow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.David PierceAmazonGadgetsMicrosoftPodcastsTechVergecastMost PopularAnthropic bans ‘abusive or cruel behavior’ toward ClaudeGTA VI leaks continue with a lengthy (and very nude) gameplay videoApple announces surprise ‘Welcome home’ launch eventHands-on with Amazon’s Alexa Tablet 12 Pro and its wild new matte displayAmazon is phasing out Fire Tablets because they weren’t ‘giving customers what they were asking for’Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
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