Why Google and Epic are suddenly BFFs | The Vergecast

While most phone makers work hard to ensure their products don’t start fires, Oukitel made a phone that starts fires on purpose. This week on The Vergecast, Dominic Preston joins Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel to wrap up all the weird and wonderful phones he and the team saw at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Then, Sean Hollister takes us through Google and Epic’s enemies-to-lovers saga: A secret $800 million deal, a non-disparagement agreement, and something about the metaverse for some reason. Plus: Nilay just had the best home movie experience of his life thanks to the Kaleidescape 8TB solid-state server, Dom’s charging his smart phone on a mini racecar, and Sean delivers some disappointing news about the Lego smart brick we were all rooting for. And Brendan Carr is still being a dummy. #Vergecast #Technology #Podcast Season 3 of Version History starts March 8th! Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/4rRS30p 0:00 Welcome And Lineup 00:44 Big Week Preview 01:33 World News Note 02:29 Version History Teaser 04:08 Kaleidescape First Impressions 09:00 Why Bitrate Matters 12:41 Price And Quirks 16:33 MWC Phones Get Weird 17:24 Camping Phone Lighter 21:12 Honor Robot Gimbal Phone 25:48 Gimbal Versus Software 29:15 Tougher Foldables Talk 30:40 Xiaomi 17 Goes Global 31:37 Leica Phone Gimmicks 33:07 Leica Fans and Logos 35:12 Vivo Cinema Rig Push 38:33 Tecno Magnetic Modularity 41:29 Lenovo Port Modules 44:01 Nothing Phone Design Shift 52:22 Google Epic Settlement 57:49 Fees Billing and Metaverse 01:04:05 Android Definition and Aluminum 01:08:01 US vs World Argument 01:08:34 Google Control vs Apple 01:10:10 Android Fragmentation Revisited 01:11:18 MWC Google Absence 01:15:08 Lightning Round Begins 01:15:40 Brendan Carr Call Centers 01:21:18 Plastic Brick Compactor 01:25:36 Racing Car Charger 01:29:49 Kobo Remote Surprise 01:31:34 Lego Smart Brick Reality 01:37:02 War Footage as Gameplay 01:40:28 Ticketmaster Monopoly Trial 01:42:54 Wrap Up and Subscribe Subscribe: http://goo.gl/G5RXGs Like The Verge on Facebook: https://goo.gl/2P1aGc Follow on Twitter: https://goo.gl/XTWX61 Follow on Instagram: https://goo.gl/7ZeLv Watch The Vergecast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/40RFRkg The Vergecast Podcast: https://bit.ly/3WQDexZ Decoder with Nilay Patel: http://apple.co/3v29nDc More about our podcasts: https://www.theverge.com/podcasts Read More: http://www.theverge.com Community guidelines: http://bit.ly/2D0hlAv Wallpapers from The Verge: https://bit.ly/2xQXYJr Shop our Verge merch store here: https://bit.ly/4kPCmEc Subscribe to The Verge: https://bit.ly/3FT6n5S If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may receive a commission without exerting any influence on editorial content. For more information about our ethics policy, visit: https://bit.ly/3ZWTlLs