Google blows up Samsung

Reviews for the Pixel are out, including one from our very own Walt Mossberg. This week on Ctrl-Walt-Delete, Walt and Nilay talk about the phone made by Google and how it ranks up against products by Apple and Samsung. Also, now that Google is making a bunch of hardware with their own software, the idea of brand lock-in is much more real for the consumer.

Lastly, Apple is holding a Mac event next week, so Walt and Nilay speculate about announcements and specs for the long-awaited new laptops.

We love your feedback on the topics of the show and suggestions on how to make our show better and more fun — you can tweet at Walt at @waltmossberg and Nilay at @reckless. And of course, we’d love it if you subscribed in iTunes (here’s the direct RSS feed, if you like), along with The Verge’s other great podcasts like What’s Tech, and The Vergecast. You might also want to check out Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, and Too Embarrassed to Ask featuring The Verge’s Lauren Goode.