Gadgets are getting weird — and so are iPhone homescreens

In 2024, it’s always gadget season. But in these hot mid-July weeks, after splashy announcements from Samsung and Motorola and before we see what’s coming from Google and Apple, it’s officially Weird Gadget Season.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we dive into the many weird gadgets that surfaced this week: an iPod-y Apple Watch accessory, an AI-powered Canon camera, the extremely tall Essential phone that never made it to market, and more. We talk about them all, always asking the important question: is this anything?

But before we get to the weird gadgets, we go through some of the big news of the week. After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the current state of social media content moderation has revealed itself... and it’s pretty bleak. We talk about what it means that conspiracy theories are everywhere and whether that’s going to change anytime soon.

After that, we discuss what’s in the new Apple public betas, from the iPad’s impressive but quirky Math Notes feature to the new Phone Mirroring tool that is both great and sort of ridiculous. Then it’s weird gadget time.

After all that, it’s time for the lightning round, in which we discuss Comcast’s new and somewhat underwhelming 4K streaming, Sling’s new and somewhat underwhelming 4K streaming, and Sam Altman’s $27 million house disaster.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with the aftermath of the Trump shooting:

And on Apple betas:

And in the “is this anything” gadget bonanza:

And in the lightning round: