AGI is whatever you want it to be

OpenAI announced its next big model, GPT-6 Astra, and also, by the way, that AGI is here now.
Today on The Vergecast, we've got an all-star panel to break down the news of the week.
First, senior AI reporter Hayden Field joins us to talk about our supposed AGI era and Nvidia's acquisition of Hugging Face. Then, our friend Joanna Stern pops in to talk about new Apple CEO John Ternus, old Apple CEO Tim Cook, and to, most importantly, speculate on the format of next week's Apple keynote.
We wrap things up with a super-special lightning round from the IFA electronics show in Berlin. Senior reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy and editor Dominic Preston each pick out the five most interesting gadgets they saw at the show.
And two more things: Vergecast producer Travis Larchuk pops in to tell his tale of identity theft woe and warn you that he isn't the one DMing you on Twitter to ask you to be on The Vergecast. Plus, Brendan Carr is a dummy.

Further reading:

• OpenAI’s next big AI model has ‘entered the AGI era’ (theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/989601…)

• Researchers fear safety disaster ahead of OpenAI’s Astra release (theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/988334…)

• OpenAI delayed its new model’s development after the Hugging Face hack (theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/987695…)

• Nvidia is buying Hugging Face for almost $13 billion (theverge.com/tech/985474/nvidia-buying-hugging…)

• John Ternus sends first memo as Apple CEO teasing a ‘huge launch next week’ (theverge.com/tech/987583/apple-john-ternus-sta…)

• Phil Schiller is leaving his biggest jobs at Apple (theverge.com/tech/986869/apple-phil-schiller-s…)

• Siri AI is already changing how I use my iPhone (theverge.com/tech/964714/siri-ai-public-beta-p…)

• IFA 2026: the biggest tech and gadget announcements (theverge.com/tech/986178/ifa-2026-the-biggest-…)

• This might be the fanciest toothbrush launch ever. (theverge.com/tech/989467/this-might-be-the-fan…)

• Anker’s new MindBase is an AI-powered brain for your smart home (theverge.com/tech/987936/anker-eufy-mindbase-a…)

• This NAS company wants to run your local smart home (theverge.com/tech/990006/this-nas-company-want…)

• I want to wrap myself in Hue’s new Liane rope lights (theverge.com/tech/989014/philips-hue-liane-360…)

• Homey just made the smart home controller I hoped Apple would (theverge.com/tech/987462/homey-lg-smart-portal…)

• The robot butler dream doesn’t have legs (theverge.com/tech/987756/humanoid-robot-butler…)

• Here’s Xiaomi’s wide 18 Fold (theverge.com/tech/989118/heres-xiaomis-wide-18…)

• I held the first truly bezel-free phone (theverge.com/tech/985009/tecno-bezelless-conce…)

• Acer’s new concept hardware is a gaming handheld with a keyboard (theverge.com/games/988029/acer-project-dualpla…)

• Lenovo’s new MacBook Neo competitor comes in two sizes and seven colors (theverge.com/tech/988765/lenovo-ideapad-vibe-l…)

• Packard Bell is back, and more colorful than ever. (theverge.com/tech/988733/packard-bell-is-back-…)

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0:00 Welcome
00:46 Fake Travis warning
03:01 OpenAI's Astra model
05:45 Safeguards and delays
08:55 Opaque recurrence fears
13:08 What Astra does well
18:08 Access tiers and rollout
19:53 Nvidia buys Hugging Face
23:04 Is this really AGI
26:28 AGI vibes and Microsoft clause
32:17 Apple event preview
33:41 Ternus keynote politics
39:43 Keynote Vibes Shift
40:23 Tim Cook Era Review
44:56 Services And Fees Machine
47:15 Phil Schiller Steps Back
49:52 Event Predictions Fold And AI
55:43 Siri AI Real Use Cases
58:32 Smart Home Display Rumors
59:47 Bets And Keynote Structure
01:05:19 Brendan Carr Is A Dummy
01:09:23 IFA Lightning Round
01:10:49 Philips Hue Smart Lighting
01:11:03 Hue Rope Light Rave
01:11:44 Sticker Shock Pricing
01:13:03 Xiaomi Wide Foldable
01:15:43 Dyson Camera Toothbrush
01:20:31 Tecno Bezelless Concept
01:22:42 Local AI Smart Home Hub
01:27:09 MacBook Neo Clones
01:29:35 Homey Dial Controller
01:33:39 Acer DualPlay Handheld
01:36:19 Dreame Humanoid Robot
01:39:44 Packard Bell Revival
01:42:17 Wrap Up And Credits

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