Podcasts /VergecastWhy Apple is trying to save GoogleOn The Vergecast: Antitrust antics, the new Surfaces, and Netflix goes TikTok.On The Vergecast: Antitrust antics, the new Surfaces, and Netflix goes TikTok.by David PierceMay 9, 2025, 12:58 PM UTCLinkFacebookThreadsDavid 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.Google is in antitrust court, fighting to preserve the search engine business that has made it so historically successful. At a few different moments through the various stages of the trial, high-powered executives from Apple have taken the stand — and largely taken Google’s side. Just this week, Apple’s Eddy Cue made the case that Google is actually in a hugely competitive market, is no longer the unstoppable force it once was, and should be largely left alone.If it seems odd that Apple and Google would be aligned, here’s a number to keep in mind: 20,000,000,000. That’s how many dollars Google pays Apple every year, as part of a revenue-sharing deal that makes Google the default search engine in Safari. Even as Cue talks about Google searches going down in Safari, and how AI might cannibalize search and the iPhone and everything, it’s important to keep that $20 billion paycheck in mind.Subscribe: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Pocket Casts | MoreOn this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay, David, and The Verge’s Richard Lawler discuss Cue’s testimony, what it means that Google searches are going down in Safari, and whether the whole “AI chat will replace search” thing is actually real. We also talk about some of the other antitrust news of the week, from Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri’s comments in the Meta trial to the quickly changing App Store marketplace.After all the monopoly talk, we turn to gadgets. Meta is working on adding facial recognition to smart glasses, which is either awesome or terrifying and actually probably both. Apple’s rumored foldable phone could be coming next year, and it might make the iPhone lineup very complicated. And Microsoft has a couple of new Surfaces, which look really nice. But we still have a couple of questions.Finally, in the lightning round, it’s time for another edition of Brendan Carr is a Dummy. Because Brendan gonna Brendan. After that, we talk about the latest in robot lawnmowers, some new Netflix updates, and a very important update on party speakers.If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, first on antitrust things:Eddy Cue is fighting to save Apple’s $20 billion paycheck from GoogleApple’s Eddy Cue: ‘You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now’Google searches are falling in Safari for the first time ever — probably because of AIApple is looking at adding Perplexity and other AI search engines to SafariDOJ’s proposed Google changes would ‘deeply undermine user trust,’ search chief saysDOJ asks court to split up Google’s ad tech empireInstagram CEO testifies about competing with TikTok: ‘You’re either growing, or you’re slowly dying’Threads was originally going to live inside the Instagram appAnd in gadgets:Meta’s new AI glasses could have a ‘super-sensing’ mode with facial recognitionApple ‘iPhone Air’ rumor suggests a bigger screen coming in 2027Apple may stagger next year’s iPhones to make way for a foldableMicrosoft’s smaller Surface Pro has a 12-inch display and starts at $799Microsoft shrinks its Surface Laptop down to 13 inches, priced at $899Microsoft’s new Surface devices ditch magnetic charging port for USB-CHow Microsoft shrunk its Surface devicesAnd in the lightning round:From Bloomberg: FCC’s Brendan Carr Calls for Spectrum, AI Leadership in China RaceFrom The American Enterprise Institute: Policing News, Policing DEI: The FCC’s Shifting Priorities Erode Its CredibilityNetflix is getting a big TV revampNetflix will try a TikTok-like feed on its mobile appI put four robot lawnmowers through a brutal backyard battleSee More: AppleEntertainmentGoogleMetaPodcastsPolicyStreamingTechVergecastMost PopularMost PopularYou can now submit your claims for Apple’s $95 million Siri spying settlementNetflix is removing Black Mirror: BandersnatchWhoop wants everyone to give a whoop about the new Whoop 5.0Bill Gates tears into Elon Musk for being ‘involved in the deaths of the world’s poorest children’Palworld had to remove game features because of Nintendo lawsuitInstallerA weekly newsletter by David Pierce designed to tell you everything you need to download, watch, read, listen to, and explore that fits in The Verge’s universe.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
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