Valve made Microsoft's dream console

The console wars are back on. This week, Nilay Patel sits down with Jake Kastrenakes, Sean Hollister, and special guest Joanna Stern, senior columnist at The Wall Street Journal, to talk about Valve's return to the living room gaming race with the Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame VR headset. Then, Joanna discusses her time putting the Neo robot to the test and seeing whether it's capable of loading a dishwasher. Finally, it's time for the Lightning Round, where the crew is talking the YouTube/Disney spat, Apple's new mini apps, and letting Waymo speed down the highway. Further reading: Our first look at the Steam Machine, Valve’s ambitious new game console  Valve enters the console wars  Valve just built the Xbox that Microsoft is dreaming of  Valve’s new Steam Controller might be my dream controllerThe Steam Frame is a surprising new twist on VR  Steam Machines have returned: all the news about Valve’s new hardware universe  The Steam Frame has two speakers on each side of your face for vibration cancellation  Valve’s new VR streaming trick won’t just work with its own headset  How the Steam Frame compares to other VR headsets  Valve thinks Arm has ‘potential’ for SteamOS handhelds, laptops, and more  Valve is welcoming Android games into Steam  Valve has stopped manufacturing its Index VR headset Valve has no news about Steam Deck 2 — because it’s still waiting for the right chip  We tried Valve’s new VR headset, PC, and controller — ask us anything!  I Tried the First Humanoid Home Robot. It Got Weird Know Your Meme  1X Neo is a $20,000 home robot that will learn chores via teleoperation  Meet NEO, the AI-Driven Robot That’s Coming to Lend a Hand Around the House — for a Steep Price The Problem with this Humanoid Robot Samsung brings a generative AI-powered Bixby to its TVs  Gemini for TV is coming to Google TV Streamer starting today  Google says its confusing Gemini Home rollout is going just great  Google Photos lets iPhone users edit images by describing changes  Disney is losing over $4 million a day in revenue on the YouTube TV blackout Disney is “trying really hard” to get ESPN back on YouTube TV Peyton and Eli Manning Drop the Ball, Embarrass Themselves With Bob Iger Interview Apple made a $230 crossbody… sock  Steve Jobs introduces iPod socks in 2004 Mini apps Apple will take a mini commission from mini app developers ⁠Amazon is cracking down on illegal streaming on its Fire TV Stick ⁠ Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [e-mail] or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices