The Engadget Podcast

Xbox's leadership shakeup + Samsung's Galaxy S26 is here

The Engadget Podcast

Show Notes

This week, we're diving into the big changes at Xbox and what it all means for Microsoft's gaming future. Phil Spencer, the longtime face of Xbox, announced he's retiring last week. He'll be replaced by Microsoft's former CoreAI CEO Asha Sharma, instead of his longtime deputy Sarah Bond, who plans to leave the company. Will this change actually help the beleaguered Xbox division, or is it another example of Microsoft shoving AI into everything?

Also, Samsung held its latest Galaxy Unpacked event this week to announce its new Galaxy S26 family. They look pretty much the same as last year, but the Ultra model includes a unique privacy feature that can instantly make the screen unreadable to bystanders. It's one of those features we expect to see in every phone eventually.

Xbox leadership falls apart. what happens next with Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond out? – 1:53

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked: Privacy display on the S26 Ultra looks amazing – 27:27

U.S. Defense leadership gives Anthropic a Friday deadline to let it use Claude as it sees fit – 42:38

MrBeast editor accused of insider trading on Kalshi – 50:40

Discord delays age verification program after user revolt – 54:09

Around Engadget – 1:04:04

Working on – 1:05:16

Pop culture picks – 1:08:21

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

More from The Engadget Podcast

Oct 21, 2026

Engadget Podcast host Cherlynn Low is joined by Michael Fisher (MrMobile) to talk about what it's like to review the iPhone Duo after years of testing Android foldables. They also confess their tech sins and bad habits.

Sep 10, 2026

Are the iPhone Duo and Apple's Audio Intelligence features thoughtful or thoughtless? Engadget's executive editor Cherlynn Low is joined by guests Julian Chokkattu from Wired and Michael Fisher (aka MrMobile) to talk about the company's most impactful announcements this week.

Sep 9, 2026

We’re back with a recap of Apple’s iPhone Duo launch event! In this episode, Devindra and Engadget Senior Reporter Karissa Bell break down their thoughts on Apple’s first foldable, and how the company is building on a form factor that Samsung pioneered. Also, we dive into the curious case of the iPhone 18 Pro, which has a new variable aperture camera, but will likely be overshadowed this year by the Duo.

Aug 7, 2026

It's rare for tech companies to get a second chance at life, but that's the story of the VR exercise platform Supernatural. After Meta announced that it planned to shut down the exercise app, Supernatural revealed that it will be relaunching later this year as an independent company. To figure out what's next for Supernatural, we talked with one of its founding coaches and Head of Fitness, Leanne Pedante.

Jul 22, 2026

On this special episode, Cherlynn is joined by editor-in-chief Aaron Souppouris and Cherlynn Low to break down Samsung's announcements at Unpacked 2026. Mostly we felt like everything costs too much in 2026 and best practices for these hardware launch windows.

See all episodes →