Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

So, Apple reportedly isn’t paying OpenAI to handle its users’ ChatGPT queries, and OpenAI isn’t paying Apple for its massive distribution. (A billion pockets, y’all!) If that’s the case, what do these two companies get out of their blockbuster partnership for all things iOS and AI? And can OpenAI and Apple actually afford to do this, economically and reputationally? It’s a strange pairing, but it’s coming to a device near you this fall.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk about Bloomberg’s reporting on the business deal behind Apple Intelligence before rolling through some of Apple’s new features that didn’t get much (or any) stage time at WWDC. It’s pretty clear Apple is hoping AI will convince you to buy a new iPhone, but it’s still hard to tell how much better things are about to get.

After we wrap up the WWDC talk, we get to a bunch of gadget news. There’s a new Xbox and a now very obviously forthcoming handheld Xbox. Jabra made cool headphones and then immediately announced it plans to stop making headphones. The Light Phone 3 looks cool, MediaTek is apparently back in the chip race, and a ChromeOS overhaul might be in the works.

Finally, we get into the lightning round, where we talk about a week full of strange Elon Musk news, a new study about how people find news on social media, and the future of one of our favorite movie theaters. Which leads to a long digression on Crackle, because this is The Vergecast and that’s just what happens sometimes.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, first on WWDC:

Apple and OpenAI aren’t paying each other yet, says Bloomberg
MKBHD interviewed Tim Cook.
Tim Cook is ‘not 100 percent’ sure Apple can stop AI hallucinations
The AI upgrade cycle is here
Here’s how Apple’s AI model tries to keep your data private
The best small updates Apple didn’t mention at WWDC

And on all the week’s new gadgets:

Xbox boss: ‘I think we should have a handheld, too’
Microsoft announces a discless Xbox Series X console in white
Xbox chief confirms more games are coming to other platforms
Jabra’s earbuds are going away, but the impact they made isn’t
The best thing about Jabra’s new earbuds is the case
The Light Phone 3 adds a better screen, a camera, and new ways to replace your smartphone
The Windows on Arm chip race heats up with a challenger to Qualcomm
Did startup Flow Computing just make CPUs 100x faster? Here’s the white paper and FAQs
Google is putting more Android in ChromeOS

And in the lightning round:

Nilay Patel’s picks: Elon Musk drops lawsuit against OpenAI and Elon Musk has unusual relationships with women at SpaceX, WSJ reports

David Pierce’s pick: Pew: A growing number of Americans are getting their news from TikTok

Alex Cranz’s pick: Sony buys Alamo Drafthouse Cinema