The iPhone Duo should have been an iPad

Podcasts AI Tech The iPhone Duo should have been an iPad On The Vergecast: Notes on an iPhone Duo review, a PHP scandal, Brendan Carr, and more.

On The Vergecast: Notes on an iPhone Duo review, a PHP scandal, Brendan Carr, and more.

David Pierce Oct 23, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC Link Share Gift David 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. We gave the iPhone Duo a 7 /10 . But that wasn’t always the score we planned, and it might not be the right score forever. Such are the challenges of reviewing — and assessing — a big, new idea about the most popular smartphone in history.

On this episode of The Vergecast , David and Nilay debate whether the Duo deserved the score it got, and try to work through how this device might change over time. Is the outer screen, as Daring Fireball’s John Gruber suggested, the worst iPhone ever ? Would it be a better product if it started as an iPad rather than an iPhone? Would we feel differently about this thing if it were simply called the iPad Duo? It’s easy to see how the Duo will improve over time, but will it ever be the phone for everyone?

After that, the hosts talk about the huge PHP cybersecurity flaw that rocked the web this week and what it means for the future of the web, AI, and everything. It was a strange week for the web in general, as the ongoing increase in AI shopping has forced retailers everywhere to figure out how they want to interact with customers — and by customers, we mean Muse agents . Then it’s time for Brendan Carr Is a Dummy, an impending reboot inside of Netflix , and some very confusing Gemini news .

In case you missed it this week: We also talked about vibe-coding creators , chaos in the AI math world , and the flying Tesla Roadster . And we want to hear all your thoughts about all of it! Call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, send us an email at vergecast@theverge.com, and tell us everything that’s on your mind. And make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!

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Fuente: The Verge