In 2024, it’s always gadget season. But in these hot mid-July weeks, after splashy announcements from Samsung and Motorola and before we see what’s coming from Google and Apple, it’s officially Weird Gadget Season.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we dive into the many weird gadgets that surfaced this week: an iPod-y Apple Watch accessory, an AI-powered Canon camera, the extremely tall Essential phone that never made it to market, and more. We talk about them all, always asking the important question: is this anything?

But before we get to the weird gadgets, we go through some of the big news of the week. After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the current state of social media content moderation has revealed itself... and it’s pretty bleak. We talk about what it means that conspiracy theories are everywhere and whether that’s going to change anytime soon.

After that, we discuss what’s in the new Apple public betas, from the iPad’s impressive but quirky Math Notes feature to the new Phone Mirroring tool that is both great and sort of ridiculous. Then it’s weird gadget time.

After all that, it’s time for the lightning round, in which we discuss Comcast’s new and somewhat underwhelming 4K streaming, Sling’s new and somewhat underwhelming 4K streaming, and Sam Altman’s $27 million house disaster.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with the aftermath of the Trump shooting:

• Shooting conspiracies trend on X as Musk endorses Trump
• The FBI said it found the Trump rally shooter’s Steam account, then took it back
• The Trump rally shooter had a Discord account, company says
• The Trump rally shooting is a cash cow for the dropshippers 
• The FBI says it has ‘gained access’ to the Trump rally shooter’s phone

And on Apple betas:

• Apple’s public betas: all the news on iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and more
• Apple is finally embracing Android’s chaos
• RCS in iOS 18: Apple’s new messaging standard almost solves the green-button problem
• Testing Math Notes and the Calculator app in iPadOS 18
• Phone mirroring on the Mac: a great way to use your iPhone, but it’s still very much in beta

And in the “is this anything” gadget bonanza:

• Canon’s long-awaited EOS R1 and R5 Mark II have eye-controlled autofocus
• Dyson unmasks its super customizable OnTrac headphones
• A long-delayed hands-on with Essential’s skinny Android phone
• This case turns your Apple Watch into a tiny iPod
• Google solves its Pixel 9 Pro leaks by just showing the phone early
• Leaked photos reveal Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
• The OnePlus Pad 2’s vibrating stylus simulates writing on paper

And in the lightning round:

• Nilay Patel’s pick: Comcast will have high bitrate, low latency 4K feeds of the Olympics
• Alex Cranz’s pick: Sling TV adds 4K streaming for free
• David Pierce’s pick: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s $27 million mansion is a ‘lemon’ with a leaky pool, lawsuit alleges