Apple Homeview, Microsoft Surface Ultra, Fitbit Edge. It's TECHtober.
Ask about WVFRM Podcast
Episode Description
Gadgets, gadgets and more gadgets. TECHtober is heating up and we have Marques, Andrew and David talking about the Apple Homeview and other smart home products, the Microsoft Surface Ultra, and the Fitbit Edge.
Chapters 0:00 - Intro 05:14 - Apple Homeview 26:55 - Homeview Commercial Cringe 34:01 - Apple x LG Smarthome Accessories 56:27 - Jira (Sponsored) 57:14 - Pipedrive (Sponsored) 58:24 - Microsoft Surface Ultra 1:12:37 - Framer (Sponsored) 1:13:43 - Shopify (Sponsored) 1:14:43 - Fitbit Edge 1:24:40 - Trivia
Links: Homeview Impressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVv3mQzlrN0&t=411s Introducing Surface Ultra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm6VQgCkj20 Fitbit Edge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYGP8HQp-c0
This episode brought to you by: Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/waveform Framer: https://www.framer.com/wave Jira: https://www.jira.com Pipedrive: https://www.pipedrive.com/waveform
Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/mkbhd
Intro/Outro music by 20syl: https://bit.ly/2S53xlC
Waveform is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Brief Summary
Waveform reviews Apple’s new smart home lineup, Microsoft’s RTX Spark Surface laptop, and Fitbit Edge, with plenty of debate over price and design.
Key points
- Windows update deletes Wi-Fi. A Windows update uninstalls the laptop’s network adapter, then recommends downloading its driver from the internet. The experience leaves the host wondering whether Wi-Fi exists at all.
- A smart home screen that knows you. Home View uses facial recognition and nearby Apple devices to identify household members and show personal messages, calendars, and other context. It can switch between up to six users.
- A Home Display Without an App Store. The hosts describe the product as part computer, part ambient display, and part Siri device—but note that it has no app store and limited approved apps.
- A Family Ad With Divorce Energy. The hosts pick apart the commercial’s awkward moments, from the family’s tense interactions to the husband’s strange reaction to a date-night reminder.
- A camera that looks away. The indoor camera tilts down when it’s not in use, a privacy-minded touch the hosts appreciate. Its conspicuous design, though, sparks a debate about whether Apple understands home aesthetics.
- Smart home, premium prices. Apple’s new home devices offer familiar smart-home features, but the hosts keep coming back to how expensive and metallic they feel.
Episode highlights
- Windows update deletes Wi-FiA Windows update uninstalls the laptop’s network adapter, then recommends downloading its driver from the internet. The experience leaves the host wondering whether Wi-Fi exists at all.“Here's the link to download it from the internet.”3:12Oct 16, 2026
- A smart home screen that knows youHome View uses facial recognition and nearby Apple devices to identify household members and show personal messages, calendars, and other context. It can switch between up to six users.11:47Oct 16, 2026
- A Home Display Without an App StoreThe hosts describe the product as part computer, part ambient display, and part Siri device—but note that it has no app store and limited approved apps.“It's like half computer, half sort of ambient computing device, half Siri AI device.”19:59Oct 16, 2026
- A Family Ad With Divorce EnergyThe hosts pick apart the commercial’s awkward moments, from the family’s tense interactions to the husband’s strange reaction to a date-night reminder.“They were going to divorce to be honest.”30:56Oct 16, 2026
- A camera that looks awayThe indoor camera tilts down when it’s not in use, a privacy-minded touch the hosts appreciate. Its conspicuous design, though, sparks a debate about whether Apple understands home aesthetics.“It makes it so nobody feels like something could just be watching them without their knowledge.”36:15Oct 16, 2026
- Smart home, premium pricesApple’s new home devices offer familiar smart-home features, but the hosts keep coming back to how expensive and metallic they feel.“Everything is just like 20% more expensive than you expect.”41:08Oct 16, 2026
- Apple’s smart-home lineup comes with sticker shockThe hosts question the prices of Apple’s new home products, joking that a full smart-home setup could cost around $2,000. They also wonder whether the products feel halfbaked despite their ecosystem ambitions.“everything feels a little halfbaked.”51:12Oct 16, 2026
- A $900 HomePod surround-sound setupOne host argues that Apple TV 4K and four HomePod minis could make an easy-to-set-up surround-sound system. The others point out that the setup still costs about $900.“That's a hard thing. Like, you can't really buy that.”54:55Oct 16, 2026
