Hotline: Folding phones in cars, EVs in Mexico | The Vergecast
What this video is
⚡ a 29-minute video, readable in 60 secondsThis is a Verge Cast hotline episode where transportation editor Andrew Hawkins answers listener car questions, with additional co-host commentary, following a '90 Seconds on the Verge' news segment hosted by Josh Cajas. The questions clustered around foldable phones as in-car devices, phone wireless charging problems, CarPlay versus native navigation, and why car companies vertically integrate manufacturing instead of using off-the-shelf parts. The episode took listener questions from at least three named callers (Brandon, Maxwell, and Jason) plus an anonymous listener.
Q (~00:42): Josh Cajas hosts a '90 Seconds on the Verge' news segment for Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026, covering Meta, Discord, and McDonald's news items.
Key takeaways
- A: Meta is expected to announce new smart glasses at its MetaConnect event starting 7 p.m. Eastern, with live blogging on The Verge, and Meta's Reality Labs division has taken over $80 billion in operating losses over the last five years (~00:47, ~01:07).
- A: Discord will now automatically estimate users' age groups starting today using signals like account age, history, and connected communities, following a botched February verification rollout that caused a data breach; Discord anticipates 90% of users won't be asked to confirm their age under the new system (~01:16, ~01:39).
- A: According to Bloomberg, McDonald's is piloting ads from other brands on digital drive-thru menu boards shown after customers place orders (~01:52).
- Q (~04:20): Listener Brandon asks whether the Galaxy Z Fold's unfolding form factor could be useful as a control console in the Slate truck.
+ 14 more takeaways
- A: Andrew Hawkins explains the Slate Truck is a new electric truck currently in production that strips out everything possible from an EV, including power windows, internal screen, and radio, but keeps HVAC and a steering wheel, to bring down cost (~05:39).
- A: Andrew Hawkins agrees a foldable phone like the Z Fold could work as a mounted dashboard device in the Slate truck since it's built as a bring-your-own-device vehicle, comparing it to how Uber drivers commonly mount their phones on the dashboard (~07:14).
- Q (~08:42): Maxwell writes in that his Tesla's built-in wireless charger no longer works well because his 17 Pro Max's camera bump lifts the phone too high off the charger.
- A: The host says the camera bump makes the charging pad work harder to deliver charge, which is what really heats up the phone, and notes Tesla has a decent angled charging solution though the camera bump makes it a less flat fit (~10:40, ~11:54).
- Q (~12:38): An anonymous listener says they don't care about Apple CarPlay itself, only about good maps, citing a terrible paid map subscription in a new Toyota Land Cruiser.
- A: The hosts respond that Verge surveys show CarPlay is actually the number one thing readers care about in their cars (~13:31).
- A: The hosts note GM, Volvo, and Polestar use Google built-in, Ford announced it will directly integrate Apple Maps into future vehicles, and a native nav system can show remaining EV charge at destination better than a phone-mirrored system (~14:06, ~14:16, ~15:28).
- Q (~19:24): A caller named Jason from Nova Scotia asks why no car company assembles vehicles from off-the-shelf parts instead of vertically integrating everything.
- A: The host explains Fisker, founded by Henrik Fisker, went bankrupt after building only one car (the Ocean), attributed to the pandemic, chip shortages, and supply chain disruptions plus trying to do too much in-house like Tesla's model (~21:00, ~21:45).
- A: The host notes Rivian vertically integrates by designing its own software, chips, and motors, but still sources battery cells from China and has outside fabs manufacture its chips, and that companies vertically integrate to eventually control revenue and profits rather than depend on suppliers (~22:26, ~23:41).
- A: The host cites low-speed golf-cart-style EV companies like Amble and Chip taking the off-the-shelf approach, with Amble contracting Magna, described as one of the top companies in contract manufacturing, for parts and assembly (~23:50, ~24:29).
- A: The host adds that small startups can't build their own huge vehicle manufacturing factory the way Rivian did, and cites BYD launching its first pickup truck, the BYD Shark, in Mexico before China (~24:38, ~26:12).
- Recurring concern: multiple askers (Brandon and Maxwell) raised how phones, foldable or with large camera bumps, physically interact with in-car hardware like mounts and wireless chargers.
- Quote (~11:54, host): "no automaker has really figured out a good place to put a plugged-in phone."
How this brief was shaped: AMA / Q&A · confidence Medium
Opening explicitly frames the episode as a hotline segment answering listener-submitted questions about cars, and the sample transcript shows the host directly responding to a specific listener question about in-car infotainment. The early news brief segment (90 Seconds on the Verge) is a distinct short intro, not the organizing spine of the episode.
The lens sets this brief's structure, never its facts — every claim is held to the same citation and fact-check standard.
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