Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast, where co-hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn discuss the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories.

This week on The Vergecast, Nilay and Dieter start the show with Verge managing editor Alex Cranz to discuss Google’s surprise preview of its next phone — the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro — along with a new custom-designed Tensor processor. The crew gives their first impressions of Google’s take on an “ultra high end” phone.

In the second half of the show, Verge policy editor Russell Brandom reports back from a briefing call with Apple about its new system meant to detect child abuse imagery by scanning photos stored on iPhones and iCloud. The Vergecast crew discusses how secure this method is and the precedent it sets.

You can listen to the full discussion here or in your preferred podcast player.

Stories discussed in this episode:

• Vaccine carrots only got us so far — now, it’s time for sticks
• New York Auto Show canceled as delta variant spreads
• NYC’s Key vaccination requirement for indoor dining can be met with an app
• Yelp will let businesses list their vaccination policies 
• Moderna says a third shot of its COVID-19 vaccine may be needed to protect against variants
• This is the Pixel 6, Google’s take on an ‘ultra high end’ phone
• Google’s Tensor chip is only the first step toward truly great Pixel phones
• Apple will reportedly scan photos stored on iPhones and iCloud for child abuse imagery
• Apple reveals new efforts to fight child abuse imagery
• Google’s new Nest cameras and doorbell have lower prices and more smarts
• Oppo announces ‘next-generation’ under-display selfie camera
• Here’s a closer look at Apple’s canceled AirPower wireless charger
• Apple updates Mac Pro GPUs with new AMD Radeon options
• You can get a Touch ID-equipped Magic Keyboard without buying a whole iMac now
• Elon Musk and Apple deny wild story that he tried to replace Tim Cook 
• Facebook can project your eyes onto a VR headset, and it’s exactly as uncanny as it sounds
• NYT crossword puzzle no longer works in third-party apps, crosses puzzle solvers
• HBO Max is getting its own exclusive podcasts, starting with Batman
• AT&T has officially spun off DirecTV, which is now its own business
• T-Mobile confirms it will shut down Sprint’s LTE network next year