Hello! I’m here from the future, and I have some news that might just blow your mind. 12 months from now, all the Big Tech CEOs are still in their jobs, everybody’s using folding phones, Apple made a TV, and Nvidia is the most valuable company in the universe’s history. Sounds like a wild year, doesn’t it? Or maybe not? Time travel has a way of messing with your memory.
The Vergecast: A 2025 Preview
This episode marks the second installment of our two-part 2025 preview series on The Vergecast. In this episode, we delve into some seriously iffy storylines from the end of 2025. Our resident time traveler, David, brings us some big stories that either did or didn’t happen in the year to come. Nilay Patel and Wall Street Journal columnist Joanna Stern join forces to help figure out what’s real and what isn’t.
The Big Questions
Will someone really buy Snap? Is GTA VI going to be the biggest game ever? Will Bluesky continue to ascend and leave Threads in its wake? Nobody knows yet, not even the time traveler. But we have some thoughts and ideas that might just change your perspective on these predictions.
The Scoring System
As we did last week, we’re keeping score. Here’s how it works: each host has to decide, for each 2025 news story, whether it’ll be real or not by the end of the year. Every correct guess earns you a point; every incorrect guess costs you one. At the end of the year, we’ll total the scores, combine them with last week’s guesses, and buy the winner the coolest gadget of 2025, whatever that turns out to be.
Our Predictions
Don’t read ahead until you’ve listened to or watched the episode, but for your information, here are our predictions:
Big Tech CEOs
- Tim Cook is still the CEO of Apple. In fact, all four Big Tech CEOs are the same.
- Nilay: Yes
- Joanna: Yes
- David: Yes
Nvidia’s Dominance
- Nvidia is the most valuable company in the world.
- Nilay: No
- Joanna: Yes
- David: Yes
The Acquisition of Snap
- Somebody acquired Snap.
- All: No
OpenAI’s Status
- OpenAI is officially a for-profit company.
- All: Yes
- OpenAI is a profitable company.
- All: No
Government Intervention
- The government is breaking up one of the big tech companies.
- Nilay: Yes
- David: Yes
- Joanna: No
AI Scandals
- We’ve had a huge, society-sized AI scandal.
- All: Yes
Streaming Services
- One or more of Max, Paramount Plus, and Peacock no longer exists.
- All: Yes
Netflix’s Live Content
- Netflix’s live stuff is working, and it basically killed cable already.
- All: No
GTA VI’s Success
- GTA VI is a huge, giant, smashing success.
- Nilay: Yes
- David: Yes
- Joanna: No
Folding Phones
- Folding phones are legit mainstream now.
- All: No
Android Phone Sales
- The Pixel 10 is by far the best and most successful Android phone.
- All: No
Nintendo Switch’s Performance
- The Nintendo Switch came out, and it’s kind of a dud.
- All: No
Apple’s TV Venture
- Apple is actually making a TV.
- Nilay: No
- Joanna: No
- David: Yes
Alexa’s Popularity
- The new Alexa? It’s sick. Everybody’s using it.
- Nilay: No
- Joanna: No
- David: Yes
Waymo’s Moment in the Spotlight
- Waymo’s currently having its big moment.
- Joanna: Yes
- Nilay: No
- David: No
Bluesky and Threads
- BlueSky is more relevant than Threads.
- All: Yes
- BlueSky is actually as big as Threads.
- All: No
Apple’s Search Engine
- Apple launched a search engine.
- Nilay: Yes
- Joanna: Yes
- David: No
