The Vergecast dives into the heated debate around Valve's new Steam Machine living room console. Sean Hollister joins to break down the polarized reaction to The Verge's review—some call it the console they've been waiting for, others call it overpriced and pointless. The conversation wrestles with whether Valve's history of hardware experiments makes the Steam Machine more or less trustworthy, how to evaluate its price, and who the device is really designed for. The crew also briefly touches on a few other tech stories of the week.
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Highlights
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Mixed reception of Valve's Steam Machine
The Steam Machine review has sparked two opposing camps: those who think it's the console they've been waiting for, and those who see it as too expensive and pointless.
The hosts and guest discussed whether Valve's history of hardware experiments should make people more confident or more skeptical about the Steam Machine.
The episode briefly touched on a few other tech stories, including third-party Android app stores, a rumored OpenAI smart speaker, and the Apple-OpenAI dispute.