Vergecast digs into the iPhone 18 Pro's camera and the state of AI safety

This week's episode of The Verge's podcast Vergecast focuses heavily on the iPhone 18 Pro's camera. Hosts are joined by David Imel and Allison Johnson for a detailed breakdown of what's new in the phone's photography capabilities.

Variable aperture and software gains

The headline feature is the variable aperture on the main lens, which can be opened wider for better low-light photos or narrowed for improved depth of field in group shots. Yet according to the discussion, the software upgrades turn out to be far more useful in daily use than the aperture itself on a camera this small. The conversation also covers the camera app's new manual controls, the updated imaging pipeline, and improvements to ProRAW.

AI safety debate

In the second segment, Hayden Field joins to discuss where the AI safety conversation currently stands. The topic has resurfaced after an Anthropic researcher quit his job specifically to warn about the dangers of AI. The discussion notes that prospects for policy solutions appear to have stalled. The hosts examine whether the likely near-term approach — embedding third-party evaluators within major AI labs — actually carries any real enforcement weight, and where the safety debate might head next.

Lightning round

The episode wraps with a rapid-fire segment covering Waymo's ability to call the police, a new ereader from Boox, and a couple of small retro-style cameras.