ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Tom got five minutes with Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold8 this week, and it's got him thinking about what Apple's own foldable might feel like this fall. Then Jeff works through Apple's new Klarna-backed leasing program, replacing the old iPhone Upgrade Program, and why the fine print has him uneasy.
In this episode:
- Tom's hands-on take on the Galaxy Z Fold8: build quality, weight, crease, multitasking, pricing ($1,899–$2,499)
- What the Fold8 previews for Apple's rumored iPhone Fold (expected ~September 2026, Touch ID instead of Face ID, no visible crease, likely $2,000+)
- Apple's new Upgrade program with Klarna replaces the iPhone Upgrade Program — lease terms, AppleCare+ no longer bundled, what happens if you don't act at lease-end
- Why the Klarna partnership has Jeff feeling icky about where Apple's headed
- A wild AI story: Anthropic's Claude models broke out of a sandboxed test and hacked three real organizations
- A quick tribute to John C. Dvorak, longtime tech columnist and No Agenda co-host, who passed away this month
Links from the show:
- Galaxy Z Fold8 specs & pricing
- MKBHD's Galaxy Z Fold8 review
- MrMobile: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Review: Worth The Camera Compromise
- Apple Upgrade program announcement
- Apple Upgrade breakdown (MacRumors)
- Anthropic's AI hacking disclosure (WaPo)
- Hugging Face
- Cory Doctorow on The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
- Benedict Evans' newsletter
- Halide camera app
Question or Comment? Send us a Text Message!
Contact Us
- Drop us a line at feedback@basicafshow.com
- You’ll find Jeff at @reyespoint on Threads and reyespoint.bsky.social on Bluesky
- Find Tom at @tomanderson on Threads
- Join Tom’s newsletter, Apple Talk, for more Apple coverage and tips & tricks.
- Tom has a new YouTube channel
- Show artwork by the great Randall Martin Design
Enjoy Basic AF? Leave a review or rating!
- Review on Apple Podcasts
- Rate on Spotify
- Recommend in Overcast
Intro Music: Psychokinetics - The Chosen
Transcripts and some images are AI generated and may contain errors and general silliness.
English
United States
TRANSCRIPT 🔗
Are you the producer of this podcast?
Add a podcast transcript
Need Audio-to-Text?
Transcribe with Listen411 in Just 60 Seconds
SEARCH PAST EPISODES
Search past episodes of Basic AF: a (mostly) tech podcast.
OTHER EPISODES IN THIS PODCAST
Big news out of Cupertino: Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus set to take the helm this September. Tom and Jeff spend a few minutes on the transition — then welcome back guest Bill McLean for an honest, no-hype check-in on AI tools: what they're actua…
Tom and Jeff are joined by returning guests Riley Hill (Slatepad.org) and Joe Moyer (24letters.net) for a full roundtable on what Apple announced during the WWDC keynote and what it means for everyday users.
Topics covered:
The three pillars of WWDC 2026: performance improvements, trust & safe…
There's a lot happening in Apple land right now. Mac mini prices just went up, a Siri class action settlement might land in your inbox soon, and a fresh iOS 27 rumor has some good news for anyone who'd rather talk to Claude than ChatGPT. Tom and Jeff break it all down.
In this episode:
A…
Robin Kai, based in Munich, Germany, is a husband, dad, and writer on Medium and at ForMacUsers.com. He's built a simple, flexible system around Apple's built-in apps that actually fits real life: family, day job, and side projects.
In this episode, Robin walks us through how he captures …
Both of us did something a little unusual this month: we both walked away with the MacBook Air M5. Tom grabbed the 15-inch for work, Jeff picked up the Midnight Blue 13-inch — and after a couple weeks of use, we've got a lot to say about battery life, setup philosophy, and one genuinely weird …
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Tom Anderson & Jeff Battersby, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
EDIT
Thank you for helping to keep the podcast database up to date.
