Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

WTF Happened in 2025 - Waveform Rewind

December 19, 2025

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  • The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold, despite initial skepticism, is surprisingly impressive in hand, offering a full 10-inch tablet experience that fits in a pocket, though its creases are noticeably rough. 
  • The social media landscape is seeing a legal battle over the 'Twitter' trademark as a startup attempts to reclaim the name from X, while the hosts note the difficulty of searching for 'X' on Google. 
  • The EV market is showing signs of a slowdown, evidenced by Ford discontinuing the F-150 Lightning and the EU dialing back its hard 2035 mandate for all-electric vehicle sales. 
  • The discussion on Electric Vehicles (EVs) suggests that sales calibration is occurring as government incentives disappear, making gas and hybrid cars more competitive, benefiting manufacturers like Toyota. 
  • Rivian's Autonomy Day heavily promoted their Generation 3 platform (R2) featuring new silicon and advanced self-driving capabilities, leading to questions about the upgrade path for existing Gen 1 and Gen 2 owners. 
  • The hosts debated the self-driving sensor strategy, highlighting the ongoing 'LiDAR versus no LiDAR' battle, with Rivian committing to LiDAR integration while acknowledging Tesla's vision-only approach and the nuance of hardware versions affecting feature availability. 
  • The hosts concluded their yearly predictions review, with Marques initially doubting his correct prediction of 135,000 before confirming it. 
  • The hosts made a new bet regarding the release of functional humanoid robots in the following year, agreeing to repeat a previous challenge if one is released. 
  • The episode concluded with announcements for a bonus episode next week and credits for the production team and sponsors, followed by an outro promoting a Vergecast miniseries on AI and a LinkedIn Ads promotion. 

Segments

Darktrace and MongoDB Sponsorship
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Darktrace offers AI cybersecurity to stop novel threats across various attack surfaces, while MongoDB is promoted as an ACID-compliant, enterprise-ready database built for developers.
  • Summary: Darktrace provides AI cybersecurity capable of stopping novel threats before they become breaches across email, cloud, and networks. MongoDB is highlighted as a database fluent in AI that many Fortune 500 companies trust. Both sponsors are featured before the main content begins.
Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold Hands-On
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(00:02:53)
  • Key Takeaway: The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold features a 10-inch internal tablet display, uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, and has an IP48 rating, though its creases are visibly rough.
  • Summary: Marques shares his initial positive impressions of the Z TriFold, noting the internal screen functions as a full 10-inch tablet, making side-by-side apps less cramped than on a bifold. The device uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, comes with 512GB storage and 16GB RAM, and surprisingly carries an IP48 water resistance rating. The physical hardware engineering results in two different crease sizes due to the dual-hinge mechanism.
Twitter Trademark Litigation News
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(00:20:07)
  • Key Takeaway: A startup called Operation Bluebird is petitioning to cancel X’s ownership of the Twitter trademarks, arguing X abandoned the name, despite X suing to stop the cancellation.
  • Summary: Operation Bluebird filed a petition to cancel X’s trademarks for ‘Twitter’ and ’tweet,’ claiming X showed no intention to use the name, evidenced by Elon Musk’s own statements. X subsequently sued the startup, arguing that millions of users still access the platform via Twitter.com, which complicates the claim of abandonment. The hosts note the difficulty in searching for the platform on Google now that it is branded as X.
Google CC AI Assistant Launch
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(00:40:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Google launched a new AI feature called CC in Labs, which integrates with Calendar, Gmail, and Drive to provide users with a morning briefing of their day.
  • Summary: The CC feature acts as a Gemini-powered butler assistant, reading connected data sources to summarize the user’s day, including scheduling suggestions. Users can interact with CC via email or by replying to its briefing emails, effectively turning it into a chatbot experience. This feature is currently in beta for Gemini Ultra paid users in the US and Canada.
Ford F-150 Lightning Discontinuation
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(00:44:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Ford is discontinuing the F-150 Lightning as currently known because sales did not meet expectations, though Ford plans to pivot to a range-extended electric version using a gas generator.
  • Summary: The F-150 Lightning, a major EV competitor, is being discontinued because it did not sell at the rate Ford anticipated, despite its useful features like vehicle-to-grid power backup. Ford CEO Jim Farley framed the shift as ‘customer-driven’ to create a more profitable company, implying the EV version had lower margins. The company intends to continue supporting the F-150 platform with a hybrid-like setup that uses a gas generator to extend battery range up to 700 miles.
EV Sales Slowdown and Incentives
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(00:50:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Government incentives are crucial for making EVs the correct financial choice over gas cars, and their removal directly impacts consumer purchasing decisions.
  • Summary: EV sales trends are slowly recalibrating toward more realistic figures, moving away from aggressive growth projections. The removal of significant government incentives, such as the $7,000 credit in the U.S., makes gas cars a better immediate buy for many consumers. Toyota’s hybrid strategy, exemplified by the Prius, is positioned well as a middle ground between full EV and traditional combustion engines.
F-150 Lightning vs. Cybertruck
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(00:51:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Despite its discontinuation, the Ford F-150 Lightning still outsold the Tesla Cybertruck in 2025, contextualizing the Cybertruck’s initial sales performance against America’s most popular vehicle trim.
  • Summary: The discontinuation of a specific trim of the F-150 Lightning is noted, even though the F-150 remains the best-selling vehicle in America. The fact that the discontinued EV truck trim still outsold the Cybertruck in 2025 is highlighted. This comparison is made amidst jokes about Tesla software updates and hardware limitations.
Rivian Autonomy Day Analysis
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(00:52:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Rivian’s Autonomy Day presented highly technical details about their Gen 3 platform, proprietary silicon, and sensor fusion (LiDAR, radar, cameras), but the presentation style seemed aimed at engineers and shareholders rather than the general public watching the livestream.
  • Summary: CEO RJ Scaringe discussed plans for proprietary silicon and fully self-driving Gen 3 vehicles. The event transitioned into complex explanations of neural nets and the advantages of mixing LiDAR with radar and cameras. Audience reaction on social media suggested the technical depth alienated casual viewers who compared it unfavorably to Tesla’s approach.
Rivian Generation Differences
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(00:54:07)
  • Key Takeaway: The new self-driving silicon and advanced sensor integration, including a smoothly integrated LiDAR box, will be exclusive to Rivian’s Generation 3 vehicles, starting with the R2, meaning current Gen 1 and Gen 2 owners will not receive these full capabilities.
  • Summary: Rivian’s vehicle lineup includes R1 (Gen 1), Gen 2 updates to the R1T/R1S, and Gen 3 vehicles starting with the R2. The promised full self-driving features are tied to the new silicon found only in Gen 3 architecture. Owners of earlier generations, like the Gen 1 R1, will miss out on these specific hardware-dependent advancements.
Tesla FSD Nuance and Hardware Limits
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(00:56:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Tesla’s vision-only approach allows for software updates to potentially benefit all vehicles equipped with cameras, but Elon Musk has historically skirted direct questions about hardware version limitations (like Hardware 3) when promising universal FSD features.
  • Summary: Tesla’s reliance on cameras means that theoretically, more customers can use updated self-driving features without needing new sensors. However, there are known hardware limitations, as evidenced when Elon Musk avoided nuance regarding whether all Model 3s would receive full self-driving capabilities. This mirrors the situation where previous-generation Rivian buyers will miss out on new sensor-dependent features.
Rivian Autonomy Roadmap and Concerns
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(00:57:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Rivian promised significant expansion of their driver assist coverage to 3.5 million miles of roads with painted lines, culminating in claims of eyes-off driving by 2026, which the hosts found overly ambitious given regulatory hurdles and safety concerns regarding unlined roads.
  • Summary: Current driver assist coverage is expanding from 135,000 miles to 3.5 million miles, theoretically covering any road with clearly marked painted lines. Rivian claims point-to-point driving by 2026, followed by eyes-off driving on the Gen 3 architecture. The hosts expressed skepticism about these aggressive promises, especially concerning the transition from line-marked roads to unlined roads while the driver is eyes-off.
LiDAR vs. Vision Debate
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(01:00:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The internet debate over self-driving technology pits Tesla’s vision-only stance against competitors like Rivian and Waymo who integrate LiDAR to augment vision’s weaknesses in edge cases like fog and rain, especially now that LiDAR costs have decreased.
  • Summary: The battleground in self-driving centers on whether LiDAR is necessary to solve long-tail edge cases that vision-only systems struggle with, such as poor weather conditions. Rivian is incorporating LiDAR because its cost is no longer prohibitive, augmenting their camera suite. The hosts questioned the logic of AI companies demanding more data while Tesla advocates for vision-only systems in automotive applications.
Rivian Assistant and Google Integration
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(01:02:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Rivian introduced the Rivian Assistant, which integrates with Google services to allow vehicular commands and calendar changes, a feature the hosts expressed distrust in using for personal scheduling.
  • Summary: The new in-car assistant allows for vehicular commands and interaction with Google services like Calendar. The hosts speculated Rivian integrates Google services to prevent users from defaulting to Android Auto, thereby keeping navigation and usage data within the Rivian ecosystem. Despite the potential utility, the hosts expressed personal reluctance to trust an automated system with calendar management.
2025 Predictions Recap
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(01:09:58)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts reviewed their 2025 predictions, noting that Ellis was incorrect about Microsoft not adding live translation to its products, necessitating an on-air apology and consumption of ‘Da Bomb’ hot sauce.
  • Summary: The segment served as a ‘Waveform Wrapped’ review of predictions made at the start of the year. Ellis is required to eat Da Bomb because Microsoft apparently did implement live translation features in products like Teams, despite Ellis’s strong conviction otherwise. The hosts also reviewed predictions regarding the Samsung S25’s charging capabilities and the significance of the Pixel 10.
Reviewing Major Tech Stories of 2025
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(01:20:24)
  • Key Takeaway: Liquid Glass UI implementation on iPhones and the subsequent copying by Chinese companies, alongside the debut of the Xiaomi SU7 electric car, were highlighted as significant, memorable stories of 2025.
  • Summary: The hosts compiled a list of major tech events from 2025, including the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement and the Apple Vision Pro turning one. Liquid Glass was identified as a story prevalent throughout the entire year, influencing UI design even in China. The debut of the Xiaomi SU7, which the hosts struggled to pronounce correctly, was also noted as a major event.
Ellis Eats Da Bomb
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(01:32:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Ellis consumed a full dab of Da Bomb hot sauce on a spoon, accompanied by Cheez-Its and milk, to fulfill the promise made after being wrong about Microsoft’s live translation feature.
  • Summary: Ellis apologized to programmers, AI executives, and tech companies for doubting that live translation features would be widely implemented in 2025. He took a full spoonful of Da Bomb, using Cheez-Its and milk as accompaniments. The hosts noted that the hot sauce had been unrefrigerated on their table for two years.
Trivia Finale
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(01:35:40)
  • Key Takeaway: David correctly answered the final trivia question, identifying ‘BBK’ as the initials representing both a Chinese tech conglomerate and blues legend B.B. King, earning him the lead in the score update.
  • Summary: The final trivia question asked for three letters representing a Chinese tech conglomerate and an American blues guitar legend. David correctly answered ‘BBK,’ referencing B.B. King. The score update showed Andrew leading with 14 points, David with 12, and Marquez with 10 before the final question on the Scoville rating of Da Bomb.
Reviewing Prediction Scores
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(01:38:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Marques initially doubted his correct prediction of 135,000 before confirming the score.
  • Summary: The hosts reviewed the final scores for their yearly predictions, involving calculations based on figures like 2.3 million and 835,000. David confirmed that Marques’ initial written guess of 135,000 was correct, despite Marques erasing and changing it to 835,000 out of self-doubt. This confirmed Marques as the closest in that specific prediction category.
Future Bets and Robot Challenge
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(01:39:19)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts agreed to repeat the humanoid robot prediction challenge next year if any functional robot is released.
  • Summary: Ellis congratulated Marques on keeping his word regarding a previous commitment, likely related to health or a challenge. They established a new bet for the following year concerning the release of humanoid robots. If any functional humanoid robot comes out, the robot will be tasked with serving Ellis a spoonful of ‘blast’ on the show.
Episode Outro and Credits
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(01:39:58)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts confirmed a bonus episode would follow the final regularly scheduled episode of 2025.
  • Summary: Marques thanked the audience for listening throughout 2025 and looked forward to 2026. The production team was credited, noting Adam Molina and Ellis Rovin produced the episode as part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. A third ‘After Dark’ bonus episode was also announced for the following week.
Vergecast AI Miniseries Promo
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(01:40:39)
  • Key Takeaway: The Vergecast is running a two-week miniseries discussing the current AI gold rush and whether AI integration makes sense everywhere.
  • Summary: The segment promoted a two-week series on The Vergecast focusing on the current AI gold rush where developers are integrating AI into every app and platform. The series features discussions with developers about what they are building and whether AI genuinely adds value or risks ruining processes. Listeners can find this AI miniseries wherever they get podcasts.
LinkedIn Ads Sponsorship Read
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(01:41:27)
  • Key Takeaway: LinkedIn Ads allows targeting decision-makers by specific criteria including job title, industry, seniority, and skills.
  • Summary: LinkedIn Ads is promoted as a solution for marketing professionals to reach the right decision-makers, numbering 130 million on the network. Targeting options are highly granular, allowing users to filter by job title, industry, company, seniority, and skills. New advertisers can receive a $250 credit for their next campaign after spending $250 on their first one via a specific URL.