WAN Show Podcast Summary

Episode: Pixel Phones Finally Blowing Up

Date: October 18, 2025
Hosts: Linus Sebastian, Luke Lafreniere
Podcast: Linus Tech Tips (WAN Show)

Episode Overview

This episode covers:

• The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold “blowing up” during a YouTuber’s durability test and what it means for foldable phones
• Google’s ongoing struggles in the premium US phone market
• The backlash over original games versus remakes and "preservation" in gaming (with Capcom’s recent decision in focus)
• Recent tech news: HP removing support docs, AI going off the rails with seahorse emoji, Microsoft’s account shenanigans, and more
• Anecdotes about home repairs, financial anxiety, and fun staff banter

The hosts maintain their characteristic tech-nerdy, irreverent, and honest tone.

Headline Topic: The Pixel 10 Pro Fold “Blows Up”

[03:09−14:52]

Key Points & Discussion

• YouTube Durability Test Incident:
  Zach (JerryRigEverything) tested the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's durability. The phone broke near the hinge, and after repeated bending, the battery began to emit smoke.
• Fairness to Google?
  • Linus: “To be fair to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold…have you seen that man’s arms?” ([03:29])
  • Testers with discipline might stick to their “do pushups when dying in-game” routine, but most (including Linus and Luke) don’t maintain it.
• Is This a Big Deal?
  • While the fire looks dramatic, IFixit’s Elizabeth Chamberlain told The Verge there’s no sign of a fundamental design flaw, unless more failures appear in the wild. “As dramatic as the battery fire is, we don't think this is necessarily a sign that something is wrong with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold design...” ([06:34])
  • The phone was fully charged, which increases battery fire risk.
• Larger Issue—Price and Marketability:
  • Linus: The real problem is price. “By the time you pay sales tax…they’re getting dangerously close to a couple thousand US dollars…Well over $2,500 Canadian dollars for a phone. Like, when did this happen?” ([07:42])
  • Luke recounts how Google raised prices to match iPhone, aiming for “premium” vibes.
• Google’s US Struggle with Branding
  • Apple’s dominance among young Americans is attributed to “brand association” and technological lock-in, not just pricing.
  • Linus: “Google just doesn’t have a sexy brand.” ([09:05])
  • Luke: "A lot of people I talk to these days converse over Discord...I don't actually run into this [lock-in] very often.” ([11:10])
• RCS and Messaging Woes:
  • Linus’s experience with RCS messaging is inconsistent; fails over to SMS/MMS more often than expected.
• Folding Phones in Practice
  • Most users just use the “skinny” outer screen for quick interactions; the big screen is primarily for content consumption and reading.
  • Foldables remain expensive, delicate, niche; Apple's rumored entry might eventually mainstream the space, but not soon.

Memorable Quotes:

• “I would say there’s plenty of other reasons not to buy a Pixel 10 Pro Fold.” – Linus ([07:05])
• “Google doesn't have a sexy brand… Apple locks in their users through their social lives.” – Linus ([09:05])
• “Discord is multi-platform. That’s always been my issue with iMessage.” – Linus ([11:34])

Gaming Preservation & Capcom

[18:08−41:02]

Key Points & Discussion

• Capcom Reluctant to Re-release Originals:
  Capcom only released the original Resident Evil games on PC after GOG’s urging, believing the remakes were “already a superior experience.”
• Why Preserve Original Versions?
  • Both hosts agree it’s vital for nostalgia and historical accuracy—not everyone wants balance tweaks or “modern conveniences.”
  • Linus laments: “I don’t necessarily want your fixed balance …maybe you want the controls to be clunky because that’s more like what it was.” ([20:14])
• Remakes vs. Nostalgia
  • Linus is playing the new Final Fantasy Tactics remake, which added modern niceties (autosave, ability to flee, undo moves) but made the game easier and sometimes less meaningful.
• “Lazy Difficulty” in Modern Games:
  • Luke and Linus criticize balancing remakes just by inflating enemy health and damage: “It's just a wild experience. You play on one setting, it's like, wow, this is way too easy. You play on the other setting, it's like, okay, it feels like I'm playing a wall.” ([28:09])
• Risks of Releasing Old Games:
  • Developers might fear the originals are too janky, ruining their reputation. But the hosts argue the nostalgia factor outweighs this risk for the right market.
  • Linus: “I guess what I’m trying to say is …if almost literally anyone else ended up with this game, there’s a really solid chance they wouldn’t like it.” ([33:53])
• Manuals and “Real” Nostalgia:
  • Playing the original often included reading a physical manual and fighting with obtuse mechanics.
• Kids and Challenging Games:
  • Both reminisce that as kids, ample free time and persistence enabled them to master tough, poorly explained games that would frustrate adults today.

Notable Moment:

• Linus calls out the need for classic versions, referencing Blizzard removing original Warcraft games: “When Blizzard kind of removed their older Warcraft titles …I didn’t really want to give Activision Blizzard any money, but I really wanted to own those original versions…” ([19:34])

HP Pulls Support for Older Products

[107:13–119:47]

Discussion Highlights

• HP has started removing support documentation for ‘retired’ products, including drivers and manuals.
• Linus and Luke slam this: it’s low-effort to just archive the content, especially since HP’s devices rely on proprietary drivers. Anyone restoring an old device is out of luck.
• “If you pull that driver off your site, so help me, I will curse your name. That’s all I can really do…” – Linus ([110:00])
• They praise other companies (IBM, Intel) for keeping old resources online.

“AI Loses Its Mind Over a Seahorse Emoji”

[167:22−178:36]

Summary:

• ChatGPT gives bizarre, unhinged responses when prompted for a seahorse emoji, looping through unrelated emojis and confused justifications.
• The hosts demo the bug live—at times GPT flashes through fish, unicorn, coral, etc., and appears “upset with itself” for failing.
• Linus: “And this is what people are losing their jobs to? Yeah, that seems like good management.” ([176:25])
• Luke suspects the model is “trying so hard to be right it self-corrects over and over.”
• Discussion about the dangers of relying on AI (including their own business team feeding AI-generated sponsor reads), and the limits of today’s tools for professional tasks.

Other Major Discussion Topics

Microsoft Accounts and Windows 11 Setup

[163:51–166:44]

• Microsoft disables another method to set up Windows without an online account, angering power users.
• Suggested workarounds are increasingly convoluted.
• “The simplest bug fix, I guess … is to just annoy their users.” – Linus ([164:35])

Philips “Fixables” 3D Printing Program Fizzles

[153:07–156:27]

• Despite positive PR, Philips only uploaded two 3D printable parts for consumer repair, then abandoned the program.
• Luke praises Cooler Master instead, which provided a substantial 3D model library.

Cybercrime & Ransomware “Ban Paying the Ransom?”

[180:53–184:56]

• Hosts briefly debate whether banning ransom payments would stop ransomware. Conclusion: it’s not a simple fix—black hats or competitor-funded attacks would escalate.

Framework Linux Secure Boot Issue

[185:56–186:56]

• A secure boot vulnerability affected 200,000 Framework Linux laptops, but was patched promptly. Linus notes the scale as impressive for a small company.

Apple M5 Chip & Vision Pro v2

[186:56–191:47]

• Apple’s new M5 chip claims 15% speed improvement over the M4; now in 14” MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, Vision Pro v2.
• Most users are happy with M1/M2—incremental upgrades seem less urgent.
• The Vision Pro v2 is heavier (!), due to counterweighting; little else is changed.
• “Man, Apple Silicon is too good...” – Linus ([187:43])

Bose to Brick Smart Speakers

[192:24–194:10]

• Bose is discontinuing cloud support for SoundTouch speakers, breaking key features
• Both hosts: “Go f**k yourself, Bose. This is not cool. You need to fix this. You need to just open source it because this is not acceptable.” – Linus ([194:10])
• “I will not be buying Bose anytime soon, because of this. That’s just trash. Hate it. Gross.” – Luke ([194:21])

Personal/Behind-the-Scenes Anecdotes

Luke’s Home Renovation

[44:24–61:04]

• Luke details a home repair saga: undisclosed leaks, botched work from previous owners, HOA nightmares, and his injured wrist from installing expansion joint material. He laments dealing with bureaucracy and how society defaults to “just say no.”

LTT Staff Financial Philosophy & Anxiety

[61:07–69:52]

• The hosts talk money: both are cautious with investments (“growing up poor”), and skeptical of big market bets. Luke is branded as “cheap,” but defends frugality.
• Linus: “I think that part of it is…just growing up without money …what you have in the bank seems a lot more important than what you could get out there.” ([65:00])

Noteworthy Moments & Quotes

• “The thing about anything that isn’t a GPU in technology is it does have a tendency to get cheaper over time, which is so cool.” – Linus ([204:10])
• “It's lazy design.” – Linus, on games that ramp up difficulty with enemy HP ([32:23])
• “It feels like we have a bit of a societal problem right now where saying no is easy and problem-solving is hard.” – Linus ([47:04])
• “I'm not a young man anymore...” – Linus, after forgetting how many movie nights he’s had ([145:13])
• “Whether you want to buy the underwear or not, there’s… pictures of LTT staff in their underwear. So.” – Linus, on new merch ([91:53])

Product Announcements & Tech Updates

• LTT Cables:
  Heavy-duty, well-labeled, coax-core USB cables arriving around Black Friday ([94:16–106:14])
• LTT Underwear, Pet Bandanas, and New Shirts:
  Back in stock/new products; comical banter about merch and photo shoots
• MSI, AMD, Rovelab Sponsorships:
  Jokes about AI-written ad copy, special deals

Fun & Offbeat Segments

• Content Consumption vs. Interaction:
  Debate about what counts as “content consumption” (games vs. videos, live streams) ([17:15–17:59])
• “Piano, not Puano” Joke:
  Linus reminisces about telling this pun on set ([217:47–219:40])
• Movie Night Snafus:
  Staff confusion over whose turn it is to pick the next movie ([143:54–145:48])
• Dangerous Dave:
  Linus and Luke play and discuss an old John Romero DOS game ([232:00+])
• Halloween Costume Plans:
  “My body is dead. This is my Halloween costume.” – Linus ([240:56])

Notable Timestamps

• Pixel 10 Pro Fold fails during JerryRigEverything test – [03:09]
• Capcom old games / gaming preservation debate – [18:08, 19:13, 28:09]
• HP pulls old drivers/docs – [107:13]
• ChatGPT seahorse emoji meltdown – [167:22, demo at 171:25]
• Philips 3D prints program fizzles – [153:07]
• Bose bricks smart speakers – [192:24]
• Microsoft’s Windows 11 account lock-in worsening – [163:51]
• Discussion on financial anxiety and frugality – [61:07]
• Luke’s home repair woes – [44:24]
• Movie night confusion/nostalgia discussion – [143:54]
• LTT cable discussion – [97:39–106:14]

Closing

As always, the hosts mix serious tech news with playful banter, staff stories, nostalgia, and rants against modern tech pitfalls—from foldable phones and AI nonsense to home bureaucracy, financial anxiety, and companies bricking devices post-sale.

Sign-off:
“Thanks for watching the WAN Show. See you again next week. Same bad time, same bad channel. Yippee ki yay.” – Linus ([251:14])