The WAN Show: "There’s No Reason To Buy An iPhone" – November 21, 2025

Podcast: The WAN Show (Linus Tech Tips)
Hosts: Linus Sebastian & Luke Lafreniere
Date: November 22, 2025

Episode Overview

This lively episode sees Linus and Luke unpack a pivotal week in the tech world, focusing on Google’s surprise announcement of AirDrop support for Pixel devices, increasing Android-iOS interoperability, and pondering the fate of the Apple ecosystem’s walled garden. Other highlights include debates on tech platform reliability, sock warranties, AI agentic operating systems, the woes of consumer hardware, and plenty of LTT company banter.

Key Topics & Discussions

1. "No Reason to Buy an iPhone": Google Brings AirDrop to Pixel (03:26–14:10)

• Google’s Bombshell: On a random Thursday, Google revealed that AirDrop-like file sharing is coming to the Pixel 10 family, enabling drag-and-drop file transfers between Pixel and Apple devices.
  • "I overlooked one all important detail. There is no reason left to buy an iPhone. Oh, RCS exists… AirDrop is coming to the Pixel family." — Luke, 00:37
• Apple Ecosystem Value: The sudden arrival of RCS and cross-platform AirDrop erodes Apple’s proprietary value proposition, as many "must-have" features are now available elsewhere.
• Eligibility Caveat: This feature is currently restricted to Pixel 10 devices—other Android phones are left waiting indefinitely.
• Technical and Legal Barriers: Apple could break this interoperability, but faces antitrust scrutiny if it does.
  • "Very little, pretty much nothing stops Apple from patching it out. But from an antitrust standpoint…there could be reasons for them not to." — Luke, 12:06
• Generational Divide: The relevance of ecosystem lock-in varies by age and professional circles.
• Audience Perspective: The hosts contemplate if a video about "I bought an iPhone for nothing" is worth it.
  • "Do you think the audience cares about others’ experiences with phones?" — Luke, 14:21

2. Cross-platform Device Experiences & Workflow (16:04–19:22)

• Switching Headaches: Linus shares anecdotes about the friction of switching between devices and ecosystems, noting some productivity tools are just better on one OS versus another.
• Volume & Notifications Rant: Luke expresses frustrations with iOS’s rigid audio controls compared to Android's flexibility.

3. Cloudflare Outage: Centralized Infrastructure Risks (19:35–35:36)

• Massive Outages: Recent Cloudflare outages took down chunks of the internet, raising questions about over-reliance on mega-clouds (Cloudflare, Azure, AWS).
  • "You can't unplug Cloudflare from the internet right now…" — Linus, 19:59
• Hybrid vs. Full Cloud: The risks and rewards of self-hosting vs. going all-in on clouds are debated. Linus argues most enterprises will choose blame deflection over total autonomy.
  • "Almost everyone's gonna shrug it off. If your service goes down and you're hosting everything yourself, they're gonna be mad at you." — Linus, 30:00
• Technical Roots: The Cloudflare outage story’s cause (overflowed memory from mismanaged bot management ML features) is explained at length.
• DDoS, Botnets, and IoT: Emerging threats from hijacked home routers are discussed, underlining how dependence on giant absorbers like Cloudflare has become the norm.

4. Sock Warranties, Merch Operations, and LTT Company Culture (46:31–55:55)

• Sock Warranty Deep-Dive: The hosts debate whether high-end LTT socks should follow "lifetime" warranty models like Darn Tough, unpacking consumer expectations versus logistical reality.
  • "I got my head bit off…The PR damage of us not taking care of people…I do agree, is going to vastly outweigh any kind of benefit…" — Luke, 50:03
• Company Philosophy: Linus and Luke repeatedly stress that their company’s ethos is "make it right within reason," but admit it took community backlash to cement formal policies.

5. Content Strategy Crisis & The Changing Tech Audience (67:05–83:37)

• Declining Interest in "Middle Market" Tech: Expensive GPUs, stagnant hardware, and an audience split between spectacle (giant TVs, maxed-out builds) and budget constraint.
  • "The extremes are both still doing fine. It's the, it's the like…$2,000 PC Build Guide that is, is, is in this sort of like even dead zone." — Luke, 78:13
• YouTube Algorithm Weirdness: They lament how videos beloved by "core" fans (deep DIY, buyer guides) often bomb, while viral-focused content thrives.
  • "The ones that are poor performers tend to be kind of like core audience…favorites." — Luke, 68:17
• Possible Solutions: More streamlined daily posting, segmentation by price range, and reflecting on LTT’s legacy as a channel that always balanced high/low builds.
  • "We've always shown both sides of the coin." — Linus, 78:05
• Production Workflow Disputes: They brainstorm ways to blend unboxing, labs testing, and editorial efficiency across their suite of channels.

6. Floatplane News: Subscription Price Increase & Community Features (141:47–149:42)

• Price Increase Rationale: Floatplane (LTT’s subscription platform) monthly rates will rise from $5/$10 to $7.99/$12.99 starting Dec 31, 2025. Early users are "grandfathered in."
• New Features/Perks: Continued investment in platform features like early access, badges, and exclusive videos is promised.
• OG Tier: Concerns over changing legacy terms are carefully addressed, with assurances to long-term supporters.

7. Tech Legal News: UK Ruling May Let Consumers Resell Digital Software (158:05–166:38)

• Landmark Case: A UK tribunal rules consumers can resell software licenses (Windows, Office), raising questions about the future of digital resale, Steam games, and DRM.
• Potential Industry Disruption: The hosts riff on scenarios where digital "renting" could upend the game industry economy; speculate that devs might shift to subscriptions or live services.
  • "Imagine ... the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal ... saying that as a consumer I should be able to resell software that I only licensed ... Would that apply to Steam games?" — Luke, 158:56

8. Agentic Operating Systems & Microsoft’s AI Push (182:06–189:46)

• Microsoft’s New AI Agent Model: Skepticism over "agentic OS" concepts—persistent desktop AIs that act on your behalf—mounts, especially around privacy and user control.
  • "The public is not interested in Windows becoming an agentic os, but they think they can change the public’s mind by talking about it more..." — Linus, 182:07
• User Desires vs. Corporate AI: The hosts want OS assistants for settings management or supercharged search, but not as coolly overreaching as Microsoft envisions.

9. Flock Safety Camera Security Disaster (192:35–200:36)

• Major Surveillance Flaws: Security researchers demonstrate that Flock Safety's license plate cameras—widely deployed for law enforcement—are riddled with vulnerabilities. Attacks include:
  • WiFi backdoors, root access, unencrypted traffic, and wireless snooping.
  • "All its data ... install their own software ... researchers found considerable RF signal leakage ... you can see the live view of the camera by ... decoding the camera data stream from the leaking RF signals." — Luke, 194:45, 197:10

10. Rapid-fire/Other Notable Segments

• Pebble & Rebel Smartwatch Drama (147:47–157:04): The community effort (Rebel) that kept Pebble watches alive after their official demise faces strife with Pebble’s new owners over control of app stores/data.
• Car Infotainment & Subscription Rant (215:14–224:18): Tesla is rumored to adopt CarPlay support; hosts note this could be a pivotal shift away from proprietary, locked-down car software.
• HEVC/Codec Licensing Debacle (227:44–230:30): HP and Dell have quietly disabled hardware-accelerated HEVC video decoding on many laptops due to royalty/licensing disputes.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "There is no reason left to buy an iPhone. Oh, RCS exists for people who were afraid of the color green in their bubbles. And also ... AirDrop is coming to Pixel." — Luke, 00:37
• “What stops Apple from patching this out? ... from a technical standpoint, nothing. But from an antitrust standpoint… there could be reasons for them not to.” — Luke, 12:06
• "If your service goes down and you’re hosting everything yourself, they’re gonna be mad at you... Which one are you gonna choose?" — Linus, 30:00
• "I was so validated by the way people freaked out about [warranty] ... Because the second I even talked about not having a plan yet ... I got my head bit off." — Luke, 50:03
• "The extremes are both still doing fine. It's the... $2,000 PC build guide that is... in this dead zone." — Luke, 78:13
• "We've always shown both sides of the coin." — Linus, 78:05
• "And I do feel like... daily videos is part of the LTT ethos." — Linus, 84:28
• "I buy two weeks worth of Darn Tough socks... my devious plan was that they would be the last socks that I ever bought because I would just get warranty claim socks for the rest of my life." — Luke, 56:01
• “Almost everyone's gonna shrug [an outage] off. If your service goes down and you're hosting everything yourself, they're gonna be mad at you. Which one do you choose?" — Linus, 30:00

Memorable Moments

• The Sock Warranty Saga (46:31–56:01): A meta-debate about whether LTT can (should) offer "lifetime" warranties on their upcoming high-end socks and how the spirit of a warranty matters more than the letter.
• Merch Antics: Live demonstration of the LTT thermochromic jacket with water and a heat gun.
• Luke's Air Brake License Quest (247:36–248:44): Luke shares he's finally earning his air brake certification so he can drive his (actual) fire truck.
• Topical Tangents: Light-hearted riffs about prepping for the collapse of civilization, sand shortages, and the secret currency of the post-apocalypse ("USB drives with Wikipedia").
• The LTT Company Story (306:19–317:13): Linus and Luke reminisce about what made their partnership stick—highlighting company lore, struggles, and growth.

Useful Segment Timestamps

• Pixel AirDrop/Apple Ecosystem: 03:26–14:10
• Cloudflare Outage & Platform Dependence: 19:35–35:36
• Sock Warranty & Merch/Customer Service: 46:31–56:01
• Audience and YouTube Algorithm Analysis: 67:05–83:37
• CarPlay/Tesla Debate: 215:14–224:18
• Floatplane Pricing/Changes: 141:47–149:42
• Legal: Digital License Resale Ruling: 158:05–166:38
• Flock Cameras Security Problems: 192:35–200:36

Closing Thoughts

The episode blends high-level tech news, real-world business dilemmas, and behind-the-scenes LTT operations. With increasing Android/iOS feature parity, the future of giant tech providers in question, and ever-evolving production realities, Linus and Luke's rapport—full of tangents, jabs, and earnest reflection—grounds what could be an overwhelming tech week.