Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast
Episode: WTF Happened in 2025 - Waveform Rewind
Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) with Andrew Manganelli, David Imel, Adam Molina, and Ellis Roven
Episode Overview
This special Waveform "After Dark" episode brings a spirited year-end rewind to 2025’s most impactful, strange, and hilarious tech stories. The crew unboxes and live-reviews the Samsung Galaxy Z Tri Fold, debates the “new Twitter” trademark battle, reviews end-of-year hardware launches and failures, revisits their (sometimes cringingly wrong) predictions from January, and crowns the year’s biggest stories and trends in tech. The lighter segment includes hot wings, spicy trivia, and a “hot sauce of shame” payoff for a lost tech bet. The episode is loaded with group banter, sharp insights, a parade of notable quotes, and a hard-earned, laugh-filled look back on an eventful tech year.
Key Segments & Discussion Points
1. Waveform After Dark: Setting the Mood
[02:09]
- First-ever "After Dark" episode, filmed in the evening for chill energy.
- Lots of banter about Hot Ones, inside jokes, and Ellis’ dramatic lighting change.
Quote:
“This episode is being taped at 5pm which means this is the first ever episode of... Waveform After Dark.”
— Ellis, [02:09]
2. Samsung Galaxy Z Tri Fold: First Impressions & Deep Dive
[02:39 – 19:23]
- Marques brings the just-acquired Samsung Galaxy Z Tri Fold (a trifold folding phone/tablet hybrid) for a live hands-on.
- Explains how it compares to the Z Fold 7, pricing ($2,500-$3,000), specs (Snapdragon 8 Elite, 512GB/16GB RAM), triple screen layout.
- Real-life benefits: fits in pocket yet opens to a full 10” tablet.
- Discussion on camera quality, aspect ratios for video viewing, multitasking (3 windows), and DeX mode.
- The hardware quirks: visible screen creases, panel thickness differences, major “wobble,” and fingerprint magnet issues.
- Battery tradeoffs (smaller than true tablets), questions over durability (IP48), and “should I daily this?” debate.
- Rumor talk: is Apple’s rumored foldable more media-friendly? Long-term trends in folding devices vs. smart glasses.
- Evolution of foldables: from concept to thinner-than-ever, now realistic for daily use.
Quotes:
“It’s a full diagonal 10 inch tablet on the inside and I like it more than I thought I would.”
— Marques, [03:22]
“I really think there’s a big difference between the on-screen presence and the in-hand presence of this phone for sure, which is so hard to convey in video...”
— Marques, [11:23]
Notable Moment:
- Waveform crew jokily invent “short form slots” with three simultaneous Reels/TikToks for the trifold, poking fun at short-form video culture.
- Lively debates on practical utility vs. “gimmick” status with honest disagreements.
Timestamps:
- Specs breakdown: [05:00]
- Trifold quirks and keyboard fun: [08:18]
- Durability/IP48/fingerprint row: [10:00-16:44]
- Rumors & future of foldables: [11:45-13:19]
- Foldable market evolution: [14:30]
3. The Twitter/X/Operation Bluebird Trademark Saga
[20:30 – 25:54]
- David introduces the absurd legal battle between “X” (the company formerly known as Twitter) and a new startup claiming abandoned “Twitter” trademarks.
- Banter about the ongoing confusion with X.com, inability to Google “X,” and “everyone still calls it Twitter."
- Question of trademark rules: if you stop using a name, when can someone else take it?
- Reflection on the impossibility of recapturing OG Twitter energy, regardless of legal outcomes.
Quotes:
“It’s almost cringy that this new startup is trying to be the new Twitter. Like, I don’t really think that’s a good goal to have.”
— Marques, [24:53]
Timestamp:
- Core discussion: [20:30-25:54]
4. Instagram TV App (for Fire TV) & Short-form Video “Doomscrolling”
[30:16 – 35:09]
- Instagram launches a new Fire TV-only app for watching Reels on the TV, reminiscent of the failed IGTV attempt.
- Debates on whether short-form video consumption together (on big screens) actually adds value or just more brain rot.
- Laments that integrating Reels into the main app years ago should’ve been obvious: “Vertical video was just a feature!”
Quote:
“The social aspect of watching video together is very strong…there could be 2% value in that.”
— David, [33:53]
5. Disney x OpenAI: Generative Video, Sora, & Copyright Battles
[35:09 – 37:54]
- OpenAI announces a partnership with Disney to use Sora for short-form generative video content—raising questions about creativity vs. automation.
- Disney simultaneously sues Google for copyright infringement.
- Crew is collectively unsettled by Disney automating its legendary bespoke animation pipeline.
Quote:
“This is a company that's known for bespoke making everything by hand… and now they've gone and done this.”
— Ellis, [36:29]
6. Google “CC” AI Assistant Launches – A Niche Nerd Feature in the Making
[38:06 – 41:41]
- Google Labs tests “CC,” an assistant that summarizes your calendar, email, and Drive content as a briefing.
- Marques predicts CC will merge with existing Google Assistant routines.
- Collective confusion over product naming, targeting, and whether this will ever reach non-power users.
7. Ford F150 Lightning Electric Truck Is Discontinued – A Shift in the EV Landscape
[41:47 – 49:54]
- The Ford F150 Lightning, a high-profile competitor to Tesla, is being discontinued due to poor sales.
- Discussion about hybrid “generator” models, EV tax credits expiring, and worldwide softening of EV mandates (EU, US).
- The crew reflects on the end of the EV hype cycle and the realities of “customer-driven” market corrections.
- Tangent about consumer priorities: “Sometimes you just want truck to go, go, and beep, beep.”
Quotes:
“...The EVs were smaller margins and less profitable and what we're going to switch to and pivot to will be more profitable for Ford.”
— Marques, [45:42]
“If nobody's buying EVs and the government incentives go away and sales drop, it's like you can't make people buy EVs if they don't want them.”
— Marques, [48:31]
8. The Rivian “Autonomy Day” Event – Self-Driving Promises (and Over-Promises)
[50:11 – 59:55]
- Rivian holds a dense, technical “Autonomy Day,” promising new in-house silicon and full hands-off driving in their Generation 3 vehicles.
- Crew debates the real utility, market targeting, and inevitable confusion surrounding these “Tesla-like” promises (including hardware cut-offs).
- Nuanced debate: does LIDAR sensor redundancy make sense, or is “vision-only” the future?
Quotes:
“They promise a lot…this is way too much. That's also just out of Rivian's hands for quite a bit of it in terms of regulations.”
— Andrew, [56:47]
“I think one of the most interesting battlegrounds on the internet [is] the lidar versus no lidar battle in the self driving world.”
— Marques, [58:40]
9. Prediction Recap & 2025’s Funniest Tech Blunders
[64:20 – 75:11]
- Crew revisits their start-of-year “predictions”:
- QI2 wireless charging adoption: split bets.
- Year of Pixel 10 (Tensor leap): didn’t happen.
- Hot takes on AI wearables: “no one got it right.”
- Humane AI pin gets acquired by HP: surprisingly correct.
- Browser wars are “back” (Marques scores a win).
- Live translation will never come—Ellis lost this bet and must eat Da Bomb hot sauce.
- The cringe and comedy of January-optimism meets reality.
Quotes:
“That just shows that Adam was especially wrong.”
— Andrew, [68:56]
“I am a man of my word. After we finish the next part of Waveform Wrapped, I will... stick around, and I will... Da Bomb.”
— Ellis, [73:28]
10. 2025’s Biggest Tech Stories — Mount Rushmore & The Story of the Year
[75:11 – 85:36]
- Crew creates a “Mount Rushmore” of the year’s top stories:
- Liquid Glass UI madness and backlash.
- TikTok nearly getting banned for a night (mass internet panic).
- The rise and fall of short-form vertical video everywhere.
- Nintendo Switch 2, meta AI glasses, new foldables, and the fall of iPhone Air.
- Reflections on the year’s “vibe”: more chaos than monumental progress, but “everyone did what they said they would.”
Quotes:
“Honestly, my Mount Rushmore is all of the unsealed documents from the Meta lawsuit.”
— Ellis, [85:03]
“This year, I interviewed Tim Cook and he just didn’t answer any of the questions.”
— Marques, [84:08]
11. Ellis Eats Da Bomb (Punishment for Lost Bet — Live Translation Launch)
[87:01 – 94:00]
- Ellis follows through on his bet: since live translation was actually released (contrary to his prediction), he eats a spoonful of the infamously hot "Da Bomb" sauce, offers an apology to developers worldwide, and instantly regrets it.
- The rest of the crew both sympathizes and laughs hard.
Quote:
“I never apologize... I was wrong. And now I’m going to pay the price. So let’s get a little warm up going.”
— Ellis, [89:09]
Timestamp:
- Apology & Da Bomb sequence: [88:09-90:17]
12. Final Trivia & Year-End Wrap
[90:15 – end]
- Tech trivia and shout-outs, with points tallied for the year.
- Ellis, through pain, delivers the final trivia as Waveform fades out on a high note, promising “2026 is gonna be sick.”
Most Memorable Quotes & Moments
- “It’s a full diagonal 10-inch tablet on the inside and I like it more than I thought I would.” — Marques, [03:22]
- “If you get all three videos being the same, then Neil Mohan has to step down and you become the CEO of YouTube.” — David, [04:31]
- “We just published our video…if you already have a phone and a tablet, this isn’t for you. But the person who wants to have a phone and a tablet but take it in their pocket…this does that.” — Marques, [08:43]
- “It’s almost cringy that this new startup is trying to be the new Twitter. Like, I don’t really think that’s a good goal to have.” — Marques, [24:53]
- “The social aspect of watching video together is very strong… there could be 2% value in that.” — David, [33:53]
- “This is a company that's known for bespoke making everything by hand… and now they've gone and done this.” — Ellis, [36:29]
- “I just want car to go. I want car to go, go and beep, beep.” — Ellis, [62:15]
- “My Mount Rushmore for stories of 2025: Liquid Glass, South By Southwest, SU7, and the Switch 2.” — Marques, [79:21-80:07]
- “I am a man of my word… I will be doing Da Bomb on a spoon.” — Ellis, [87:19-88:00]
Episode Takeaways
- 2025 tech was defined less by single monumental breakthroughs and more by the collective chaos of device evolution, legal wrangling, and cultural micro-trends (foldables, generative AI, short-form video, etc.).
- Foldables are increasingly real, but still have “first-gen” quirks.
- AI and automation pervade—even Disney is “out-sourcing” creativity.
- The dream of “the next Twitter” is a nostalgic folly.
- Product overpromising (self-driving/AI) is alive and well.
- Tech personalities’ bets and predictions are often humbled (“I thought I was smart...I was the most wrong.” — Ellis).
- The show closes with friendship, laughter, humility, and the hottest tech take—literally.
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Segment | Start Time | |------------------------------------------------|--------------| | After Dark setup, Hot Ones jokes | 00:50 | | Galaxy Z Tri Fold hands-on | 02:39 | | Foldable quirks / specs | 05:00 | | Trifold usability & battery tradeoffs | 09:16 | | Future of folds vs smart glasses | 12:49 | | Twitter/X/Bluebird legal saga | 20:30 | | Instagram/Fire TV, short-form video reflection | 30:16 | | OpenAI/Disney deal, Sora | 35:09 | | Google CC, AI assistant | 38:06 | | Ford F150 Lightning discontinued | 41:47 | | EV trend reversals | 46:39 | | Rivian autonomy event | 50:11 | | Lidar vs. cameras debate | 58:40 | | Prediction recap and punishment setup | 64:20 | | Big stories / Mount Rushmore debate | 75:11 | | Da Bomb hot sauce punishment | 87:01 | | Show outro / wrap-up | 94:00 |
Closing Note
Waveform After Dark’s 2025 rewind is everything the audience expects—tech nerd arguments, big laughs, biting honesty, and inside jokes, brought home by the year’s most memorable gadgets and misadventures. Whether you crave hard tech analysis or just want to feel like you’re in the room with Marques and friends, you won’t want to miss this one.