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Allison Johnson

Senior Reviewer, The Verge

Search every verified Allison Johnson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Allison Johnson, senior smartphone reviewer at The Verge, has recently published extensive coverage of Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo. In a review on The Verge, she characterized the device as "maybe the most interesting Apple product in years" and "one of the riskiest," describing it as a "huge rethink of what an iPhone is and could be." She called the product "one of the messiest first-generation products Apple has released in a long time" and said she did not think most people should buy it yet, adding that it feels at least another year away from being ready. Johnson also discussed the device's cover screen limitations and noted that apps are not yet fully optimized for the inner screen, while praising the battery life in her testing. Johnson has also discussed her testing of AI agentic messaging systems like Meta's Muse and OpenAI's Dots on podcasts including The Vergecast and The Sideload. She described Muse as a "shopping platform just so sleek and frictionless," but said overall that these tools often did not truly save her time and described a tension around how much of life is already automated. In addition, she reviewed the iPhone 18 Pro and argued its new variable-aperture camera was "a big deal that's actually a small deal," while noting that the more significant changes were software-based, including new manual controls. She also offered her perspective on Apple Watch features such as "Live Rewind," which she described as a strange addition for everyday use, and expressed skepticism about Apple's AI editing tools in iOS 27, saying she expected them to be "nightmare fuel."

Recent appearances

  • Apple's Foldable Phone Is Finally Here

    October 22, 2026 · 📺 TWiT Tech Podcast Network

    On Tech News Weekly, Allison Johnson of The Verge stops by the show to talk about Apple's new iPhone Duo and shares her honest take on Apple's first folding phone. You can find more about TWiT and subscribe to our full shows at https://podcasts.twit.tv Subscribe: https://twit.tv/subscribe Products we recommend: https://www.amazon.com/shop/twitnetca... TWiT may earn commissions on certain products. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Join our TWiT Communit…

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  • iPhone Duo review: messy, expensive fun

    October 21, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    The iPhone Duo is a messy first-generation product, but it’s also fun. It’s incredibly expensive, starting at $2,000 for 256GB of storage and going up to $3,200 for the 2TB model. The Verge’s Nilay Patel and Allison Johnson put the Duo to the test, examining its software, the messiness of some apps, how it compares to one of its biggest competitors, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and its camera, performance, and battery life. And more importantly, can you see the crease? Read our review here: https://bit.ly/3U5sPjN 0:00 Intro 0:56 Hardware and Design 2:28 Matte display 2:59 Under display FaceTime came…

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  • Muse almost bought me a car | The Vergecast

    October 06, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    The next big thing in AI, at least if you ask the tech companies, is assistant agents. David and The Verge's Allison Johnson have both been testing products like Meta's Muse, OpenAI's Dots, and startups like Instinct, in an effort to find out how much you can really get done by messaging with an AI tool – and whether the productivity is worth the tradeoffs. 0:00 Intro 00:55 90 Seconds on The Verge 02:29 How Do You Use AI Agents? 04:53 Choosing An Agent 09:36 Muse Versus Instinct 12:37 Dots Finds Its Lane 15:45 Convenience Versus Humanity 24:04 AI As A Toolkit 29:34 When To Avoid AI 31:04 Muse…

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  • The Sideload 046: Frictionmaxxing with Allison Johnson

    September 29, 2026 · 📺 9to5Google

    Sponsored by NordVPN: Listeners to The Sideload can save up to 76% on a two-year subscription by heading to nordvpn.com/9to5off or by clicking the link below. Thanks to NordVPN for sponsoring this week’s episode. https://go.nordvpn.net/SHAyj Welcome to episode 46 of The Sideload, a 9to5Google podcast. This week, Will is joined by Allison Johnson to discuss her experience with Meta's new agentic AI chatbot Muse, and whether agents are really prepared to save their users time. Plus some thoughts on the iPhone 18 Pro's variable aperture, Allison's hands-on impressions of the iPhone Duo, and muc…

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  • The real story of the iPhone 18 Pro's camera | The Vergecast

    September 18, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    This week's iPhone 18 Pro discourse made aperture a priority, but today on Vergecast we zoom out to talk about the state of smart phone photography at large. Executive editor Jake Kastrenakes, guest host David Imel and senior reviewer Allison Johnson get into manual controls, "buckets of photons," and Apple and Google's strategies on how to prove a picture you took is real. Then, senior AI reporter Hayden Field returns to The Vergecast, just a few new revelations of misaligned behavior since her last appearance. She breaks down who's calling for a slowdown, who's full steam ahead, and the pris…

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  • Apple's new iPhones and Watches are better than the last ones | The Vergecast

    September 17, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    Senior reviewers Allison Johnson and Victoria Song trade host and guest duties in a Vergecasting ouroboros that's never been attempted before and will probably never be attempted again. Allison talks about the iPhone 18 Pro's new camera, Victoria talks about the Watch 12 and Ultra 4's new sensors, and they both give their verdicts on who should upgrade. iPhone 18 Pro review:    • iPhone 18 Pro review: it's all about the m...   0:00 Intro 00:50 90 Seconds on The Verge 02:15 iPhone 18 Pro First Impressions 04:41 Variable Aperture Explained 09:56 Durability and Low-Light Gains 12:37 Pro Camera…

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  • iPhone 18 Pro review: it's all about the manual controls

    September 16, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    The iPhone 18 Pro is all about more control in photo, video, and editing. Verge’s senior reviewer, Allison Johnson, takes a closer look at the iPhone 18 Pro’s new variable-aperture main camera, manual controls, and AI editing tools in Apple’s latest iPhone. The 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, which is $100 more than last year’s phone. The 6.9-inch iPhone 18 Pro Max goes up to $1,299, another $100 jump. Both phones will launch Sept. 18 Read more here: https://bit.ly/4isnhtm 0:00 Intro 0:17 Cool, right? 0:26 New variable aperture 0:53 What is aperture? 02:23 Low light pressure test 3:…

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  • We unfolded the iPhone Duo | The Vergecast

    September 11, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    Apple did the one more thing: This week it announced its much-anticipated folding phone. It also announced some surprising and controversial new AI features for Apple Watch, including "Live Rewind," which gives the user a text transcript of the last 15 seconds of real life. On today's Vergecast, Allison Johnson and Vee Song report back from California after having more hands-on time with Apple's new devices. Plus, Nilay Patel and David Imel take another swing at discussing Mac Minis and local LLMs with AI researcher CJ Trowbridge. Finally, Allison and Jake tackle some non-Apple stories in the…

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  • Watch, headphones, phone: Which AI gadget is best? | The Vergecast

    July 13, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    So far, there have been exactly zero great AI-first gadgets. But that hasn't stopped the tech industry from trying to figure out what shape and size these new gadgets might take, and whether any of them can best the device in your pocket. The Verge's Allison Johnson and Victoria Song join David to rank all those shapes, from pendant to smartwatch to rectangle, to see whether there is actually a next big thing out there. 0:00 Intro 00:40 90 Seconds on The Verge 2:24 Let’s Rank AI Gadgets 4:44 The Bottom Gadgets 11:12 Number Six 16:24 Number Five 24:05 Number Four 28:59 Number Three 32:10 Numbe…

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  • It's still way too hard to switch phones | The Vergecast

    July 08, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    How much smartphone is too much smartphone? Why is it so hard to switch from one phone to another, even in 2026?And is your smartwatch finally ready to replace your phone, even for a few things? These are the questions you have, and The Verge's Allison Johnson is here to answer them. If you have others, keep 'em coming! Call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, email [email protected], tell us everything. 0:00 Intro 00:36 90 Seconds on The Verge 02:26 Allison Joins the Hotline 03:01 Phone Camera vs Dedicated Camera 09:54 Using Apple Watch as a Phone 15:00 Creating Friction for Phone Use…

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  • Would you let Gemini tell you where to go? | The Vergecast

    April 07, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    Cookie banners — those pop-ups that appear on practically every webpage demanding you accept their tracking systems — are one of the most consistent low-grade annoyances of life online. But Kate Klonick, a professor and writer, argues they're actually much worse than that, and the only plausible solution is to get rid of them entirely. After that, The Verge's Allison Johnson tells us about her AI-enhanced Google Maps experience, and why the new Ask Maps feature has the potential to be both incredibly cool and incredibly creepy. Then, she helps David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline…

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  • Apple at 50: the good and the bad | The Vergecast

    March 31, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

    It's Apple 50 week, so we've got an Apple-filled podcast. First, longtime Apple journalist Jason Snell joins the show to talk about the state of the company as a hardware maker, a software maker, a force for good in the world, and more. Then, blogger and entrepreneur Anil Dash explains why he's worried about the rise of video podcasts, and the role Apple could play to make it better. Finally, The Verge's Allison Johnson helps answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email ⁠[email protected]⁠!) about swapping your phone for a watch. And a tablet. And some other thing…

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Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I think so much of our lives have already been kind of commoditized and automated anyway. And it's not like an endorsement of how we live, but it's like, yeah, like I do place a to-go order with Starbucks as I'm running out the door. It means I don't talk to the barista. I've had very lovely conversations with the barista at the Starbucks I go to. One of them saw me come in throughout my pregnancy and I came in, she ”

“Muse as a shopping platform just so sleek and frictionless. It's like you get your credit card in there one time through like Stripe or whatever and it's like I'm just going to run all over the internet and buy things for you. It's just like you don't even have to click a button. You just type the words go ahead and it just fires off the transaction for you. This is problematic in many ways for me personally in my ba”

“So, there's not only is Siri AI coming to the rest, there are a new series of features called audio intelligence which is another acronym for AI but the audio intelligence features there's four main like mini features that go up under that umbrella. Not all of them are available. The two that people seem most freaked out by are live rewind, which lets you go back in time 15 seconds and you get to see a transcript on ”

“There are a couple of totally new photo features in iOS 27, Apple's AI editing tools. I think this is going to be nightmare fuel. I don't think it's going to go well. Reframe and extend help you adjust your shot post capture by letting you change the framing and fill in the gaps using AI. Like I wish I had positioned the tower a little lower in the frame here so I could use extend to add some blue sky back to the top”

“Basically these companies are all measuring different metrics and they're weighting them in different ways in their proprietary algorithm to basically kind of give you an estimate as to whether your physiological age matches your chronological age. And the idea is you want to be younger or on par or younger. And if you are older then maybe you want to change certain levers in your health so that you can be physiologi”

“I don't think they minded that it was difficult. I mean, especially Apple, we kind of have the receipts of like, well, we don't want to make it too easy for people to just give their kid an Android phone. Um, all that stuff has kind of come to light. I don't know. I think there's a little bit on the carrier part where they're like, 'Yeah, you know, we'll make it kind of easy to change carriers, but not not super easy”

Other executives at The Verge

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →