Your Luxury Car Now Has Ads!

August 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In a recent episode of Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast, the hosts (Marques, Andrew, and David) unpacked a series of tech stories that together paint a picture of a growing tension: companies are finding new ways to monetize products after the sale, often by turning features into ad platforms or subscription hooks. The throughline is a creeping sense that the things we buy—cars, TVs, phones—are no longer just objects we own, but ongoing revenue streams for their makers. The conversation moves from the absurd (ads in luxury cars) to the regulatory (the EU forcing Apple to open its ecosystem), landing on a broader question about where the line between a premium product and a monetization platform really sits.

The BMW Ad That Broke the Luxury Illusion

The most visceral example came from BMW. Owners of certain models (mostly post-2020) reported a "special surprise" upon startup: a full-screen Spider-Man ad, complete with ambient lighting integration, that appeared on the infotainment display. The hosts were incredulous. "Imagine you buy your house and you go to turn on the sink and red water comes out," Marques said, framing the violation of a private space. BMW confirmed the ad was part of a "broader brand partnership" running from July 27 to August 10.

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What you'll learn

1 (01:27) **YouTube's New Social Feature is a Mess** - The hosts discover that YouTube's new share-to-messaging feature creates a confusing reply interface that hides the comment section.
2 (13:02) **BMW Puts Ads in Your Car's Infotainment Screen** - BMW is running a "brand partnership" promotion that displays a Spider-Man ad on the startup screen of cars made after 2020.
3 (20:32) **Reverse: The LG TV That Got Better by Saying No** - David discovers that refusing to sign his LG TV's new terms of service makes the TV run faster and his internet speed test faster.
4 (22:21) **Ford Fathom: A $30,000 Electric Truck Competitor** - Ford announced the Fathom, a mid-size electric truck starting around $30,000, positioning it as a direct competitor to the Tesla Cybertruck and the gas-powered Ford Maverick.
5 (28:05) **EU Forces Apple to Open Universal Clipboard to Windows** - Microsoft filed an interoperability request under the EU's DMA, asking Apple to make its Universal Clipboard feature work with Windows PCs.
6 (53:44) **Firefox's New Split View Feature** - David highlights a new Firefox feature that lets you right-click a link and open it in a split view tab group.
7 (56:47) **Minimal Phone 2: A Premium, Keyboard-Equipped Minimalist Device** - The hosts discuss the trailer for the Minimal Phone 2, which features an OLED display, a physical keyboard, and a sleek, focused UX.

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Show Notes

This week, Marques, Andrew, and David talk about the newest Spiderman x BMW collab that has everyone angry before debating whether the EU should make Apple share some features with Windows computers. Then it's all about CMF and their newest earbuds (modeled by AI models ) and a few quick hits about wearables. It's a long one this week but it was also still a fun one. Enjoy!

Links:

Reddit - BMW x Spiderman

Ford Fathom

Verge - Apple to Windows Copy-Paste

MacWorld - Fitbit syncs to Apple Health

CMF by Nothing Twitter

Casio ring watch

Keychron Twitter

This episode brought to you by:

Framer: https://www.framer.com/waveform

Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/waveform

Marques: https://www.threads.net/@mkbhd