Hi, pals! Welcome to Installer No. 76, your information to the perfect and Verge-iest stuff on this planet. (If you’re new right here, welcome, sorry in case your bracket’s busted, and in addition you possibly can learn all of the previous editions on the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been shirking most of my obligations to look at March Madness. But I’ve additionally been studying about Polymarket and the way forward for social media and Taylor Sheridan, watching the Severance finale and instantly beginning a full season two rewatch, listening to Amy Poehler’s pleasant new podcast, testing out the brand new base-model iPad and the Nothing Phone 3A Pro, and cleansing out my Downloads folder for the primary time in approach too lengthy.
I even have for you a new-old gadget I really like, a brand new Assassin’s Creed title, a brand new mid-range Android telephone, a decidedly not mid-range digital camera you’ll need anyway, an ideal journaling app, and rather more. I need to purchase too many issues this week. Let’s dive in.
(As at all times, the perfect a part of Installer is your concepts and ideas. What are you into proper now? What ought to everybody else be watching / studying / enjoying / listening to / sticking of their suitcase this week? Tell me every little thing: installer@theverge.com. And if you recognize another person who may get pleasure from Installer, inform them to subscribe right here.)
- The Core 2 Duo. I’ve so many fond recollections of Pebble smartwatches, which mixed options, battery life, and ease higher than mainly something I’ve used since. And now they’re again! They’re not known as Pebbles, however they’re Pebbles. The Core 2 Duo is the cheaper possibility and ships sooner, and also you higher consider I pre-ordered one.
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows. There are three sport franchises I’ll at all times strive any new model of, it doesn’t matter what, and Assassin’s Creed is one in all them. There have been some disappointments, however this isn’t one in all them — there’s no wheel-reinvention taking place right here, however the sport is big, attractive, and precisely what I would like it to be.
- Day One for Windows. I’ve tried all of the journaling apps, and Day One remains to be the perfect round. The Windows app is lengthy overdue, and whereas I don’t assume it’s the best-looking model, it’s a minimum of fairly full-featured proper out of the gate. Another excuse to not change away.
- The Google Pixel 9A. I virtually didn’t embrace this one, as a result of you possibly can’t truly purchase it but due to some ongoing {hardware} weirdness that Google should be much more forthcoming about. But the Pixel A sequence has lengthy been top-of-the-line offers in smartphones, so think about this a PSA: if you happen to’re telephone procuring, maintain off. This may be definitely worth the barely longer wait.
- Tweek. Tweek is one in all my favourite super-simple planner apps, besides I’ve at all times hated it on cellular. Now it has some new views and design tweaks that make it actually good on cellular! I hate how a lot I need to return and throw my life into this app.
- “Can You Fool A Self Driving Car?” This Mark Rober video is filled with attention-grabbing and enjoyable concepts — although there are some very sketchy particulars within the methodology and outcomes. I nonetheless favored it, even simply as a approach of understanding why that is such a tough downside to resolve.
- The Fujifilm GFX100RF. Love seeing Fujifilm take its attractive X100 fixed-lens vibe and begin including it to its different digital camera strains. In this case, a medium format GFX digital camera with each seems to be and specs to spare. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s $4,900. I can nonetheless hope somebody steals me one. (PS: our good friend David Imel made an ideal video about this digital camera.)
- Gemini Canvas. I hear on a regular basis that these live-updating canvas views are an effective way to work together with AI bots — and Google’s model of the function is immediately one of the vital accessible and easy canvas instruments I’ve seen. Gemini is… sort of good?
- Xenoblade Chronicles X. A decade-old Wii U sport simply made it to the Switch, the place I believe it should discover new life. My colleague Andrew Webster known as the sport “a completely large sci-fi RPG,” which is actually all I want to listen to.
My favourite iOS browser today is Quiche Browser. It’s someway each extremely easy and one of the vital customizable browsers I’ve ever tried, which is a very onerous stability to tug off. I spent 10 minutes mucking round within the settings, transferring all of the buttons and icons into precisely the appropriate spot for me, and now every little thing appears to be the place my thumb expects. It’s nice.
Quiche is made by Greg de Jonckheere, a solo developer dwelling in Japan. I reached out to Greg to see if he’d share his Quiche Browser setup with me, as a result of I questioned if he had any cool ideas I didn’t find out about. Then I figured he ought to share with all of us and requested him to share his homescreen, too. Here it’s, plus some data on the apps he makes use of and why:
The telephone: Still an iPhone 15 Pro. That rumored iPhone 17 Air higher be compelling and hold the USB-C port (a should for iOS app growth), in any other case the previous 15 Pro may need to go for an additional trip.
The wallpaper: I’m caught with the iOS 18 default, not a lot for its aesthetics, however as a result of I really like the thought of an animated wallpaper that transitions fantastically with the time of day. Now if solely Apple may let builders create their very own…
The apps: Quiche Browser (extra on that beneath), Things (nonetheless the GOAT), Reeder Classic (similar), Fantastical, Endel (in love with the brand new 8D Odyssey soundscape), Cosmos (like Pinterest, however with style), Poolsuite FM (my favourite indie model and radio), too many messaging apps (the perks of dwelling in Asia whereas protecting in contact with family and friends in Europe — every nation has its personal go-to apps, and I must be on all of them), loads of Apple inventory apps, and a folder stuffed with apps to trace my apps’ downloads, critiques, subscriber counts, and income, in addition to one with growth builds.
I exploit Spotlight and Siri solutions so much, as they’re surprisingly good at remembering the apps I exploit most relying on time and site. So, my dwelling display screen doesn’t essentially mirror my precise utilization.
I additionally requested Greg to share his Quiche Browser setup. Here it’s:
- A compact, one-row toolbar that totally disappears on scroll for full-screen, distraction-free studying
- A left-handed-friendly button format. From left to proper: tab overview, new tab, search / edit URL, tackle bar, shut tab
- The tackle bar exhibits the web page area, title, and skim time, however it doesn’t open the keyboard. Instead, it’s a big button that opens a menu with every little thing I want sometimes: historical past, downloads, settings, discover on web page, search this web site, reader mode, transfer tab to personal mode, copy URL, share, disable blocker, disable JavaScript, toggle darkish mode, reload, undo shut tab (phew)
- No again/ahead buttons. I exploit gestures as an alternative
- In evening mode, the toolbar switches to full black with low-contrast buttons, and darkish mode is enabled on all web sites. Right now, I’m utilizing a darkish blue and orange customized theme, fairly cozy for studying at evening
And lastly, I requested Greg to share a number of issues he’s into proper now. Here’s what he despatched again:
- Severance. Fun reality: as a result of season 1 had 9 episodes, and final week’s episode was the ninth and ended on the very same line, I used to be useless positive I’d simply watched the season 2 finale… and spent a complete day feeling completely pissed off.
- Drive to Survive and Formula 1. I skipped final 12 months’s season as I didn’t need to relive the boring 2023 F1 season, however the newest episodes are good. After that first epic race of 2025, I’m completely hyped for what’s to come back.
- Targz’s generative pen-plotting. My good good friend and mentor mixes generative artwork and pen-plotting to create unbelievable work (like bodily artwork, on precise canvas and all). He not too long ago showcased his newest piece at a really prestigious exhibition at Paris’ Grand Palais, and his timelapse movies are mesmerizing to look at.
- Imagining Arc by The Browser Company. A captivating dive, particularly in hindsight, into what went by means of the founder’s thoughts simply weeks earlier than the corporate’s greatest pivot and presumably its most difficult interval but.
- Conversations on Quality on YouTube. I can’t get sufficient of digital product individuals speaking about their craft.
Here’s what the Installer neighborhood is into this week. I need to know what you’re into proper now as effectively! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — together with your suggestions for something and every little thing, and we’ll function a few of our favorites right here each week. For extra nice suggestions, try the replies to this put up on Threads and this put up on Bluesky.
“I simply picked up a Supernote Nomad, which is hitting the candy spot for an e-ink reader and notetaker for me. Being capable of learn EPUBs and PDFs whereas drawing on them like a bodily guide is precisely what I would like out of an e-reader. Though it did begin me down a rabbit gap of transferring all my ebooks to Calibre, getting the metadata excellent, and customizing the epub formatting with the appropriate format and customized font to make studying on my Nomad good.” — Sage
“I not too long ago stopped counting on algorithms for music discovery and as an alternative I subscribed to a Patreon for a (don’t like this time period however) tastemaker named Derrick Gee.” — Mike
“Adolescence on Netflix. Amazing drama with hour lengthy episodes filmed in a single shot, single digital camera. Even features a digital camera passover to a drone simply to make issues extra difficult.” — Paul
“I’ve been utilizing Ladder, and I’ve discovered it usually good. My coach drops six exercises every week and prioritizes three. On high of this, the iOS app is such an ideal expertise. If you’re within the Apple ecosystem, it takes over your Apple Watch, integrates with Spotify / Apple Music, and tracks your vitals intra-workout, resembling % of max coronary heart fee. There are heat ups and funky downs, and I consider it’s as near getting a private coach who creates a progressive coaching plan as is achievable in an app.” — Kevin
“URList, slightly device for making lists.” — Itay
“I completed rewatching FX’s Legion and was as glued to it as the primary watch. What notably caught my consideration is among the scenes narrated by Jon Hamm in Season 2 and the way sadly prescient they’re.” — Zayd
“I used to be completely fascinated by this 1970’s BBC documentary about how the approaching age of the microchip would result in ‘our youngsters rising up with out jobs to go to.’ Interesting echoes of the AI debate.” — Mike
“This week I’m fortunately listening to Into the Aether, a low-key online game podcast. They are identified for marathon GOTY-casts and console retrospectives. This week they introduced they’re becoming a member of a podcast community, so I’m simply actually comfortable for them.” — Dan
“I’m going to Japan subsequent week for my honeymoon, and have been utilizing a pair instruments to choose up primary Japanese. One of them is a sport, Shashingo, which helps you study by means of pictures.” — Cameron
One of my favourite area of interest genres of YouTube is “I acquired a tour of a Disney lab.” There are tons of those movies on the market — Cleo Abram and CrunchLabs each revealed some within the final two weeks, The Wall Street Journal and MKBHD did them final 12 months, and there are such a lot of extra a fast search away — and I gladly watch all of them. Even after watching the official Imagineering documentary, The Imagineering Story, I nonetheless can’t get sufficient of seeing the combination of sensible, bizarre, helpful, and simply cool stuff taking place contained in the labs. It does really feel like Disney’s cachet will not be what it as soon as was, however there’s nonetheless some superb stuff taking place contained in the House of Mouse. Plus: everyone finally ends up doing a little sort of lightsaber demo, and I’m at all times right here for a lightsaber demo.
