Hi, mates! Welcome to Installer No. 82, your information to the most effective and Verge-iest stuff on the planet. (If you’re new right here, welcome, hope you’re caught up on Andor, and in addition you possibly can learn all of the outdated editions on the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been studying about AI prophets and ChatGPT cheaters and the lives of NFL prospects, watching the brand new season of Taskmaster and a complete bunch of Mulan, taking part in PGA Tour Pro Golf on my iPhone and the unique Mario Golf on my Switch, lastly entering into Barbarians on the Gate, and doing a whole lot of eBay looking for classic devices. For work, I swear.
I even have for you an awesome new gaming controller, a podcast about emojis, a brand new super-high-end health tracker, a complete bunch of GTA VI content material, and rather more. Fun, gadgety week this week! Let’s get into it.
(As all the time, the most effective a part of Installer is your concepts and suggestions. What are you watching / studying / taking part in / listening to / studying on the harpsichord this week? What ought to everybody else be into proper now, too? Tell me all the pieces: installer@theverge.com. And if you already know another person who may get pleasure from Installer, ahead it to them and inform them to subscribe right here.)
- The Backbone Pro. I’ve had and liked a Backbone controller for some time — it’s a terrific gaming accent in your cellphone. The new mannequin is much more formidable; along with your cellphone, it could additionally join wirelessly to iPads, Steam Decks, sensible TVs, and extra. No Switch or Xbox or PS5, for annoying causes, however nonetheless an awesome cross-device thought.
- “Emoji Law.” An on the spot traditional of a 99 Percent Invisible episode, about how a thumbs-up emoji in response to a contract proposal became an enormous lawsuit over what a thumbs-up emoji really means. A wonky story in the best possible approach, and an awesome hear.
- The Microsoft Surface Pro 12. I stay barely skeptical that any Windows on ARM gadget could be actually nice, however it appears like Microsoft bought the spec sheet proper with this one. The Pro is skinny and light-weight, highly effective sufficient, with good battery life, and begins at $800… I’ve excessive hopes for this one.
- Poker Face season two. This present by no means fairly bought its due, I assume principally as a result of it’s on Peacock and no person actually cares about Peacock. (Disclosure: Comcast, which owns Peacock, is a minority investor in Vox Media.) But it’s a terrific thriller present, and the second season is simply as shocking and weird as the primary.
- Amazon Kindle for iOS. This is usually a PSA: due to the latest ruling towards Apple, builders like Amazon can now embody hyperlinks to purchase stuff on the net. Amazon’s one of many first I’ve seen to take benefit — you possibly can simply click on to purchase a e book! What a world! Delta and different apps are additionally already altering the way you pay for stuff, and there’s absolutely extra to come back quickly.
- “Handhelds (and Games) I’m Playing Right Now.” A enjoyable Retro Games Corp tour of a bunch of attention-grabbing and enjoyable handheld consoles — together with a pair I didn’t learn about earlier than — and a few enjoyable video games to play on them. I’ve hassle holding all of the retro handheld stuff straight, and this video was tremendous useful.
- Whoop 5.0. Whoop has all the time been a bit of an excessive amount of for me. It’s an awesome health tracker for, like, professional athletes, however it’s greater than most individuals want. The new one, although, is smaller and longer-lasting and extra centered on total well being monitoring. It’s nonetheless a lot of metrics, although, and also you’ll pay as much as $359 a 12 months to get all of them.
- “GTA 6 TRAILER 2 REACTION & BREAKDOWN.” Two full hours of frame-by-frame assessment of a two-minute trailer for a recreation that’s not popping out for a 12 months, from a giant identify in GTA streaming, who spends half the stream simply being blown away by the graphics? Yes, please. I watched the entire thing with out even which means to.
I’ve talked about this earlier than right here, however I’ve an actual weak point for notebooks. On some stage this is mindless: I kind all day, I write by hand rarely, and my handwriting is horrific. And but there’s nothing I really like greater than the appear and feel of a very nice pocket book. I’ve been a fan of the Sidekick Notepad from Cortex for some time, and was very excited to see the launch of the Sidekick Pocket this week. There are three flavors of the brand new mini pocket book: one with lined paper, one with a dot grid, and one only for writing checklists. The right reply is all three.
One half of the Cortex workforce is Myke Hurley, who you may additionally know because the cofounder of the Relay podcast community and the host of tech-focused reveals like Connected and Upgrade. I’ve been a fan of Myke for a very long time, and needed to see how a man who makes beautiful notebooks thinks about his cellphone.
Here’s Myke’s homescreen, plus some data on the apps he makes use of and why:
The cellphone: iPhone 16 Pro in Desert Titanium. I’m within the No Case Club with my iPhone (though I really like my MagSafe Popsocket to assist with grip), so I wish to have a cellphone with as a lot coloration as Apple will give me.
The wallpaper: This is a photograph of the wallpaper in The Beverly Hills Hotel, which I took whereas on vacation in LA final 12 months. This wallpaper provides me pleasure, regardless that my mates REPEATEDLY inform me that it makes my homescreen too busy. But it’s my cellphone!
The apps: Apple Notes, ChatGPT, Citymapper, Mango Baby, Photos, Instagram, Messages, Readwise Reader, Todoist, Notion, Safari, Overcast, GameObserve, Owlet Dream, Kindle.
As you possibly can see, I really like widgets on my homescreen, and I exploit stacks fairly a bit. So you see Carrot and Due there, as an example, however they’re hiding widgets for Fantastical and Reminders, respectively.
I discover myself utilizing ChatGPT an increasing number of to exchange Google Search. Being capable of ask follow-up questions on what I’m looking for may be very highly effective, and infrequently helps me discover what I would like.
My spouse and I just lately had our first baby, and we’ve been utilizing Mango Baby to trace all of the vital issues it’s essential to observe for child well being. It’s made by a single developer, it appears nice, and it helps all the brand new Apple applied sciences like interactive widgets and dwell actions.
I’ve just lately taken all text-based social media off my cellphone, and am making an attempt to do this stuff on work units solely, in an effort to be much less distracted. So I’ve began saving articles to Readwise Reader. I actually like the way in which the app appears and works — however I particularly like its highlighting options.
I actually love Widgetsmith’s photograph widgets. The built-in widget from Apple is sweet, however you by no means know what it’s going to indicate you.
I additionally requested Myke to share just a few issues he’s into proper now. Here’s what he despatched again:
- The Studio on Apple TV Plus is my absolute favourite present proper now. It’s an extremely enjoyable and entertaining present that’s additionally a technical masterpiece. Everything I see about how this present is made simply makes me love and respect it extra.
- Kinda Funny Games is a gaming-focused YouTube channel / podcast community that brings me a lot pleasure. It’s an 11-person firm primarily based in San Francisco, and so they produce a number of reveals each day. The gang has such nice camaraderie I really feel like I’m hanging out with mates after I tune in.
- If you’re not listening to The Rest is History, you need to change that. It’s an unimaginable historical past podcast hosted by Tom Holland (not that one) and Dominic Sandbrook. They have a approach of bringing historical past to life that I discover so compelling. There are so many superb collection of episodes to undergo, however I like to recommend the episodes on the Assassination of JFK as a very good place to start out.
Here’s what the Installer group is into this week. I need to know what you’re into proper now as nicely! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — together with your suggestions for something and all the pieces, and we’ll function a few of our favorites right here each week. For much more nice suggestions, take a look at the replies to this submit on Threads and this submit on Bluesky.
“I’ve began taking part in one other day by day phrase recreation known as Raddle. It’s a phrase ladder the place it’s a must to get from one phrase (or phrase) to a different, however as an alternative of simply altering one letter like in a standard phrase ladder there are a collection of clues like ‘change the center letter with a double letter to get a time of day.’ The catch is that the clues are in a random order so it’s essential to work out which clue applies proper now.” — Kyle
“The Seat on Netflix, regardless of the very cringe WhatsApp sponsoring, is an enchanting watch of a prodigy child nonetheless dwelling along with his dad and mom who’s about to affix one of many high F1 groups. What Drive to Survive might have been.” — Greg
“Just bought finished with Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, and loved it.” — Hobie
“Pocket Casts launched transcripts lastly! Only for Plus and Patron members, it appears like, but when I wasn’t already a Plus member, this may’ve immediately made me one. This will assist my fixed wrestle of wanting to change to Apple Podcasts considerably.” — Omesh
“After Omnivore shut down, I bought pressured and began wanting into self internet hosting. Struggled till I arrange YunoHost to self host Wallabag and Miniflux on a Raspberry Pi.” — Ronin
“I’ve been taking part in Kero Kero Cowboy for Game Boy, which simply bought launched after a profitable Kickstarter. It has robust Kirby vibes and has been a blast up to now.” — Justin
“I’m wanting on the Alfred Field Guide from MacSparky, and making an attempt to see if I can match it into my price range this month. Been a Powerpack person for years, however I’ve by no means realized the ins and outs.” — Ben
“The Pitt on Max is the most effective new present I’ve seen this 12 months.” — Yury
“I’ve principally sunk my week into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I don’t need to sound overly dramatic, however I feel it’s the largest bounce in mature online game storytelling since The Witcher 3. Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3 improved on The Witcher, however CO appears like one thing solely new.” — Laszlo
I’ve gotten a few emails in the previous couple of weeks that each one say principally the identical factor: dude, it’s essential to jailbreak your Kindle. The pitch makes a whole lot of sense! The Kindle is a stunning piece of {hardware} that’s annoyingly tied to all of Amazon’s bizarre concepts about software program and books.
I’ve spent a while this week on YouTube watching folks jailbreak their e-readers — Dammit Jeff has an awesome explainer, as does Simon Feilder — and so they all present that the Kindle could be a rather more attention-grabbing and versatile gadget. Also, folks actually like KOReader. Amazon, in fact, doesn’t need you to do any of this; it already patched among the jailbreak exploits, and I assume this cat-and-mouse recreation will proceed without end. But I can be jailbreaking my Paperwhite as quickly as I can, and I’ll report again.
