Hello, associates! Welcome to Installer No. 76, your information to the most effective and Verge-iest stuff on the earth. (In the event you’re new right here, welcome, sorry in case your bracket’s busted, and in addition you may learn all of the outdated editions on the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been shirking most of my obligations to look at March Insanity. However I’ve additionally been studying about Polymarket and the future of social media and Taylor Sheridan, watching the Severance finale and instantly beginning a full season two rewatch, listening to Amy Poehler’s delightful 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 method too lengthy.
I even have for you a new-old gadget I really like, a brand new Murderer’s Creed title, a brand new mid-range Android telephone, a decidedly not mid-range digicam you’ll need anyway, a terrific journaling app, and way more. I wish to purchase too many issues this week. Let’s dive in.
(As at all times, the most effective a part of Installer is your concepts and ideas. What are you into proper now? What ought to everybody else be watching / studying / taking part in / listening to / sticking of their suitcase this week? Inform me all the pieces: installer@theverge.com. And if you understand another person who may take pleasure in Installer, inform them to subscribe right here.)
- The Core 2 Duo. I’ve so many fond reminiscences 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 recreation franchises I’ll at all times strive any new model of, it doesn’t matter what, and Murderer’s Creed is one in every of them. There have been some disappointments, however this isn’t one in every of them — there’s no wheel-reinvention taking place right here, however the recreation is big, beautiful, and precisely what I would like it to be.
- Day One for Windows. I’ve tried all of the journaling apps, and Day One continues to be the most effective round. The Home windows app is lengthy overdue, and whereas I don’t assume it’s the best-looking model, it’s not less than fairly full-featured proper out of the gate. One other excuse to not swap away.
- The Google Pixel 9A. I virtually didn’t embrace this one, as a result of you may’t truly purchase it but because of some ongoing {hardware} weirdness that Google must be much more forthcoming about. However the Pixel A collection has lengthy been probably the greatest offers in smartphones, so contemplate this a PSA: when you’re telephone procuring, maintain off. This may be definitely worth the barely longer wait.
- Tweek. Tweek is one in every of my favourite super-simple planner apps, besides I’ve at all times hated it on cell. Now it has some new views and design tweaks that make it actually good on cell! I hate how a lot I wish to return and throw my life into this app.
- “Can You Fool A Self Driving Car?” This Mark Rober video is stuffed with attention-grabbing and enjoyable concepts — regardless that there are some very sketchy particulars within the methodology and outcomes. I nonetheless preferred it, even simply as a method of understanding why that is such a tough downside to unravel.
- The Fujifilm GFX100RF. Love seeing Fujifilm take its beautiful X100 fixed-lens vibe and begin including it to its different digicam strains. On this case, a medium format GFX digicam 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 pal David Imel made a great video about this digicam.)
- 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 characteristic is immediately one of the vital accessible and easy canvas instruments I’ve seen. Gemini is… form of good?
- Xenoblade Chronicles X. A decade-old Wii U recreation simply made it to the Swap, the place I believe it’s going to discover new life. My colleague Andrew Webster known as the sport “a fully huge sci-fi RPG,” which is admittedly all I want to listen to.
My favourite iOS browser nowadays is Quiche Browser. It’s by some means each extremely easy and one of the vital customizable browsers I’ve ever tried, which is a very exhausting 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 all the pieces appears to be the place my thumb expects. It’s nice.
Quiche is made by Greg de Jonckheere, a solo developer residing 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 learn about. Then I figured he ought to share with all of us and requested him to share his homescreen, too. Right here it’s, plus some information on the apps he makes use of and why:
The telephone: Nonetheless an iPhone 15 Professional. That rumored iPhone 17 Air higher be compelling and maintain the USB-C port (a should for iOS app improvement), in any other case the outdated 15 Professional might 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 superbly with the time of day. Now if solely Apple might let builders create their very own…
The apps: Quiche Browser (extra on that beneath), Issues (nonetheless the GOAT), Reeder Basic (identical), 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 residing in Asia whereas preserving 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 filled with apps to trace my apps’ downloads, critiques, subscriber counts, and income, in addition to one with improvement builds.
I take advantage of Highlight and Siri options quite a bit, as they’re surprisingly good at remembering the apps I take advantage of most relying on time and placement. So, my residence display doesn’t essentially replicate my precise utilization.
I additionally requested Greg to share his Quiche Browser setup. Right here it’s:
- A compact, one-row toolbar that absolutely disappears on scroll for full-screen, distraction-free studying
- A left-handed-friendly button structure. 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 browse time, but it surely doesn’t open the keyboard. As an alternative, it’s a big button that opens a menu with all the pieces I want often: historical past, downloads, settings, discover on web page, search this website, reader mode, transfer tab to non-public mode, copy URL, share, disable blocker, disable JavaScript, toggle darkish mode, reload, undo shut tab (phew)
- No again/ahead buttons. I take advantage of gestures as a substitute
- In night time mode, the toolbar switches to full black with low-contrast buttons, and darkish mode is enabled on all web sites. Proper now, I’m utilizing a darkish blue and orange customized theme, fairly cozy for studying at night time
And eventually, I requested Greg to share a number of issues he’s into proper now. Right here’s what he despatched again:
- Severance. Enjoyable truth: 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 lifeless positive I’d simply watched the season 2 finale… and spent a whole day feeling totally annoyed.
- Drive to Survive and Formula 1. I skipped final 12 months’s season as I didn’t wish 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 pal 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 videos are mesmerizing to look at.
- Imagining Arc by The Browser Firm. A captivating dive, particularly in hindsight, into what went via the founder’s thoughts simply weeks earlier than the corporate’s largest 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.
Right here’s what the Installer neighborhood is into this week. I wish to know what you’re into proper now as properly! E mail installer@theverge.com or message me on Sign — @davidpierce.11 — along with your suggestions for something and all the pieces, and we’ll characteristic a few of our favorites right here each week. For extra nice suggestions, take a look at the replies to this post on Threads and this post on Bluesky.
“I simply picked up a Supernote Nomad, which is hitting the candy spot for an e-ink reader and notetaker for me. Having the ability to learn EPUBs and PDFs whereas drawing on them like a bodily ebook is strictly what I would like out of an e-reader. Although 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 structure and custom font to make studying on my Nomad good.” — Sage
“I not too long ago stopped counting on algorithms for music discovery and as a substitute I subscribed to a Patreon for a (don’t like this time period however) tastemaker named Derrick Gee.” — Mike
“Adolescence on Netflix. Wonderful drama with hour lengthy episodes filmed in a single shot, single digicam. Even features a digicam passover to a drone simply to make issues extra sophisticated.” — Paul
“I’ve been utilizing Ladder, and I’ve discovered it usually good. My coach drops six exercises every week and prioritizes three. On prime of this, the iOS app is such a terrific expertise. In the event you’re within the Apple ecosystem, it takes over your Apple Watch, integrates with Spotify / Apple Music, and tracks your vitals intra-workout, akin to % of max coronary heart charge. 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 instrument 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 kids rising up with out jobs to go to.’ Attention-grabbing echoes of the AI debate.” — Mike
“This week I’m fortunately listening to Into the Aether, a low-key online game podcast. They’re 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 glad for them.” — Dan
“I’m going to Japan subsequent week for my honeymoon, and have been utilizing a pair instruments to select up primary Japanese. Certainly one of them is a recreation, Shashingo, which helps you study via images.” — Cameron
Certainly one of my favourite area of interest genres of YouTube is “I received a tour of a Disney lab.” There are tons of those movies on the market — Cleo Abram and CrunchLabs each printed 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 combo 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 Home of Mouse. Plus: all people finally ends up performing some form of lightsaber demo, and I’m at all times right here for a lightsaber demo.