Hello, buddies! Welcome to Installer No. 83, your information to the very best and Verge-iest stuff on the earth. (Should you’re new right here, welcome, please don’t spoil Andor for me, and likewise you possibly can learn all of the previous editions on the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been studying about Mission: Impossible and Sam Altman’s kitchen and bad roommates, ranting to PJ Vogt about all the ways I’m attempting to make use of my cellphone much less, writing all my scratch notes in Antinote, deciding to be cautiously optimistic about The Paper, rewatching the final season of Mythic Quest, watching and reading about life as an air site visitors controller, attempting to restart a meditation observe after discovering I get Headspace by way of work, and utilizing Ludex to see if any of my sports activities playing cards are price something. To date… they’re not.
I even have for you a pair of headphones you’re virtually assured to like, two new sci-fi exhibits to take a look at, the brand new Airbnb, and way more. Let’s dive in.
(As all the time, the very best a part of Installer is your concepts and suggestions. What are you studying / watching / listening to / taking part in / carrying round in a backpack this week? What ought to everybody else be simply as into as you might be proper now? Inform me all the things: installer@theverge.com. And if you understand another person who would possibly take pleasure in Installer, ahead it to them and inform them to subscribe right here.)
- The Sony WH-1000XM6. Sony’s over-ear headphones have been the very best in the marketplace for the previous couple of years. The brand new ones aren’t precisely, you understand, mind-blowing, and $450 is loads, however I’ll take the enhancements throughout the board — particularly the higher mics and noise cancelling.
- Doom: The Dark Ages. The primary Doom sport in 5 years, and by all accounts it’s way more than only a sequel. I’m no scholar within the collection, however I’m into the concept that it each has a stable story and has ratcheted up the standard of the combating. Get you a sport that may do each, you understand?
- Spotify’s AI DJ. Lastly, this function works the way in which it ought to. You may ask Spotify’s chatbot to play you songs based mostly on an artist, or a temper, or no matter else you’re feeling, and it’ll generate countless music on the fly. I’ve had good luck placing in a couple of artists I like, however telling Spotify to solely play me music I’ve by no means heard.
- Murderbot. It’s dystopian, it’s humorous, it’s often fairly existential. It’s a narrative about life as a bot that may actually simply relatively… not. Apple TV Plus continues to do sci-fi rather well, and whereas I’ve seen a couple of of us who (as all the time) favor the books, that is one to do that weekend.
- Love, Death & Robots season four. This Netflix collection is a really totally different tackle robots. A bunch of big-name filmmakers made all types of thrilling, weird sci-fi shorts that appear to cross each style and elegance you possibly can consider. David Fincher directed one! And I assure you’ll by no means guess what it’s!
- The DJI Mavic 4 Pro. With a 360-degree gimbal, lengthy battery life, and a 100-megapixel digital camera, DJI continues to outdo itself on the drone entrance. Technically, in the event you’re within the US you’re not supposed to have the ability to purchase this $2,700 mannequin — however my colleague Sean Hollister discovered them on sale anyway.
- Internet Roadtrip. There’s a brand new Neal.enjoyable factor, so I’m going to let you know concerning the new Neal.enjoyable factor. This one’s a tour by way of Avenue View through which everybody at present on the location will get to resolve the place we go subsequent. Not fairly as world-shattering as Stimulation Clicker, however nonetheless excellent.
- Airbnb. I’m unsure what to make of this large pivot, actually. Airbnb as an enormous assortment of journey experiences and companies, relatively than simply properties, makes a sure sort of sense. However is that this in the end simply, like, fancy Yelp? I don’t know. However I’m fascinated by how big a swing this is.
- Android 16. I actually like the brand new design language for Android, which is daring and colourful and provides each customers and builders much more to play with. All of it feels slightly extra… alive, when all the things else about smartphones is beginning to really feel drab and rancid.
Some private information: I’m having one other child! I’m happening go away someday across the starting of July, and can be gone for the summer season scoping sick child devices, devising difficult spreadsheet-based programs for monitoring consuming habits, and as soon as once more testing each sport I can discover that’s playable one-handed.
Excellent news, although: you’ll be in good fingers once I’m gone. The Verge’s Jay Peters goes to be taking on Installer for a few months, discovering and sharing all the good things similar to all the time. (Greatest I can inform thus far, Jay likes wonky indie video games the way in which I like note-taking apps, so get able to replenish your consoles in a rush this summer season.) You’ll be listening to from him right here a bit for the following a number of weeks, too, however I’m not going wherever simply but.
As he begins to get ramped up for all issues Installer, I figured one of the simplest ways for us all to get to know Jay can be to have him share his homescreen. It’s simply the worth of admission ’spherical these components. Right here it’s, plus some data on the apps he makes use of and why:
The cellphone: An iPhone 16 Professional I bought earlier this yr. I upgraded from an iPhone 12 Mini that I miss desperately — the iPhone 16 Professional is just too heavy and too large for me.
The wallpaper: A grey gradient I made utilizing Apple’s built-in wallpaper instruments. I’ve tried the all-black background, however I discover it jarring once I open an app and all of a sudden a notch or Dynamic Island seems. I made the apps grey so that they’re much less visually stimulating, and as a continuing reminder that I ought to most likely be doing one thing aside from scrolling on my cellphone.
The apps: Telephone, Calendar, Pictures, Digital camera, Voice Memos, Apple Maps, Clock, Settings, Messages, Notes, Reminders.
As a lot as attainable, I depend on Apple’s inventory apps as a result of they sync properly between my cellphone and my Mac. (Voice Memos is a very helpful one in my line of labor!) I additionally hold my homescreen fairly tidy by shoving many of the few apps I carry on my cellphone into the App Library. If I’m actively testing or utilizing one for no matter motive, it briefly lives on the high beneath the 2 widgets.
The countdown widget comes from an app referred to as Days Since. I’m a newish dad to a really early riser, and I spotted final yr that even one glass of wine made me a step too gradual to maintain up with my lively child. I’ve set a purpose to not drink for a yr simply to see if I can do it, and thus far, so good.
I additionally requested Jay to share a couple of issues he’s into proper now. Right here’s what he despatched again:
- I really feel like my total persona has turn into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a beautiful RPG that’s my favourite sport of the yr thus far. It’s simply so good. And the soundtrack is outstanding.
- I feel everybody ought to watch Taskmaster, a British present the place 5 comedians are judged on how properly they do absurd duties. The entire present is obtainable for free on YouTube, together with the 19th season (sorry, “collection”) that not too long ago kicked off.
- I’m additionally loving slaying demons in Doom: The Dark Ages. Particularly, I really like utilizing your large defend to parry assaults. It has a very satisfying “gong” sound that I can’t get sufficient of.
Right here’s what the Installer neighborhood is into this week. I need to know what you’re into proper now as properly! Electronic mail installer@theverge.com or message me on Sign — @davidpierce.11 — together with your suggestions for something and all the things, and we’ll function a few of our favorites right here each week. For much more nice suggestions, try the replies to this post on Threads and this post on Bluesky.
“Acquired my new Minimal Phone per week in the past and it’s glorious. There are nonetheless some points to be resolved, however general there’s a ton of potential for this idea of a sensible dumb cellphone.” — Robert
“Presently studying: Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick. It’s implausible thus far, and has already modified my thoughts a bit on the entire AI factor.” — Matt
“Morsle, the every day phrase sport that provides you the morse code of a 5 letter phrase to guess.” — Kev
“I used to be a person of Levels for a very long time to trace my glucose, however didn’t understand now you can purchase a Dexcom Stelo for $80 on Amazon and it integrates into Oura ring to grasp extra about your holistic well being. It’s a fantastic various in the event you’re serious about monitoring your glucose.” — Will
“My fav low cost headphones that I take advantage of most days are the Sony MDRZX110NC, that are sort of noise cancelling, however nothing fancy. My ‘actual’ headphones are the MDR-V6 and the long-discontinued MDR-V700DJ that I’ve principally retired. Probably not a lot of a wi-fi man since I similar to to plug stuff in.” — Ben
“Received the early chicken entry to Subo app! It’s an impartial app to trace your subscriptions, appears fairly too!” — Kevin
“The brand new season of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s motorcycle travelogue present on Apple TV Plus has began, this time titled Long Way Home. Only a nice present for lifting your spirits and for displaying the enjoyment of participating with and having fun with different cultures.” — Andy
“I bought the Siete Churro Strips from Wegman’s final week, and I’ve been crumbling them up and placing them on my vanilla ice cream at evening. It’s so good to get that little little bit of crunch with the vanilla ice cream.” — Ben
“Dialing in my work-from-home setup this week. How come nobody talks about the truth that you possibly can daisychain screens with DisplayPort 1.2 cables?! Additionally, I’m procuring round for a footrest for beneath the desk, and I don’t know the place to start out.” — Jeremy
I used to be in New York for a few days this week, engaged on a giant new undertaking I’m very excited to share with all of you… later. One factor I bought to do as a part of the undertaking was a deep dive into previous Vines, and you understand what? Vine was superior, y’all. A lot of that platform is now utterly gone, however there’s nonetheless a lot good things in YouTube compilations and other YouTube compilations and still other YouTube compilations.
Should you weren’t round on the time, a few of it would make completely no sense, however there’s extra comedy chilly in these six-second movies than you’ll discover nearly wherever, And in the event you’re feeling notably nostalgic, it is best to learn this story from our buddies at New York about maybe the greatest Vine of all time.