Hello, associates! Welcome to Installer No. 71, your information to the perfect and Verge-iest stuff on the planet. (Should you’re new right here, welcome, joyful lengthy weekend to all these allowed to rejoice, and likewise you possibly can learn all of the outdated editions on the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been studying about Alan Turing and OnlyFans and street booze and convenience stores, dusting off my Fortnite abilities for the primary time shortly, studying The Ministry of Time, working up the braveness to make air fryer donuts, attempting out a Sony ZV-1 M2 as my webcam, catching up on The White Lotus earlier than season 3 begins, attempting Anybox as a bookmarking / note-taking app, and seeing if the Simplify Gmail extension will make me like electronic mail extra.
I even have for you a spot to observe all the perfect SNL sketches, an amazing new pair of Beats headphones, a brand new drawing pill for creators of all types, a fun-sounding sci-fi film on Apple TV Plus, and rather more.
Oh, and because of everybody who despatched in music ideas final week! I obtained a ton of excellent responses, and to be fully sincere, I haven’t been capable of correctly learn and reply to every little thing but. Meaning subsequent week’s gonna be an enormous, enormous, music-setup extravaganza, and that means you probably have ideas on music companies, favourite music devices, apps you like, a deep love for Victrolas, or anything, you’ve nonetheless obtained time to inform me all about it. Hit me up!
All proper, huge streaming weekend forward. Let’s do that.
(As all the time, the perfect a part of Installer is your concepts and ideas. What do you wish to know extra about? What superior methods are you aware that everybody else ought to? What app ought to everybody be utilizing? Inform me every little thing: installer@theverge.com. And if you understand another person who may get pleasure from Installer, inform them to subscribe right here.)
- SNL50. I’m very excited for the three-hour SNL anniversary show on Sunday, and even the concert on Saturday night, however I is perhaps much more enthusiastic about this Peacock touchdown web page. It’s simply playlist after playlist of iconic sketches, monologues, and musical performances — you could possibly simply spend your complete weekend simply watching these clips.
- Beats Powerbeats Pro 2. All of the helpful Apple-y options of AirPods Execs, however in cooler colours and with earhooks that truly maintain the buds in my ears. I purchased a pair within the (barely boring however that’s the purpose) “fast sand” colour, and I’m very proud of my buy. I do want the mic was slightly higher, although.
- The Witcher: Sirens of The Deep. I haven’t actually dug into the entire Witcher Netflix-verse, after listening to so many combined issues concerning the present. However this, an animated film with not one of the baggage however the entire cool monster-hunting, seems like my type of factor.
- The Wacom Intuos Pro. Simply the most important factor to occur to drawing tablets in, I don’t know, a decade? I like the concept of placing the controls on the prime and making them extra tactile, and I like that they’re slightly smaller and slimmer, however I do marvel what number of yearslong workflows are going to wish a while to regulate.
- The Gorge. I just like the premise of this film a lot — two folks on both aspect of an enormous, deep, fog-filled gorge, tasked with defending the world from no matter is down there, and likewise one thing one thing love story — that I don’t actually care that the evaluations aren’t nice. (Or that Apple TV Plus films largely suck.) I’m right here for this one.
- Apple TV Plus for Android. And oh, look, a brand new solution to watch The Gorge! Apple clearly timed this launch for Severance’s comeback and the upcoming MLS season, however it’s an enormous win for subscribers and an extended overdue transfer from Apple.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. On Netflix, that is the uncommon present my spouse and I are equally into — about influencer tradition and the lengths folks will go to get likes. Together with An Update on Our Family and some others, we’re constructing a deeply bleak style right here.
- Is This Seat Taken? All you possibly can play proper now could be a Steam demo, however this puzzler recreation — which is like Guess Who meets RollerCoaster Tycoon — is enjoyable and humorous and very straightforward to get misplaced in. It’s sucking me in the way in which Balatro did, which is terrifying and nice.
- Routine for Android. I’ve been watching Routine for some time, and it’s shaping into a extremely highly effective (if barely convoluted) app for notes, duties, calendars, and extra. The Android app isn’t fairly absolutely featured but, however it’ll get there, and it’s one to check out.
I play with a whole lot of devices. (Perk of the job.) However Sean Hollister? Sean Hollister performs with a lot of devices. Whether or not he’s toying with stuff for his superior video collection or taking issues aside with wildly difficult Apple instruments, I’m perpetually jealous of his gadget adventures. Like, simply the opposite day: double magnetic rings! By no means seen ‘em earlier than, need ‘em actual dangerous!
I requested Sean to share his homescreen with us, as a result of I figured I’d in all probability uncover a bunch of cool new stuff that means, too. Right here’s his homescreen, plus some data on the apps he makes use of and why:
The cellphone: Galaxy Z Flip 5.
The wallpaper: The bog-standard inventory wallpaper. I don’t even know if it has a reputation.
The apps: Openvibe, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, Fb, Reddit, NewsBlur, Yelp, Google Pictures, The Verge, Slack, Evernote, MyFitnessPal, Discord, Chrome, Gmail, Google Calendar, Residence Assistant, Cellphone, Messages, Digital camera, Google Maps.
You’re trying on the homescreen of an data junkie in transition — the clues are all there. First, I’m down to only 36 % battery at 4:25PM and I’ve barely used this cellphone at the moment… so I’m actively in search of my subsequent cellphone.
Second, I’ve obtained 4 social media purchasers up prime as a result of I’ve been hedging my bets on which to maintain — you may discover I’ve obtained notifications from X, however no X on the homescreen, as a result of I solely nonetheless observe a handful of accounts there for information! As an alternative, The Verge will get its personal devoted shortcut.
Third, the explanation Signal and Messenger are in an unpleasant drawer collectively and Facebook has 54 unreads is as a result of I’m attempting to scale back my help for Meta after sure, ahem, societal shifts, however haven’t absolutely managed it but.
The important thing apps on this homescreen are literally MyFitnessPal, which I’m utilizing nearly daily simply as a calorie counter to really shed some pounds; Evernote, the place far an excessive amount of of my reminiscence lives; and Home Assistant for controlling issues round my home. In fact the primary two apps are getting far too bloated with undesirable options, and my good dwelling tends to interrupt!
Not pictured: Pokémon TCG Pocket, which I just lately moved to the fifth homescreen to scale back dependancy.
I additionally requested Sean to share a number of issues he’s into proper now. Right here’s what he despatched again:
- Oh, it’s catch-up season for me! I’m enjoying 1000xResist, which made Polygon’s best of 2024, and watching The OA, which I missed the primary time round. I suppose they’re related in a means: they’re each weird works of science fiction with intriguing, nuanced, relatable villains.
- Oh, and pretty new Ok-drama When The Phone Rings, whose first episode completely bored me till I noticed how cleverly they hid the twist, and now it’s one of many extra thrilling ones I’ve watched. Don’t Google it should you may also help it, even a one-sentence synopsis will spoil episode 1.
- In the meantime, I can’t get sufficient of the Recreation Boy modding antics of Hairo Satoh, aka haihaisb, who has repeatedly confirmed that every little thing’s higher with an additional Recreation Boy Advance SP display screen. Should you’re studying this, Satoh-san, we wish to interview you about the way you do it!
Right here’s what the Installer neighborhood is into this week. I wish to know what you’re into proper now as nicely! Electronic mail installer@theverge.com or message me on Sign — @davidpierce.11 — along with your suggestions for something and every little thing, 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.
“Making an attempt to remain sane by limiting my consumption of stories and display screen time amidst the chaos going round. Studying The Wager from David Grann, the creator of Killers of the Flower Moon. Primarily about conflicting experiences of a real-life Lord of the Flies that transpires within the 1700s. Very fascinating!” – Colin
“We simply began watching Paradise over right here and it’s unbelievable.” – Jules
“As the subject of digital self-determination is increasingly more a subject (sure, right here in Germany too), I used to be trying into completely different OSes for my cell phone. I discovered a moderately good working different to Google’s Android and iOS which known as /e/OS. It really works very well, and I can nonetheless use all my apps. They usually sell phones with pre-installed /e/.” – Christian
“Performed a whole lot of this recreation known as Hole. The title is unlucky, however it’s low cost and an excellent time.” – Sophie
“I don’t know if lots of people care about this however Notion and TickTick have a two-way integration and it’s nice!! I nonetheless really feel it’s restricted in performance as a result of I can solely ship one record at a time, which doesn’t make sense, and it’s restricted to 3 lists.” – Barry
“Discovered some pleasure on the Web this week with this video. It’s enjoying the Star Trek TNG theme track as if it was blaring from the Enterprise itself!” – Mike
“Not too long ago downloaded the National Film Board app and it’s a delight. ‘Get free entry to the biggest assortment of Canadian movies on-line. No subscription or advertisements.’” – Christine
“After Instagram confirmed me video recordings from BBC’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue I delved into outdated episodes. Should you admire British humo(u)r and might stand some musical elements, it’s gloriously enjoyable. I’m again to being the loopy particular person laughing out loud on public transport.” – Sinan
“I just lately found Bear Blog, it’s a cool minimalistic running a blog platform with a whole lot of customization and a Discovery web page that feels slightly like Hacker Information.” – Sammie
You understand what is perhaps my favourite new-ish factor on the web? Reddit Answers. I’ve been utilizing it lots just lately, and I’ve discovered it to be a mainly unparalleled system for getting a lot of suggestions. “What are some nice, lesser-known manufacturers of darkish chocolate” obtained me an extended record of nice concepts, with hyperlinks to related posts and feedback. “Are Bose or Sony headphones higher” provided a fairly cogent back-and-forth debate. “What are the most well-liked conspiracy theories about Severance” despatched me down an hourslong rabbit gap.
As with all AI search, my guidelines are easy: nothing with excessive stakes, no believing the solutions with out clicking the hyperlinks. However the extra I take advantage of Solutions, the extra I’m satisfied there’s one thing actual right here. And the extra Severance theories I begin to imagine.