Greetings, companions! A warm welcome to Installer No. 117, your compendium for the finest and most Verge-centric content globally. For newcomers, a hearty greeting; kindly forward Android advice, and furthermore, past issues are accessible on the Installer homepage.
During this current week, my attention has been drawn to articles concerning Eileen Gu and Ozempic and upscale grocery stores. I’ve been experimenting with the exquisite Shiori bookmarking app, endeavoring to moderate my anticipation for the Scrubs revival, persisting with my evaluation of the Pixel 10 Pro, developing my ideal task management application with Claude Code (nearing completion!), savoring the nascent stages of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, capturing the subsequent installment of Version History, re-viewing the entirety of The Earliest Show subsequent to its appearance on my YouTube feed, and consuming an excessive quantity of Garden Salsa Sun Chips.
Presented here also are the inaugural significant smartphone unveiling for the year, a renewed, classic weather application, a potential method to reduce your YouTube expenditures somewhat, numerous items to view over the forthcoming weekend, and considerably more. Your absence was noted last week! Let us resume our endeavor.
Per usual, the most valuable aspect of Installer lies in your insights and recommendations. Which books are you perusing / shows are you viewing / games are you engaging with / music are you hearing / experiences are you maximizing this week? Disclose all details to me: installer@theverge.com. Should you be acquainted with an individual who could appreciate Installer, kindly transmit it to them and encourage them to enroll for a subscription via this link.
- Acme Weather. Many years subsequent to its acquisition by Apple and subsequent discontinuation, an adequate substitute for Dark Sky remains elusive. (However, I have found considerable satisfaction with Hello Weather!) It is incredibly thrilling to observe the team re-establish their independence, and I am already impressed by their current endeavors with their latest iOS application. The functionality encompassing multiple forecasts, specifically, is truly magnificent.
- Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra. A comparatively modest enhancement this annum, yet I consider the integrated privacy screen to be a truly superb new piece of technology. Dreadful for myself, an unrepentant observer of others’ mobile devices, though likely beneficial for wider society. And executed with remarkable ingenuity!
- Resident Evil Requiem. I have genuinely grown fond of games that instill fright, as such experiences captivate my attention in a manner unrivaled by almost anything else. According to various reports, this particular game fulfills those characteristics and surpasses them. I shall engage with it solitary, amidst shadows, in a state of terror, precisely as intended.
- Current. Originating from the previous week, its pertinence persists: This represents the RSS application Terry Godier committed to delivering several publications prior! It presents as uncluttered, tranquil, and nearly contemplative when compared to the majority of RSS aggregators. Its design isn’t precisely aligned with my intense news collection requirements, yet its usability is remarkably pleasing.
- Wispr Flow for Android. My enjoyment of speaking rather than typing across all my gadgets increases proportionally with my engagement with these inter-application, AI-driven dictation tools. A plethora of excellent applications exist for iOS (including Monologue, which debuted last week!), however, Android’s offerings are lamentably insufficient. This constitutes a highly desirable supplement to the available choices.
- “The Internet Was Weeks Away From Disaster and No One Knew.” The heading is… rather dramatic, yet this Veritasium video serves as an exceptionally thorough introductory guide to numerous highly significant security topics, and presents one of the most charming heroic narratives one could encounter.
- Notion Custom Agents. Notion excels at integrating artificial intelligence functionalities into your existing software tools, and positive feedback regarding custom agents consistently reaches my ears. Possessing knowledge of your data’s location, capable of constructing nearly anything, and operating with complete autonomy… it’s like intuitive programming, yet applied to enterprise.
- “How Red Bull Built Its Empire.” I have consistently pondered how a producer of energy beverages succeeded in financing the multitude of sports teams, daring feats, and diverse escapades associated with Red Bull. This provides an intriguing chronicle of an entity that transcends the definition of a mere drink manufacturer… yet fundamentally remains a prominent beverage enterprise.
- The New York Times Midi. Ah, what is this? Yet another daily crossword puzzle to engage with, in lieu of professional duties, one that will not prove unduly challenging frequently, but also requires more than thirty-four seconds for resolution? Oh, splendid, that sounds delightful. I shall undertake it daily indefinitely, I appreciate it.
- YouTube Premium Lite. This predominantly serves as a public service announcement, given my previous unawareness of this subscription level’s existence. However, with its current inclusion of video downloading capabilities and (crucially) background audio functionality, Premium Lite is approximately fifty percent of Premium’s cost, yet encompasses nearly all of its superior functionalities. A reduction in my subscription level may be warranted.
Upon encountering Meredith Haggerty, one instantly perceives her as possessing a significantly greater degree of coolness. As I become better acquainted with Meredith, a recent addition to the editorial team at The Verge, the more evident it becomes that my initial impression was entirely accurate. Meredith’s contributions include writings on attire, societal trends, corporate identities, and television programs, and she recently uttered a Pride and Prejudice witticism which provoked such intense laughter from me that coffee was involuntarily discharged across my keyboard. In a strictly technical sense, a replacement keyboard is due to me from Meredith.
I requested Meredith to present her device’s homescreen to us, partly as I consider it an enjoyable method for familiarizing oneself with recent colleagues, and partly due to my desire for her insights on intriguing items, without incessantly pestering her for television recommendations. Her homescreen is displayed below, accompanied by particulars regarding her chosen applications and their rationale:
My handset: An iPhone 17. Up until a short while ago, I was holding fast to an iPhone 12 mini, which I’d received as a pre-owned company present from a friend; it was remarkably compact and effective, and I possessed the ideal protective cover for it. (Featuring Ben Affleck smoking a cigarette in a mask – quite the topic of discussion!) However, its battery performance became extremely slow, even following a few visits to the Genius Bar, compelling me to relinquish it.
My background image: A captured image of Roku City, autumnal version. I perceive Roku City as quite soothing, so I opted to retain it.
My installed programs: Spotify, Messages, Mail, Chrome.
I am particularly reliant on the Notes application, and my notes fall into three main divisions: tasks requiring completion, items to acquire, and reflections I likely would have posted on Twitter some years back. I appreciate that the MTA application informs me of the optimal departure time for the train, though I rarely consult it prior to departing my residence. Regarding meteorological conditions, I genuinely depend on the New York Metro Weather Instagram account; my partner dislikes when I quantify the atmospheric mood for him.
To be precise, this effort to streamline my home display has not mitigated my unproductive habits in the slightest. Past this primary screen, I possess an excessive quantity of applications, predominantly organized into directories to deter my access, a strategy that proves ineffective. I persistently navigate to the final screen, then to the ultimate directory, and subsequently to the last page within that ultimate directory, in order to engage with a mobile game I do not find pleasurable, named Drop the Cat. Scarcely anything is more frustrating in my existence than the sway exerted by mobile games I find unappealing. I don’t even have a fondness for felines.
Furthermore, I requested Meredith to disclose some current interests of hers. Her response is as follows:
- Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. I’m suitably embarrassed to be viewing this program (my apologies, Schlossberg family!), yet it presents a remarkable blend of stylishness and absurdity. At one moment, it portrays smoking a cigarette in 1994, clad in Calvin Klein, as the zenith of human experience; while in the next, an impersonator of JFK Jr. indicates an actor in a dense white wig, inquiring, “Have you encountered my uncle Teddy?” The sequence depicting Jackie O dancing to Camelot is best left unmentioned.
- I lately acquired an application called Rodeo that could potentially resolve a mobile-centric issue I face. It analyzes the overwhelming flood of suggestions from TikTok or Instagram, assuming you frequent the “affluent offspring posing with culinary items” segment of those platforms. One captures a still image of the video segment, transmits it to Rodeo, and the program extracts the pertinent details and is capable of storing them in quite practical inventories.
- The public library. This might be a claim that misrepresents the Meredith before Drop the Cat was installed, but just over a year past, I relocated nearer to the public library and have truly been capitalizing on the complimentary nature of its literary offerings. Moreover, the Brooklyn Public Library application is highly effective, enabling me to reserve items whenever they cross my mind. Presently, I am perusing Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence, a work I am likely, perhaps mistakenly, less engrossed in than her The Mighty Red, and we need not discuss the numerous times I have extended its loan, due to my engagement with mobile games instead.
- Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Prior to viewing the film, I had never seen Viceland’s Nirvanna the Band the Show, and at present, one cannot access it through legitimate means, thus it is probable I remain unacquainted with it. Nevertheless, prior knowledge was unnecessary for my enjoyment of the film, as it is both amusing and heartwarming, prompting me to exclaim “How did they achieve that???” on numerous occasions.
Presented below are the current fascinations of the Installer community for this week. I am also eager to learn of your present interests! Kindly send your suggestions for any and all topics to installer@theverge.com via email, or contact me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — and each week, we will highlight some of our preferred selections here. For additional excellent suggestions, consult the responses to this publication on Threads and this identical publication on Bluesky.
“Marathon (a novel extraction shooter title by Bungie) will feature an open play-test / demonstration this weekend, consequently, that will occupy my attention for the forthcoming days.” – Janego
“I am genuinely delighting in Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett (the author of the charming Emily Wilde series). It strikes me as a blend of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Howl’s Moving Castle.” — Spencer
“Given that 1Password has increased its pricing, I dedicated several hours to migrating to Apple Passwords and Uplock. The process was largely acceptable, but it is regrettable that one cannot migrate all one’s passkeys to Apple Passwords. The availability of a lifetime purchase option for Uplock is a significant advantage.” — Matthew
“I have been observing Demon Slayer over the last month, and at last viewed the Infinity Castle movie on the big screen, and, it’s so
apparent that these anime movies are markedly distinct (and magnificent!) in their overall feel, narrative approach, and portrayal of characters compared to our present collection of mainstream Hollywood films.” — Anshuman
“Only yesterday, I transitioned my family off the complimentary Google Apps scheme I had been using for our personalized domain’s email service to Fastmail. While private, Fastmail accommodates standardized IMAP and CalDAV communication methods, thus enabling us to utilize the pre-installed email applications on our mobile devices and personal computers.” — Mike
“My recent listen has been Comedy Bang Bang! It remains exceptionally amusing. A considerable admirer of Paul F. Tompkins.” — Mo
“Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown. Even with the sometimes harsh RNG, it offers such enjoyment to immerse oneself in my preferred Trek narratives and adjust the conclusions.” — Jono
“Currently engrossed in the initial volume of the On the Calculation of Volume series. This narrative presents a temporal loop scenario, reminiscent of Groundhog Day, yet significantly more grounded in reality and somewhat melancholic, however, it has been excellent thus far!” — Colin
“Learning that the YouTube application would be available on the Apple Vision Pro prompted me to revisit what I consider the sole effective application of 360-degree video I’ve encountered: ‘How TV screens made watching movies worse,’ a 20-minute, entirely 3D-animated video discourse exploring the distinctions between cinematic theatrical versions and their home video counterparts, the significance of these disparities, and the influence of television screen dimensions on presented material. Should you possess a Vision Pro, accessing it purely for this particular video is highly recommended. Subsequently, explore all other creations by that content creator (Noodle).” — Nathan
The current winter season has proven calamitous, both in my locale and numerous other regions. An abundance of snowfall, numerous days halted by snow, and widespread disarray. Primarily, I trust you have all remained secure, comfortable, and in good health! Furthermore, amidst these circumstances, a single positive development emerges: Casey Neistat is once more documenting his experiences in New York City. After so many years, no one creates YouTube content with the distinct flair of Casey. With this development and the reappearance of Paul Ford’s blog, it nearly seems as though the benevolent aspects of the internet are re-emerging. One can only hope.
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