Apple’s new phones are here - The Verge

Plus, in this week’s Installer: Updated AirPods, Meta’s AI agent, revived Sony headphones, and more.

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Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 143, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, new tech season is here, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I’ve been devouring every iPhone Duo video I can find, clicking on the wonderful websites nominated for this year’s Tiny Awards, catching up on the excellent Onimusha: Way of the Sword, reading Wildwood ahead of the upcoming movie, watching the new Taskmaster series, coming to grips with Link’s new look in the Ocarina of Time remake, and fixing the flat tire on my toddler’s stroller. I’m very proud of that last one.

I also have for you new iPhones, Meta’s AI agent, revived Sony headphones, and more. It’s good to be back after a week off.

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What are your favorite things you’ve watched / seen / listened to / folded recently? Drop a line to installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.)

This week, I’m featuring somebody who I have been working with for a long time: Verge news writer Emma Roth. Emma is one of the smartest in the biz on all things streaming, can write something good on just about anything — just recently, she’s tackled topics like AI detectors and Meta child safety settlements and food recalls — and is a great person to team up on stories with. She’s a key part of our newsroom.

I asked her to share her homescreen and the apps and things she cares about. Here it is, plus some info on the apps she uses and why:

The phone: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (the last Note created!).

The wallpaper: It’s a photo I took at a local inlet! It’s a great pelican-watching spot.

The apps: My homepage might be relatively bare, but it includes the essentials: Google Messages, Microsoft Edge, Samsung Mail, and my Phone, along with shortcuts to the Google Play Store and my Camera.

That sense of organization disappears as soon as I swipe into my app drawer. The first page has the apps I use the most, resulting in a chaotic mishmash of apps like Reddit, Slack, and Sam’s Club.

Maybe showing my messy app drawer to the world is a sign that I should tidy things up a bit. I can’t remember the last time I used any app inside the Samsung folder, or tapped into my Phone from this screen instead of using the shortcut in my dock.

I also asked Emma to share a few things she’s into right now. Here’s what she sent back:

Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies to this post on Bluesky and this post on The Verge.

“The newest season of Adults on Hulu / FX is so funny!! It’s a great sitcom about a group of friends trying to make it in NYC. I’ve been obsessed with “Born Slippy” by Underworld, and nearly all the remixes, it’s an oldie but a goodie!” — Cvmvrvn

“IKEA made a Skyrim mod where Matt Berry voices a KALLAX shelf.” — Sam

“I am building my collection of daily puzzles / game sites to play every day: krillion.io to try and guess the most unique answer in 25 seconds; wafflegame.net to build out a bigger wordle; www.geogridgame.com/usa to test my US geography; dartwords.com for a single word guessing game; shrinkle.org for a simple letter dropping game; and my new favorite: Rabbithole in The Atlantic app.” — Neal

“Listening to a lot of Shearling ahead of seeing them in concert early next week. Reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Watching Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping. Folding my hands and waiting patiently because technology is too expensive. Considering buying one of several chord synthesizers as a birthday present to myself: HiChord, Telepathic Instruments’ Orchid ORC-1, Nopia MK1.” — oedipa.maas

“I cannot stop using the Clicks Power Keyboard for my phone, the tactile feel of the keys is sooooo rewarding!! Forget the fold, bring back keys!” — mahoodlum

“I’m getting hyped up for the NFL season by watching Chad Powers on Hulu. That show has no business being as good as it is. It’s like if Ted Lasso was actually entertaining *shots fired*” — SpaghettiCoder

“Super into the game Sovereign Tower! I love the art style and the mechanics. I am loving tons of new indie game releases.” — Elessar_Cut_throughthenight

“The Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer album is an absolute bop.” — Brick_wall_56

Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be traveling to events for work. Should be good stuff; I can’t wait to share what I’ll be reporting on. But I’ll also miss my desk and routine at home. I’d love to hear from the Installer community: What are your favorite apps / games / tips / tricks / routines you do to keep yourself sane during work travel? Might include a few of the best tips in an upcoming issue. And maybe I’ll try a few myself while I’m on the road.