The very best smartphone images of the yr

Hello, buddies! Welcome to Installer No. 49, your information to the very best and Verge-iest stuff on the planet. (For those who’re new right here, welcome, hope you want podcasts, and in addition you possibly can learn all of the previous editions on the Installer homepage.) 

This week, I’ve been studying about upstart baseball groups and canceled comics and Francis Ford Coppola, watching Logan Fortunate, binging Teo Crawford’s digicam movies,  listening to The Mess Round and thus rewatching New Lady for the millionth time, making an attempt to plan a visit to the Nintendo Museum this fall, and giving Capacities one other whirl since Casey Newton beneficial it this week. 

I even have for you a bunch of recent podcasts that each one launched this week for some cause, some wonderful smartphone images, a cause to hit the movie show this weekend, and a brand new doorbell to switch your previous doorbell.

And within the spirit of this unexpectedly podcast-filled week, I’ve a query: who’s your favourite lesser-known creator? Everyone knows and love Veritasium and MKBHD, however I wish to hear about all those that deserve simply as a lot shine. YouTube, podcast, Instagram, take your decide — in the event that they’re tech-y and Verge-ish, nice, but when not, that’s nice, too! Hit me with one or two of your faves that you just guess most of us don’t know. I’ll share a few of my faves, too.

All proper, large week of enjoyable stuff. Let’s go.

(As at all times, the very best a part of Installer is your concepts and suggestions. What do you wish to know extra about? What superior tips have you learnt that everybody else ought to? What app ought to everybody be utilizing? Inform me every part: installer@theverge.com. And if you understand another person who may get pleasure from Installer, inform them to subscribe right here.)

• The iPhone Pictures Awards winners. The IPPA’s photographer of the yr shoots on an iPhone 11! These profitable images are at all times an incredible supply of inspiration (and wallpapers, simply saying), and it’s significantly cool on this AI-heavy second to see how superior photographers nonetheless are. 
• The Hollywood Hack. The Sony hack was 10 years in the past, and the entire leisure enterprise continues to be feeling the ramifications. Love this pod up to now, which is up to now roughly equal elements about what occurred and what it did to Hollywood. 
• Blink Twice. Channing Tatum. Taking part in a tech billionaire. In a murder-y thriller. I’m getting large Glass Onion vibes from this one, and I couldn’t be extra excited.
• Apple Podcasts for net. Apple made net app! I sort of nonetheless can’t imagine it! Apple Podcasts is a good platform, and this goes a good distance towards making it really feel rather less locked to your particular units. This plus the automated transcripts has me genuinely contemplating switching.
• OceanXplorers. This NatGeo present looks like a mixture of Planet Earth and the scene in each James Bond film the place Bond will get to check out a bunch of wildly futuristic new devices. I’m having fun with studying in regards to the high-tech ship and submarines as a lot as I’m seeing the wonderful footage they’re capturing.
• “Flip Video Was Profitable! So They Killed It?” I had straight-up forgotten in regards to the Flip digicam, and I had no concept what number of unusual twists and turns this product — and the corporate that made it — went by means of. An excellent enjoyable tech time capsule, this one.
• The Wirecutter Present. I’ve been a loyal Wirecutter shopper eternally, and the brand new pod matches the positioning’s vibe completely. A lot of suggestions and tips, plenty of behind-the-scenes testing stuff — I wound up taking livid notes throughout each of the primary two episodes.
• “Why All the pieces is a Monopoly… Once more.” We’re in a fairly wild antitrust second, proper? This can be a brisk, broad take a look at the way it all works and the way we bought to the purpose the place it doesn’t matter what you’re doing or utilizing or shopping for, you’re most likely encountering a monopoly. 
• The Ring Battery Doorbell. Longer battery, simpler set up, wider body of video, night time imaginative and prescient in coloration — it’s not a ground-breaking new concept about video doorbells, nevertheless it certain appears like a greater video doorbell. If solely I might persuade myself to let me set up one…

I discuss to Liam James extra than simply about anyone apart from my spouse — and actually, it’s an in depth name between the 2 of them. As The Verge’s supervising producer for podcasts, we do a ton of labor togetber on The Vergecast, and he’s additionally only a large big tech nerd in one of the simplest ways. He likes to brag about his Plex server, appears to be consistently tweaking his selfmade climate station, and just lately described a brand new to-do checklist app to me as “simply OmniFocus for dummies.” What I’m saying is, he’s our individuals.

I requested Liam to share his homescreen with us as a result of if I do know one factor about Liam, it’s that each single icon and site has been exhaustively thought by means of and rigorously examined for optimum efficiency. Liam additionally simply purchased a Pixel 9 Professional Fold, which implies he’s about to bear a giant swap — so I figured it’d be good to seize the top of his iPhone run.

Right here’s Liam’s homescreen, plus some information on the apps he makes use of and why:

The cellphone: iPhone 15 Professional.

The wallpaper: I’ve used the identical wallpaper for about 10 years now. It’s a foolish portray of my first canine, August, within the fashion of Kehinde Wiley.

The apps: Images, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple Information, Telephone, Mail, Safari, Messages.

• I’m a giant fan of the massive widget carousel that mechanically flips to no matter iOS thinks is most related to me. I solely maintain 3 widgets inside: Fantastical — which I’ll sorely miss after I transfer to a Pixel — Apple Information, and Carrot Climate.
• I’m consistently deleting apps I not use as a way to keep a single-screen format. I’ve 4 folder buckets: social, buying, finance, and work. I do, nonetheless, fall again to the App Library display for hardly ever used apps like Plex throughout journey days.
• I’m SO feeling the label-less icon choice within the iOS 18 beta. Appears to be like a lot cleaner.  

I additionally requested Liam to share a couple of issues he’s into proper now. Right here’s what he despatched again:

• My job has pressured me to make use of Apple Podcasts as a way to maintain an in depth eye on our reveals, and you understand what? It has actually come a good distance. In my view, it’s the solely podcast app that’s able to recommending reveals you’d really wish to check out. And the brand new transcript and search options are very helpful for locating that second you wished to return to.
• Since I’m working the iOS 18 public beta, I’ve been making an attempt out the native Mail app. I wished to see if any of the Apple Intelligence stuff may very well be helpful to me, however that hasn’t precisely proven up but. As an alternative, it’s principally nonetheless the identical previous barebones, slow-to-update app it at all times was.
• Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus is my newest podcast obsession. Like many a celeb podcast, it comes and goes in seasons, however in contrast to all of the others, this one has zero filler. I extremely suggest beginning with the episode that includes award-winning creator Isabel Allende. A few of Allende’s life classes will stick in your head for days afterward.

Right here’s what the Installer group is into this week. I wish to know what you’re into proper now as nicely! E mail installer@theverge.com or message me on Sign — @davidpierce.11 — together with your suggestions for something and every part, and we’ll function a few of our favorites right here each week. For much more nice suggestions, take a look at the replies to this publish on Threads.

“I’ve discovered Dola indispensable. It’s free — what’s free anymore? It might probably write to Apple Calendar and is out there on iMessage and WhatsApp; it’s extremely helpful as my productiveness and job tracker and wonderful for reminders.” — Andrew

“The Serpent Queen. This Starz present is about sixteenth century Queen Catherine de’ Medici of France and her travails and triumphs. There may be a lot courtroom intrigue, maybe murdering, maybe poisoning, maybe a very good time for the viewer. It’s at the moment in its 2nd season and stars Samantha Morton in the principle function and brings in Minnie Driver as Queen Elizabeth I. Hilarity ensues.” — Romeo

“I’ve been utilizing this app referred to as SAOViVO that’s free and open supply, and what it does is: it takes movies in your YouTube Channel, makes a queue out of them, and sends them again to YouTube as a stay feed. An instance: I work as a guide for newsrooms, they usually have a giant archive, so when the anniversary of occasions comes, we will make stay streams with the factor they did in earlier years, or when somebody well-known dies, we will take a look at the YouTube channel and stay stream the tales about that individual.” — Nicolas

“I’ve to suggest an awesome new YouTube channel referred to as Graindead. A really deadpan channel about movie cameras. “Shopping for The Least expensive Cameras In Japan” is a must-watch. Filled with Basic British self-deprecating humor. “A $1000 Lens Cap” can also be an fascinating watch.” — Owen

“Costume to Impress on Roblox. It’s like Amongst Us within the pandemic period, however for WFH ‘gurlies.’” — Sam 

“I’m headed on a 5.5-hour flight to Hawaii, and I’m very a lot trying ahead to bringing the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 to, await it… play EA Sports activities FC the entire method! Was impressed by a podcast I had listened to just lately, I believe…” — Richard

“Folks fear about Chinese language EVs coming to America, however individuals ought to keep watch over Chinese language recreation builders as a result of Black Delusion: Wukong simply got here out, and it has over 2 million gamers on Steam, shattering Elden Ring and Cyberpunk’s information.” — John

“Add Eddie is a straightforward app for creating QR codes to your social profiles, messengers, vCards, fee companies, web sites, and extra. It’s a godsend for networking in actual life, particularly as a widget on my cellphone’s homescreen and on the Apple Watch.” — Dewa

“Certainly one of a number of causes I couldn’t use anything in addition to Apple Music is that it’s the one one with a music locker. I’ve uploaded tons of stuff: Commodore 64 remixes, lacking KLF, Brian Might and Jean-Michel Jarre albums, bootlegs, and so on. The combination is nice, too (if in case you have Apple stuff). It uploads after which syncs to all units automagically like some other music.” — Mathias

”I’ve been studying The Secret Historical past by Donna Tartt, and I’m shocked I didn’t learn it sooner! It’s so good, and I’m so to see the way it’s going to finish!” — Flávio

It’s fantasy soccer season, which implies an alarming quantity of my character is about to get replaced by opinions on NFL gamers’ weekly efficiency. I’m in two leagues, each of them in Yahoo’s app, which is… fantastic. And this yr, I’m realizing how a lot of a full-time job these things actually is; information is unfold round so many locations, everyone has rankings and information about these rankings and podcasts in regards to the information about these rankings, and it’s all simply exhausting. 

Mockingly, I believe I get the case for AI now? If I might simply say, “What’s taking place with my fantasy group this week,” and ChatGPT might inform me, I’d be there in a heartbeat. A few of the apps are attempting to mimic this — together with Yahoo — however now that Twitter’s gone, all of it feels extra chaotic than ever. You probably have an incredible supply for all this, inform me about it! Regardless of how a lot consideration I pay, although, I at all times appear to return in sixth… so possibly I’ll simply depart it alone.

(Additionally, subsequent yr: Installer fantasy league? Ought to we? I really feel like we should always. It’d be superior.)