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Hello, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 95, your gateway to the ultimate and Verge-iest finds in the world. (If you’re a newcomer, welcome! New gadget season is kicking off, and you can explore all the past editions on the Installer homepage.)
I also have for you Pixel’s next foldable, new Samsung earbuds, a chill indie game, and more.
(Remember, the heart of Installer is your contributions and tips. What do you want to explore further? What incredible tricks do you have that everyone else should know about? What app is a must-have for everyone? Share everything with me: [email protected]. And if you know someone who’d also enjoy Installer, feel free to forward it to them and encourage them to subscribe here.)
- Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Google’s newest foldable has an IP68 ingress rating, meaning that it should be significantly more resistant to dust than other foldables. The company made it happen with a new gearless hinge design. When you’re paying nearly $2,000 for your phone, having some extra confidence in its durability goes a long way.
- Pixel Watch 4. The newest Pixel Watch has screws on its chassis that you can remove to more easily repair and replace the screen and the battery. Previous Pixel Watches haven’t been repairable, so this is a major step up for Google.
- Shutter Declutter. Every day, this excellent new iOS app nudges you to look through all of the photos you’ve taken on that date — across all years where you’ve snapped a photo on that date — and swipe left or right to delete or keep them. I’ve been testing it for a few days, and it makes chipping away at my photo library feel much more digestible. Plus, it’s surfaced photos from years ago that I forgot I had.
- Galaxy Buds 3 FE. Samsung’s newest earbuds adopt an AirPods-like stemmed design and have 6 hours of battery life with ANC on and 8.5 with ANC off. And at $149.99, their starting price is $100 cheaper than the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
- Nanoleaf 4D V2. Nanoleaf has a new version of its immersive TV lighting kit that adds a color-matched glow behind your screen. I’ve always wanted to try one of these — they seem like a fun way to add a little more pop to what you’re watching.
- Insta360’s Go Ultra. Insta360’s new compact action camera has a bigger sensor than the Go 3S and can capture footage at 4K / 60fps. It comes in a square shape instead of a pill, but that change means it can include a larger 500mAh battery.
- Sony InZone Mouse-A. As part of a suite of new InZone gaming peripherals, Sony launched a wireless mouse that weighs just 48 grams. At $149.99, it’s a bit of an investment, but it seems like a decent option if you’re looking for a superlight gaming mouse.
- Herdling. In Herdling, you guide a flock of adorable sheep / woolly mammoth-like creatures through scenic landscapes backed by beautiful music. It’s kind of like Journey, if you played as a shepherd. It’s a slow, chill game that I’ve loved winding down with at the end of the day, and it only takes a few hours to finish.
Today’s highlight is Jane Manchun Wong, renowned for uncovering numerous updates and features in tech products and apps over the years (like an early look at then-Twitter’s edit button) and being part of the launch team behind Meta’s Threads. Jane seems to have a presence in every app, so I was curious what her phone actually holds. It turns out she has numerous apps, and they’re impressively well arranged!
Image: Jane Manchun Wong
The phone: iPhone 16 Pro! It’s the ideal size for me! My previous phone was the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which I chose for the 5x optical zoom, but it was cumbersome to use one-handed. Now that the iPhone 16 Pro also offers 5x optical zoom, I promptly switched back to this more manageable size.
The wallpaper: It’s a breathtaking aerial shot from my flight to Seattle! I enjoy taking photos and turning them into personal wallpapers — the image is part of my Photo Shuttle collection on the phone, beautifully rotating through my “Nature” photos!
The apps: Before commenting on the folder grid on my Home Screen, I know, I know… though the App Library exists, I prefer organizing apps myself with meaningful categories (like “Outside” for navigation apps I use when I’m out, including Waymo, Maps, SF311, ridesharing apps, and others). Plus, many apps I use are TestFlight builds, which would be sorted into the “TestFlight” category by the App Library anyway.
Also, I have the Kalkyl app up there because it’s really handy for making quick calculations.
I also asked Jane to share a few things she’s into right now. Here’s what she said:
- I’m still monitoring various apps and websites for their upcoming features! As expected, many companies are adapting similar AI-related features in hope to stay relevant (similar to when they adapted social audio and NFT features). It still gives me the spark of joy when companies begin to explore product features that are unique and meaningful to users, not just another button in some text field that opens a chatbot.
- There’s also a few leads about some new hardware that’s being worked on — will share when there’re more signal about it.
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email [email protected] 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 The Verge, this post on Threads, and this post on Bluesky.
“I’ve moved my task management process from Amazing Marvin (which, don’t get me wrong, is a great product) to TickTick. I’ve been writing Apple Shortcuts to try and automate archiving over to Obsidian because I have the data hoarding illness.” — @feather.town
“Lately I’ve gotten a lot of joy out of grabbing PDFs of crossword puzzles and putting them on my Remarkable 2 E Ink writing tablet. Finishing the crossword in the morning beats doomscrolling.” — jontomato
“New Digg, baby!” — dome_node
“I have been newly-enjoying two website resources: Retro Catalog and Retro Handhelds. I am also quite a huge fan of Russ from Retro Game Corps on YouTube, who does some very lovely discussions about this wonderful world of retro handhelds.” — verge_user_m498isna
“Boys Go to Jupiter is a brilliantly weird animated film about a teen trying to raise $5,000 as a delivery driver in surreal Florida. It has a unique video game-inspired animation style, sublime lofi music, and unapologetically bizarre humor that creates one of the most original moviegoing experiences in years!” — Daniel
“I suspect most Verge readers know about Beeper, but it has a hidden use case that they probably haven’t thought about: accessing DMs without risking getting sucked into an app. Struggling to break your debilitating reels addiction or checking Discord servers any time you get an Instagram or Discord DM? You can use Beeper to separate the DMs from the attention vortex part of those apps. Maybe you can even uninstall the main app and just keep DMs!” — boblin
“I just finished Aisling Rawle’s The Compound. If you’re a fan of Love Island but wished there was more dystopia and violence, boy do I have the book for you. On the comics front, Absolute Martian Manhunter is the best showcase for the medium we’ve had in a minute. Also, I’ve been slowly re-watching Mr. Robot for the first time and it is incredible (also, slightly depressing) how well this show still holds up.” — SocialJerm
For those of you who watched the Made by Google event this week, how did you feel about the live, Jimmy Fallon-hosted format? It was certainly a big departure from the usual Big Tech keynote vibe. I personally prefer a more traditional news- and spec-filled show, but I get the sense myself and Verge / Installer readers aren’t who the event was meant for. But you tell me! And I do respect Google for trying something different.
Also, a quick programming note: I’m on vacation next week, so there won’t be a new issue of Installer until September 6th. See you next month!
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