Hello friends! Welcome installer No.46, the best guide VergeThe most interesting thing in the world. (Welcome to the first one. If you like interesting gadgets, or if you like all the old versions, installer home page.
This week, Apple Beta and AR Gadgets, read Donald Glover and The disaster of meetings and What it takes to feed the Olympics, admire Christian Selig’s Keyboard Layout, Looking Hard Knocks and Beekeeper, And I tried (and failed) to perfect a blueberry muffin recipe.
We also reveal a great iOS app that’s finally available on Android, a new way to play classic Nintendo games, an expensive new camera, and what you can watch both at home and at the cinema this weekend.
This week has been a little busier than usual with a lot going on and me getting ready to go on holiday. installer We’ll start next week as usual, then take a two-week break, and then we’ll be back, ready to go, on August 17th. Here are some additional details in case you’re stuck for something to do. Let’s get started!
(As usual, installer Your ideas and tips. What would you like to know more about? What’s a great trick that other people should know about? What’s an app that everyone should be using? Tell us all. installer@theverge.comIf anyone else enjoys it installerforward it to them, Subscribe here.
drop
- Notion Calendar for Android. I still really dislike the app icon, but other than that, this is one of the best looking and overall sharpest calendar apps out there, and it’s especially useful if you’re a Notion user, but even if you’re not, I think it’s an upgrade over Google Cal.
- Android version of CloudI’ve heard a lot in the past few weeks that people are loving Claude 3.5 Sonnet, even more so than ChatGPT. I’m also really enjoying the Claude app, especially the ability to import and understand screenshots.
- Tinypod. It’s a case for the Apple Watch that looks like an iPod, which sounds totally ridiculous as I write this, but I’m going to buy it and see if it turns my Apple Watch into the music-playing, messaging dumb phone of my dreams.
- Wild Wild Space. We think of space as a grand, beautiful, unknown world. But in many ways, it’s becoming just another place for companies to conquer. Great Ashlee Vance books) is a particularly epic, and slightly scary, startup story.
- UTMSEI’d be willing to bet $10 that Apple would never approve an app that directly emulates a Windows computer. I’m glad I lost that bet! The UTM SE can do retro games, but it can also do a lot more (just don’t expect it to actually replace a computer).
- EA Sports College Football 25. Now, 11 years later, the game is back and apparently as great as ever. The game’s story is a fun and perfect tale about the internet, capitalism, and fame, but at the end of the day, I’m excited to turn my alma mater into a football powerhouse that’s nothing like what it was.
- cloudyOne of the best podcast apps for Apple devices got a major update this week, and developer Marco Arment is right that it’s noticeably faster in just about every way, with Overcast offering features like Smart Speed and volume control better than any other app.
- Canon R5 Mark IIPhotographers and camera enthusiasts have been waiting for this for a long time. And there’s a good reason for thatThe R5 II is much better, with faster photo capture, more capable videography, and a new autofocus system. $4,300 isn’t cheap, but great cameras aren’t always cheap.
- Nintendo World Championship: NES EditionA bunch of classic video games, Chopped up and reassembled It breaks everything down into little new pieces designed to be played at extremely fast speeds – a really cool idea and a great new twist on an old favorite.
- Skywalker Love Story. I never get tired of YouTube videos Even though it can be stressful, I love watching people parkour their way around skyscrapers and abandoned buildings, and this Netflix documentary combines all that with a love story.
- Dyson OnTrac headphones. I’m glad Dyson has gone a little less Bane-ish with its second pair of headphones. The OnTrac are super expensive ($500!), but they look pretty good, and I’m all for anything that puts this much effort into customization.
- TwisterHere are my weekend plans. In the afternoon Twister, Even after 28 years, it’s still surprisingly well preserved (even the effects are still there). Twister, The film has been well-received and seems exactly the type of film you should see in a huge, loud movie theater. Then contact me and let me know if you liked it. Do you think it’s a good plan?
Screen sharing
Ryan Gilbert This is one of the newsletters I read every week. WorkspaceEvery week, an interesting person shares how they get their job done and how they organize their desk for work. I’m forever obsessed with my desk setup I never tire of seeing what other people think about their space.
I think of a home screen as being like a desk setup in that it reveals a lot about the person who created it, so I asked Ryan to share his home screen with us to see what we can learn from it, and what he’s learned from our interviews thus far.
Below is Ryan’s home screen, along with a look at the apps he uses and why.
phone: iPhone 14 Pro.
wallpaper: My wife and I during our engagement photos. I love how the background is mostly light tones, so it’s subtle and unobtrusive (btw, light mode > dark mode for everything).
App: X, Slack, Camera, Clock, Cloudy, Weather, Google Maps, ESPN, Spotify, Notion, Peloton, USGA GHIN, Campgrounds, LinkedIn, Apple Sports, Messages, Gmail, Safari, Phone.
As you can see, my home screen is a bit cluttered, but I actually like it that way. You’ll notice that Twitter is in the most prominent spot at the top left, and outside of the “social” apps pile at the bottom right. For better or worse (I’ll leave that to you), Twitter is a big part of my daily work, so I treat it more as a work app than social. All of the apps in the “social” pile are apps I use with friends, like Snapchat and Instagram. There are also some random apps thrown in there, like Product Hunt and ESPN Fantasy Football. It doesn’t all have to make sense.
I have both ESPN and the new Apple Sports app on my home screen, and I want to move away from ESPN because the latter has become bloated and slow, so I’m trying to grow more and more into my Sports habit.
I love Overcast, I listen to all my podcasts there, and I like to keep it separate from where I listen to music (Spotify).
Gmail…I’m not one to reach inbox zero.
We also asked Ryan what he’s interested in at the moment. Here’s what he said:
- USGA Gin: This is an app that you probably haven’t seen featured here before. It’s an app for tracking your golf scores and handicaps.
- I am still playing Wardle Every morning. I think it gets my creativity flowing, but it’s really just a way to avoid checking my email for an extra few minutes.
- My wife and I try to go hiking about twice a week. We love spending as much time outdoors as possible in the summer. Being from Wisconsin, we need to enjoy it as much as we can.
Crowdsourcing
This is installer Let us know what the community is obsessed with this week. We want to know what you’re obsessed with! Email installer@theverge.com Or send us a message on Signal (@davidpierce.11) with any recommendations you might have. We’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. Want more recommendations? This post in the thread.
“The Scary Question Great philosophy podcast Futurama Author Eric Kaplan and Professor Taylor Carman discuss philosophical questions every week. It’s clever, funny, and interesting, but not esoteric. The first episode from a year ago is a great way to start talking about ChatGPT.” — Jonathan
“FableIt has really helped me and got me hooked on reading again!” — Ataya
“I think it’s a little late, Scavenger Dominanceis available on Netflix outside the US. Honestly, it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. Sci-fi rarely feels so foreign and unknown. Even if you don’t like sci-fi, check it out for the great music alone!” — Alex
“Star Trek Prodigy Season 2 on Netflix surprised me. Season 1 was good, but season 2 is one of the best seasons. Star Trek (For now)” — J
“I am trying Company of Heroes 3 You can play it on PS5. Consoles have a bad reputation for RTS games because it takes so much effort to port playable controls. Cobalt Hydrogen 3 Yet, End of the war and Halo Wars Both 360s were a joy to drive.” — Ian
“I can’t get over it Omnivorous Text to speech article reader! I ElevenLabs Reader App Thanks for reading the article, through their voices teeth It’s more realistic. I love how Omnivore switches voices for quotes. I don’t know when Omnivore updated this but I’m hooked!” — Roxxy
“I’m really enjoying it. AEW has been up to something lately, clearly emerging from a creative slump, with a storyline in which Toni Storm becomes the champion playing a black and white movie star (her introduction and promo are literally in black and white). All About Eve “Her protégé Mariah May turned her back on her. And they just finished a 59 minute match with Will Ospreay and MJF that was great storytelling. I watch wrestling matches halfway through, and this is great!” – Richard
“I recently upgraded an old iPod Classic my girlfriend’s dad gave me. I installed a new backplate, faceplate, touch wheel, battery, and SD card expansion module, joining the ‘single purpose’ tech trend we’re all in right now.” — Stefan
“read Battle of LiangThe story of the development of radar and countermeasures during World War II. Some incredible stories, truly eye-opening.” — Peter
“I ordered a pair Dayton Audio B40 Speakers“They sound like they’re worth $50, but they’re really good $50. Dayton’s B452 and 652 speakers have been the “beginner audiophile” champions for years, and I think this update is fantastic.” — Emmett
“I Flow Minimalist LauncherSo far, it’s helped me read instead of scroll before bed and, at least for now, avoid buying a Boox Palma.” — Zachary
end
A while ago, when I was writing a story About woodworking computer manufacturersDesigner Tom Sachs’ “Always knollingKnolling is a very specific system of placing everything at a specific angle, but I think of it in a broader sense as “not making cleaning and tidying a ‘thing’, but doing it all the time.” I’ve been trying to put this into practice recently. wonderful. I tidy up my desk when I’m on a call. I tidy up my desk when I’m waiting to export something. A few seconds at a time, almost imperceptibly, my workspace will be cleaner than ever. Now all I have to do is figure out how to Always Be Knolling, like doing the laundry or the dishes, and I’ll be unstoppable.
