The app for taking higher pictures — with no AI

Hello, pals! Welcome to Installer No. 48, your information to the very best and Verge-iest stuff on the planet. (In case you’re new right here, welcome, prepare for lots of books this week, and likewise you’ll be able to learn all of the outdated editions on the Installer homepage.) 

I’m again after a few weeks off — due to everybody who wished me an excellent trip and despatched over e-book suggestions! I wound up studying Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, She Rides Shotgun, and The Wager and extremely suggest all three. Principally, I spent two weeks chasing a toddler round numerous eating places and playgrounds, and it was an excellent time, however I’m oh so very glad to be again hanging with all of you. And it seems I missed a variety of great things!

This week, I’ve been studying about Worldcoin and Conan O’Brien, watching Bad Monkey and rewatching The Night Manager, tweaking my recipe for a maple syrup Outdated Original, listening to 99 % Invisible’s excellent series on The Power Broker, rebooting all my fantasy soccer leagues, and making an attempt my damndest to modify from Spotify to YouTube Music.

I even have for you a brand new option to take smartphone pictures, a new-ish HBO smash, a brand new podcast app, a intelligent use of AI on your notes, and far more. Let’s get into it.

(As all the time, the very best a part of Installer is your concepts and suggestions. What are you into proper now? What ought to everybody else be studying / watching / taking part in / shopping for / 3D printing? Inform me every thing: installer@theverge.com. And if you understand another person who would possibly get pleasure from Installer, inform them to subscribe right here.)

• Halide’s Process Zero. Halide was already probably the greatest digicam apps for iPhone and iPad, however this function — which strips out all of the processing your telephone does and offers you as uncooked a picture as doable — is simply a lot enjoyable to play with. Give it a whirl this weekend. (A lot of you additionally despatched this in — due to everybody who did!)
• The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The identify is unhealthy. The telephone appears superior. Google appears to have gotten the foldable telephone design fairly proper this time, and utilizing Gemini facet by facet with an app is definitely a terrific case for a bigger display. There are many new Pixel units this week, however I’m most excited in regards to the Fold.
• Gemini Live. Huge week for chatty voice assistants! OpenAI rolled out Superior Voice Mode for ChatGPT, which is each cool and creepy. And Google confirmed off Gemini Reside, which, nicely, identical. I’m curious to see if both of those can go from nifty novelty to truly helpful function.
• Alien: Romulus. I truthfully don’t care if this film’s any good. (And the opinions up to now are… fairly blended.) I’m thrilled to have a motive to get again into the Alien universe, and also you higher imagine I’ll be seeing this within the largest, loudest theater I can discover.
• “First Look Inside Blue Origin’s New Glenn Factory w/ Jeff Bezos!” I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t watched any On a regular basis Astronaut movies earlier than this one crossed my suggestions. I discovered a ton from this lengthy, deep, really wild manufacturing unit tour. Insta-subscribe.
• Meta Quest HDMI Link. If we’ve discovered something from the Imaginative and prescient Professional this 12 months, it’s that VR headsets are simply actually, actually huge televisions. Meta’s new app means you’ll be able to plug virtually something in and use your headset as the large display it’s meant to be.
• Unread for Mac. This one’s like two weeks outdated, however I used to be on trip, so I simply noticed it: my favourite RSS reader for iOS is now on the Mac, and it’s nice. Quick, easy, good to take a look at, works with every thing, immediately a part of my day-to-day workflow.
• Industry season 3. It took some time for this HBO present to get its flowers, but it surely completely deserves the belated love. It has a few of the identical chaotic vitality as Succession, plenty of the cash and unhealthy habits, and loads of handsome folks doing hateable stuff. Takes a few episodes to actually get going, but it surely’s nice as soon as it does.
• Neuecast. I truly like the brand new Overcast design, however evidently, not everybody’s a fan. And if, for no matter motive, you’re searching for a brand new podcast app, this can be a attractive, easy one which’s remarkably full-featured for being so new. I’ve been testing it for months, and it’s been good mainly the entire time.

Earlier this summer time, I discussed how a lot I‘d been having fun with the Niagara Launcher, a minimalist Android launcher that reinvents your homescreen into one thing far more manageable and easy. And I heard from so a lot of you that you just prefer it, too! 

I additionally occurred to run into Peter Huber, the creator and developer behind Niagara, just a few days later. I figured it needed to be destiny, so I requested Peter to share his homescreen with us, figuring we would get a Niagara professional tip or two. 

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

The telephone(s): Pixel 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 3. Since we’d like a number of telephones to verify if Niagara Launcher works correctly on the huge Android panorama, I’ve the posh of with the ability to use two telephones. The Pixel is my day by day driver, and I exploit my Fold 3 with its broad display to chill out and wind down within the evenings.

The wallpaper: The primary one relies on a photograph from Annie Spratt, and the second is a blurred model of a wallpaper I did whereas tinkering with the improbable 3D modeling software program Blender. You’ll find the wallpapers in Niagara Launcher or on my Google Drive.

The launcher: I used to be tempted to publish an iPhone setup right here to see the response, however I’m utilizing and testing Niagara Launcher. I choose a easy setup, and every thing you see — the icon packs, climate, calendar, and media widgets — comes with Niagara Launcher. The one exception is the Caprasimo font on the Fold. I attempted a number of extravagant fonts for upcoming homescreen setup presets. I observed the star above the alphabet is just too skinny with this font, so I’ve saved it as a reminder to handle this challenge, and now the font has grown on me.

The apps: Gmail, Todoist, Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Firefox, YouTube, Harmonic.

• Todoist: Virtually each thought I need to write down lands right here first. It’s quick, feels native, and syncs seamlessly with Google Calendar. The builders have put a variety of thought and care into it.
• Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack — when you message me on any of those, count on to come across a justifiable share of “Hide the Pain Harold” stickers or reactions.
• Firefox: Within the morning and on breaks, I exploit it to verify the information on The Verge and Reddit, however I need to scale back my Reddit use. These days, I typically browse ArtStation or Stash earlier than going to sleep; stunning artwork has some soothing character.
• Harmonic is a superb Hacker Information shopper.
• Whereas not an app, DebugAction is my helpful developer shortcut for Niagara Launcher that lets me carry out actions to fine-tune a function, like refreshing all app icons when designing a brand new icon pack.

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

• YouTube movies I like to recommend watching: a video about phantom islands by Map Males, a British duo instructing geography within the funniest approach doable; a dialogue from a health discussion board became an Ace Attorney case (warning: profane language); and Captain Disillusion’s latest debunk video, packed together with his standard meticulous particulars and humor — extremely beneficial if you wish to be taught extra about particular results.
• Whereas I’m not precisely “into”: writing a Grasp’s thesis. It’s the factor I’ve invested a variety of time into just lately (or at the least I ought to — perhaps promising to work on it extra right here will encourage me). Nevertheless, I’ve no proper to complain as a result of I used to be allowed to decide on the subject I’m enthusiastic about. My purpose is to analyze lowering undesirable telephone use like procrastination on YouTube, as an alternative of, let’s say, writing a Grasp’s thesis. Sadly, there is no such thing as a scientific consensus on the best way to assess undesirable telephone use (heck, it’s even debatable if smartphones may be addictive, at the least within the pathological sense). The widespread recommendation is to get further {hardware} like a second telephone or a dumb telephone, which will help however is dear and infrequently inconvenient when you want your telephone to be sensible. I need to determine an answer that’s accessible to extra folks.
• I’m taking part in Wario Land 4, a brief and quirky Recreation Boy Advance platformer with a lot character! One other brief recreation I need to play once more after beating Wario Land is the rooftop runner recreation Mirror’s Edge. The primary time I missed a soar and fell, it gave me goosebumps. Additionally, how might an virtually 16-year-old recreation obtain such nice lighting? Its stylized metropolis appears even higher than its successor’s! I additionally had a number of good Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rounds with my crew after the final dash assembly. We have now the unhealthy custom that the final match has to finish with a particular assault known as a “spike.” In any other case, it’s not the final match.

Right here’s what the Installer group is into this week. I need to know what you’re into proper now as nicely! Electronic mail installer@theverge.com or message me on Sign — @davidpierce.11 — along with your suggestions for something and every thing, and we’ll function a few of our favorites right here each week. And for much more suggestions than I might match right here, take a look at the replies to this post on Threads.

“I adopted Jeff Cable’s photography blog through the Olympics. There are technical, logistical, and emotional articles. Working in post-production, I questioned what number of cameras have been getting used through the Olympics. Discovered this weblog publish about Olympic Broadcasting Services.” — Sinan

“Denim has been my favourite utility to create great-looking customized covers for playlists on Apple Music.” — Krishna

“A Psalm for the Wild-Built. It’s set in a future the place people and robots have gone their separate methods and actually paints a portrait of a world the place I believe many people wish to stay. Becky Chambers’ work has been known as ‘consolation sci-fi,’ and truthfully, I can’t consider something extra excellent for a reprieve. Studying that is like consuming a heat cup of tea. You’ll like it.” — Nolan

“Actually into this black and white E Ink smartphone I used to be loopy sufficient to preorder from China. Suppose ‘barely cheaper Boox Palma,’ and likewise, you might put a SIM card in it when you actually needed, however the bands it helps actually restrict what provider you might use and how much speeds you’ll get within the US” — Christopher

“I’m having fun with Quick Journal, a easy text-only journaling app for iOS.” — Joe

“I relistened to ‘The Case of the Missing Hit’ from Reply All and forgot how a lot I beloved it. It bought me considering of podcasts I’ve listened to that had me on the sting of my seat, and I remembered Dr. Death. It has a number of seasons now, however the first one is on Christopher Duntsch, a spinal surgeon gone unsuitable and the way the legal guidelines of malpractice and hospital hearth and rent practices will fill you with rage!” — David

“GuestCast. I’ve been utilizing this web site to comply with my tech reporters and politicians after they go on random podcasts.” — Ben

“Match Land. It hasn’t been up to date in an excellent very long time however nonetheless works. I’ve but to discover a match RPG recreation that may change it. For me, it has the right recreation physics so far as pace and transferring tiles, and nothing else I’ve tried is as satisfying.” — Justin

“Primarily based in your clear curiosity in note-taking apps, I assume you’ve already learn How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens. In case you haven’t, test it out — you would possibly prefer it. It’s brief, to the purpose, and fascinating for individuals who take a variety of notes for future articles / books / papers.” — Robert

“The brand new day calendar view in Todoist is totally wonderful and makes it tremendous easy to plan duties round conferences.“ — Glenn

I don’t keep in mind how I found The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, however I’m actually glad I did. Each episode is a dissection of one of many Lonely Island’s SNL digital shorts, a stunning variety of which ended up being type of culturally iconic. I wouldn’t binge the present since a number of of the episodes are a little bit same-y – “we made it final minute, it was big, wasn’t that neat!” — however there’s a variety of fascinating behind-the-scenes stuff all through. And I’ll by no means tire of the truth that “Lazy Sunday” is each an all-time nice SNL sketch and a sneakily essential a part of web historical past. (And never simply because there’s a MapQuest shoutout!) That episode was significantly nice, however I’ve actually loved the entire present up to now.