The 2025 Android upgrade cycle has begun, thanks t...

Hello, mates! Welcome to Installer No. 68, your information to one of the best and Verge-iest stuff on the earth. (In case you’re new right here, welcome, hope you’re staying heat and sane, and in addition you possibly can learn all of the outdated editions on the Installer homepage.) 

This week, I’ve been studying about Kieran Culkin and insomnia and the eBay for fancy startup stuff, lastly watching The Wild Robot, considering quite a bit about my buying habits whereas watching The Mega-Brands That Built America, including a bunch of Baseus retractable cables to my journey equipment, enjoying an incredible browser-based rendition of the Atari sport Pitfall!, testing out the brand new Spark calendar for Android, and attempting to repeat Babish’s delicious-looking breakfast sandwich.

I even have for you the most important new telephone within the Android world, the GPU each gamer’s going to need, an inconceivable check for AI instruments, a intelligent Google different, and way more. It’s been a considerably quiet week for brand new stuff, truthfully, because it’s each post-CES doldrums and utter political chaos. However we’ve nonetheless acquired nice stuff to speak about! Let’s do it.

(As at all times, one of the best a part of Installer is your concepts and suggestions. What are you watching / studying / cooking / downloading / constructing with Legos / strapping to your wrists this week? What ought to everybody else be into as a lot as you’re? Inform me the whole lot: installer@theverge.com. And if you understand another person who would possibly get pleasure from Installer, inform them to subscribe here.)

• The Samsung Galaxy S25. The S25 Edge is unquestionably Samsung’s most fascinating telephone this 12 months, and the Ultra might be one of the best one, however truthfully the entire lineup is just a little boring this time? Nonetheless, I actually do recognize that Samsung’s delivery a high-end, moderately sized, full-featured flagship smartphone for $800. That is the Android telephone I believe most individuals will find yourself with this 12 months.
• Star Trek: Section 31. The evaluations for this new Paramount Plus film are, uh, in all places. Folks nonetheless have robust emotions about Star Trek, who knew?! However I really like Michelle Yeoh, and I’m frankly excited to have an excuse to dive again into that universe for the primary time shortly. Additionally: extra two-hour films and fewer ten-hour restricted sequence, please.
• Humanity’s Last Exam. An extremely enjoyable and thought-provoking — and in addition mind-bendingly arduous — check {that a} bunch of researchers assume represents one thing like the ultimate frontier for AI. (All of the fashions presently fail spectacularly.) I’ve discovered a ton simply poking across the questions. 
• Perplexity Assistant. Frankly, I’ve by no means discovered Perplexity’s precise search outcomes all that good, however this firm is actually good at constructing merchandise which might be enjoyable to make use of. This new Android app is a step towards extra task-doing AI — a bit like OpenAI’s new Operator characteristic however with out the $200 month-to-month value.
• Android 16 public beta. Not a lot in the best way of ground-breaking new stuff this year, however the Reside Actions-style lockscreen notifications are cool. And when you’ve got a foldable telephone, you’ll just like the pressured app resizing. Curious in regards to the night time mode digicam upgrades, too. 
• The Night Agent season 2. I dug the primary season of this present, which (like loads of Netflix exhibits) was in all probability an episode or two too lengthy however nonetheless actually enjoyable. Sounds just like the second season is simply as enjoyable and fast-moving.
• The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. $2,000 is a steep value for a GPU, however Nvidia’s newest beast appears to be clearly the best thing in 4K gaming. (It’s not technically delivery till subsequent week, however if you would like one in all these I’ve a sense you’ll have to get in early.)
• “Why streaming will destroy the typical sports fan.” That is each an financial examine of sports activities rights and a cultural historical past of how sports activities got here to matter a lot on tv within the first place. The Jenga tower cable bundle metaphor is so good I’m livid I by no means considered it.
• Brave Rerank. Courageous is among the higher non-Google serps, and that is such a no brainer good thought of a characteristic: you get to up- and down-rank which domains you wish to see in your outcomes. A bit tweaking goes a good distance, too.

Each every so often, Mike McCue and I bounce on Google Meet and rant at one another in regards to the future. Mike is the CEO of Flipboard, a tech government all the best way again to the Netscape days, and each a realist and a complete bleeding-heart optimist about what know-how may be. Lately, what we’ve largely talked about is Surf, Flipboard’s new feed-reader app. 

I feel Surf, or one thing prefer it, is the longer term. (There’s additionally the brand new Reeder and Project Tapestry, which have related concepts — however Surf is probably the most formidable one I’ve seen but.) It’s social, nevertheless it’s not managed by any single firm; it’s customized, however solely in ways in which you select. All these things continues to be tremendous early, however each time X adjustments or TikTok goes away, it turns into clear that we’d like one thing very totally different.

Oh, and I’ve enjoyable information: in case you sign up for Surf with the code “Installer,” you possibly can skip the waitlist line and check out the app out. Proper now you want a Mastodon account to get in (which is simple sufficient to enroll in), however Mike says Bluesky help is coming quickly, too.

Anyway! I requested Mike to share his homescreen, plus give us a glimpse into a number of the feeds he’s having fun with most proper now. Right here is his homescreen, plus some data on the apps he makes use of and why:

The telephone: iPhone 16 Professional Max.

The wallpaper: I alternate between Apple’s Earth and photographs of my household. It’s simple and enjoyable to vary wallpapers on iOS. The Earth wallpaper is dynamic all through the day. I like the way it jogs my memory that I’m only a tiny speck in area and time.

The apps: Apple Maps, Gaia GPS, Windy, Sky Information, Spotify, Google Calendar, Safari, Leica Fotos, Apple Photographs, Pixelfed, Flipboard, Threads, Ivory (a Mastodon consumer), Bluesky, Surf Beta.

If there’s one takeaway right here, it’s that I’m a social net nerd, and I’m hopelessly hooked on information and social media.

My saving grace is that I do handle to get exterior a good bit. I lately switched to Apple Maps (I really like the presentation when driving), and I exploit Gaia for trails once I’m mountaineering or mountain biking. Windy is one of the best climate app on the market (I purchased a premium subscription for crusing). That stated, I feel MyRadar is finest at answering the query, “Is it about to rain? And for a way lengthy?” I exploit Sky Guide a stunning quantity. It’s particularly enjoyable to identify and observe the planets and the area station with my youngsters.

The decrease proper quadrant has my most used apps as a result of I can simply attain them one-handed. Of those, Apple Notes is the place I spend by far probably the most time. It’s the place I do all of my considering, planning, and writing for work and life. I do know there are extra highly effective alternate options on the market, however Notes is so easy and simply works.

For social media, I exploit a mixture of Mastodon (by way of Ivory), Bluesky, and Threads, three of the principle apps on the social net. I additionally love the brand new Pixelfed app. Not solely is it constructed on ActivityPub, it’s like what Instagram was. I finished posting on Instagram years in the past as a result of it acquired so noisy. It’s good to begin sharing photographs once more.

I additionally requested Mike to share just a few issues he’s into proper now on Surf. Right here’s what he despatched again:

• NBAThreads by David Speeding: Actual-time commentary from followers on Threads and Bluesky throughout video games. A number of nice movies and podcasts between video games.
• FilmFeed by David Imel: Lovely photographs from a curated listing of movie photographers. Like Instagram for movie followers.
• Guardians of the Fediverse by Tim Chambers: My go-to feed for connecting with people who find themselves constructing on the social net.
• SkyTok: Trending movies on Bluesky and movies tagged with #SkyTok. Additionally obtainable directly on Bluesky as a customized feed.

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

“Nothing printed a very interesting video about how the design of iOS & Android can have a unique affect in your psychological state and the way totally different cultures method design basically. Tremendous fascinating stuff.” — Teo

“UFO 50! Really unbelievable compilation of fifty new retro-style indie video games, constructed round a fictional sport firm within the 80s. It’s all I’ve been enjoying and I’ve solely performed about 15 video games up to now.” — Jelly

“Watching Unrivaled, the brand new 3 on 3 ladies’s basketball league, on TNT / TruTV / Max! A lot enjoyable to observe one of the best basketball gamers play with more room and a unique format from conventional basketball.” — Renata

“I acquired a Miyoo A30 this week, put in Spruce (a customized firmware) on it, and now I’m enjoying Pokémon Yellow Legacy as a result of I wanted some nostalgic consolation meals to cope with the whole lot occurring proper now.” — Beeks

“Simply completed up Kevin Can F**k Himself on Netflix. I feel it’s just a few years outdated, however man it was so good. I really like the storytelling system they make use of the place any time Kevin is round, it’s filmed as an All Within the Household-style sitcom, and the remainder of the time it’s filmed like a darkish comedy.” — JK

“Been spending a bunch of time on Graze constructing feeds for BlueSky! They’re actually performing some nice work for the group, and have made organising customized feeds tremendous fast, enjoyable and obtainable to just about anybody, techie or not.” — Kerha

“I Love Hue Too. It’s been out some time, nevertheless it’s stunning, addictive and a beautiful approach to distract from the crumbling world round me.” — Brad

“Final week’s Silo season finale was unbelievable and I’ve additionally began Wool (the primary within the e-book sequence) and it’s a actually enjoyable learn. Loopy how a lot quicker the e-book is paced – it’s solely like 40 p.c by way of the story that [REDACTED] occurs!!” — Andy

“I’ve been enjoying an entire lot of Dragonsweeper, which is like Minesweeper crossed with a dungeon crawler. It’s tough at first, nevertheless it’s sick.” — Sophie

“This playlist of old school Weather Channel songs my brother despatched me has been my soundtrack for the previous couple of days. Simply sit again and let the nostalgia of attempting to get a forecast over primary cable wash over you.” — Mike

At CES just a few weeks in the past, I used to be chatting with a brand new pal on the present flooring when he casually referenced “that factor Douglas Adams wrote in regards to the web.” I stared stupidly again at him. “You realize, the Hitchhiker’s Information man?” Yeah, no, acquired that. What web factor?

Seems, in 1999, Adams wrote an essay titled “How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Internet,” and wow does it maintain up 26 years later as a means to consider the world we dwell in now. Right here’s only one quote:

“One other downside with the online is that it’s nonetheless ‘know-how’, and ‘know-how’, as the pc scientist Bran Ferren memorably outlined it, is ‘stuff that doesn’t work but.’ We not consider chairs as know-how, we simply consider them as chairs. However there was a time after we hadn’t labored out what number of legs chairs ought to have, how tall they need to be, and they might typically ‘crash’ after we tried to make use of them. Earlier than lengthy, computer systems will likely be as trivial and plentiful as chairs (and a few a long time or so after that, as sheets of paper or grains of sand) and we’ll stop to pay attention to the issues.”

I take into consideration this essay rattling close to each day now. The extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical. And perhaps we must be comforted by that.