Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 146, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, it’s October already?, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
Programming note: David is back next week! It’s been a blast writing Installer again, and thanks to everyone for reading and for your recommendations. For now, I also have for you Amazon’s new Kindles, OpenAI’s Dots, the remastered Witcher 3, and more.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What apps are you into right now? What are your favorite things you’ve watched / seen / zoned out to recently? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.)
- Amazon’s new Kindles. Amazon might have crushed it with the Kindle updates this year. The new base e-readers look like they’ll be a nice upgrade from previous generations, with flush front screens, an option for an aluminum back, and some nice new colors. The new Paperwhite and Colorsoft Signature Editions are compatible with a case with page turn buttons. And now there’s a “Kindle Click” remote to let you turn pages and adjust brightness. My years-old Paperwhite is still trucking along just fine, but if it suddenly broke, these would be really tempting options.
- OpenAI’s Dots. OpenAI’s Muse-like AI agent is here, though the company is pitching it more as something to help you with work than an all-encompassing assistant for your personal life. (That’s probably coming later.) The Dots are also adorable, though I think I’d give the Muse mascots the edge in cuteness.
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered. Eleven years after its initial launch, The Witcher 3 is getting yet another big update. This free update for existing owners adds a lot of features and tweaks, including visual improvements, changes to skills, a new accessibility section in settings, cross-platform mod support, and more. The game is also now on Switch 2. Might be time for me to finally dive in.
- Bose’s Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds. These $99 USB-C wired earbuds have noise cancellation and an in-line remote for adjusting volume with a built-in microphone for calls, and they come in three colors. As a huge fan of Apple’s wired EarPods, these could be a great option that’s a step above those in quality.
- Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Bandai Namco’s latest entry in its fighter-pilot franchise sounds like a thrilling experience with a campaign filled with optimism, and it’s become one of the best-reviewed games of the year. Seems like a soaring success.
- Keurig’s Alta. The new Keurig coffee machine can make you a cup of joe with compostable pucks instead of the recyclable pods. Plus, it can also make espresso and looks super fancy. It’s not cheap at $499.99. But it’s tough to beat the convenience of a Keurig — I learned firsthand when my toddler was a newborn — so this could be a good option if you want to lead a Keurig life with more Earth-friendly pods.
- HP’s OmniBook 5 14. This HP laptop is thin and light, has 8GB of RAM, comes in good colors, and starts at $699.99, making it extremely MacBook Neo-adjacent. If you want the Neo ethos paired with Windows, this might be a solid option.
- Ikea’s Förlig lamp. This LED Ikea lamp lets you swap between 10 different colors, can be used from the floor or on a wall, and looks kind of like a lightsaber. Super fun.
Today I’m featuring Scott Stein, CNET’s editor at large. I’ve been a huge admirer of Stein’s work, especially his excellent coverage of wearables and VR, for years, and I had the great fortune of finally meeting him in person at Snap and Meta’s events last month.
I asked Scott to share his homescreen and the apps and things he cares about. Here it is, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:
Screenshots by Scott Stein
The phone: I use an iPhone 16 Pro Max right now.
The apps: So I randomize my Home Screen apps. Madness? Maybe. I started doing it for fun by adding suggested Siri app widgets a few years ago. I add two of the widgets, 8 apps each, and then the bottom 8 are fixed ones plus the four on my dock.
My fixed ones are: Google Calendar, Photos, Notes, Camera, Music, Gmail, GMaps, Bluesky, Phone, Messages, Mail, Safari. My core go-tos.
But the others are a contextual-slash-frequency-based mix of things I might be using (or not). The locations shift. In some ways it’s like Home Screen gaslighting… but it’s also a living Black Mirror life, and often it’s actually helpful. Today there’s the United app since I’m flying, Uber, Siri, Voice Memos, Signal, GChat, YouTube, Asana, Yahoo Sports… mostly pretty useful.
The wallpaper: My background’s also randomized. I pull from family and trip photos so I can see my kids (and other odd moments) when I’m out and about. It comforts me.
I also asked Scott to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he sent back:
- I have had an ongoing magic hobby since I was a kid. I’m reading The Intuitive Magician: Mastering Magic Through Improvisation, by Justin Higham. Kind of technical but it’s an exploration of where practice and fluid improvising meet, which feels holistic for other things.
- Also reading Stephen King and Peter Straub’s Black House, after reading The Talisman. I loved the Dark Tower books and the new Talisman trilogy end is coming soon which apparently blends them all together.
- I’ve also been semi obsessed with runes lately, part of my interest in portable trinkets and talismans, and how readings can feel like a form of meditation.
- Still playing Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and carving out time ahead for Panic Playdate’s third season. I love that little handheld.
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com 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.
“Arc Raiders (Expedition done and 2.0 coming in a week!) and Control Resonant. East of Eden.” — ProtoPhil
“I just started Widow’s Bay last night. Currently reading The Velvet Rage. Listening to the new Orville Peck album, Madonna, Adele, Amy Winehouse. Playing Stardew Valley. — antwhat
“Started watching American Horror Story: 13 and the first three episodes were pretty interesting! Love seeing the old characters’ reunion.” — alee
“I’m watching Star Trek: Voyager again! Light, serious, funny and introspective, a great watch in a time where the AI news has been a serious of scary headlines.” — BlubberBacon
“I’ve got a stack of spooky season reading that I can’t wait to dig into: The Nudge by Joseph Fink, Breakable Things and The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw, and The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers (Cthulhu’s grandpappy).” — Barbarian Librarian
“I’m playing Antivirus Survivors 2003 Professional because I’m apparently an ‘unc’ gamer.” — bubble_boy
“Two separate reading recommendations: Andrew Sacher’s Emo Revival and Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. Loved them both.” — securingsincity
“The latest episode of South Park America was brilliant!” — verge_user_BlorpBlorp
Remember my minimal homescreen I showed off in my first issue I wrote back in August? I have to confess: It became a mess of apps during my travels this month. Multiple airline apps, an expense reporting app, Notes, Voice Memos, Uber, and more — it gave me hives. Fortunately, I’ve finally gotten around to cleaning things up, and the screen is back down to just the Messages app once again. Calm restored. Well, until my next trip.