Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 54, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about AI slop and sports betting and Jony Ive, clearing my schedule for the new season of The Great British Bake Off, watching Sicario and Pirates of the Caribbean and A Quiet Place: Day One on plane-seat screens like their directors intended, insta-subscribing to Hasan Minhaj’s new YouTube show, and just relentlessly trolling people with Vergecast clips through Pocket Casts’ new feature. I also have for you a couple of new Meta gadgets, the mobile game that will eat up all your free... Continue reading…

Part of the reason you don't often see people with Android phones using other Apple products is that the two ecosystems aren't designed to work together. While Google offers a plethora of applications on Apple operating systems, only a few Apple apps are available officially from the Google Play Store.

With October just around the corner, it's time to bust out those sweaters and get ready for a chilly time. However, as the mercury drops, the news is showing no sign of stopping as we see announcement after announcement hit the internet. So, if you've been too busy planning your Halloween parties and didn't keep your eyes on the news, here's all the cool stuff you missed.

It's easy to think that smartphone innovation is stalling, and every update is incremental at best. That's especially true when the best iPhones are concerned. However, when you look beyond the new iPhone 16's chassis, you'll find that it's closer to the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max than ever. It has an A18 system-on-a-chip that's not too far behind the flagship A18 Pro, the same Camera Control button as the Pro models, and picks up the Action button.

Aside from virtual desktops, Cortana digital assistant, and a reintroduced Start menu, Windows 10 also embarked on a brand-new browser for desktop users. Originally referred to as Project Spartan, which would eventually be named Microsoft Edge, this upgrade was necessary due to Internet Explorer's evident limitations and inability to meet the evolving demands of the modern web.

The Razer Freyja can turn most computer chairs into haptic gaming accessories. | Image: Razer Razer has released the Freyja gaming cushion, a haptic cushion that you can attach to your gaming chair, the company announced. The cushion is $299.99, and it’s available to buy now.The Freyja is an extension of the vibration you get from gaming controllers — except instead of just jolting your hands, it buzzes several panels positioned behind and beneath you in response to things happening in a game. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Verge (@verge)The company says the cushion’s feedback comes from “multi-directional haptics powered by six advanced haptic motor actuators.” It connects via Bluetooth or through Razer’s HyperSpeed Wireless connection.Most of the time, that vibration... Continue reading…

The Verge Roughly a month ago, Michael Sayman realized he could finally build the app he’d been thinking about for years: a social network where everyone but you is an AI bot. Large language models are finally good enough and cheap enough that the experience might actually feel social and useful, and not like a gimmick or a game. And so, after years of waiting and months of testing the latest models, Sayman got to work.The app he built is called SocialAI, and it has become something of a viral phenomenon since it launched. (All he’d tell me is that it was downloaded 20,000 times in the first couple of days — but says the number has gone up substantially since then.) Some people thought it seemed fun and useful; other people thought it felt deeply... Continue reading…

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Spotify was down earlier on Sunda, with users across social media reporting that the app and website weren’t working, and for those of us at The Verge who tried we saw the same issues.Downdetector showed a spike in the number of reports about problems with the music streaming service that started at about 10:40AM ET. Spotify said it was working on the issue, and now it appears to be resolved, with the number of reports falling off sharply and a new messages from @SpotifyStatus saying “Everything’s looking much better now!”Everything’s looking much better now! Give@SpotifyCares a shout if you still need help.— Spotify Status (@SpotifyStatus) September 29, 2024The outage affected both the app and the website — while the app... Continue reading…

DaVinci plugins are external apps that you can install in the DaVinci Resolve video editing software to boost the native tools. There are plugins for effects and transitions, color, and audio, and they range from free plugins to paid, from a variety of developers, including native Resolve plugins. Theyre easy to install and will improve your video editing results more than if you just stick to DaVincis native tools. DaVinci is a great video editor for Windows, and to make your videos even better, here are the best plugins to improve your experience with DaVinci Resolve.

If youre a Windows user, youve probably noticed Microsofts persistent nudges to use OneDrive. It's like that friendly-but-overbearing neighbor who insists on helping with every little thing. While OneDrive has its perks, Ive found that Google Drive fits my needs better. Heres why I ditched OneDrive and made the switch to Google Drive, even on my Windows PC.

Typically used in tandem with CCTV and IP cameras, NVRs or Network Video Recorders let you fine-tune every aspect of your surveillance setup. But not every consumer would be willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for a separate NVR device.

The StandBy feature of iPhones offers a hint of how an Apple smart home display could work. | Image: David Pierce / The Verge Apple is preparing to take a fresh run at the smart home that starts with a rumored smart display that it may release next year. That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who writes in his Power On newsletter today that the display will use a new operating system, called homeOS, that’s based on the Apple TV’s tvOS (much like the software that drives HomePods now.)Gurman reports that the display will run Apple apps like Calendar, Notes, and Home, and that Apple has tested prototypes with magnets for wall-mounting. And it will support Apple Intelligence — something Apple’s HomePods don’t currently do. Rumors of such a device have been going around for some time now, with form factors ranging from a HomePod with a screen to a display a... Continue reading…