The Switch 2’s next killer app is already here
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 90, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, hope you’re staying cool, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
This week, I have been watching The Bear’s fourth season, preparing for the deluge of Qi2.2 wireless chargers, pondering how I’ll use the upcoming Bigfoot emoji to troll my group chats, studying the relaunched EmojiTracker, reading this giant profile of NBA star Joel Embiid, enjoying Pixar’s Hoppers teaser trailer way more than I expected, learning who Alex Warren is, and wondering if I should actually watch all of Stranger Things after seeing the fifth and final season’s new trailer.
I also have for you a new Donkey Kong title, OpenAI’s next big AI agent, a customizable gamepad, and more. Let’s dive in.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What awesome tricks do you know that everyone else should? What app should everyone be using? 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.)
The Drop
- Donkey Kong Bananza: DK’s first new 3D platformer in more than 25 years is, by all accounts, totally awesome. If you’ve already started to get bored of your new Switch 2, Bananza seems like an incredible adventure to get lost in. I can’t wait to play it and smash stuff.
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agent: OpenAI’s new agent can now “do work for you using its own computer,” like briefing you about your calendar or finding flights on Expedia. Seems impressive, though it’s apparently slow right now. Still, as these types of agents get better, they could dramatically change how we use our computers — even if, personally, I like to bumble around on my own most of the time.
- Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language: This new book from linguist Adam Aleksic — who you might know better as etymologynerd on TikTok — explores how algorithms are changing language. We published an excerpt on The Verge this week, and judging by Aleksic’s TikTok feed, I’m sure the rest of the book is filled with fascinating insights about the way we speak.
- Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on Mac: CD Projekt Red’s now very good sci-fi RPG is finally available to play on Apple computers. You’ll need a Mac with Apple Silicon and at least 16GB of unified memory to run it, but that means it’ll apparently work on the M1 Air that I’m writing this newsletter on, which blows my mind. Update 2.3 is also out now, and it adds a mode that auto-drives cars for you. I wish every open-world game had that.
- Wacom’s MovinkPad 11: This new $449.95 Wacom tablet doesn’t need to be connected to a PC to work — you can just draw on it. I always aspired to be the kind of person who can capably draw on a tablet, and this seems like a good device to do that with.
- 8BitDo’s Pro 3 Bluetooth Gamepad: This controller solves the problem of fretting over different ABXY button layouts by making the buttons magnetic so you can switch them around. Genius! It also has TMR joysticks, which are less prone to joystick drift.
- Elgato Stream Deck: Instead of just white and black, you can now get the handy, customizable console and other Elgato accessories in “forest green,” “pink petal,” “wild lavender,” and “glacier ice.” I usually get every gadget in black, but the green looks pretty darn nice.
- Apple’s Emoji Game: Apple News Plus subscribers can now play a new emoji-themed word game. I am considering subscribing just to try it — it sounds like my jam.
Today, I’m featuring Molly White, who you may know as the author of the incomparable Web3 is Going Just Great, which chronicles how crypto, blockchain, and Web3 technologies are not going great. White also writes the Citation Needed newsletter and is a Wikipedia admin. And I highly recommend her talk at the 2024 XOXO Festival about good things on the web, which I got to see live.
Here’s her homescreen and her explanation of what’s on it.
The phone: Pixel 7. I’m of the “drive it until the wheels fall off” type when it comes to electronics, so this three-year-old phone is actually somewhat on the new end for me.
The wallpaper: A photo of my cat, Ruthie.
The apps: The apps are all labeled, save for the quickbar ones: Signal, Bluesky, Proton Mail, Google Calendar, and Chrome. The two cut-off names are Pocket Casts and CloudLibrary.
Signal is my primary messaging app both for my work and for personal use, and I highly recommend it. Out of end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms, it’s an excellent choice — and I think everyone should strongly consider using E2EE to protect their privacy, regardless of whether they think they need it or not. You’ll also see Tor on the screen; that’s a privacy-focused web browser that I use frequently.
I’m a big reader, so it’s probably not surprising that three of the apps on the home screen are book-related. CloudLibrary and Libby are the apps my libraries use for their digital lending, which is primarily how I get the audiobooks I enjoy listening to while I walk my dog (when I’m not listening to podcasts on Pocket Casts, that is). StoryGraph is how I keep track of all the books I read, and it’s a strong improvement over Goodreads. I just finished listening to the audiobook for Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, which was very good.
I’m a very heavy RSS user, and Inoreader is my RSS reader. It’s perhaps a bit ironic as someone who writes an email newsletter that I don’t like reading newsletters in my email inbox, but I much prefer to sit down and read my newsletters at my preferred reading time than have them interrupt me throughout my day. I’ve got hundreds of feeds that I follow, and Inoreader also has a great feature where it can convert email newsletters that don’t offer built-in RSS feeds (for shame!) into a feed. Probably half of the feeds I follow are food blogs for recipe ideas, and good recipes go into Paprika, a fantastic recipe app that I also use for grocery lists. I’ve been using that app for years, and as a frequent cook I’ve collected about 800 recipes in there by now.
I also asked Molly to share a few things she’s into right now:
- I’ve recently discovered the litRPG genre, having caught the Dungeon Crawler Carl bug a few months ago. Dungeon Crawler Carl was my introduction to litRPG, and it lives up to the hype: it’s a wonderfully entertaining series that will likely appeal to any readers who also like to play video games or TTRPGs. Since finishing it I’ve continued to explore similar genres, and I found Beware of Chicken, which is a slice-of-life progression fantasy about a powerful warrior who decides to become a farmer… and his chicken. I promise I read more ~*~ literary ~*~ books too, but these are just so great when I want to unwind with something fun.
- I swear this dinky little remote control has changed my life. Combined with any gooseneck tablet stand, I can clip in my e-reader and read from underneath a blanket without having to take my hands out to turn the page. I also like to read while doing cardio at the gym, and it’s been a real game-changer there, too.
- The HTML Review recently published its fourth issue. Unlike a lot of literature magazines, where their contents could just as easily be transmitted in print, the HTML Review features pieces where web functionality is an integral part of the artwork. They only publish annually, but it’s well worth the wait.
Crowdsourced
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, this post on Threads, and this post on Bluesky.
“Got an Nvidia Shield TV Pro (2019) for the upscaling feature and watched the best single episode of television — ‘The Constant,’ Lost. It’s like getting a DAC and in-ear monitors to re-listen to your old favorites.” – Allen [Jay note: “The Constant” is, indeed, the best single episode of television.]
“Donkey Kong Bananza! It’s got four main buttons: Smash things in front, smash things below, smash things above, jump. Needless to say it’s the most cathartic game I’ve ever played.” – BaltMatrix
“For reasons surely not related to current events, I’ve been reading a lot about the leadup to the Civil War. Most recently it has been Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation, a newly released biography by Zaakir Tameez about one of the most misunderstood and now largely forgotten figures of the abolitionist movement.” – Hoto
“I’ve been playing through my Steam Summer Sale haul and having a blast. (Cyberpunk 2077, Besiege, Emily is Away, Nubby Number Factory, A Short Hike.) I’ve also gotten into Letterboxed recently, having fun there after recruiting some friends to join. Lastly, one of my all-time favorite podcasts, 13 Minutes Presents, just started their third season, this one about the Space Shuttle. Can’t recommend the first season about the Apollo 11 moon landing enough.” – trekkie86
“Started reading The Anthropologists. Breezy, lovely writing!” – Jake
“It may be clichéd, but reading Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. And watching Superman has gotten me into reading the Superman comics, so from a Reddit recommendation, I’m currently reading Superman: Up in the Sky by Tom King.” – pangaean
“Been playing Dance Dance Revolution with a mat I got online as my indoor summer (and air conditioned) exercise! Works on PC with the included USB stick with StepMania and on my old PS2, still chugging along with original discs from childhood. It’s been humbling to say the least, but great cardio!” – WhatsTheMatter
Signing off
I’m debating going caseless with my iPhone 16 Pro. I have generally always disliked cases, but I put one on my iPhone 12 Mini years ago after the screen got an errant scratch at the beach, and now I get cases out of habit. Every time I take the case off, my phone just feels way better to hold, but then I inevitably get scared and put the case on again.
Should I live dangerously? Or should a case be the base? Help me solve this quandary. Also, do you use a case with your phone, and if so, which one? I’ve always assumed everyone has a case, but maybe they don’t.
See you next week!
