verge-rss

The smaller sibling to UE’s Epicboom offers plenty of punch for its size. But it’s a little thin on features to justify $250. The Ultimate Ears speaker lineup is getting quite crowded, having now reached six products with the recent introduction of the $249.99 Everboom. This speaker is a smaller, more portable take on the Epicboom that I reviewed late last year. And its core appeal is the same as any other UE speaker: you’re getting a rugged, waterproof speaker that’s cut out for both indoor and poolside parties. You can link the Everboom up with other UE speakers in party mode to play music in sync across all of them. The controls are easy to use — especially the company’s signature, oversized volume buttons.
So what makes the Everboom different? You get a fully customizable EQ, which not all of the company’s speakers offer. Like the Epicboom, there’s an outdoor mode that layers some extra volume and power onto the sound when needed. And UE includes a carabiner, which makes it easier to carry the Everboom on your bag or hang it in creative ways.

Both the Epicboom and Everboom dial up the overall audio fidelity compared to UE’s cylindrical speakers. Like those, they output 360-degree sound, so you don’t have to worry about hearing them from a certain sweet spot — in theory, anyway.
As it turns out, the Everboom is often most clear when you’ve got either the left or right side of the speaker directly facing you. Straight on, vocals can lack crispness and detail since the drivers seem to be side-firing — though the stereo separation is impressive as a result. For indoor listening, I typically kept the volume level between 30 and 40 percent, and that was plenty loud. Outside you can crank it further, though the speaker starts to strain and sound overly compressed once you’re at the 70 percent mark.

The Everboom is considerably smaller than last year’s Epicboom.

I don’t think the Everboom’s sound performance lifts it very far above established (and more affordable) competition like the JBL Charge 5, Bose SoundLink Flex, or even the recently released Beats Pill. I’d rank it higher than something like the Sonos Move for sound quality, but there are endless alternatives that are worth eyeing before you fork over $250.
That said, the Everboom met the moment when I brought it upstate for a brief lake cabin getaway. Listening to Zach Bryan’s new album, the Everboom did a good job separating John Mayer’s guitar licks on “Better Days” from the bulk of the mix. Nathaniel Rateliff’s South of Here was also a pleasant listen, though I again found myself pointing one of the speaker’s left / right sides towards me for the best clarity.
But some genres can prove a little much for it. The Hold Steady’s The Price of Progress sounded more muffled than I’d like. This is where the larger Epicboom fares better, since it’s got larger drivers (and more bass growl) to work with. But on the flip side, the Everboom is far easier to take on the go since it’s lighter and considerably smaller. Battery life is more than adequate at 20 hours of continuous playback.

The controls up top are identical; pressing the tree activates outdoor mode.

This time UE includes a carabiner instead of the magnetic carrying strap.

That said, I don’t know if anyone’s buying UE speakers for critical listening. The brand has a good reputation for making durable products that can last many years. (And now, mercifully, the whole lineup has finally switched to USB-C.) The Everboom has IP67 dust and water resistance, and it’ll float if you drop it into a pool — and keep the music going afterward.
But don’t expect any exciting bonus features. The Everboom does at least include multipoint, so you can pair two phones to the speaker at once. And it’s got NFC support for very quick pairing. Still, I can’t help but feel Ultimate Ears is resting on its laurels when other companies give you more. For example, the Beats Pill offers lossless USB-C input, and JBL is starting to embrace forward-looking Bluetooth technologies like Auracast. Meanwhile, the Everboom can’t even be used as a speakerphone. UE’s app has a new megaphone feature that lets you speak into your phone and broadcast that to your Boom speakers, but how often will that be useful?
The Everboom isn’t a terrible purchase; none of UE’s products are if all you’re seeking is a decent-sounding and very dependable speaker. But we’re firmly in an era where I’m expecting more than “Yeah, that sounds pretty nice” from a $250 wireless speaker. The Everboom doesn’t deliver enough to warrant that kind of price, and I’d wager most people will stick with the company’s better-known Boom 4. It provides many of the same strengths for less money.
Photography by Chris Welch

The smaller sibling to UE’s Epicboom offers plenty of punch for its size. But it’s a little thin on features to justify $250.

The Ultimate Ears speaker lineup is getting quite crowded, having now reached six products with the recent introduction of the $249.99 Everboom. This speaker is a smaller, more portable take on the Epicboom that I reviewed late last year. And its core appeal is the same as any other UE speaker: you’re getting a rugged, waterproof speaker that’s cut out for both indoor and poolside parties. You can link the Everboom up with other UE speakers in party mode to play music in sync across all of them. The controls are easy to use — especially the company’s signature, oversized volume buttons.

So what makes the Everboom different? You get a fully customizable EQ, which not all of the company’s speakers offer. Like the Epicboom, there’s an outdoor mode that layers some extra volume and power onto the sound when needed. And UE includes a carabiner, which makes it easier to carry the Everboom on your bag or hang it in creative ways.

Both the Epicboom and Everboom dial up the overall audio fidelity compared to UE’s cylindrical speakers. Like those, they output 360-degree sound, so you don’t have to worry about hearing them from a certain sweet spot — in theory, anyway.

As it turns out, the Everboom is often most clear when you’ve got either the left or right side of the speaker directly facing you. Straight on, vocals can lack crispness and detail since the drivers seem to be side-firing — though the stereo separation is impressive as a result. For indoor listening, I typically kept the volume level between 30 and 40 percent, and that was plenty loud. Outside you can crank it further, though the speaker starts to strain and sound overly compressed once you’re at the 70 percent mark.

I don’t think the Everboom’s sound performance lifts it very far above established (and more affordable) competition like the JBL Charge 5, Bose SoundLink Flex, or even the recently released Beats Pill. I’d rank it higher than something like the Sonos Move for sound quality, but there are endless alternatives that are worth eyeing before you fork over $250.

That said, the Everboom met the moment when I brought it upstate for a brief lake cabin getaway. Listening to Zach Bryan’s new album, the Everboom did a good job separating John Mayer’s guitar licks on “Better Days” from the bulk of the mix. Nathaniel Rateliff’s South of Here was also a pleasant listen, though I again found myself pointing one of the speaker’s left / right sides towards me for the best clarity.

But some genres can prove a little much for it. The Hold Steady’s The Price of Progress sounded more muffled than I’d like. This is where the larger Epicboom fares better, since it’s got larger drivers (and more bass growl) to work with. But on the flip side, the Everboom is far easier to take on the go since it’s lighter and considerably smaller. Battery life is more than adequate at 20 hours of continuous playback.

That said, I don’t know if anyone’s buying UE speakers for critical listening. The brand has a good reputation for making durable products that can last many years. (And now, mercifully, the whole lineup has finally switched to USB-C.) The Everboom has IP67 dust and water resistance, and it’ll float if you drop it into a pool — and keep the music going afterward.

But don’t expect any exciting bonus features. The Everboom does at least include multipoint, so you can pair two phones to the speaker at once. And it’s got NFC support for very quick pairing. Still, I can’t help but feel Ultimate Ears is resting on its laurels when other companies give you more. For example, the Beats Pill offers lossless USB-C input, and JBL is starting to embrace forward-looking Bluetooth technologies like Auracast. Meanwhile, the Everboom can’t even be used as a speakerphone. UE’s app has a new megaphone feature that lets you speak into your phone and broadcast that to your Boom speakers, but how often will that be useful?

The Everboom isn’t a terrible purchase; none of UE’s products are if all you’re seeking is a decent-sounding and very dependable speaker. But we’re firmly in an era where I’m expecting more than “Yeah, that sounds pretty nice” from a $250 wireless speaker. The Everboom doesn’t deliver enough to warrant that kind of price, and I’d wager most people will stick with the company’s better-known Boom 4. It provides many of the same strengths for less money.

Photography by Chris Welch

Read More 

Did I mention it’s only $56?!

It doesn’t do anything other than track steps, but that’s all I want it to do. And at this price? I ain’t complaining. When I was in high school, all I wanted was a Baby-G Casio watch — partly because it came in fun colors, partly because all the cool kids had one. When I finally convinced my mom to get me one, I loved it to pieces until its battery died ages later. It’s been over 20 years since then, but as Y2K fashion invades my TikTok algorithm, I think a lot about how my watches used to just be watches that looked nice. Sometimes I feel like I want to go back to those days… then I remember that the main reason I got into smarter watches was for step tracking.
And then I found out about the Casio WS-B1000, which costs a mere $55.95, syncs with your phone for the time, and tracks steps. What!?
It’s not unfathomable that today’s Casio watches could be more than the analog watches of my youth. And yet it hadn’t occurred to me to check. Never mind that I reviewed a more rugged Casio Wear OS watch a few years ago — that was a chunky multisport watch at a time when the Wear OS struggle bus had a perpetual flat tire. But after a bit of digging, it turns out that Casio has modernized a few of its watches to have a bit more fitness tracking functionality while keeping that classic Casio design.

I appreciate that it doesn’t overpower my wrist.

The WS-B1000 is one such watch, though it keeps things very simple. There’s no optical heart rate monitor, OLED display, fancy health sensors, contactless payments, or LTE connectivity. This device has Bluetooth to connect with your phone, an accelerometer to track steps, your classic stopwatch and timer functions, alarms, move reminders, and an LCD screen with a backlight button. In other words, just enough smarts to count as a fitness tracker — but barely.
A few years ago, that feature set probably wouldn’t have appealed to me. But these days, I’m at a point in my fitness journey where I’m recovering from mental and physical burnout from prolonged overtraining. It is a frustratingly long process, and to my surprise, the thing that’s kept me going are devices and apps that prioritize rest and simplicity over “going hard.” Many current smartwatches hurl active minutes, standing goals, calorie burn goals, and other targets at you — so many goals for you to hit daily that it can be overwhelming. So the fact that the WS-B1000 can only track steps or work as a stopwatch? That’s a plus.

The Y2K vibes are immaculate.

And you know what? The three weeks I tested the WS-B1000 were delightful. I’d forgotten how nice it is to set a simple step goal and try to meet it. With this watch, I could just look down and say, “Uh-oh! It’s 4PM and I’m at 2,000 steps. Time to go for a walk.” If I wanted to check my history, I could go to the Casio app and view a rough log. There was nothing fancy, and that’s just how I wanted it. Accuracy-wise, I was generally within 500–1,000 steps of my Apple Watch Ultra — which is a fair margin of error given they were worn on different arms and I talk with my hands. But if you’re opting for something like this, the general goal is to simply move more, and this is just fine for that.
There were other little things I appreciated, too. Because the watch doesn’t need the sensors, chips, and giant battery of a smartwatch, it’s remarkably light to wear. It only weighs 36 grams, and for once, I didn’t look like I had a giant hockey puck strapped to my wrist. I also never had to worry about charging the dang thing, either — it runs on a CR2016 coin cell battery that lasts approximately two years.
The neat part about the Casio app is that it automatically syncs the time so you don’t have to sit there fiddling with buttons to reset the time or set alarms. (I’m terrible at that on older watches; I can never remember how to do it or into which drawer I stuffed the user manual.) That stuff you can program from your phone.

Obviously, this isn’t going to be the watch for folks who want the most out of their smartwatch. But if, like me, you would like an occasional break from the fitness tech grind or the ideal of chill, low-tech fitness appeals to you, this is an excellent option. And might I remind you that it’s just $56?! Most basic trackers in this range tend to be fitness bands, whereas this is a cute, retro-chic Casio watch.
Alas, I only have two wrists, and as a wearables reviewer, I have to rotate out the Casio for the next smartwatch in my testing queue. But I have a pretty good feeling that, in between products, this is the watch I’ll be reaching for.

Did I mention it’s only $56?!

It doesn’t do anything other than track steps, but that’s all I want it to do. And at this price? I ain’t complaining.

When I was in high school, all I wanted was a Baby-G Casio watch — partly because it came in fun colors, partly because all the cool kids had one. When I finally convinced my mom to get me one, I loved it to pieces until its battery died ages later. It’s been over 20 years since then, but as Y2K fashion invades my TikTok algorithm, I think a lot about how my watches used to just be watches that looked nice. Sometimes I feel like I want to go back to those days… then I remember that the main reason I got into smarter watches was for step tracking.

And then I found out about the Casio WS-B1000, which costs a mere $55.95, syncs with your phone for the time, and tracks steps. What!?

It’s not unfathomable that today’s Casio watches could be more than the analog watches of my youth. And yet it hadn’t occurred to me to check. Never mind that I reviewed a more rugged Casio Wear OS watch a few years ago — that was a chunky multisport watch at a time when the Wear OS struggle bus had a perpetual flat tire. But after a bit of digging, it turns out that Casio has modernized a few of its watches to have a bit more fitness tracking functionality while keeping that classic Casio design.

I appreciate that it doesn’t overpower my wrist.

The WS-B1000 is one such watch, though it keeps things very simple. There’s no optical heart rate monitor, OLED display, fancy health sensors, contactless payments, or LTE connectivity. This device has Bluetooth to connect with your phone, an accelerometer to track steps, your classic stopwatch and timer functions, alarms, move reminders, and an LCD screen with a backlight button. In other words, just enough smarts to count as a fitness tracker — but barely.

A few years ago, that feature set probably wouldn’t have appealed to me. But these days, I’m at a point in my fitness journey where I’m recovering from mental and physical burnout from prolonged overtraining. It is a frustratingly long process, and to my surprise, the thing that’s kept me going are devices and apps that prioritize rest and simplicity over “going hard.” Many current smartwatches hurl active minutes, standing goals, calorie burn goals, and other targets at you — so many goals for you to hit daily that it can be overwhelming. So the fact that the WS-B1000 can only track steps or work as a stopwatch? That’s a plus.

The Y2K vibes are immaculate.

And you know what? The three weeks I tested the WS-B1000 were delightful. I’d forgotten how nice it is to set a simple step goal and try to meet it. With this watch, I could just look down and say, “Uh-oh! It’s 4PM and I’m at 2,000 steps. Time to go for a walk.” If I wanted to check my history, I could go to the Casio app and view a rough log. There was nothing fancy, and that’s just how I wanted it. Accuracy-wise, I was generally within 500–1,000 steps of my Apple Watch Ultra — which is a fair margin of error given they were worn on different arms and I talk with my hands. But if you’re opting for something like this, the general goal is to simply move more, and this is just fine for that.

There were other little things I appreciated, too. Because the watch doesn’t need the sensors, chips, and giant battery of a smartwatch, it’s remarkably light to wear. It only weighs 36 grams, and for once, I didn’t look like I had a giant hockey puck strapped to my wrist. I also never had to worry about charging the dang thing, either — it runs on a CR2016 coin cell battery that lasts approximately two years.

The neat part about the Casio app is that it automatically syncs the time so you don’t have to sit there fiddling with buttons to reset the time or set alarms. (I’m terrible at that on older watches; I can never remember how to do it or into which drawer I stuffed the user manual.) That stuff you can program from your phone.

Obviously, this isn’t going to be the watch for folks who want the most out of their smartwatch. But if, like me, you would like an occasional break from the fitness tech grind or the ideal of chill, low-tech fitness appeals to you, this is an excellent option. And might I remind you that it’s just $56?! Most basic trackers in this range tend to be fitness bands, whereas this is a cute, retro-chic Casio watch.

Alas, I only have two wrists, and as a wearables reviewer, I have to rotate out the Casio for the next smartwatch in my testing queue. But I have a pretty good feeling that, in between products, this is the watch I’ll be reaching for.

Read More 

Image: David Pierce / The Verge

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 47, 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 Skibidi Toilet and the future of mall brands and the legacy of Bell Labs, watching Dirty Pop and catching up on Cobra Kai, downloading every single podcast episode mentioned in this excellent Reddit thread, writing stuff down with Napkin, and trying desperately to figure out what I forgot to pack for vacation. I’ve also been trying new blueberry muffin recipes all week — thanks to everyone who sent me one!
Speaking of which: As I mentioned last week, Installer is taking a summer break. I’m going to go sit outside and stare at trees for a couple of weeks. (If you have good fun books I should read, by the way, please send them my way.) I’ll be back here August 17th with a big catch-up Installer, but I hope you have a great couple of weeks, and keep telling me about everything you’re into!
Before I go, I also have for you a new way to use Apple Maps, an interesting interview with Mark Zuckerberg, the best way to watch the Olympics, some of the internet’s best and silliest websites, and much more. Let’s do it.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into right now? What should everyone else be reading, watching, playing, snacking on, or listening to? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

Peacock’s Olympics Multiview. Peacock is doing ~ the most ~ for the Olympics this year. Personalized highlights! AI Al Michaels! The Gold Zone! But I’ll be spending the next two weeks locked to the Multiview. Four events at a time, and I get to pick which one gets the audio? That’s the future of TV right there.

The Asus ROG Ally X. A Windows gaming handheld that is fast, comfortable, and quiet? That’s the dream right there. Except Windows still stinks on the tiny screen, and $800 is a lot for this thing. But still! We’re making progress!

Apple Maps for web. Apple’s new beta Maps tool is a stark, simple, lovely contrast to the cluttered mess of Google Maps. It’ll be interesting to see how much Apple tries to do here — Maps is great for navigation but rough for place discovery, but maybe this is a sign Apple wants to fix that.

Capacities. I’ve been messing with this superpowerful note-taking app for a while, and I really like the way Capacities organizes things. Now there’s a mobile app, too, which makes it much easier to get stuff into the system. It’s definitely a power-user tool, but I’m liking it a lot.

“Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s AI Era.” A long, unusually thoughtful interview with Mark Zuckerberg, in which Zuck has a very funny tan but also some really interesting thoughts on AI, AR, and how we think about the real world and the internet going forward. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this.

Llama 3.1. The occasion for that Zuckerberg interview was the launch of Meta’s new AI model, which is apparently better and faster in the way that every new model now is the best and fastest. But the combination of the open-source approach here, and Meta’s shockingly popular Meta AI bot, means Llama is legit one to watch.

The Elgato Stream Deck XLR Dock. If you use an external mic for video calls, streaming, podcasting, whatever, this dock / Stream Deck combo might be the best simple USB setup I’ve ever seen. I bought one immediately.

Deadpool & Wolverine. Right now, it looks like Twisters might be the movie of the summer. I’m a little nervous about this one, which has been so hyped and overexposed, but I still have high hopes for two of my favorite Marvel characters.

“How sci-fi has changed over the last 70 years, analyzed with data.” You should really read and watch everything The Pudding does. But this one feels particularly Installer-y — an analysis of hundreds of sci-fi flicks to try and figure out how we think about the future, the obstacles we think we’ll have to overcome, and more. The main modern villain? Society.

The Tiny Awards. An annual competition for the best of the “personal internet,” which doubles as just a long list of really fun, often silly, always delightful websites. Infinite Craft, which I’ve mentioned here before, is just one of this year’s great nominees.

Screen share
Even if you don’t know Josh Rubin, there’s a good chance you know That Vision Pro Photo. The one with the guy in the impossibly cool hoodie, making the Vision Pro look like an extremely futuristic piece of streetwear and not a silly giant headset? Yeah, that was Josh Rubin.
When he’s not looking like a gadget model, Josh is the co-founder of Cool Hunting, a long-running compendium of just deeply awesome stuff. I’ve been a reader forever, so when Josh posted his homescreen running the new and much more customizable iOS 18 beta, I immediately reached out and told him he needed to share with the rest of us.
Here’s Josh’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:

The phone: iPhone 15 Pro Max, Titanium, no case.
The wallpaper: I keep my homescreen wallpaper black, as I find most wallpapers are too visually distracting and disharmonious with the app icons.
The apps: Settings, App Store, Safari, Notion, Todoist, Perplexity, Phone, Messages, Edison Mail.
With the iOS 18 beta, I’m so happy to finally have more control over app and widget layout. For my first two screens, I’m balancing utility and aesthetics, which is kind of a life philosophy, to be honest. The dock holds phone, messages, and email, which are obvious. I’m a photographer and often use the native iPhone camera app, though there are many others I use in different cases, so the last dock item is a folder of camera and photo editing apps. On screen one, the vertical column of widgets are each stacks for quickly glancing info I need regularly, and the right column of apps are the ones I tend to use most often. Screen two is optimized for right-handed use, with the apps and folders all within thumb’s reach and one widget stack glanceable in the upper-left corner; there’s a color harmony that’s considered as well. Some notes on the apps and widget stacks of note:
Screen One: The first widget stack is showing Hello Weather, which uses the Apple Weather (RIP Dark Sky) data and has great widget options. Also in that stack are Ventusky, Weather Strip, and Lumy because often the best way to visualize weather info is actually weather-dependent. The second stack is Fantastical and includes the month views shown as well as a day view and up-next view. Also in there is my next flight info via Flighty (I travel a lot). Last stack is Google Search and Google Maps. Notion is essential for notes and project status tracking. I’m using Perplexity to research stuff more than Google these days and love that, of all the AI tools out there, they attribute their info to linked pages, which makes fact-checking easy.
Screen Two: The widget is my Oura sleep data, which is there more because I like the way it looks. Also in that stack are Apple Fitness activity rings and Apple Health vitals. Retro is a clean, simple, basic photo sharing app that I use with friends only. It’s reminiscent of the earliest days of Instagram.
I also asked Josh to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he shared:

I’m not a gamer at all, but ever since trying Blackbox on Vision Pro, I’ve been loving how it blends art and play.
I just made Hashi (chopsticks) in a workshop with Seral Wood and Steel at the SingleThread farm shop and am suddenly enamored with woodworking.
Snoopy. Have been obsessed forever and love that Peanuts-related stuff is on the rise.

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 or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — 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 Threads.
“The Lord of the Rings audiobooks narrated by Andy Serkis. I have tried many times to get into those books (loved the Hobbit book and the OG LOTR movies) but couldn’t get it. Now that Andy Serkis narrates The Hobbit, LOTR, and The Silmarillion, I’ve blown through the first two books in a week each.” — Harrison
“A slightly lesser known but lovely (Scandinavian design, what do you expect) weather app alternative is Yr. They have a great app for iOS and Android, interesting background on their data setup… and look at that wonderful URL! Plus, did I mention Scandinavian design? Check those beautiful typefaces.” — James
“I accidentally started googling for a screen-less Steam Deck and fell into a Linux gaming on basic hardware hole. A decent 1080p rig can apparently be built for ~$300. So now I’m looking for old AMD parts to build a small form factor Steam console on the cheap. (Anyone got a RX 580 laying around?) ChimeraOS and Bazzite seem to be the most popular OSes, but I have a friend that swears by EndeavourOS.” – Robert
“I’ve been playing Papers, Please on my phone, and it’s been nice to play during my downtime. The developer did a wonderful job translating this game from PC.” — Collin
“The update to the Magic camera feature on the Rabbit R1 that lets you dictate the style of the photos it creates. It totally changed my attitude about the R1 being a fun camera that just happens to have some AI features built in, instead of an AI device with some camera features built in.” — Daulton
“Olympics Calendar. Subscribe to any Olympic sport, any nation, or everything in your calendar. The developer promises active updates as published by the Olympic schedule.” — Jason
“Watching like an hour of Cookin’ Somethin’ with Matty Matheson on YouTube every day. I love that YouTube has become the millennial Food Network.” — Justin
“I’m giving Bullet Journaling a go this week. If I like it, hopefully I’ll have it perfected for my liking before the new year!” — Chris
“Finally got the solar panels and battery backup at my house up and running this week, and it’s been amazing! Excited to eventually add an EV charger into the mix and drink up all that delicious sunshine.” — Noah
“I picked up Emberward to play on my Steam Deck. I blinked and four hours had passed. It’s like Bloons meets Slay the Spire meets Tetris, and it’s incredibly addicting.” — Drew
“I’ve been watching For All Mankind season 1 on Apple TV Plus, which is a captivating blend of historical fiction and sci-fi that reimagines the Space Race set in a world where the Soviets beat the US to the Moon.” — Matthew

Signing off
Do you keep a packing list? I really want to know. I am a constant list-maker, and I find everything about life easier when I’m writing stuff down, but for some reason, I’ve never seen the point of a packing list. In fairness, my packing strategy is just to shove a bunch of stuff into however big a suitcase I happen to have, and then either only need a quarter of what I packed or somehow forget six really important things. Sometimes both! But then I look at lists like this one, and I’m like, do I really need to write down “bring underwear”? And do people really pack duct tape every time they travel?
I don’t travel as much as I used to, so maybe I’m not life-hacking it hard enough anymore. I will tell you this, though: my flight’s only two hours, but I’ve already downloaded about 85 hours worth of stuff to watch. So I’ll at least have one part of the trip covered.
See you in a few weeks!

Image: David Pierce / The Verge

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 47, 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 Skibidi Toilet and the future of mall brands and the legacy of Bell Labs, watching Dirty Pop and catching up on Cobra Kai, downloading every single podcast episode mentioned in this excellent Reddit thread, writing stuff down with Napkin, and trying desperately to figure out what I forgot to pack for vacation. I’ve also been trying new blueberry muffin recipes all week — thanks to everyone who sent me one!

Speaking of which: As I mentioned last week, Installer is taking a summer break. I’m going to go sit outside and stare at trees for a couple of weeks. (If you have good fun books I should read, by the way, please send them my way.) I’ll be back here August 17th with a big catch-up Installer, but I hope you have a great couple of weeks, and keep telling me about everything you’re into!

Before I go, I also have for you a new way to use Apple Maps, an interesting interview with Mark Zuckerberg, the best way to watch the Olympics, some of the internet’s best and silliest websites, and much more. Let’s do it.

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into right now? What should everyone else be reading, watching, playing, snacking on, or listening to? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

Peacock’s Olympics Multiview. Peacock is doing ~ the most ~ for the Olympics this year. Personalized highlights! AI Al Michaels! The Gold Zone! But I’ll be spending the next two weeks locked to the Multiview. Four events at a time, and I get to pick which one gets the audio? That’s the future of TV right there.

The Asus ROG Ally X. A Windows gaming handheld that is fast, comfortable, and quiet? That’s the dream right there. Except Windows still stinks on the tiny screen, and $800 is a lot for this thing. But still! We’re making progress!

Apple Maps for web. Apple’s new beta Maps tool is a stark, simple, lovely contrast to the cluttered mess of Google Maps. It’ll be interesting to see how much Apple tries to do here — Maps is great for navigation but rough for place discovery, but maybe this is a sign Apple wants to fix that.

Capacities. I’ve been messing with this superpowerful note-taking app for a while, and I really like the way Capacities organizes things. Now there’s a mobile app, too, which makes it much easier to get stuff into the system. It’s definitely a power-user tool, but I’m liking it a lot.

“Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s AI Era.” A long, unusually thoughtful interview with Mark Zuckerberg, in which Zuck has a very funny tan but also some really interesting thoughts on AI, AR, and how we think about the real world and the internet going forward. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this.

Llama 3.1. The occasion for that Zuckerberg interview was the launch of Meta’s new AI model, which is apparently better and faster in the way that every new model now is the best and fastest. But the combination of the open-source approach here, and Meta’s shockingly popular Meta AI bot, means Llama is legit one to watch.

The Elgato Stream Deck XLR Dock. If you use an external mic for video calls, streaming, podcasting, whatever, this dock / Stream Deck combo might be the best simple USB setup I’ve ever seen. I bought one immediately.

Deadpool & Wolverine. Right now, it looks like Twisters might be the movie of the summer. I’m a little nervous about this one, which has been so hyped and overexposed, but I still have high hopes for two of my favorite Marvel characters.

“How sci-fi has changed over the last 70 years, analyzed with data.” You should really read and watch everything The Pudding does. But this one feels particularly Installer-y — an analysis of hundreds of sci-fi flicks to try and figure out how we think about the future, the obstacles we think we’ll have to overcome, and more. The main modern villain? Society.

The Tiny Awards. An annual competition for the best of the “personal internet,” which doubles as just a long list of really fun, often silly, always delightful websites. Infinite Craft, which I’ve mentioned here before, is just one of this year’s great nominees.

Screen share

Even if you don’t know Josh Rubin, there’s a good chance you know That Vision Pro Photo. The one with the guy in the impossibly cool hoodie, making the Vision Pro look like an extremely futuristic piece of streetwear and not a silly giant headset? Yeah, that was Josh Rubin.

When he’s not looking like a gadget model, Josh is the co-founder of Cool Hunting, a long-running compendium of just deeply awesome stuff. I’ve been a reader forever, so when Josh posted his homescreen running the new and much more customizable iOS 18 beta, I immediately reached out and told him he needed to share with the rest of us.

Here’s Josh’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:

The phone: iPhone 15 Pro Max, Titanium, no case.

The wallpaper: I keep my homescreen wallpaper black, as I find most wallpapers are too visually distracting and disharmonious with the app icons.

The apps: Settings, App Store, Safari, Notion, Todoist, Perplexity, Phone, Messages, Edison Mail.

With the iOS 18 beta, I’m so happy to finally have more control over app and widget layout. For my first two screens, I’m balancing utility and aesthetics, which is kind of a life philosophy, to be honest. The dock holds phone, messages, and email, which are obvious. I’m a photographer and often use the native iPhone camera app, though there are many others I use in different cases, so the last dock item is a folder of camera and photo editing apps. On screen one, the vertical column of widgets are each stacks for quickly glancing info I need regularly, and the right column of apps are the ones I tend to use most often. Screen two is optimized for right-handed use, with the apps and folders all within thumb’s reach and one widget stack glanceable in the upper-left corner; there’s a color harmony that’s considered as well. Some notes on the apps and widget stacks of note:

Screen One: The first widget stack is showing Hello Weather, which uses the Apple Weather (RIP Dark Sky) data and has great widget options. Also in that stack are Ventusky, Weather Strip, and Lumy because often the best way to visualize weather info is actually weather-dependent. The second stack is Fantastical and includes the month views shown as well as a day view and up-next view. Also in there is my next flight info via Flighty (I travel a lot). Last stack is Google Search and Google Maps. Notion is essential for notes and project status tracking. I’m using Perplexity to research stuff more than Google these days and love that, of all the AI tools out there, they attribute their info to linked pages, which makes fact-checking easy.

Screen Two: The widget is my Oura sleep data, which is there more because I like the way it looks. Also in that stack are Apple Fitness activity rings and Apple Health vitals. Retro is a clean, simple, basic photo sharing app that I use with friends only. It’s reminiscent of the earliest days of Instagram.

I also asked Josh to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he shared:

I’m not a gamer at all, but ever since trying Blackbox on Vision Pro, I’ve been loving how it blends art and play.
I just made Hashi (chopsticks) in a workshop with Seral Wood and Steel at the SingleThread farm shop and am suddenly enamored with woodworking.
Snoopy. Have been obsessed forever and love that Peanuts-related stuff is on the rise.

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 or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — 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 Threads.

“The Lord of the Rings audiobooks narrated by Andy Serkis. I have tried many times to get into those books (loved the Hobbit book and the OG LOTR movies) but couldn’t get it. Now that Andy Serkis narrates The Hobbit, LOTR, and The Silmarillion, I’ve blown through the first two books in a week each.” — Harrison

“A slightly lesser known but lovely (Scandinavian design, what do you expect) weather app alternative is Yr. They have a great app for iOS and Android, interesting background on their data setup… and look at that wonderful URL! Plus, did I mention Scandinavian design? Check those beautiful typefaces.” — James

“I accidentally started googling for a screen-less Steam Deck and fell into a Linux gaming on basic hardware hole. A decent 1080p rig can apparently be built for ~$300. So now I’m looking for old AMD parts to build a small form factor Steam console on the cheap. (Anyone got a RX 580 laying around?) ChimeraOS and Bazzite seem to be the most popular OSes, but I have a friend that swears by EndeavourOS.” – Robert

“I’ve been playing Papers, Please on my phone, and it’s been nice to play during my downtime. The developer did a wonderful job translating this game from PC.” — Collin

“The update to the Magic camera feature on the Rabbit R1 that lets you dictate the style of the photos it creates. It totally changed my attitude about the R1 being a fun camera that just happens to have some AI features built in, instead of an AI device with some camera features built in.” — Daulton

“Olympics Calendar. Subscribe to any Olympic sport, any nation, or everything in your calendar. The developer promises active updates as published by the Olympic schedule.” — Jason

“Watching like an hour of Cookin’ Somethin’ with Matty Matheson on YouTube every day. I love that YouTube has become the millennial Food Network.” — Justin

“I’m giving Bullet Journaling a go this week. If I like it, hopefully I’ll have it perfected for my liking before the new year!” — Chris

“Finally got the solar panels and battery backup at my house up and running this week, and it’s been amazing! Excited to eventually add an EV charger into the mix and drink up all that delicious sunshine.” — Noah

“I picked up Emberward to play on my Steam Deck. I blinked and four hours had passed. It’s like Bloons meets Slay the Spire meets Tetris, and it’s incredibly addicting.” — Drew

“I’ve been watching For All Mankind season 1 on Apple TV Plus, which is a captivating blend of historical fiction and sci-fi that reimagines the Space Race set in a world where the Soviets beat the US to the Moon.” — Matthew

Signing off

Do you keep a packing list? I really want to know. I am a constant list-maker, and I find everything about life easier when I’m writing stuff down, but for some reason, I’ve never seen the point of a packing list. In fairness, my packing strategy is just to shove a bunch of stuff into however big a suitcase I happen to have, and then either only need a quarter of what I packed or somehow forget six really important things. Sometimes both! But then I look at lists like this one, and I’m like, do I really need to write down “bring underwear”? And do people really pack duct tape every time they travel?

I don’t travel as much as I used to, so maybe I’m not life-hacking it hard enough anymore. I will tell you this, though: my flight’s only two hours, but I’ve already downloaded about 85 hours worth of stuff to watch. So I’ll at least have one part of the trip covered.

See you in a few weeks!

Read More 

Photo by Tristan Fewings / Getty Images

Following reports that the Russo brothers were in talks to helm more features for Marvel, the studio confirmed at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con that the pair will be directing two new Avengers films.
During Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the studio announced that the Russo brothers have signed on to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — the former of which will see Robert Downey Jr, return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Doomsday is due out in May 2026, while Secret Wars will follow in May 2027.

Just announced in Hall H: The Russo Brothers return to direct Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. Only in theaters May 2026. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/oqnSwWKnYn— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

Just announced in Hall H: The Russo Brothers return to direct Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Secret Wars. Only in theaters May 2027. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/egTQwYaUTd— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 28, 2024

The very surprising pivot to Doctor Doom comes after a number of setbacks for The Kang Dynasty — Marvel’s previously-announced (and now seemingly sidelined) Avengers film. Last fall, after news broke that Marvel was delaying The Kang Dynasty’s premiere by a full year, Destin Daniel Cretton and Michael Waldron stepped down as the film’s original director and writer, respectively.
Jeff Loveness signed on to pen a script shortly after Waldon’s exit, but the film’s fate seemed even more uncertain following Marvel’s decision to fire actor Jonathan Majors — who played Kang in Disney Plus’ Loki series and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — for his involvement in a domestic violence case.
Doctor Doom showing up just as the Fantastic Four are about to arrive makes it seem like Marvel’s been cooking up a plan to send its beleaguered Multiverse Saga off with a bang — one that’s probably going to be orchestrated by a guy who looks just like Iron Man.

Photo by Tristan Fewings / Getty Images

Following reports that the Russo brothers were in talks to helm more features for Marvel, the studio confirmed at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con that the pair will be directing two new Avengers films.

During Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the studio announced that the Russo brothers have signed on to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — the former of which will see Robert Downey Jr, return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Doomsday is due out in May 2026, while Secret Wars will follow in May 2027.

The very surprising pivot to Doctor Doom comes after a number of setbacks for The Kang Dynasty — Marvel’s previously-announced (and now seemingly sidelined) Avengers film. Last fall, after news broke that Marvel was delaying The Kang Dynasty’s premiere by a full year, Destin Daniel Cretton and Michael Waldron stepped down as the film’s original director and writer, respectively.

Jeff Loveness signed on to pen a script shortly after Waldon’s exit, but the film’s fate seemed even more uncertain following Marvel’s decision to fire actor Jonathan Majors — who played Kang in Disney Plus’ Loki series and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — for his involvement in a domestic violence case.

Doctor Doom showing up just as the Fantastic Four are about to arrive makes it seem like Marvel’s been cooking up a plan to send its beleaguered Multiverse Saga off with a bang — one that’s probably going to be orchestrated by a guy who looks just like Iron Man.

Read More 

Image: Apple

The end of the world just got a little closer. Apple confirmed that the much-anticipated second season of its postapocalyptic series Silo will start streaming on November 15th.
Silo premiered last May and was renewed before the first season finished. Apple first teased season 2, alongside the return of Severance, at WWDC 2024. (Severance’s second season will start streaming in January.)
Based on the trilogy of novels by Hugh Howey, Silo is set in the distant future and follows the remains of humanity, who live in giant underground bunkers — the titular silos — to avoid the deadly world outside. The season 1 finale ended with a big twist that made it clear there’s a lot more going on than the show initially lets on. It also only covers part of the first book, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of the story the new season covers. Silo’s second season will see returning cast members like Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, and Common.
The show is part of an ever-growing library of science fiction series on Apple TV Plus, which also includes the likes of Sunny, Dark Matter, Constellation, Invasion, and Foundation as well as upcoming series based on Neuromancer and The Murderbot Diaries.

Image: Apple

The end of the world just got a little closer. Apple confirmed that the much-anticipated second season of its postapocalyptic series Silo will start streaming on November 15th.

Silo premiered last May and was renewed before the first season finished. Apple first teased season 2, alongside the return of Severance, at WWDC 2024. (Severance’s second season will start streaming in January.)

Based on the trilogy of novels by Hugh Howey, Silo is set in the distant future and follows the remains of humanity, who live in giant underground bunkers — the titular silos — to avoid the deadly world outside. The season 1 finale ended with a big twist that made it clear there’s a lot more going on than the show initially lets on. It also only covers part of the first book, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of the story the new season covers. Silo’s second season will see returning cast members like Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, and Common.

The show is part of an ever-growing library of science fiction series on Apple TV Plus, which also includes the likes of Sunny, Dark Matter, Constellation, Invasion, and Foundation as well as upcoming series based on Neuromancer and The Murderbot Diaries.

Read More 

Image: Hulu

It only takes a few minutes before Futurama’s new season starts explaining non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, a concept most people probably haven’t thought about for more than a year.
Despite being set in the far future, Futurama has always been comfortable commenting on modern life. There have been episodes about smartphones and 3D printers that use sci-fi nonsense to complicate the concepts in a way that makes them funny. That has largely continued to be true over many years (and cancellations). But in its Hulu revival last year, the show really started to mess up the balance, and its topical jokes began to overshadow the sci-fi gags. The upcoming 12th season struggles even more to find a Futurama-style twist on absurd ripped-from-the-headlines storylines about NFTs and AI. It makes for an uneven season that often feels like it’s missing what originally made the show so special.
The NFTs are the most egregious example, and they also happen to be featured heavily in the debut episode, which makes for a terrible first impression. The convoluted plot involves Bender selling a CryptoPunks-style collection to make a quick buck, which somehow leads him on a quest to discover his origins in Mexico. Meanwhile, the rest of the Planet Express crew attempts a heist to liberate Bender’s NFT collection from an art museum, only to be thwarted by the complexities of the blockchain and digital ledgers.
The problem is that these aren’t some sort of quirky Futurama take on NFTs — they’re just regular NFTs as we know them now, terrible art connected to a digital receipt. The episode spends an annoyingly large part of its runtime explaining the concept — which, to be fair, is hard to do succinctly — without offering much by the way of jokes or commentary. It just assumes NFTs in and of themselves are enough to make people laugh.

More than a decade ago, when we all thought Futurama was really over for good, executive producer and head writer David X. Cohen explained to me how the show was able to successfully translate modern problems into its retrofuturistic world. “We always like it when the real world gives us ideas for episodes,” he said. “Setting the show 1,000 years in the future does not mean you’re not going to comment on society today, it just makes it one step removed.” As the NFT episode proves, it’s that “one step removed” part that’s so important. Without it, the episode is a bunch of dull jokes that are also painfully dated.
I’ve seen the first six episodes of the season (there will be 10 in total), and things fare slightly better later on. There’s a Squid Game spoof that explores Fry’s childhood through some kind of bizarre time travel and a fast-fashion episode that turns Cara Delevingne into Frankenstein’s monster and the professor into a style icon. I wouldn’t say these are examples of Futurama at its best — the jokes are hit or miss, and most are lacking the heart that keeps the show grounded. But they at least understand Futurama’s original premise: using this weirdo future as a lens to exaggerate modern issues.
This is less true in the most unoriginal episode of the bunch, when the show turns an AI chatbot into Leela’s jealous friend. It’s just about every AI movie trope rolled into 20 minutes of animation. It’s also pretty weird to tackle AI as a new thing at all given Futurama is swarming with sentient robots.
Maybe there’s more heart and wit in the later episodes, as Hulu does promise the season will explore “the next chapter in Fry and Leela’s fateful, time-twisted romance.” But from what I’ve seen, the balance is too far askew. There’s too much focus on being topical and not enough on the oddball humor, long-running characters, and warmth that has made it all work so well before. Like the rest of the world, Futurama should’ve left NFTs in the past.
Futurama season 12 starts streaming on Hulu on July 29th.

Image: Hulu

It only takes a few minutes before Futurama’s new season starts explaining non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, a concept most people probably haven’t thought about for more than a year.

Despite being set in the far future, Futurama has always been comfortable commenting on modern life. There have been episodes about smartphones and 3D printers that use sci-fi nonsense to complicate the concepts in a way that makes them funny. That has largely continued to be true over many years (and cancellations). But in its Hulu revival last year, the show really started to mess up the balance, and its topical jokes began to overshadow the sci-fi gags. The upcoming 12th season struggles even more to find a Futurama-style twist on absurd ripped-from-the-headlines storylines about NFTs and AI. It makes for an uneven season that often feels like it’s missing what originally made the show so special.

The NFTs are the most egregious example, and they also happen to be featured heavily in the debut episode, which makes for a terrible first impression. The convoluted plot involves Bender selling a CryptoPunks-style collection to make a quick buck, which somehow leads him on a quest to discover his origins in Mexico. Meanwhile, the rest of the Planet Express crew attempts a heist to liberate Bender’s NFT collection from an art museum, only to be thwarted by the complexities of the blockchain and digital ledgers.

The problem is that these aren’t some sort of quirky Futurama take on NFTs — they’re just regular NFTs as we know them now, terrible art connected to a digital receipt. The episode spends an annoyingly large part of its runtime explaining the concept — which, to be fair, is hard to do succinctly — without offering much by the way of jokes or commentary. It just assumes NFTs in and of themselves are enough to make people laugh.

More than a decade ago, when we all thought Futurama was really over for good, executive producer and head writer David X. Cohen explained to me how the show was able to successfully translate modern problems into its retrofuturistic world. “We always like it when the real world gives us ideas for episodes,” he said. “Setting the show 1,000 years in the future does not mean you’re not going to comment on society today, it just makes it one step removed.” As the NFT episode proves, it’s that “one step removed” part that’s so important. Without it, the episode is a bunch of dull jokes that are also painfully dated.

I’ve seen the first six episodes of the season (there will be 10 in total), and things fare slightly better later on. There’s a Squid Game spoof that explores Fry’s childhood through some kind of bizarre time travel and a fast-fashion episode that turns Cara Delevingne into Frankenstein’s monster and the professor into a style icon. I wouldn’t say these are examples of Futurama at its best — the jokes are hit or miss, and most are lacking the heart that keeps the show grounded. But they at least understand Futurama’s original premise: using this weirdo future as a lens to exaggerate modern issues.

This is less true in the most unoriginal episode of the bunch, when the show turns an AI chatbot into Leela’s jealous friend. It’s just about every AI movie trope rolled into 20 minutes of animation. It’s also pretty weird to tackle AI as a new thing at all given Futurama is swarming with sentient robots.

Maybe there’s more heart and wit in the later episodes, as Hulu does promise the season will explore “the next chapter in Fry and Leela’s fateful, time-twisted romance.” But from what I’ve seen, the balance is too far askew. There’s too much focus on being topical and not enough on the oddball humor, long-running characters, and warmth that has made it all work so well before. Like the rest of the world, Futurama should’ve left NFTs in the past.

Futurama season 12 starts streaming on Hulu on July 29th.

Read More 

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

I’ve got a stack of bookmarked, favorited, and saved-for-later web articles that I’m going to get around to reading one day… but haven’t. I think that part of what puts me off working through that list is that reading on the internet, especially longer pieces, can be a slog. On most sites, besides the text and pictures that matter, you’ve got a constant flurry of ads, pop-ups, panels, and media to deal with.
You can avoid this problem by using a bookmarking app such as Pocket, which offers an easier way to both save and read longer content, or you can buy a separate reading device such as a Kindle. However, if you don’t want to deal with another app or device, there’s another way. Most popular browsers now come with some kind of reading mode built in. The idea is to get something closer to the Kindle or Kobo experience: easy on the eye, free from distractions, and focused on what you’re actually interested in reading.
Here’s how to access desktop reading modes in Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. I’ve also included reading modes for iPhones and Android phones.
Google Chrome for the desktop

Screenshot: Google
Chrome’s reading mode is more of a reading panel than a separate interface.

Chrome might be the most popular browser on the desktop by some distance, but it still lags behind its competitors in some respects. To take one example: it doesn’t have a reading mode that’s quite as user-friendly or well-designed as the other browsers we’ve included on this list. The reading mode is only available in a side panel squashed up against the edge of the browsing window, although you can widen it to a reasonable size.
To launch Chrome’s reading mode:

Click the three dots (top right in any browser tab).
Open the More Tools menu.
Select Reading mode.
Use the toolbar to change the look of the text.
Click and drag on the left-hand edge of the side panel to make it larger.

The reading mode itself works well enough, with a selection of fonts and colors to pick from, but it does feel a little tacked on.
Reading mode for Android

Screenshot: Google
You can launch Reading mode from a floating button.

Screenshot: Google
Adjust Reading mode using the icons at bottom.

Android also supports a reading mode. The good part is that it works all across Android, not just Chrome, so you can use it wherever you like. The bad part is that you have to install a separate app to enable it (Reading mode from Google), so the process is more convoluted than it should be.

Launch the app and follow the instructions to set it up.
During setup, you can choose how to launch reading mode: from a tile in Quick Settings, from a floating button, or by pressing both volume keys together.
With a page open in Chrome, use your chosen shortcut to launch reading mode. At the bottom of the screen, you can adjust the color or text size or enable voice reading.
Once it’s installed, you can turn Reading mode on or off by going to Settings > Accessibility > Reading mode.

One more thing: only certain kinds of screens can be simplified, mostly straightforward articles with text and images. But it does make it much easier to read content on your phone.
Apple Safari for the desktop

Screenshot: Apple
Safari’s reading mode can be easily toggled on and off.

Safari puts the icon for its reading mode (also called reading view) right on the toolbar. The look of Safari’s reading mode is particularly sparse, and while there are some choices for fonts and colors, you don’t get too many.
To enable reading view in Apple Safari:

Click the reading view page icon to the left of the address bar.
Select the Aa icon to the right of the address bar to change fonts and colors.

There’s not quite the same level of functionality as you get with Edge, Firefox, or even Chrome — separately, Safari can read out webpages (Edit > Speech) and have them saved for later (Bookmarks > Add to Reading List), but that functionality is not built into this reader mode.
Apple Safari for the iPhone

Screenshot: Apple
Use a pop-up to enable Safari’s Show Reader button.

Screenshot: Apple
You can adjust the Reader’s colors and text sizes.

If you’re looking to get the same clutter-free experience on your iPhone, Safari for iOS has the same features as Safari for macOS, though it’s not quite in the same place.

Tap the AA button (or the document icon) to the left of the address bar.
Choose Show Reader.
Tap the AA button (or the document icon) again to change the font and colors or have the page read out loud.

You can also choose to have the reading mode used automatically on pages that support it. From iOS Settings, tap Apps > Safari > Reader and enable All Websites.
Microsoft Edge

Screenshot: Microsoft
You’ve got a few different options for the look of the reading mode in Edge.

Edge is built on the same Chromium code as Chrome, but it has a better reading mode, which is actually called Immersive Reader. It takes over the whole screen, it’s easy to toggle on and off, and the button to enable it is always available on the browser interface (rather than being hidden away in a menu). There are also a number of ways to personalize it.
To launch the reading mode in Edge:

Click the book icon to the right of the URL address bar.
Choose Read Aloud to have the page read out.
Open Text Preferences to change the look of the text. The Text Preferences pop-up menu lets you take full control over how the reading mode looks: you can change the line spacing, the color scheme of the page, the default font used, and the width of the page column.
Click Reading Preferences to access translation options and to highlight individual lines of text as you read them.

Mozilla Firefox

Screenshot: Mozilla
The Firefox reading mode comes with Pocket integration.

Over on Firefox, the reading mode closely matches the one in Microsoft Edge, in the way it’s enabled with a click of an icon on the address bar (the icon that looks like a page of text). Again, it takes over the whole screen, replacing the article you’re reading.
To enable reading mode in Mozilla Firefox:

Click the reading mode page icon on the address bar.
Select the Aa icon to change the design of the text.
Click the headphones icon to have the page read aloud.
Choose the Pocket (bookmark) icon to save the page to the Pocket read-it-later service built into Firefox.

There aren’t as many choices here as there are in Edge for font style and color, but the options that are available look fine.
If you’re not happy with any of these, there are a number of third-party add-ons available to do the same job. Both Firefox and Chrome have Tranquility Reader, which lets you save pages for offline reading and adds more flexibility with fonts and colors. An impressive third-party option for Chrome is Reader View, which has an e-reader feel and lets you adjust colors, fonts, and spacing.

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

I’ve got a stack of bookmarked, favorited, and saved-for-later web articles that I’m going to get around to reading one day… but haven’t. I think that part of what puts me off working through that list is that reading on the internet, especially longer pieces, can be a slog. On most sites, besides the text and pictures that matter, you’ve got a constant flurry of ads, pop-ups, panels, and media to deal with.

You can avoid this problem by using a bookmarking app such as Pocket, which offers an easier way to both save and read longer content, or you can buy a separate reading device such as a Kindle. However, if you don’t want to deal with another app or device, there’s another way. Most popular browsers now come with some kind of reading mode built in. The idea is to get something closer to the Kindle or Kobo experience: easy on the eye, free from distractions, and focused on what you’re actually interested in reading.

Here’s how to access desktop reading modes in Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. I’ve also included reading modes for iPhones and Android phones.

Google Chrome for the desktop

Screenshot: Google
Chrome’s reading mode is more of a reading panel than a separate interface.

Chrome might be the most popular browser on the desktop by some distance, but it still lags behind its competitors in some respects. To take one example: it doesn’t have a reading mode that’s quite as user-friendly or well-designed as the other browsers we’ve included on this list. The reading mode is only available in a side panel squashed up against the edge of the browsing window, although you can widen it to a reasonable size.

To launch Chrome’s reading mode:

Click the three dots (top right in any browser tab).
Open the More Tools menu.
Select Reading mode.
Use the toolbar to change the look of the text.
Click and drag on the left-hand edge of the side panel to make it larger.

The reading mode itself works well enough, with a selection of fonts and colors to pick from, but it does feel a little tacked on.

Reading mode for Android

Android also supports a reading mode. The good part is that it works all across Android, not just Chrome, so you can use it wherever you like. The bad part is that you have to install a separate app to enable it (Reading mode from Google), so the process is more convoluted than it should be.

Launch the app and follow the instructions to set it up.
During setup, you can choose how to launch reading mode: from a tile in Quick Settings, from a floating button, or by pressing both volume keys together.
With a page open in Chrome, use your chosen shortcut to launch reading mode. At the bottom of the screen, you can adjust the color or text size or enable voice reading.
Once it’s installed, you can turn Reading mode on or off by going to Settings > Accessibility > Reading mode.

One more thing: only certain kinds of screens can be simplified, mostly straightforward articles with text and images. But it does make it much easier to read content on your phone.

Apple Safari for the desktop

Screenshot: Apple
Safari’s reading mode can be easily toggled on and off.

Safari puts the icon for its reading mode (also called reading view) right on the toolbar. The look of Safari’s reading mode is particularly sparse, and while there are some choices for fonts and colors, you don’t get too many.

To enable reading view in Apple Safari:

Click the reading view page icon to the left of the address bar.
Select the Aa icon to the right of the address bar to change fonts and colors.

There’s not quite the same level of functionality as you get with Edge, Firefox, or even Chrome — separately, Safari can read out webpages (Edit > Speech) and have them saved for later (Bookmarks > Add to Reading List), but that functionality is not built into this reader mode.

Apple Safari for the iPhone

If you’re looking to get the same clutter-free experience on your iPhone, Safari for iOS has the same features as Safari for macOS, though it’s not quite in the same place.

Tap the AA button (or the document icon) to the left of the address bar.
Choose Show Reader.
Tap the AA button (or the document icon) again to change the font and colors or have the page read out loud.

You can also choose to have the reading mode used automatically on pages that support it. From iOS Settings, tap Apps > Safari > Reader and enable All Websites.

Microsoft Edge

Screenshot: Microsoft
You’ve got a few different options for the look of the reading mode in Edge.

Edge is built on the same Chromium code as Chrome, but it has a better reading mode, which is actually called Immersive Reader. It takes over the whole screen, it’s easy to toggle on and off, and the button to enable it is always available on the browser interface (rather than being hidden away in a menu). There are also a number of ways to personalize it.

To launch the reading mode in Edge:

Click the book icon to the right of the URL address bar.
Choose Read Aloud to have the page read out.
Open Text Preferences to change the look of the text. The Text Preferences pop-up menu lets you take full control over how the reading mode looks: you can change the line spacing, the color scheme of the page, the default font used, and the width of the page column.
Click Reading Preferences to access translation options and to highlight individual lines of text as you read them.

Mozilla Firefox

Screenshot: Mozilla
The Firefox reading mode comes with Pocket integration.

Over on Firefox, the reading mode closely matches the one in Microsoft Edge, in the way it’s enabled with a click of an icon on the address bar (the icon that looks like a page of text). Again, it takes over the whole screen, replacing the article you’re reading.

To enable reading mode in Mozilla Firefox:

Click the reading mode page icon on the address bar.
Select the Aa icon to change the design of the text.
Click the headphones icon to have the page read aloud.
Choose the Pocket (bookmark) icon to save the page to the Pocket read-it-later service built into Firefox.

There aren’t as many choices here as there are in Edge for font style and color, but the options that are available look fine.

If you’re not happy with any of these, there are a number of third-party add-ons available to do the same job. Both Firefox and Chrome have Tranquility Reader, which lets you save pages for offline reading and adds more flexibility with fonts and colors. An impressive third-party option for Chrome is Reader View, which has an e-reader feel and lets you adjust colors, fonts, and spacing.

Read More 

The Western-style “N Edition,” which is inspired by the original NES controller, is on sale at Woot through July 30th. | Image: 8BitDo

With all the excitement over the 2024 Olympics, it’s easy to forget that this weekend is the last weekend of July. Yet, as August approaches, so does back-to-school season. We’ve pulled together a list of gadgets and goods fit for the occasion, but if you need another suggestion, 8BitDo’s Retro Mechanical Keyboard is down to an all-time low at Woot. Now through July 30th, you can buy the “N Edition” model for $69.99 ($30 off) or the Famicom-inspired “Fami Edition” for $59.99 ($40 off), both of which come with a 90-day Woot warranty.

No matter which you choose, both tenkeyless mechanical keyboards can spruce up any home office or add a bit of fun to long study sessions. The Western-style “N Edition” is inspired by the original NES controller, while the cheaper board resembles the OG Famicom in color and styling. Both come with a pair of programmable “Super Buttons” that scream retro, along with clicky hot-swappable switches that allow for a more customized experience. Even better, both support USB-C and other connectivity modes, including Bluetooth and even 2.4GHz wireless via a dongle.

A few more deals to kickstart the weekend

Lego’s Tales of the Space Age set is on sale for $39.99 ($10 off) at Amazon and Walmart, which matches its best price to date. Inspired by sci-fi films and books from the ‘80s, the 688-piece kit lets you assemble all kinds of postcard-like display models, including those depicting shooting stars, comets, and other celestial objects.

Woot is selling a pair of Blink Mini 2 cameras for just $49.99 ($30 off) through August 22nd. Given a single unit typically costs $39.99, it’s almost as if you’re getting the second 1080p cam for free. Like the original model, the second-gen Mini is a tiny indoor camera with motion alerts and two-way audio; however, it now offers IP65 waterproofing, so you can use it outside if you purchase Blink’s optional Weather Resistant Power Adapter. Read our review.

You can buy a physical PS4 copy of Assassin’s Creed Mirage for $14.99 ($35 off) through July 30th from Woot, which is $10 less than the price we saw during Prime Day. The game includes a free digital copy for the PS5, too, along with a physical map of Baghdad and three lithographs. It’s not the most impressive game in the Assassin’s Creed series, but it’s still an enjoyable return to form with a heavy focus on stealth and assassinations. Read our review.

Google’s latest thermostat might be just around the corner, but if you want a smart thermostat to help cool your home ASAP, the Nest Learning Thermostat is available from Google, Lowe’s, and Best Buy for around $169 ($80 off). Google’s third-gen thermostat is still a good investment despite its age, one that’s capable of learning your cooling and heating preferences over time. It also supports a wide array of smart home platforms, though, sadly, it still doesn’t offer Matter support like the entry-level Nest Thermostat.

The Western-style “N Edition,” which is inspired by the original NES controller, is on sale at Woot through July 30th. | Image: 8BitDo

With all the excitement over the 2024 Olympics, it’s easy to forget that this weekend is the last weekend of July. Yet, as August approaches, so does back-to-school season. We’ve pulled together a list of gadgets and goods fit for the occasion, but if you need another suggestion, 8BitDo’s Retro Mechanical Keyboard is down to an all-time low at Woot. Now through July 30th, you can buy the “N Edition” model for $69.99 ($30 off) or the Famicom-inspired “Fami Edition” for $59.99 ($40 off), both of which come with a 90-day Woot warranty.

No matter which you choose, both tenkeyless mechanical keyboards can spruce up any home office or add a bit of fun to long study sessions. The Western-style “N Edition” is inspired by the original NES controller, while the cheaper board resembles the OG Famicom in color and styling. Both come with a pair of programmable “Super Buttons” that scream retro, along with clicky hot-swappable switches that allow for a more customized experience. Even better, both support USB-C and other connectivity modes, including Bluetooth and even 2.4GHz wireless via a dongle.

A few more deals to kickstart the weekend

Lego’s Tales of the Space Age set is on sale for $39.99 ($10 off) at Amazon and Walmart, which matches its best price to date. Inspired by sci-fi films and books from the ‘80s, the 688-piece kit lets you assemble all kinds of postcard-like display models, including those depicting shooting stars, comets, and other celestial objects.

Woot is selling a pair of Blink Mini 2 cameras for just $49.99 ($30 off) through August 22nd. Given a single unit typically costs $39.99, it’s almost as if you’re getting the second 1080p cam for free. Like the original model, the second-gen Mini is a tiny indoor camera with motion alerts and two-way audio; however, it now offers IP65 waterproofing, so you can use it outside if you purchase Blink’s optional Weather Resistant Power Adapter. Read our review.

You can buy a physical PS4 copy of Assassin’s Creed Mirage for $14.99 ($35 off) through July 30th from Woot, which is $10 less than the price we saw during Prime Day. The game includes a free digital copy for the PS5, too, along with a physical map of Baghdad and three lithographs. It’s not the most impressive game in the Assassin’s Creed series, but it’s still an enjoyable return to form with a heavy focus on stealth and assassinations. Read our review.

Google’s latest thermostat might be just around the corner, but if you want a smart thermostat to help cool your home ASAP, the Nest Learning Thermostat is available from Google, Lowe’s, and Best Buy for around $169 ($80 off). Google’s third-gen thermostat is still a good investment despite its age, one that’s capable of learning your cooling and heating preferences over time. It also supports a wide array of smart home platforms, though, sadly, it still doesn’t offer Matter support like the entry-level Nest Thermostat.

Read More 

Image: Amazon

Kiryu is getting a live-action makeover very soon. At Comic-Con today, Amazon revealed the first look at its upcoming adaptation of the Yakuza game series, with the show Like a Dragon: Yakuza (not to be confused with the game Yakuza: Like a Dragon). The streaming series will follow original Yakuza hero Kazuma Kiryu.
Amazon says that the show “showcases modern Japan and the dramatic stories of these intense characters, such as the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, that games in the past have not been able to explore.” Kiryu will be played by Ryoma Takeuchi, while Kento Kaku also starts as Akira Nishikiyama. The series is directed by Masaharu Take.
Of course, Yakuza joins a wave of gaming adaptions for TV, which has included The Last of Us on HBO, Peacock’s Twisted Metal, and Amazon’s own live-action take on Fallout. Yakuza publisher Sega, meanwhile, has already seen success expanding Sonic the Hedgehog with movies and a spinoff series.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza starts streaming on Prime Video on October 24th with its first three episodes.

Image: Amazon

Kiryu is getting a live-action makeover very soon. At Comic-Con today, Amazon revealed the first look at its upcoming adaptation of the Yakuza game series, with the show Like a Dragon: Yakuza (not to be confused with the game Yakuza: Like a Dragon). The streaming series will follow original Yakuza hero Kazuma Kiryu.

Amazon says that the show “showcases modern Japan and the dramatic stories of these intense characters, such as the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, that games in the past have not been able to explore.” Kiryu will be played by Ryoma Takeuchi, while Kento Kaku also starts as Akira Nishikiyama. The series is directed by Masaharu Take.

Of course, Yakuza joins a wave of gaming adaptions for TV, which has included The Last of Us on HBO, Peacock’s Twisted Metal, and Amazon’s own live-action take on Fallout. Yakuza publisher Sega, meanwhile, has already seen success expanding Sonic the Hedgehog with movies and a spinoff series.

Like a Dragon: Yakuza starts streaming on Prime Video on October 24th with its first three episodes.

Read More 

Image: Adult Swim

Adult Swim’s long-awaited adaptation of Uzumaki finally has a premiere date — and an appropriately creepy trailer. The series, based on the classic horror manga from Junji Ito, will start airing on September 28th. Episodes will hit Adult Swim first, and then stream on Max the following day.
Uzumaki follows a cursed town that is — and I promise it’s scarier than it sounds — plagued by spirals. Here’s the full synopsis:
“Let’s leave this town together,” asks Shuichi Saito, a former classmate of Kirie Goshima, a high school girl who was born and grew up in Kurouzu-cho. Everything from a strange whirlwind, billowing smoke from the crematorium, and the residents is turning into spirals. People’s eyes spin in whirls, a tongue spirals, and the bodies twist unnaturally. In an attempt to escape the curse of the spirals, Kirie decides to flee from Kuouzu-cho, but can she get away from this turmoil?
It’s one of Ito’s most popular and unsettling stories, and based on the new trailer, it looks like the show is really nailing the detailed black-and-white art that’s so intrinsic to his work. Ito’s particular style has proven to be a tricky thing to translate to animation, as seen in the Netflix anthology from last year. That’s likely why Adult Swim’s version has been in the works for so long; it was first announced in 2019.
For another taste, here’s the first released clip of the show from 2023:

Image: Adult Swim

Adult Swim’s long-awaited adaptation of Uzumaki finally has a premiere date — and an appropriately creepy trailer. The series, based on the classic horror manga from Junji Ito, will start airing on September 28th. Episodes will hit Adult Swim first, and then stream on Max the following day.

Uzumaki follows a cursed town that is — and I promise it’s scarier than it sounds — plagued by spirals. Here’s the full synopsis:

“Let’s leave this town together,” asks Shuichi Saito, a former classmate of Kirie Goshima, a high school girl who was born and grew up in Kurouzu-cho. Everything from a strange whirlwind, billowing smoke from the crematorium, and the residents is turning into spirals. People’s eyes spin in whirls, a tongue spirals, and the bodies twist unnaturally. In an attempt to escape the curse of the spirals, Kirie decides to flee from Kuouzu-cho, but can she get away from this turmoil?

It’s one of Ito’s most popular and unsettling stories, and based on the new trailer, it looks like the show is really nailing the detailed black-and-white art that’s so intrinsic to his work. Ito’s particular style has proven to be a tricky thing to translate to animation, as seen in the Netflix anthology from last year. That’s likely why Adult Swim’s version has been in the works for so long; it was first announced in 2019.

For another taste, here’s the first released clip of the show from 2023:

Read More