Halide for iOS takes higher pictures — with no AI

Hello, mates! Welcome to Installer No. 48, your information to the very best and Verge-iest stuff on this planet. (In case you’re new right here, welcome, prepare for lots of books this week, and likewise you’ll be able to learn all of the previous editions on the Installer homepage.) 

I’m again after a few weeks off — because of everybody who wished me a very good trip and despatched over ebook suggestions! I wound up studying Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, She Rides Shotgun, and The Wager and extremely suggest all three. Largely, I spent two weeks chasing a toddler round numerous eating places and playgrounds, and it was a very good time, however I’m oh so very glad to be again hanging with all of you. And it seems I missed a number of good things!

This week, I’ve been studying about Worldcoin and Conan O’Brien, watching Dangerous Monkey and rewatching The Evening Supervisor, tweaking my recipe for a maple syrup Previous Common, listening to 99 P.c Invisible’s wonderful sequence on The Energy Dealer, rebooting all my fantasy soccer leagues, and making an attempt my damndest to change from Spotify to YouTube Music.

I even have for you a brand new strategy to take smartphone pictures, a new-ish HBO smash, a brand new podcast app, a intelligent use of AI in your notes, and far more. Let’s get into it.

(As at all times, the very best a part of Installer is your concepts and suggestions. What are you into proper now? What ought to everybody else be studying / watching / taking part in / shopping for / 3D printing? Inform me all the things: installer@theverge.com. And if another person who may get pleasure from Installer, inform them to subscribe right here.)

• Halide’s Course of Zero. Halide was already among the finest digicam apps for iPhone and iPad, however this characteristic — which strips out all of the processing your telephone does and provides you as uncooked a picture as attainable — is simply a lot enjoyable to play with. Give it a whirl this weekend. (A lot of you additionally despatched this in — because of everybody who did!)
• The Google Pixel 9 Professional Fold. The identify is unhealthy. The telephone seems superior. Google appears to have gotten the foldable telephone design fairly proper this time, and utilizing Gemini facet by facet with an app is definitely an ideal case for a bigger display screen. There are many new Pixel gadgets this week, however I’m most excited in regards to the Fold.
• Gemini Stay. Massive week for chatty voice assistants! OpenAI rolled out Superior Voice Mode for ChatGPT, which is each cool and creepy. And Google confirmed off Gemini Stay, which, properly, identical. I’m curious to see if both of those can go from nifty novelty to really helpful characteristic.
• Alien: Romulus. I actually don’t care if this film’s any good. (And the critiques up to now are… fairly combined.) I’m thrilled to have a cause to get again into the Alien universe, and also you higher imagine I’ll be seeing this within the greatest, loudest theater I can discover.
• “First Look Inside Blue Origin’s New Glenn Manufacturing unit w/ Jeff Bezos!” I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t watched any On a regular basis Astronaut movies earlier than this one crossed my suggestions. I realized a ton from this lengthy, deep, really wild manufacturing unit tour. Insta-subscribe.
• Meta Quest HDMI Hyperlink. If we’ve realized something from the Imaginative and prescient Professional this yr, it’s that VR headsets are simply actually, actually large televisions. Meta’s new app means you’ll be able to plug nearly something in and use your headset as the massive display screen it’s meant to be.
• Unread for Mac. This one’s like two weeks previous, however I used to be on trip, so I simply noticed it: my favourite RSS reader for iOS is now on the Mac, and it’s nice. Quick, easy, good to have a look at, works with all the things, immediately a part of my day-to-day workflow.
• Business season 3. It took some time for this HBO present to get its flowers, but it surely completely deserves the belated love. It has a number of the identical chaotic power as Succession, plenty of the cash and unhealthy conduct, and loads of handsome individuals doing hateable stuff. Takes a few episodes to actually get going, but it surely’s nice as soon as it does.
• Neuecast. I truly like the brand new Overcast design, however evidently, not everybody’s a fan. And if, for no matter cause, you’re in search of a brand new podcast app, this can be a attractive, easy one which’s remarkably full-featured for being so new. I’ve been testing it for months, and it’s been good principally the entire time.

Earlier this summer season, I discussed how a lot I‘d been having fun with the Niagara Launcher, a minimalist Android launcher that reinvents your homescreen into one thing far more manageable and easy. And I heard from so lots of you that you just prefer it, too! 

I additionally occurred to run into Peter Huber, the creator and developer behind Niagara, only some days later. I figured it needed to be destiny, so I requested Peter to share his homescreen with us, figuring we would get a Niagara professional tip or two. 

Right here’s Peter’s homescreen, plus some information on the apps he makes use of and why:

The telephone(s): Pixel 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 3. Since we’d like a number of telephones to examine if Niagara Launcher works correctly on the huge Android panorama, I’ve the posh of with the ability to use two telephones. The Pixel is my every day driver, and I exploit my Fold 3 with its extensive display screen to loosen up and wind down within the evenings.

The wallpaper: The primary one relies on a {photograph} from Annie Spratt, and the second is a blurred model of a wallpaper I did whereas tinkering with the unbelievable 3D modeling software program Blender. You could find the wallpapers in Niagara Launcher or on my Google Drive.

The launcher: I used to be tempted to publish an iPhone setup right here to see the response, however I’m utilizing and testing Niagara Launcher. I choose a easy setup, and all the things you see — the icon packs, climate, calendar, and media widgets — comes with Niagara Launcher. The one exception is the Caprasimo font on the Fold. I attempted a number of extravagant fonts for upcoming homescreen setup presets. I seen the star above the alphabet is just too skinny with this font, so I’ve saved it as a reminder to handle this subject, and now the font has grown on me.

The apps: Gmail, Todoist, Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Firefox, YouTube, Harmonic.

• Todoist: Virtually each thought I wish to write down lands right here first. It’s quick, feels native, and syncs seamlessly with Google Calendar. The builders have put a number of thought and care into it.
• Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack — for those who message me on any of those, anticipate to come across a fair proportion of “Disguise the Ache Harold” stickers or reactions.
• Firefox: Within the morning and on breaks, I exploit it to examine the information on The Verge and Reddit, however I wish to scale back my Reddit use. Currently, I usually browse ArtStation or Stash earlier than going to sleep; taking a look at stunning artwork has some soothing character.
• Harmonic is a superb Hacker Information consumer.
• Whereas not an app, DebugAction is my useful developer shortcut for Niagara Launcher that lets me carry out actions to fine-tune a characteristic, like refreshing all app icons when designing a brand new icon pack.

I additionally requested Peter to share a number of issues he’s into proper now. Right here’s what he despatched again:

• YouTube movies I like to recommend watching: a video about phantom islands by Map Males, a British duo instructing geography within the funniest manner attainable; a dialogue from a health discussion board was an Ace Legal professional case (warning: profane language); and Captain Disillusion’s newest debunk video, packed together with his typical meticulous particulars and humor — extremely really useful if you wish to study extra about particular results.
• Whereas I’m not precisely “into”: writing a Grasp’s thesis. It’s the factor I’ve invested a number of time into lately (or at the very least I ought to — possibly promising to work on it extra right here will encourage me). Nonetheless, I’ve no proper to complain as a result of I used to be allowed to decide on the subject I’m keen about. My purpose is to analyze decreasing undesirable telephone use like procrastination on YouTube, as a substitute of, let’s say, writing a Grasp’s thesis. Sadly, there isn’t a scientific consensus on the right way to assess undesirable telephone use (heck, it’s even debatable if smartphones might be addictive, at the very least within the pathological sense). The widespread recommendation is to get additional {hardware} like a second telephone or a dumb telephone, which might help however is pricey and sometimes inconvenient for those who want your telephone to be sensible. I wish to work out an answer that’s accessible to extra individuals. 
• I’m taking part in Wario Land 4, a brief and quirky Recreation Boy Advance platformer with a lot character! One other quick sport I wish to play once more after beating Wario Land is the rooftop runner sport Mirror’s Edge. The primary time I missed a leap and fell, it gave me goosebumps. Additionally, how may an nearly 16-year-old sport obtain such nice lighting? Its stylized metropolis seems even higher than its successor’s! I additionally had a number of good Tremendous Smash Bros. Final rounds with my staff after the final dash assembly. Now we have the unhealthy custom that the final match has to finish with a particular assault known as a “spike.” In any other case, it’s not the final match.

Right here’s what the Installer neighborhood is into this week. I wish to know what you’re into proper now as properly! E mail installer@theverge.com or message me on Sign — @davidpierce.11 — together with your suggestions for something and all the things, and we’ll characteristic a few of our favorites right here each week. And for much more suggestions than I may match right here, take a look at the replies to this publish on Threads.

“I adopted Jeff Cable’s pictures weblog through the Olympics. There are technical, logistical, and emotional articles. Working in post-production, I puzzled what number of cameras had been getting used through the Olympics. Discovered this weblog publish about Olympic Broadcasting Companies.” — Sinan

“Denim has been my favourite utility to create great-looking customized covers for playlists on Apple Music.” — Krishna

“A Psalm for the Wild-Constructed. It’s set in a future the place people and robots have gone their separate methods and actually paints a portrait of a world the place I feel many people want to stay. Becky Chambers’ work has been known as ‘consolation sci-fi,’ and actually, I can’t consider something extra excellent for a reprieve. Studying that is like ingesting a heat cup of tea. You’ll like it.” — Nolan

“Actually into this black and white E Ink smartphone I used to be loopy sufficient to preorder from China. Assume ‘barely inexpensive Boox Palma,’ and likewise, you would put a SIM card in it for those who actually needed, however the bands it helps actually restrict what service you would use and how much speeds you’ll get within the US” — Christopher

“I’m having fun with Fast Journal, a easy text-only journaling app for iOS.” — Joe

“I relistened to ‘The Case of the Lacking Hit’ from Reply All and forgot how a lot I liked it. It bought me pondering of podcasts I’ve listened to that had me on the sting of my seat, and I remembered Dr. Loss of life. It has a number of seasons now, however the first one is on Christopher Duntsch, a spinal surgeon gone fallacious and the way the legal guidelines of malpractice and hospital fireplace and rent practices will fill you with rage!” — David

“GuestCast. I’ve been utilizing this web site to observe my tech reporters and politicians after they go on random podcasts.” — Ben

“Match Land. It hasn’t been up to date in a brilliant very long time however nonetheless works. I’ve but to discover a match RPG sport that may exchange it. For me, it has the right sport physics so far as pace and shifting tiles, and nothing else I’ve tried is as satisfying.” — Justin

“Based mostly in your clear curiosity in note-taking apps, I assume you’ve already learn Easy methods to Take Sensible Notes by Sönke Ahrens. In case you haven’t, test it out — you may prefer it. It’s quick, to the purpose, and attention-grabbing for individuals who take a number of notes for future articles / books / papers.” — Robert

“The brand new day calendar view in Todoist is totally wonderful and makes it tremendous easy to plan duties round conferences.“ — Glenn

I don’t bear in mind how I found The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, however I’m actually glad I did. Each episode is a dissection of one of many Lonely Island’s SNL digital shorts, a stunning variety of which ended up being sort of culturally iconic. I wouldn’t binge the present since a number of of the episodes are a little bit same-y – “we made it final minute, it was enormous, wasn’t that neat!” — however there’s a number of attention-grabbing behind-the-scenes stuff all through. And I’ll by no means tire of the truth that “Lazy Sunday” is each an all-time nice SNL sketch and a sneakily essential a part of web historical past. (And never simply because there’s a MapQuest shoutout!) That episode was notably nice, however I’ve actually loved the entire present up to now.