{"id":623475,"date":"2026-09-13T14:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623475\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T14:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:30:11","slug":"apples-new-phones-are-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623475\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple\u2019s new phones are here"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 143, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you\u2019re new here, welcome, new tech season is here, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

This week, I\u2019ve been devouring every iPhone Duo<\/a> video I can find, clicking on the wonderful websites nominated for this year\u2019s Tiny Awards<\/a>, catching up on the excellent Onimusha: Way of the Sword<\/a>, reading Wildwood<\/a> ahead of the upcoming movie<\/a>, watching the new Taskmaster<\/a> series, coming to grips with Link\u2019s new look in the Ocarina of Time<\/a> remake, and fixing the flat tire on my toddler\u2019s stroller. I\u2019m very proud of that last one.<\/p>\n

I also have for you new iPhones, Meta\u2019s AI agent, revived Sony headphones, and more. It\u2019s good to be back after a week off.<\/p>\n

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What are your favorite things you\u2019ve watched \/ seen \/ listened to \/ folded recently? Drop a line to installer@theverge.com<\/a>. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The iPhone 18 Pro<\/a>. This is a refinement year for the Pro series, but the refinements seem like good ones, including a variable-aperture main lens, better battery, a new chip, and new colors (black!<\/a>). The bad news: Their starting prices got a $100 bump, as did older iPhones<\/a>. Still, the battery updates alone might be worth it.AirPods 5<\/a>. Apple\u2019s latest open-ear AirPods have improved active noise cancellation and, for the more expensive model, on-stem volume controls like what\u2019s offered on the AirPods Pro. I\u2019m still rocking the AirPods Pro 2, but when I eventually need to upgrade, I\u2019ll seriously consider the base AirPods, especially since they start at $129.Meta\u2019s Muse AI agent<\/a>. Meta is trying to bring AI agents to the masses with the new Muse AI agent that you can chat with, ask to search the web for you, and connect to apps like Instagram and Gmail. It\u2019s also free with usage limits, though messing around with it for a day or so, I didn\u2019t come remotely close to hitting those. I was impressed with Muse\u2019s speed, but it hallucinated a lot, including making up lyrics to a song my toddler loves.Sony\u2019s WH-1000XM4C headphones<\/a>. Sony is launching a surprise second generation of its well-loved XM4 headphones after the original version was discontinued last year. They look the same, but have an updated sound profile and a bump up to Bluetooth 6. Battery life is apparently a little worse, dipping down to 27 hours with active noise cancellation activated. But at $299.99 \u2014 about $150 less than what Sony sells the XM6 for \u2014 the refreshed XM4s could be a great deal.Philips Hue\u2019s Play Screen Sync<\/a>. This is the Hue take on a camera that sits on your TV and syncs what\u2019s on your screen with your Hue lights. Unnecessary? Yes. Awesome? Also yes. It costs $119.99.Dbrand\u2019s \u201cMNML\u201d accessories<\/a>. Dbrand launched a line of minimal accessories with solid colors for iPhone, Pixel, and Galaxy smartphones. I don\u2019t usually like Dbrand cases (or Dbrand\u2019s whole vibe, really), but I think these look nice.Ugreen\u2019s MagFlow Pro Magnetic Power Bank<\/a>. This $149.99 power bank with a 10,000mAh capacity has liquid cooling and \u201cvisible flowing coolant.\u201d Will that make much of a difference? I\u2019m not sure, but I\u2019d love to see it for myself.SB Nation\u2019s new app<\/a>. Our friends at SB Nation launched a new app that lets you easily follow the sports and teams you care about right from a home feed and follow live chats of games as they\u2019re happening. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel has been working on the app, and he tells me The Verge\u2019s forthcoming app will use the same ideas.<\/p>\n

This week, I\u2019m featuring somebody who I have been working with for a long time: Verge news writer Emma Roth. Emma is one of the smartest in the biz on all things streaming, can write something good on just about anything \u2014 just recently, she\u2019s tackled topics like AI detectors<\/a> and Meta child safety settlements<\/a> and food recalls<\/a> \u2014 and is a great person to team up on stories with<\/a>. She\u2019s a key part of our newsroom.<\/p>\n

I asked her to share her homescreen and the apps and things she cares about. Here it is, plus some info on the apps she uses and why:<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/a><\/p>\n

Images: Emma Roth<\/p>\n

The phone: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (the last Note created!).<\/p>\n

The wallpaper: It\u2019s a photo I took at a local inlet! It\u2019s a great pelican-watching spot.<\/p>\n

The apps: My homepage might be relatively bare, but it includes the essentials: Google Messages, Microsoft Edge, Samsung Mail, and my Phone, along with shortcuts to the Google Play Store and my Camera.<\/p>\n

That sense of organization disappears as soon as I swipe into my app drawer. The first page has the apps I use the most, resulting in a chaotic mishmash of apps like Reddit, Slack, and Sam\u2019s Club.<\/p>\n

Maybe showing my messy app drawer to the world is a sign that I should tidy things up a bit. I can\u2019t remember the last time I used any app inside the Samsung folder, or tapped into my Phone from this screen instead of using the shortcut in my dock.<\/p>\n

I also asked Emma to share a few things she\u2019s into right now. Here\u2019s what she sent back:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve recently gotten back into Project Zomboid<\/a>. It\u2019s a PC game that\u2019s basically like a cross between a hardcore zombie game and The Sims \u2014 except you\u2019re fighting for survival instead of managing a virtual household.One app that\u2019s not at the top of my app drawer (but probably should be!) is Yuka<\/a>. You can use it to scan the food and beauty products across your home and grocery stores to see whether they contain risky additives. Yuka assigns a rating to everything you scan. It\u2019s a quick and easy way to figure out whether something I\u2019ve bought (or plan to buy) is actually harmful, without having to know exactly what azodicarbonamide or monocalcium phosphate are.My modded PlayStation Vita has overtaken my Steam Deck as my favorite handheld. I\u2019ve been playing an emulated version of Final Fantasy VII. I missed out on that classic when it came out, and I\u2019m thoroughly enjoying it now.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you\u2019re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com<\/a> with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we\u2019ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies to this post on Bluesky<\/a> and this post on The Verge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe newest season of Adults<\/a> on Hulu \/ FX is so funny!! It\u2019s a great sitcom about a group of friends trying to make it in NYC. I\u2019ve been obsessed with \u201cBorn Slippy\u201d by Underworld<\/a>, and nearly all the remixes, it\u2019s an oldie but a goodie!\u201d \u2014 Cvmvrvn<\/p>\n

\u201cIKEA made a Skyrim mod<\/a> where Matt Berry voices a KALLAX shelf.\u201d \u2014 Sam<\/p>\n

\u201cI am building my collection of daily puzzles \/ game sites to play every day: krillion.io<\/a> to try and guess the most unique answer in 25 seconds; wafflegame.net<\/a> to build out a bigger wordle; www.geogridgame.com\/usa<\/a> to test my US geography; dartwords.com<\/a> for a single word guessing game; shrinkle.org<\/a> for a simple letter dropping game; and my new favorite: Rabbithole<\/a> in The Atlantic app.\u201d \u2014 Neal<\/p>\n

\u201cListening to a lot of Shearling<\/a> ahead of seeing them in concert early next week. Reading Demon Copperhead<\/a> by Barbara Kingsolver. Watching Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping<\/a>. Folding my hands and waiting patiently because technology is too expensive. Considering buying one of several chord synthesizers as a birthday present to myself: HiChord<\/a>, Telepathic Instruments\u2019 Orchid ORC-1<\/a>, Nopia MK1<\/a>.\u201d \u2014 oedipa.maas<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot stop using the Clicks Power Keyboard<\/a> for my phone, the tactile feel of the keys is sooooo rewarding!! Forget the fold, bring back keys!\u201d \u2014 mahoodlum<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting hyped up for the NFL season by watching Chad Powers<\/a> on Hulu. That show has no business being as good as it is. It\u2019s like if Ted Lasso was actually entertaining *shots fired*\u201d \u2014 SpaghettiCoder<\/p>\n

\u201cSuper into the game Sovereign Tower<\/a>! I love the art style and the mechanics. I am loving tons of new indie game releases.\u201d \u2014 Elessar_Cut_throughthenight<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer<\/a> album is an absolute bop.\u201d \u2014 Brick_wall_56<\/p>\n

Over the next couple weeks, I\u2019ll be traveling to events for work. Should be good stuff; I can\u2019t wait to share what I\u2019ll be reporting on. But I\u2019ll also miss my desk and routine at home. I\u2019d love to hear from the Installer community: What are your favorite apps \/ games \/ tips \/ tricks \/ routines you do to keep yourself sane during work travel? Might include a few of the best tips in an upcoming issue. And maybe I\u2019ll try a few myself while I\u2019m on the road.<\/p>\n

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