The CMF Telephone 1 is an inexpensive Android cellphone with appears to spare

Hello, pals! Welcome to Installer No. 45, your information to the most effective and Verge-iest stuff on the earth. (If you happen to’re new right here, welcome, sorry I like productiveness apps a lot, and in addition you possibly can learn all of the outdated editions on the Installer homepage.) 

I’m again from a couple of days off, feeling rested and sunburned and able to rumble. Due to everybody who despatched birthday needs! This week, I’ve been studying Made for Love and tales about AI players and AI musicians and Ferrari EVs, watching Turning Level, changing my climate app with Lazy Climate, raging at Ira Glass for listening to podcasts at 2x pace, and spilling all my emotions to the Dot AI bot.

I even have for you a brand new cellphone, a brand new sensible ring, a brand new / outdated podcast reunion, a sci-fi present everybody appears to like, a pleasant replace to an amazing recipe app, and a wild new AI pod to take a look at. Loads happening for the center of July! Let’s dig in.

(As all the time, the most effective 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 / consuming / downloading / storing for winter? Inform me every thing: installer@theverge.com. And if you recognize another person who would possibly take pleasure in Installer, inform them to subscribe right here.)

• The CMF Telephone 1. A pleasant-looking, long-lasting Android cellphone for $200? With an OLED display screen and interchangeable backplates and a bunch of actually cool equipment, considered one of which is a kickstand? Sure. Please. In orange, in fact.
• The Samsung Galaxy Ring. I’m nonetheless a fan of Samsung’s Fold and Flip telephones, despite the fact that the brand new fashions are very same-y and much more costly. However I’m most excited in regards to the Galaxy Ring, which appears to have just about nailed the sensible ring {hardware} — and even has some fascinating concepts about gesture management.
• “The Diggnation Reunion Half 1.” If you happen to’re a tech lover of a sure age, there’s a robust likelihood you grew up watching Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht drink and make jokes about tech whereas sitting on a sofa. Watching the fellows get again collectively was a pleasant blast from the previous. And there’s an element two, too!
• Delta 1.6. Delta’s recreation emulation is on the iPad! I’m truly undecided how a lot I’ll use this given how a lot of my retro gaming is on an iPhone with a Spine controller. However this replace, with an even bigger display screen and help for a number of video games without delay, does sound fairly nice.
• Amazon’s new Echo Spot. To me, that is the precise proper stability of issues for an Alexa speaker. It’s small, it’s $45 (for now), it has a touchscreen however no digicam, and it’s the proper measurement for a nightstand. I preserve promising to depart my cellphone out of my bed room, and possibly this’ll exchange it.
• Sunny. A girl loses her husband however will get a robotic from his tech firm to assist her via it. Strangeness ensues. Such a great premise! And by all accounts, this present continues Apple TV Plus’ run of nice sci-fi stuff. I’ll undoubtedly catch up earlier than episode 3 drops on Wednesday.
• Openvibe. Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, and Nostr, multi functional timeline in a single app. That is principally a intelligent hack, not the interconnected social universe of my goals, nevertheless it’s a fairly good hack! And I like that it principally hides which community persons are utilizing; it’s simply individuals, in a timeline.
• Pestle. I like a great recipe app. I largely use Crouton and Mela, however Pestle’s new skill to import recipes from Instagram Reels is fairly superior. Simply drop within the hyperlink, give it a reputation, and it’ll flip a video right into a bunch of components and steps.

1,000,000 years in the past, I used to be an intern at Wired, and one of many tales I obtained to assist work on was this wild factor the place a author had determined to fully disappear and see if the web might discover him. The story turned out superior, and the author was Evan Ratliff, who has been considered one of my favourite journalists ever since. He cofounded The Atavist Journal and did a ton of nice work there, created the terrific Persona podcast, and till not too long ago, was one of many cohosts of Longform, the journalism podcast I all the time dreamed I’d sooner or later get invited on. Alas.

Now Evan has a brand new podcast out, referred to as Shell Sport, through which he makes use of an AI clone of his voice to trigger every kind of chaos in his personal life. The primary episode is superior, and I’m very excited for what’s subsequent. I requested Evan to share his homescreen with us to see if he had any podcasting tips I’d steal from him and to see how AI-ified his life had turn out to be.

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

The cellphone: iPhone 13 Mini. 

The wallpaper: The one I’ve despatched right here is my cat Henry, an 18-year-old icon who was as soon as a mini-celebrity on Vine and is the sweetest creature on earth. (Usually it’s my youngsters, however I don’t enable pictures of them on the open web.)

The apps: Google Maps, Images, Apple Notes, Slack, Settings, Clock, Telephone, WhatsApp, Sign, Freedom, Google Translate, CloudBeats, Scrivener, Instapaper, Spotify, TuneIn, Libby, Gmail, Google Calendar, Messages, Courageous.

My homescreen guidelines are not any social media, no information. I’m a licensed information junkie, however I a minimum of need it slightly out of view. And no Twitter app on the cellphone, ever. As for some apps:

• Youngsters [group]: A factor they don’t let you know about parenting within the 2020s is what number of college, camp, and bus apps you might be compelled to amass and examine.
• Ships / planes: The one AR apps I’ve ever used. I really feel like a wizard simply pointing Flightradar24 on the sky or MarineTraffic on the sea to see the place ships and planes are coming from and going to. My father research logistics and instilled in me a curiosity about how issues get from place to position. 
• CloudBeats: Important for listening to podcast drafts whereas operating and strolling round; with Shell Sport in manufacturing, I’m on this factor for hours a day typically. 
• Libby: Any New Yorker who doesn’t have it’s lacking out. You may seize ebooks and audiobooks from the library and take heed to them proper right here! 
• Instapaper: Anybody else nonetheless utilizing Instapaper on the market? I don’t even know who owns this factor anymore. However it’s nonetheless how I learn longform stuff I’ve saved. 

I additionally requested Evan to share a couple of issues he’s into proper now. Right here’s what he shared:

• Moss. Made a moss backyard this yr and I’m into all issues moss-related. Web sites on how one can keep it and its unbelievable properties, moss gurus (e.g., Mossin’ Annie). Moss! 
• The brand new Charley Crockett album. Only a genius songwriter and singer, with an unbelievable story. Excellent pay attention whereas strolling in your moss (which you will need to).
• At present revisiting The Braindead Megaphone, George Saunders’ essay assortment, components of which really feel very Shell Sport-relevant to me. 
• My sister-in-law, who’s 50x extra culturally conscious than I, turned us on to this British comedian recreation present, Taskmaster. The right decompression after a day working alongside your AI doppelganger.

Right here’s what the Installer neighborhood is into this week. I need to know what you’re into proper now as nicely! E mail installer@theverge.com or message me on Sign — @davidpierce.11 — along with your suggestions for something and every thing, and we’ll characteristic a few of our favorites right here each week. For much more nice suggestions, take a look at the replies to this submit on Threads.

“I simply wished to share an app that (and it’s a shock for me) nobody is aware of about. It’s referred to as Slick Inbox. The concept could be very easy: it lets you create your individual inbox just for newsletters. I hate studying newsletters in my private Gmail field, and it is a very handy answer to my drawback.” – Denis

“I simply binged all six episodes of Netflix’s Supacell. It’s like Heroes however grimier, set in South London, with an nearly solely Black forged and made by Rapman. It’s among the finest issues I’ve seen this yr and such a contemporary present in a style that’s principally monopolized by Marvel.” – Guilherme

“At present studying The Singularity is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil. We’re fortunate to see human evolution in actual time.” – Matthew

“Greatest Ball drafts on Underdog Fantasy. What was as soon as a distinct segment model of fantasy soccer is now an (absurdly?) in style sports activities betting format the place gamers draft a complete workforce inside an hour or much less after which compete towards strangers. It’s sort of like making an attempt to win a March Insanity bracket however you draft a fantasy soccer roster.” – Noah

“Utilizing the VR Train Tracker app created by the VR Well being Institute. They use science-backed measurement of VR exercise that can assist you measure your VR exercises. Connects with Apple Watch and different Bluetooth health gadgets.” – Dan

“As a brand new dad, Dungeons & Daddies resonates with me in a particular manner. This (self-described non-BDSM) podcast places a hilarious twist on D&D, following 4 dads navigating a fantastical realm to rescue their misplaced sons. It’s made me snicker tougher than I’ve in a very long time and made me cry greater than as soon as. I’ve binged the primary season thrice already (that’s greater than 180 hours of listening) and am relistening to the second season now.” – Mark

“Simply purchased a Boox Go 10.3 E Ink pill and am actually having fun with it. Very slim, properly designed, no entrance mild, and pretty nice to write down on when wanted. It’s meant extra as a competitor to the Exceptional 2 (i.e., a note-taking gadget), however I’m having fun with it for studying articles through Omnivore.” – Patrick

“I’ve not too long ago began studying a e book referred to as Deep Work by Cal Newport on the deserves of dedicating time to concentrate on a job with minimal distractions. My consideration span, together with many others lately, has been obliterated, therefore me choosing up this e book to try to rectify my skill to focus deeply.” – Dave

“Apple PenLite: The iPad Earlier than the iPad.” I’ve been watching Colin Holter’s channel for a couple of years now and actually love his stuff, however this video is absolutely one thing completely different for him. He interviewed a number of former Apple staff, and I assumed it was very well completed. I used to be actually younger in the course of the time interval that is about, so I don’t keep in mind any information about these things, nevertheless it was so fascinating to get this sort of perspective from the engineers and product managers working at Apple on the time.” – Ian

I sincerely imagine that “Each Body a Portray” is the most effective YouTube sequence of all time. If you happen to haven’t watched them, watch all of them. (If you happen to solely watch one, watch this one on Edgar Wright. Or this one on David Fincher. Or this one on the sound of Marvel motion pictures. Simply watch all of them!) So when the channel dropped its first video in seven years — a brief trailer for a brand new restricted sequence and quick movie — I instantly began refreshing the web page each 10 minutes and rewatching each single factor on the channel yet again. It’s like going to movie college at warp pace, and I can’t advocate it extremely sufficient. Chairs, y’all! Chairs!