Hello everyone! Welcome to Installer edition 142, your source for standout and Verge-style finds. (New here? Greetings, how is it nearly September already, and past issues live on the Installer homepage.)

This week I recalled Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Peter Cullen, took in Rockstar’s GTA VI preview, wondered about a foldable iPhone at Apple’s September event, dove into Summoning Salt’s Tetris speedrunning film, enjoyed Weird Al’s Tiny Desk set (“The Saga Begins!”), and finally grabbed that Reuben from my go-to spot.

This week also brings new Macs, a Nokia handset that powers up other phones, a Wyze camera with strong privacy tools, and more.

Programming note: Installer is off next week. I will be away. Catch you next month for Techtember!

(Your ideas and tips make Installer great. What do you want to explore? What favorites have you watched, seen, heard, or tasted lately? Email installer@theverge.com. Know someone who might like Installer? Forward it and invite them to subscribe.)

The Drop

The M6 and M5 Pro Mac Mini. Apple refreshed its compact computer this week with a new M6 chip or M5 Pro option available for preorder. Prices start $100 higher than before, and shipping begins September 22. The Mac Studio also received an update with the new M5 Ultra chip.
Star Wars: Zero Company. This strategy title in the Star Wars setting has earned strong reviews. I need to carve out time amid the busy upcoming game releases.
HMD’s Nokia 300 Charge. HMD created a classic candybar Nokia phone that also serves as a power bank and includes a 3.5mm jack. Who needs a foldable iPhone with this option around?
Wyze’s Indoor Cam Pan. The new $39.98 camera pans 360 degrees and tilts 103 degrees vertically, plus it offers a privacy mode that points the lens down into the body so nothing is visible. Solid feature.
Garmin’s Fenix 9 smartwatches. The Fenix 9 and 9 Pro feature OLED displays, 64GB storage, and solar-charging options on the two larger Pro sizes. Pricing starts at $999.99 for the Fenix 9 and $1,099.99 for the Pro.
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition. The Switch 2 port of FromSoftware’s classic finally arrives after delays and appears worth it. Do I need another reason to revisit The Lands Between? Maybe not, yet I am intrigued.
Whoop’s Meridian Band. This $149 band uses Milanese mesh in gold, rose gold, silver, or black to dress up the fifth-gen Whoop tracker. One downside: the tracker cannot charge while inside the band.

Today I am highlighting John Gruber of Daring Fireball. If you follow Apple and read The Verge regularly (which I assume as an Installer subscriber), you likely know Gruber’s work as writer, podcaster, site friend, and tech voice online.

Ahead of Apple’s September 9 launch event, it seemed fitting to spotlight the homescreen of one of the best-known figures in the Apple world.

Image: John Gruber

The phone: iPhone 17 Pro, deep blue, 1 TB (only 200 GB used, yet that will not deter me from ordering another 1 TB model this year).

The wallpaper: A gentle gradient from dark gray to black. For years I used solid black, as intended by Steve Jobs and the original design. (Homescreen wallpaper changes arrived in iOS 4, and I still question that choice.) The subtle gradient now gives the Dynamic Island a bit of contrast against the background.

The apps: Three task apps sit on the screen right now, which I cannot fully endorse, yet they suit me: Unforgetful, Finalist, and Due. (The red “1” on Unforgetful reminds me to send this note and homescreen shot.) I also have three notes apps if Journal counts alongside Tot and Apple Notes. Mosaic is a TestFlight MLB alternative with an interesting story: MLB hired its developer, Jason Weingardt, rather than shut it down because the app is so good. A later screenshot would show a Live Activity from the Yankees game in the Dynamic Island.

Kotoba is TestFlight-only and, in my view, the finest iOS dictionary app. It draws on system dictionaries and thesauruses, so it stays out of the App Store. I consult it daily. I covered it on Daring Fireball earlier.

The Siri app indicates I am testing iOS 27 betas. It performs well. I often run it next to ChatGPT to compare answers, and I expect to keep both going forward. That pairing fits my habit of using multiple task, note, and messaging apps.

I leave the Mail badge on to count unread messages and recall that the heat death of the universe is coming.

I also asked John to share current favorites. Here is what he shared:

One show whose second season just ended: The Agency on Paramount+. It may be the finest spy series ever produced.
One show whose sixth season is about to start: Slow Horses on Apple TV. It may be the most entertaining spy series ever produced.
Third, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, now in its 18th season; it is the best and most realistic show set in Philadelphia ever produced.

Crowdsourced

Here is what the Installer community is enjoying this week. I would love to hear what you are into as well! Email installer@theverge.com with any recommendations, and we will share some favorites here each week. For more suggestions, check the replies to this post on Bluesky.

“Feels like this week is all Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and now Transformers for Peter Cullen in terms of what people are watching and listening to!” — Carli

“I’ve been playing A la Card and REALLY enjoying my time with it. It’s an indie roguelike deck builder game that feels like Slay the Spire and Balatro said ‘Let’s go out for food from a food truck.’ All cards can be mutated and changed via the events — their values, their effect, what triggers them. Great art and music, solid design, and it’s scratching an itch I didn’t know I had. Awesome game from a 2-person indie dev team.” — Tom

“My preorder shipped early so I’ve been reading Emo Revival by Andrew Sacher and it’s a 10/10 so far.” — @thoughtlesskyle.bsky.social

“Empire of AI, Karen Hao. Recently translated to PT-BR :)” — Milena

“Tonight I’m going to finish House of Guinness. It’s a fine show but even better if you drink when watching it.” — Nick

“I’ve been on a kick reading older sci-fi novels recently and came across Berserker by Fred Saberhagen (1967). Fantastic book but surprisingly hard to find a physical copy. Ended up purchasing an ePub. Highly recommend!” — Nathan

Signing off

I received several good screen-time reduction tips after last week’s issue. One reader avoids apps with infinite scroll, which struck me as smart. They also use Screen Time to block items, yet their partner holds the unlock password. Clever! Another suggested zipping the phone into a pocket.

On vacation next week, to truly unplug, I will hide every browser-equipped gadget in my daughter’s closet. My only free time for mindless scrolling would be while she sleeps, but waking her is not worth the risk. More time for the important things, like playing Switch 2.

See you in two weeks!

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Jay Peters