The super simple gadget trying to replace your phone

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 42, your usher to the champion and Verge-iest worldly successful the world. (If you’re caller here, welcome, truthful psyched you recovered us, and besides you tin work each the aged editions astatine the Installer homepage.) 

I besides person for you a caller minimalist phone, a publication to read, a documentary to watch, a amusive hack for your Rabbit R1, and overmuch more. Let’s get into it.

(As always, the champion portion of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you playing, reading, downloading, buying, oregon bedazzling this week? What are you into that everyone other should beryllium into? Tell maine everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you cognize idiosyncratic other who mightiness bask Installer, archer them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

Screen share

Andrew Liszewski has agelong been 1 of my favourite bloggers connected the internet. He spent years astatine Gizmodo penning astir the weirdest, funniest, silliest, coolest worldly connected the web, and I’ve decidedly spent thousands of dollars connected worldly conscionable due to the fact that helium wrote astir it.

Now, Andrew works for The Verge! This was his archetypal week, and he’s already successful Slack causing chaos. It’s the best. I asked him to stock his homescreen with america to spot if I could get immoderate tips connected however helium scours the web. He didn’t uncover each his secrets, but I bash cognize much astir the upwind successful Canada now, truthful that’s something.

Here’s Andrew’s homescreen, positive immoderate info connected the apps helium uses and why:

The phone: iPhone 12 Pro (with a artillery that’s feeling its age).

The wallpaper: I similar a precise minimalist wallpaper nether my apps, but due to the fact that I find coagulated achromatic makes the surface excessively reflective, I created a customized subtle bluish gradient I’ve been utilizing for the past 5 years. (For my fastener screen, I’m utilizing 1 of Mikael Gustafsson’s dreamy quality scenes.)

The apps: Google Calendar, Clock, Photos, Camera, Google Home, Google Photos, Find My, Instagram, Google Maps, WeatherCAN, Nest, Google Chat, Settings, Watch, Chrome, Apple Books, 1Password, App Store, Apple Notes, Phone, Gmail, Messages, Apple Photos.

My iPhone’s main homescreen is wherever each my regular operator apps live. This includes Instagram, Google Home, the aging Nest app (which includes functionality for my Nest thermostat I can’t find elsewhere), Chrome, 1Password (which each but solved my password anxiousness erstwhile I yet switched over), IMDb, Paprika 3, countless astute location remotes, and astir importantly, the Environment Canada upwind app truthful I cognize erstwhile to get the writer chopped earlier it rains. I’m obsessive astir clearing notifications connected my superior homescreen but americium blessed for them to heap up connected the 2nd screen, wherever I similar to support each different installed apps accessible.

I besides asked Andrew to stock a fewer things he’s into close now. Here’s what helium sent back:

Crowdsourced

Here’s what the Installer assemblage is into this week. I privation to cognize what you’re into close present arsenic well! Email installer@theverge.com oregon connection maine connected Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for thing and everything, and we’ll diagnostic immoderate of our favorites present each week. For much recommendations than I could acceptable here, cheque retired the replies to this station connected Threads.

“I conscionable precocious came crossed this Australian institution called Juicy Crumb that specializes successful creating customized motherboard replacements for aged iMacs, which lets radical easy repurpose them arsenic monitors. And they made one for the iMac G4! Believe maine erstwhile I archer you I’ve ne'er deed a ‘buy’ fastener truthful rapidly (lol). Anyway, I ordered 1 a fewer months backmost and precocious swapped it into my 20-inch G4, and it worked similar a charm! I plugged it into a M1 Mac Mini I had, and present I’m utilizing an iMac G4 similar it’s 2004 again.” – Ryan

“I LOVE the Surface kickstand, bask typing onscreen (have done it for 14 years, tbf), and hatred cases connected my Apple devices. I’m obsessed with this magnet-back cover with a kickstand for my iPad. Could lone root it from Amazon Germany, but they shipped to New Zealand for free. Wicked result.” – Brendon

“Your notation of Inbox Ten makes maine deliberation you’d admit Tony Hsieh’s Yesterbox method, which I’ve utilized successfully for years!” – Deb

“I’ve been loving journaling successful Diarium, particularly since it’s wholly backstage and local. If you privation to sync betwixt devices, you tin usage a unreality sync of your choosing — it tin adjacent read-only sync with apps similar Fitbit, Instagram, Strava, etc. to adhd everything you’ve done successful the time into your diary entry.” – Michael

“I precocious subscribed to Scott Belsky’s Implications newsletter, and I’m convinced everyone who is funny successful the aboriginal of tech and civilization should, too.” – Ricky

“I conscionable discovered the app Crouton for look collection, and it’s by acold the champion astatine scrubbing a URL for the existent recipe. You tin adjacent instrumentality a photograph of a cookbook page, and it’ll make the recipe. Probably the champion illustration of a real-world usage for AI I’ve encountered yet.” – JT

“I’m enjoying the caller MLB Morning Lineup podcast. Each occurrence is 10 minutes oregon less, and it recaps the erstwhile day’s container scores and news. It’s been a precise bully mode to drawback up connected the champion sport.” – Mario

“Been trying retired Star Wars: Hunters connected iOS aft it yet launched. It’s a PVP arena combat game, and I’m loving it truthful far. The hunters are each unsocial and fun, it’s not excessively dense connected the pay-to-play stuff, and it’s remarkably bully for a speedy game. It’s not cleanable (the UI is atrocious), but it’s a bully start.” – Matt

“Puzzmo conscionable added a caller crippled to their catalog, Pile-Up Poker, and it is stellar.” – Luke

“My friends introduced maine to this Call of Duty-like shooter that’s seemingly precise fashionable successful India. It’s called Free Fire Max. The crushed for its popularity is its quality to tally connected immoderate device.

You should springiness it a try. The graphics are mediocre, but the acquisition is great.” – Rudrajit

Signing off

I posted connected Threads a fewer days agone that my fig 1 productivity hack is to instrumentality a 25-minute nap successful the mediate of the day. This made a batch of radical person feelings and inquire questions, adjacent though I’m wholly right. (It’s conscionable science. I don’t marque the rules.) But for each the radical who asked for tips, present are mine. 

The cleanable 25-minute nap involves 3 things. First, realizing that adjacent if you don’t sleep, lying determination with your eyes closed for 25 minutes is inactive precise restful; not stressing astir sleeping makes it easier to sleep. Second, an occurrence of a TV amusement I’ve seen earlier (I bash a batch of Parks and Recreation) tin marque it easier to quiescent my encephalon and autumn asleep. Third, I enactment connected my smartwatch and acceptable an alarm there; waking up from a wrist buzz is infinitely amended than a blaring sound. Naps are great, naps forever, blessed napping, everybody.

See you adjacent week!