Hello, dear friends and fellow enthusiasts! I’m truly delighted to welcome you to the 109th edition of *Installer*, your indispensable and imaginative guide to the most fascinating, cutting-edge, and uniquely Verge-inspired discoveries in technology, entertainment, and culture. For those joining us for the first time, an especially warm welcome — I hope you’re keeping cozy as winter settles in. And if you’d like to catch up on everything you’ve missed, all previous issues await your exploration on the *Installer* homepage, ready to immerse you in a rich catalog of recommendations, reflections, and innovations.
During this past week, I’ve fallen down a number of intriguing rabbit holes: delving into the interplay between *Google Maps* and the growing phenomenon of what some are calling “shopaganda,” contemplating the strange contradictions of life as a modern pop icon, and finally — after much anticipation — indulging in the full spectacle of *Formula 1* now that the series is more easily streamable worldwide. I’ve also reprised an old ritual by rewatching the first two *Avatar* films in preparation for the upcoming sequel, while consoling myself with the recently released *Taylor Swift* tour documentary — a surprisingly satisfying substitute for the electrifying experience of seeing her live. On a more tactile note, I recently seized the opportunity to stock up on *Ikea* smart buttons, now discounted in the U.S., and I’ve been fascinated by the sleek new *Obsidian* mobile update, which refines and enhances one of the best productivity ecosystems on smartphones. And yet, despite all these exciting diversions, I continue to spend far too many hours puzzling over the persistent question of why my house seems incapable of retaining heat.
This issue also brings a varied and carefully assembled assortment of new finds: an inventive platform for discovering movies you won’t see elsewhere, an engaging and visually arresting game perfect for the holidays, a new speaker that treats your ears to serious delight, and plenty more to fill your days with clever tools and comforting escapism.
Looking ahead to the final *Installer* of the year, I’d like to pose a simple yet thought-provoking question: What was your favorite new thing you encountered this year? It doesn’t necessarily need to have been released in 2024; it just needs to be something that was new to *you* — an experience, product, or discovery that brightened your life. Don’t agonize over picking one singular favorite; simply share something meaningful that you loved this year. I’d be thrilled to hear about the books that broadened your perspective, podcasts that sparked curiosity, decade-old video games you’ve recently rediscovered, or even the small innovations that improved your home or workspace. Everything is fair game, and I promise to share a few of my own in return. If you’d like to join the conversation, reach out via email at installer@theverge.com, message me through Threads at @imdavidpierce, or send a Signal message to @davidpierce.11.
All right — there’s an abundance of material to explore this week, so let’s dive right in. As always, remember that *Installer* thrives on your creativity and contributions. The highlights each week come directly from your ideas, your recommendations, and your discoveries. So tell me what’s keeping you entertained or inspired: what games are you playing, what books are holding your attention, what series are you binge-watching by the fire, and what albums or podcasts have been your recent obsessions? Send your insights to installer@theverge.com. And if you happen to know anyone else who might appreciate this newsletter, please forward it along — and gently nudge them to subscribe.
First up: *The Letterboxd Video Store.* Imagine a perfectly curated, boutique-style streaming space that recalls the aesthetic and spirit of an old-school video rental shop. Letterboxd, long beloved for its cinephile community, has compiled a special rental library focusing on films that people genuinely want to watch but may not easily find anywhere else. It marries high-minded curation with surprising accessibility — a thoughtful digital homage to the era of physical media. I find its scale absolutely ideal: substantial enough to satisfy curiosity, yet compact enough to feel manageable.
Next, we have *Skate Story,* a visually entrancing and conceptually bold video game emerging as a potential standout for 2025. You play as a demon condemned to skate endlessly — an allegory wrapped inside fluid mechanics and surreal artistry. Early impressions suggest that while its control system may require a brief period of adjustment, mastery rewards you with a deeply responsive and aesthetically gorgeous experience.
Moving on, the *iFixit App* deserves mention — primarily for what it *isn’t* trying to do. iFixit’s much-hyped AI bot, FixBot, doesn’t yet possess the omniscient ability to diagnose and repair devices automatically, but honestly, that’s perfectly fine. What the app *does* deliver is a clean, portable library of thousands of repair manuals for iOS and Android users, serving as a digital companion for anyone who prefers restoring their own gadgets instead of replacing them. It even includes a smart built-in phone battery monitor that’s both practical and cleverly executed.
Meanwhile, *Darkroom 7.0* has reminded me why this app once defined mobile photo editing for Apple users. After slipping from my routine, its latest version pulled me back: the interface is now cleaner and more intuitive, enriched by evocative retro-film textures and polished video-editing features normally found in professional software. The ability to zoom right down to the pixel level feels delightfully obsessive — and empowering.
At the opposite end of the photography spectrum, *Google Photos* has evolved again, borrowing from *CapCut’s* style of intuitive, timeline-based editing. It now enables users to compose highlight reels and slide shows more deftly than ever before. I suddenly feel compelled to produce an avalanche of year-in-review montages, mostly ridiculous but deeply entertaining, to share with friends.
For film fans who enjoy cinematic curiosities, *Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair* — a seamless fusion of Tarantino’s two *Kill Bill* volumes into one extended, four-and-a-half-hour epic — is a revelation. It completely reshapes the pacing and tone, delivering what feels like an entirely new film that honors and transcends its predecessors. If you’re hunting for a perfect weekend activity, this is an ideal choice for an afternoon immersed in neo-grindhouse glory.
On the hardware side, audiophiles should note the arrival of *Wiim Sound Lite.* Priced at $229, this sleek portable speaker emerges as a serious competitor to Sonos and Apple’s HomePod. Given Wiim’s track record within the *Installerverse*, I wouldn’t hesitate to start a modular home audio ecosystem centered around their products.
For experimental tech enthusiasts, *Google Disco* introduces a fascinating new browsing paradigm: converting a cluster of tabs into an autonomous, AI-generated mini–web application. Though likely to remain a Google Labs experiment, its premise hints at a potential reimagining of how we organize and interact with the web.
Turning to design culture, Raffi Chilingaryan’s *Spotted in Prod* remains one of my longstanding favorite sources for discovering inventive details in digital products. Raffi’s knack for identifying elegant software flourishes is unmatched, and emerging app developers should aspire to capture his attention. He’s currently developing two iOS apps — *Runbuds*, a social fitness platform designed to rival Strava, and *Shift*, a cleverly engineered alarm clock app focused on helping users wake earlier and more naturally. But my personal favorite Raffi project is his spectacularly imaginative new personal website. It features an actual interactive replica of his iPhone homescreen, allowing visitors to click freely through his digital world. It’s playful, self-referential, and frankly puts the rest of us to shame — and yes, it even lives on a .zip domain, which feels oddly perfect for him.
Raffi generously shared a glimpse into his setup: a minimalist *iPhone 15 Pro* paired with a solid gray wallpaper, and his primary apps include Retro, (Not Boring) Camera, Google Maps, Photos, Claude, Safari, and Apple Notes. He categorizes his apps into four folders — money, work, social, and vibes — though for our purposes, he offered more detailed insight into several standouts. Among the *TestFlights* worth watching are *Arena*, a thoughtful digital community platform that only recently became delightful to use on iOS, and *Net*, a promising AI-assisted email client featuring an intuitive card-stack interface that transforms triaging emails into a tactile joy.
Raffi’s list of beloved, must-use everyday apps reads like a manifesto of design-centric living: *Retro*, a weekly photo diary that also lets you send charming physical postcards; *(Not Boring) Camera*, an homage to skeuomorphic interface design and nostalgic aesthetics; *Bump*, which modernizes location sharing for Gen Z; *Radio Garden*, a global radio exploration app offering real-time immersion in worldwide local stations; *Particle*, an AI-native news app with exceptional fluidity; and *Mercury*, a beautifully designed fintech product equally adept at serving businesses and individuals.
When asked about current creative fascinations, Raffi cited *The Ben and Packy Network* and *Stratechery* podcasts, an admiration for developers showcasing experimental work on “tech Twitter,” his reliance on *Claude Code* for accelerating software projects without a formal engineering background, and the cultural resurgence of the *Pokémon* Trading Card Game, particularly its digital revival.
This week, the *Installer* community continues to delight me with their discoveries. Highlights include Jeremy’s glowing review of *Ghost of Yotei*, noting its breathtaking landscapes; Christopher’s appreciation for John Green’s *The Anthropocene Reviewed*, which he praises for its poignant alignment of seemingly different life experiences; Alex’s revelation that *Amazon Luna* — often overlooked — offers superb cloud gaming experiences, with seamless controller integration and *Indiana Jones* adventures at no extra cost; Colin’s rediscovery of audiobooks through *Audible’s* generous promotion, currently immersed in *Alchemised* by SenLinYu; Anne’s obsession with *StoneBlock 4,* a Minecraft modpack powerful enough to derail productivity; Denim’s awe after watching a Polish mountaineer ski down Mount Everest without oxygen; Andrew’s praise for the *Xbloom* robotic barista that serves coffee perfection on demand; and Andy’s wholehearted endorsement of *Skate Story* — soundtrack included.
In parallel with community shouts, I’ve spent considerable time studying the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an under-the-hood framework that might quietly shape how AI systems coordinate, interpret data, and operate in the years ahead. If that sounds obscure, I urge you to watch a concise yet illuminating 20-minute explainer by Greg Isenberg and Ras Mic, who unpack the entire concept with visual clarity rare in technical media. Their walkthrough clarifies why MCP deserves attention within the evolving infrastructure of AI-driven software — and, frankly, if every educational video were this lucid, we’d all be better informed.
That’s all for now — just one more issue of *Installer* awaits you before the year draws to a close. I’ll see you next week with even more discoveries, reflections, and recommendations. Until then, keep exploring, stay curious, and continue sharing what inspires you.
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— David Pierce, *The Verge*
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/tech/844117/letterboxd-store-skate-story-ifixit-installer
