{"id":42949,"date":"2026-06-20T17:05:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T17:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/42949\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T17:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T17:05:15","slug":"toy-story-5-has-the-right-take-on-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/42949\/","title":{"rendered":"Toy Story 5 has the right take on tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 133, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you\u2019re new here, welcome, happy belated Juneteenth, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

This week, I\u2019ve been reading about Sam Bankman-Fried<\/a> and PE Guy<\/a> and admin nights<\/a> (which we should totally all do together one of these days), listening to Paul McCartney on Song Exploder<\/a>, trudging through the bugs of the iOS 27 beta<\/a> in order to use the good new Siri, once again trying and failing to switch to YouTube Music<\/a>, free trial-hopping my way through the World Cup, finally upgrading my camera setup with the Elgato Prompter<\/a>, and seeing if this strange, cheap headband<\/a> can help me fall asleep faster. So far\u2026 inconclusive.<\/p>\n

I also have for you the new Pixar movie worth your time, a better way to hold your phone, a nice upgrade for Android users, a lovely new Windows laptop, and much more. Let\u2019s do this.<\/p>\n

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you watching \/ reading \/ playing \/ listening to \/ doing during commercials this week? Tell me everything: 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

Toy Story 5<\/a>. The bad guy is an iPad! I love it. And by all accounts, the movie completely works both as a story and as a thoughtful look<\/a> at the real pros and cons of screentime. We often talk about device use in all the wrong ways; leave it to Pixar to get it right. I\u2019ll be in the theater Saturday morning.Lettera<\/a>. Markdown editors are a dime a dozen right now, but hardly anybody does text editing better than Shiny Frog, the folks behind the great Bear app. This text editor is in beta, but it\u2019s already super fast and stable at least for me. Gonna use this a lot.The PopSockets Low-Pro Grip<\/a>. I might be the world\u2019s most fervent supporter of PopSockets, and of phone grips of all kinds. (Phones are not comfortable to hold!) I\u2019ve been using the kickstand PopSocket<\/a> for a while, but am going to gladly trade it, and my $40, for the super-thin new model. Mastodon 4.6<\/a>. I don\u2019t spend that much time on Mastodon anymore, but this might help win me (and some others) back. Collections are a clever way to solve Mastodon\u2019s big discovery and search problem, and a good way to help people get started on a new social network. Plus, you can let people sign up to get your posts sent via email. Fediverse, baby!Snap Specs<\/a>. $2,195 for a pair of smart glasses! Wild. I confess I am not at all convinced anyone\u2019s going to want these \u2014 they\u2019re big and wonky and way too expensive. But I also think Snap understands how people actually want to use technology better than just about anybody. So I\u2019m not writing these off just yet.Android 17<\/a>. Coming soon to a Pixel near you: an easier way to capture reaction videos, floating app windows that seem like a very useful multitasking system that I hope iOS copies immediately, and a built-in controller for playing games on foldables. As always with Android, it\u2019s only some features, for some phones\u2026 but I like where Android is headed.VSCO Studio Pro<\/a>. VSCO makes nice photography stuff, and this app, which is made for editing huge sets of photos all at once, is very clever. \u201cMake all my other photos look like this photo\u201d is just such a useful editing trick! I\u2019m not wild about the looming subscription model here, but I like what VSCO\u2019s making.\u201cThe Music Industry is Broken<\/a>.\u201d Really good Drew Gooden video about how the business of music is changing thanks to streaming services, AI, ticketing monopolies, and more. There\u2019s definitely some \u201cyou\u2019re just mad at capitalism\u201d going on here, but Drew does a good job at hitting on all the ways things have changed, and why it all feels bad.The Microsoft Surface Laptop 8<\/a>. There\u2019s a new Surface Pro<\/a>, too, but I have long thought the more normal Surface Laptop (not to be confused with the Ultra) was one of the best Windows devices out there. If the new Qualcomm chips are as good as advertised, this should be a really useful all-purpose laptop. And it looks great in green.Songs of The Dead<\/a>. The beginning of a new series coauthored by Installerverse favorite Brandon Sanderson, called The Strata Wars, this book is about music and magic and time and space and a million other things. Some reviewers seemed to find it a bit much, but others loved it. And I know a lot of us love Sanderson.<\/p>\n

Josh Cajas<\/a> just joined The Verge this week as a producer on The Vergecast. (Which is now publishing every day, and has cool merch<\/a>, did you know??) Before he joined us, Josh had many lives: He worked in the US House of Representatives, he was in an extremely cool and good band, he has made many cool things and will make many more with us. He\u2019s also just good people.<\/p>\n

I like to have new Verge folks share their homescreen with us early in their tenure to see who they truly are before they\u2019re dropped into a team full of mechanical keyboard weirdos and to-do list app maniacs. So here\u2019s Josh\u2019s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:<\/p>\n

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

The phone: I have a Google Pixel 10.<\/p>\n

The wallpaper: A photo I took last year during a trip to Japan of the Kiyomizu-dera shrine at sunset (shot on my Pixel 9 Pro XL). Kyoto is incredibly picturesque, especially at that time of day, and I was lucky enough to catch it during cherry blossom season.<\/p>\n

The apps: Settings, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Keep, Phone, Messages, Edge, Camera, Play Store, Photos, Translate, TrainTime, ChatGPT, Focus Friend, Snipd.<\/p>\n

I use the Microsoft Launcher<\/a> to ditch the At a Glance widget and search bar, and to let me use icon theme packs. I\u2019ve mostly used Flight Pack, Retro Mode – Neon, and Viral to give my apps more of a cohesive look. KWGT<\/a> has also been great for building a custom Apple Music widget and utility bar on my homescreen. I also love the Google Photos widget cycling throughout the day, and my dog Butters makes an appearance in my screenshot!<\/p>\n

My first page covers my essentials (work apps, socials, streaming services) and a favorites folder for shopping, banking, and food. Since it\u2019s baseball season, my MLB app typically gets a lot of use. Not so much this year, though, with the way the Mets are playing.<\/p>\n

My second page is for fitness and productivity. I\u2019m a big Pixel Watch guy, so my Google Health widget is front and center, alongside my MyFitnessPal<\/a> widget for daily calorie tracking. My favorite productivity app has been Focus Friend<\/a> by Hank Green that\u2019s equal parts Tamagotchi pet and focus timer. You earn beans every time you activate it and stay off your phone, which you can then spend on items for your Bean Friend\u2019s environment. And for podcasts, I\u2019ve used Snipd<\/a> since it first launched and never left it. Its growing list of AI features like transcriptions, summaries, clips, and insights make it easy for jotting down ideas and catching up on my favorite shows.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019m watching Mindy Kaling\u2019s new show Not Suitable for Work<\/a> on Hulu, and it\u2019s surprisingly great for someone who doesn\u2019t watch a lot of sitcoms. I\u2019m a big Seinfeld guy, and it scratches that same itch of adults stumbling through life in NYC \u2014 but make it modern.I\u2019ve fallen down the YouTube Shorts rabbit hole recently, and one of my favorite creators right now is AsamaPOV<\/a>. If you\u2019ve ever wanted to just \u201cwalk\u201d through local restaurants in Japan without hopping on a plane, this is the guy you should watch. His interactions with the owners and cooks are incredibly wholesome, and the food he gets to eat looks amazing.I keep coming back to PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale<\/a> on my PS Vita. I\u2019m a PlayStation fanboy at heart, and while it\u2019s no Smash Bros., I love the gameplay, stages, and finishing moves in this game. Especially PaRappa the Rapper\u2019s!<\/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> or message me on Signal \u2014 @davidpierce.11 \u2014 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 Threads<\/a> and this post on Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just watched Cunk on Life<\/a>. It\u2019s a BBC comedy\/documentary on the topic of \u201clife\u201d from an absurdist\u2019s perspective. It\u2019s by Charlie Brooker of Black Mirror. I laughed so hard, I gave myself hiccups.\u201d \u2014 Kelly<\/p>\n

\u201cReally enjoying Young Sherlock<\/a> on Amazon Prime. It\u2019s Guy Ritchie at his (almost) best: stylish, British, fast talking, crime-ridden, with a dash of humor and a healthy dose of fun.\u201d \u2014 Logan<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been using Wildbirds<\/a> since closed beta and it\u2019s everything birders want from Instagram, but better.\u201d \u2014 Michiel<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition \u2014 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition<\/a> and really hoping that these titles change at some point.\u201d \u2014 Connor<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m studying for a technical exam and put all the materials into Claude<\/a>. I had it break down the material into daily, 30-minute study chunks to be emailed to me over the next two weeks. Each email has a prompt to do a short quiz at the end. A little wonky to start but it\u2019s working well so far.\u201d \u2014 Ian<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been using the Dirty Little Zine<\/a> website to make pocket-sized photography zines. Cheap, fun, and easy way to get your photos out of the digital wasteland and into the real world.\u201d \u2014 Mark<\/p>\n

\u201cFinished reading the series of Silo books<\/a> in advance of the next season coming in July.\u201d \u2014 Chris<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m currently going through Craig Alanson\u2019s Expeditionary Force<\/a> sci-fi novels, they\u2019re kinetic and silly and a bit rough around the edges at the same time, I\u2019m having a blast.\u201d \u2014 Carlo<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten back into playing PowerWash Simulator<\/a> after work. I\u2019m actually kind of excited about Star Wars again after watching The Mandalorian and Grogu a couple of weeks ago so now I am looking forward to the PWS2 Star Wars DLC next month.\u201d \u2014 Salt Palace<\/p>\n

There was some sneakily big, Installerverse-adjacent news this week: Google Calendar now has more colors!<\/a> Instead of just Google\u2019s bad ideas about green and blue, you can now color-code your calendar with 200 custom colors. The feature is rolling out now, and might genuinely change how I plan my days. I\u2019ve been toying with the idea of just ditching a to-do list entirely and living my life out of my calendar \u2014 I continue to aspire to be a one-text-file<\/a> kind of person \u2014 and now I can finally make my calendar look the way I want it to. I\u2019m fighting the urge to get way too detailed with the color-coding, though I assume that\u2019ll happen. For now I\u2019m just back to timeblocking<\/a> like a madman. Feeling powerful.<\/p>\n

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.David PierceClose\"David<\/p>\n

David Pierce<\/p>\n

Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n

FollowFollow<\/p>\n

See All by David Pierce<\/a><\/p>\n

GadgetsClose<\/p>\n

Gadgets<\/p>\n

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n

FollowFollow<\/p>\n

See All Gadgets<\/a><\/p>\n

InstallerClose<\/p>\n

Installer<\/p>\n

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n

FollowFollow<\/p>\n

See All Installer<\/a><\/p>\n

StreamingClose<\/p>\n

Streaming<\/p>\n

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n

FollowFollow<\/p>\n

See All Streaming<\/a><\/p>\n

TechClose<\/p>\n

Tech<\/p>\n

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n

FollowFollow<\/p>\n

See All Tech<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 133, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[973,8,24414,9,3474,976,7],"class_list":["post-42949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-stories","tag-gadgets","tag-headlines","tag-installer","tag-news","tag-streaming","tag-tech","tag-top-stories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116783528208148052","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}