GoKawiilis a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
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Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 143, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, new tech season is here, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
I also have for you new iPhones, Meta’s AI agent, revived Sony headphones, and more. It’s good to be back after a week off.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What are your favorite things you’ve watched / seen / listened to / folded recently? Drop a line to [email protected]. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.)
The Drop
The iPhone 18 Pro . This is a refinement year for the Pro series, but the refinements seem like good ones, including a variable-aperture main lens, better battery, a new chip, and new colors ( This is a refinement year for the Pro series, but the refinements seem like good ones, including a variable-aperture main lens, better battery, a new chip, and new colors ( black! ). The bad news: Their starting prices got a $100 bump, as did older iPhones . Still, the battery updates alone might be worth it.
AirPods 5 . Apple’s latest open-ear AirPods have improved active noise cancellation and, for the more expensive model, on-stem volume controls like what’s offered on the AirPods Pro. I’m still rocking the AirPods Pro 2, but when I eventually need to upgrade, I’ll seriously consider the base AirPods, especially since they start at $129. Apple’s latest open-ear AirPods have improved active noise cancellation and, for the more expensive model, on-stem volume controls like what’s offered on the AirPods Pro. I’m still rocking the AirPods Pro 2, but when I eventually need to upgrade, I’ll seriously consider the base AirPods, especially since they start at $129.
Meta’s Muse AI agent . Meta is trying to bring AI agents to the masses with the new Muse AI agent that you can chat with, ask to search the web for you, and connect to apps like Instagram and Gmail. It’s also free with usage limits, though messing around with it for a day or so, I didn’t come remotely close to hitting those. I was impressed with Muse’s speed, but it hallucinated a lot, including making up lyrics to a song my toddler loves. Meta is trying to bring AI agents to the masses with the new Muse AI agent that you can chat with, ask to search the web for you, and connect to apps like Instagram and Gmail. It’s also free with usage limits, though messing around with it for a day or so, I didn’t come remotely close to hitting those. I was impressed with Muse’s speed, but it hallucinated a lot, including making up lyrics to a song my toddler loves.
Sony’s WH-1000XM4C headphones . Sony is launching a surprise second generation of its well-loved XM4 headphones after the original version was discontinued last year. They look the same, but have an updated sound profile and a bump up to Bluetooth 6. Battery life is apparently a little worse, dipping down to 27 hours with active noise cancellation activated. But at $299.99 — about $150 less than what Sony sells the XM6 for — the refreshed XM4s could be a great deal. Sony is launching a surprise second generation of its well-loved XM4 headphones after the original version was discontinued last year. They look the same, but have an updated sound profile and a bump up to Bluetooth 6. Battery life is apparently a little worse, dipping down to 27 hours with active noise cancellation activated. But at $299.99 — about $150 less than what Sony sells the XM6 for — the refreshed XM4s could be a great deal.
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