The Verge's Installer roundup: from smart home gadgets to new podcast and writing apps

David Pierce of the technology news site The Verge has published Installer No. 152, his weekly roundup of apps, gadgets, films, games and podcasts that he and his readers have found worth recommending. The newsletter is aimed at people who want to keep up with new developments in digital life.

Devices and apps

The featured gadget is the Home Assistant Connect Aux-2. It is a simple box that helps add devices to a smart home, with particular emphasis on music gear, and also works as a universal controller for Bluetooth devices and ordinary appliances. Pierce notes that it could be built at home, but this option is much easier.

Among the new apps, he highlights TK from Medium, a writing app that lets people share ideas and work without making everything fully public. Tripod, a podcast app from Ben Rice McCarthy, is praised for its clever organization features and design. Pierce also mentions Google's Tabletop, an early prototype of a collaborative workspace similar to a Google Doc that can take the form of whatever tool is needed, and the $250 Ring Drone Cam, which can inspect rooms in a home.

Apple's foldable phone

Pierce writes that many readers have become users of Apple's new foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, in recent weeks. He puts the sentiment in his inbox at roughly 80 percent positive, 5 percent negative and 15 percent confused about interface choices. Allison Johnson, a Verge colleague who coauthored the device's review, described her setup. She uses TypeDraw, which makes the phone behave like a physical notebook, and the built-in iOS lo-fi playlists for focusing.

Reader tips

Readers recommended the Search and Brave Origin browsers, the finance app Monarch, the Laika animation studio film Wildwood and the game Queen's Domain. In closing, Pierce says he is working on a story about hardware hacking and plans to buy M5Stack developer kits.