Introducing Two Compact Yet Powerful New Macs

Hey gamers! Welcome to Installer No. 142, your go-to source for the coolest and quirkiest in the gaming world. If you’re new here, welcome aboard! Can you believe it’s almost September? You can catch up on all the previous editions at the Installer homepage.

This week, I’ve been reminiscing about icons like Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Peter Cullen, diving into Rockstar’s massive GTA VI preview, speculating whether Apple will unveil a foldable iPhone at its September event, getting hooked on Summoning Salt’s latest speedrunning documentary about competitive Tetris, enjoying Weird Al’s new Tiny Desk concert (“The Saga Begins!”), and finally treating myself to a Reuben from my favorite local deli after craving it for months.

I’ve also got some exciting new tech to share with you: fresh Macs, a Nokia phone that can charge your devices, a Wyze cam with a nifty privacy feature, and more.

Just a heads up: Installer will be taking a break next week as I head off on vacation. Catch you next month for Techtember!

As always, the best part of Installer is hearing from you. What are you curious about? What have you been watching, playing, or eating lately? Drop a line to installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone who might enjoy Installer, feel free to share it with them!

The Drop
* The M6 and M5 Pro Mac Mini. Apple has updated its compact computer this week, and you can now preorder it with the new M6 chip or the M5 Pro. However, the starting prices are $100 higher than the previous generation, and the new models won’t hit the shelves until September 22nd. The Mac Studio also got a refresh, available for preorder with the new M5 Ultra chip.
* Star Wars: Zero Company. This strategy game set in the Star Wars universe is receiving rave reviews. I need to carve out some time to fit this in with all the other big titles launching soon.
* HMD’s Nokia 300 Charge. HMD has released a retro-style Nokia dumbphone that also functions as a power bank. Plus, it features a 3.5mm headphone jack. Who needs a foldable iPhone when you can have this?
* Wyze’s Indoor Cam Pan. This new $39.98 security camera can rotate 360 degrees and tilt 103 degrees vertically. It also includes a privacy mode that tilts the lens fully downward, ensuring it can’t see anything. A fantastic feature!
* Garmin’s Fenix 9 smartwatches. The Fenix 9 and 9 Pro come with OLED screens, 64GB of storage, and the option for solar-charging displays on the larger Pro models. However, they don’t come cheap: The Fenix 9 starts at $999.99, while the Pro begins at $1,099.99.
* Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition. The Switch 2 version of FromSoftware’s legendary title is reportedly worth the wait after a significant delay. Do I really need another reason to get lost in The Lands Between? Probably not, but I’m definitely tempted.
* Whoop’s Meridian Band. This $149 band, made from Milanese mesh and available in gold, rose gold, silver, and black, adds a touch of elegance to your fifth-gen Whoop tracker. However, one downside is that you can’t charge your Whoop while it’s in the Meridian Band.

Screen Share
Today, I’m highlighting John Gruber of Daring Fireball. If you’re into Apple and regularly follow tech news, you’re likely familiar with Gruber and his contributions as a writer, podcaster, and tech enthusiast.

With Apple’s big launch event coming up on September 9th, I thought it would be fun to showcase the homescreen of one of the most recognized figures in the Apple community.

The phone: iPhone 17 Pro, deep blue, 1 TB (of which only 200 GB is used, but that won’t stop me from splurging on a 1 TB model this year too).
The wallpaper: A subtle gradient from very dark gray to black. For years, I stuck with a flat black wallpaper, as intended by the tech gods. I’ve switched to a gradient now because it provides a nice contrast for the dynamic island.
The apps: I currently have three todo/task apps on my homescreen, which I can’t fully endorse, but they’re working for me: Unforgetful, Finalist, and Due. (The red “1” badge on Unforgetful is a reminder to send you this email and the screenshot of my homescreen.) I also have three notes apps, including Journal, Tot, and Apple Notes. Mosaic is a TestFlight-only alternative to the official MLB app, and it has a great backstory: instead of shutting it down, MLB hired its developer, Jason Weingardt, because Mosaic is so impressive. If I took the screenshot later tonight, you’d see a Live Activity from Mosaic featuring the Yankees game in the Dynamic Island.

Kotoba is also TestFlight-only. In my opinion, it’s the best dictionary app for iOS, but since it uses system-provided dictionaries and thesauruses, it’s not allowed in the App Store. I use it almost daily. I previously wrote about it on Daring Fireball.

The Siri app indicates that I’m testing the iOS 27 betas. It’s solid. I’m currently using it alongside ChatGPT to compare responses, but I plan to use both moving forward. So having that alongside ChatGPT fits my pattern of using multiple todo apps, note apps, and messaging apps.

I keep the badge on Mail to remind myself of my unread messages, a gentle nudge that the heat death of the universe is inevitable.

Oh, and my App Store icon isn’t the actual App Store app; it’s a shortcut that takes me directly to the list of apps waiting for updates.

I also asked John to share a few things he’s currently enjoying. Here’s what he sent back:
* One show whose second season just wrapped: The Agency, on Paramount+. I think it’s probably the best spy series ever made.
* One show whose sixth season is about to kick off: Slow Horses, on Apple TV. I think it’s probably the most entertaining spy series ever made.
* Lastly, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which just started its 18th season; it’s the best and most realistic show set in Philadelphia ever made.

Crowdsourced
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to hear what you’re enjoying right now too! Email installer@theverge.com with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here each week. For even more great suggestions, check out the replies to this post on Bluesky.

“Feels like this week is all Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and now Transformers for Peter Cullen in terms of what people are watching and listening to!” — Carli
“I’ve been playing A la Card and REALLY enjoying it. It’s an indie roguelike deck builder that feels like Slay the Spire and Balatro said ‘Let’s go out for food from a food truck.’ All cards can be mutated and changed through events — their values, effects, and triggers. Great art and music, solid design, and it’s scratching an itch I didn’t know I had. Awesome game from a two-person indie dev team.” — Tom
“My preorder shipped early, so I’ve been reading Emo Revival by Andrew Sacher, and it’s a 10/10 so far.” — @thoughtlesskyle.bsky.social
“Empire of AI, Karen Hao. Recently translated to PT-BR :)” — Milena
“Tonight I’m finishing House of Guinness. It’s a fine show but even better if you drink while watching it.” — Nick
“I’ve been on a kick reading older sci-fi novels and came across Berserker by Fred Saberhagen (1967). Fantastic book but surprisingly hard to find a physical copy. Ended up purchasing an ePub. Highly recommend!” — Nathan

Signing off
I received some great screentime reduction tips after last week’s issue. One person mentioned they avoid installing apps with infinite scroll, which I thought was a smart move. They also have Screen Time enabled to block various distractions, but their partner holds the password to unlock it if needed. Clever! Another reader suggested zipping their phone in a pocket to limit usage.

During my vacation next week, I plan to implement my favorite trick: hiding every gadget with a browser in my daughter’s closet. My only free time for potential mindless scrolling would be while she’s sleeping, but there’s no way I’m risking waking her up just to grab the laptop. More time for the important stuff — like gaming on the Switch 2.

Catch you in two weeks!