Apple is reportedly planning to turn the TV app into the streaming hub it always wanted
The Apple TV app’s ambitions have always been huge. | Image: Apple
Apple appears to be working on a revamp of its TV app that the company hopes will turn it into users’ go-to place for all their shows, movies, and more. A new Bloomberg report says Apple is planning to remove its apps for buying and renting content and bundle that with its streaming content, channel-subscription options, and more. The new app could launch as early as this December on the Apple TV box, across Apple’s other platforms, and on the other TV operating systems the Apple TV app is available on. (The fact that the Apple TV is distinct from the Apple TV app, which is not the same as Apple TV Plus, and that “Apple TV is available on Roku” is a technically true phrase never fails to blow my mind. These names! But I digress.)
In a sense, there’s actually nothing new about this strategy. Apple has long wanted the TV app to be the place users went not just to find Apple’s own content but to find, subscribe to, and manage everything else. Remember that famous quote where Steve Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, that he’d “finally cracked” the future of TV? Jobs imagined a TV that didn’t have complicated remotes or countless inputs and that had “the simplest user interface you could imagine.” Apple hasn’t yet built a TV set, but this forthcoming update to the TV app appears to carry on that spirit. (Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.)
Some of that spirit is already present in the current TV app. You can open it to see recommendations from multiple streaming services, and you can use the app to subscribe directly to other streaming services — giving Apple a cut in the process, of course. By combining the iTunes collection of shows and movies, Apple can make the TV app a place worth going even more often.
Image: Apple
Apple imagines the Vision Pro as the future of TV — and that requires a TV app.
One reason for Apple to try and make its streaming dreams come true: the impending launch of the Vision Pro headset, which is many things but is most of all a television. The TV app is likely to be prominently placed in users’ headsets as they’re learning new interfaces and new behaviors; not all third-party apps are going to be there immediately, and that could give Apple a chance to build the kind of viewer habit few other apps have created.
The problem with this vision, of course, is that it’s just about impossible to pull off. Content providers have been reluctant to make their data and content available outside their own apps, preferring to keep users inside their own universes. (Netflix would much rather you find the new Great British Baking Show season by opening Netflix than by searching in the TV app.) As more services become ad-supported, too, they’re going to be even more competitive for your watch time. Apple’s Channels strategy has had ups and downs, too; a number of big services, even those like Max that were once available on the platform, no longer are. Many have tried to make the “universal streaming guide” work, and none have succeeded. Not even Apple.
Apple does have some important advantages here, though. The Apple TV Plus streaming service has become a surprise power player, churning out hit shows and critically acclaimed ones, with titles like Killers of the Flower Moon coming soon to the service. The MLS streaming service has evidently been a huge success for the company, too. As a result, many users are already accustomed to opening the TV app to find content.
For all the complications and setbacks, the dream of a better streaming experience just won’t die in the tech industry. And Apple, perhaps most of all — the company that revamped music buying with iTunes, made a fortune with the App Store, and is, in general, better than anybody at selling you content and collecting its commission — just can’t stop trying to make it work.
Automattic is acquiring Texts and betting big on the future of messaging
Texts is a messaging app... for all your messaging apps. | Image: Texts
Automattic, the company that runs WordPress.com, Tumblr, Pocket Casts, and a number of other popular web properties, just made a different kind of acquisition: it’s buying Texts, a universal messaging app, for $50 million.
Texts is an app for all your messaging apps. You can use it to log in to WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, Signal, iMessage, and more and see and respond to all your messages in one place. (Beeper is another app doing similar things.) The app also offers some additional features like AI-generated responses and summaries, but its primary purpose is to unify your many inboxes into a single interface.
Matt Mullenweg, Automattic’s CEO, says Texts is not just a product acquisition but also the beginning of a huge new investment for the company. So far, he says, Automattic’s two main areas of focus have been on publishing and commerce — now, messaging is the company’s third pillar. “I like to pick areas I feel are so fundamental to the human condition that I can work on this the rest of my life,” he says. “Self-publishing, commerce, and messaging covers a good chunk of all human activity, and they’re also three areas where I think an open-source solution is necessary for the long term.”
In that long term, Mullenweg says he’s bullish on solutions like Matrix, which offers a decentralized and open-source messaging network, and other up-and-coming standards for messaging. He’s already thinking about how Texts might gently nudge people toward more open protocols over time. But for now, “I think the most user-centric thing to do is not try to pick one of those standards and force people into it, but actually support them all and let the market and users decide.”
Mullenweg points to two other things he likes about Texts in particular. First, its founder, Kishan Bagaria: “Kishan is, I think, a generational tech genius who we’ll be talking about for many decades to come,” Mullenweg says. The second is Texts’ security model, which relies on on-device encryption rather than storing a copy of all your messages in the cloud. “Just as an engineer, I can’t ethically support” the cloud-first model, Mullenweg says. He also thinks the cloud security model might give existing messaging apps a reason to shut down Beeper and other attempts at interoperability. “I think the argument that there shouldn’t be interop is more difficult to make, politically, especially with regulators,” he says. “But the technical argument for why it’s not as secure is a good one for why to block things.”
The first thing the Texts team will do at Automattic, it seems, is finish its mobile app. “To do this on mobile with push notifications, and efficient battery, and everything, is pretty tricky,” Mullenweg says. “But I think we’ve cracked it in a way that maintains all the end-to-end encryption, and where Automattic has no access to your keys, your anything.” Right now, Texts is a $15 a month power-user tool, but Mullenweg says that could change over time. “There might be some limited free version in the future,” he says. “But if you’re serious about this, you’ll want the paid — for less than like the price of one streaming service or two cups of coffee a month, you’ll get something that you’ll be able to use for hours a day.”
Mullenweg and Automattic see a big future for messaging, as more online interaction shifts away from public-first social networks and toward things like group chats. Hardly anyone has figured out how to build a meaningful and sustainable business from chat, but Mullenweg thinks it’s possible. And he thinks it starts with making your messaging a little less messy.
Qualcomm’s next big Snapdragon chip has leaked, and it’s full of AI features
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The next big Snapdragon chip headed to Android phones is likely to be announced this week — and details have leaked early revealing a heavy focus on AI. According to MSPoweruser, Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will support some handy and creative AI camera tools, including the ability to remove objects from videos, expand areas of a photo, and generate fake backgrounds.
The leaked marketing materials also boast about the chip’s ability to run various AI models, including both Stable Diffusion and Meta’s Llama 2. Making that happen is supposed to be an upgraded Hexagon neural processor, which the leaked document says is 98 percent faster (presumably than last year’s processor, but the image doesn’t clarify). Qualcomm showed off the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’sability to run Stable Diffusion back in February, but the company seems to be making AI execution more of a focus on the Gen 3 given the year AI tech is having.
This chip is likely headed first to Samsung’s Galaxy S24 line, which is expected in the first quarter of 2024. As Qualcomm’s flagship mobile chip, it’ll appear in other top-of-the-line Android phones throughout the year, with the notable exception of Google’s Pixel line, which relies on the company’s own Tensor processors. Qualcomm’s AI focus makes the stakes high for Google to do a good job with its Tensor chips since its ability to develop custom AI features is a key reason the company decided to move away from Qualcomm.
Qualcomm has a bunch of other updates in store for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that go beyond AI. The leaked materials promise a 30 percent faster CPU, a 25 percent faster GPU, support for 240fps gaming, improved ray tracing, night vision video capture, and Dolby HDR photo capture. 5G Advanced support is supposed to be included, too, so maybe your 5G connection will actually start to feel 5G this time.
You can view the whole sheet of leaked specs at MSPoweruser. Qualcomm should officially announce the chip tomorrow at its Snapdragon Summit. The company is hosting an event starting October 24th at 3AM ET / 12AM PT.
Matter 1.2 is a big move for the smart home standard
New device types, including robot vacuums, smoke alarms, washing machines and refrigerators are coming to Matter. | Photo Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge
One year in, and Matter is adding support for fridges, robot vacuums, smoke alarms, and more. It’s a major step toward a complete smart home, but success hinges on platform and manufacturer follow-through.
Matter — the IOT connectivity standard with ambitions to fix the smart home and make all of our gadgets talk to each other — has hit version 1.2, adding support for nine new types of connected devices. Robot vacuums, refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwashers are coming to Matter, as are smoke and CO alarms, air quality sensors, air purifiers, room air conditions, and fans. It’s a crucial moment for the success of the industry-backed coalition that counts 675 companies among its members. This is where it moves from the relatively small categories of door locks and light bulbs to the real moneymakers: large appliances.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the organization behind Matter, released the Matter 1.2 specification this week, a year after launching Matter 1.0, following through on its promise to release two updates a year. Now, appliance manufacturers can add support for Matter to their devices, and ecosystems such as Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings can start supporting the new device types.
Yes, this means you should finally be able to control a robot vacuum in the Apple Home app — not to mention your wine fridge, dishwasher, and washing machine.
The initial feature set for the new device types includes basic function controls (start / stop, change mode) and notifications — such as the temperature of your fridge, the status of your laundry, or whether smoke is detected (see sidebar for more).
Robot vacuum support is robust — remote start and progress notifications, cleaning modes (dry vacuum, wet mopping), and alerts for brush status, error reporting, and charging status. But there’s no mapping, so you’ll still need to use your vacuum app if you want to tell the robot where to go.
Air purifiers and air quality sensors are also interesting additions. Currently, support across platforms for air purifiers is spotty, and products are expensive. Matter supports a wide range of air quality sensors (see sidebar) plus location for sensors, so individual sensors placed around a home can feed data to a device like an air purifier, HVAC system, or a connected oven hood.
What do these new Matter devices mean for your smart home?
Most smart appliances already provide most functions Matter supports, but they’re siloed in each manufacturer’s app. With Matter, you should be able to connect them to your smart home platform of choice, unlocking intriguing automation options.
While it’s possible today to get your lights to flash when your laundry is done, turn a light red when your fridge’s temperature rises, or shut off the HVAC system if the smoke alarm goes off, it can be complicated to set up and often wholly unreliable. You need to download multiple apps, maybe buy a sensor or two, deal with laggy cloud integrations, and worry about whether your washer is even compatible with your smart home app in the first place. With Matter support, this type of simple command and control should be much easier to implement in any ecosystem.
The future potential is also interesting, bringing into play the ambient smart home many companies are pursuing, where devices can talk to each other to take action on our behalf without us really having to get involved.
Tobin Richardson, president and CEO of the CSA, gave this example: “With more aggregate data and more information, we can see more interaction between devices,” he says. “With an edge AI engine to take care of it, if an air quality sensor senses something, then your favorite voice assistant platform can kick off the robot vac, boost the air purifier, and maybe hold off on the laundry and the dishwasher to save energy while the other devices are working.”
With manufacturers like Whirlpool, Panasonic, LG, Haier (which owns GE Appliances), and more all part of Matter, the potential is there for a broad implementation across home appliances. In particular, backward compatibility. I, for one, am not planning on buying all new appliances.
David Bean of Whirlpool told me it plans to implement Matter across all of its connected products in all of its brands. This includes KitchenAid, Maytag, and Hotpoint. While, initially, the ability to get notifications from your appliance across your smart home will be useful, “for us, it’s all about the possible abilities that are going to exist once we get Matter out there,” he said. “How we work with automations and scenes and how we build upon those and take digital experiences in the home to the next level.”
However, he didn’t share a timeline for when Whirlpool will implement Matter in any of its products. And while it’s just fridges, dishwashers, and washers today, “we see Matter going across the whole kitchen and laundry space,” he said.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
The release of Matter 1.0 arrived with a number of product announcements, including smart plugs and motion sensors like those pictured. Matter 1.2 arrives with none.
More Matter, but no new products
A benefit of Matter for manufacturers is being able to focus efforts on products and features and not have to build support for multiple protocols or ecosystems or even necessarily make an app. (If you’ve spent much time with the app for your dishwasher or coffee maker, you’ll know what a blessing that will be). An appliance can work with one or multiple Matter ecosystems with just Matter connectivity built in.
Assuming, that is, that the smart home ecosystems support the new device types. It’s not a requirement of Matter to support every device type, and while most currently support most devices, not all support all functions.
We don’t know yet if or when Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Samsung SmartThings will add support for everything Matter has announced with 1.2, but judging by the responses I got when I asked them, it’s not going to be anytime soon.
Amazon’s Chris DeCenzo told me the company plans to add support “over time.” “We’re working with partners to support the new device types included in the Matter 1.2 spec while maintaining our high bar for the customer experience with Alexa,” he said. Taylor Lehman at Google Home said, “We’re working hard to add more support for Matter devices to our ecosystem ... this will take time.” I also reached out to Samsung SmartThings and Apple but neither provided an answer.
However, Paulus Schoutsen of Home Assistant told me he expects support to be added to his platform soon. “We’ve already started testing with the new 1.2 version and working with the community and Matter device manufacturers,” he said. He also added that each new device type Matter supports “can be the reason for a manufacturer to adopt Matter, resulting in another private option for our users.” While manufacturers and ecosystems can leverage the cloud for additional features and remote control, it’s not a requirement.
The launch of Matter 1.2 isn’t coming with a slew of device announcements. I reached out to several companies that are members of the CSA and make products in these categories to see if they were announcing any new integrations. iRobot (makes of Roomba robot vacuums) and Resideo (owners of First Alert smoke alarms) said they had nothing to share, and Dyson (vacuums and fans), Google Nest (Nest Protect smoke alarm), and Samsung didn’t respond before publication.
Even the ever-eager Eve, which has been at the forefront of Matter adoption, told me it had nothing to announce. All this means we will likely not see new devices until early 2024. While it’s possible that over-the-air updates to existing gadgets could be implemented sooner, it’s not likely. Many of those updates promised with 1.0 took a long time to arrive, and some never did.
Robot vacuum maker Roborock did say it’s working to support Matter as a top priority. “Though the partnership is still ongoing and a timeline is not solidified, we foresee that Matter support will be integrated into our models as soon as the first half of 2024,” Marcus Lai of Roborock told me.
He said the integration will roll out in phases, with certain models getting support sooner, either built-in when you buy it or via a firmware update. The other big robot-vac manufacturer, Ecovacs, told me it’s planning to add Matter to its new products. Spokesperson Daniel Turk said the company is “working hand-in-hand with the CSA to integrate Matter into upcoming Deebots.”
While more device types are a good thing to help push the standard forward, there are still several big holes to fill. Matter now supports over 20 categories, including door locks, thermostats, smart lighting, security sensors, and smart shades. But cameras are still missing, as are security systems, two large components of the smart home today. Plus, there are more home appliances that need to be added, including a big one: ovens.
Image: Nuki
European smart lock maker Nuki was instrumental in adding the “unlock without pulling the latch” feature to the Matter spec.
One new feature and multiple more attempts to make Matter “just work”
Another important omission from the new release: new features for existing devices. We’re still waiting on support for dynamic lighting effects (including adaptive lighting) and energy management, both of which the CSA has said are on the roadmap. These are features that will really help make Matter, well, matter to smart home users.
The only notable new consumer-facing feature in Matter 1.2 is one that adds support for smart door locks that use a latch system, a common type in Europe. There are also several new building blocks that should make it easier for developers and platforms to work with Matter devices and add more device types in the future.
These include allowing devices to describe their appearance in Matter ecosystems (i.e., “I’m a bronze door lock” or “I’m a brown light switch”), the addition of semantic tags (which could help with things like energy management and support for smart buttons), and support for generic operational states (to make it easier to add certain new device types in future). The full spec can be viewed here.
Along with the new spec, the CSA also announced an effort called Ecosystem to Ecosystem that will address the “initial challenges of multi admin,” the biggest being that it doesn’t work half the time.
Chris LaPré, head of technology at the CSA, explained to me that the effort is designed to fix the problem of ecosystems not directly communicating, i.e., an Apple HomePod won’t talk to a Google Nest Hub. “Currently, the solution is multi admin, where, say, I’m a smart switch, I’m going to talk to both separately,” says LaPré. “With Ecosystem to Ecosystem, if I pair my smart switch to both sides and then I change it to ‘kitchen light’ on this side, it should make it ‘kitchen light’ on the other side.” The groundwork is in place to allow this better interoperability, says LaPré, but they are still working on its implementation.
Will more device types move Matter forward?
New device types should bring much-needed momentum to Matter and address the complaints of some existing smart home users that it has yet to add much to the experience other than headaches. But this hinges on manufacturers adding it to their products.
The resistance to adopting Matter seems to be growing. We’re a year in, and companies who initially said they would keep an eye on Matter with a view to adopting it still haven’t (Lutron being a notable one here). Some who seemed fully on board from the outset have slowed down or even completely stopped their development, pulling a Wemo.
Despite being a top-tier Matter member, Resideo still hasn’t adopted Matter in its products, such as the Honeywell T9 thermostat. It also owns one of the largest smoke alarm companies, First Alert, and I would love to see some better connectivity options in smoke alarms.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Samsung is all in on its smart home automation platform SmartThings and all in on Matter, promoting both heavily at the IFA tech conference earlier this year. But its appliances are not yet part of the new standard.
One issue is the inherent tension between Matter’s role in creating an even playing field — it’s removed interoperability as a hindrance but also a selling point. Companies now need to create enough differentiation to compel the customer to pick them.
Matter also has competition. Resideo is very active with the Home Connectivity Alliance, a rival slash potentially symbiotic organization to Matter working to have large appliance manufacturers connect and control each other’s devices through their own apps. It has wide adoption among the big appliance manufacturers, including LG, Haier, Samsung, and Electrolux (Whirlpool is not a member; Bean told me they are watching it closely).
The HCA’s approach is more appealing to these companies as it keeps everything in the manufacturer’s proprietary ecosystems and maintains the cloud connection, a valuable funnel for data. When I asked LG which product categories it planned to add Matter support to, Lea Lee of Global Corporate Communications told me she couldn’t share any specifics but that “we’ll keep working closely with members of industry groups to create positive impacts for customers.” Like Samsung’s TVs, LG’s webOS-based TVs are capable of being Matter controllers, but not Matter devices controllable by other ecosystems.
Samsung is leading the HCA. When I spoke to Jaeyeon Jung, global head of SmartThings, at the IFA 2023 tech conference, I asked if the company planned to make any of its appliances Matter device types. “Samsung devices already connect to SmartThings and with HCA we give an option for others to use Samsung devices through our partner’s apps,” she said. “So, we’ll see, we’ll wait and see.”
Samsung is one of Matter’s biggest supporters through its smart home platform SmartThings, and LG has “played a key role in the development and standardization of Matter,” according to Lee. But if neither company adds its large suite of connected appliances to Matter, they’ll kneecap the initiative before it’s jumped its first hurdle.
Tinder now lets mom pick your next date
Now your mom and dad can help you find your next potential partner and stop dunking on your questionable dating choices. | Image: Tinder
If you’re the kind of person who asks friends and family for help with your love life, Tinder is aiming to make things a little easier by letting them suggest potential partners for you directly within the app. Tinder’s new Matchmaker feature lets users invite their loved ones, regardless of whether they have a Tinder profile or not, to view and recommend potential matches, essentially integrating a “friend test” into the dating app.
Tinder Matchmaker is available now in 15 countries including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany, with a global rollout expected “in the coming months.” Users can start a Matchmaker session either directly from a profile card, or within the app settings — creating a link that can be shared with up to 15 friends or family members. Participating loved ones (or ‘matchmakers’) then have 24 hours to recommend profiles before the session expires. Matchmakers cannot chat or send messages to potential dates on behalf of the user who invited them.
Image: Tinder
My friend’s tastes are just as poor as mine, but here’s hoping you have better luck!
Once the Matchmaker session expires, the Tinder user can then review which potential dating candidates their loved ones have suggested. Profiles liked by the matchmakers will be marked as a “recommendation” but the Tinder user who invited them still has the final say on who to officially ‘like’ in the app. Tinder says that profiles marked as nope by matchmakers won’t change.
If your friends and family are anything like mine then I can see Matchmaker being used more for trolling than to actually help your love life, but it’s still a neat feature for folks who need to vibe-check their dates. According to a study commissioned by Tinder, over 75 percent of young singles discuss their dating habits multiple times a month with their friends, so this just optimizes the process a little. And if you’re down on your luck anyway, why not let your grandma vet your next date?
The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection is an exhaustive bundle of stealth classics
Metal Gear Solid 3 protagonist “Naked Snake.” | Image: Konami
It’s hard to fault the breadth of content Konami has included in its tantalizingly-named ‘Vol. 1’ collection. Just don’t go in expecting many modern upgrades to these decades-old titles.
When discussing his inspiration for the original 1987 Metal Gear game, series creator Hideo Kojima has often referred to the limitations of the MSX2 system it was designed for. With hard limits on the amount of sprites the machine could show on screen and limited support for scrolling graphics, the designer decided to make a game that eschewed all-out combat in favor of the stealth gameplay that would go on to define the Metal Gear franchise.
I thought about this design philosophy a lot while working my way through the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, a sprawling collection of games from the Metal Gear series that spans nearly two decades. I played the collection on the PS5, but it’s also available for the Xbox Series X and S, PC, Nintendo Switch, and PS4.
Obviously, the hardware most of these games were made for was not nearly as limited as the original MSX2. But throughout his career, Kojima has often designed his games with specific hardware in mind, whether it’s the wired controllers of the PS1 or the Blu-ray disc drive of the PS3. These features make porting a game like the original Metal Gear Solid to other consoles trickier than your average rerelease.
Image: Konami
The original Metal Gear Solid looks almost unchanged from its PlayStation original.
But let’s back up a second. The $59.99 Master Collection Vol. 1 doesn’t just include the original Metal Gear Solid. It bundles together anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen or so different releases from the series, depending on how you count them, covering most (but not all) of the games between the original 1987 Metal Gear and 2004’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. So you get the original two Metal Gears from the MSX2, Metal Gear Solid from the PlayStation, and its two sequels — Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater — from the PlayStation 2.
Then there are additional curios like the NES version of the original Metal Gear and its non-canonical sequel Snake’s Revenge, the graphic novel adaptations of MGS1 and 2, and three extra Metal Gear Solid releases containing extra content like VR missions (VR in the sense that the characters are in virtual reality training simulations, I should note, not that they’re played on a VR headset).
It’s a pretty exhaustive collection. Yes, if you want to split hairs, it would have been cool to get the GameCube remake of the original Metal Gear Solid, Twin Snakes, or the Game Boy Color game known as Ghost Babel. But even I’m resigned to the fact that Konami had to draw the line somewhere, and I guess there’s always the implicit second volume of the Master Collection to look forward to.
Twenty years on, I think the core Metal Gear Solid trilogy titles remain three of the greatest action-adventure games ever made. They not only pushed the boundaries of the kind of cinematic storytelling that games are capable of, but revisiting them, I was also surprised by how well their core gameplay — that compelling loop of hiding, sneaking, and boss fighting — holds up. There’s even a lot to like about the relatively unloved middle child in the trilogy, Sons of Liberty, even if my wireless controller did occasionally go to sleep during its particularly lengthy cutscenes.
Image: Konami
Metal Gear Solid 2’s reviled protagonist Raiden.
It’s tough to talk about the specific changes that Konami has made to these three games as part of this Master Collection release because unless you’re really paying attention, it’s easy to miss them.
Sometimes, that’s a good thing because of how well-integrated the limited changes are. There are button prompts that have been updated to match modern controllers while keeping the style of the original game. As an example, just look at how period-appropriate and low-res the PS5 replacement for the “Start” button prompt on the main menu for Metal Gear Solid is.
Screenshot by Jon Porter / The Verge
You’d be forgiven for thinking that options icon was part of the original interface.
But, as I alluded to in my introduction, there are limits to how far this restrained approach can take you with Metal Gear Solid, a game firmly designed with the original PlayStation in mind. Characters will verbally tell you to press buttons that don’t exist on your controller and use controller ports that don’t exist on your console. And, naturally, there’s the infamous puzzle that asks you to look at the back of the game’s original PS1 CD case for the solution.
Konami has done enough to ensure that none of Metal Gear Solid’s fourth wall-breaking features aren’t also game-breaking in the Master Collection. You can toggle a menu overlay to switch the virtual controller port that your gamepad is plugged into if need be, and there are even virtual versions of the games’ retail boxes so you can look at their backs.
(Plus, as a brief aside, I do want to mention what might be the coolest inclusion in the entire Master Collection, which is that it’s possible to create dummy save data for a range of Konami PS1 games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Vandal Hearts to sit on your virtual memory card while you play through Metal Gear Solid. The option is a little buried in the “Manage Saved Data” menu, but it’s worth doing before you start the game.)
From a technical perspective, Metal Gear Solid feels every bit like an original PlayStation game. Konami may have listed its frame rate as 30fps, but in practice, it often feels much slower, and its original resolution is so low that running it on a modern 4K TV gives its graphics a shifting, wavy quality.
Image: Konami
If you’re doing battle with enemies, you’re playing the game wrong.
There’s something to be said for prioritizing an authentic recreation of the original game rather than attempting to upgrade and improve upon it. Just look at the messy Grand Theft Auto remasters for an example of how this approach can go wrong. It is, I think, a very good thing that Metal Gear Solid is now playable in its (mostly) original form on modern hardware.
But it’s interesting to compare this approach with the versions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 that have also been included in this collection, which are a great example of how you can remaster and update classic games while keeping true to their original vision. These two games are both based on the HD remasters from Bluepoint released in 2011 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Although Konami hasn’t upgraded them to support newer features like 4K, I felt like their HD presentation held up just fine on a modern TV.
Obviously, there’s a bigger gulf to cover if you were to try and modernize the original PlayStation-era graphics of MGS1 in a similar way — and that’s before you get into all its explicit references to the original hardware it was designed for. But it seems a shame not to see even technical enhancements like widescreen support, if only as an optional extra.
Image: Konami
Metal Gear Solid 3’s art style has held up fantastically.
Beyond the games themselves, there’s a host of additional Metal Gear content. There are scripts to flip through, a digital soundtrack, and a series of virtual “Master Books” to browse that offer plot summaries, background information on the game’s characters, and even guides to the many easter eggs they contain.
But the odd thing about these Master Books is how they gloss over Hideo Kojima’s role in a franchise that he prominently helmed for almost three decades until his acrimonioussplit with the company in 2015. In one of the Master Books, we’re told that “in the late 1980s, action games were designed around taking out enemies” and that “Metal Gear turned this concept on its head,” but there’s no mention of the director and team that actually made this happen.
This highlights my core complaint with the Master Collection, which is that, in the absence of the creative forces that shepherded the franchise for almost three decades, Konami has chosen to play things as safe as possible. Rather than make creative decisions about how to tweak and modernize these games, the company has essentially opted out and pursued authenticity at all costs.
I’m not going to say I’m disappointed with the results. I think it’s great that such a huge swathe of Metal Gear history is now readily available and easily playable on modern systems. But there’s also a part of me that thinks Konami missed an opportunity to give Metal Gear Solid in particular a fresh coat of paint and update it for a modern audience.
My hope, now that Konami has preserved the games exactly as they were before Kojima left the company, is that this will allow the publisher to take more risks with the future of the franchise. With a full-on remake of Snake Eater named Metal Gear Solid Δ waiting in the wings, maybe we’ll see some bolder swings sooner rather than later.
The best Android phone to buy in 2023
Image: The Verge
Whether you want everything but the kitchen sink or top-tier performance for a midtier price, you’ve got options.
The Android ecosystem is all about choice. While iPhone owners have a smaller pool of new devices to pick from when it’s time to upgrade, there’s a huge range of new Android phones every year. Some of them even fold in half! You want a built-in stylus? A flagship processor for less money? Maybe even — dare I say it — an unapologetically pink phone with matching earbuds? You’ve got options on Android.
On the flip side, all that choice can make for some hard decisions. Here’s where I’d like to help; I’ve tested a whole boatload of recent Android phones, and I think there are some real winners in the current crop. It’s all a matter of what you’re looking for, what you’re comfortable spending, and what your definition of a “reasonably sized phone” is. (I have my own, personally.)
Here’s something else to factor in: one of the year’s biggest Android phone launches is likely just around the corner. We’re expecting Google to announce new Pixels this fall, as it tends to do, and rumors point to some substantial upgrades to the camera along with the end of the curved-edge design, at last. If you’re interested in a new Pixel, it’s worth waiting a while to see what’s new this year. Otherwise, most of the year’s major Android phone launches are behind us, and there are some great options on the table.
If you live in the US, I have some bad news about the Android market, though. For complicated reasons having to do with “capitalism” and “geopolitics,” we don’t get nearly as many of the options as you’ll find in Asia and Europe — brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, and Oppo just aren’t available here. I’ve limited this guide to the devices I’ve personally tested in depth; thus, it is a fairly US-centric set of recommendations.
With that in mind, it’s also worth acknowledging that most people in the US get their phones “for free” from their wireless carrier. If you can manage it, buying a phone unlocked will give you the most flexibility and freedom if you end up wanting to change carriers in the near future. Phone manufacturers also offer financing and trade-in deals to make payment more manageable. But if you’re happy with your carrier and the free phone on offer is the one you really want, by all means, take the free phone. Just make sure you understand the terms, especially if you need to change plans to cash in on the deal.
However you go about it, you have some fantastic options for your next Android phone.
There’s more space between Google’s standard and Pro model Pixels in the 8 series than there’s been in the past couple of generations. The Pixel 8 will miss out on some of the showcase AI technologies that the Pro will get in the coming year, but even so, it’s a phone with a lot of smarts and quality-of-life updates that would make just about anyone happy.
A lot has changed here and there from the Pixel 7, starting with the size. In an age of big and bigger phones, the Pixel 8 actually shrank a little year over year, from a 6.3-inch screen to 6.2 inches. This brings the overall device dimensions down just a smidge, too, making it a more comfortable phone to hold one-handed. The screen has been upgraded with a 120Hz top refresh rate, which has become the standard for high-end phones (at least on Android).
Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
The Pixel 8 doesn’t have the biggest screen or the most bells and whistles, but it does the basics well with meaningful improvements over the Pixel 7.
Other updates aren’t immediately obvious but make a real difference in how you use the phone in your daily life. Face unlock now works for payments and password managers — not just unlocking your device. Google Assistant is better at understanding pauses and emphasis in natural language, which makes it feel like a more useful tool in general. The camera system is good as always, bolstered this year by the addition of some AI-driven photo editing tools that are creepily good.
Importantly, the Pixel 8 gets the basic stuff right, too. The battery goes all day, there’s an IP68 rating for robust dust and water resistance, and wireless charging is an option if you’re into that. Best of all, Google is promising seven years of OS upgrades, which is a big improvement over the three platform updates it offered on previous models. All of the above makes it a winner if you’re looking for the best phone to get you through your day now — and keep up for a long time to come.
Screen:6.1-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED /Processor:Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy /Cameras:50-megapixel F1.8 main with OIS, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto with OIS, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 12-megapixel selfie /Battery:3,900mAh /Charging:25W wired, 15W wireless /Weather resistance:IP68
The Samsung Galaxy S23 isn’t really a small phone. It’s just an average-sized phone, but average starts looking awfully small when the biggest phones come with 6.8-inch screens. It’s a little bit bigger than the Asus Zenfone 10, but its bigger 6.1-inch screen compared to 5.9 inches is worth the tradeoff of a slightly taller phone. It also has all the conveniences of a true flagship phone, too: wireless charging, an IP68 rating for thorough water and dust resistance, plus a dedicated telephoto lens.
Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
The Galaxy S23 is a smaller sibling to the S23 Plus and a great option if you don’t want a big phone.
The camera system is capable of excellent photos, though Samsung’s processing really likes to lean into vivid colors, and sometimes it’s too much. Portrait photos are excellent, though, particularly with the 3x telephoto lens. Battery life is good enough to get through a full day, but if you plan to do a lot of gaming or other processing-intensive activities, you might need a midday recharge. Small phones, small batteries, etc.
It may not qualify as truly small, but as other phone makers push more features to their bigger, higher-end models, the Galaxy S23 stands out as a well-equipped almost small phone. Just don’t mention it to an iPhone Mini fan — it’s too soon.
Screen:6.8-inch 1440p 120Hz OLED /Processor:Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy /Cameras:200-megapixel main with OIS, 10-megapixel 10x telephoto with OIS, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto with OIS, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 12-megapixel selfie /Battery:5,000mAh /Charging:45W wired, 15W wireless /Weather resistance:IP68
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s pricey, starting at $1,199, and thanks to a 6.8-inch screen, it’s huge. It’s also the most powerful Android phone you can buy in the US right now, with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, S Pen stylus support with a built-in silo for storage, and two — count ’em, two — telephoto cameras on the rear panel. It’s kind of hard to imagine what else Samsung could possibly stuff into this phone.
The screen at the center of this spec monster is a 6.8-inch OLED with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz and 1440p resolution. It’s lovely, and the even better news is that it’s more battery-efficient than last year’s model. Between that and the new chipset, the S23 Ultra gets through a full day of heavy use with a little more wiggle room than its predecessor could.
Image: Allison Johnson / The Verge
The S23 Ultra stands alone.
The S23 Ultra’s camera system is a major reason to consider putting in the extra cash for this model rather than the S23 Plus. There’s nothing quite like it available on any other flagship phone: there’s both a 3x and 10x telephoto camera plus an ultrawide and, oh yeah, a 200-megapixel main camera.
The 200-megapixel thing is only partially a stunt — most of the time, you’ll be getting a 12-megapixel file from it, but the extra data from all those pixels seems to help the system come up with some fantastic images. It occasionally makes some weird judgments or turns the HDR up to 11, but it’s often very good and, here and there, is even capable of stunning “I can’t believe it’s not a ‘real’ camera” photos.
Our complaints about Samsung software stand, unfortunately, and its faults are even more glaring on a very pricey phone. Why the spammy clickbait links in the weather app? And who on earth wants push notifications from the Samsung Galaxy store? You don’t get that kind of thing on a Pixel phone. Still, there are enough impressive things about the S23 Ultra that it’s worth some minor software annoyances.
Samsung’s flagship foldable isn’t the only show in town anymore, but it’s still the best choice for most people looking for a folding phone. Its multitasking capabilities are second to none, and it’s lighter and easier to wield than Google’s Pixel Fold. The narrow dimensions of the cover display make it a little awkward to use for regular phone stuff, but that’s a reasonable tradeoff considering everything that the Fold 5 can do.
There are some important things to consider, though, starting with the $1800 price. That’s what the Pixel Fold costs, too, but it doesn’t matter how you look at it — that’s a lot to pay for a phone. The Fold 5 isn’t dust-resistant, either, so you’ll want to be somewhat careful with your investment.
Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
The Fold 5’s unusually long-and-narrow aspect ratio when it’s closed is a turn off for some.
The Fold 5 isn’t exactly teeming with technological improvements over last year’s model, either. There’s a new hinge that folds flat rather than with a gap between the two halves of the phone, and that’s about it. A couple of software updates that it offers will come to older Fold devices in the future, so there’s not much reason to rush out and trade in your Fold 4 for a Fold 5.
If you’re a devoted Pixel fan or averse to the Fold 5’s narrow form factor when closed, Google’s foldable might be a better choice. But for most people, the Galaxy Fold 5’s versatility and good recent track record for durability make it a better bet.
Screen:6.7-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED /Processor:Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 /Cameras:50-megapixel F/1.9 main with OIS, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 32-megapixel selfie /Battery:4,700mAh /Charging:45W wired, 15W wireless /Weather resistance:IP54
The Nothing Phone 2 doesn’t offer the very best value proposition in its upper-midrange category. For sheer ROI, the Pixel 7 is the better pick. But if it’s style you’re after and something a little different, then the Phone 2 is an easy pick.
It offers a good 6.7-inch screen, great daily performance and battery life, and a capable camera system. But that’s the usual stuff — what’s unusual about the Phone 2 is its set of LED light strips on the back panel. They illuminate in combinations called “glyphs,” and you can set them to alert you to certain notifications. It’s neat but ultimately isn’t as helpful as the system’s customizable always-on display.
Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
The Phone 2’s UI is on-theme.
On the downside, the Phone 2 is only splash-resistant rather than fully resistant to water submersion like virtually all other phones over $500. It’s also not fully supported on Verizon’s network, which takes it out of contention for a lot of the US population.
If neither of the above is a deal-breaker, and the Phone 2’s styling appeals to you, then it’s an excellent choice. One thing’s for sure — it definitely stands out from the crowd.
There are many more great Android devices that weren’t covered here, and a few are worth calling out that didn’t quite make the cut for a recommendation.
There’s the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung’s clamshell-style foldable. It’s much more useful than its predecessors, thanks to a bigger 3.4-inch cover screen that allows you to type out texts and emails on a full QWERTY keyboard. It’s not as versatile as the Fold 5, but it also costs a much more reasonable $999. Another flip phone worth considering: the Motorola Razr Plus. It’s not as durable as the Flip 5, and its cover screen widgets aren’t as useful, but it runs full apps on the outer display more easily. And it’s just plain fun, gosh dang it.
On the other side of the foldable spectrum, the OnePlus Open is a welcome addition to the mix with the best screen format on a book-style folding phone. It’s thin and light, and the software includes some thoughtful approaches to multi-tasking — a crucial part of the folding phone experience. At $1,700, it’s just $100 shy of the Pixel Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 5 and misses a couple of key features that both of those other options include: wireless charging and an IPX8 rating. But if those omissions don’t bother you and the form factor appeals, it’s a lovely device to use.
There’s one more Pixel phone to consider: the Google Pixel 7A. It’s $499 and has the same Tensor G2 processor as the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. The 7A is definitely the best phone camera you can get for the money, and it comes with nice creature comforts not usually seen in budget devices, like wireless charging. It’s on the pricey side of the “budget” category, but it’s designed to go the distance.
Update October 22nd, 2023, 1:20PM ET:Replaced the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus with the Google Pixel 8 as the best Android phone overall. Removed the Google Pixel 7 and added the Samsung Galaxy S23 as the best small flagship phone. Removed the Google Pixel 7 Pro as an also-consider and added the OnePlus Open.
Apple may be planning a surprise October M3 iMac announcement
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
October starting to slip away, and so far, all we’ve gotten was a very confusing Apple Pencil, despite rumors of iMacs and iPads. Well, it sounds like that new 24-inch M3-powered iMac is on its way this month after all. Mark Gurman thinks so, having written in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg today that it’s coming very soon — as early as October 30th, in fact. That would end, as Gurman notes, an over 900-day drought since the M1 iMac launched in the first half of 2021.
Gurman writes that he was “told that Apple is planning a Mac-centered product launch around the end of this month.” He adds that if you try to order the iMac, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and either of the other higher-end Pro models, several of their configurations aren’t shipping until November. Gurman calls this, and the fact that Apple is posting its earnings in November, a “clear sign” that something is afoot in Cupertino. As he says, the last time Apple held off on discussing this quarter’s earnings until after October, it had just held a Mac and iPad announcement.
As Gurman acknowledged, the 14- and- 16-inch Pro laptops were refreshed in January, so they may still be on a 2024 release timeline, but it’s been over a year since the 13-inch MacBook Pro was updated, and the iMac, again, is creeping toward its third year on the same chip.
At the end of the subscriber version of Power On, Gurman responded to a reader's question asking if he thinks the next MacBooks will see changes beyond internal upgrades. He says he doesn’t expect significant differences apart from processors and perhaps “minor improvements to displays,” but predicts the next real change will be a new iMac Pro in 2025, then OLED MacBook Pros in 2026, probably with updated designs and features.
Mario and Spider-Man are both back in a big way
Image: William Joel / The Verge
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 11, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome to the Installerverse, which is officially a thing now — we did it, everybody — and you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
I’m traveling this week, so I’ve got a slightly abbreviated issue for you. But there’s just way too much good stuff not to share.
I also have for you a new Mario game, an old tech magazine, overlooked TV shows, AI image makers, and much more.
As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What awesome tricks do you know that everyone else should? What app should everyone be using? Tell me everything: if you’re getting this in your inbox, just reply to this email and tell me everything. Otherwise, you can always hit up installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.
The OnePlus Open. Yay, foldable phones! I really love the design of the Open, and OnePlus has some really cool feature ideas — but the whole thing is definitely let down by the price and durability issues. But smush this together with the Pixel Fold and Samsung’s Z Fold, and there’s a kickass foldable phone in there somewhere.
Search Engine’s “Is there a sane way to use the internet?” I’ve probably recommended Search Engine before, but it’s the first podcast in a while to make it into my “listen to every episode no matter what it’s about” rotation. This episode, with Ezra Klein, is a particularly thoughtful and helpful way of thinking about the internet now.
Meta in Myanmar. This is a terrific four-part series about the rise of Facebook, WhatsApp, and the internet in general in Myanmar and the genocide that occurred in the country. Erin Kissane doesn’t really do a history lesson but more of a long, deep study about how communities are built online — and how they fall apart. It’s a tough read in spots, but it’s worth it.
Trust & Safety Tycoon. Ever wondered what it’s like to try and make moderation, policy, and business decisions on the fly? Wonder no longer! This game from Techdirt is like a corporate training manual… but a good and useful one. (Techdirt’s other game, Moderator Mayhem, is similarly useful and fun.)
The Wedding Scammer. A true-crime podcast about a guy who joined a media startup that turned out to be a scam — and not even a particularly clever one. But the scammer behind it all had lots of other moves, and they all kept working! Only one of the show’s seven episodes is live so far, but it’s off to a really fun start.
Franz.Imagine a Tamagotchi or a Neopet, but, like,super-duper cursed. That’s essentially the premise of thisAndroidandiOSapp in which you interact with and try to help a little AI companion that is pretty much always trying to take advantage of you in some way. It’s weird, y’all, but it’s a fascinating story and game.
Whole Earth Index. The rabbit hole to end all rabbit holes for any tech-history buff: the entire archive of Whole Earth Catalog, the counterculture journal that was at the beginning of so much of Silicon Valley and tech and blogging and the internet and everything, is now online.
Spider-Man 2. I absolutely loved the first Spider-Man game, which made “spending a long time moving from place to place” more fun than any game I can remember. The new game is more of the same, and I mean that in the best way: big action sequences, lots of quests, oh so much fun swinging from buildings. It’s PS5-only, which might be a problem for some users, but this is a heck of a reason to upgrade.
The secret life of Jimmy Zhong. Meet the man who stole 50,000 Bitcoin from the Silk Road, became a billionaire, stored a ton of money in a Cheetos popcorn tin (who knew that was even a thing!), and spent it all so lavishly he got caught. This is about the crypto-iest crypto story you’ll ever watch.
Screen share
Remember a few weeks ago when everyone on Threads was sharing their homescreens? There were a lot of cool ones, but I was taken with one in particular: it had an amazing wallpaper, this super-clean set of icons, and a really nice widget. The vibes, as they say, were immaculate. I messaged its owner, hoping they’d tell me more.
That person turned out to be Bart Claeys, a designer at Meta. I needed Bart to tell me everything, and he did!
Here’s Bart’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:
The phone: A Pixel 7 — I may switch to Pixel 8 (Pro) using my $400 Google Fi credit (but I’ve got until January 2024 for this, so waiting things out until there are more Pixel 8 reviews).
The wallpaper: “Mountastic” by Kxnt from the Backdrops app. I picked this particular image because it strikes a great balance between being inspirational, matches the Cascade and Olympic mountains where I live, and has areas allowing for icons and widgets. Additionally, it matches my phone case.
The launcher: I am a loyal user of Nova Launcher, allowing me to customize a lot of parts of the user interface, among which is setting a custom grid, removing app labels, and changing each icon individually. I’ve got two areas for icons: a 4 x 4 grid featuring my most-used apps — all using the Whicons icon pack — located at the lower half of the phone, optimized for single-hand usage. Then, you have smaller icons on the bottom from the Min icon pack. Removing colors from icons allows me to be more intentional about which app to use without being lured in by color. And finally, I have two additional mini clock widgets from the regular Google Clock app.
The apps: Facebook, Threads, Hue Lights, Starbucks, Messages, Chrome, Google Maps, WhatsApp, Calendar, Google News, Google Photos, Google Keep, Google Tasks, Instagram, YouTube Music, Authy.
I also asked Bart to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he said:
TryCamel, which doesn’t do much besides offering a sharing target allowing me to track the price history of products by sharing Amazon links to it.
As an X / Twitter escapee, my most recently installed app is Threads, which has some fun trends going on, like people sharing their mobile homescreen (inspiring this post) and, more recently, people generating DALL-E images based on their bio. I also regularly look through the eBay app to find vintage-pressed steel toy airplanes and airplane inspection panels for an art project I hope to finish one day.
More recently, I’ve been playing with the Coohom web app modeling our living room. It’s really fun, and honestly, I went a little crazy on the details, like adding our actual furniture and plants. Next step would be to convert this somehow to a VR experience so we can try out some remodeling ideas as close to reality.
And finally, we’ve got a Lego wildflower bouquet gifted by overseas friends, which we’re trying to finish, at least when Mochi, our cat, does not obstruct our plans.
Crowdsourced
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Emailinstaller@theverge.comwith your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week.
“I think of Remix as Instagram meets AI. I’ve had a lot of fun with it, as my prompting skill improves the more I use it. There’s also the concept of ‘remixing,’ which creates threads of related posts. Quite fun!” – Jason
“As a Canadian, we often are introduced to the pros (and cons) of culture from both the United States and the English Commonwealth. These two series — Gangs of London and Mr Inbetween — are sorely overlooked in the US, one from the UK and the other from Australia. Among my group of friends, these two are among our favorite shows, and both top my top five shows of the last decade.” – Don
“As a Simpsons fan, this book just hit preorder stages, and I’m very excited to eventually get into it. It’s basically a collection of various memorabilia and merchandise throughout the course of the lifetime of the show.” – Joseph
“Catchup is a simple but polished utility for keeping track of when you last talked to people close to you. You set how frequently you want to be in touch with each person (weekly, monthly, etc.) and see who’s due for a call. Catchup helping me FaceTime friends more regularly makes me more of the person I want to be, especially while living abroad right now, so it’s central on my iPhone homescreen as a push toward one of the most rewarding uses of my iPhone.” – Lachlan
“Just finished Cocoon on PS5. Brilliant puzzle adventure game where you’re carrying orbs that house different realms and traversing between them. It’s also by one of the minds behind Inside and Limbo. Short, sweet, and a perfect precursor to Spider-Man 2.” – Jackson
“Offsuit, AI offline poker app. Really clean interface, leaderboards, etc.” – Jonathan
“Putting all my social apps in a folder on my homescreen has completely prevented the weird, ‘automatic opening’ I used to do. That single layer of not having the app within one click has completely tanked my random clicking of apps, and my screen time has gone down a bit. Still monitoring to see if it stays down long term, but it’s been very noticeable so far!” – Nicholas
Signing off
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks deep down the self-hosting rabbit hole working on some Vergecast stuff coming soon. I have this idea that I might be able to replace a lot of the (increasingly unreliable) cloud services I use with some self-hosted ones. So far, I have mostly failed. But I did buy a mini PC and turn it into a Plex server and a Nextcloud file-storage system, so I’m already feeling like a capital-h Hacker over here. But the best thing I’ve found so far is Derek Sivers’ step-by-step guide to “Tech Independence”: it’s a super-detailed manual for setting up your own domain, moving all your services to systems you own, and ditching the tech giants for good. I didn’t do everything Sivers recommended — I’m good with Gmail, honestly — but if you’re looking for a fun and empowering weekend project, this is an excellent one.
The Race to Avert Quantum Computing Threat With New Encryption Standards Quantum technology could compromise our encryption systems. Can America replace them before it’s too late?
So long, small phones
The 2013 Moto X, Nexus 4, and iPhone 13 Mini. I pine for the days this size was normal. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Ever Googled for “Best Small Phones”? I’ll save you the click: the guides you’ll find feature phones that are old, underpowered, or simply not small to begin with.
I’ve long been a small phone guy. I loved my 2013 Moto X, with its 4.7-inch screen, and I’ve used a 5.4-inch iPhone Mini for years. But when Apple discontinued the Mini last month, I decided it was time to jump ship. I saved my money for the Pixel 8, figuring I’d eventually learn to live with a “new normal” of 6.2-inch handsets.
That’s why I began my hunt for the last good small phones — but gosh is it slim pickings.
For example, perhaps you’ve heard the Asus Zenfone 10 is a small phone because it has a 5.9-inch screen — smaller than 6.1, 6.5, or 6.7. But did you know the phone itself is almost identically sized to a “normal” Galaxy S23 or iPhone 15, not counting camera bumps?
Images by CompareSizes.com
From left to right: Zenfone 10, Galaxy S23, iPhone 15. The Zenfone is slightly narrower — but thicker.
Some guides suggest the 2022 iPhone SE, perhaps because it’s got a 4.7-inch screen — even smaller than a 5.4-inch iPhone Mini, right? Wrong:
Images by CompareSizes.com
The iPhone SE is smaller than a “normal” phone in 2023, but not by much.
Pixel 6A and Pixel 7A? Absolutely nope — both are bigger than a standard Samsung or Apple phone. Even unlocking their under-display fingerprint sensor feels like a stretch for my average-sized hand.
Images by CompareSizes.com
How are these Pixels making their way into “Best Small Phone” guides?
Images by CompareSizes.com
The Xperia is slightly narrower than the competition, but taller.
And if you think folding flip phones are small, well...
Opened, the Samsung Z Flip and Moto Razr are roughly as big as the Pixel 8 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, two of the biggest flagship handsets out there.
Images by CompareSizes.com
Folding screen phones are many things, but “small” is not yet among them.
Closed, the Z Flip’s girth doubles, making it that much harder to wrap a hand around — and it’s plenty wide, too. Plus, Samsung doesn’t actually let you use it like a small phone by default — you’ve gotta jump through hoops to use apps on the outer screen. Even with the Z Flip 5’s larger cover screen, it’s awkward.
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Because I’m feeling nostalgic, here’s a 2013 Moto X vs. a 2023 Z Flip 5.
Why isn’t someone building the iPhone Mini of Android, you might ask? They’re trying! But the latest dispatches from the Small Android Phone Project are... not great. The project hasn’t had a meaningful update in five months, and team leader Benjamin Bryant admits he had to pause to look for consulting work on the side.
Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Bryant clarified to us that BOE is responsible for the Find N, not the Find N2.
In some ways, they’re still at square one: the entire design revolves around the phone’s display, but display manufacturers don’t publicly offer the kind of small, high-end screen Bryant’s team is looking for — those are typically produced under contract to specific manufacturers.
“The problem is Apple has exclusive rights to [the iPhone Mini’s] display — so, even with the line being discontinued, [Samsung Display] isn’t going to give us access,” he told supporters last month.
The situation has slightly improved since then: Bryant says his team just had its first real call with Samsung Display US. “Samsung Display US is willing to champion us; the challenge will be convincing the Korean HQ that we are a viable enough project for them to invest time and resources into,” Bryant tells me.
Other options: there are “apparently more than enough” refurbished iPhone Mini displays on the market to fill the Small Android Phone Project’s needs; the external cover display on the Oppo Find N2 looks promising; and there are other displays that could work if they’re willing to build a phone with a chin.
But I would not expect a phone out of them anytime soon. Bryant admits that, in general, the small phone outlook is “bleak” and that some of his prospective customers “will be forced to upgrade in the coming year.”
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
This is my life now. I call it the Z Flip Raptor Grip.
I’m on day four, and while I’m definitely not satisfied with the size, I don’t want to be stuck on small phones the way I was stuck on physical keys. A decade ago, smartphone manufacturers pulled the physical QWERTY keyboard from my cold Droid hands. This time, I’m getting out before I get left in the past.
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