Apple’s new phones are here

The Verge’s Installer newsletter is back with its latest edition, mixing product news, staff favorites, and weekend recommendations. The package covers hardware updates, new software and some personal picks from staffers after a brief break. Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro is presented as an incremental but meaningful refresh for the Pro line: the handset gains a variable-aperture main camera, longer battery life, a new chip, and new color options including black. The announcement also came with a pricing shift—Apple raised the starting price of its new models by $100, a change that applied to several older iPhone models as well. Audio and accessories also got attention. Apple’s AirPods 5 bring stronger active noise cancellation and the pricier model adds on-stem volume controls; the entry-level AirPods begin at $129. Sony quietly reintroduced an updated WH-1000XM4 variant called the WH-1000XM4C with a refreshed sound profile and Bluetooth 6 support, trading some battery life (reported around 27 hours with ANC on) for a lower $299.99 price, roughly $150 less than Sony’s XM6. Other gadgets mentioned include Philips Hue’s Play Screen Sync camera ($119.99), Dbrand’s minimal “MNML” accessory line, and Ugreen’s MagFlow Pro magnetic power bank (10,000 mAh, $149.99) that advertises visible flowing coolant. On the software side, Meta unveiled Muse, an AI agent meant for general chat, web searches and app connections; it’s available free with usage limits and impressed with speed in initial use, though it did produce fabrications in some tests. The issue underscores both how accessible agent-style AI is becoming and the persistence of hallucination problems. The newsletter also spotlights Verge writer Emma Roth, sharing her phone setup (a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra), homepage apps like Google Messages and Microsoft Edge, a pelican-watching inlet photo as wallpaper, and a few current obsessions — Project Zomboid, the Yuka product-scanning app, and a modded PlayStation Vita running Final Fantasy VII. Installer closes with a call for reader tips and suggestions for future editions, inviting contributions and recommendations via the newsletter’s contact email.