{"id":829,"date":"2026-08-01T12:32:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T12:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/replyguru.online\/?p=829"},"modified":"2026-08-01T12:32:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T12:32:34","slug":"instapaper-the-og-reading-app-just-got-a-big-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/replyguru.online\/?p=829","title":{"rendered":"Instapaper, the OG reading app, just got a big update"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer<\/em> No. 138, your guide to the best and Verge<\/em>-iest stuff in the world. (If you\u2019re new here, welcome, happy August, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer<\/em> homepage.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This week, I\u2019ve been reading about microwave sounds<\/strong> and Meta glasses<\/strong> and Alex vs. Alix<\/strong>, testing the Logitech Alto Keys K98M<\/strong> to see if I\u2019m ready for the mechanical keyboard life, digging into the history of the first chatbot<\/strong>, clearing space on my desk for a Bob Ross deskmat<\/strong>, doing a full Ted Lasso<\/em><\/strong> rewatch ahead of the new season next week, finally getting into Cyberpunk 2077<\/em><\/strong> now that it\u2019s so cheap, cackling and nodding at this Adobe hate post<\/strong>, <\/strong>and upgrading my home camera setup with the truly enormous Elgato Prompter XL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Also, I have some personal news: I\u2019m having a baby!<\/strong> (If your response to this is, Didn\u2019t you just have like 37 other babies<\/em>, yes, yes I did. Pray for me.) I\u2019m planning to be out from about mid-August to the beginning of October, but I\u2019m also in could-happen-anytime land now. So if I\u2019m suddenly gone, that\u2019s why! Just like last year, my colleague Jay Peters will be taking over Installer <\/em>while I\u2019m out, and just like last year, he\u2019s going to be great.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But for now, I\u2019m still here! I also have for you a new superhero movie, a new take on an old game, some great Musk-related comedy, and much more. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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(As always, the best part of Installer<\/em> is your ideas and tips. What are you watching \/ reading \/ playing \/ listening to \/ putting in a blender this week? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer<\/em>, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  • Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>The Tom Holland Spidey era just never seems to miss. It\u2019s pretty impressive to pull off a more or less full story reboot while keeping all the same actors and characters, but by all accounts this one pulls it off. Since I still can\u2019t get IMAX Odyssey <\/em>tickets, this one\u2019s at the top of my to-watch list.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Pastebot 3<\/strong>.<\/strong> Missed this one last week! Great clipboard managers are right up there with launchers and text expanders in the \u201chow did I ever use a computer without this\u201d category, and Pastebot is one of the Mac\u2019s best. The new version has smart organization options, support for all kinds of media, and much more. The kind of app you\u2019ll find new uses for\u2026 forever.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • President Curtis<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong> <\/strong>I was going to describe this as \u201cbasically a Rick and Morty <\/em>spinoff\u201d before I realized it\u2019s actually <\/em>a Rick and Morty <\/em>spinoff. Perhaps unsurprisingly, people seem to either love it or hate it. I think most of us would agree R&M <\/em>is not what it once was, but the idea of throwing all its chaotic energy into the US government does pay off at least a few times. And it\u2019s not not <\/em>political commentary, you know?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201c<\/strong>Why Is So Much AI Tech Useless?<\/strong>\u201d<\/strong> Two of my favorite people on the internet \u2014 Joanna Stern and Hasan Minhaj \u2014 go deep on where AI is, and isn\u2019t, actually good and useful in our lives. Minhaj\u2019s complete disbelief at all these overhyped products just gives me life.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Halo: Campaign Evolved<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong> Confession: I was always terrible at Halo<\/em>, and I\u2019ve always been unfairly mad at the series because of it. The new remake appears to be a mediocre game (with terrible dialogue) but great nostalgia bait, and that might be enough for a lot of people looking to get Master Chief back into their lives.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Leafy Corner<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong> This game exists somewhere on the spectrum between Animal Crossing <\/em>and RollerCoaster Tycoon, <\/em>and I mean both as a compliment. It\u2019s a quiet, cozy game, but also something of a management sim, all in the confines of a plant shop. Adorable.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Spotify Running Mode<\/strong>.<\/strong> I actually think Spotify\u2019s last <\/em>take on running, with adaptive tempos and generative beats, was both cooler and a more interesting take on AI. But Spotify\u2019s prompted playlists have generally been pretty good, and I appreciate having the timing updates built in instead of having some other app constantly ducking my music to tell me I\u2019m too slow.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cElon\u2019s Epic Ego Explained<\/strong>.<\/strong>\u201d Nobody does topical comedy like Josh Johnson, and this is my favorite of his recent sets. It\u2019s not just <\/em>45 minutes of making fun of Musk \u2014 it\u2019s also about The Odyssey<\/em> and a bunch of other things \u2014 but it\u2019s both ruthless and right about the world\u2019s richest man.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The SwitchBot Battery Circulator Fan 2 Pro<\/strong>.<\/strong> My colleague Thomas Ricker has successfully convinced me that SwitchBot\u2019s fans are worth a look over the \u201cwhatever\u2019s on the shelf at Target\u201d models I\u2019ve been buying for years. This new $120 model is quiet and powerful, charges over USB-C, and is going to live on my patio the rest of the summer.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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    I buried the lede here: The biggest new thing of the week, at least in my book, is Instapaper 10<\/strong>. Instapaper is one of the original read-later apps, and has continued to be among the best on the market. After some weird ownership stuff over the years, Instapaper has been in the hands of Brian Donohue, who has been steadily improving the service in lots of ways. This week\u2019s launch comes with a really nice redesign, a way <\/em>better web app, and a lot of helpful organization and reading tools. I\u2019ve been testing it, and I think it\u2019s back to being my go-to recommendation for reading apps. (For power users I still think Readwise is the move.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    With the new app out, I asked Brian to share his homescreen with us \u2014 I wanted to see how he organized his stuff, and if he might be working on even more cool stuff. Turns out he is! Here\u2019s his homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The phone: <\/strong>iPhone 16 Pro. I almost always purchase iPhones every other generation. Maybe a foldable this year?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The wallpaper: <\/strong>My daughter, as a reminder that my apps must be good otherwise she will not have food on the table.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The apps: <\/strong>Safari, Google Calendar, Emerald, Google Maps, Weather, Photos, Instapaper, Kobo Books, Reddit, 1Password, Google Authenticator, Slack, Google Docs, Google Sheets, ForeFlight, Flight Circle, Claude, Linear, Phone, Sunflower, Messages, Spotify.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    I\u2019ll start with the ones not yet in the App Store: Emerald and Sunflower.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Emerald<\/strong> is a Markdown editor I\u2019m working on that solves two personal pain points: native iOS \/ macOS client, and collaboration on markdown files. I have been a big Obsidian<\/strong> user the past two years, but it\u2019s been failing me in those areas. I\u2019ve been writing with Emerald exclusively for the past few months and it\u2019s almost ready for beta testing. Waitlist in the link.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Sunflower<\/strong> is a new email client from Bobby Goodlatte and friends. It\u2019s beautifully designed and has some tasteful AI features, like summarizing your inbox, chatting with your email, and an Autopilot feature which seems to be perpetually \u201cComing Soon.\u201d I\u2019ve been trying a few clients in the \u201cAI email\u201d space like Extra<\/strong>, and an autopilot tool called Cora<\/strong>, which didn\u2019t stick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Instapaper\u2019s big launch this week included a new home screen widget. It fits nicely in the widget stack alongside the Apple News, Stocks, and Weather widgets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Additionally, you have many of the usual suspects. I am doing a huge amount of my work with Claude<\/strong> and Linear<\/strong> these days, both of which have fantastic iOS apps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    I also asked Brian to share a few things he\u2019s into right now. Here\u2019s what he sent back:<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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