Apps | The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2026-05-01T20:34:41+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/rss/apps/index.xml https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Allison Johnson <![CDATA[How the internet’s favorite squirrel dad made the hottest camera app of 2026]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=921690 2026-05-01T05:47:41-04:00 2026-05-03T09:00:00-04:00
Downey at home in LA with one of his channel’s frequent guest stars. | Image: The Verge; Shutterstock

It's not hyperbole to call DualShot Recorder an overnight sensation.

It took only 12 hours from the time it was released to hit number one on the App Store's list of top paid apps. It was a surprise success - but what's even more surprising is the app's origin story: it all started with a cadre of friendly neighborhood squirrels and their favorite caretaker.

Derrick Downey Jr. built a career on short-form videos documenting his interactions with the squirrels that visit his patio in LA. His Instagram and TikTok accounts each have well over a million followers (myself included) who know well the regular cast of characters: Maxine, Richard, …

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]]> David Pierce <![CDATA[The things we’re building]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=922505 2026-05-01T16:34:41-04:00 2026-05-02T08:00:00-04:00

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 126, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, I need 10 or 15 skirts from Calvin Klein, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

Happy Ruthless Self-Promotion Week! We're dedicating almost all of this issue to the stuff we've been making recently. Personally, I've been reading about the Tesla diner and Dwarkesh Patel and The Rest Is History, starting a Ted Lasso rewatch to get ready for season 4, watching a robot injure Joanna Stern, continuing down the rabbit hole of gorgeous Japanese stationery, wondering if those cool shoes …

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]]> Emma Roth <![CDATA[Google Photos launches an AI try-on feature for clothes you already have]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=920420 2026-04-29T16:54:19-04:00 2026-04-29T12:00:00-04:00 Google Photos’ wardrobe try-on feature

Google Photos is launching a new AI-powered feature you can use to virtually try on clothes you already have. Using the photos in your gallery, Google will create a virtual "wardrobe," allowing you to mix and match outfits, save the looks you like, and share them with friends.

A video shared by Google shows how Photos organizes your outfits and individual pieces of clothing into a virtual "wardrobe." You can browse through the outfits you were captured wearing, as well as create new ones by choosing from tops, bottoms, skirts, dresses, and shoes to put together a new look.

You can also select the button in the bottom right corner of each o …

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]]> Andrew Liszewski <![CDATA[Microsoft Office can now be controlled with Logitech’s MX Creative Console]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=919165 2026-04-27T13:57:56-04:00 2026-04-28T03:01:00-04:00 A desk with a Logitech MX keyboard and Creative Console displaying shortcuts for several productivity apps.
Logitech’s Creative Console and other MX accessories are now compatible with several productivity apps. | Image: Logitech

Logitech has announced a new suite of Productivity Plugins for its entire MX line of accessories, including its Stream Deck alternative, the MX Creative Console. Since the console launched in September 2024, Logitech has been expanding its capabilities with plug-ins that support creativity-focused apps such as Final Cut Pro, Adobe Lightroom, and Figma. That is now expanding to include productivity apps, such as Microsoft Office's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as Slack and Notion.

Shortcuts, actions, and specific tools in those apps can be quickly accessed using Logitech's Actions Ring menus, which are supported by accessories like th …

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]]> David Pierce <![CDATA[The most exciting laptop I’ve seen in forever]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=918695 2026-04-25T10:13:33-04:00 2026-04-25T08:00:00-04:00

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 125, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, send me cereal recommendations, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I've been reading about NASA seamstresses and friction and Muskism and scooters, highlighting the heck out of Jeff VanderMeer's terrific new short story, listening to the Dissect podcast's new season about Daft Punk, giving Firefox another run as my go-to browser, having my mind blown by amazing music video directors, and nodding along to John Oliver on prediction markets. I've also been dealing wit …

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]]> Jess Weatherbed <![CDATA[Instagram has launched another Snapchat clone]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=918061 2026-04-24T07:44:54-04:00 2026-04-24T07:37:10-04:00 Instagram Instants app logo on a pink and purple gradient background

Instagram is testing a new dedicated app that's focused around Snapchat-like photo sharing features. The app, called "Instants," was launched in Italy and Spain yesterday, Business Insider reports, and allows users to send each other disappearing photos that are available for 24 hours and can be viewed only once during that window.

The app is currently available on both iOS and Android. Meta hasn't announced if a desktop version will follow, or whether Instants will be launched in other regions, including the US. It resembles the "Shots" instant photo sharing feature that is already baked into Instagram messages (and was later rebranded to …

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]]> Emma Roth <![CDATA[X is going to let Grok curate your timeline]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=917113 2026-04-22T16:51:58-04:00 2026-04-22T16:49:38-04:00 Vector collage of the X logo.

X is putting its AI chatbot, Grok, in charge of your timeline. In an announcement on Wednesday, X product head Nikita Bier says Premium subscribers on iOS can get early access to a feature that allows users to pin specific topics to their home tab, which Grok will then use to curate the posts you see across each feed.

"It's powered by Grok's understanding of every post with the algorithm's personalization - meaning every timeline is made just for you," Bier writes. "And it works even better when it's a topic you already engage with."

Bier says early access to the Grok-powered timeline is coming to Android users "very soon." Along with this …

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]]> Andrew Liszewski <![CDATA[Google Photos adds subtle touch-up tools for faces]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=915129 2026-04-20T15:33:17-04:00 2026-04-20T15:33:17-04:00 Faces on two Google Photos images being adjusted using new touch-up tools.

Google has announced a new collection of touch-up tools for Google Photos' image editor designed to apply subtle enhancements, refinements, or fixes to faces in photos.

The tools are gradually being rolled out on the Google Photos app globally starting today, but only on devices running Android 9.0 and up with at least 4GB of RAM. They'll be accessible after selecting a specific face in a photo and able to remove unwanted blemishes, whiten teeth, smooth skin, and make changes to irises, under eye areas, eyebrows, and lips. The intensity of the effects can be adjusted to ensure they're subtle enough to not be noticeable.

Two Android smartphones displaying the new Google Photos touch-up tools bring gradually rolled out globally.

The new tools come …

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]]> David Pierce <![CDATA[The AI apps are coming for your PC]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=914429 2026-04-17T16:35:23-04:00 2026-04-18T08:00:00-04:00

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 124, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, send me your Coachella fits, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I've been reading about restaurant bread and GLP-1s and Lenny Rachitsky and Artemis II fashion, watching the new boy band doc because I will always watch a boy band doc, also watching every clip I can find from Justin Bieber's Coachella set, filling the Schitt's Creek-shaped hole in my heart with Big Mistakes, getting increasingly excited about The Mandalorian and Grogu, and watering my new lawn so it …

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]]> Jay Peters <![CDATA[Netflix embraces vertical video with major mobile app update]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=913539 2026-04-16T16:29:56-04:00 2026-04-16T16:29:56-04:00 An illustration of the Netflix logo

Netflix announced on Thursday that it will be launching a redesigned mobile app, which will include a vertical video feed, at the end of April. "This redesign will better reflect our expanding entertainment offering and make it easier for members to engage how and when they want," the company said in its Q1 2026 earnings letter to shareholders.

In Thursday's letter, the company said that the lines between "entertainment on TV and mobile devices are blurring," noting that video podcasts "over-index" on mobile. Co-CEO Greg Peters said in January that the company was planning to revamp its mobile UI as a way to "better serve the expansion of o …

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