The best YouTube apps, extensions, and tweaks you should get

Hello, pals! Welcome to Installer No. 16, your information to one of the best and Verge-iest stuff on this planet. (Should you’re new right here, welcome to our pleasant nook of the web, sorry about all of the productiveness apps, and likewise, you’ll be able to learn all of the outdated editions on the Installer homepage.) 

Hope you all had an important vacation, or at the very least an important week with one fewer e mail in your inbox. This week, I’ve been testing Supernotes as a every day diary app, studying about what it takes to make an iPhone in India and whatever “gamified theater” is, unsubscribing to each model that despatched me a “Joyful Holidays!” e mail, looking for video games to play on my new Backbone controller, watching Mike Birbiglia’s wonderful particular (and listening to his podcast, Working It Out), and ramping up my vacation film watching in an enormous manner. 

I even have for you a brand new truck (you recognize which one), some enjoyable year-end wrap-ups, a few new reveals to look at this weekend, a whole lot of concepts for making YouTube a saner place, some cool AI initiatives, and extra. 

As at all times, one of the best a part of Installer is your concepts and ideas. What do you need to know extra about? What superior tips are you aware that everybody else ought to? What app ought to everybody be utilizing? Inform me the whole lot: installer@theverge.com. And if you recognize another person who would possibly take pleasure in Installer, ahead it to them and inform them to subscribe here.)

We’re somewhat extra entertainment-heavy than common this week as a result of ’tis the season I suppose. However numerous enjoyable stuff to get to. Let’s go.

• The Tesla Cybertruck. It lastly launched! Ish! I’ve spent so many hours observing and speaking about this factor for the final 4 years, and I nonetheless can’t resolve if I like or hate the design. Slowly however certainly, it seems like we’re about to start out seeing them within the wild — and till then must do. Additionally, in case you purchased one… wanna street journey?
• iA Writer 7. I love the best way this writing app integrates ChatGPT: it detects whenever you’re pasting in generated content material and prompts you to notice what’s human and what’s AI, and it treats AI extra as a “assist me brainstorm and assume” device than a “simply write this for me” one. Tons of intelligent UI, and I believe precisely the fitting method.
• Godzilla Minus One. This feels like a more complex movie than your common monster flick, however in a very great way. And simply from the trailers and footage I’ve seen, this one’s going to be price viewing on an enormous display simply to see the best way director Takashi Yamazaki depicts the beast itself. 
• Spotify Wrapped. All of the year-in-review stuff appears to have kicked off this week — YouTube, Apple Music, Pocket Casts, and extra — however Spotify’s simply higher at this than all people else. The AI-powered “DJ: Wrapped” function has been a very enjoyable method to journey again by way of all of the bizarre stuff TikTok received me into this 12 months.
• Apple’s and Google’s apps of the 12 months. That is the opposite year-end supply of excellent stuff: the app retailer lists are at all times a mixture of very talked-about apps you undoubtedly already know and a smattering of actually cool, unknown stuff. I’m loving thus far, and the way did I not find out about Mubi earlier than?
• Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 KO II. I’m not likely a musician, however I discover myself desperately wanting the brand new $299 KO II, which is each a cool music-making machine and only a beautiful set of buttons and knobs. (I received a bunch of crap in our feedback for calling it a synthesizer and never a sampler, which, truthful! Sampler is extra correct. However the distinction is blurry, and it doesn’t actually matter — this factor seems enjoyable it doesn’t matter what you name it.)
• Dot Social. This could be the primary “model” podcast I’ve ever really helpful right here. Nevertheless it’s an excellent one! Flipboard is all in on the fediverse and the open internet, and CEO Mike McCue’s plan is to speak to sensible folks about it. The 2 episodes are with a number of the smartest folks on this area, and so they’re each wonderful.
• . Apparently, this new Netflix present, which feels like The Hangover meets Zero Darkish Thirty, is unhealthy. I don’t care. I’m completely assured I’m going to find it irresistible and watch each single episode — I’m a sucker for a spy flick, and a foolish comedy, and particularly the intersection of these two issues.
• Slow Horses season 3. This present, alternatively, undeniably guidelines. (As does the book series it’s primarily based on, by Mick Herron.) It’s a narrative about washed-up MI5 brokers roped again in for yet another job… after which a bunch extra jobs. From what I hear, season 3 is one of the best but — add it to your vacation watching record for positive.
• Proton Mail. The latest release notes on Proton’s mail and calendar apps are tremendous humorous. There’s nothing big and new right here, it’s identical to, “We fastened all of the stuff you wished us to repair, right here you go!” And it’s nice. Should you’re on the lookout for a privacy-focused different to the entire Google suite, Proton’s an important one. (The Drive file-storage app is a selected favourite.)

YouTube is a tremendous platform, and all these years later, I maintain being amazed by the stuff on it. The opposite evening, I watched a 13-year-old video of a dude placing collectively a crib that’s now not bought, and it helped me do it myself! What! 

However YouTube as an app… form of sucks. You simply need to watch a video, and also you’re overrun by suggestions, 1,000,000 social options, and too some ways to purchase one thing. YouTube doesn’t have a single respectable method to save one thing to look at later, and it’s all algorithmic to the purpose of being unusable generally.

So just lately, I’ve been exploring a bunch of massive and small methods to enhance the YouTube expertise a bit. I’m not attempting to do away with advertisements or beat the system, simply… take pleasure in YouTube extra. I’ve discovered some I actually like! So I figured I’d share:

• . I now open this as an alternative of the YouTube app. It’s an app for storing and organizing video from all around the internet, however I just about solely use it for YouTube. After this week’s replace, it could possibly routinely herald movies from channels you subscribe to, which makes it much more helpful. It’s Apple-only, sadly, nevertheless it works throughout Apple gadgets, together with the Apple TV. That is so significantly better than attempting to handle a library within the YouTube app.
• Piped. Piped is a intelligent workaround: it makes use of the YouTube API to allow you to seek for and watch something on the platform however doesn’t ship any knowledge again to Google about you or what you watch. There are Piped-compatible mobile apps, too, and in case you’re feeling enterprising, you’ll be able to even self-host the app and run it nevertheless you need.
• Unhook. There are a bunch of browser extensions on the market that allow you to take away stuff from the YouTube interface to get a quieter viewing expertise. Unhook’s my favourite as a result of it’s so customizable — I turned off all of the suggestions and sidebars however left chapters and feedback. And because of an exquisite Unhook setting, my computerized YouTube homepage is now my subscriptions and never the default For You feed. 
• Enhancer for YouTube. One other browser extension, and form of the non secular reverse of Unhook. This one can disguise issues like feedback and proposals, however it could possibly additionally add a lot extra stuff to YouTube. Numerous it’s actually helpful! I like having a one-click method to screenshot a body, a number of the keyboard shortcuts are useful, and I’ve very a lot loved creating my very own customized YouTube theme. (It’s very grey.) I’ve seen some of us having points with it just lately, nevertheless it continues to work high-quality for my functions.
• Bookmark It. One final browser extension, which helps you to take time-stamped notes on a YouTube video and return to them later. I take advantage of this once I know I’m going to need to come again to a particular second later, which occurs extra typically than I anticipated.

My new YouTube technique is working properly thus far: once I discover one thing I need to watch later, I dump it into Play. I’ve a couple of folders for instructional stuff and longform interviews, however largely, the whole lot simply goes within the pile to be watched later. Once I need to discover one thing particular, I am going to Piped, particularly if I don’t need my YouTube algorithm to be overrun by, like, plumbing movies. In any other case, I’m utilizing YouTube — however a a lot much less chaotic model.

The objective was at all times to search out the stuff I need to discover on YouTube and never be bothered by the whole lot else on the platform. I’m getting nearer! If in case you have concepts for what else I / we will do to make YouTube higher, I’m all ears: installer@theverge.com.

Should you’ve been a part of the Installer neighborhood for very lengthy, you recognize I can’t assist myself from continuously switching to-do record apps. I sincerely assume I’ve tried all of them. However I maintain coming again to Todoist, which is accessible all over the place, super-duper quick, and simply is sensible. 

Through the years, I’ve additionally gotten to know its founder, Amir Salihefendic, a bit. He has sensible ideas on productiveness instruments but in addition nearly how we will stay higher, saner lives on-line. (One time, he tweeted an image of his calendar, and it had, like, nothing on it. He might simply do work! All day! What a life!) Along with constructing Todoist, his firm, Doist, can also be engaged on Twist, which goals to be principally a much less chaotic tackle Slack and messaging.

I requested Amir to share his homescreen figuring he’d skew fairly minimalist, and I used to be proper. Right here’s Amir’s homescreen, plus some data on the apps he makes use of and why:

The telephone: iPhone 15 Professional.

The wallpaper: My lock display cycles by way of footage of my youngsters and household images 🥰 Homescreen wallpaper is simply black.

The apps: Calendar, Pictures, Google Maps, Spotify, Overcast, Audible, Halist, Twist, Todoist, Safari, Cellphone. 

Essentially the most attention-grabbing are most likely:

• Todoist is a to-do app (shock! ) 
• Twist as a workforce communication app (one other shock! ) 
• Overcast as a podcast participant
• Halist as a ChatGPT different. I created my very own ChatGPT different as I don’t absolutely belief the privateness coverage of ChatGPT (as a result of they’ll prepare on the info). 

I additionally requested Amir to share a couple of issues he’s into proper now. Right here’s what he got here again with:

• The OpenAI drama. It’s just like the real-life model of HBO’s Succession present (which is unbelievable). Let’s imagine it’s the nerd model of Succession.
• I’ve began watching Blue Eye Samurai, and it’s unbelievable.
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. This is among the finest video games ever! There’s nonetheless a neighborhood on Twitch, and I commonly watch video games. I additionally performed a bit with pals, however my eyes received tremendous sore, so I’m on pause.
• Lastly, I’m studying Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk, and it’s a wild learn. It feels like a completely chaotic life. Studying what it takes to construct a few of these accomplishments is attention-grabbing.

Right here’s what the Installer neighborhood is into this week. I need to know what you’re into proper now as properly! E-mail installer@theverge.com along with your suggestions for something and the whole lot, and we’ll function a few of our favorites right here each week. 

“This superior mission out of Mozilla, Llamafile. You may get a fairly absolutely featured model of ChatGPT working domestically by yourself pc (with picture evaluation and the whole lot), tremendous simply. I adopted the three steps and received the factor working in lower than a minute, and it really works as quick as GPT-4 (so, extra slowly than GPT-3.5) on my Intel 2019 MacBook Professional. It’s actually cool.”  – Matthew

“Me and my spouse are recovering from watching the finale of Modern Family and located Fresh Off the Boat to be an important watch. Completely hilarious!” – Adam

“Trash Baby. Chaotic and inventive and wacky AI-based picture remixing app. Mix two images to create some actually out-there outputs. It’s a very artistic and collaborative play on generative AI. Each “child” is an sudden pleasure.” – Kyle

“It’s referred to as , and it just lately got here out on Steam! Your job is to principally clear up a polluted ocean planet and to turn out to be pals with the Loddle creatures residing there. P.S. You may pet the Loddles.” – Andrew

“Last Stop Larrimah. Being a city of solely 11 folks, Larrimah is form of like Cheers. A spot the place all people is aware of your identify (and likewise spends most of their time in a bar). However they’re not all glad you got here. When one of many residents goes lacking, two others turn out to be prime suspects. And the theories as to how they could have disposed of the physique, properly, I gained’t spoil it for you.” – Carl

“In response to the advice for Frinkiac, the Simpsons meme generator, I assumed I’d suggest the equal Futurama meme generator, Morbotron, which is made by the identical folks. Now you’ll be able to create all of the ‘Shut up and take my cash’ memes you want!” – Jonathan

“Fleeting Notes. In my quest to de-Google my life, I’ve discovered a very nice alternative for Google Preserve. It’s cross-platform, obtainable offline, and syncs with Obsidian. Plus it’s end-to-end encrypted, open supply, and free. Excellent for when I’ve one thing I have to shortly jot down or keep in mind with out the effort of making an entire Obsidian observe.” – Braedon

“Travle. Wordle-style, you play as soon as a day, it counts your streaks, and so forth. The premise is tremendous easy: they offer you two nations and quite a few makes an attempt you must identify the nations that join them. Typically they spice it up and inform you a rustic it is advisable keep away from going by way of. My girlfriend and I’ve been enjoying it on daily basis for months now, and there’s additionally totally different variations the place you identify areas / provinces in a particular nation.” – Sam

“Listed below are my two quickest methods so as to add to Apple Reminders. 1: On my iPhone, I take advantage of this app referred to as . 2: On Mac, I take advantage of Sort to Siri. E.g., Remind me to name house at 4PM.” – Krishna 

I’m deep in lip-syncing TikTok, y’all. I don’t know the way I received right here, however I’m right here: there are numerous folks on TikTok who, like, sing stunning harmonies in garages and kitchens whereas making very intense faces and physique motions, and it seems, a whole lot of these persons are prerecording their audio and autotuning it earlier than pretending to sing it stay, and now, there are a bunch of creators whose shtick is to call these folks out, and folks on all sides are mad. (Do you ever write a sentence and instantly notice you sound insane? That is what I’ve turn out to be.) However one of the best half was when shirtless Charlie Puth did a video that was identical to, “Everybody makes use of autotune, it’s 2023, let’s all be good to one another.” And everybody received mad about that, too! However I believe shirtless Charlie Puth is correct. The web ought to take heed to shirtless Charlie Puth.