The new in the world of technology

Microsoft has done a good job updating its Windows 10 operating system with useful utilities and features, but there’s still room for plenty of third-party apps. If you’ve just received a new PC over the holidays, we have some favorite Windows apps that will improve your experience — and maybe your life. We here at  The Verge  have rounded up our favorite and most-used apps, games, and utilities. Look for our app picks for  iPhones ,  Android phones ,  PCs , and  Macs ; our favorite games for  PCs ,  iOS and Android , and our top choices for the  PS4 ,  Xbox One , and the  Nintendo Switch TWEETEN Twitter’s default app for Windows 10 is just a web app, and it’s rather basic. Tweeten has been my favorite Windows 10 Twitter app for a while now. In short, it gives you TweetDeck on Windows by taking the web interface of TweetDeck and making it a lot more Windows 10-friendly, with some additional options so it fits well into M...

Instagram has quietly started testing a horizontal feed for some users, a huge sideways shift from the vertically scrolling user experience that’s been the norm since the app launched. The company had  previously been testing the feature  back in October in the Explore section of the app, but it seems that it’s rolling it out more widely to users’ main feeds today. The new feed basically turns all posts into a single, giant Instagram story, complete with tapping to advance and a scrolling bar at the top to show you how far you’ve progressed. It’s certainly a jarring change for Instagram’s community, which has grown accustomed to the old feed. With the horizontal feed, each photo (and each ad) is given the spotlight at any given time — you can only view a single post, and the comments are much more prominent now, appearing with a flick upward. It’s also much harder to quickly fly through your feed with the new layout: you can only advance a single post at a time. ...

Apple’s macOS operating system has matured to the point where, out of the box, your new Mac laptop or desktop pretty much has the bases covered when it comes to email, calendar management, and some basic productivity tools. But there’s a whole world of better and more powerful Mac software out there that can make everything from GIF-making to photo editing to window organization a whole lot easier. While paying for software might seem like some pre-Google anachronism, many of the best Mac applications out there cost just a few dollars and can drastically improve your workflow or your day-to-day computer use — without any privacy concerns or intrusive advertising. And some are so good that they warrant a monthly or annual subscription — especially if they really help you at your job or in a serious hobby like photography. So whether you’re new to the Mac ecosystem, or if you’ve been looking for ways to make your existing Mac more useful, check out these apps. Some of them might t...

LG has unveiled its latest  soundbars  ahead of CES in January next year. The new SL10YG, SL9YG, and SL8YG are made in collaboration with Meridian Audio, and feature support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X and built-in Google Assistant functionality. This means you can control all three speakers using voice commands, asking Assistant to raise the volume, identify the song currently playing, or cue up your favorite playlist. Having Assistant baked in also means you can use the soundbar as a smart home hub, controlling products like Wi-Fi-connected lights and blinds without getting up off the couch. Design-wise the new soundbars are pretty minimalist. They’re sleek and unobtrusive, and look ready to fade into the background in your living room. Interestingly, the SL9 model also features a built-in gyroscope which LG says “gauges the position of the product (fixed to a wall or on a flat surface)” and adjusts the sound output accordingly. Users looking for more bass can also...

Popular to-do list software Any.do now has a smart grocery list feature within its mobile app that you can share with friends and family to make shopping more efficient. Algorithms naturally sort food items by category such as “fruits & vegetables” and “dairy & cheese,” to keep you from having to visit the same aisle twice. They will also suggest grocery items based on previous things you’ve purchased. So if you always get a loaf of bread with some olive oil, Any.do will remind you the next time you go shopping. While the feature initially rolled out on iOS three months ago and  was spotted on Any.do’s blog post , it's coming to Android today and fully expanding to all iOS devices. Any.do estimates that while only 30 percent of iOS users could access the feature before, the figure will be 100 percent as of today. You’re able to add an unlimited number of smart grocery lists, and Any.do already works with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, so you can add items using v...

Samsung announced  a new feature  for its 2019 TVs today that will allow people to control various devices, like PCs, tablets, and smartphones, from their TVs. The company says Remote Access lets users connect certain accessories, like their keyboard or mouse, to their TV, so they can play games off their PC from their TV or broadcast web-based office services on the bigger screen. It’s unclear how all of this will work, as details are sparse, but it sounds like users will need to install various apps across their devices to get them to talk to each other. Samsung says Remote Access will work “anywhere in the world” because of a partnership with VMware and its virtual desktop infrastructure. That technology lets users access a specific desktop that’s saved on a centralized server. The idea is that users can see their desktop from wherever they are, and it’ll reset once they log out of a session. Samsung’s solution could definitely be handy if people want to play games o...

New Year’s is almost upon us, and that means that the annual cycle of folks making resolutions to get in shape in almost upon us. And  T-Mobile wants to help , with some deals on the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch that might help you actually keep those goals. The deals go live on January 2nd, and aren’t too shabby: for the Apple Watch, if you buy either  Apple’s latest Series 4 model  or last year’s Series 3, T-Mobile will give you a $200 discount on the second one. And fans of Samsung’s platform have an even better deal: buy one  Samsung Galaxy Watch , and T-Mobile will give you the second one for free. As always, there’s a catch for both deals: you’ll need to sign up for a T-Mobile plan for both your full price and discounted LTE watch,  and  one of those has to be a new line. It’s not quite as onerous as the phone deals that need you to sign up for a full new line of cell phone service, but it’s something to keep in mind.