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Apps

The best apps download superpowers to your smartphone. The Verge covers the new and noteworthy Android apps, iPhone apps, and games, highlighting great design, impressive utility, and novel features. If it belongs on your phone, you’ll find it on The Verge.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Notion is “winding down” Notion Mail.

It will be shut down on September 22nd, meaning it will have lasted for just over a year. Instead, Notion will focus on inbox agents.

“As Notion agents have gotten more capable, we’ve seen more users hand off email workflows to them,” the company says on X. “Today, more than half of Notion Mail users manage emails without ever opening their inbox. So, we’re going all in on using agents to run your inbox.”

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google Finance has its own app now.

The new Google Finance app is launching on Android first, with iOS coming later this year. Google is also launching its redesigned Finance dashboard out of beta, as well as adding new features like the ability to track portfolios and receive updates about topics related to your investments.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

The Google Finance app.
The Google Finance app.
Image: Google
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google Wallet now supports TSA PreCheck Touchless ID.

You can now use Google Wallet to create an ID pass with your passport, check in for your flight, and then enroll in TSA PreCheck Touchless ID at participating airports. That means instead of showing physical or digital ID at airport security, you can walk through with the TSA’s “facial comparison” technology.

Screenshot of Google Wallet with a prompt for TSA PreCheck Touchless ID
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Crayola’s first coloring app for adults includes “nostalgia” themed designs.

The new iPhone and iPad app from Red Games is launching alongside a line of alcohol-based and acrylic markers aimed at adults, although I doubt they’ll be replacing my Copic or Posca markers. Coloring apps were all the rage a decade ago — let us know if you’re still deep in the virtual pages, or if you’ve swapped the apps for AI-generated designs.

A screenshot of the Crayola Adult Coloring app on an iPad
Image: Crayola / Red Games
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Now Google Meet works in Android Auto.

When the Google Meet UI for Apple CarPlay launched in April, Google said Android Auto would follow soon, and now it’s here, with the rollout set to finish by June 26th. If you want to take a work call while in the car, you can see your schedule, dial colleagues, or join calls (audio only, both ways) without picking up your phone.

Google Meet screenshot showing previous calls
Screenshot of Google Meet’s Android Auto UI showing scheduled calls
1/2Image: Google
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Mastodon is officially launching its version of Bluesky starter packs.

The new “Collections” feature is included in Mastodon’s 4.6 update, which will also allow you to hide the “Media” or “Featured” tabs on your profile and let people subscribe to your posts via email, even if they don’t have a Mastodon account.

Mastodon 4.6

[Mastodon Blog]

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Sonos is updating its app with new volume controls and navigation.

In a post on Reddit, Sonos CEO Tom Conrad says the company is rolling out a beta this week that will introduce tabbed navigation, a volume interface “that is easier to grab and fine tune,” and more control over player organization. It’s part of Conrad’s efforts to clean up the app more than two years after a messy redesign.

(Finally!) An update.

[Reddit r/Sonos]

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Plex is getting more social.

After launching the abilty to create and share lists of movies and TV shows, Plex is now rolling out a “discussions” feature that will allow you to chat about content in its app. Other social features, like emoji reactions, are set to arrive throughout the year.

Image: Plex
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
DoorDash’s new AI chatbot can add ingredients to your cart based on a recipe link or photo.

You can also use the Ask DoorDash assistant for suggestions about where and what to eat next based on what you’re in the mood for. DoorDash plans on adding a new feature for booking reservations as well, allowing you to search for a “table for 2 downtown at 8PM” across all the restaurants in your area.

Image: DoorDash
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google has officially sunset its Pixel Studio app.

After removing some features from the AI image-maker in February, Google has shut down the app completely and directs users to Gemini instead, as reported by 9to5Google. Pixel Studio launched in 2024 alongside the Pixel 9.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
ChatGPT’s upgraded memory system is rolling out to everyone.

OpenAI is building upon its “dreaming” feature that allows ChatGPT to sort through your conversations and save information in the background. With the update, OpenAI says ChatGPT is better at updating memories and “remembering” your preferences across conversations.

ChatGPT Plus and Pro users can access the update now, while free users will get it in the coming weeks.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google is bringing ID passes to five EU countries.

Starting this summer, users in Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, and Estonia will be able to scan their passports to create a digital pass within the Google Wallet app. Unlike in the US, people can’t use Google’s ID passes for travel in the EU, but they can be used for online age verification as requirements sweep across the globe.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Nintendo Music is now available through browsers, tablets, and your car.

In addition to adding the soundtrack to Mario Kart World, Nintendo Music has been updated so you can now listen on a computer through a web browser, on a compatible tablet giving you more screen real estate for browsing, or in a vehicle with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto with support for voice commands.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Obama’s old Instagram account was reportedly hacked over the weekend.

The @obamawhitehouse account briefly showed images of Iranian propaganda, which have since been taken down, as spotted earlier by TMZ. The account belonging to the US Space Force Chief Master Sergeant was also hijacked.

It seems the attack expanded beyond just public figures, as several users reported getting locked out of their accounts as well.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Duolingo is giving you a chance to get your streak back.

For the month of June, if you have previously had a streak of more than 30 days, you can get it back by doing three lessons in one sitting. Having a way to get lost streaks back has been “one of the most consistent requests Duolingo hears from learners,” the company says.

A promotional image for Duolingo’s streaks recovery promotion.
Image: Duolingo
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Docent is a free, open-source art gallery manager for your Frame TV.

Yes, it requires a little effort to get it running. You’ll need Python and, depending on your OS, a trip to the terminal. But after that, it’s as simple as dragging, dropping, and clicking “Display on Frame.” It also has Google Drive sync, AI art analysis, and weather-based art picks.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google Drive’s upgraded document scanner can capture multiple pages at once.

Android president Sameer Samat says the update also includes a feature that detects whether the page you’re about to scan is a duplicate, while automatically switching blurry scans to “the highest-quality frame.” The new scanner operates on-device and is available to Android users with 8GB of RAM or more.

1/3Screenshot: Sameer Samat via X
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Is the end of the Hulu app nigh?

An internal document viewed by Business Insider details efforts to transfer Hulu’s content and features to Disney Plus, which Disney has already started doing. The document says “the Hulu tech stack and app will be decommissioned after all users have transitioned” to the unified app, according to Business Insider.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Google is officially talking about the new Workspace app icons.

We started seeing them in our apps earlier this month, but Google said Tuesday that it’s rolling out the icons over the “next several weeks.” I’m not a fan of the changes — the Gmail and Sheets ones look particularly bad to me — but I suppose I’ll get used to them over time.

What do you think?

An image showing new Google Workspace app icons.
Image: Google
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Meta’s new app, Forum, is focused on Facebook groups.

The app, available on iOS, lets you browse groups that you’re a part of, make posts to groups, and ask questions to a chatbot to get information sourced from groups. Saw this one thanks to Matt Navarra.

Screenshots from the App Store listing for Forum.
Screenshots from the App Store listing for Forum.
Image: Meta
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Discord calls are now end-to-end encrypted.

The encryption is enabled by default for every voice and video call, though the company has no plans to extend that to text messages on the platform. “Call quality and performance remain at the level our users expect,” Discord’s Mark Smith said in a blog post. “E2EE happens transparently.”

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Google is launching an Android version of its AI Studio vibe coding tool.

The app, which you can pre-register for on Google Play, will let you use AI and prompts to starting building other apps.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

A screenshot from the Google Play listing for the AI Studio app.
Image: Google
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Apple Sports adds more countries and features ahead of the World Cup.

Apple’s dedicated sports app (where betting odds may be on by default until you turn them off) has expanded to 90 new markets. Apple also says that new features include a tournament bracket view for the World Cup stages, visual formations of each starting lineup, and one-tap links to Apple News coverage.

Simulated screenshots of the Apple Sports app
Image: Apple