Yesterday, sitting out on my back deck, I spent a good five minutes just looking at my Apple Watch face and laughing to myself.

Right now I’m using the robot Memoji watch face 🤖, which changes its expression every time you lift your wrist or tap the screen. I find it highly comical, and I genuinely get amused when I lift my wrist and it makes a funny face!

I felt like an idiot — but a happy one!

Afterward, I adjusted my Activity ring settings, which I’m trying to get dialed in with challenging — but achievable — goals. I mostly want to start daily walking and a stretching and mobility routine (which I’ve yet to actually begin, ofc, but I did look at the settings).

I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch since launch, and although I don’t use every single feature, I do use it a lot, from obsessively tracking my sleep score (hopelessly inaccurate) to identifying music via Shazam (also inaccurate), and everything in between.

So while reading this piece on the Apple Watch settings that everyone should change, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself nodding along in agreement. The post details a bunch of settings I already adjusted myself over the years, and I recommend others do, too.

Turning off the Mindfulness app’s breathe reminders is a great one! I’d forgotten I’d disabled them myself a long time ago. (And yes, they’re maddening.)

Also in today’s newsletter:

  • Liquid metal is a fascinating material — and Apple is reportedly using it for the hinge of the upcoming folding iPhone.

  • It’ll be interesting to see how Tim Cook and Apple respond to this.

  • 🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Small Bluetooth speakers sound crazy-good these days, and they’re getting absurdly cheap. This one, for example, gets 4.8 stars but costs just $22.09 w/coupon (71% off). At that price, get two for a stereo pair. #affiliate

  • I got a peek at my 25-year-old son’s Venmo the other day, and just about every transaction was bill splitting — so I suspect this clever new Apple Pay feature will be a hit.

  • Wait a second … I thought Apple Watch OLED displays were already efficient? Apparently, there’s room for improvement, and if Apple follows its usual MO, the tech will likely trickle up to iPhone and other devices.

  • Samsung’s got three new high-end monitors that put Apple’s displays to shame, with built-in hubs, docks and even KVM switching — and they’re bigger (and cheaper), too!

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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One more thing ...

There’s an old Hindu saying that goes, “In the first 30 years of your life, you make your habits. For the last 30 years of your life, your habits make you.”

— Steve Jobs, 2011.

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