Looks like Apple won’t be fixing ‘Swipe to Switch Watch Face’ until watchOS 27.

My own critical analysis a few months ago:

No longer the default option, the swipe came back as a 2nd string option due to its glitchy performance. On my 7 and a half year old Series 3 Apple Watch, with its latest software version (Watch OS 8), in the year 2025, you can swipe between watch faces and everything is in memory and seamless. Extremely smooth, with the hour, minute, and seconds hands perfectly in sync between swipes. It just works!

Somehow the architecture of watchOS 10 fundamentally changed some of the inner workings of the Apple Watch, and after almost 2 years now, it’s as if the watch face has to “load” each and every time you swipe watch faces. It feels and looks buggy, especially when you go from an analog watch face to a digital watch face that is full of data. It juuust (barely) works.

The Tips app on your iPhone even demos how to change your watch face, referring to the touch and hold method vs the swipe method.

I’m sure there are Apple Watch engineers who cringe every time they swipe from one watch face to another, knowing that this problem still exists and needs to be fixed. I understand why it’s not a high priority, but it’ll be two years in June when they announce watchOS 12.

Two years is long enough.

With the latest (and possibly final) developer Beta 9 on watchOS 26, this problem still persists. Not a deal breaker, but it just doesn’t feel Apple-like to leave it this clunky.

It feels like Android.

Red Apple Watch faces that are easy on the eyes when sleeping and maintain your visual acuity (in-depth guide).

For a simple watch face when going to sleep, you could use the Sleep Focus and get a minimal watch face, but the problem is you have to tap the screen to see the time, which defeats the purpose of an always-on watch, and maybe your just overpowered by sleep and moving your other arm feels like a real drag in the moment.

The next best option? Minimal red watch faces.

Having a minimal watch face is always the best choice when going to bed, since blue light can strain your eyes and disrupt your sleep. Depending on which Apple Watch you have, you can use different watch faces with a minimal appearance that won’t launch apps with accidental taps and sear your eyes.

There’s nothing more scary than checking the time at 2AM because you hear some sounds, and now you’re blinded by your watch face. The moment you gain some ability to see in the dark again, you see your child almost right up against your face letting you know they leaked themselves.

Now that makes two of you.

To avoid further leaks, use these watch faces.

Note: All these watch faces are red to the naked eye, maintain your night vision, and give off significantly less light than Apple’s Sleep Focus watch face.

Apple’s Sleep Focus watch face.

A quick tip before we get started - when you select the default red color, tap the red color circle and turn the digital crown to make the red as dark as possible.

All the colors above the dash mark can be edited this way.

Apple Watch Series 3

If you’re still stuck on the Series 3, you have two choices for an all red watch face:

Modular - The Series 3 stopped getting updates after watchOS 8, keeping the older Modular watch face. This has a special advantage since you can change the color of the time, something no longer available with the new Modular watch face. Simply disable all complications, choose red as your color option, and you have the most minimalist, least distractive watch face.

Since you can change the color of even the time, just get rid of all complications…

to get this minimalist watch face that’s easy on the eyes.

X-Large - The X-Large watch face in red is another solid option. You get one spot for a massive complication, still giving you time in big font on a single line. The Series 3 version of X-Large on watchOS 8.8 has a unique problem because none of the complications are static, meaning touching the massively sized complication will open its respective app. The Moon Phase complication for example is actually a static complication in later versions of watchOS, but in watchOS 8.8, it opens the World Clock app.

The only option is to turn off complications and keep the huge font.

The regular X-Large face is the way to go. As neat as the complication looks, it’s not ideal for sleep since the touch target is huge.

Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, SE 1st generation

These three watches were updated to watchOS 10, giving them an advantage with the X-Large face, but taking away the Modular watch face as we knew it. The new Modular watch face becomes more modernized with an extra Date complication and rounder fonts, but now the time can only be had in white, disqualifying the watch face since a truly red watch face cannot be achieved.

Bummer.

The new Modular watch face has multiple colors, but the time is always white when the background color is turned off.

X-Large - The X-Large face gains more complications in watchOS 10, with the key feature being static complications. These static complications don’t interact to touch and don’t open any apps, making it impossible to get any white light exposure. You can choose from two different static complications that are all red in the Astronomy category:

1. Moon

2. Solar System

Depending on the Moon phase, you could get a brighter image, which is why I recommend the Solar System complication for the least intrusive look.

The Moon and Solar System widgets work as static complications, but Solar System is the better option since it’s almost invisible.

Apple Watch Series 6 thru Series 10, SE 2nd generation

X-Large - on watchOS 11 and later, you get three static complications:

1. Earth

2. Moon

3. Solar System

Earth can get bright if you’re a daytime napper in a blacked out room like myself, so once again, the best complication is Solar System.

Solar System wins every time, but Earth and Moon still give off way less light than the Sleep focus watch face.

Photos - the Photos watch face in watchOS 26 gives you the ability to put any photo as a wallpaper, and more importantly, you can select the color of the time, just like the old Modular watch face on the Series 3. Selecting the time color is not always an option depending on the photo but for our purposes it is.

Use the following process to get an all-black watch face:

1. Take an all-black photo (or just use this sample).

2. Select Create Watch Face.

3. Select the Photos Watch Face.

4. Select your preferred Time Size.

5. Pick your font.

6. Pick your Numerals.

7. For Style, pick Natural.

8. For Time Color, select the red time color and slide the gradient to dark red as described earlier in this article.

9. Turn off all complications.

Note: For whatever reason, you can only change the color of the time on the iPhone and not on the watch directly.

Take a look at how similar it is to the original Series 3 Modular:

Original Modular (left) vs new Photos (right).

Photos watch face with small, medium, large and X-large time sizes.

I will admit I do cheat a bit with the Photos watch face and add a complication on top. It is such a small touch target that I have never activated it by accident. The Top complication does make the time even smaller, making it closely resemble the original Modular watch face on the Series 3:

Original Modular (left) vs new Photos (right). That complication is Wind Speed if you’re wondering. And yes, it matters a lot to me.

Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2

These watches get watchOS 26, so they will benefit from the X-Large and Photos watch faces, but with two additional Ultra-exclusive watch faces - Modular Ultra and Wayfinder. Not only are these exclusive watch faces, they are also the only watch faces that support Night Mode, making everything turn red.

Modular Ultra - Simply remove all complications, and pick how you want your time to be displayed. Either select the red color or activate Night Mode to ON to have a big beautiful red clock (or small) with no distractions.

Wayfinder - Once again, remove all complications, and turn ON Night Mode to get an all-red analog watch face.

Wayfinder (left), Modular Ultra (right).

Source: MacRumors

Honorable mentions

There are a few other watch faces that get honorable mentions, but they don’t meet my strict criteria of solid red color with no active complications. They still shine too much light compared to the red watch faces I mentioned above, almost equivalent to Apple’s Nighttime watch face.

Numerals Duo - The top number in the darkest red isn’t a true red, shining white light at you.

Meridian - If you select the Fall 2021 (PRODUCT) RED color, you get a fully red dial, but the hour and minute hands are outlined in white.

Close, but no cigar.

Even the Digital Time complication is all red, making this one receiving the highest honorable mention.

Typograph - Similar to Meridian with the standard red color.

Will Apple gatekeep Night Mode to the Ultra lineup?

It’s hard to say what Apple will do with the Series 11, because if they open up Night Mode (which I am all for), it would change the whole dynamics of having the perfect bedtime watch face. Many more watch faces would qualify with an all red look, but we’re only a few weeks away from finding out.

iPhone 13 mini - what does a typical day with 77% battery health look like?

How long does an iPhone 13 mini with 77% battery health last on iOS 26?

Let’s just say it needs a trusty companion, the MagSafe Battery Pack.

Here is my (typical) log from a few days ago, with less than normal usage:

1. 5:30am - 100% battery

2. 6:32am - 77% battery

3. 12:18pm - 20% battery

4. 12:19pm - Dropped to 15%…attached MagSafe Battery Pack

5. 1:05pm - charged to 76%…detached MagSafe Battery Pack

6. 4:55pm - 17% battery

7. 4:56pm - 9% battery right after connecting MagSafe battery pack.

8. 6:00pm - 50% battery with MagSafe Battery Pack drained.

9. 9:07pm - 23%

10. 9:08pm - 14%

11. 9:09pm - 2%

12. 10:00pm - Dead iPhone, right before I was about to cast something to my Chromecast.

Apps used: Safari, YouTube, Messages, X, WhatsApp, Files, News.

Nothing taxing. The phone does run smoothly most of the time, but it does start to hiccup and slow down as the charge level drops. Other times, it will hiccup even when the battery is nearly full, probably because the phone is a bit warm from charging.

Again nothing taxing, just basic apps. No gaming, no 3D rendering, and no camera usage.

The main issue with poor battery health is predicting how long it will last when it is low on battery. My battery collapsed from 23% to 2% in less than two minutes, but it lasted almost an hour.

In the end, I am able to get a full days use out of it from 5:30am to 10pm when I go to work with a fully charged MagSafe Battery Pack. On a vacation day, I would need to keep a charger close by. It’s time for a Genius Bar appointment to get the battery replaced.

EE, a UK based mobile network operator, will have new family plans that limit internet usage for teenagers - as long as they don’t use Wi-Fi.

BBC:

Its new Sim-only mobile plans will filter the web at different levels depending on the age of the child using it, with three separate tiers of protections.

The plans will also have other features such as reduced internet speeds for younger teens to "limit streaming", as well as protecting against scam calls.

But EE can only control what is accessed by using mobile data using its network - meaning it cannot filter content accessed via wi-fi, which is operated separately.

Sounds like a way to profit off of parents’ fears and desire to do what’s right for their kids, but the uptake of many of these parental controls is really slim. Even on iPhone, setting up Screen Time and Parental Controls is cumbersome, and it took several tries for me to get things right for my kids. It also doesn’t help that you have to remember another 4-digit passcode.

I’m not alone in this battle:

EE ambassador and TV presenter Konnie Huq said at a launch event for the new plans she felt "like her mum in the old days" - who she recalled struggling to work the family's TV remote controls.

Meta, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp, says take-up of its numerous parental controls is relatively low.

Technology analyst Paolo Pescatore told the BBC that EE's plans are "a huge step in the right direction" but implementation of such controls "is no easy feat."

The best option really is to use on-device tools or a third party tool that works cross-platform and master that one app. For me, that’s Screen Time and Parental Controls on Apple devices, for now.

Another real risk of these plans - funneling kids to use public Wi-Fi more than usual, which is a whole different set of risks.

Apple announces “awe dropping” event.

It’s time to start randomly speculating what the image is supposed to mean. Based on past invite images, it could either be a wallpaper (iPhone X, 11, and 12 invites were wallpapers), or a new Liquid Glass color morphing finish for the iPhone to pair well with the new Liquid Glass interface design.

Or we could be getting some sort of infrared camera capabilities on the pro iPhones? Who knows.

Fun fact - if you have a touchscreen device, you can interact with the Apple logo and move your finger around to create your own light path. On Mac, you can also move your mouse over the Apple logo to see similar light animations.

Wireless MagSafe charging is better for your iPhone’s battery health than wired charging.

I have had my iPhone 16 Pro Max since October 2024, and I have been using wireless charging I would say, at least 90% of the time. I have a combination of MagSafe and Qi2 chargers in my bedroom, spare room, and kitchen.

With 270 cycles, I still have 100% battery health, even with installing and running iOS 26 betas. I use a standard MagSafe puck in the kitchen, and I use the Anker MagGo Magnetic Charging Station (8-in-1) at night. Every time I use a cable to charge my device, I do notice it charges faster, but it also makes the device hotter since it’s fast charging. Most people will fall in this scenario because they’ll probably use their laptop chargers to charge their device, which provides the fastest speeds, and also the most heat.

Wireless technology has gotten so advanced, that even if it technically is less efficient, the device doesn’t reach higher temperatures, still giving you better battery health in the long run. Of course I stand by this claim only for MagSafe and certified Qi2 chargers. I’m not the only one as Brandon Butch goes a bit deeper in his video explaining his wireless charging experience during some of his testing. He found wired charging to be 4 degrees hotter than MagSafe charging on his iPhone 16 Pro.

Brandon also used a 90% charging limit, and I have been using an 80% charging limit on my 16 Pro Max. If I was on the regular 16 Pro (I’m leaning heavily towards the 17 Pro), I would also bump it up to 90% to give me that extra juice.

Check out his video for more tips on how to maximize your iPhone’s battery health.

How to disable headphone safety notifications on iPhone and Apple Watch.

Normally this isn’t good advice, but I had to get rid of these safety notifications for my sanity. My background noise sleep setup coupled with earplugs is my ultimate sound proofing system for working the graveyard shift, and there’s nothing worse than your speaker warning you about loud volumes along with your watch vibrating with the same notification during a deep sleep session.

These can be disabled only in certain regions, but thankfully the US is one of them. The settings are buried, but on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings.

2. Accessibility.

3. Audio & Visual.

4. Headphone Notifications.

5. Toggle OFF.

On Apple Watch (or your iPhone’s Watch app):

1. Go to Settings.

2. Accessibility.

3. Headphone Notifications.

4. Toggle OFF.

If you’re in a region that doesn’t allow you to toggle Headphone Notifications off, and you are in a similar situation where you need loud white noise and use ear plugs at the same time, you can try and re-categorize your Bluetooth speaker:

1. Go to Bluetooth.

2. Select your device’s settings by clicking on the blue “i” logo.

3. Click on Device Type.

4. Select Other.

I think this will work. Logic would say, since your devices are technically no longer connected to headphones, you shouldn’t get any Headphone Notifications, right?

I don’t know exactly what the “other” category does, but audio still plays through my Bluetooth speaker.

For my hardwired devices such as my Bose SoundDock XT, I was able to change the settings so the audio levels are not recorded under the Health app.

Toggling this feature OFF should not give you Headphone notifications.

If you have a lightning to headphone jack or USB-C to headphone jack adapter connected to an external speaker, you can change the settings to (hopefully) avoid getting headphone notifications:

1. Go to Settings.

2. Sound & Haptics.

3. Headphone Safety.

4. If you have an iPhone with a lightning port, you will see the words Lightning Adapters on the bottom. If you have a USB-C iPhone you will see the words USB-C Audio Accessories on the bottom.

5. Click your option, and toggle OFF Connected To Headphones.

Will AppleCare One cover a non-US iPhone, even if you live in the US?

If you have a non-US iPhone set to the US region and live in the US, you will have to call Apple Support in order to get AppleCare One coverage. My Canadian iPhone 16 Pro Max tells me I need to contact Apple for an in-store or remote assessment in order to determine eligibility. I already have AppleCare+ on the device and my other devices that have AppleCare+ can be transferred to AppleCare One, so my gut tells me the error is because my model is not a US model. As for my iPhone 13 mini, the battery health is at 79%, so that doesn’t qualify.

Instead of calling Apple, I decided to go to my nearest Apple Store to do an in-store assessment, but the Genius (not trying to be sarcastic) wasn’t able to do the right diagnostic test to make it AppleCare One eligible. I wasn’t going to switch from my current AppleCare+ to AppleCare One, but I just wanted to see if it would even be possible to do on a non-US device.

They told me to call Apple Support since they have more robust remote diagnostic tools, so we will see how that goes in the future.

Google Pixel 10 lineup launches with its own version of MagSafe called Pixelsnap, and even throws in the “A” word for good measure.

The Pixel 10 devices are just the second set of Android devices to have official Qi2 magnets built into the device. The only other device?

The HMD Skyline.

What I’m trying to say is, the Pixel 10 devices are the first Android devices that actually matter, with Qi2 magnets.

Per Android Authority:

Every Pixel 10 model supports Qi2 charging. The Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro top out at 15W with Qi2-certified chargers when paired with a 20W or higher USB-C adapter. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the first foldable with Qi2 wireless charging built in, also supports Pixelsnap charging at up to 15W.

The Pixel 10 Pro XL steps things up with Qi2.2 support, hitting 25W when used with a Qi2.2-certified charger and a 35W or higher adapter. Google says its own Pixelsnap Charger and Charger with Stand can hit that top speed.

The branding is very specific to the Pixel devices, so other manufacturers are going to have to come up with their own fancy name if they decide to go this route. I think this is a huge win for the Android community because I think it will force the big giants like Samsung to implement their own built-in magnets.

In shocking fashion, Adrienne Lofton from Google even mentioned the “A” word, and said all Pixel devices are compatible with Apple’s MagSafe accessories. This caught Jimmy Fallon by surprise, and even I was a bit shocked they mentioned Apple. I mean they had to since everyone knows Apple pioneered this feature and everyone would ask that question.

Reminds me of the moment when Phil Schiller introduced Microsoft on stage during the first ever iPad Pro event.

Google’s “Made by Google ‘25” event had signs for the live audience to clap when an “applause” sign comes on during the event.

Andru Edwards on X:

At this Made by Google event they are asking MEDIA AND PRESS to clap when an “applause” sign comes on during the event. This is kind of wild.

The thing is, I bet there’s be almost as much applause without a cue to ask people to clap, because there are a lot of genuinely great/impressive things Google is announcing today.

Andru has been at Apple events, and he describes briefly what goes on there:

The people clapping at Apple events are generally the Apple employees - the teams that worked on the features. The media is busy typing/recording/posting. And there are no applause signs.

That being said, I have to give Google props for at least doing a live event, even if it’s hard to tell whether or not the audience is genuinely interested when they cheer.

Is choosing an iPhone getting too complicated?

I like reading other people’s iPhone stories, and Imthaz over at Volatile Inputs tells his iPhone journey over the years. I’ll have a more in-depth post later on about my journey, but for now, he brings up a good point at the end:

People have long said the iPad line-up is confusing, with too many overlapping options. I feel the iPhone is heading the same way. But perhaps that’s the nature of a maturing product line – what started as a simple choice has evolved into something that can truly fit different needs and preferences. For someone like me who’s been upgrading annually for years, maybe it’s time to embrace the complexity rather than long for the simplicity of the past. After all, having options means there’s likely a perfect iPhone out there for everyone – even if finding it requires a bit more thought than just picking a colour.

How to fix the blank Control Center bug in watchOS 26.

If you’re having the blank Control Center icons issue, simply enter Low Power Mode via Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode. Launch the Control Center to see your icon labels back in place. Now exit Low Power Mode.

You can also do this through the Control Center itself by tapping the invisible battery percentage logo and selecting Low Power Mode. Dismiss the Control Center and then relaunch it to see your icon labels. Now you can exit Low Power Mode.

You will have to do this every time you reboot the watch.

A sleeper update that only the staunchest Apple Watch user will notice.

If you’re one of the cool kids who knows how to swipe to switch watch faces, watchOS 26 beta 6 fixes a pet peeve that even Apple developers were getting tired of.

The large widget size on the Modular watch face would always be triggered when swiping from either side, constantly opening up that app even though all you wanted to do was switch to the next watch face. This happened about 90% of the time, but now it happens 0% of the time. This is more of an issue with Apple Watches that have slimmer bezels (think Apple Watch Series 7 and later).

It took them a while to fix this issue, and hopefully they can start fixing another glaring issue that made Apple hide the ability to swipe to switch watch faces in the first place.

Blood Oxygen feature returns on Apple Watch - what this could mean for future health metrics.

Apple Newsroom:

Apple will introduce a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update coming later today.

Users with these models in the U.S. who currently do not have the Blood Oxygen feature will have access to the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature by updating their paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Following this update, sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Watch will be measured and calculated on the paired iPhone, and results can be viewed in the Respiratory section of the Health app. This update was enabled by a recent U.S. Customs ruling.

There will be no impact to Apple Watch units previously purchased that include the original Blood Oxygen feature, nor to Apple Watch units purchased outside of the U.S.

You won’t get measurements directly on your watch; you will have to go to your iPhone’s Health app to view the data. Still better than nothing, but it begs the question:

Is this a precursor to improved health features in the near future?

For one, sleep apnea detection could be more accurate with this new information. From a post I wrote back in January:

If you look at Apple’s study, sensitivity for severe sleep apnea had a sensitivity of 89.1%, while sensitivity for moderate sleep apnea was 43.4%, giving an average score of 66.3%. What that actually means is the Apple Watch is best at detecting severe sleep apnea 89% of the time. It is not that great at determining moderate sleep apnea at only 43%.

Apple would rather underdiagnose people than give false positives, which is still better than no diagnosis at all. They were able to get this far with just the accelerometer sensor:

“The Sleep Apnea Notification Feature is a software-based medical device that analyzes Breathing Disturbance data collected nightly by the Apple Watch accelerometer sensor.”

I wonder how much better the Apple Watch could have been at detecting Sleep Apnea if they included Blood Oxygen data, which is another key component in diagnosing sleep apnea. To perform another study at this scale would take years, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Apple’s sleep apnea detection gets better sensitivity with more crucial data points like blood oxygen levels once the battle with Masimo ends.

Who knows, maybe Apple has two sets of data when they did the study, one with just the accelerometer and one with both the accelerometer and blood oxygen sensor.

Small but helpful update to Smart Stack in watchOS 26 - now gone.

Me a few days ago:

New quality of life update - you can click on the date in Smart Stack to enter your calendar. Now you can free up a widget if you had a dedicated “Your Schedule” widget set up.

Yesterday, Developer beta 6 got rid of this feature. Hopefully it’s a bug and we get it back. It adds more utility and is a no-brainer to keep that function.

Wired reviews the best hearing aids, and it’s no surprise which ones are the best dual-purpose hearing aid/Bluetooth earbuds.

It’s no surprise that the best hearing aids cost thousands of dollars, with the top rated one being the Jabra Enhance Select 300 at a whopping $1,700 a pair, which is cheap compared to the Edge AI RIC RT’s $4,000 asking price. The best budget hearing aid? The JLab Hear at $100 that also doubles as wireless earbuds.

The overall best hearing aid and Bluetooth earbuds combo? AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C. They’re always on sale for $169, making them an excellent value with a low barrier of entry.

Here is Wired’s take:

OTC hearing aids have been around for more than three years now, but it might be Apple that really kickstarts this market into gear, now that hearing aid features are available on its AirPods Pro 2 wireless earbuds (8/10, WIRED Recommends). A software update is all you need to turn your existing earbuds into hearing aids, giving them a second job of helping you hear better, even when you’re not streaming.

All the expected features common to OTC hearing aids are here and more, including the ability to upload an existing audiogram to tune them to your specific needs. The units quickly and effectively shift between hearing aid mode and streaming mode, and—unique to Apple—iOS now automatically applies your hearing aid settings to streaming media, which can make a difference to the clarity of dialog and other sounds. For the most part, they do the job as intended.

Mind you, AirPods Pro 2 aren’t perfect as hearing aids, and they may not be the best choice for everyone. There’s a lingering hiss and some audio artifacts that need to be ironed out, and the built-in hearing test feature needs some work. With just six hours of battery life (plus 24 more in the case), they aren’t a great solution for people who need uninterrupted hearing help all day long. But the big news is that, at $249, Apple is now producing some of the least expensive products in the category, a position in which it rarely finds itself. As a first step toward investigating a solution for hearing loss, the price alone makes them worth strong consideration, presuming that you have an iPhone.

Also, former MythBuster Adam Savage who personally uses AirPods Pro as hearing aids had this to say:

I think Apple turning the AirPod Pros into a substitute hearing aid is one of the best sub-features I've seen out of this consumer product in a long time. Having been a very public hearing aid wearer for 15 years, I have been sent a lot of people’s versions of earbud-hearing-aids and I’ll, I’m not naming any names but everything I have tried sucked. Everything I have tried had a very bad user experience in the calibration, in the testing, in the integration. These (the AirPods Pro 2) were really really just as advertised by Apple, straightforward, simple to understand, fast to execute, and awesome to use […]

If you have people in your life who need hearing aids, this might be a great gateway drug to hearing aids, given that it is a lot less expensive and it carries a lot less of the, stigma of hearing aids. One of the rhetorical flourishes I gave people a few years ago that a lot of folks have told me worked on people in their lives, is to explain that no one who ever got hearing aids thought to themselves, “well that was a bad idea.”

REEVUS water bottle is great for workouts

I was too lazy to go upstairs and try to find my iPad for working out, so I decided to just use my iPhone and prop it up with the MagSafe compatible lid on the REEVUS water bottle and get the job done. I knew I would get side tracked if I went upstairs so I just had to grind it out on the small screen.

Quick access to water without having to open a lid.

Cap stays clean + phone stays in place = happy runner.

Small but helpful update to Smart Stack in watchOS 26.

New quality of life update - you can click on the date in Smart Stack to enter your calendar. Now you can free up a widget if you had a dedicated “Your Schedule” widget set up.

You can also click on the time to go back to your watch face.

Taiwan’s TSMC chip technology leak is a bigger deal than you think.

Bloomberg (paywalled article):

Taiwan prosecutors arrested six people suspected of stealing trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., opening an investigation into a potential breach of national security involving a global tech industry linchpin.

The chipmaker to Nvidia Corp. reported a number of former and current staff to authorities on suspicion they illegally obtained core technology. A total of six people were arrested, with two posting bail and one released afterwards, said Taiwan High Prosecutors Office spokesman John Nieh. Prosecutors searched the homes of some staff between July 25 and July 28, the agency said in a statement. It’s now trying to find out if data had been leaked to other parties.

TSMC is the world’s most advanced maker of semiconductors, from Nvidia AI accelerators to Apple Inc. iPhone processors. The case coincides with a quickening race by the likes of Meta Platforms Inc.and DeepSeek to develop artificial intelligence in the post-ChatGPT era, which requires billions of dollars in servers and datacenters.

On Tuesday, the Nikkei reported that TSMC fired several employees suspected of trying to obtain critical information on 2-nanometer chip development. That next-generation semiconductor process is entering mass production in the second half of this year.

TSMC is more than just a chip maker. They’re literally responsible for running the global economy. China believes Taiwan is part of China, and are very eager to seek “reunification” with the island, calling it sacred territory.

An excerpt from Apple in China by Patrick McGee:

When on October 1, 2024, the Communist Party celebrated seventy-five years of ruling China, Xi reiterated his desire to "reunify" with the island democracy, saying "Taiwan is China's sacred territory" and that the two are connected by blood. "It's an irreversible trend, a cause of righteousness and the common aspiration of the people," he told thousands of supporters. "No one can stop the march of history.”

Any military action would immediately threaten TSMC, which is responsible for making at least 80 percent of the world's most advanced chips. In war games involving an invasion of Taiwan by China, Taiwan's semiconductor industry doesn't survive. "It would go out of business on day one of the war," according to Chris Miller, author of Chip War. "The moment fighting starts, TSMC facilities would stop producing. It would never be reopened." Such a cessation in production would have disastrous effects on the world economy. Avril Haines, US director of national intel-ligence, estimates that if Taiwan were prevented from exporting chips, the global loss would be "somewhere between $600 billion to more than $1 trillion, on an annual basis, for the first several years." Indeed, the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has credibly called TSMC "the only corporation... in history that could cause a global depression if it were forced to halt production." For Apple alone, the impact would be the equivalent of a meteor strike.

According to the article, China is still manufacturing 7-nanometer chips while TSMC is working on more efficient 2-nanometer chips.

The headline sounds like another routine stolen trade secrets scandal, but it’s more cutthroat than that (pun intended).

They don’t call it the Chip Wars for nothing.

A little easter egg in the new Mail icon.

Just caught it today, thinking I had a scratch on my phone. It’s technically there on the Apple Watch, but it’s so small you can’t read it.

Apple Park, California, 95014