🎉 Good morning, and happy Friday! The weekend couldn’t come soon enough for me. If you had a particularly challenging week, know you’re almost there! We have two smartwatch stories for you, so let’s get into both.

The Pixel Watch’s bill of materials

Smartphone and smartwatch makers inflate retail prices above the bill of material (BoM) or the cost of manufacturing the device to make a profit. Usually, the difference between these two figures is understandable. In other cases, like the Pixel Watch, you may do a double take.

• The Google Pixel Watch launched for $399, placing it on par with the Apple Watch Series 8 and well ahead of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5, but that price doesn’t quite reflect its BoM.
• According to a new report from Counterpoint, the LTE-enabled Google Pixel Watch costs just $123 to make.
• That’s $276 less than its list price.
• The report also details which components contribute to that figure.
• Regarding the price breakdown, the processor and memory, casing, and display contribute more than 60% of that figure.
• Of course, the BoM only lists the cost of the components of the device, and doesn’t factor in manufacturing, labor, marketing, and other costs.
• Nevertheless, it’s interesting to note that usually, the device you purchase is worth well less than the sum of its parts.

Garmin upgrades its Forerunners

The Garmin Forerunner range has regularly made a spot on our best smartwatches for runners list. Two particular models in its series have received some welcome upgrades, most notably to their screens.

• The Garmin Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 965 build on the successful Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 955 models.
• Unlike their predecessors, though, the 265 and 965 bring bright AMOLED touchscreens for the first time to the Forerunner line.
• That’s a big upgrade for those who run at night and should make both devices one of the best Garmin smartwatches available.
• Specifically, the 265 features a 46mm dial size, but you can have it in a smaller 42mm guise with the 265S.
• The watch also packs battery life that’s good enough for around two weeks in normal mode and up to 24 hours in GPS mode.
• Garmin’s Forerunner 965 now has the company’s largest display on a smartwatch at 1.4 inches.
• It has a 47mm dial with a titanium bezel and a battery life that’s good enough for over three weeks.
• As for pricing and availability, the Garmin Forerunner 265 starts at $449 and is now available to purchase.
• The 965 will be available in the coming weeks for $599.

Roundup

🤷 Why hasn’t OnePlus delivered Android 13 to all OnePlus 10 Pro users yet? (Android Authority).

🐞 Nothing Ear 2 launch could be near as company posts cryptic bug teaser (Android Authority).

😐 Why won’t TikTok confirm the Bold Glamour filter is AI? (The Verge).

🥽 MIT has invented a headset with superhero-like X-ray vision that can peek at things inside boxes (Futurism).

😱 A Dead by Daylight movie is in the works, and will be produced by Blumhouse (Variety).

🕹️ Metroid Prime lovers, unite: The classic comes to Nintendo Switch Online next week (The Verge).

🐦 Fast-moving Musk makes very slow progress turning Twitter into ‘everything app’ (Ars Technica).

🤡 Great news, you can now adjust Microsoft Bing’s AI chatbot personality (The Verge).

🎶 What song do you believe is 100% perfect? (r/askreddit).

Friday Fun

What are some of the more common slang terms used in the US? According to Crossword Solver, we now have a good idea of what term is used most often in each state.

• The above infographic specifically showcases the most popular terms used by Gen Z.
• Interestingly, we see some gaming-related terms in some states.
• California and Iowa’s most popular slang term among Zoomers is “poggers” which finds its origin in a Twitch emote denoting enthusiasm.
• “Hunk” is an oft-used pet name for partners in Nevada.
• “Finna” is pretty popular across the southern states, while “on fleek” also finds some popularity in Colorado, South Carolina, and Arkansas.
• Crossword Solver also looked at other slang terms across various industries and culture corners, with data taken from 18 million geotagged tweets.
• Unsurprisingly, “gg” is among the more popular gamer slang terms, while “NFT” is the most popular crypto-related term across several states.

Keep it 100 this weekend,

Andy Walker, Editor.