01JUN2025: Second Anniversary Edition
Summer 2025 Gift Guide + Freshly Updated Indie Apps
Happy Sunday, everyone!
Today marks the second anniversary of the Hiro Report, so I thought it would be fun to do a special edition to celebrate waltzing in to my terrible two's. Since I started writing this geeky little newsletter in order to share cool things with others, I thought I’d make this issue a summer gift and gear guide. Between graduations, Father’s Day, and summer birthdays, I hope you find some ideas for cool things to gift to others—or just something fun to level up your own summer.
But before I jump into the gear (and a few fun app updates), I want to take a moment to thank the very first sponsor of the Hiro Report, TRMNL!
Sponsor: TRMNL
I’m so pleased to have TRMNL as the first sponsor of the Report because it’s a product I genuinely really enjoy—in fact, I bought one with my own money and have written about it twice previously in the Report!

The TRMNL is a customizable e-Ink display that sits on your wall, desktop, or counter and shows you the information you want to see most throughout the day. It features a growing number of official and community-generated integrations that let you hook up everything from obvious stuff like your calendar and local weather to more esoteric things like your favorite webcomic, Reddit subreddit, or RSS feed. It even lets you set up custom schedules so it shows you the information you want, when you need it most. Best of all, it’s got an epic multi-month battery, so no unseemly wires cluttering up your space.
If you’ve looked at TRMNL in the past but have been put off by the waitlist, then good news—as of this week, they’re officially fully stocked and no longer requiring pre-orders. They’ve also very generously offered to extend a $10 discount to readers of the Hiro Report for the next two weeks. Just use Coupon Code: hiroreport
Fresh Indie App Updates
Lastly, before we get to the Gift Guide, I thought I’d share a few fantastic indie iOS apps that have gotten great updates in the last week:
Focus – This great Apple-native Pomodoro timer has updated its look and introduced insightful productivity statistics.
Zenitizer – My favorite meditation timer app has a great update dropping tomorrow (02JUN2025) with a new sound picker and sound mixer interface to create the perfect soundscape for your meditation.
Mercury Weather – One of the best-looking weather apps for iOS introduced Weather Maps / Radar for the first time last week.
AgBr – The best black-and-white film emulator added the ability to apply color filters to your photo edits to control contrast and tonality, just like when shooting real B&W film.
On to the good stuff!
Note that some of the links below are affiliate links, and the Hiro Report may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Summer 2025 Gift Guide
Pen & Paper
🪪 Hoban Letterpress Calling Cards – I’ve had a bunch of these made and they’re such a delight. It’s an awesome (albeit nerdy) way to share your contact info with new friends over the summer. ~$65 to $165
🖊️ Uniball Zento Pen – My favorite disposable pen—they look great and write insanely smoothly with way less feathering and smearing than most other pens out there. ~$7
🖊️ Studio Neat Mark One Pen – Give someone the best-looking pen they’ve ever had. ~$85
📖 Midori Traveler’s Notebook – Send your loved one down the rabbit hole of aesthetic journaling. ~$55
Health
😴 Manta Sleep Mask – This high-end sleep mask + mouth tape has completely up-leveled the quality of my sleep. I have both the Slim version and the “Pro” version—I prefer the Pro a little, but I wouldn’t say it’s 2x the price better. ~$35
📚 Breath – One of a few books that fundamentally impacted my lifestyle by making me completely rethink how I breathe. ~$17
💪🏽 TheraGun Therabody Relief – For my fellow dads of a certain age who like to work out, this thing does wonders for aches, pains, and mobility. ~$145
📚 The Comfort Crisis – A super inspirational prod to get out and do hard things, and why it’s not only good for our bodies but also our spirits. ~$12
Outdoors
☕ Flair Go Espresso Machine – Let them make café-quality espresso in their hotel rooms and at their campsites. It blew me away when I met with Flair this spring. ~$200
🔪 JAMESº Carter Pocket Knife – A pocket knife that will hold up great in the woods and still look great on a valet tray. I have one in heavy rotation. ~$160
⛺ Kammock Double Roo Hammock – An amazing, lightweight camping hammock that comes with a great collapsing stand for when you don’t have trees handy. I use mine weekly. ~$375
🕶 Folding Ray-Ban Wayfarers – These classic Ray-Bans don’t have any smart features, but they do fold up extra tiny to slip into a pocket. I bring mine on every trip I take.
Tech
👾 TrimUI Brick – An awesome, pocketable Gameboy-style retro gaming handheld that comes chock-full of games. ~$85
📲 Moft iPhone Tripod – A super slim, MagSafe-friendly tripod to prop your iPhone up at just about any angle for group photos or easy viewing while working. ~$40
⌨️ Nuphy Kick75 Keyboard – An unbelievably fun and highly customizable mechanical keyboard with great pops of color. ~$120
📰 TRMNL e-Ink Display – OK, yes, they’re sponsoring this issue, but I’d be putting the TRMNL on the list anyway—it’s that fun… Please don’t tell the guys at TRMNL. ~$130 with discount code: hiroreport
That’s it for this week! My sincere thanks to you for being a reader—you all make writing this thing so much fun each week. Please keep sharing your feedback and suggestions for future issues!