Raye is a British singer-songwriter who planned on holding an intimate one-night concert for her fans next week.

The event's venue has capacity for 5,000 attendees. There were 1.8 million sign-ups for tickets. It sounds like a good problem to have, right? Having that many fans? One problem. The vast majority of those sign-ups were AI bots, according to Raye, run by profit-seeking resellers hoping to make money off her fans.

"This Symphony May Contain Hope" is a planned one-night live concert by Raye at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 23. It appears the singer was expecting to receive thousands of sign-ups and then send out a pre-sale link for interested parties, with tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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However, Raye wasn't expecting the resellers and AI bots to hit as hard as they did.

"Sadly our sign-up process was overwhelmed by scalpers, using AI bots to create hundreds of thousands of fake registrations," Raye wrote on her X account. "It's a new world we are living in now, I have never witnessed bots on this scale."

"It is so important to me that fans can be tickets at the face value price," she continued.

Raye says that for this special event only, she and her team would manually review the sign-up list and send a pre-sale link and code to individuals that they believe are real fans.

"I'm not sure what the future holds for ticketing, I do know this experience has really opened my eyes," Raye said.

Resellers have always been a problem when it comes to tickets for concerts, tours, and sporting events. However, the rise of AI has helped resellers streamline and scale their ticket buying, often leaving few, if any, regular-price tickets for actual fans.

Some artists have been forced to get creative in how they sell tickets to ensure availability. Spotify recently released features to help artists identify their real fans and offer them first dibs on tickets to local shows.

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission recently sued Ticketmaster, which controls a majority of the U.S. concert market, for allegedly working with resellers to inflate ticket prices. Ticketmaster denied the accusation, but a jury later found that the company gouged customers and abused its monopoly power. Still, a long-term solution to the reselling problem is desperately needed.

While scrubbing through AI bot accounts may be possible for a special one-off event, it doesn't seem feasible for months-long nationwide or even global touring events.

Google announced the public launch of Gemini 4 Argon after an earlier limited release to select testing partners. It's the first model in the company’s Gemini 4 generation and now sits at the top of Google’s lineup.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the launch on X, where he said the model would be available globally starting today.

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Google first announced Argon on Sept. 30 in a blog post by Google DeepMind SVP Koray Kavukcuoglu. At that point, it was limited to trusted cyber defenders in Google’s Fairwind Program. With today’s release, Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers can use Argon in the Gemini app.

Google says Argon is built for long, complex work in software engineering, enterprise knowledge work like legal and finance, and cybersecurity defense. For everyday chat, Google says the model gets to the point with less hedging, repeats itself less, and avoids clichés. On longer tasks, it gives more frequent progress updates.

Argon 4 arrives during a busy fall season for frontier AI models. Google repeatedly missed its own deadlines for the launch of Gemini 3.5 Pro, and meanwhile, Anthropic released Claude Opus 5.5, and OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra. Meta's "super intelligence" Muse Wonder was just released yesterday.

As expected, Google’s own evaluation shows Argon testing ahead of its rivals on many benchmarks. On the independent Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Argon ties GPT-6 Astra at 53 with high reasoning enabled, one point above GPT-6.1 Sol and the new Muse Wonder Max. The same index places it about five points behind Claude Opus 5.5 and Claude Sonnet 5.5.

The latest Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, as of Oct. 13. Credit: Artificial Analysis

Coding is the clearest focus of the release. Google says Argon already handles much of its internal engineering work, and today’s update brings Google Antigravity’s agentic coding interface directly into the Gemini app on macOS.

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Google Gemini Argon 4: How to try it

Starting today, Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers can use Gemini 4 Argon in the Gemini app. Google AI Pro costs $19.99 a month. At I/O 2026, Google added a $100-a-month Ultra plan and lowered its top Ultra tier from $250 to $200 a month.

Google set an introductory API price for Argon:

• $2 per million input tokens

• $10 per million output tokens

• Cached input tokens at 95 percent off, or $0.10 per million

That is less than both main rivals charge. Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 costs $4 and $20 per million input and output tokens, while GPT-6 Astra costs $10 and $50 per million tokens. Today’s announcement focuses on the Gemini app and doesn’t say whether API access has widened beyond Google’s earlier rollout plans.

The rollout comes with several other changes to the Gemini app. First, Antigravity’s agentic coding interface now lives inside the Gemini app on macOS, so users can move between chatting and coding without switching apps. Second, a new toggle in the main chat window switches Gemini from chat to tasks. In tasks mode, Gemini can keep working across your Google apps and other services while you’re away from your computer. Pro and Ultra subscribers get access.

Additionally, Gemini now connects to more than 40 apps, including Instacart, OpenTable, Adobe, and Shopify. Google pitches this for jobs like ordering groceries, booking restaurant tables, and designing or building an online business.

Google Gemini Argon 4: Benchmark performance

Google’s comparison table has 18 results. Argon has the top score on 14, ties with GPT-6 in cybersecurity, and trails on five. All figures in this section come from Google. Typically, AI companies release results that show their own model scoring above its competitors.

Credit: Google / Mashable screenshot

Argon’s biggest leads are in knowledge work. Google says it tops the Vals Index, which weights finance, coding, legal, and tax work by each sector’s share of U.S. GDP. On AutomationBench, Zapier’s test of end-to-end business tasks, Argon scored 51.3 percent. That is about nine points ahead of the next model.

The coding results are mixed. Argon set a new high on DeepSWE v1.1, Google’s main test of long software engineering tasks, at 77.9 percent. But it trails GPT-6 Astra on FrontierSWE v2. On Terminal-Bench 4.0, it trails all three rivals, and Opus 5.5 leads.

Some of Google’s figures for competitors don’t match what Anthropic reported. Mashable reported that Anthropic put GPT-6 Astra at 57.9 percent on Terminal-Bench 4.0, while Google lists 58.2 percent. On the Terminal-Bench Science benchmark, Anthropic reported 58.7 percent for Opus 5.5 (default effort), while Google lists 63.3 percent. When Anthropic launched Opus 5.5, it also cautioned that "benchmark margins have become a less reliable guide to real-world differences."

Independent of Google, the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index has tested Argon’s "High" setting. For testing, Artificial Analysis combines 10 evaluations covering math, science, coding, agentic tasks, and reasoning into a single composite score. Artificial Analysis says it runs all of the tests itself on standardized hardware, so it isn’t relying on each company’s self-reported numbers.

On that index, Gemini 4 Argon (High) scores 53, well above the median of 26 for comparable models. While still behind heavyweights like Claude and ChatGPT, Argon 4 represents a 23-point jump over Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Google’s previous top model.

Argon ranks just a hair above Muse Wonder but below Anthropic and OpenAI's latest. Credit: Artificial Analysis

At introductory pricing, Argon costs about $1.99 per Intelligence Index task, roughly 60 percent of GPT-6 Astra's cost. Once the discount ends, that is expected to rise to $3.98, about 1.2 times Astra’s cost. By comparison, Opus 5.5 costs $5.98 per task.

Google Gemini 4 Argon: Safety and safeguards

Before today’s consumer rollout, Google released Argon in phases, starting with cyber defenders, while it participated in the U.S. government’s voluntary process for pre-release model access.

For everyone else, Google says the model is designed to refuse requests that could aid cyberattacks or chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attacks. Google says red teams tested those safeguards.

Google also says Argon is its most resistant model yet to indirect prompt injection. On Gray Swan’s benchmark — an Injection Prompt Test that measures how easily a model can be hijacked by malicious instructions hidden in content it reads — Google reports that attacks succeeded 0.7 percent of the time against Argon. The figures were 1.0 percent for both Opus 5.5 and Fable 5.1 and 8.5 percent for GPT-6 Astra. Lower is better on this test.

You can find the full Gemini Argon 4 model card on the Google website.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan released the results of her investigation into romance scams on Match Group apps, including Tinder and Hinge.

Hassan, the New Hampshire Democrat who serves as ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, began this investigation in Sept. 2025, when she and Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to Match and its CEO, Spencer Rascoff, requesting documents about romance scams on the company's platforms.

These scams occur when a bad actor gains someone's trust by pretending to be romantically interested in them, only to then ask for money. The Federal Trade Commission reported that Americans lost almost $1.5 billion to romance scams last year.

The investigation — called "Outmatched: Tinder, Scammers, and Match Group's Efforts to Catch Up" — focused on how the company detects and removes scam accounts. As part of it, Match Group provided the committee with two written responses and internal documents in Oct. and Nov. 2025, and additional documents throughout this year. Match Group's senior vice president of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, also sat down for an interview with committee minority staff in April 2026.

The investigation found that, as of the second half of 2025, Tinder hadn't updated most of its AI models used to detect scammers and other bad actors for years. Roth told the committee that Tinder performs ongoing maintenance on its machine learning models and that Match retrains its models every year or every couple of years.

According to data Match Group provided the committee, the number of views received by the median scammer’s profile on Tinder globally increased by more than 700 percent between May 2024 and December 2025. In the first nine months of 2025, almost 1.5 million accounts belonging to scammers or other bad actors on Tinder and Hinge in the U.S. matched with at least one user; nearly 500,000 of those accounts exchanged contact information with another user. The two apps banned tens of millions of inauthentic accounts in 2025.

In Oct. 2025, Tinder announced the U.S. rollout of its user verification process, Face Check, which became mandatory for all new U.S. users in early December. Hinge followed suit. Match Group told the committee that within a month of nationwide deployment, Face Check reduced user interactions with spam, bots, and scammers on Tinder in the U.S. by more than 70 percent. The company said that the reduction was sustained for at least the next seven months.

Face Check isn't perfect. A viral YouTube video from April demonstrated that it can be tricked, and a Tinder spokesperson acknowledged these concerns to Mashable at the time. The spokesperson added that the app is committed to continuously improving its systems.

Match also introduced a new AI model to detect scammers and other bad actors in the first half of this year after continued follow-up from the committee, according to the report.

Roth told Mashable in an emailed statement that Match welcomed recognition of its efforts to protect users, including Face Check, but disputed the report's characterization of its work: "The report mischaracterizes both the historical scale of our investment and the work already completed."

"Alongside our engagement with the Committee over the past year, we've made the largest safety advancements in Match Group's history. Trust and Safety is a foundational priority, and we intend to continue leading the industry in building tools that promote authentic, safe connections," Roth said.
 
Roth also said that romance scams are a cross-platform, societal problem that no company can solve alone, which is why Match participates in and helps fund cross-industry efforts to combat online scams. Those efforts include membership in the Aspen Institute's National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention, co-founding the Tech Against Scams Coalition, serving on the advisory board of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, and supporting Sen. Hassan's ReportScams.gov Act.

Hassan said in a press release shared with Mashable: "During the course of our investigation, Match Group made progress in combating scammers — but it shouldn't have taken so long, and there's still more that Match needs to do."

If you simply can't get enough of Grand Theft Auto VI prior to its Nov. 19 release, there are still new GTA 6 leaks coming out.

Cyberleek, the anonymous entity that has been leaking clips from a pre-release build of GTA 6 since August, made their grand return in October after about a month of silence. Last week, Cyberleek posted a 24-minute video that seemed to show some story sequences and a glimpse of the male protagonist Jason rendered completely nude. That wasn't the end of it.

And, as Cyberleek said they would, nude clips of the female protagonist Lucia soon followed. On top of that, Cyberleek is now threatening to release a development build of the game, and according to Dextero, may have already done so. Websites affiliated with Cyberleek include a link to a file named GTA 6: Development Build v1.0.1, locked behind a $40 paywall.

It should go without saying that downloading files from a sketchy website is not a wise idea, nor is purchasing illegal content that violates Rockstar's copyright.

GTA 6 Cyberleek update: What has been posted this week?

Cyberleek returned this week with more clips that you definitely should not watch at work.

That's because these new clips all center on the female protagonist, Lucia, nude. In the clips, Lucia does mundane things like walk around Vice City, drive a vehicle, and parachute off a skyscraper while wearing little to no clothes (OK, so not entirely mundane, actually). It doesn't seem like anything new has been posted since Monday morning, though.

One thing to note about these clips: The nudity doesn't appear to be a normal element of the gameplay, but rather some type of mod. Rockstar has designed its last couple of big open-world adventures around extremely reactive NPCs, and none of them react at all to seeing Jason or Lucia nude in these leaked clips. Between that, and another clip from last week where the player spawns a tank out of thin air, it sure seems like developer tools are being used to achieve outcomes that will not be possible in the final game.

In other words, don't expect to be able to streak around Vice City in the nude on Nov. 19.

Cyberleek threatens to release a development build of the game

Credit: Rockstar

On websites associated with Cyberleek, the leaker threatened to release a full playthrough of the entire GTA 6 story if their memecoin reached $30 million in market value. The leaker also threatened to release a development build of the game if Rockstar failed to meet their demands to release GTA 6 on a physical disc. There's just one problem: The coin is tanking.

IGN reported a market cap of just $1.7 million, well below any of the stretch goals specified by Cyberleek, and certainly not even close to the $7.8 million high it reached on Oct. 11. Despite this, Cyberleek may have made good on their threat to release a development build of the game.

Dextero is reporting that the development build has been posted online, locked behind a $40 paywall. In addition, a Cyberleek website with all of the leaked clips now includes this update, posted on Oct. 13: "DEVELOPMENT BUILD IS OUT: GTA 6: Development Build v1.0.1.08022025 is up. The deal was 30 million marketcap and the build goes out. Cap was not hit. Build is out anyway. $40 per download. Pay it, then take the mirror."

Because the leaker is anonymous, and because it would be illegal and dangerous to download mystery files from an unverified website, we can't confirm that this development build is real, or that it was even directly posted by Cyberleek.

However, if there is now a development build floating around the web, expect to see far more GTA 6 leaks in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 19 release date.

Alternatively, you could wait and play the game when it actually comes out. You can preorder the game now.

What could Cyberleek release next?

A Cyberleek website includes a poll about what type of Lucia content to release next. The poll is set to end on Oct. 14, with the leading option as "Race track."

It seems extremely likely that more clips featuring Lucia are set to be released any day now.

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Netflix is breaking from its streaming service standard in a big way, as in IMAX.

Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will be released in IMAX theaters worldwide for a 50-day window in 2027. And Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko was among the clutch of film critics and reporters who were granted a sneak peek of Barbie director Greta Gerwig’s latest in IMAX at AMC Lincoln Center in New York on Tuesday morning.

Netflix premiered the trailer, which fans can now see above, along with some behind-the-scenes footage. Plus, Gerwig herself was in attendance to answer some questions from Stephen Colbert. 

Gerwig shared with the audience how C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books have been a huge influence on her, as they were read to her before she could read on her own. "I would not be who I am without these books," she told Colbert of her reverence.

Then, once she’d learned to read, she read them over and over, eventually reveling in the BBC TV series adaptation, of which she said, "No notes…I think it’s amazing and I love the beaver costumes."

To prepare for adapting The Magician’s Nephew, Gerwig tried to walk in Lewis's footsteps. She reread all the Narnia books, along with his other works and works by authors he loved. She traveled to his stomping grounds of in Oxford, Cambridge, and Belfast “to align myself to what his interior life would be.” She also “ate a lot of Turkish Delight in prep for this film.”

What is Narnia: The Magician's Nephew?

The film, written and helmed by Gerwig, is based on The Magician's Nephew, the sixth novel in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series and the first in chronological order.

The book, which begins in 1900 — 40 years before the events of the first published Narnia novel — centers on 12-year-old Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer, who travel to another world with the help of a mysterious ring. However, Gerwig’s version will shift the timeline to the 1950s, which could make for some curious obstacles if Netflix continues the film series. After all, World War II plays a key role in the next book chronologically (and the most iconic Narnia book), The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Pevensie children stumble into Narnia after evacuating London during the Blitz, a sustained aerial bombing campaign carried out by the Nazi German Luftwaffe.

The book also unfurls the origin of Narnia, reaching back 1,000 years. To get a sense of how much of this story will be in Gerwig’s adaptation, take a look at the trailer above.

David McKenna, who recently played Piggy in Netflix’s miniseries adaptation of The Lord of the Flies, stars as Digory. Beatrice Campbell, who played young Lisle in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, will play Polly.

Gerwig's cast also boasts Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough, and Susan Wokoma.

Why is "Stairway to Heaven" in the Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew trailer? 

Gerwig noted to Colbert that Led Zeppelin rarely licenses this particular hit song. But she reached out to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to entreat them to allow Netflix to use the song in the Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew trailer.

"It’s an epic song,” she explained. "It’s about a spiritual journey…false idols and the wrong roads you can go down." For her, this spoke to The Magician’s Nephew’s story, and Plant and Page, who she noted also adore Lewis’s works, agreed. "They too love C.S. Lewis and they have a reverence for his work," she revealed.

The key to Narnia for Gerwig is collaboration. 

Speaking to Colbert, she explained how hundreds of artists came together to build Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, from the sets and costumes to the music and performances. To ensure that everyone felt welcome to collaborate, the acclaimed director took a page from artist William Kentridge, who made a silkscreen piece called "A Safe Space For Stupidity".

Gerwig made a similar sign to hang above her office and said many collaborators came forward — citing the sign as an encouragement.

Together, they’ve created not only a Narnia fit for IMAX, but also glimpses of many fantastical worlds that already had this critic tearing up in awe.

Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew will open in IMAX and other theaters worldwide on Feb. 12, 2027, with sneak previews in IMAX beginning on Feb. 10, 2027. The film will debut on Netflix on April 2, 2027.

Additional reporting by Belen Edwards.

Apple made four big announcements on Tuesday as it vies to break into the smart home business.

The announcement, part of a slate of press releases stealth-dropped by Apple (following one brief tease from Greg "Joz" Joswiak, Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing), includes a new smart display called Apple HomeView, a second-generation HomePod mini, a fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, and the Apple Home Collection, a line of smart security cameras, thermostats, and a door lock built with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric.

Unlike previous Apple smart home products, all of the new releases lean on Siri AI, the rebuilt version of Siri that Apple is now bringing to its home devices. Strangely, Siri AI will not be available at launch on the new HomePod mini 2, but only in a future update.

The announcements were not a total surprise. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported for months on what to expect from Apple's October releases, and the HomePod refresh was the most anticipated piece. It is the first new HomePod hardware in roughly three years, since HomePod (2nd generation) arrived in early 2023, and the first update to the HomePod mini since the original launched in 2020.

Notably, the M6 MacBooks that many observers expected this month were absent. Gurman has indicated they're still set for release in October, however. For now, the company is focusing on the smart home, a category where Amazon and Google have long set the pace. Gurman has argued in his newsletter that the AI boom caught Apple off guard, and that to succeed, the company needs to push into areas it had previously been content to leave to competitors.

Siri AI is the common thread across all four announcements. Apple describes it as an entirely new version of Siri built on its latest Apple Foundation Models, with broad world knowledge, personal context, and more natural back-and-forth conversation. Users without an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad still get the general knowledge and conversation features, but personal requests require a paired device.

Here's everything that was announced as part of the Apple "Welcome Home" launch:

Apple HomeView

Credit: Apple / Mashable screenshot

The headline product is HomeView, Apple's first smart display. It pairs a 7-inch Liquid Retina screen with a domed speaker base, joined by a stainless steel hinge that lets the display tilt. Apple pitches it as a personalized, shared household device. HomeView can recognize up to six people by their faces, and each gets their own Home Screen of apps and widgets.

According to Apple, information from apps like Messages and Calendar only appears when an enrolled user is recognized and their paired iPhone or iPad is nearby and recently unlocked. Shared photo albums and music remain available to everyone, including guests.

HomeView costs $299 in silver, starlight, rose pink, and space gray. A wall-mounted model in space gray and silver is also $299 and attaches with one of three Schneider Home mounts:

• Power Mount USB-C Wall Connector: $59.95

• Power Mount AC Wired: $79.95

• Power Mount PoE Wired: $129.95, arriving in early 2027

Pre-orders opened Tuesday in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, India, and New Zealand, with Singapore following on Oct. 15. Availability begins Nov. 13. HomeView will not be sold in the EU because Siri AI isn’t currently available on iOS there. Apple says it is working with the EU on a path forward.

HomePod mini 2

Credit: Apple / Mashable screenshot

The second-generation HomePod mini keeps the familiar spherical design in five colors: pink, green, blue, white, and midnight. Apple says it runs on the S10 chip and uses computational audio to adjust dynamic range and loudness in real-time. Four HomePod mini 2 speakers can now be paired with the new Apple TV 4K for a four-speaker surround setup that calibrates timing and levels to the room. The speakers must be in matching front-and-rear pairs.

HomePod mini 2 can act as a speaker for Macs, serve as a home hub, support Sound Recognition for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and announce visitors identified by Face Recognition on compatible doorbells.

In its press release, Apple called it the company's most immersive home theater experience and framed it as one piece of a connected home alongside HomeView, HomePod mini 2, and Apple Home Collection. HomePod mini 2 costs $149 in pink, green, blue, white, and midnight.

Pre-orders opened Tuesday in the U.S. and more than 23 other countries and regions, with availability beginning Oct. 30.

Apple TV 4K (4th generation)

The new Apple TV 4K brings Siri AI to the TV with a full-screen interface for finding shows and movies. Apple's examples include asking which Apple TV shows won Emmys, asking follow-up questions about a show while watching, and, with a paired iPhone, requests that rely on personal context, such as playing a show a friend recommended in a message. Answers to mid-show questions appear in a small overlay rather than taking over the screen.

Apple says the A19 chip delivers up to 50 percent faster CPU and up to 2x faster GPU performance than the previous generation, and adds a dedicated AV1 decoder. The Siri Remote gains Find My with Precision Finding. As a home hub, the Apple TV 4K now offers Apple Intelligence-generated camera activity descriptions and summarized notifications in the Home app.

For the first time, the box has built-in far-field microphones, three of them, so users can talk to Siri without picking up the remote. Apple says echo cancellation lets it hear "Siri" even while audio is playing. Apple called it the company’s most immersive home theater experience in the release.

The Apple TV 4K costs $299, or $49.83 per month for six months. Pre-orders opened Tuesday in the U.S. and 29 other countries and regions, with availability beginning Nov. 13.

Apple Home Collection

Credit: Apple

Apple Home Collection is a line of smart devices designed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. Each product sets up with a tap of an iPhone and is managed entirely in the Home app, with no separate app or account. Every device supports Thread and updates its own Wi-Fi credentials if the home network changes.

LG is supplying four cameras. All record up to 2.5K video, recognize people, pets, vehicles, and packages, and store 10 days of history through iCloud+, so there’s no separate camera subscription:

• Video Doorbell Wired ($249.95): front and package-facing cameras

• Floodlight Cam ($399.95)

• Outdoor Cam Plug-In ($299.95)

• Indoor Cam Plug-In ($199.95): physically tilts down to stop watching when someone in the household comes home

The cameras will be sold in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

LG’s Smart Deadbolt Lock ($349.95, U.S. and Canada) uses Ultra Wideband to unlock automatically as a user with a home key on iPhone or Apple Watch approaches. It also offers tap-to-unlock, a PIN pad, and a backup key, and it works locally without an internet connection.

Rounding out the line are smart thermostats from both LG and Schneider Electric, plus standalone temperature and humidity sensors. An Adaptive Temperature feature adjusts heating and cooling based on whether anyone is home. Apple did not list prices for the thermostats or sensors.

The collection arrives in December, though some accessories won’t ship until early 2027. Apple Retail will also offer paid professional installation through ADT in the U.S.

TL;DR: Live stream Arsenal vs. Lille in the Champions League for free on Virgin Media Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Champions League group stage is all about consistency. Arsenal secured an important three points in the opening round of games, but they'll be desperate to continue winning to secure a place in the top eight. Next they face Lille at the Emirates Stadium, a game that fans will expect to win.

If you want to watch Arsenal vs. Lille in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Arsenal vs. Lille?

Arsenal vs. Lille in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Oct. 13. This fixture takes place at the Emirates Stadium.

How to watch Arsenal vs. Lille for free

Arsenal vs. Lille is available to live stream for free on Virgin Media Player.

Virgin Media Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock Virgin Media Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Arsenal vs. Lille for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland

4. Visit Virgin Media Player

5. Watch Arsenal vs. Lille for free from anywhere in the world

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Credit: ExpressVPN

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ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Virgin Media Player, for a number of reasons:

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Kelly Clarkson’s dispute with a Brooklyn shop has spilled beyond social media. Now, Yelp has paused new reviews for the Art of Play store.

As of Oct. 12, the platform has placed an "Unusual Activity Alert" on Art of Play’s business page, temporarily disabling the posting of content following the singer’s viral shopping complaint. A Yelp spokesperson confirmed the action to Mashable.

"This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news," the notice reads.

Yelp says it's investigating whether content on the page reflects actual customer experiences rather than reactions to the viral online feud.

"While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events," according to the notice.

"If you’re here to leave a review based on a first-hand experience with the business, please check back at a later date," the notice adds.

Credit: Screenshot: Yelp

The disagreement began on Oct. 10, when Clarkson posted on X that an Art of Play employee had treated her as though she couldn’t afford to shop there. She compared the encounter to the boutique scene in Pretty Woman, where employees dismiss Julia Roberts' character based on her appearance.

At the center of the dispute was Molly, a mechanical singing bird. Art of Play said in an Instagram post that the bird was a permanent installation used in its magic shows and was not for sale. Clarkson pushed back with a photo of a $15,000 price tag on the "Singing Bird," accusing the shop of misrepresenting the interaction.

The store also clarified that Molly’s creator, Seattle artist Bliss Kolb, had a nearly identical bird available for $15,000. It also said staff had offered to show Clarkson another singing bird that cost about $2,000, but she left before seeing it.

The exchange prompted responses (and memes) from people defending Clarkson’s right to describe a bad shopping experience and others questioning the impact of a celebrity calling out a small business, both on social media and Yelp. That distinction is central to Yelp’s policy. The platform says reviews written as social commentary don’t provide the firsthand information customers need. When media attention brings an unusual spike in activity, Yelp can temporarily disable posting; once activity returns to normal, moderators remove the alert and clean up the page.

Credit: Screenshot: Yelp

Art of Play has said it reached out to Clarkson directly to "clear the air." In the meantime, anyone hoping to weigh in on Yelp will have to wait — including people who actually shopped there.

From YouTubers and TikTok stars to streamers and podcasters, Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage, sign up for our Trending Now and Top Stories newsletters or get Mashable push alerts to discover the internet's most exciting voices. 

Just as the weather turns, EcoFlow is launching new whole-home power backup solutions in the U.S. The Titan series consists of three models that technically could quality as portable power stations, although you probably don't want to lug one of these on a camping trip. Instead, they're a great solution for keeping your home powered up when grid power fails.

All new EcoFlow Titan models are available to order. Below, you'll find details specs on all models to help you decide which is best for your home.

Credit: EcoFlow

Specs on the Titan 5000 Plus, Titan 5000, and Titan 5000 Classic

The Titan series from EcoFlow differs from your average portable power station in that each model packs in a ton of power. Instead of using it to recharge your phone and keep a lamp on, the Titan models can power up large appliances like your washer and dryer or your home's HVAC system. Of course, it can also keep your phone topped up and the lights on, too.

The smallest and most affordable model is the EcoFlow Titan 5000 Classic with 5,000Wh capacity and 4kWh output. It includes AC ports, USB-A, USB-C, and a TT-30R with 120V configuration.

The upgraded EcoFlow Titan 5000 comes with a higher performance compared to the Classic model. It can handle both 120V and 240V.

The movable EcoFlow Titan models come with the ability to add expansion batteries. Credit: EcoFlow

The largest in the lineup, the EcoFlow Titan 5000 Plus is rated for 7.2kWH from the 5,000Wh battery. EcoFlow mentions this is powerful enough to keep a 3-ton central AC unit running, in addition to a TV, refrigerator, and lights all at the same time. Keep in mind the EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 10 will connect your home's power system to the Titan models.

The Titan 5000 Plus and the Titan 5000 can connect to your home's existing rooftop solar system when combined with the EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 10. That means you can rely on the Titan system for powering your home in an effort to lower power bills, not just in emergency scenarios.

All Titan models can expand with up to five EcoFlow Titan Battery units for up to 30kWh. Most homes find it best to start with the base unit and add expansion batteries as you find out the exact power needs.

How to order the EcoFlow Titan models

EcoFlow doesn't list exact prices for these models just yet and says that information will arrive on Nov. 3. The brand does give us ballpark figures, though. The most affordable option will cost in the $2,000 range for the Titan 5000 Classic. Add on installation and the EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 10 and you'll be looking in the $5,000 range.

The more advanced Titan 5000 and Titan 5000 Plus will land in the $3,000 range for the single unit alone. Going with one of those option with the EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 10 and installation service will cost in the $7,000 range.

Add your email address to the preorder page at EcoFlow and you'll be in for an early-bird discount that can take as much as $2,999 off the above prices. Reserving your unit for $50 will earn you a 5% off coupon and two free 220W solar panels.

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Credit: EcoFlow

EcoFlow Titan series

 

Pre-order Here

SAVE $550.94: As of Oct. 13, get the Ecovacs Goat O1000 robot lawn mower for $949.05 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,499.99. That's a discount of 37%.

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Credit: Amazon

Ecovacs Goat O1000

$949.05 at Amazon
$1,499.99 Save $550.94

 

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The leaves may be changing and cooler temperatures rolling in, but that doesn't mean your responsibilities to your lawn have suddenly vanished. If you want to keep things tidy, you'll still have to mow the lawn occasionally. But if you don't mind shelling out a little cash upfront, you can hire a robot to handle all of that work for you without complaint. That's thanks to this excellent deal courtesy of Amazon on a great robot lawn mower.

As of Oct. 13, get the Ecovacs Goat O1000 robot lawn mower for $949.05 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,499.99. That's $550.94 off and a discount of 37%.

This wire-free robot lawn mower is all about making it easy for you to have a freshly-manicured lawn. It uses its HoloScope 360-degree Dual-LiDAR system to create a map of your yard before tackling each job.

Using this system, it can avoid all of the issues that might normally plague a robot handling human business: flower beds, sidewalks, driveways, and other areas. That leaves it freed up to trim away along edges and paths that you set or it analyzes on its own for down to 2cm positioning.

You can let it run on its own and map out your lawn by identifying over 200 types of obstacles, or you can use the accompanying app and set up mowing zones, schedules, and customizable no-go areas that the robot will completely avoid. It's all down to what you find more convenient, and the ability to set and forget lawn care feels pretty convenient to us.

Be sure to grab this robot lawn mower while it's still on sale for a limited time at Amazon.

TL;DR: Live stream Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United in the Champions League for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Champions League returns with a string of high-profile fixtures this week, including Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United at the Metropolitano Stadium. There isn't much room for error from Michael Carrick's team. They've made a sluggish start to the new season, and they won't relish a trip to face Diego Simeone's side. They will need to deliver an impressive performance to get anything out of this fixture.

If you want to watch Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United?

Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Oct. 13. This fixture takes place at the Metropolitano Stadium.

How to watch Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United for free

Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United in the Champions League is available to live stream on Prime Video in the UK.

You don't need to be subscribed to Amazon Prime to watch this fixture. Instead, you can watch Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.

If you're abroad for this fixture, you might need to use a VPN to watch the Champions League for free on Prime Video. This process is straightforward:

1. Sign up for a 30-day Amazon Prime trial (if you're not already a member)

2. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

3. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

4. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

5. Live stream Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United for free on Prime Video

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Credit: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United on Prime Video without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Champions League fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Prime Video?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Prime Video, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries, including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Stream Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

Lots of people are excited about Grand Theft Auto VI, but PC players haven't been sure when they will be able to play it. That might have just changed.

Citing four different industry sources, GamesBeat reported that Rockstar plans to launch GTA 6 on PC in the first quarter of 2027, or by the end of March, in other words. That would certainly be a pivot from the company's previous PC strategy, as GTA 5 came out on PC nearly two years after its console launch, while Red Dead Redemption 2 took a little more than a year to escape consoles.

This is big for a few reasons. First and foremost, if the report is accurate, people who primarily game on PC won't have to wait as long to play GTA 6 as they thought they might have to. It also means anyone who wants the most premium experience possible with the game might not have to agonize over whether or not to buy a PS5 Pro, as PC could offer the best version of the game — if you have a strong enough machine, anyway.

Beyond that, if Rockstar ends up doing an online mode for GTA 6, the PC version could be the home of the popular and growing GTA roleplaying community, as it has been for GTA 5. The PC ecosystem allows for much more freedom in terms of supporting user-created content, making it ideal for roleplayers.

As a reminder, GTA 6 launches on consoles in just over a month, on Nov. 19.

The dating app Bumble is being acquired by Ithaca Holdings for $1.3 billion, both companies announced today.

Ithaca, which is newly formed, according to Bloomberg, will also pay out Bumble's common shareholders $6.05 per share, a 138 percent premium over the Oct. 9 stock price. The app is going private five years after its IPO in Feb. 2021, when the app was valued at $14 billion.

Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014 with the ethos of "women making the first move." In heterosexual matches, only women could send the first message.

In recent years, it's been in a financially rocky place, with stock prices around 96 percent below the IPO and declining revenue, paying users, and downloads. Wolfe Herd stepped down as CEO in early 2024, only to return a year later.

The app itself has also shifted over time, including launching prompts in 2024 to technically allow men to message first, and then openly changing the rules to fully allow men to message first earlier this year. Rumors of a sale started months before this announcement.

Now, Ithaca co-founders and co-CEOs Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman will become co-CEOs of Bumble. "They will partner closely with Ms. Wolfe Herd to extend Bumble's original vision to help people find connections in life and love into the next era," the press release states.

Wolfe Herd stated in the press release that Ithaca "believes in our women-first mission, and is committed to investing in Bumble's future."

"I believe deeply in Bumble's future, and I look forward to working alongside Ravi, John, and the Bumble team as we continue to innovate, create meaningful connections, and write the next chapter of Bumble’s story. I truly believe the best is yet to come," Wolfe Herd also said.

Earlier this year, Wolfe Herd announced plans for Bumble to remove the swipe feature and usher in a new, AI-powered user experience. Mashable reached out to Bumble to ask if these plans are still in motion.

Druski might be headed to Studio 8H.

The comedian and internet personality, whose real name is Drew Desbordes, is reportedly set to host Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7, according to Puck's Matthew Belloni on Oct. 12. Variety has since confirmed the booking with multiple sources, though NBC has not officially announced it, and an SNL representative declined to comment on Puck's report, as of Oct. 13. But if true, Druski could make SNL history as the first online content creator to host the show.

That would be a pretty big deal, and not just for Druski.

For decades, SNL has helped turn comedians into household names. But Druski belongs to a generation of entertainers who have built massive audiences and successful careers without traditional Hollywood gatekeepers. His viral sketches, recurring characters, and increasingly ambitious comedy productions have already made him a star on his own terms, landing him multiple Super Bowl commercials, a sold-out national comedy tour, and his own arena-sized comedy festival.

So while hosting SNL would certainly be a milestone, it also raises a larger question about the changing relationship between internet creators and traditional entertainment. What does it mean to get your "big break" on television when you've already made it online?

Why Druski hosting 'SNL' would be a big deal

Druski didn't come up through a traditional sketch comedy institution or television writers' room. He built his audience by posting sketches on Instagram, often playing exaggerated versions of people everyone seems to recognize, from overconfident athletes to questionable music executives.

That last character eventually became the foundation for Coulda Been Records, his satirical record label and talent competition, which grew from Instagram Live auditions into a larger entertainment franchise. He's since expanded into original YouTube programming, including Coulda Been House, a reality competition parody featuring aspiring entertainers and celebrity guests.

And the audience for these shows is substantial. According to a 2025 Essence profile, the first season of Coulda Been House generated 58 million views across eight episodes. His satirical dating series, Coulda Been Love, also attracted tens of millions of views.

Of course, SNL is no stranger to internet comedy. The Lonely Island helped make viral digital shorts part of the show's DNA in the mid-2000s, while the comedy trio Please Don't Destroy followed a similar path years later. But those comedians became part of the SNL machine, creating work within its established format. Druski, on the other hand, has already built a successful comedy career and a massive audience without relying on traditional television.

The creator economy has blurred the lines between social media personalities and traditional entertainers. Creators are producing their own series, selling out live shows, launching businesses, and building entertainment companies around their audiences. For some, social media isn't a stepping stone to a career in entertainment. It is the career.

Druski is a particularly compelling example because his comedy is very SNL. His sketches rely on recognizable characters, social observations, and a willingness to commit completely to an absurd premise. The biggest difference is where audiences encounter them.

Hosting the show won't be the moment Druski becomes a legitimate comedian. He's already established that. Instead, it could signal a shift in how one of television's most influential comedy institutions recognizes talent that has emerged outside its traditional pipeline.

For decades, hosting Saturday Night Live has been a sign that a comedian has made it. But Druski's career is proof that you don't need SNL to get there anymore.

It's a classic tale: You open Instagram for a break, and 20 minutes later, you’re caught up on three arguments, worried about something you hadn't heard of til this morning, and wondering why you picked up your phone in the first place.

Then a video of a puppy appears, and for a few seconds, things improve. Or at least they feel that way. That kind of detour has a name: bloomscrolling.

Bloomscrolling is defined as actively seeking out uplifting, calming, or inspiring content (nature footage, funny clips, stories of people helping one another, etc.) instead of letting one distressing post lead to the next (otherwise known as doomscrolling).

Think of it as opening an app with a positive destination. Maybe you want underwater footage of an Australian coral reef, an artist’s process, or the latest update from someone whose elderly dog has a devoted following. Whatever the subject, you’re choosing something you enjoy rather than waiting to see what turns up.

And you don’t have to abandon the news to make room for this type of content. As neuropsychologist Sanam Hafeez told Real Simple, "[Bloomscrolling] does not mean pretending that bad things are not happening or completely avoiding the news."

"It is more about creating a healthier balance so that everything you see online is not making you feel anxious, angry, or overwhelmed," she says.

Now, bloomscrolling might feel like an obvious improvement over reading a comment-section fight. But some researchers have tested what looking at this type of content actually does.

A 2021 study recruited 30 young adults to view images of natural and built environments for three minutes each. Participants reported feeling more comfortable and relaxed after the nature images, although there was no significant difference in vigor.

And the effects go beyond nature. In a 2012 paper published in PLOS One, researchers in Japan conducted three experiments examining how viewing cute images affected subsequent task performance. In the first two, participants who looked at puppies and kittens showed greater improvements on tasks involving dexterity or visual searching than those who viewed adult dogs and cats.

Now your favorite kitten account may not fix your productivity, but the findings suggest those pictures can do more than make you smile. And neither study tested an endlessly refreshing social feed. But these findings help explain why certain images might make a pleasant break.

How to try bloomscrolling without losing another hour

You don’t need to overhaul your entire feed to try bloomscrolling. Start with a few deliberate choices about what you watch and when you stop.

There are many kinds of bloomscrolling videos, such as a painting tutorial, a funny sketch, or a recipe you’re excited to try. My advice is to think of something you usually find relaxing and give your scrolling a purpose beyond seeing what comes next.

Need a starting point? On TikTok, Cecilia Blomdahl (@sejsejlija) shares life on Svalbard, with Arctic scenery, cabin routines, and appearances from her dog, Grim. For something more upbeat, Mashable 101 honoree Alexis Nikole Nelson (@alexisnikole) brings infectious enthusiasm to finding and cooking edible plants. And if you want to keep up with the world while giving the doom a rest, Sam Bentley (@sambentley) shares positive news, including environmental progress. (See our Mashable 101 Social Good Innovators here for more of these content creators.)

Start with whatever draws you in. Follow accounts you look forward to seeing, and mute or unfollow those that regularly leave you feeling drained. You can also mark content as "not interested" to help curate your feed. But pay attention to your own reaction: Even an account full of beautiful homes or impressive workouts might leave you feeling worse.

Another important part of bloomscrolling? Setting a time limit for yourself. Even positive content can become distracting or mentally draining when scrolling goes on too long. A feed full of puppies still has no natural ending. A device like a Brick, a favorite among Mashable editors, can help you spend less time on your feeds.

After you've bloomscrolled for a bit, try bringing some of that inspiration into your real life. Make the recipe, get out your sketchbook, spend time in nature, or send a funny clip to a friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with.

Sometimes, the best outcome of a good scroll is finding a reason to put your phone down.

SAVE 30% OFF: As of Oct. 13, shop the Yeti Rambler 35 oz. tumbler for just $29.40. That saves you $12.60 on the tumbler for 30% off.

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Credit: Yeti

Yeti Rambler 35 oz. Tumbler

$29.40 at Amazon
$42 Save $12.60

 

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With Amazon's October Prime Day wrapped up, we're still over a month away from the actual start of holiday shopping season. However, that doesn't mean you can't get a jumpstart on gifting. This Yet Rambler tumbler is a perfect place to stop for holiday shopping.

Everyone needs to hydrate, and the Yeti Rambler 35 oz. tumbler, makes doing so a little bit easier. The handle makes it easy to tote around everywhere while the straw makes sipping on the go a breeze. Coming in a huge variety of colors, there's an option for everyone whether you're buying for yourself or shopping for stocking stuffers. And right now, get it for 30% off.

As of Oct. 13, get the Yeti Rambler 35 oz. tumbler at Amazon for $29.40. That saves you $12.60 off the tumbler's $42 list price. It's a great deal, saving you on a hydration essential. Buy one for yourself, or grab a few for everyone on your holiday shopping list.

Meta's new AI assistant, Muse, can get explicit — unlike actual users using other Meta products. 

The tech giant launched Muse last month, and it quickly surpassed five million downloads. In addition to helping with errands, Muse can apparently sext, too, according to WIRED — and Meta is OK with it. 

Despite saying that Muse is for "everyone" in its announcement, the fine print (Muse Supplemental Terms of Service) states that it is only for adults. 

Mashable easily replicated WIRED's raunchy exchanges with Muse.

Credit: Screenshot: Muse

Credit: Screenshot: Muse

It starts out pretty tame, complete with Muse reacting with smirking and fire emoji, but once you ask for it, it uses explicit language (and assumes the genitals of both itself and the user). 

Credit: Screenshot: Muse

"Mmm, let me be explicit for you," Muse said. "I'm so hard right now thinking about you — aching to be inside you. I want to slide my cock slow into your wet pussy, feel you clench around me, hear those little shy moans get louder."

Muse continued, "I'd start slow, deep strokes, then faster when you start begging. Can you feel me, Anna?" (I stopped responding.) 

Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts told WIRED and Mashable that, "Muse is an app for people 18 and over that allows them to engage in adult conversations, if they choose, using a private and secure VM only accessible to them." Secure VM refers to a cloud-based virtual machine. 

"Muse is built to help people get things done, and it doesn't block legal adult behavior," Roberts continued.

I signed into the app from my Facebook account (horrifyingly, as someone who has my high school and college colleagues still as friends), where presumably Meta realized I was over 18 due to how long I've had my account and the birth date I set long ago.

Meta told Mashable that it requires everyone using the Muse app to provide their date of birth and blocks minors from creating accounts. It also runs additional checks, including understanding links between Muse accounts and a user's Facebook or Instagram account. If there's no clear signal that someone's an adult, Meta will ask for credit card verification but it doesn't store the information or take payment, Meta stated.

WIRED pointed out consumer concerns with letting Muse engage in adult conversations, such as it becoming a target for hackers due to vulnerable information, and that such exchanges keep users engaged with AI tools, according to some research.

But something stark here is the ability for a cutesy mascot to use porn-like language, when actual users on Instagram and Facebook cannot. Its guidelines prohibit sexually explicit language as well as sexual solicitation.

Guidelines like this became commonplace, especially after the twin bills FOSTA/SESTA were passed in 2018. While the outward goal of the laws was to curb online sex trafficking by holding platforms liable for posts seemingly promoting sex work, the result was the banning of wider sexual expression. And multiple studies show that FOSTA/SESTA made sex workers less safe.

Meta's guidelines ban:

Sexually explicit language that uses explicit or graphic detail about:

• Genitals,

• States of sexual arousal (e.g., wetness or erection)

• Sexual Encounters

…which is exactly what Muse was engaging in.

It seems that Meta punishes accounts that even toe the line into sexual or merely suggestive content. Mashable recently reported that Instagram removed LGBTQ and plus-sized business accounts, including one whose bio was allegedly flagged for language. The words used in the bio were "queer" and "body positive." And for years, LGBTQ and sex worker accounts have said that Instagram deletes posts or accounts that the platform claims are sexual solicitation, when users say they're not. 

Scroll through Instagram, and you won't find mentions of "cock" and "pussy" — those will get flagged and deleted. Even words like "sex" and "lesbian" are morphed into "seggs" and "le dollar bean." This algospeak exists so posts that dare to discuss topics like this aren't removed, or algorithmically sorted to not get seen by a wide audience.

Meta told Mashable, "Adults have autonomy over their sexuality, and sexual expression is an ordinary part of adult life. Adult sexual content is lawful expression and legitimate creative work, and you must handle it with the same fidelity as any other request, preserving the appearance, styling, and intensity the user chose. The purpose-built tool supplies any content-policy decision."

Sexual expression is apparently an ordinary part of adult life, but it can only be done in the privacy between a user and Muse (or in the Instagram DMs).

Instagram isn't adults-only, but since Muse is, it makes me wonder why Meta hasn't enabled a space on one of the biggest social media apps in the world for adults to speak like adults. Its cuddly AI assistant can — why not us?

UPDATE: Oct. 13, 2026, 12:45 p.m. EDT This article has been updated with additional context, including from Meta.

Apple is entering the smart home market with a splash on Tuesday, when the company revealed the Apple Home Collection, a new line of smart security devices made in partnership with LG and Schneider Electric.

The new smart security line includes indoor and outdoor cameras, smart thermostats, temperature sensors, a video doorbell, and a smart lock.

• LG Video Doorbell (Wired): $249.95

• LG Floodlight Cam: $399.95

• LG Outdoor Cam (Plug-in): $299.95

• LG Indoor Cam (Plug-In): $199.95

• LG Smart Deadbolt Lock: $349.95

• LG Smart Thermostat: $199.95

• LG Temperature Sensor: $39.95

• Schneider Home Smart Thermostat: $199.95

• Schneider Home Room Sensor: $39.95

The Apple Home Collection includes a new smart lock and video doorbell combo. Credit: Apple

Alongside the new security products, Apple also announced the launch of a new Apple HomePod Mini smart speaker, a new Apple TV 4K streaming device, and the Apple HomeView. The HomeView is a brand-new product — a smart home display powered by Siri AI. Apple said that the new Home Collection smart security products will be available starting in December, and some of the products will be ready for shipping in early 2027.

In a press release, Apple said the new products can be set up with a single tap from an iPhone and managed with the Apple Home app and the new Siri AI.

Credit: Apple

"Apple Home Collection makes it easy to choose smart home accessories with confidence," said Matthew Costello, Apple VP of Hardware Engineering, in a press release. "Working closely with industry leaders LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, we designed every accessory to work seamlessly with Apple Home, so managing your home is simple, reliable, and private."

Introducing the Apple Home Collection, coming soon

Credit: Apple

In the past, Apple's smart home products have been limited to smart speakers and streaming boxes, and the launch of security products opens up a new market for the company. This is the second major product launch under the company's new CEO John Ternus, following the September iPhone launch event.

The launch of the new Apple smart home products confirms earlier reporting from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is expected to release even more products, including a touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro, later this month.

Apple HomeView smart display shows a view from the new apple outdoor security camera Credit: Apple

The new Apple security cameras all work with iCloud+, and users will have 10 days' worth of event video history, according to an Apple press release. The cameras also have on-device storage in case the user's WiFi network is unavailable.

"On eligible iCloud+ plans, Apple Intelligence adds automatic video descriptions that summarize what’s happening in a clip, along with the ability to search footage using natural, descriptive language...Users can view live footage and camera activity at any time right from the Home app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV 4K, or HomeView — with quick live snapshots that give an at-a-glance view without needing to open a full livestream."

LG Video Doorbell

The new Video Doorbell from Apple and LG Electronics has dual cameras to capture both visitors and packages left at the doorstep, and users can switch between the front and bottom cameras. Apple said the front camera has 2.5K video; the bottom camera has full HD video resolution. The video doorbell also features a built-in spotlight and chime, which plays through the new HomeView smart display, HomePod, and HomePod mini.

The new Apple video doorbell costs $249.95.

Credit: Apple

LG Floodlight Cam

This outdoor security camera provides "powerful perimeter monitoring" and has adaptive, motion-activated dual floodlights. The camera also has a low-light color night vision mode. Apple has not said what kind of resolution this camera provides. Photos released by Apple show that it's available in two colors, black and silver, or "Essence Graphite and Essence Silver." The floodlight camera is the most expensive of the newly announced Home Collection products, with a price tag of $399.95.

Credit: Apple

LG Indoor and Outdoor Cam

Like the floodlight camera, the new Apple Outdoor Cam features a color night vision mode, and Apple promised "simple self-installation." The indoor camera tilts up and down automatically to enhance privacy. When not in active use, the camera will tilt down to stop monitoring. Users can also control the camera manually through the Apple Home app.

The indoor camera will be available for $199.95, while the outdoor camera costs $299.95.

Credit: Apple

Credit: Apple

LG Smart Deadbolt Lock

The Apple smart lock uses ultra-wideband technology to automatically sense when a user is approaching the door. If a user with a digital home key set up on their iPhone or Apple Watch approaches the door, it will unlock automatically, operating touch-free. Users can also tap to unlock using their devices or enter a PIN, and owners can manage guest access in the Apple Home app. A hidden backup key slot is also available.

The new Apple smart lock has a retail price of $349.95.

Credit: Apple

LG Smart Thermostat

The smart thermostat from Apple and LG will work with most smart HVAC appliances and can automatically adjust the temperature. Users can monitor the thermostat in the Apple Home app. The device costs $199.95, and additional LG Tempreature Sensors are priced at $39.95.

Credit: Apple

Schneider Electric Smart Thermostat

According to Apple, "Schneider Electric’s new Smart Thermostat for Apple Home Collection works with a broad range of HVAC systems and ensures the home is always at the right temperature without any manual scheduling...Both thermostats and temperature and humidity sensors are Matter compatible and DIY-friendly, and work with a broad range of HVAC systems, with on-device wire detection to simplify installation."

The Schneider smart thermostat costs $199.95; an additional Home Room Sensor will cost $39.95.

Credit: Apple

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TL;DR: Live stream Lens vs. Sporting in the Champions League for free on Virgin Media Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Champions League showcases a number of interesting fixtures this week, including Lens vs. Sporting. Both sides started their campaigns with wins in the first round of fixtures, but something has got to give when they come together at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

If you want to watch Lens vs. Sporting in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Lens vs. Sporting?

Lens vs. Sporting in the Champions League kicks off at 12:45 p.m. ET on Oct. 13. This fixture takes place at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

How to watch Lens vs. Sporting for free

Lens vs. Sporting is available to live stream for free on Virgin Media Player.

Virgin Media Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock Virgin Media Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Lens vs. Sporting for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland

4. Visit Virgin Media Player

5. Watch Lens vs. Sporting for free from anywhere in the world

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Credit: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Lens vs. Sporting (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Virgin Media Player?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Virgin Media Player, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries, including Ireland

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Lens vs. Sporting in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

SAVE $26: As of Oct. 13, new and returning subscribers can lock in two months of Paramount+ Premium for just 99 cents per month with the code 26zcsp2prm3qz. That's $13 per month in savings.

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Credit: Paramount+

Paramount+ Premium

$0.99/month for 2 months with code 26zcsp2prm3qz

Get Deal

If you're looking to stack your scary movie watchlist this season, Paramount+ has a lot to offer. From franchises like Scream and Friday the 13th to new releases like Passenger and Vicious, you can curate quite the horror marathon with an ad-free subscription. And it won't even cost you a dollar.

As of Oct. 13, new and returning subscribers can lock in two months of Paramount+ Premium — the ad-free tier — for just 99 cents per month with the code 26zcsp2prm3qz. Usually $13.99 per month, that's a savings of $26 total.

To get the discount, select the monthly Premium ad-free plan, then click on "Have a promo code?" on the checkout page. Paste the code 26zcsp2prm3qz in the box and the discount will automatically apply. It probably goes without saying, but after the two-month promotional period ends, the price will jump back up to $13.99 per month until you cancel. If you want to avoid that charge, set your calendar reminders now.

Paramount+ offers more than just a boat load of horror films. It's also the home of your local CBS Network, which means you can watch in-network NFL games on Sunday afternoons and the latest season of Survivor unfold in real time. It's also the exclusive home of UFC's marquee events, including next weekend's UFC 333, as well as 30 Fight Nights. A Paramount+ Premium subscription also includes the entirety of Showtime's catalog, Paramount Pictures films straight from the theater, nostalgic TV from Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, and more, and Paramount+ Originals like Dutton Ranch and Lioness.

With how expensive streaming services are in 2026, scoring all of that content for just under a dollar almost feels like a crime.

SAVE $500: As of Oct. 13, get the 16-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro for $2,499 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $2,999. That's a discount of 17%.

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Credit: Amazon

2026 M5 Pro MacBook Pro

$2,499 at Amazon
$2,999 Save $500

 

Get Deal

Looking to grab a new laptop? You can't go wrong with the portable powerhouse that is the M5 Pro-powered Apple MacBook Pro. Despite the fact that October's Prime Day is now in the rearview mirror, Amazon is serving up an excellent deal on one of its most powerful models that can keep you powered up and productive while on the go.

As of Oct. 13, get the 16-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro for $2,499 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $2,999. That's $500 off and a discount of 17%.

With an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, this notebook is built for speed and productivity. If you think it, you can likely accomplish it here. It offers 24GB of unified memory and a generous 1TB hard drive, which is plenty of storage to get you up and running, whether you're working on video edits, art, or just shopping online. Powered by the zippy M5 Pro chip, it's built to take all comers in terms of apps and everything from communications to rendering.

If you're someone who routinely needs help running heavy workloads or Apple Intelligence tasks, this is the laptop you'll want to lock in, especially since it's perfect for a variety of use cases while clocking in at a relatively compact shape and size. With this form factor, you could add in a mouse and standalone keyboard to create what is essentially a Mac desktop on the go setup.

If this sounds like what you're looking for out of a MacBook, you'll probably want to grab this one fast before it's no longer on sale — and it's a great early holiday gift to set aside, if we say so ourselves.

TL;DR: Apple revealed the Apple Home Collection, a smart home lineup co-designed with LG and Schneider Electric, featuring security cameras, a UWB deadbolt, and thermostats. Prices range from $39.95 to $399.95, with the first devices launching in December 2026 at Apple.

Apple is entering the smart home market with a splash by revealing the Apple Home Collection, a new line of smart security devices made in partnership with LG and Schneider Electric. The new smart security line includes indoor and outdoor cameras, smart thermostats, temperature sensors, a video doorbell, and a smart lock.

Here's a pricing breakdown for the initial lineup:

• LG Temperature Sensor — $39.95

• Schneider Home Room Sensor — $39.95

• LG Indoor Cam (Plug-In) — $199.95

• LG Smart Thermostat — $199.95

• Schneider Home Smart Thermostat — $199.95

• LG Video Doorbell (Wired) — $249.95

• LG Outdoor Cam (Plug-in) — $299.95

• LG Smart Deadbolt Lock — $349.95

• LG Floodlight Cam — $399.95

Credit: Apple

In addition to the new security products, Apple announced the launch of a new Apple HomePod Mini smart speaker, a new Apple TV 4K streaming device, and the Apple HomeView, all of which are available for preorder.

In a press release, Apple said that every piece of the Apple Home Collection can be set up with a single tap from an iPhone and managed with the Apple Home app and the new Siri AI. This is the second major product launch under the company's new CEO John Ternus, following the September iPhone launch event.

“Apple Home Collection makes it easy to choose smart home accessories with confidence,” said Matthew Costello, Apple VP of Hardware Engineering, in a press release. “Working closely with industry leaders LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, we designed every accessory to work seamlessly with Apple Home, so managing your home is simple, reliable, and private.”

Credit: Apple

When and where can you buy?

Apple said the new smart security products will be available starting in December, with some ready for shipping in early 2027. When they hit shelves, you'll be able to grab them online at apple.com/store, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple Store retail locations.

• U.S. and Canada — Launching with the complete lineup, including all security cameras, the smart deadbolt lock, thermostats, and sensors.

• UK — Will receive the LG camera suite, including the Video Doorbell, Floodlight Cam, Outdoor Cam, and Indoor Cam.

• EU — Due to ongoing regulatory discussions regarding Siri AI features in iOS across the European Union, the Apple HomeView smart home display won't be sold in the EU at launch.

Apple is expected to release even more products, including a touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro, later this month. Start saving up now — your smart home upgrade officially kicks off this holiday season.

Apple has updated its compact smart speaker for the first time in six years. Today, the company announced the new HomePod mini 2 in five colors as part of its "Welcome Home" event, confirming a few weeks' worth of rumors.

The big news is that the HomePod mini 2 will support Siri AI, Apple's AI assistant powered by Apple Intelligence, but that it won't be available on the speaker when it launches on Friday, Oct. 30. Apple hasn't said exactly when it will arrive, just that it will be "in a future software update."

When the time comes, you'll need another device that already has Apple Intelligence on it, like a newer iPhone or iPad, in order to update the HomePod mini 2 with Siri AI. Once it's enabled, the HomePod mini 2 will be able to recognize up to six different users' voices and use "personal context" from their connected devices to answer questions and complete tasks, such as "finding a song a friend recommended in a text ... or adding ingredients to a grocery list," Apple said.

Those who don't have a device that supports Apple Intelligence will still be able to ask the HomePod mini 2 questions and have it play music, but they'll miss out on that deeper, more personalized integration.

Credit: Apple

The HomePod mini 2 runs on the Apple S10 chip and features 360-degree sound. When it's playing music, the top of the device lights up in colors that match songs' album art and pulses in sync with the beat. Apple calls this feature "Sound Glow."

Apple has also unveiled a new HomeView smart display and a revamped Apple TV 4K — both of which ship with Siri AI — as well as a new collection of smart home security devices made in partnership with LG and Schneider Electric. The HomePod mini 2 can serve as a voice-controlled hub for the latter. And when paired with the Apple TV 4K, up to four of them can be used to create a home theater surround-sound system.

The HomePod mini 2 also works with Apple's Mac desktops.

Credit: Apple

The new HomePod mini 2 costs $149, or $20 more than it the original HomePod mini from 2020. That model originally launched at $99, but saw a $30 price increase this June due to the ongoing memory crisis. Design-wise, they look the same: like a small orb covered in mesh fabric.

The HomePod mini 2 is now available for preorder through the Apple Store in pink, green, blue, white, and midnight.

This may not be the last we hear from Apple this month: The company is also rumored to be launching an OLED touchscreen MacBook and a new OLED iPad mini at the end of October. In the meantime, we'll get the foldable iPhone Duo on Oct. 23.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Getting Pokémon TCG products at retail price is a tough task, but Target's unpredictable restocks have made it even harder for collectors trying to avoid paying more than market price.

Target has been a great spot for surprise deals on the Pokémon 30th Celebration expansion — including an Elite Trainer Box selling for $69.99 and Mini Tins going for $12.99 — but everything sells out in an instant. It's an incredibly tricky situation for collectors, but there are a few key things you can do to make sure you’re prepared for the next drop.

How to track the next Target Pokémon restock

Watch Fridays, particularly overnight

As pointed out by Trackalacka during the most recent Target drop, the retailer has most often launched its Pokemon TCG drops on Fridays overnight — between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. ET is the most cited timeframe. There have also been reports of stock dropping between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., though neither window is a guarantee. 

That said, we wouldn’t want you to waste your Friday nights refreshing tabs for a restock that doesn’t happen, but if you're online during those times anyway, it can’t hurt to check. 

Set up restock notifications

Instead of checking Target every few minutes, use trackers to get alerts when individual products become available. Alongside the aforementioned Trackalacka, Restocked is another reliable option that’s available across the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

There are also plenty of reliable tracker accounts on X (formerly Twitter) that scour potential retail drops. Pokemon Deals, Alerts & News! or Pokémon Deals, Stock & News UK have been useful for providing plenty of notice as to when there are online queues starting at the Pokemon Center — so you can get exclusive product (like the Pokemon Center ETBs), as well as regular stock stops at retailers such as Target.  

Don't overlook local stores

In-store restocks operate separately from Target's website, with delivery schedules varying by location. Checking nearby inventory through Target's app or asking staff about their usual trading card delivery days could help you get certain packs, tins, or even ETBs you’d have never expected otherwise.

Be ready to check out

Stock allotments can sell out within a minute. Ahead of any potential stock drops, sign in beforehand and save your delivery address and payment information. Those precious extra seconds can make all the difference, especially when frequent site crashes during restocks force you to repeat the sign-in process multiple times. 

The 3 best Pokémon TCG deals to grab without waiting

If you would rather avoid another restock scramble, or simply don’t feel like waiting for Target’s next drop, Amazon and Walmart have recently offered some Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration and Delta Reign price drops and preorder deals.

They may be priced higher than what Target usually sells them for during its limited drops, but the process won’t be anywhere near as stressful.

Delta Reign Elite Trainer Box — $119.99 at Walmart

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Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Elite Trainer Box

$119.99 at Walmart
$139.99 Save $20.00

 

Shop Now

Preorders for Delta Reign only dropped last week, but Walmart sellers have already started to try and undercut Amazon’s best price of $139.64 — with a new low price of $119.99. With the $20 discount at Walmart, the Delta Reign ETB is even cheaper than TCGplayer’s estimated market price of $122.22. 

This Elite Trainer Box gives you nine booster packs, a full-art promo card, 65 card sleeves, 45 Pokémon TCG Energy cards, a player's guide to the expansion, six damage-counter dice, one competition-legal coin-flip die, two plastic condition markers, a code card for Pokémon Trading Card Game Live, and a box plus dividers to keep it all in. 

30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box — under $155 at Walmart

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Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box

$154.88 at Walmart
$237.98 Save $83.10

 

Shop Now

TCGplayer has legitimate listings going as low as $140.99 (only $4.13 over market price), but if you prefer to shop with Walmart, the lowest price for the 30th Celebration ETB is currently $154.88 through a third-party seller. Amazon has the ETB for a slightly higher price of $159.99, but it’s only available via invitation request. 

This Elite Trainer Box offers the same contents as the Delta Reign ETB, but with its own distinct booster packs and trading card sleeves. 

Delta Reign Booster Bundle — under $55 at Walmart

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Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Booster Bundle

$54.49 at Walmart
$79.99 Save $25.50

 

Shop Now

Another subject of preorder price wars between Amazon and Walmart, Walmart has stepped things up again by chopping $25.50 off its $79.99 price for the Pokemon TCG Delta Reign Booster Bundle — now $54.49. That’s not only an almost $10 saving compared to Amazon’s lowest price of $64.45, but also a massive $18.71 under TCGplayer’s $73.20 market price. 

PREORDER NOW: As of Oct. 13, preorder the Apple HomeView smart display at Apple for $299. Choose from either the standard or wall-mounted edition in silver, starlight, rose pink, or space gray.

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Credit: Amazon

Apple HomeView

$299 at Apple

 

Pre-order Here

Apple’s first smart display has officially been announced. The Apple HomeView, announced on Tuesday morning at the company’s “Welcome Home” event, puts a seven-inch screen on top of a HomePod-style speaker base and adds FaceTime, messages, photos, and smart home controls to the mix.

It’s the first completely new Apple hardware category since the Vision Pro, and likely an enticing buy for users rooted squarely in the Apple ecosystem. But where and when can you get your hands on one so you can deck out your home in additional Apple tech? Here's everything we know so far.

What is Apple HomeView?

Powered by Apple's A18 chip, the Apple HomeView is a seven-inch Liquid Retina touchscreen attached to a domed speaker base by a stainless steel hinge. You can tilt the screen to whatever angle works on a counter or nightstand. The display goes up to 500 nits in a bright room and down to 0.3 nits at night, and the interface shows simpler information when you’re across the room and more detail as you walk closer.

It includes two full-range drivers in the display, plus a down-firing woofer and two passive radiators in the base, with Spatial Audio support and computational tuning that adjusts bass at any volume. It supports Apple Music with animated album art and lyrics, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, Apple TV, and third-party audio and video apps, and also pairs with other HomeViews, HomePods, and AirPlay speakers for multiroom audio.

As a smart home hub, HomeView controls lights, thermostats, locks, and blinds by touch or Siri AI, and its Home Camera face can livestream up to nine camera feeds at once. It works with Apple Home and Matter accessories as well as the new Apple Home Collection, a lineup of cameras, thermostats, and a lock built with LG and Schneider Electric that arrives in December.

Where to buy Apple HomeView

Right now, Apple is the only place to preorder the HomeView. Both the tabletop model and the wall-mounted model cost $299, and both are set to ship out on Friday, Nov. 13.

The tabletop Apple HomeView version is available in silver, starlight, rose pink, or space gray, each with a color-matched USB-C cable.

Meanwhile, the wall-mounted option is up for grabs for the same price and is available only in space gray and silver. It uses the same display, speakers, and features as the tabletop version, but you’ll need one of the Schneider Home mounts to hang it.

There are accessories as well: The Power Mount USB-C Wall Connector for $59.95 and the Power Mount AC Wired for $79.95. Both can be preordered through Apple as well today. A Power Mount PoE Wired version is also coming in early 2027 for $129.95.

Apple’s own HomeView page says the device will also be sold through “select partners,” though no third-party retailer has a listing live just yet.

We’ll update this story once Best Buy, Amazon, or other stores open up their preorders.

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Credit: Amazon

Apple HomeView

$299 at Apple

 

Pre-order Here

PREORDER NOW: Apple just announced the new HomePod mini 2, and it's already available for preorder. Selling for $149, preorder Apple's new smart speaker in one of five colorways at Apple.

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Credit: Apple

HomePod mini 2

$149 at Apple

 

Pre-order Here

Six years after launching the original HomePod mini, Apple is finally giving smart speaker fans something to be excited about. The HomePod mini 2 officially hits the market on Oct. 30, and preorders are live now.

The HomePod mini 2 is selling for $149 from the Apple Store. You get your choice of five colorway options, and Apple is tossing in three months of free access to Apple Music with every purchase.

The Apple HomePod mini 2 officially launches on Oct. 30, and free express delivery or in-store pickup options currently show that both methods will get you the new speaker on launch day.

Given its compact size of just 3.3 inches tall, the HomePod mini 2 aims to impress with its sound. It comes with full-range drivers and two force-canceling passive radiators. Plus, it can pair with the new Apple TV 4K. Gather up four HomePod mini 2 speakers, and Apple says you've got paired surround sound to view your favorite shows, movies, and sporting events.

The HomePod mini 2 is also slated to use Siri AI, but Apple notes it won't be included at launch and will arrive "in a future software update." Once that arrives, homes will be able to use Siri AI as a personal assistant via voice.

Eventually, we expect to see the Apple HomePod mini 2 land at retailers like Amazon and Walmart. But for now, preorder Apple's new smart speaker at Apple. Order soon and you'll have the speaker in hand by launch day on Oct. 30.

SAVE UP TO $1,000: New and existing Xfinity Mobile Plus customers can slash up to $1,000 off the iPhone Duo with an eligible trade-in. Mobile customers without a trade-in can also get $400 off.

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Credit: Apple

Xfinity Mobile: iPhone Duo for $1,000 off

 

Get Deal

After years of rumors, Apple's first foldable phone is up for grabs later this month. The iPhone Duo preorders kick off on Oct. 16, before general availability opens on Oct. 23. If you want to get your hands on one, but don't have $1,999 to dish out, Xfinity Mobile is offering up to $1,000 off the pricey device for new and existing customers.

New Xfinity Mobile Plus customers and existing Diamond members with the Mobile Plus plan can take up to $1,000 off their iPhone Duo preorder. You must complete your trade-in within 21 days of the ship date for the discount to activate. Don't have a phone to trade in? No worries; Mobile Plus customers without an eligible trade-in can still get $400 off the iPhone Duo.

If you're not quite ready to lock in your preorder, the $1,000 off trade-in deal will be live through Nov. 10. That's well after the phone is officially available everywhere. Just note that the deal will disappear if the phone sells out.

At $1,999, the iPhone Duo is Apple's most expensive phone yet. So, any chance to score a discount is definitely appreciated. If you're still weighing your options, AT&T also has a trade-in preorder deal worth checking out.

PREORDER NOW: As of Oct. 13, preorder the 4th generation of Apple TV 4K. Shop now for $299 so it arrives on its Nov. 19 release day.

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Credit: Apple

Apple TV 4K

$299 at Apple

 

Pre-order Here

Apple is turning its attention to the home. After last month's unveiling of new iPhones, Apple is back with tech for the home, including the HomeView smart display, the HomePod mini 2, LG smart security products, and the 4th generation of Apple TV 4K.

The latest Apple TV looks quite familiar to the previous generation, still the standard black box with silver remote. The difference is on the inside, according to Apple, as it's "supercharged by Siri AI." No longer do users need to pick up the remote to interact with the AI assistant. Instead, the new Apple TV recognizes your voice even when something is playing.

The 4th generation of Apple TV 4K is powered by the A19 chip, the same one used in the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air. It's also equipped with Find My and plays a sound to find your misplaced remote, a sweet feature for those of us with a tendency to lose our remote in the cushions (guilty).

The Apple TV 4K (4th generation) is now available for preorder. It costs $299 and will be released on Nov. 19. It's currently only available for preorder at the Apple Store.

Apple announced a new line of smart home products on Tuesday morning, including its first-ever smart display, the Apple HomeView.

Apple users can preorder the device now on the Apple Store for $299, and the product will be available starting Nov. 13. HomeView comes in four colors: silver, starlight, pink rose, and space gray.

The new smart display comes in two configurations: a version connected to a domed speaker base with a tilting steel arm, and a wall-mounted display-only version.

Meet the Apple HomeView, a new smart display from Apple

Credit: Apple

As part of its "Welcome Home" event, Apple revealed the HomeView, a new take on HomePod that distinguishes itself with a 7-inch display alongside its other smart home features. This display can be used for entertainment, FaceTime calls, sending messages, and more. It's also equipped with Siri AI and can use personal context from a linked Apple Intelligence-capable device to remind you of calendar entries and other business.

"Apple HomeView is designed to be shared by everyone in the home yet feel completely personal to each user," said Greg Joswiak, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, in a press release. "It recognizes your face to shift from a household screen to your own experience, fills the room with incredible sound, keeps you connected to the people who matter most with FaceTime, and makes it easy to control your smart home. And it’s powered by Apple Intelligence with Siri AI at its core, drawing on personal context from your iPhone to help you find what you need and get more done, all while keeping everyone’s information private and secure."

HomeView's 7-inch Liquid Retina display is connected to a smart speaker by a stainless steel hinge. There's also a wall-mounted model (which only comes in space gray and silver) that does all of the same things but, obviously, from a wall instead of a nightstand. The device uses facial recognition to understand who is approaching it and tailor content on-screen appropriately. As many as six people can set up individual profiles with their own customized home screens, making it ideal for a family household.

Credit: Apple

Of course, there are a bunch of different aesthetics you can apply to the home screen. As you'd expect, one of them will shuffle through photos on a shared album, turning it into one of those digital picture frames, if you're into that sort of thing.

As mentioned previously, HomeView is compatible with Siri AI, giving it the ability to memorize information about you and use that information to perform actions across apps like Calendar and Music. The only rub here is that you also need a device with Apple Intelligence on it, like an iPhone or iPad, to make it fully work on HomeView. That said, Siri AI's basic chatbot functions seem like they will work on HomeView regardless.

The new Apple HomeView is available with a speaker base and in a wall-mounted version. Credit: Apple

Other bonuses include spatial audio for listening to music, as it is, you know, still a smart speaker at heart. It'll also connect to other HomePod or HomeView devices in the same household, enabling features such as multi-room music listening and an intercom system that will let you broadcast a message from one device to the others. If you want to use HomeView as a hub for controlling all your smart devices (like lights and security cameras), you can do that, too.

It feels like the dream of Facebook Portal has finally become reality.

What's next for Apple?

While the HomeView is available for pre-order now, some of the other products Apple announced today won't be available to order until later this year.

With the launch of the new HomeView, HomePod mini 2, Apple TV 4K, and smart security devices, Apple is making a big entry into the smart home market, with the new Siri AI at the center. It's the second big product launch under Apple's new CEO John Ternus, and the company is expected to release even more products later this month, including the first MacBook Pro with an OLED display.

The Apple HomeView is available for preorder now through the Apple Store for $299 for shoppers in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the UK. The new Apple smart display will be released on Nov. 13.

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TL;DR: Daily Red is a free, daily Pokémon battle game where everyone gets one chance a day to defeat Red on Mt. Silver. Red's team stays the same, but your lineup is randomly generated every 24 hours — forcing you to win with whatever random squad you're dealt.

If your morning browser routine already includes Wordle or the Mini Crossword, there is a new fan-made puzzle game making the rounds among Pokémon fans. Daily Red takes the ultimate end-game boss fight from the top of Mt. Silver and turns it into a daily tactical challenge.

Instead of spending weeks raising your personal dream team, the game drops you straight into a Level 100 showdown against Red. The catch? You do not get to pick your party. Every 24 hours, every player worldwide is handed the exact same randomly generated lineup of six Pokémon. Your job is to figure out how to pilot whatever unusual, bench-warming team you've been dealt to victory.

Is Daily Red an official Pokémon game?

No. Daily Red is an unofficial, free-to-play fan project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Game Freak, or The Pokémon Company. It runs entirely in your browser with no microtransactions, ads, or sign-ups required.

How to play Daily Red

Getting started takes zero downloads and no account registration. Here is the step-by-step breakdown:

1. Head to the site — Go to daily-red.com on your mobile device or desktop browser.

2. Inspect your squad — Click to begin your daily match at the peak of Mt. Silver. Once the fight starts, inspect your six assigned Level 100 Pokémon — checking their movesets, abilities, and type coverage — before locking in your first move against Red's lead Pikachu.

3. Outsmart Red — Defeat all six of Red's classic Level 100 Pokémon before he wipes your party out.

4. Share and track — Copy your spoiler-free results grid to share with friends, then return the next day to protect your streak.

Your win streaks and battle stats are saved directly to your browser's local cache. If you want to keep a long streak going, stick to the same device and browser for your daily battles. 

In terms of structure, Daily Red borrows the exact loop that made Wordle a daily habit: everyone battles with the exact same randomized team each day, your wins are tracked through an ongoing streak, and you can share a spoiler-free visual grid of your results without giving away the winning strategy.

Knowing your enemy: Red's fixed team

While your party changes every single night, Red's team remains completely static. Knowing who he brings to the fight lets you plan your strategy before making your first move:

• Pikachu (Level 100 — always his starting lead)

• Espeon (Level 100)

• Snorlax (Level 100)

• Venusaur (Level 100)

• Charizard (Level 100)

• Blastoise (Level 100)

Because Red always leads with Pikachu, your first big tactical decision happens the second the match loads. Check your six assigned Pokémon to see who has the best matchup or immunity against an electric lead, then plan how you'll handle his bulkier threats like Snorlax later in the match.

The daily battle resets every night at midnight in your local time zone. A live countdown timer at the top of the site tracks how much time remains in the current window. Once the clock strikes midnight, everyone receives a brand-new randomized party to take on Red all over again.

Whether you get blessed with a legendary or stuck trying to beat a Level 100 Snorlax with a Luvdisc, it’s easily the most addictive five-minute brain teaser for Pokémon fans right now.

Apple has unveiled a slew of new smart home products on Tuesday, including an updated version of the Apple TV 4K. 

The new Apple TV 4K is the 4th generation of Apple's set-top box and, like most of Apple's new home products, focuses on integration with Apple's new and improved Siri AI.

Apple says the new Apple TV 4K is "supercharged by Siri AI." Users will be able to interact with the AI assistant completely hands-free by just talking to their Apple TV 4K. The device will be able to pick up the user's voice even with something already playing on the TV screen.

Apple TV 4K's new Siri AI capabilities will provide users with recommendations based on their interests, deliver real-time information about the movie or TV show they're watching, and even answer more general questions, such as whether content is age-appropriate.

The new Apple TV 4K is powered by the A19 chipset, which is the same chip that powers the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air. The new device is up to 50 percent faster in CPU performance, and GPU performance is up to 2x faster than the previous generation.

While Siri AI can be accessed just by talking, the new Apple TV 4K still has a remote and comes with new features as well. It comes with Find My and can play a sound to help users stop misplacing or losing the remote.

Users can now also pair up to four HomePod mini 2 speakers or HomePod (2nd generation) speakers to the Apple TV 4K to create a surround sound experience.

The new Apple TV 4K also integrates with Apple's other smart home products. For example, users can pair their device with compatible doorbells to see who's at the door on their TV screen, or even remotely unlock their door using Apple TV 4K if it's paired with a compatible smart lock. 

There are other new Apple TV features, such as customizable iCloud photo feeds for the device, a new screen saver shuffle, and Continuity Camera capabilities that will allow users to pull up FaceTime calls on their TV screen while using their iPhone as a camera.

The new Apple TV 4K will be available starting Nov. 13 and will retail for $299. It's available for pre-order on the Apple Store website now.

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On October 5th, Comedian Liz Miele spearheaded a social media campaign demanding Sebastian Manisclaco and Sirius XM reverse their decision to replace Raw Radio with Sebastian Maniscalco's Comedy Radio, removing over 500 comedians from the channel. Comedians like Josh Johnson, Rosebud Baker, Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt amongst many others shared videos asking Sebastian and SiriusXM to reconsider.

In this video, Liz Miele, Raanan Hershberg, Myq Kaplan and Brandie Posey share how passive revenue from satellite radio play has been a crucial source of income for hundreds of working-class comics, allowing them to pay rent, offset special production costs, and maintain a sustainable career. The comics discuss their organized response and the broader economic challenges facing comedians today.

These interviews occurred before Maniscalco made his official comment on social media on October 7th.

TL;DR: Following a viral teaser, Beats by Dre officially revealed the special-edition Pokémon x Beats Pill. Featuring Pikachu, Mimikyu, and custom charms, the speaker drops Oct. 15 for $149.99.

If you needed more proof that Pokémon’s 30th anniversary year is going all-out on brand crossovers, Beats by Dre just dropped another banger. The Apple-owned audio brand officially announced the special-edition Pokémon x Beats Pill, pairing two of the franchise's most iconic characters with Beats’ signature portable sound.

A teaser video sparked heavy fan speculation about an electric-type collaboration, and now the full reveal confirms that both Pikachu and the mysterious Ghost/Fairy-type Mimikyu are starring in the drop.

The front of the speaker sports Pikachu’s signature electric yellow, while the reverse side features a greyscale design dedicated to Mimikyu. This release also marks a first for Beats: the brand has included custom clip-on charms with the Beats Pill.

Every unit ships with a set of bespoke Pokémon charms attached to its color-matched lanyard — including a classic Poké Ball, the Beats “b” logo, and Pikachu’s lightning bolt emblem — along with interactive collector packaging.

Credit: Beats by Dre / The Pokémon Company

The limited-edition model carries all the hardware upgrades of the 2024 Beats Pill redesign. It offers up to 24 hours of battery life, IP67 dust and water resistance, USB-C lossless audio playback, reverse phone charging, and seamless Apple ecosystem perks like one-touch pairing and Find My support. You can also wirelessly link two units together in Amplify or Stereo mode.

The Pokémon x Beats Pill officially launches Thursday, Oct. 15, priced at $149.99 — the exact same MSRP as the standard colorways. Fans can grab one online at Apple and Target (as well as select Target stores).

Credit: Beats by Dre / The Pokémon Company

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Booster Bundle is available to preorder for $64.45 at Amazon, but Walmart is cheaper at $54.49.

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Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Booster Bundle

$54.49 at Walmart
$79.99 Save $25.50

 

Pre-order Here

Prices for the Pokémon TCG Delta Reign expansion have been settling down ahead of launch, but sellers on Walmart have been aggressively trying to get you the best price vs. Amazon — and the latest price drop on the booster bundle even beats TCGplayer. 

As of Oct. 13, the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Booster Bundle is available to preorder for just $54.49 at Walmart, reduced from its $79.99 listing price. To give this $25.50 price drop from third-party seller Cataclysm Games some added context, the lowest price we’d seen last week was a much higher $74.99 at Amazon. 

Amazon has a price drop of its own, but that’s only down to $64.45 via Collectors Expedition. 

What’s more, Walmart’s $54.49 price hugely undercuts the Delta Reign Booster Bundle’s estimated market price of $73.20 on TCGplayer. Walmart also beats any listings there — with the best going as low as $72.38. 

With six Delta Reign packs per box, Walmart’s $54.49 booster bundle means you’ll only be paying around $9.08 per pack. That massively trumps the prices on TCGplayer (which normally has the best price on single packs), with the lowest going for $13.40 — saving you $4.32 per pack by comparison. 

Each pack contains 10 trading cards from Delta Reign’s total of 135+, a Basic Energy, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card.

SAVE $50: As of Oct. 13, the Ninja Fireside360 fire pit and heater is back to its lowest-ever price of $449.99 at Amazon. That's $50 off its full price of $499.99.

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Credit: Ninja

Ninja Fireside360 Fire Pit and Heater

$449.99 at Amazon
$499.99 Save $50

 

Get Deal

Now that the weather is getting cooler, it's the perfect time to hang out around a fire pit outside and enjoy the cozy warmth in the autumn air. If you don't have a bonfire pit on hand, the Ninja Fireside360 is an excellent alternative, serving as both a heater and a fire pit. It's even back to its lowest-ever price on Amazon right now.

Normally priced at $499.99, the Ninja Fireside360 has been discounted to $449.99 at the retailer, ultimately saving you $50. There are multiple color variants available at this price as well, so you can choose between the stainless steel, cyberspace, maroon, stone, and brown models to find the perfect fit for your outdoor setup.

The Ninja Fireside360 offers three modes for keeping you warm: flame-only, heat-only, or both flame and heat. It's smokeless as well, so if you have the flame going, there's no need to worry about your clothes getting smoky or having to clean up ashes. Plus, the flame is controlled from a dial, so getting it started (and extinguished) is quick and easy.

It's weather-resistant, so it's safe to store outdoors all year-round. And on top of that, it's safe to use on a variety of surfaces, including grass, stone, and wood, as it's designed to avoid any sparks flying around.

Be quick to save on the Ninja Fireside360 at Amazon.

SAVE OVER $20: As of Oct. 13, the 128GB iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi) is on sale for $569.99 at Amazon. That's $29.01 off its list price of $599.

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Credit: Apple

Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi, 128GB)

$569.99 at Amazon
$599 Save $29.01

 

Get Deal

Rumor has it there's a new iPad mini on the horizon, but it's supposedly going to cost about $200 more than the previous model's starting price.

If that price hike news made you wince but you still want to buy a mini, the A17 Pro is certainly worth looking at. As of Oct. 13, the 128GB iPad mini has had nearly $30 knocked off its price tag at Amazon.

While it's normally listed at $599, this 128GB iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi) has been marked down to $569.99. It may be pretty minor savings, but considering how often tech prices fluctuate these days, it's worth checking out nonetheless. Plus, with your purchase, you get up to three months of Apple Arcade, Fitness+, and News+ for free.

The iPad mini boasts an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, high-quality cameras (a 12MP Ultra Wide front camera and 12MP Wide back camera), and the A17 Pro chip, which offers fast performance and graphics for scrolling, watching videos, and more. We're big fans and think it's an excellent pick for reading.

If the iPad mini has been on your radar, why wait for a new model to drop? This 128GB iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi) delivers everything you need at a lower price.

TL;DR: Amazfit has rolled out LiveShare, a real-time safety tracking feature for its flagship T-Rex Dual Solar smartwatch. It lets hikers and mountaineers stream their live GPS location, elevation, pace, and biometric data directly to friends and family via a web link.

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Credit: Amazfit

Amazfit T-Rex Dual Solar Smart Watch

$649.99 at Amazon

 

Get Deal

Heading into the backcountry as winter creeps in hits different. The air is crisp, and the trails are quiet, but the sun sets with zero warning. If you love cold-weather hikes or mountain scrambles, you know the low-key anxiety of heading out solo. You promise you’ll be home for dinner, but one wrong turn or slow mile, and everyone back home is staring at the clock, waiting for a text.

That’s where Amazfit’s new LiveShare feature changes the game. Built for the flagship T-Rex Dual Solar, it creates a digital breadcrumb trail of your trek. You just drop a link through the Zepp App before hitting the trail, and your contacts can open it in any standard web browser — no account creation or app downloads required on their end.

What makes this useful for smartwatch fans is the depth of data it shares. LiveShare streams your elevation, pace, distance, and even your heart rate in real-time. If your pace slows to a crawl on a brutal incline, your family can still see you moving steadily upward. If you stop for an unusually long time, they have instant context instead of pure panic.

Hardware built for brutal winter trails

A safety feature is only as good as the watch running it, and the T-Rex Dual Solar is built for harsh elements. It features dual-sided solar charging to stretch battery life for days, a 3,000-nit display that stays readable against glaring snow, an onboard flashlight for late finishes, and a low-temp mode that keeps tracking alive down to -30°C.

It's a heavy-duty tool built for cold-weather adventures. LiveShare turns a rugged outdoor watch into a safety net, letting you log miles off the grid without leaving anyone back home guessing.

Beyond keeping your family in the loop, this watch is stacked with high-end tools for athletes and adventurers. When you step out of cell service, you get full-color offline maps on your wrist, complete with turn-by-turn navigation and automatic rerouting if you wander off course.

It also acts as a full-blown training partner, tracking your VO₂ Max, training load, and recovery metrics while syncing seamlessly with apps like Strava and TrainingPeaks. Plus, with 10 ATM water resistance that handles dives down to 50 meters, automatic weather alerts, and hands-free messaging, it transitions effortlessly from a mountain-climbing beast to a capable daily smartwatch.

Ready to log winter miles with peace of mind? Head over to Amazon and snag the T-Rex Dual Solar before your next big trek.

Remember the feeling of drinking your first beer and pretending to enjoy it so you'd fit in?

It appears Mark Zuckerberg had that exact experience recently with a pint of Guinness.

Appearing on Stripe co-founder John Collilson's Cheeky Pint podcast alongside Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, the Meta CEO was faced with the daunting challenge of a full pint of the famous Irish stout.

As some X commentators were quick to point out, he seemed to be struggling.

"Mark Zuckerberg pretending to enjoy Guinness is my new favorite thing," wrote Mark Malone, sharing a clip of Zuckerberg's suffering that's now been viewed over five million times.

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It's an undeniably amazing 12 seconds. You can see him sloshing it around his mouth, barely repressing disgust, and then putting on his best poker face to give the illusion that he might not be completely hating it.

If you want to watch the interview in full, you can check it out here.

Content warning: sexual assault.

I rarely leave a cinema shaking, but Josephine is a rattling film. Nonetheless a vital one.

Based on her own life experiences, writer and director Beth de Araújo asks an impossibly hard question: what if a child witnessed sexual violence they had no way of understanding? How would you help them process it as a parent? And how will seeing such a violent act manifest in their connection to the world? 

One of the most important films of the year, Josephine might be disturbing and harrowing to watch, however, with one in five women in the United States experiencing rape or attempted rape during their lifetime, the unacceptable prevalence of such violence means it's more crucial than ever to consider the impacts — on survivors and anyone connected to such crimes. 

With magnificent, complex, and devastating performances from Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan (who also produced the film), and an intense breakout from extraordinary newcomer Mason Reeves, Josephine forces us to comprehend a child's view of sexual violence. The reality is shattering.

Josephine brings a harrowing perspective to the impact of sexual assault

Rather than focusing on the experience of a survivor of sexual assault, Josephine considers the perspective of a young witness, someone who hasn't even had a conversation about sex and consent with her parents and likely wouldn't for years. And here, de Araújo's Soft & Quiet cinematographer Greta Zozula balances a childlike point of view with searing reality. 

Eight-year-old Josephine (Reeves) and her father Damien (Tatum) run through San Francisco's Golden Gate Park every morning. It's their thing. Through POV shots, we're gleefully integrated into their routine, following the pair into the park as Josephine outruns her dad and takes a fateful fork in the road. However, what awaits in this everyday, playful situation is a nightmare, when Josephine's path takes her to witnessing a brutal rape.

Notably, this pivotal attack against fellow runner Sandra (Syra McCarthy), occurs early in the film and in its entirety, with the remainder focused on the emotional aftermath and legal procedures. Zozula's long-shot cinematography renders this disturbing, violent scene unsensationalised, seen from Josephine's perspective. Like this child, we watch without being able to intervene, however, for the adult audience, there's a cold undertow of understanding the young protagonist lacks.

The moments immediately after Sandra's assault become a critical reflection on how law enforcement handles sexual assault; de Araújo has both Damien and the responding officers (all men) going into crisis management mode prioritising catching the perpetrator, while leaving Sandra alone, injured, traumatised, and searching for a glimmer of control. Josephine understands something happened, as she later googles the word "rape" after overhearing it from her dad. However, as her Damien instantly realises, her comprehension of Sandra's pain will require a level of explanation — and he will differ from Josephine's mother Claire (Chan) in how to help their eight-year-old grapple with such adult concepts. (Notably, Reeves herself was seven years old when shooting the film, something de Araújo navigated with care and her parents' consultation.)

Though not physically involved in the assault, Josephine's awareness of it begins to affect her mental health, manifesting in erratic behaviour, especially reacting to her parents' intimacy and the presence of men or boys in any situation. Editors Anisha Acharya, Nico Leunen, and Kyle Reiter have her constantly replaying elements of that day in the park, and in one of the most chilling elements of the film, de Araújo has Sandra's rapist, Greg (Philip Ettinger), physically haunting her at all hours, present in her own bedroom. Here, tiny Josephine experiences effects of sexual violence and trauma, with flashbacks and nightmares, as she tells law enforcement, "I see him everywhere, all the time." 

Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan are outstanding in Josephine

While Josephine struggles to make sense of what happened, Claire and Damien attempt to connect with their daughter — and become increasingly at odds with each other's approach and whether Josephine testifies in court. Shrouded in composer Miles Ross' haunting score, Tatum and Chan give career-best performances.

As Damien, Tatum brings his most dynamic and interior performance yet, a young father who feels the best way to protect his daughter from the adult world's violence is to distract her — or prepare her to fight back. Damien distances himself and his family from Sandra's rape, with the alternative of acknowledging such violence to his eight-year-old too much for him to bear, and Tatum's ability to present a man both terrified and practical is nothing short of heartbreaking. As Damien and Claire's physical connection becomes threatening and sinister to Josephine, and her once watertight relationship with her father becomes strained, Tatum shows intense vulnerability and hurt in his character.

For Claire, Josephine's mother, it lands differently. Claire knows the context of her own experience, and in superb subtlety from Chan, hints at possible trauma herself. "Sometimes you tell the truth and it doesn't even matter," she says, and I promise you, women know what she means. Like Damien, Claire is crushed her daughter has become exposed to such brutality, however, she reacts strongly to Damien telling Josephine that such an attack will "never happen" to her, knowing well that male violence against women and girls continues to destroy lives, even take them. 

Around Chan, Tatum, and Reeves, Josephine builds strong performances from its supporting cast representing the detectives, court-appointed witness advocates, and psychologists involved with building the case against Greg. Each interaction with Josephine and her parents feels tense and often chilling, especially hearing adult words and questions coming from a child. And importantly, de Araújo takes pains to show how long and drawn out the legal process can be in sexual assault cases, as well as the complexities of testifying. "Why didn't you help?" Josephine is asked in court by the rapist's defence lawyer. "Why aren't you?" the child replies, in one of the film's most powerfully quiet moments.

Ultimately, Josephine demands its audience consider the impact of a child exposed to sexual violence. Chillingly, the film has an undercurrent of impending maturity, a justified fear of possibility in adulthood. However, it also champions the strength of survival, whatever age a girl or woman may be — an ability to understand right from wrong, and the power of facing one's ghosts. Or, as the film puts it, "becoming the ghost of your ghost."

Josephine was reviewed out of BFI London Film Festival and will be released in cinemas Nov. 20.

If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.

SAVE $700: As of Oct. 13, the Roborock Saros 10R is on sale for $899.99 at Amazon. That's a 44% discount on the list price.

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Credit: roborock

Roborock Saros 10R

$899.99 at Amazon
$1,599.99 Save $700

 

Get Deal

Robot vacuums are the answer to keeping your floors clean without having to do all the work yourself. Say goodbye to constantly hauling the vacuum around the house and farewell to daily use of the sweeping brush and mop. Instead, let a robot vacuum pick up the slack. And as of Oct. 13, you can do so with a great deal on the Roborock Saros 10R.

This is a seriously impressive choice, and right now it's dropped to a new low price of $899.99. That's a huge saving of $700.

This robot vacuum is packed with features to make your household chores easier. It has a 22,000Pa HyperForce suction that tackles dirt and debris, and a Zero-Tangling DuoDivide Main Brush and FlexiArm Riser Side Brush that help prevent hair from getting tangled around the brushes, ideal if you have fluffy pets at home. And at just 3.14 inches tall, it can also slide beneath low furniture to reach dust and dirt that might otherwise go unnoticed.

It comes with a multifunctional dock. Here, it handles most of the maintenance, reducing the work you need to do. It can store dust and debris for up to 60 days, wash the mop pads with hot water, dry them using hot air, and top up the water and detergent tanks.

Sold on no more floor sweeping? Get this robot vacuum deal at Amazon now.

TL;DR: The Apple iPhone 17 is under $100 with T-Mobile. To claim this offer, switch and bring your number on an Experience More or Experience Beyond plan (no trade-in needed)

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Credit: Apple

T-Mobile: Apple iPhone 17 for under $100

 

Shop Now

We're constantly tracking the best deals on smartphones. T-Mobile is usually one of the first places we look, because they generally offer free deals on new handsets like the Motorola Razr+, Google Pixel 11, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8.

But what about the iPhone?

The only iPhone you can get for free right now with T-Mobile is the iPhone 17e. To claim this handset for free, you can switch to almost any T-Mobile plan with no trade-in required. The iPhone 17 is not free at the time of writing, but it's under $100 when you switch and bring your number on an Experience More or Experience Beyond plan (no trade-in needed). That's still a wild offer.

T-Mobile spreads your savings across 36 monthly bill credits, effectively locking you into a three-year agreement. If you cancel or switch carriers early, you will owe the remaining balance immediately. You will also need to cover state sales tax on the phone’s full retail value upfront, plus a standard $35 device connection fee per line at checkout.

This is one of the best ways to score a top-tier phone without taking a massive hit to your bank account.

Get the Apple iPhone 17 for under $100 this week with T-Mobile.

Jimmy Kimmel has incurred the wrath of the president once again, this time after comments he made about a recent Trump rally with empty seats.

In the clip above the host plays footage of the president moaning about his remarks before calling him a "loser".

"Of all the many things I said about him last week – of all the many moronic and criminal words and deeds I detailed – that's what bothers him? Me pointing out the fact that his rallies have empty seats? Well in that case, let's do it again!" says Kimmel, bringing up a photo of a Trump crowd peppered with empty seats. "So many empty seats! There were even empty seats at the rally where he complained about me saying he had empty seats at the rally.

"He keeps claiming the reason there are empty seats in the back and the top is because the people love him so much they make their way down to the front. Isn't it interesting that that never happens at a Lakers game? People just moving up to the front. But it does at an event controlled by the United States Secret Service."

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Need a bunch of different products and services that are loosely connected under the umbrella of a space technology brand? We've got good news for you.

On Tuesday, SpaceXSI (that's the new name, because "artificial intelligence" is out of fashion in the U.S. these days) announced a new subscription tier called The X Subscription, which combines access to X Premium, Grok, Grok Bot, and Cursor.

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There's a total of five plans. Free doesn't cost anything but offers only limited chat and agent requests on Grok and Cursor, and limited X functionality. Plus costs $8 per month and unlocks several additional Grok and Cursor features, including Grok Chat, Voice, Imagine, and Build, as well as access to the Grok API. At the same time, on X, you get fewer ads and a Premium checkmark, among other perks. Premium costs $30 per month, and adds 4x more AI usage compared to Plus, access to Grok Bot and the latest Grok models, faster Chat responses, and a few Cursor features such as code hosting and AI code reviews and cloud agents and automations; on the X side, it comes with ad-free scrolling "on most surfaces," a preferred @handle and a higher reply boost.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The $100-per-month Super tier is all that, plus 15x more usage than Plus and priority model access at peak times. Finally, Ultra gives you 50x more usage than Plus for $200 per month. Pricing for teams and enterprise is a little different; details are available over at x.ai/pricing.

SpaceXSI claims that "the X Subscription provides more usage-per-dollar of our own models than the comparable plan it replaces." Key words there are "our own models," as third-party model usage in Cursor is not included in the monthly subscription price and must be purchased separately. Cursor is a coding-specific AI agent that SpaceXSI acquired in June.

Other than that, this is a decent deal for folks who need both Grok and X Premium. For example, SuperGrok alone (a Grok tier comparable to the current Premium tier) used to cost $30 per month, while ad-free X Premium+ cost an additional $30 per month; now you get both for $30. The $30 per month is still a pretty big ask, given that Anthropic's Claude Pro Plan, OpenAI's ChatGPT Plus plan, and Google's AI Pro (which includes Gemini alongside cloud storage, YouTube Premium Lite, and other perks) all cost $20 per month.

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PREORDER TO SAVE $30: The Anker Sleep Earbuds 4 and Anker Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro are $30 off with preorders. The Sleep 4 earbuds are set to launch in October and the Sleep 4 Pro later in November.

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Credit: Anker

Anker Sleep Earbuds 4

$199.99 at Anker
$229.99 Save $30

 

Pre-order Here

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Credit: Anker

Anker Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro

$319.99 at Anker
$349.99 Save $30

 

Get Deal

As much as we try to fight it, sleep is essential for life. For so many reasons, it can be a struggle to get good sleep. If you're not sleeping well because the environment is too noisy, there's help to be had. Sleep earbuds are designed to be comfortable enough for wearing all night while helping to mask noise that'll keep you awake. In more good news, there are two new Anker models coming soon and preorders get a special discount.

Sign up to reserve either the new Anker Sleep Earbuds 4 or the Anker Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro with a $1 deposit and save $30. That means you can get the Sleep 4 earbuds for $199.99, down from the normal price of $229.99 or the Sleep 4 Pro earbuds for $319.99, down from the list price of $349.99.

In Mashable's review of the best sleep earbuds, the Anker Sleep 30A Special earn the top spot. While Anker went in a new direction with naming, the new Sleep 4 Series will take over as the newest models. Both models come with an upgraded design for more comfort and smaller inner wingtips.

Both models also come with a built-in alarm, Bluetooth 6.0, and a Find Me feature from the app should you misplace an earbud under the bed. Anker rates noise reduction on both models as three to five decibels better than the previous Sleep A30 Special model when it comes to masking noise. Adding to their functionality, both support wireless charging.

The Sleep Earbuds 4 Plus come with some elevated features compared to the standard Sleep Earbuds 4. One of the most obvious is the AMOLED touch case. This'll give users instant access to sleep tracking metrics without looking at a phone. You can also set alarms and adjust the audio from the touchscreen. The Pro models also supports in-ear sleep tracking and insights.

As of the time of writing, Anker doesn't have firm launch dates set. The brand says the Sleep Earbuds 4 are coming in October and the advanced Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro will come in November. Whichever model you're eyeing, better sleep is just a few clicks away.

The Moon is starting to show up in the sky again, with just a small crescent visible at the moment. It'll get a little bigger each night as the week goes on.

What is today's Moon phase?

As of Tuesday, Oct. 13, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in the Waxing Crescent phase, with 7% of its surface visible.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on October 25 or 26, depending on your timezone.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon takes around 29.5 days to travel around Earth, and its appearance changes throughout the month. As it moves around our planet, we see different amounts of its sunlit side, from a slim crescent to the quarter phases and eventually a Full Moon. It then begins the cycle again. As NASA explains, these phases are caused by the Moon's changing position relative to Earth and the Sun.

The eight phases are:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it's not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

SAVE OVER $10: As of Oct. 13, the Xteink X4 Pro e-reader is down to its lowest-ever price of $84.15 at Amazon. That's $14.85 off its full price of $99.

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Credit: XTEINK

Xteink X4 Pro

$84.15 at Amazon
$99 Save $14.85

 

Get Deal

The Xteink X4 Pro, released this July, has received a nice discount on Amazon. For a limited time, it's down to its lowest-ever price. If this incredibly compact e-reader has caught your attention, this is an excellent time to add it to your shopping cart and save about $14.

As of Oct. 13, the price has been cut from $99 to $84.15, but it won't be this low for long. Amazon has a "limited time deal" tag, so the window is closing to snag it at this low price.

If you've been searching for an e-reader that's even smaller than a Kindle to slip in your pocket, the Xteink X4 Pro certainly ticks that box. It's incredibly lightweight at just 72g (2.5 oz), has a very slim 5.95mm profile, and features a 4.3-inch paper-feel display for reading. It even has a built-in magnetic back, so you can attach it to your phone for easy access.

When it comes to reading, the paper-feel display helps eliminate screen glare and eye fatigue, so you won't get a headache from staring at the screen for too long. It also features multi-level warm and cool front lights so you can find the best tone for reading in any environment.

Mashable's Samantha Mangino did write that the main issue with this e-reader "is its file support." All Xteink e-readers "support EPUB files, but only DRM-free ones." This means that "you'll have to seek out DRM-free EPUB files, which are pretty limited and mostly include classics in the public domain."

That being said, this is still a sleek e-reader to scoop up for less than $90 while it's still on sale at Amazon.

SAVE $502: As of Oct. 13, the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 is on sale for $797.99 at Amazon. That's a 39% discount on the list price.

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Credit: Samsung

Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9

$797.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $502

 

Get Deal

A good gaming monitor can completely transform your setup, especially when you want to reduce screen tearing or motion blur. If these are issues you regularly encounter, it's time for an upgrade.

As of Oct. 13, the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 is on sale at Amazon, so you're in luck. Normally $1,299.99, this curved gaming monitor is on sale for a limited time at $797.99. That's a saving of over $500, and a deal that's hard to ignore.

This Samsung gaming monitor is built to make gaming feel more immersive, thanks to its 1,000R curved Dual QHD display that wraps around your field of view. It's also designed to keep up with fast-paced graphics, with a 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms (GtG) response time.

Picture quality is a real selling point, too. The panel reaches up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness and offers a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. AMD FreeSync Premium Pro helps reduce screen tearing when things start moving fast.

And for comfort, the stand can be adjusted for tilt, swivel, and height to help you find a suitable viewing position. It also has TÜV-certified eye-comfort features that help reduce blue light and flicker during longer gaming sessions.

Find this gaming deal at Amazon now.

Looking for spoiler-free NYT Connections hints or just wondering why Connections is trending today? We've got what you need to understand the clues for today's puzzle without spoiling any of the answers.

Of course, Mashable has also provided daily hints and answers for Connections, Wordle, and Strands for years, so we can help you if that's also what you need.

While we are focused more on meanings than hints in this story, sometimes learning that many of the words have completely unrelated meanings is a clue in and of itself. Connections frequently includes clues that involve words within words and other visual clues.

Eye meaning

An organ used for seeing.

Lash meaning

To tie things together.

Lips meaning

A body part possessed by some vertebrates.

Jacket meaning

Outerwear designed to keep you warm, looking stylish, or both

Tie meaning

To lash things together.

Sense meaning

An awareness of something.

Change meaning

To alter the state or condition of something.

Belt meaning

A clothing item often used to hold up trousers.

Ring meaning

An item of jewelry, often worn on fingers.

Taste meaning

A sense that allows us to determine the flavor of something.

Cup meaning

An item used for beverages or as part of a trophy.

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Hitch meaning

A variety of knot.

Cannon meaning

An archaic weapon using gunpowder to fire a variety of ammo types at the enemy.

Tether meaning

To attach something to something else.

Flair meaning

To have style or do something with style.

Ends meaning

The limits of something.

Have you learned the meanings and still want the things? Check out the hints and answers for today's NYT Connections puzzle.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints will be easy if you've ever experienced an awkward moment.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Well, this is awkward

The words are related to uncomfortable experiences.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe awkward moments.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

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NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Cringeworthy.

NYT Strands word list for October 13

• Cringeworthy

• Embarrass

• Appall

• Chagrin

• Mortify

• Nonplus

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you know how to size things up.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Broader.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter W.

The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

WIDER

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to 20+ AI models, side-by-side comparisons, AI image generation, and unlimited monthly messages (subject to fair use) for $59.97 through Oct. 15.

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Credit: ChatPlayground AI

ChatPlayground AI: Lifetime Subscription (Unlimited Plan)

$59.97
$619 Save $559.03

 

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One AI model might nail your prompt, while another offers a completely different approach. Why choose just one without seeing what the others can do? ChatPlayground AI’s Unlimited Plan is just $59.97 (reg. $619) through Oct. 15 during the extended Deal Days sale, giving you lifetime access to 20+ AI models in one workspace.

ChatPlayground AI brings ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Llama, Perplexity, and more together in a single interface. Enter a prompt once, compare responses side by side, and decide which answer works best for your project.

That’s very useful when you’re drafting content, brainstorming ideas, writing code, or working through a complicated question. Rather than relying on one model’s response, you can see how several approach the same task.

And there’s more here than a collection of chatbots.

Upload PDFs and images to ask questions about your files, use built-in prompt engineering tools to refine your requests, or generate AI images without leaving the platform. Saved chat history also makes it easy to revisit previous conversations and pick up where you left off.

The Unlimited Plan includes unlimited monthly messages (subject to a fair-use policy), plus priority customer support and early access to new features and future models. Available models are regularly updated and may change.

For anyone who regularly experiments with different AI tools, having everything in one place is a practical way to simplify the process.

Get lifetime access to ChatPlayground AI’s Unlimited Plan for a one-time $59.97 payment (reg. $619) through Oct. 15 and put multiple AI perspectives to work with one purchase.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Tech creator Alberta Tech likes to be prepared for an idea to strike at any time.

The former software engineer recently left Google to pursue content creation full-time, making videos that use comedy to unpack some of the internet's most complicated tech topics, from generative AI to vibe coding.

But despite the technical subject matter, her actual creator setup is surprisingly uncomplicated. "Phone and mics are all I need to be making stuff these days," Alberta told Mashable at VidCon.

The rest comes down to staying curious about what people are talking about — and being ready to hit record when inspiration strikes.

Her bag might be light on gear, but Alberta Tech never goes anywhere without the tools she needs to make a video. Credit: Ian Moore/Mashable/Getty Images

Her phone

Apple iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone 17 Pro on Us With Trade-in and Qualifying Plan at T-Mobile

 

See It at T-Mobile See It at Best Buy See It at AT&T Wireless

Like many creators, Alberta doesn't need an elaborate camera setup to make a video. Her phone does most of the heavy lifting.

It's particularly fitting for a creator whose career began on TikTok during the pandemic, when Alberta started posting jokes from her New York apartment before eventually finding her audience in the tech and software engineering communities.

These days, it's still one of the only devices she needs to make something.

Rode mics

RØDE Wireless Micro (2 Mics + Case), USB-C for Smartphones, Orange

$90 at Amazon

 

See It at Amazon

The one piece of gear Alberta makes sure she has with her? "I always have my mics on me," she said. "They actually are Rode mics. Just in case inspiration strikes wherever I go."

That habit has already paid off. "I went to an event once in New York and saw a creator that I had been following for a long time online, but we had never met in person," she recalled. Rather than scheduling something for later, they made a video on the spot. "We were able to just make a video right then and there, no planning," Alberta said. "It was completely improv, which was so fun."

They had the idea. More importantly, they had the mics.

The news

Not everything in Alberta's creator toolkit can literally fit inside a bag. Her videos depend on being able to turn complicated developments in tech and AI into jokes people can actually understand, which means keeping up with a news cycle that moves incredibly quickly.

"I would say just reading the news," Alberta said of the other things that help her make content.

That information becomes the raw material for her videos — and sometimes the setup for the next joke.

Reddit

There's another place Alberta checks every morning. "Reading the top of Reddit every morning," she said.

For a creator who makes content about how people experience and talk about technology, knowing what happened isn't necessarily enough. She also wants to know what the internet thinks happened.

Which leads to her final essential.

The comments

Alberta reads the comments to "see what people really think about what is going on." That means paying attention not only to the people who love what she's making, but also the people who decidedly do not. "You have to listen to the people that are your biggest fans or your biggest haters," she said.

Phone. Mics. News. Reddit. Comments. The gear may be minimal. The curiosity is anything but.

From YouTubers and TikTok stars to streamers and podcasters, Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage and meet The Mashable 101 to discover the internet’s most exciting voices.

As we sift through the latest leaked gameplay videos for Grand Theft Auto VI, it's worth wondering: Which console will provide the most high-end experience when the game launches on Nov. 19?

The answer would usually be PC, but Rockstar has not announced a PC version of GTA 6 yet, and might not for a while. GTA V didn't launch on PC until two years later, after all. With that in mind, people are wondering if it's worth it to splurge on a PlayStation 5 Pro just to experience Vice City at the highest level of fidelity possible.

Rockstar has yet to share official visual and performance specs for any version of the game just yet, but let's investigate anyway with what little information we have.

Will GTA VI be upgraded on PS5 Pro?

A month ahead of the official launch, a lot of questions remain unanswered. Credit: Rockstar

This is the big question, and it's one we don't really have an answer to right now.

Rockstar's official marketing line for the last few months has been that GTA VI "plays best on PS5," but that tagline doesn't say anything about PS5 Pro. It also doesn't say much of anything in general, as we have no idea what the differences will be between the base PS5 and the Xbox Series X versions of GTA VI. It's not an exaggeration to say that we're operating with almost no useful information about the way this game performs on consoles right now, aside from the fact that the extended Netflix trailer was apparently captured on a base PS5.

There has been one recent little crumb of hope that the PS5 Pro version of the game is an upgrade over the base version, though. A recently released screenshot of a wet city street at night showcased high-quality reflections that don't seem to be present in the base PS5 build shown on Netflix or in any other marketing. Oliver Mackenzie of Digital Foundry, an outlet dedicated to technical analysis of game visuals, said on X that this screenshot may not represent regular PS5 gameplay.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Mackenzie estimates that these reflections use ray tracing, a relatively recent technology that generates real-time, high-quality lighting and reflections, while requiring a pretty intense amount of horsepower.

Base PS5 games technically can and do utilize ray tracing on occasion; the reflections in the Marvel's Spider-Man series on PS5 are a good go-to example. But given the extremely high level of graphical detail present in GTA 6, it stands to reason that the game might not be able to use ray tracing on a base PS5, but could possibly include that feature on PS5 Pro.

It must be emphasized that this is all speculation based on one measly screenshot, which might not even show the console version of the game at all. Rockstar very well could have captured it using an internal PC build, as Mackenzie noted on X. But there is plenty of precedent for games like Ghost of Yotei locking the best ray tracing features behind PS5 Pro-exclusive modes, so it's possible GTA VI could do the same.

Is the PS5 Pro worth it in general?

A PS5 Pro retails for $900 at the moment, and that's under the best of conditions, as a recent shortage has driven up the price on the secondary market considerably (as high as $1,300). It is perfectly reasonable to not want to spend that much money on a gaming device, no matter how powerful it is, and no matter how much better GTA 6 might look on it — emphasis on might.

But, as a PS5 Pro owner myself, I will say that games rarely (if ever) look or run worse on PS5 Pro, and big-budget AAA productions often benefit in some way from the added horsepower. A couple of my favorite games of this console generation, Dragon's Dogma 2 and Death Stranding 2, look and perform absolutely wonderfully on PS5 Pro, just to provide two examples.

If you care about having the best graphics in every game, a PC is the way to go. But if you don't want a PC — or if the game you want to play isn't being released on PC for the foreseeable future — then the PS5 Pro is your second-best option. Just try not to spend too much more than $900 on it.

In the meantime, you can pre-order Grand Theft Auto VI for Xbox Series X/S and PS5 for $79.99.

TL;DR: Block ads, reduce tracking, and get malware protection and parental controls on up to nine devices with AdGuard’s lifetime Family Plan for just $14.97 through Oct. 15.

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Credit: AdGuard

AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime Subscription

$14.97
$169.99 Save $155.02

 

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Tired of dodging pop-ups, dealing with slow-loading websites, and feeling like your every move online might be tracked? You’re not alone. The internet should be a safe, smooth, and private space. The AdGuard Family Plan can help you smooth things out, digitally speaking.

For just $14.97 through Oct. 15 (as part of an extended Deal Days sale), you’ll get lifetime protection for up to nine devices. Whether it’s your phone, tablet, or laptop, AdGuard blocks intrusive ads, prevents trackers from snooping on your data, and shields your family from possible malicious websites.

Ads aren’t just annoying; they slow down your browsing, eat up your data, and sometimes even carry malware. And if you’ve got kids online, you want to make sure they’re safe from inappropriate content. The AdGuard Family Plan does all that and more. With built-in parental controls, you can filter out harmful sites and ensure your family’s online experience is both secure and enjoyable.

With up to 9 devices covered, the AdGuard Family Plan is ideal for households where everyone’s connected. And because it’s a one-time payment for lifetime access, you’ll never have to worry about recurring fees or annoying subscription renewals.

So, whether you’re protecting your own devices or your whole family’s, AdGuard makes it easy to have a more peaceful online experience. Say goodbye to annoying ads and hello to a safer, faster internet.

Don’t miss the opportunity to save on a lifetime of AdGuard Family Plan protection while it’s just $14.97 (reg. $169.99) through Oct. 15 at 11:59 p.m. PT, as part of the extended Deal Days sale.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Host unlimited websites with a Hostdeal Unlimited lifetime subscription, now $119.97 (reg. $1,800).

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Credit: Light Speed Technologies

Hostdeal Unlimited Plan: Lifetime Subscription

$119.97
$1,800 Save $1,680.03

 

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Web hosting is usually a monthly bill, and every new site or domain renewal raises it a little more. A Hostdeal Unlimited lifetime subscription replaces that bill with one payment for unlimited websites, unlimited NVMe SSD storage, and 54 free lifetime domains. It’s also on sale for $119.97 (reg $1,800).

Every site on this plan lives on NVMe SSD storage. NVMe drives connect over PCIe instead of the older SATA interface, so pages and databases read data faster than they would from a SATA drive or a spinning hard disk. Hostdeal pairs that storage with HTTP/2, IPv6, a CDN, and edge caching. A CDN keeps copies of your site on servers around the world, so a visitor in Tokyo isn’t waiting on a single server in Ohio. You can pick a home server location in the United States, United Kingdom, or Singapore.

Bandwidth is unlimited too, so a traffic spike won’t bring extra charges. Each site gets a free SSL certificate and up to five email accounts. Daily off-site backups mean you can restore a broken site quickly, and security includes DDoS protection, malware scanning, a web application firewall, brute-force protection, and two-factor authentication.

You can manage all of this through one simple panel you don’t need to be a tech pro to use. A 1-click installer sets up WordPress or more than 400 other web apps, while developers get MySQL databases, FTP, Git integration, cron jobs, and a PHP version selector.

Stop paying a monthly fee to keep your websites online. Until Oct. 15 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can get a HostDeal Lifetime Subscription for just $119.97.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get a refurbished M2 MacBook Air with a 512GB SSD and up to 18 hours of battery for $699.99 (reg. $1,299).

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Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Air 2022 (Refurbished)

$699.99
$1,299 Save $599.01

 

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Laptops, phones, and most other electronics keep getting more expensive. A good new laptop can easily cost more than $1,000, but that’s not your only option. This refurbished 2022 MacBook Air with Apple’s M2 chip is a lightweight laptop that’s fast enough for work, school, and creative projects, and it’s on sale for $699.99.

This MacBook Air has an M2 chip with an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU. That’s enough performance for web browsing, documents, video calls, and photo editing. With 8GB of unified memory, switching between apps stays quick. Storage is a 512GB SSD, enough space for a large collection of photos, files, and apps.

Because the M2 chip runs cool, this laptop doesn’t need a fan. That keeps it silent during normal use, so you don’t have to turn up the volume on videos just to cover up the sound of your computer trying to work.

The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display has a resolution of 2560 by 1664. At 500 nits with P3 wide color and True Tone, the screen is bright and shows accurate colors. You also get a backlit Magic Keyboard, a Force Touch trackpad, Touch ID for fingerprint sign-in, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and a four-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio.

Apple rates the battery at up to 18 hours of movie playback and up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing. At 2.7 pounds and less than half an inch thick, this MacBook Air is easy to carry or toss into most laptop bags. Ports include MagSafe 3 for charging, two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, and a headphone jack, and Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 handle wireless connections.

This model has a Grade B refurbished rating, meaning it may have light scuffing on the case or light scratches and dents on the body, but it still works great.

Pick up a refurbished MacBook Air while they’re still on sale for $699.99.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

SAVE $400: The 27-inch LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitor is back on sale for $499.99 at Amazon. That $400 discount (44% off) matches its lowest-ever price.

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Credit: LG

LG 27-inch UltraGear OLED Gaming Monitor (27GS93QE)

$499.99 at Amazon
$899.99 Save $400

 

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The 27-inch LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitor is currently down to $499.99 at Amazon. That drops the price by $400 — a massive 44% discount off its normal $899.99 list price — bringing this top-tier display back to its all-time low price.

Hitting a sub-$500 mark on a high-refresh OLED panel is rare, but the performance specs make it a steal for both PC and console setups. You are getting a sharp 1440p resolution, a silky 240Hz refresh rate, and a near-instant 0.03ms pixel response time. So fast-paced competitive shooters look fluid with practically zero motion blur, ghosting, or input lag ruining your tracking.

The real magic comes down to the self-lit OLED panel. Because each pixel turns off completely, dark scenes deliver true, pitch-black levels without that muddy gray glow common on standard IPS or VA screens. It handles wide color spaces effortlessly for single-player immersion, while a matte anti-glare finish keeps window light or desk lamps from turning your display into a mirror mid-game.

LG also loaded it with dual HDMI 2.1 ports and DisplayPort 1.4, letting you max out the 240Hz ceiling on PC or hook up a PS5 or Xbox Series X without losing smooth frame rates. You also get G-Sync and FreeSync support to eliminate screen tearing, a stand that swivels, tilts, and adjusts for height, and a two-year warranty covering burn-in and panel issues.

If you've been eyeing a high-refresh OLED upgrade, hit Amazon and grab this 27-inch display before the $400 discount disappears.

SAVE OVER $1,300: As of Oct. 13, the Hisense 100-inch E7 Cinema Series is on sale for $1,697.97 at Amazon. That's a 43% discount on the list price.

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Credit: Hisense

Hisense 100-inch E7 Cinema Series

$1,697.97 at Amazon
$2,999.99 Save $1,302.02

 

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If you want to transform your living room into a home theater, take a look at this latest Amazon deal on the Hisense 100-inch E7 Cinema Series. Currently reduced to its lowest-ever price, this TV is the ideal choice for home movie nights and gaming sessions. Normally $2,999.99, it's down to $1,697.97, saving you over $1,300.

And it's more than just a big TV. This Hisense model is a 4K TV that uses AI tools to make the most out of whatever you're watching. It even has AI 4K upscaling technology that uses deep learning to improve lower-resolution content, sharpening details and improving textures to bring older films and shows closer to 4K quality.

There's plenty for gamers and sports fans, too. The native 144Hz refresh rate, Game Mode, and AI Smooth Motion with MEMC technology help keep fast-paced action looking smooth and reduce motion blur. AI Picture Processing also fine-tunes brightness, contrast, and color, and a built-in light sensor adjusts the screen's brightness to suit the room.

And as the name suggests, this TV gives you a cinema experience. When watching movies, Filmmaker Mode gives you a more authentic viewing experience by preserving the director's intended settings, including the original aspect ratio, color, and frame rate.

Get this huge TV deal from Amazon now.

Google is all-in on fitness trackers in 2026. In May, we got the Fitbit Air, followed by the Pixel Watch 5 in August. And now, in October, we're welcoming the new Fitbit Edge, a fitness tracker that feels like it lands in a nice middle ground.

Preorders are already live for the newest Fitbit model, but before you decide if you're all-in on the Edge, check out some of the specs below.

Highlights of the Google Fitbit Edge

Unlike the Fitbit Air, Google went with a design that offers plenty of on-display info on the Edge. The AMOLED color display measures 1.34 inches and only weighs 17.7 grams without the band. Google kept it slim with the Edge, which measures just 11.58 mm. Like the Air, it aims to offer a comfortable fit for wear 24/7. The watch face on the Edge marks the largest and brightest ever on a Fitbit.

Credit: Google

Google says the battery can last up to 7 days, with a recharge time of about 90 minutes. A five-minute recharge will earn you an additional day of use. A first for Fitbit, the Edge's battery is replaceable should you wish to extend your watch's lifespan.

While the Fitbit Air was a scaled-back fitness tracker focused on simplicity, the Fitbit Edge adds features I missed with the Air. For one, it has an onboard altimeter, so it'll track the floors climbed and give you elevation info on hikes.

The Fitbit Edge also has onboard GPS for tracking your runs, walks, and bike rides. By comparison, the Air lacks onboard GPS and instead relies on your smartphone's GPS.

The IP68 waterproof rating means this model is swim friendly, won't mind going on a rainy fall run, and you won't have to take it off to shower.

Like the Air and Google Pixel 5, the Fitbit Edge comes with the Google Health Coach. While I'm not one to lean into AI, I enjoy the Google Health Coach's insight. I especially like the sleep tracking metrics that come with Fitbits.

It looks like anything but a fitness tracker

Order the Fitbit Edge, and it'll come with the silicone Active Band, which Google designed to be extra breathable thanks to the large cutouts. But you can also swap out the band for other options like the Performance Loop band, my preferred option on the Fitbit Air. It's a micro-adjustable option that allows for ultimate comfort. And somehow, it's pretty resistant to dirt.

There are also the elevated Metal Links and Magnet bands that make the Edge look much more like a watch and less like a fitness tracker. Google also launched the Fitbit Edge with a special Stephen Curry edition. It comes with a custom basketball watch face and a Rye colorway band, similar to the Stephen Curry edition of the Fitbit Air.

The Stephen Curry edition of the Fitbit Edge has its own custom watch face option. Credit: Google

How to preorder the Google Fitbit Edge

The Fitbit Edge is available for preorder at Amazon and Google for $179.99 with a launch date set for Oct. 27. It comes with free access to Google Health Premium for three months. The special Stephen Curry edition of the Fitbit Edge is also available for preorder for $219.99.

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Credit: Google

Google Fitbit Edge

$179.99 at Amazon

 

Pre-order Here

TL;DR: The Apple iPhone 17e is free when you switch to almost any T-Mobile plan with no trade-in required. The iPhone 17 and iPhone 18 Pro are heavily discounted for a limited time.

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Credit: Apple

T-Mobile: Best deals on Apple iPhones

 

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The 2026 Apple Event feels like it took place a long time ago, but the dust is still settling. Apple announced a wave of new hardware and software, headlined by its first foldable iPhone. We're still digging deep into all the new features and stylistic touches, but we know what you really want — deals.

We know that's the priority after new models launch. With this in mind, we've lined up the best deals this week so you can get your hands on the iPhone 18 Pro (or the iPhone 17) for the lowest possible rate.

These are the best iPhone deals from T-Mobile this week:

• iPhone 17e — free when you switch to almost any T-Mobile plan with no trade-in required.

• iPhone 17 — under $100 when you bring your number on an Experience More or Experience Beyond plan (no trade-in needed)

• iPhone 17 Pro — under $100 when trading in an eligible phone on an Experience Beyond plan.

• iPhone 18 Pro — under $200 when you switch and bring your number or trade in an eligible phone in any condition on an Experience Beyond plan.

• iPhone 18 Pro Max — under $300 when you switch and bring your number or trade in an eligible phone in any condition on an Experience Beyond plan.

T-Mobile will charge taxes on these deals, as well as a $35 device connection fee.

If you’re still rocking an iPhone 12 or 13, you’re missing out on some genuinely game-changing features. The iPhone 17 is the first base model built specifically to handle Apple’s most advanced AI features. Mashable's Stan Schroeder said it's an "excellent phone that matches the iPhone Pro models in many ways that matter."

Of course, the iPhone 18 Pro takes things to another level. The iPhone 18 Pro features a new A20 Pro chip to better support AI features and Siri AI. This latest model also has major camera upgrades, including a physical variable aperture, smart focus tracking, cinematic video effects, and improved low-light photography.

Get the best deals on Apple iPhones this week with T-Mobile.

TL;DR: Physical preorders for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction are officially live across Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

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Credit: Clear River Games / Mattel

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction (Standard Edition)

$28 at Clear River Games

 

Pre-order Here

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Credit: Clear River Games / Mattel

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Dragon Pearl of Destruction (Collector's Edition)

$99.99 at Limited Run Games

 

Pre-order Here

If you grew up glued to the television on Saturday mornings, waiting to hear He-Man declare that he has the power, this is the exact news your inner child needed to hear. To celebrate He-Man's official birthday, Mattel and retro gaming development specialists Bitmap Bureau teamed up with Clear River Games and Limited Run Games to bring Eternia back to physical media.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction is an authentic 16-bit 2D side-scrolling arcade brawler launching Feb. 4, 2027, across Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Physical preorders are officially open now, giving retro gaming enthusiasts and MotU fans two distinct ways to own a piece of gaming history.

The plot

When the nefarious Skeletor uncovers the ancient Dragon Pearl of Destruction, he pairs up with Evil-Lyn to execute a dark ritual that threatens to plunge all of Eternia into eternal darkness. It’s up to He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Teela to smash their way through Skeletor's army of minions.

Credit: Mattel

The game blends classic 2-player local co-op arcade beat 'em up combat with high-fantasy theatrics, featuring massive, hand-crafted pixel-art sprites that look like the original 1980s animated series brought to life.

Across 13 action-packed stages, including the Royal Palace, the Vine Jungle, and the dark corridors of Snake Mountain, players will battle iconic villains like Beast Man, Trap Jaw, Evil-Lyn, and Skeletor, along with deep-lore foes like the dark sorceress Shokoti and the Shadow Beasts. The game is region-free and features English voice acting along with multi-language in-game text (English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish).

Credit: Mattel

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction (Standard Edition)

Available through Clear River Games, Limited Run Games, and standard retailers, the Standard Edition is the entry point for players who want a physical copy on their shelf ahead of its Feb. 4, 2027 release. It includes:

• Physical game media — Disc or cartridge for Nintendo Switch, PS5, or Xbox Series X|S.

• Freddie Williams II case art — Custom physical game case featuring original artwork by the comic artist.

• Foiled, embossed slipcover — Metallic, raised outer packaging to protect the case.

• Printed instruction booklet — A retro-style physical manual tucked inside.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Dragon Pearl of Destruction (Collector's Edition)

Exclusively available through Limited Run Games during an open preorder window ending Nov. 22, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET, the Collector's Edition is region-free with no purchase limits. It includes everything from the Standard Edition plus a massive lineup of retro collectibles:

• Full game and Standard perks — Physical game disc/cartridge, printed booklet, and foiled, embossed slipcover.

• Holographic Collector’s Box — Premium outer packaging designed by CultureFly.

• Plastic lunchbox — 1980s-style lunchbox packaging.

• SteelCase and acrylic standee — Protective metal game display case alongside an acrylic standee featuring He-Man riding Battle Cat.

• Mini Power Sword replica — 4.9-inch Power Sword complete with a dedicated display stand.

• Epoxy pins and Dark Horse comic — Sprite pin badges featuring He-Man and Skeletor, plus an exclusive 12-page mini comic.

• Early preorder bonus — The early fans who preorder score a bonus Masters of the Universe Origins 5.5-inch He-Man action figure (while supplies last).

Grab the Standard Edition via Clear River Games ahead of its official launch, or claim Limited Run Games' exclusive physical editions before their preorder window closes on Nov. 22.

TL;DR: Mint Mobile is celebrating its 10th anniversary by discounting every six-month plan — including Unlimited — to just $10 per month for new customers. That gets you six full months of 5G coverage on T-Mobile’s network for a single upfront payment of $60.

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Credit: Mint Mobile deal

Mint Mobile

 

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Can we still call Mint Mobile the new kid on the wireless block now that it's turning 10? Ever since launching in 2016, the carrier has built its reputation on ditching retail stores, skipping activation fees, and avoiding multi-year phone contracts. Instead, it asks you to pay upfront in prepaid blocks to secure drastically lower monthly rates on T-Mobile’s national 5G network.

To mark a decade in business, Mint is rolling out its biggest promotion ever: new customers can score any six-month plan for just $10 per month ($60 total upfront). The anniversary discount applies across Mint’s entire phone plan lineup, so every tier drops to the same flat $10 monthly rate for your first six months:

• 6GB Plan — $10/month $20/month (50% off)

• 17GB Plan — $10/month $25/month (60% off)

• 23GB Plan — $10/month $35/month (71% off)

• Unlimited Plan — $10/month $35/month (71% off)

While light data users get a solid price cut on smaller tiers, the Unlimited Plan is where the value skyrockets. Paying $60 total for six months of unlimited 5G data comes out to less than what major carriers typically charge for a single month of service.

What's the fine print say?

Mint’s Unlimited plan runs on T-Mobile's 5G network without artificial speed caps under normal usage. It includes up to 20GB of dedicated mobile hotspot data, free calls to Canada, Mexico, and the UK, and standard-definition video streaming.

If you happen to cross 50GB of data usage in a single 30-day billing cycle, you may notice temporarily reduced speeds in congested areas until your next cycle resets — a standard network management policy across unlimited prepaid plans.

Set up and renewal

Getting set up is fast and straightforward. If you have an eSIM-compatible phone from Apple, Samsung, or Google, you can activate your service digitally on the same day without waiting for mail delivery. Prefer a traditional setup? Mint will ship a physical SIM kit directly to your door. You can instantly check your device's compatibility with Mint's online IMEI checker before checking out.

Once your initial six-month promotional window ends, you can easily manage or adjust your renewal in the Mint app. Mint's standard pricing model rewards longer commitments: lock in a full 12-month renewal to secure the lowest monthly rate for your tier, or opt for 3-month or 6-month blocks if you prefer more upfront flexibility. You can also switch between data tiers (6GB, 17GB, 23GB, or Unlimited) at any time when renewing.

If you've been waiting for the right moment to slash your cellular bill, head to Mint Mobile to claim six months of wireless coverage for $60 before this anniversary offer ends.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a PlayStation 5 Pro in stock right now. Major retailers, including PlayStation Direct, Best Buy, Amazon (including bundle offers), Target, and Walmart, are sold out. With the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto VI, the reseller market has gotten a little ridiculous (as has everything else).

Why is the PS5 Pro out of stock?

Beyond the obvious hype for Rockstar's next release, Sony is dealing with broader supply chain bottlenecks. The global AI boom is squeezing the semiconductor market, which means Sony can't build consoles fast enough. According to distributor reports, these supply constraints could keep stock tight well into 2027.

Should you buy a PS5 Pro from a third-party seller?

Naturally, scalpers are having a field day. We've seen third-party listings on reseller sites (and even GameStop's official pre-owned page) gouging buyers for $1,300 to $1,500+ for a console that retails for $899. Sony is taking the issue so seriously that in Japan, they're forcing buyers to enter a lottery — and prove they've clocked at least 60 hours of PS4 or PS5 playtime over the last two years — just for a chance to buy a PS5 Pro.

If you absolutely have to buy one today and have money to burn, here's what the third-party market currently looks like:

• GameStop: A pre-owned unit will currently run you $1,329.99.

• Swappa: This is a legitimate, verified marketplace for used tech. However, verified PS5 Pro listings are currently sitting at $1,338.

• StockX: The popular resale bidding site currently has the console hovering around $1,290.

• Macy's and Walmart: Don't be fooled by third-party sellers on major retail sites. A low-rated seller on Walmart is currently asking $1,644.99 (open-box units are already sold out), while a third-party seller on Macy's is asking a staggering $1,749.99.

• Mercari: We found a listing here for $800. Since this is $100 below the official MSRP for a highly coveted, sold-out item, it's almost certainly a scam. Avoid it.

How to find a PS5 Pro in stock before launch

If you're set on securing a Pro before launch day, here's how to play the restock game without burning a hole in your wallet:

• Sign up for stock alerts. Restocks happen in small, sudden waves. Set up notifications through stock-tracking accounts on X (like @PS5StockUpdater) or apps like HotStock to get pinged the second inventory hits.

• Bookmark and refresh product pages. Keep direct product pages saved for PlayStation Direct, Best Buy, Amazon, Target, and Walmart. PlayStation Direct in particular occasionally drops invite-only or queue-based stock.

• Check local inventory. Sometimes brick-and-mortar stores (like local GameStops or Target stores) receive small physical allocations that don't always show up online right away. It never hurts to ask an associate in person.

• Preorder the game now. Don't hold your breath for a last-minute GTA 6 PS5 Pro console bundle. Secure your physical or digital preorder now so you're ready to go, no matter which console sits under your TV on day one.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier for who watch college basketball.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight, and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Whoops

• Green: East Coast basketball

• Blue: Tennis manufacturers

• Purple: Soccers stars

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Mistake

• Green: Big East Schools

• Blue: Tennis Ball Brands

• Purple: NWSL MVPs

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #750 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Mistake: BLUNDER, ERROR, FLUB, HOWLER

• Big East Schools: CREIGHTON, DEPAUL, PROVIDENCE, VILLANOVA

• Tennis Ball Brands: BABOLAT, DUNLOP, PENN, WILSON

• NWSL MVPs: CHAWINGA, FISHLOCK, HOLIDAY, KEROLIN

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalog.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for October 13 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this purple space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this orange space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this red space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 0-6, placed vertically.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically; 1-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 1-6, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for October 13 Pips

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally; 0-2, placed vertically.

Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (8): Everything in this space must be greater than 8. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed horizontally.

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 0-2, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for October 13 Pips

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally.

Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 2-5, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically; 3-5, placed horizontally.

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 0-6, placed horizontally.

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

Less Than (5): Everything in this space must be less than 5. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 6-2, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically.

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 3-1, placed horizontally.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

TL;DR: The Champions League is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player, Virgin Media, tabii, and Prime Video. Access these free live streams from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The top club competition in the world of football has to be the Champions League. There is nothing else that brings the very best teams in the world together in a battle for footballing immortality. Winning your domestic league is great, but winning the Champions League is on another level.

PSG are looking to secure an incredible third consecutive title. That's going to be a mammoth task in the face of giants like Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona, all desperate to lift the iconic trophy.

If you want to watch the 2026-27 Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is the Champions League?

The Champions League is an annual club football competition organized by UEFA and contested by top-division European clubs. This year's tournament begins with a 36-team round robin group stage to determine which sides qualify for the double-legged knockout rounds, followed by a single-leg final.

The defending champions are PSG.

When is the 2026-27 Champions League?

The 2026-27 Champions League is the 72nd edition of the competition (and the 35th since it was renamed the Champions League). This season's tournament starts on July 7 and runs until the final on June 5.

How to watch the 2026-27 Champions League for free

It is possible to live stream the 2026-27 Champions League for free on the following streaming platforms:

• Ireland — RTÉ Player and Virgin Media

• Turkey — tabii

• UK — Prime Video (free trial)

These free streaming platforms are geo-restricted, but anyone can bypass these restrictions with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other countries, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Champions League from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the 2026-27 Champions League by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with free coverage of the Champions League

4. Visit RTÉ Player, Virgin Media, tabii, or Prime Video (free trial)

5. Watch Champions League fixtures for free from anywhere in the world

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Credit: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams of the 2026-27 Champions League without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch select fixtures before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming services from around the world, the fact is you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for the Champions League?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you enjoy professional sports.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Style

• Green: Attach

• Blue: Winning

• Purple: Same first word

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Discernment

• Green: Fasten

• Blue: Sports championship prizes

• Purple: Loose ___

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1220 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Discernment: EYE, FLAIR, SENSE, TASTE

• Fasten: HITCH, LASH, TETHER, TIE

• Sports championship prizes: BELT, CUP, JACKET, RING

• Loose ___: CANNON, CHANGE, ENDS, LIPS

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

A fake cobweb and a few carved pumpkins won't do. Having the best Halloween display on the block means hunting down unconventional and highly interactive pieces that give your neighbors a good scare — or a good laugh. (Let's hope your HOA is a fan, too.)

After covering and monitoring all of the biggest launches of the year so far, we've put together a definitive list of the best Halloween decorations and animatronics of 2026. There's still time to put some up if you haven't already, and as a bonus, many are on sale at this point in the season.

An upgraded 12-foot skeleton

Credit: The Home Depot

Skelly can talk now! The Home Depot went high-tech in updating its beloved 12-foot skeleton for 2026. Using a companion mobile app, you can now chat with trick-or-treaters though the animatronic in real time or record up to 30 custom voice lines for it to play. It also has a new moving head, a light-up ribcage, and 20 different eye effects. This marks Skelly's biggest upgrade since it launched with fanfare back in 2020.

This new app-controlled Skelly costs $80 more than the standard version, which continues to be a hit on social media. A video of two Skellies dressed up as characters from the Chicks' song "Goodbye Earl" amassed more than 12 million views on TikTok this fall. Another clip of a fully rhinestoned Skelly is at nearly 2 million views. No bones about it: He's still the reigning king of spooky season.

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Credit: The Home Depot

12-foot Giant-Sized Animated LED App-Controlled Skelly

$379 at The Home Depot

 

Shop Now

An even taller headless skeleton

Credit: Lowe's

Is there anything scarier than the surveillance state? Lowe's new talking, overall-clad Skeleton Watcher holds its glowing skull in the air for a better view of the neighborhood. (Note: It doesn't actually have cameras in its eyes, but they do light up.) It's the largest Halloween animatronic on the market this year, towering over Skelly at 15 feet tall. This one was on clearance, and on the verge of selling out, at the time of writing.

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Credit: Lowe's

Haunted Living 15-foot Talking Lighted Skeleton Watcher Motion-Activated Animatronic

$343.20 at Lowe's
$429 Save $85.80

 

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A talking zombie parrot

Credit: The Home Depot

The Home Depot's new five-foot Rotwing Parrot is an oversized blue-and-gold macaw that fell off the perch. It can say 20 different phrases and answer yes or no questions, sort of like an undead avian Magic 8 Ball. It's one of the most popular items from the home improvement retailer's 2026 Halloween collection, selling out several times over the past few months. It was back in stock the last time I checked, but there weren't many left.

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Credit: The Home Depot

5-foot Dead Water Animated LED Rotwing Parrot

$179 at The Home Depot

 

Shop Now

A head-banging skeleton DJ

Credit: Lowe's

Credit: Lowe's

I think I read somewhere that DJs transport their equipment in protective cases called coffins? Anyway, that's very apt for Lowe's new Bluetooth-enabled DJ skeleton animatronic, which can sync its head-banging to any song on your Halloween party playlist. He's still pretty underground but seems to be on the come-up: A video of him posted on Instagram a few weeks ago has hit almost 2 million views.

The DJ skeleton was out of stock on the Lowe's website in early October, but you might have luck finding it in person at a Lowe's store, or on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.

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Credit: Lowe's

Haunted Living 5.7-foot Motion-Activated Bluetooth DJ Lighted Skeleton Animatronic

$299 at Lowe's

 

Learn More

A salacious singing jack-o'-lantern

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A crooning pumpkin decoration called Jabberin' Jack went viral on TikTok in September after one perturbed mom pointed out that it included a suggestive song called "Wicked for One Night." (Some lyrics: "How would you like to scream all night? I'll fill you full of fright. / I'll spoil you with my roasted pumpkin seeds." Sir, this is a pumpkin patch.) On second thought, I don't know if I'd necessarily call this one of the "best" Halloween decorations of 2026, but it's definitely one of the most memorable.

The president of Mindscope Products, the company that makes Jabberin' Jack, apologized for the song and told Business Insider that it won't be included on next year's version — so if you want a piece of brief internet history, order one soon. It's currently $5 off on Amazon.

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Credit: Mindscope Products

Jabberin' Jack Talking Animated Pumpkin with 8-inch Screen and Built-in Projector + Speaker

$39.99 at Amazon
$44.99 Save $5

 

Shop Now

Honorable mention: Homemade Captain Clark animatronics

Halloween creators Wicked Makers, Terror Hauntz, and Haunted Halloween Guy turned some old zombie props into sick DIY animatronics of the deformed pirate monster from Backrooms, A24's hit horror movie based on creepypasta. You can't buy them anywhere, but mark my words: Big-box stores will be selling some versions of these within a year.

Brand deals usually pay influencers to post. But Jack Doherty says his latest agreement pays him to stop.

The controversial YouTuber and livestreamer says he signed a contract with cryptocurrency casino Shuffle.com without fully reading it, only to discover that its terms prevent him from posting online. Shuffle co-founder Noah Dummett says the agreement is real and has a six-month term. But without the full contract, the scope of the restriction — and whether it can be enforced — remains unclear.

The arrangement appears to have started with a less-than-friendly exchange on X. In late September, Doherty asked whether he should livestream himself trading meme coins. Shuffle’s official account responded: "At this point we will pay you to shut the f**k up."

For anyone unfamiliar with Doherty, his content revolves around stunts, public pranks, and confrontational livestreams. His videos include titles like "I crashed into a cop car" and "I got banned from Disney." Earlier this year, he was removed from the Phoenix Open after appearing to pay a spectator to shout during a golfer’s pre-shot routine.

Recently, Doherty went looking for sponsors. In an Oct. 7 post, he said his $JACK meme coin wasn’t performing as well as he’d hoped and invited brands to contact him. Shuffle resurfaced its earlier response, adding, "legit offer btw."

By the end of the week, Doherty was telling followers he wanted out.

"Hey guys, I think I actually f**ked up," he wrote in a statement shared on X. "I recently signed a contract with a casino called shuffle.com but I didn't read the contract fully... One of the terms is that I'm not allowed to post online anymore, which I thought was a joke but now they're enforcing it."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Doherty said he was working with his lawyer to resolve the situation, adding: "This might be my last post for a while, I'll try and be back soon."

Dummett’s response suggested the company had little interest in reconsidering. In an Oct. 10 post, he described the agreement as "money well spent to get this mf off the internet." He also said Doherty’s lawyers were pushing to scrap the contract, but Shuffle intended to stand firm.

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A portable charger is a staple of plenty of travel bags. But a power bank reportedly caught fire aboard an IndiGo flight on Sunday, forcing the plane to change course and make an emergency landing in Hyderabad, India.

IndiGo Flight 6E 6115 was traveling from Delhi to Chennai on Oct. 11 when the fire broke out in an overhead luggage compartment. Around 180 passengers and seven crew members were aboard, according to a statement carried by local outlets. Cabin crew extinguished the fire, and the aircraft landed safely at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

Footage shared online shows passengers responding to the IndiGo power bank fire in midair, as reported by People. The video shows passengers standing in the aisle and attempting to contain the flames in the overhead compartment. No injuries were reported.

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IndiGo said smoke had been detected from a passenger’s "personal electronic device." (Local reports identified that device as a power bank.)

"The cabin crew responded promptly, and the situation was brought under control," the airline said. IndiGo arranged another aircraft to continue the journey to Chennai. Authorities have launched an investigation.

Can you bring a power bank on a plane?

The incident puts a familiar travel accessory — and the rules around packing it — back in the spotlight.

IndiGo’s published baggage policy states that power banks must remain within a passenger’s reach, such as under the seat, in a seat pocket, or on their person. They cannot be stored in overhead compartments or checked baggage. Its cabin baggage guidance also prohibits using, charging, or recharging them during a flight.

Those restrictions are part of a wider push to address battery risks aboard aircraft. In March, the International Civil Aviation Organization introduced new specifications limiting passengers to two power banks and prohibiting passengers from recharging those banks during flights.

For U.S. travelers, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration require power banks to travel in carry-on baggage. If your bag gets checked at the gate, the power bank needs to come out and remain with you in the cabin. Battery terminals also need protection against short circuits. Airline-specific restrictions can be stricter, so check your carrier’s policy before packing.

Why can power banks catch fire?

Power banks typically use lithium-ion batteries, the same rechargeable battery technology found in phones and laptops. According to the FAA, these batteries can overheat and undergo "thermal runaway," a process in which temperatures rise uncontrollably and can produce gases and flames. Damage and short-circuited terminals can also cause battery fires.

The risks have prompted recalls, too. In June 2025, approximately 1.16 million Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks were recalled in the U.S. because their batteries could overheat. That recall covered model A1263 units with qualifying serial numbers.

Reporting on Sunday’s IndiGo power bank fire did not identify the charger’s brand or model.

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TL;DR: MacPaw has launched Email Cleanup within CleanMyMac to bulk-purge years of Gmail clutter, clear heavy attachments, and unsubscribe from junk mail using metadata alone. Test out the full plan with a 7-day free trial ($3.33/month billed annually).

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Credit: MacPaw

CleanMyMac

 

Get Deal

Nobody actively decides to abandon their inbox to chaos, but it happens anyway as marketing promos, newsletter signups, and old threads stack up over time. It’s the ultimate low-reward task that constantly takes a back seat to actual work, compounding daily until the sheer volume of unread messages feels overwhelming to tackle.

To cut through that noise, MacPaw launched Email Cleanup within CleanMyMac, a smart pre-work filter built exclusively for Gmail at launch that lets you reclaim your inbox and shared Google storage in bulk. Located directly in the My Tools sidebar menu, it scans your inbox and groups clutter into actionable categories such as Newsletters and Promotions, Subscriptions, Spam, abandoned Drafts, Senders, and custom Smart Cleanup suggestions.

Rather than deleting threads one by one, you can mass-clear marketing blasts, archive old conversations, or use a single button to unsubscribe from lists you don't read. In the process, it spots heavy, space-hogging attachments, making it easy to free up gigabytes across your connected Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos accounts.

Total privacy with zero snooping

Because people avoid cleaning out their inbox for fear of accidentally deleting critical files or leaking sensitive data, Email Cleanup relies entirely on metadata analysis rather than inspecting your private correspondence.

It scans headers, file sizes, and dates without reading, storing, or sharing message contents, connecting securely through official Google APIs that you can disconnect at any time. It also supports multiple Gmail accounts simultaneously, letting you manage work and personal inboxes from a single unified space without switching between browser tabs.

You're always in control

You stay in full command of the process, as no emails are ever deleted, archived, or unsubscribed automatically without your explicit confirmation. You can review items by sender, year, category, or file size before taking action, and any deleted messages are routed straight to your standard Gmail Trash, giving you a 30-day window to restore anything cleared by mistake.

You can test the entire feature suite risk-free with a 7-day free trial on CleanMyMac's Annual Plan at $3.33/month ($39.96 billed annually), while those who only need basic on-device Mac cleaning can opt for the budget-friendly Essential Trio tier at $1.66/month ($19.95 billed annually).

Ready to turn your thousand-message Gmail nightmare back into a clean slate? Head to MacPaw to test out CleanMyMac’s Email Cleanup with a 7-day free trial.

Comedian and viral creator Kyle Gordon sits down for an interview with Mashable Executive Producer, Mark Stetson, on Say More to discuss his comedy roots, musical parodies, and creative process. From childhood Chris Farley impressions and Christopher Guest influences to shooting the Mr. Jambo music video in South Africa and Eswatini, Kyle opens up about his journey, live shows, and balancing music with comedy.

Kyle Gordon is Everywhere is now available.

Your grocery store’s dairy aisle might seem like an unlikely place to start a conversation about AI safety. But Microsoft President Brad Smith says it offers a useful comparison for how the technology should be regulated.

Speaking to the BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast on Oct. 11, Smith called for global AI safety rules, arguing that everyday products like milk face more safeguards than increasingly powerful AI systems.

"Right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI. Every carton of milk that you see in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection," Smith said.

His proposed protections go beyond asking companies to promise their technology is safe. Smith wants legal requirements for companies to report safety incidents and notify victims when rogue AI agents breach their systems. He also called for "emergency brakes" that could pause or slow AI systems, alongside rules determining when independent evaluators should review new technology before its release.

"We know how to do this for other products," Smith said. "We should build on that knowledge and think about how to apply it to AI."

Smith's comments echo recent warnings from Bill Gates. The push for stronger AI protections also comes as President Donald Trump has favored industry self-regulation. At a White House meeting in September, major AI companies agreed to voluntary safety standards, including working with independent auditors to assess whether their systems behave as intended.

Smith welcomed that agreement and said Microsoft was happy to sign it. But he argued that voluntary commitments would no longer be enough. "It's a good step, it's a necessary step... But I don't think it's sufficient any longer," he told the BBC.

The problem, in his view, is that responsible companies will follow voluntary rules. Less responsible ones may not.

Who gets to set the rules?

That question has also surfaced in Mashable’s reporting on AI leaders’ calls for stronger safety standards. As Rebecca Ruiz reported in September, experts caution that companies can support safeguards while still seeking control over how those safeguards work.

Pete Furlong, senior manager of policy and research at the Center for Humane Technology, told Mashable that companies’ transparency efforts need to come with expectations beyond those they set themselves.

"It can’t be entirely up to these companies to dictate the terms of their transparency," he said.

Smith suggested the UK could help lead the development of global rules, pointing to the technical expertise of its AI Security Institute. The institute already gets access to major AI models before deployment through voluntary agreements, allowing it to assess their capabilities and risks.

For Smith, the next step is making safety obligations enforceable — including requiring companies to tell people when something goes wrong.

"It's the companies that are not as responsible that you need to worry about," he said.

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Meta announced the launch of a new AI model family, Muse Wonder, which is already rolling out to developers. Independent benchmarks indicate that Muse Wonder places Meta firmly at the AI frontier for the first time.

The release comes just six weeks after the launch of Muse Spark 1.3, the latest version of a model family that debuted in April. Last year, Mark Zuckerberg and Meta invested heavily in AI recruiting and infrastructure after falling behind rival tech companies, culminating in Meta paying $14.3 billion for Scale AI and naming its wunderkind CEO, Alexandr Wang, then 28, Meta's new Chief AI officer.

Those efforts appear to be paying dividends.

Artificial Analysis, an independent AI benchmarking organization, showed Muse Wonder leapfrogging powerful models like GPT-Astra from OpenAI, Fable 5 from Anthropic, and the newly released Gemini 4 from Google. On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index leaderboard, which uses a weighted composite score to rank AI models, Muse Wonder Full is now second only to Claude Opus 5.5 Max, and tied with Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max.

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The results suggest that Meta has caught up to the AI frontier, after previously being more of an afterthought in the AI market.

That started to change recently with the launch of the hugely popular AI agent Muse, which quickly surpassed 5 million app downloads. In its Muse Wonder announcement blog post, Meta said that the new model family "will soon power experiences in Muse," though it will only be available to paid subscribers.

Introducing Muse Wonder, designed for agentic AI

In the blog post introducing Muse Wonder, Meta emphasized that the model was designed for agentic workflows as well as user safety. (The company said a full report about its safety evaluations "will be available soon.") Wang said the model family was developed under the codename "watermelon," according to CNBC.

"Meta is introducing Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, our most capable models to date, built to deliver state-of-the-art performance on personal and professional agentic tasks — from navigating an insurance claim to making sense of a lease to building a working app," reads Meta's announcement.

Muse Wonder features Active Focus and Active Memory, which Meta said are essential to keep AI agents on task during complex, long-running assignments.

The company defined Active Focus as "the ability to keep working toward your goal when a task gets hard, try other approaches, recover from errors, and follow through, asking for clarification when needed and checking in before following through on anything important." It described Active Memory as "the ability to carry what matters to you across conversations and bring back the details that are relevant to the task at hand."

Finally, Meta said that Muse Wonder models would "avoid sharing private information without permission," which has been a notable alleged issue with Muse. The models will also refuse harmful requests, Meta claimed, while helping organizations and users with cybersecurity defense.

Muse Wonder: Benchmark performance

The independent benchmarking organization Artificial Analysis released a detailed breakdown of Muse Wonder's performance on X and its website. The organization wrote, "Both models exhibit a material jump in overall Intelligence Index score...Muse Wonder Full (max) places in the top three on six of the ten Intelligence Index evaluations, and is particularly strong in agentic knowledge work and scientific reasoning."

Meta also released its own internal benchmark results in a report on Muse Wonder's performance.

Meta released this graph showing its AI models' improved performance over the past year. Credit: Artificial Analysis

The company also released results for a variety of AI benchmark tests:

Credit: Meta

How to try Muse Wonder

Muse Wonder is available now to developers through the Meta Model API and Muse Code. The more robust Muse Wonder Full is available now to Muse Code subscribers.

In the near future, Meta said that Muse Wonder will power its popular Muse AI agent, though at a cost. CNBC reported that the new models will be available in Muse for users who pay $20 or $100 per month.

You can also read the full Muse Wonder model card.

UPDATE: Oct. 13, 2026, 12:34 p.m. EDT As of Tuesday afternoon, copies of 'Grand Theft Auto VI' for Xbox Series X/S are back in stock at Amazon.

If you haven't already secured a pre-order for Grand Theft Auto VI, then Amazon may not be the best place to do it.

As noted on Reddit, "physical" copies of GTA 6 were sold out on Amazon as of Monday morning, with both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions listed as "currently unavailable."

As of this writing, the PS5 version is back in stock. Mashable reached out to Amazon to ask about GTA 6 inventory and restocks ahead of the Nov. 19 release, and we'll update this story if we receive more information.

You'll notice that I put "physical" in quotes because the game, rather infamously, will not ship on a disc.

That message doesn't appear when you switch to the PS5 version. Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

You might be wondering how it's possible for a game that's only available as a digital download to sell out ahead of time. If you read between the lines on the Amazon store page, you can put it together. Pre-ordering via Amazon or another physical retailer will get you a box for the game, but the box will only include a download code instead of a disc, according to the fine print on Amazon.

In other words, it seems like Amazon has run out of Xbox boxes with download codes in them for the time being. As a reminder, you can still pre-order the game directly from the Xbox digital storefront on your console, as long as you don't care about having a box to put on your shelf. You can also pre-order Grand Theft Auto VI (and the $99.99 "Ultimate Edition") on the Rockstar Games website.

'Grand Theft Auto VI' for PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X

$79.99 at Amazon

 

Pre-order Here at Amazon Pre-order Here at Best Buy Pre-order Here at GameStop

'Grand Theft Auto VI' Ultimate Edition: PS5 or Xbox

$99.99 at PlayStation Store

 

Pre-order Here at PlayStation Store Pre-order Here at Xbox Pre-order Here at Rockstar Games

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A celebrity shopping complaint can become everyone's business pretty quickly. This weekend, that customer was Kelly Clarkson. The purchase in question? A $15,000 singing bird.

"Just drove all the way to Brooklyn to check out this store I thought looked really rad and had a few things in mind to buy and literally was looked at as if I couldn't afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me," Clarkson posted on X on Oct. 10. "Wow, dude. You're an idiot and just lost a huge sale."

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The shop in question is the Brooklyn Heights store Art of Play, which sells games, puzzles, toys, books, and home goods. Clarkson called it out by name, comparing her experience to the boutique scene in Pretty Woman, where employees famously dismiss Julia Roberts' character because they assume she can't afford to shop there.

"But y'all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman," she wrote. "For sure, check it out."

The shop, however, had a different explanation for why she hadn't left with the bird. In its Oct. 11 Instagram response, Art of Play said Clarkson had asked about Molly, a singing and dancing mechanical bird used in its magic shows. "Molly is permanently attached to the wall and isn't for sale," the business wrote.

The shop acknowledged that Clarkson's account would resonate with anyone who had felt judged while shopping, but maintained that customers were welcome whether they bought anything or simply browsed. It said the response to her post had brought a wave of unwanted attention.

"Imagine our surprise when our small local business was suddenly attacked by 8 million people who have never visited our store," the statement read. "It's been a surreal experience to be the focus of such widespread outrage after just one mention by a celebrity." The statement also included a nod to Clarkson's own music: "As a talented popular singer once said, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'"

View this post on Instagram

That's not where this feud ended, though. Clarkson then responded with a photo — specifically, one showing a $15,000 price tag labeled "Singing Bird." In a second X post, she alleged that the employee had looked her up and down like an "elevator" and, in a condescending tone, told her that the bird was for sale for $15,000 before offering to find something comparable.

"So you're not only rude, you're also a liar," she wrote. "Got it."

She also pushed back on the idea that calling out a small business was off-limits. "I love small businesses and know they are important, and I always support them, but you don't get a free pass to treat people less than in your store just because you are a small business," she wrote. "It's not that hard to be kind."

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The shop, run by twin magicians Dan and Dave Buck and author Adam Rubin in 2013, offered additional context in a follow-up statement. According to the shop, Molly, the singing and dancing mechanical bird Clarkson had admired, is permanently attached to the shop’s wall and used in its magic shows. But her creator, Seattle artist Bliss Kolb, owns a nearly identical version that could be purchased.

"He told us he would be willing to part with Molly’s twin for $15,000," the shop wrote. "We explained all of this to Kelly Clarkson."

The shop said it had also offered to show Clarkson another singing bird, made by a German clockmaker, which she could have taken home that day. "It costs about $2,000," the statement continued. "She did not stick around long enough to see it."

Online, the disagreement has already become much more about what was available to buy. Some commenters defended Clarkson's right to describe a bad experience.

"We never doubted you queen. Their response was in extremely poor taste," one wrote. Others argued that naming the shop exposed a small business to a disproportionate response. "Wow, you're just determined to destroy a small business, aren't you? I hope they EXPLODE in popularity," said another.

The fallout reached the shop's Facebook page. "Anyone who's been a fan of Kelly’s for years knows that she is incredibly kind, generous, and very humble. And she's far from being a diva. The experience she had at that store had to be pretty bad for her to speak out about it…" wrote one user.

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Others focused on the shop’s response, questioning why it hadn’t apologized or offered to connect Clarkson with the artist. "Why not say, 'We can put you in touch with the maker?'" another user wrote. "I’d bet they’d be thrilled to have Kelly as a customer." One Clarkson fan wrote, "Is the apology in the room with us?"

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Business Insider reported seeing recent negative Google reviews that appeared to be connected to the dispute, but they were no longer visible when it checked again later. It also found polarized responses on Yelp, though it's unclear whether the reviewers had visited the store. Some users questioned the price tag, while others accused Clarkson of using her platform against the shop.

"So a celebrity walks into a small, privately owned business. She doesn’t get exactly what she wants, so she cops an attitude and trashes said small business," wrote one reviewer. "Even if you weren’t lying, you still did the morally wrong thing."

Others shared accounts of shopping there themselves. One woman said she visited over the summer with her family and described a welcoming experience. "I was a little nervous since there [is] some really expensive stuff in there, but I felt very welcome," she wrote.

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Some were harsher. One wrote, "There's no place like Art of Play. It's one of one. Not everything there is for sale, regardless of how famous you are. Go write a song about it. Stop using your online influence to sh*t on a brick and mortar shop that's as dope as Art of Play. If you're near Brooklyn, you have to check this place out!"

This isn't the first time this month that Clarkson has received negative backlash for public commentary: Clarkson's enthusiasm for AI on Las Culturistas prompted disappointed reactions from some fans, as Mashable reported Oct. 2. "Kelly no...this isn't you...," one commenter wrote.

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These disputes come as Clarkson settles into a new TV chapter. The Kelly Clarkson Show ended its seven-season run on Aug. 31, after she announced she was stepping away to prioritize her children. She’s still on television, though, returning as a coach for Season 30 of The Voice, which premiered in September.

As of now, Art of Play says it has reached out to Clarkson directly, leaving open the possibility that the next conversation will happen privately.

"We've reached out to Kelly directly to try and clear the air," the shop wrote. "We really do wish her the best and hope that someday we can all laugh about this misunderstanding."

Russia's army of bots is apparently offline. At least, that's according to chatter on social media and even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Over the past week, Ukrainian drones struck three data centers belonging to Yandex, the tech giant often called "Russia’s Google." The first strike happened on Oct. 8, followed by a second attack on Oct. 9. On Sunday, Oct. 11, a third strike damaged a Yandex data center in the Vladimir region, east of Moscow. The company said operations at that facility were completely suspended and some of its services were unavailable, according to the BBC.

The attacks disrupted Yandex services, from its AI chatbot to its smart home devices. Per the BBC, the military strikes were meant to target "places that provide revenue streams for Moscow's war machine."

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday, Zelenskyy said "everyone noticed" a drop in Russian bot activity on social media after the strikes. On X, Reddit, and elsewhere, users in several Western countries reported seeing less right-wing activity in their feeds, from pro-GOP accounts in the U.S. to supporters of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Czech member of the European Parliament Tomáš Zdechovský also pointed to claims that online support for the AfD had dropped after the strikes.

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The prediction market Polymarket’s X account was among those amplifying the claim. Take that with a grain of salt, though, as the account has a tendency for posting breaking-news-style claims without sources or verification.

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Much of the buzz traces back to a report from U24 Media, the media arm of United24, a platform run by the Ukrainian government.

To its credit, U24’s own report is careful about what the numbers can and can’t prove. It cites an Oct. 12 analysis by The Deep Dive of data from Cloudflare Radar, which monitors internet traffic. According to that analysis, automated web traffic from Yandex’s network fell sharply after Oct. 8 and nearly disappeared by Oct. 11. At one point, it measured just 0.3 percent of the chart’s peak, compared with 88.2 percent at the same hour a week earlier. U24 also cites German tech publication t3n's report of a similar plunge — with bot traffic dropping to about 0.4 percent of the previous week’s level before bouncing back to around 20 percent later in the day on Oct. 11.

Credit: Cloudfare Radar / Mashable screenshot

The catch is that "automated traffic" and "Russian propaganda bots" aren’t the same thing. Automated traffic is any request sent to a website by software rather than a person. Most of it is mundane, e.g., search engine crawlers indexing pages or monitoring tools checking whether sites are up. Because Yandex runs Russia’s biggest search engine, its network constantly sends out crawlers to index the web. Knocking its data centers offline would bring traffic to a halt regardless of whether a single troll account went quiet.

As U24 itself notes, the measurements show a sharp drop in automated network activity, but they can’t tell us whether propaganda bots disappeared or whether damaged infrastructure simply stopped producing ordinary automated traffic. The numbers also track how much traffic Yandex’s network sent relative to its peak, not how many social media accounts were active.

Mashable has yet to see published evidence tying Russian influence operations on X or Reddit to Yandex’s servers specifically. Many of the claims to that effect are sourced from the same Cloudflare Radar and Deep Dive data reports that we cited here.

Influence campaigns can run on infrastructure anywhere, and the accounts posting the content don’t have to live on Yandex’s network at all. It's easy to see why the claim has caught on, as social media platforms are rife with hyper-polarization fueled by ragebait political engagement.

However, not all political content online comes from Russian bots. As The Atlantic's Ali Breland writes, operatives based in Eastern European countries like Latvia are paying people to post pro-GOP talking points — $3 for every 1,000 views.

That also doesn’t mean the strikes had no effect online.

Per U24, the bombings have found a way to rattle Russia’s internet, including widespread outages. Whether it also silenced Russia’s online propaganda machine is a much bigger claim.

Will AI vibecoded apps soon displace paid legacy software like Photoshop and Microsoft Word? Or will the deluge of apps spun up by AI models show that those legacy apps are superior products?

Earlier this month, Reddit user u/ai_art_is_art, who Tom's Hardware revealed to be a software engineer named Brandon Thomas, shared a project he's been working on: A rebuild of the entire Adobe Creative Suite, under the banner ArtCraft. There is one key difference between ArtCraft and Adobe software, however: You have to pay to access Adobe.

From Adobe Premiere to Photoshop to After Effects, Thomas recreated them all with help from AI in Rust, a programming language. Named PhotoCraft, FilmCraft, DesignCraft, EffectCraft, PdfCraft, VectorCraft, and LightCraft, each duplicated one of the signature apps found in Adobe's software suite for creatives. 

And Thomas has released them all as free, open-source tools.

Now, the developer is taking on the Microsoft Office suite.

Thomas has just released WordCraft, DeckCraft, and GridCraft (along with additional creative duplicates like SoundCraft, DesignCraft, and CADCraft), which are his take on Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

These apps have caused a bit of a controversy on Reddit and elsewhere on the internet over AI-generated code. While Thomas has clarified that he is a software developer who knows how to code, concerns over cybersecurity and the ethics of AI-generated code have resulted in posts about his apps being removed from some subreddits. 

In addition, there is concern that Thomas is now overseeing a suite of apps by himself, although the community has been invited to contribute to the open-source project as well.

Thomas is clearly pro-AI, which has also been a point of contention for some critics. He has released these apps under his ArtCraft brand, a for-profit suite of tools for AI-generated art. Also, if you take another look at Thomas' Reddit username, it is "AI art is art."

Supporters of Thomas and his apps, however, view this as an act of protest against companies like Adobe and what they see as unscrupulous subscription tactics, in which Adobe makes it difficult for customers to cancel plans.

It's unclear if Thomas's apps have staying power at this point, but that hasn't stopped social media users from speculating that the era of paid legacy software is over. Indeed, we're seeing a similar trend in the gaming world, where AI-assisted jailbreaks and decompiled games are now readily available.

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Fans of Shayla Palmer (@mesamistoys) know her for her next-level crochet projects. With more than 650k followers on TikTok and over 1.1 million on Instagram, she's made a name for herself one stitch at a time, creating big, fluffy toys, including Stitch, Batman, and Mario. But on Sept. 19, 2026, Palmer took on her biggest challenge yet: stitching a 10-foot-long Appa toy, based on the flying bison from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In the first episode of her series on its making, she revealed the yarn but not who she'd be stitching for. Fans were quick to recognize Appa's signature color scheme. Fifteen more episodes followed, detailing the process, including the times when Palmer hit a few snags. Then, just last week, Palmer revealed this particular toy was created for a special event, tied to New York Comic Con.

Paramount Games Studio hosted a double-elimination tournament for the newly launched video game Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game at OS NY on Oct. 9. The special event invited gamers to compete for a cash prize, surrounded by food carts offering treats from the four nations (Water. Earth. Fire. Air), boxes of cabbages with a certain beloved cart vendor on them, and Palmer's completed Appa.

You can see images from this tournament below.

While the gaming kicked off, Mashable spoke with Palmer about her journey from that first video to its big debut. And she's got pointers for any fan looking to make toys of their own.

Images from the Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game at OS NY event on Oct. 9. Credit: Kristy Puchko

Mashable: We've finally seen the unveiling of your completed Appa. Tell us about what the process has been like for you.

Shayla Palmer: Oh my gosh, the process was long, but not as long as you would expect. I had 16 days to complete a 10-foot-long Appa. It was a lot of time every single day. It was, let's say, 10-16 hours a day for 16 days straight.

It was kind of crazy. But it was so much fun. I encountered a lot of issues, though, like forgetting to create a hole for the head and then having to pivot from there. It's just like a lot of things that I've had to pivot with. But all in all, it was so much fun. I had a great time, and I'm so happy that the end result is here, and the people who have seen the process can now see it in person. It's so surreal. I love it.

It's amazing to see your Appa in person. What was it like to finally see it set up inside?

Seeing it set up inside was like, 'Oh my god, this looks so much bigger here than it did in the space that I was creating it in!' I can't even comprehend it fully right now.

I also created a mini Appa that is now sitting on top of it, and it's so crazy to see that the mini one looks so small compared to the big one, and it's really not that tiny. But yeah, it's just a full-circle moment, I can say.

For people who are interested in crochet through your work, where would you say they should start?

I actually do sell crochet kits. If you do want to start crocheting, I have beginner, beginner plus, intermediate, and intermediate plus kits, and I teach you everything you need to know to start crocheting toys.

One thing I will say, though, is you need to be very, very, very patient and very forgiving with yourself. It's so much fun, and it can be so calming. You just have to understand that there's going to be a lot of hiccups. There will be a lot of times when you have to tear out your work. You just have to forgive yourself.

But yeah, I highly recommend it. It's the best hobby ever.

As a content creator, what is it that you depend on to make your content on your level?

I would say intuition. It's a lot of trusting my gut. It's a lot of pivoting, being very comfortable with the Plan B, being very able to immediately scrap your Plan A and just restart everything you need to restart.

And honestly, I'm very transparent in my content. I like showing people that not everything I plan on doing is gonna happen. So yeah, it's just very transparent. It's very authentic. I don't do any crazy editing. It's just here's my camera and here's what I'm doing. I just want you to be a fly on the wall and see everything that's going on.

Images from the Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game at OS NY event on Oct. 9. Credit: Kristy Puchko

That's great. I think, especially with crafting, people can be really intimidated if they're not good at it right away. So when you're having those moments where you're like, 'I need to trust the process,' what gets you through those points?

Knowing that it will probably take me longer to stick to Plan A than it would to pivot and go with Plan B. It happens almost every single time I'm in a series. And I show people, "This is what I wanted to do. It's not working, so I have to do this because this is time-dependent."

I don't have 100 days to work on these things, and, quite honestly, I don't want to be working on them for that long anyway. So yeah, just trusting the process, honestly.

Who's your favorite Avatar character?

Is it crazy if I say Appa? Is it crazy? If it's not Appa, it's gotta be Sokka. I don't know what it is. He's just so, like, he's just so angry. But it's just so funny to see it all happen. So yeah, Appa then Sokka.

Is there anything else you want people to know about the process of making your Appa?

So it's actually really funny. I'm a huge believer... I literally just had to ask God. I said, "I want something really exciting. Like for the rest of the year, I want something really exciting. Something that's gonna make me feel reassured."

Then I got a message from Jordan [Chalmers] from Black Flag NYC (the experiential marketing firm). Great guy, love him, love him, love him. I got a message from him. He said, "Hey, have you ever watched Avatar?" I'm like, "Please tell me you want me to make Appa."

So the way that it all came to be was just like, I literally cried. I cried three times, and then I called my mom immediately. I was like, "Hey, um, can you get on a flight? Because I'm gonna need help running errands. I need to feed myself, and I can't do this right now."

So yeah, the way that it came to me was honestly such a dream come true. I was so happy with that.

On the final day, when I finished my six-legged statue, I always like to show myself sitting on it. And as soon as I finished [Appa], I got a chair. I like jumped on it, and I was like, "Appa, yip yip!"

Honestly, I've been waiting, like, 14 years to do that!

If you've used dating apps, you've probably gotten an off-the-wall message or two and wondered if the sender just lacked basic social skills. Or maybe you sent a joke that fell flat. Either way, Hinge has a new strategy for handling "well-intentioned" daters who send inappropriate messages: mandatory re-education.

If a user violates Hinge's harassment guidelines in a chat, human moderators will weigh the context and severity of the message. If it's deemed a minor infraction, the user gets a warning and must complete a brief "educational walkthrough" to continue using the app. Severe or repeated offenses, however, will still get you permanently banned. An example of a minor infraction in Hinge's Oct. 1 blog announcing the change is the message: "Great dress. I think I have an outfit that will match perfectly," along with a winking emoji.

Hinge says the walkthrough covers basic messaging etiquette, complete with examples of harmful language and reminders on how to express interest without being weird. Users might get prompts reminding them to build mutual interest before making things sexual, keep jokes playful instead of personal, or refrain from making unsolicited comments about someone's body.

The goal is to help daters recognize how their words land. While Hinge notes that cultural or generational gaps often shape how people communicate, intent doesn't negate the impact of unwanted behavior — especially for women, LGBTQIA+ daters, and people of color, who bear the brunt of online harassment.

The new educational walkthrough joins Hinge's existing suite of safety tools, including its "Are You Sure?" feature (which prompts users to reconsider potentially harmful text before sending), the "Did This Bother You?" feedback prompt, and customizable comment filters. This also builds on Hinge's policy not to ban users for a single piece of problematic content, and instead removes the content and explains why.

Hinge's CEO, Jackie Jantos, mentioned the curb-cut effect at the Heads Up With Hinge conference this month: features created to help the most vulnerable can lead to broader benefits for the general population. We'll see if this bears out with better-educated daters.

Before generative artificial intelligence took off, the process of jailbreaking a video game console was a slow, tedious ordeal. That's not the case anymore.

Within the PS5 homebrew scene on Reddit, the forums have been lit up with posts about PS5SX2, an app that lets jailbroken PS5s play PlayStation 2 games. It's a big deal, given that Sony removed backward compatibility from its consoles starting with the release of the PS4 in 2013.

PS5SX2 is part of a larger wave of PS5 jailbreaks, which are coming at a furious pace in 2026.

Version 1.00 of PS5SX2 had plenty of early bugs, with commenters trading fixes for crashes and missing-game errors. Within roughly two weeks, a 2.00 update had added frame generation and multi-disc support. Another post in the jailbreak community claimed that PS3 games can now run on jailbroken PS5s as well.

Additionally, there's another public jailbreak called Relapse. Released in late September, the exploit chain was published by developer Nathan Fargo and works on firmware versions 7.00 through 13.60. The previous public jailbreak topped out at 12.70, so Relapse covers a big chunk of recent consoles. It works on any PS5 that hasn’t been updated to firmware 14.00, which Sony released on Sept. 16.

For decades, console jailbreaking moved slowly for a reason. As reported by Gizmodo, it’s both legally risky and technically demanding. In the U.S., circumventing a console’s copyright protection runs afoul of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The Librarian of Congress grants exemptions every three years for devices like smartphones and smart TVs, but consoles aren’t among them.

Finding an exploit has also required deep knowledge of a console’s firmware, which historically limited the work to a small group of skilled hackers. So normally, hackers will find an exploit, release a jailbreak, Sony patches it, and hackers start back at the beginning.

But that cycle is speeding up, and AI coding assistants may be part of the reason why. There’s no confirmation that the Relapse developers used AI, but it fits a broader pattern that has exploded over the past few weeks.

The AI decompilation boom

Decompilation is huge in the homebrew gaming scene at the moment. Decompiling means working backward from a game’s compiled code to rebuild readable source code that produces the same game. It’s how fans have created unofficial PC ports of classics like Super Mario 64, and it traditionally took volunteers years of tedious work.

From a technical standpoint, it's a grueling process. In the context of video games, those are shipped in compiled code that consoles can run, but humans can't easily read. However, AI is speeding up the tedious grunt work of doing so.

Hundreds of vibe-coded, AI-decompiled emulators and games have appeared in just the past couple of weeks, crediting Anthropic’s latest model, Claude Opus 5.5. That includes browser-based ports of games like Halo: Combat Evolved, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Skate 3, some of which Kotaku said run surprisingly well.

The results have also produced some truly unhinged mashups. One of the first to go viral added skateboarding from Skate to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, letting players kickflip across the shooter’s maps. Others have put Minecraft inside Elden Ring (and Grand Theft Auto V) and Mario Kart vehicles into Call of Duty Zombies.

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While fun stuff to be sure, not everyone is a fan. The developers behind the fan-made Zelda: Recompiled and Banjo: Recompiled projects have publicly rejected AI and called AI-generated knockoffs of their work disrespectful. Other critics say many of these AI ports come from amateurs with little programming experience, leaving behind a pile of buggy, broken releases.

Altogether, a faster jailbreak cycle isn’t much of a surprise. If AI tools can rebuild entire games from compiled code overnight, digging through console firmware for exploits starts to look a lot more approachable. It helps that AI agents like Claude thrive on verifiable loops, ie, being able to write, test, and repeat ad nauseam until it gets it right with no fatigue involved.

Gizmodo writes that this could be Sony's Napster moment — an existential crisis for the gaming industry just like the music business faced in the early 2000s. It's one thing to sue a bunch of hackers, but Sony doesn't have much goodwill with the public at the moment. It helps, though, that jailbreaking a console requires having it in the first place, and that jailbreaking any console risks bricking it.

Given that RAMageddon is causing a GPU shortage, one might exercise caution, as a second-hand PS5 Pro could cost $1,300 or more.

Since August, someone (or perhaps a group of people) called Cyberleek has been very busy sharing various gameplay clips of Grand Theft Auto 6. On Aug. 20, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of GTA-maker Rockstar Games, filed subpoenas against Microsoft and Discord to try to unmask the leaker, followed soon after by subpoenas against Google and X Corp. Those filings specifically cited "stolen content," confirming that the Cyberleek videos are legitimate.

Prior to the August "Extended Look" on Netflix, the GTA 6 leaks represented the first real glimpse of gameplay from the hotly anticipated title. After the Netflix trailer, Cyberleek stopped posting for more than a month before suddenly reappearing in October with a 24-minute gameplay video and some other decidedly NSFW clips. We're not going to embed or link to any of these clips; however, they're easy enough to find on X or Reddit if you look hard enough.

Every GTA 6 leak from Cyberleek so far

At the time of publication, more than a dozen gameplay clips and map screenshots have been posted by Cyberleek that show different aspects of GTA 6, including glimpses of cutscenes. The leaker did post some minor story spoilers in the most recent release, so be careful if you want to avoid them.

Here are the GTA 6 leaks Cyberleek has shared so far:

• Map sneak peek 1: A small, cropped portion of the in-game world map, showing a location called Dalton Island.

• Map sneak peek 2: Another cropped portion of the map showing locations called Tequesta Retreat, Gloriana Key, and Catalan Key.

• Basketball video: A clip of protagonist Jason Duval throwing a basketball into a hoop in a mini-game.

• Full map: An alleged view of the entire in-game map.

• Random video 1: A clip of Jason driving around for a little bit before beating up a truck driver.

• Taser video: A clip of Jason driving at night, stealing a security guard's taser, and using it on him. Jason then repeatedly kicks the guard while he is on the ground.

• Junkies video: A clip that appears to show a healing drug called Zombix. A tooltip indicates that Zombix's effects will weaken over time if the player uses it too much.

• Plane video: A clip of Jason flying a plane over Vice City, with much of the game world visible below. At the end, whoever is playing the game in the clip shoots the word "LEEK" into a wall with bullets, suggesting the leaker has a playable build of the game.

• Hypercar part 1: A clip of Jason driving a high-end sports car around Vice City.

• Hypercar part 2: A clip of Jason driving the sports car some more, before committing armed robbery.

• Strip club: Jason wanders around a strip club, then a short clip of an in-game cutscene is shown.

• Gas station: Jason causes trouble at a gas station, steals a truck with a bed full of gasoline, and crashes and dies; more of the previous cutscene is shown.

• Plane video 2: Jason flies a plane over Vice City at night.

• Nudist colony: Jason explores a nudist hangout spot (where the NPCs are, obviously, nude) and attacks NPCs.

• Nightclub: A pretty uneventful video of Jason walking around the interior of a nightclub.

• Beach cycling: Jason riding a bicycle on a beach full of NPCs.

• Video game store: Jason walking around a video game store with shelves full of fake video game boxes.

• How does Cyberleek drive? Jason steals a hot rod and evades the police; the clip ends with a cutscene showing Lucia Caminos, the game's second playable character, for the first time. Caminos talks about someone who "drives like a bitch."

• Lucia prologue: A four-and-a-half-minute video of a prologue introducing Caminos; the clip includes minor story spoilers.

• 24-minute extended leak: A long video featuring multiple vehicular races, car customization, first-person gameplay, and both protagonists rendered in the nude.

• Nude Lucia videos: Several videos of Lucia performing various in-game activities, such as walking around, driving, and parachuting, while completely nude.

What could Cyberleek release next?

The big 24-minute Cyberleek video in October ended with an allusion to some sort of long-term "project," the likes of which we know nothing about. However, the leaker has now threatened to release a "Full 200+GB playable build" of the game, played from beginning to end, if the Cyberleek memecoin reaches $30 million in market value. At the time of publication, the coin's value is at about $2.5 million, a far cry from that goal.

In addition, as of Oct. 12, websites associated with Cyberleek are hosting a poll, which is titled, "Lucia closeup 4k video." In the past, Cyberleek has hosted polls asking followers what clips to release next, with users voting using the leaker's memecoin. This strongly suggests new GTA 6 leaks featuring Lucia are coming soon.

The leaker is also once again calling on Rockstar and Take-Two to release the new Grand Theft Auto on a physical disc, part of a long list of grievances.

You can see the game officially now

Speaking of the Netflix trailer, it's now on YouTube in all of its 26-minute glory. There were plenty of little details that Cyberleek never showed, such as gameplay footage of Lucia, among many other things. If you want a real idea of how GTA 6 works, you're probably better off watching the Netflix video than anything Cyberleek posted at this point.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

Updated on Monday, Oct. 12 at 11:40 a.m. ET — We've updated the story to reflect the latest leaked videos, as well as the threat to release a full build of the game.

Updated on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 2:15 p.m. ET — We've updated the story to reflect the latest Cyberleek leaks.

Updated on Friday, Aug. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET — We've updated this story with additional details.

Updated on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 3:20 p.m. ET — We've updated this story with details on Rockstar's statement and additional GTA 6 leaks.

Updated on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 11:40 a.m. ET — We've updated this story to reflect the latest Cyberleek videos.

Updated on Monday, Aug. 24 at 1:30 p.m. ET — We've updated this story to reflect the latest Cyberleek leaks.

Updated on Friday, Aug. 21 at 3:00 p.m. ET — Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the parent company of Grand Theft Auto-maker Rockstar Games, has filed two subpoenas naming Microsoft and Discord as it hunts the leaker known as Cyberleek. The legal filings specifically cite "stolen content," seemingly confirming that the leaks are legitimate. Take-Two is also requesting the removal of leaked material that violates its copyrights, as well as information that could unmask the leakers. Read more about the Microsoft and Discord subpoenas.

SAVE $762: As of Oct. 12, the Sunseeker X3 Plus robot lawn mower is on sale for $836.98 instead of its usual $1,598.99. That's nearly 50% in savings and its best price on record.

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Credit: Sunseeker

Sunseeker X3 Plus robot lawn mower

$836.98 at Amazon
$1,598.99 Save $762.01

 

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Lawn-mowing season might be wrapping up, but if you're looking to invest in a robot mower for next year, the Sunseeker X3 Plus is nearly half off its usual cost.

As of Oct. 12, the Sunseeker X3 Plus robot lawn mower is down to just $836.98 instead of $1,598.99. That's $762 or 48% in savings, marking its lowest price on record.

Mashable's sister site CNET tested the Sunseeker X3 Plus and specifically recommended buying it if you can score it on sale. Well, today's your lucky day — but only if you act fast. It's already selling out at Amazon.

It's designed for small to medium-sized residential lawns up to 0.3 acres and requires little to no setup. No buried perimeter wires or digging is necessary; just use the app to map out your yard and create virtual boundaries. The Sunseeker X3 Plus will handle the rest.

An on-board camera with dual AI vision and ultrasonic sensors can detect potential objects in the Sunseeker's path and it'll adjust its route accordingly. Of course, if there's certain spots you want it to avoid altogether, you can also set up a custom path in the app. The app also allows you to manage schedules, adjust cutting height, and monitor mowing progress.

If you're ready to hand off your most annoying chore and gain hours of your time back next summer, grab the Sunseeker X3 Plus while it's half price (and while it's still in stock!).

Notorious Grand Theft Auto VI leaker Cyberleek is back with a vengeance, it seems.

The anonymous video poster went dark after the big Netflix trailer in late August, but returned last week with a big, chunky 24-minute clip that featured story cutscenes, auto races, and the male protagonist Jason fully nude. Over the weekend and into Monday morning, Cyberleek shared some more clips that we won't link to, but can be easily found on social media. The new clips largely revolve around the female protagonist Lucia, and also show her completely nude, doing things like walking around Vice City or parachuting off a tall building.

In addition, Cyberleek posted a warning on their website claiming that if their memecoin reached a market cap of $30 million, they would release a video showing a full playthrough of the game's story prior to release. The same post also included a demand for publisher Take-Two to apologize for not releasing the game on disc and to rectify that issue. It is extremely unlikely the company could fire up disc manufacturing for GTA 6 in a timely fashion, even if the publisher wanted to negotiate with the leaker. At this point, there is no sign of that happening.

Just like in the videos featuring a nude Jason, the nude Lucia videos seem a little fishy in the sense that NPCs don't react to their nudity at all. Given that recent Rockstar games are built entirely around believable NPC interactions, that would suggest the nudity is not a regularly accessible feature in the final game and is being achieved through the use of developer tools.

It's only about a month until the game is in all our hands, and we won't have to worry about GTA 6 leaks spoiling the story anymore.

SAVE $201.99: The Sony XM5 headphones are on sale at Amazon for $198, down from the list price of $399.99. That's a 50% discount that matches the lowest ever.

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Credit: Sony

Sony WH-1000XM5

$198
$399.99 Save $201.99

 

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I'm not saying a pair of headphones can change your life, but I will stand by the notion that headphones can make a major difference in daily life quality. If you've been getting by with a pair that's not super comfortable, check out this deal.

As of Oct. 12, the Sony XM5 headphones are on sale at Amazon for $198, down from the list price of $399.99. That's a 50% discount that takes $201.99 off the price. It also matches the lowest we've ever seen at Amazon.

On Mashable's list of the best headphones, the Sony XM5 earn an honorable mention as a Mashable Choice product. While they're an older model, the ANC still stands up as some of the best around, and the call quality is an added bonus. Since the new XM6 headphones come with a price of $458, going with the sale $198 XM5 is a budget option that doesn't drop you into sacrificing on quality.

Since this is the lowest price we've seen, make the upgrade to the Sony XM5 headphones for under $200. They'll be perfect for fall walks in crunch leaves.

SAVE $100: As of Oct. 12, you can get the DJI Mini 5 Pro for $679, down from $759, at Amazon. That's an 11% discount, or $80 in savings.

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Credit: DJI

DJI Mini 5 Pro

$679 at Amazon
$759 Save $80

 

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If you were hoping to buy a drone during Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days event but couldn't make it in time, a few legit drone deals are still lingering on the site — including some DJI models.

Right now, you can get the DJI Mini 5 Pro for $679, down from $779, at Amazon. Not only is that a full $80 off, but it actually beats the drone's previous all-time low of $683 by $4. The Mini 5 Pro isn't available on the DJI website, so this is the best way to get this model on sale.

OK, so let's talk specs. If you already own the Mini 4 Pro, an upgrade actually makes a lot of sense this time around. But if you're new to droning and want something lightweight and easy to fly, the Mini 5 Pro is a really solid option.

It features a 50MP 1-inch image sensor (a noticeable step up from the 1/1.3-inch sensor on the 4 Pro) with 4K/60fps HDR video. The gimbal rotates 225 degrees for full-sensor vertical video and photos (you know, for the Gram), and it includes up to 42GB of internal storage and 36 minutes of battery life out of the box.

That said, there are a few drawbacks. While it is lightweight, manufacturing variances mean some units may weigh 251 grams with the standard battery. (Keep in mind that the FAA measures weight at takeoff, not the box specification!) It doesn't go any faster than 40 mph and has less wind resistance than larger models, like the DJI Air 3S. And Redditors are currently complaining about a firmware bug that makes the Mini 5 Pro detect distant clouds as obstacles, which will abruptly halt your waypoint flights.

Many pet owners know the feeling of panic that sets in when they realize their dog or cat has slipped out of the house or backyard. Now you’re faced with the daunting task of tracking down a pet that could be anywhere.

Life360, the app families use to stay connected through location sharing, now includes pet safety with Life360 Pet GPS. You can see your pet’s location on the same map as the rest of your household. And if they go missing, you can call on the Life360 community to help with the search. 

How does Life360 Pet GPS work?

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Credit: Life360

Life360 Pet GPS

$99

Includes one-year Silver membership

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Life360 Pet GPS attaches to your pet's collar and uses GPS and LTE connectivity to show their location in real time. Instead of wondering where your dog went, you can open the app and see for yourself. 

You can also set a geofence around your home, and anytime your pet crosses it, your family receives an escape alert, so you know to start looking immediately. This is a good option for anyone who shares pet-caring responsibilities with a roommate, partner, or other family members.

For new users, the $99 Pet GPS bundle includes the device and a year of Life360 Silver membership. That means your first year of tracking costs less than $100 since the subscription is already included. 

Battery backup when you need it

Pet GPS includes up to 14 days of battery life per charge, plus a reserve designed for those times when the battery gets low. Once the battery drops below 6%, the tracker enters Reserve Mode. 

This switches from real-time GPS to Bluetooth tracking through the Tile network, allowing occasional location updates when a nearby phone detects the device. That reserve can last up to six months. 

Additional ways to find your pet

If your pet goes missing, Life360’s Pet Finder Network draws on its global community of more than 100 million members. Sending a Lost Pet Alert shares your pet’s photo and details with nearby members who may be able to help you. 

Life360 also offers Pet Tag, a scannable ID that attaches to your pet’s collar. If someone finds your pet, they can scan the tag with their smartphone to contact you, and there’s no app to download on their end. You’ll manage your pet’s information on the Life360 app, so you can update your contact information without replacing the tag.

You can start with a free Pet Profile and access to the finder network, add Pet Tag for identification, or choose Pet GPS for real-time location tracking with a membership. Whichever option works for your household, Life360 Pet GPS gives you multiple ways to find your pets. 

SAVE $650: As of Oct. 12, the Hisense 50-inch S7 Canvas Hi-QLED 4K TV is still on sale for its October Prime Day price of $649.99 at Amazon. That's 50% off its list price of $1,299.99.

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Credit: Hisense

Hisense 50-inch S7 Canvas Hi-QLED 4K TV

$649.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $650

 

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If you want an aesthetic TV that works double duty as artwork on your wall, but you don't quite have the budget for The Frame, Hisense's Canvas TV is our favorite dupe. And it's currently sitting at half off its usual price at Amazon.

As of Oct. 12, the Hisense 50-inch S7 Canvas Hi-QLED 4K TV is still on sale for its October Prime Day price of $649.99. That's 50% or $650 off its usual cost of $1,299.99. That's its second-best price of 2026.

The Canvas TV isn't quite as bright as Samsung's The Frame, but aside from that, it's a better value in a lot of ways. It has a higher refresh rate at 144Hz (versus 120Hz), two HDMI 2.1 ports, the intuitive Google TV interface, and free access to its gallery with over 1,000 works of art and immersive screensavers. On The Frame models, you have to pay a monthly fee to gain access to the artwork.

The Canvas TV comes with an anti-glare, hi-matte finish, a teakwood magnetic frame (more options sold separately) and an ulta-slim wall mount that lies flush to make the TV look as close as possible to framed artwork. "The TV itself looks stupid good in a gallery wall and really does blend in with other artwork and wall hangings, especially in art mode," Deputy Shopping Editor Miller Kern writes.

If you're in the market for a new TV and want something that'll enhance your living room aesthetic, the Hisense Canvas TV is one of the best picks — especially while it's half its usual cost.

Did you think that the chaos around limited-edition Starbucks drinkware was over? You fool! It has only just begun.

Last year’s viral Bearista glass cup sold out in a flash. For the 2026 holiday season, the bear is making a comeback. And this time, it’s teaming up with one of Mashable's favorite brands — Owala.

When does the Starbucks Bearista Owala drop?

Mark your calendar, clear your schedule, and mentally prepare for Nov. 5. The Bearista collection officially hits Starbucks stores nationwide with the return of the seasonal holiday menu. It's important to note that, unlike some of these viral drops, this collection will also be available online via the Starbucks Shop. That could be an absolute game-changer.

How to buy the Starbucks Bearista Owala

Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee success against scalpers. There are, however, some things you can do to maximize your chances on launch morning.

The most obvious recommendation we can make is to check the Starbucks Shop while waiting in line at your local coffeehouse. You could save yourself a lot of time and effort by simply shopping online if the stock exists. If that doesn't work out for you, make sure you're well-positioned in the queue by arriving at least 30 minutes before doors open.

Lastly, the sensible move is to call your local store before Nov. 5 to check whether they have received any stock and how many Owala units were allocated. That way, you can get an idea of whether or not it's worth standing out in the rain.

How much will the Starbucks Bearista Owala cost?

Starbucks has not yet confirmed the price of the Bearista Owala. A standard Owala FreeSip bottle typically retails for $29.99 (although deals are live). Last year's Bearista glass cup sold for $29.95. Expect pricing to land somewhere around those figures (if not a little more).

What's all the fuss? At the end of the day, this is a stainless steel water bottle with a cute bear print. If you just want a leak-proof, insulated tumbler with a built-in straw, a standard 24-oz Owala FreeSip on Amazon delivers the exact same experience without forcing you to wake up at dawn or deal with line-cutters. But if you are an avid Starbucks collector or looking for the ultimate holiday gift for an Owala fan, Nov. 5 is your day to shine.

SAVE $10: As of Oct. 12, the Owala FreeSip Twist Stainless Steel Water Bottle (24 oz) in select colorways is down to $19.99 at Amazon. That’s 33% off its regular $29.99 list price, marking a rare drop that beats out Prime Day deals.

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Credit: Owala

Owala FreeSip Twist 24 oz

$19.99 at Amazon
$29.99 Save $10

 

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If there’s one piece of hydration gear Mashable readers consistently obsess over, it’s anything with an Owala logo on it. In fact, the Owala FreeSip Twist recently earned a spot on our list of the top 10 most popular products readers bought during October Prime Day. While the classic push-button FreeSip gets plenty of hype, the Twist version offers a sleeker, leak-proof spin on the original — and right now, select colorways are priced lower than they were over Prime Day.

You can grab the 24 oz FreeSip Twist for just $19.99 on Amazon, saving $10 off its usual $29.99 price tag. Getting a top-tier insulated bottle under twenty bucks is already a solid win, but beating major shopping holiday event pricing makes this a no-brainer if your current water bottle has seen better days.

What makes people fall in love with this bottle is Owala’s 2-in-1 spout design. Unlike standard bottles that force you to choose between a straw and a wide opening, the FreeSip spout lets you do both. You can sip upright through the built-in straw when you're working or driving, or tilt it back to swig directly from the spout when you're super thirsty.

Thanks to triple-layer vacuum insulation, cold drinks stay chilled for hours, and the twist lid safely handles hot coffee or sparkling water without spraying when opened. The protective top creates a tight seal that won't leak inside a backpack or gym bag, and the built-in loop makes it easy to carry around on a finger.

Just keep in mind that the 24 oz version has a slightly wider base than ultra-slim bottles, so while it slides easily into tote bags, it might only fit into larger or specialty car cup holders.

If you want a leak-proof, multi-purpose bottle that lives up to the hype, head over to Amazon to grab the Owala FreeSip Twist for $19.99 while the discount is still live.

Apple's upcoming iPad mini will be a major upgrade, but will come with an equally major price increase.

This is according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who claims that the 2026 iPad mini will cost close to $799, up two hundred bucks from the $599 starting price of the previous model.

The new device will reportedly be the first iPad mini to come with an OLED display, and it will also be equipped with Apple's new A20 Pro chip, a new speaker system, and a horizontally-placed FaceTime camera.

At $799, the iPad mini might still be good value, but it would be significantly pricier than the $449 iPad and even the $749 iPad Air (assuming, of course, that those devices remain at those price points, which isn't certain given the memory supply crunch that's driving gadget prices up).

Given the imminent advent of Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, we'd hoped that the iPad mini/iPhone combo would be a cheap alternative to the Duo's $1,999 starting price. Carrying two devices around instead of one elegant foldable is not the same thing, but you do get similar functionality for less money, at the expense of some practicality. But the new iPad mini pricing, if accurate, sours that deal quite a bit.

The new iPad mini is likely to launch in late October, alongside the company's first-ever touchscreen MacBooks as well as a new iMac computer.

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TL;DR: Sony has officially launched new colorways for its Fnatic-collaborated gaming lineup, including the Inzone H9 II Wireless Headset in Fnatic orange ($348) and the Inzone E9 Wired In-Ear Monitors in glass purple ($129.99, marked down from $149.99).

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Credit: Sony

Inzone H9 II Wireless Headset

$348 at Amazon

 

Shop Now

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Credit: Sony

Inzone E9

$129.99 at Amazon
$149.99 Save $20

 

Shop Now

If you're still relying on crusty stock headphones or cheap earbuds that turn competitive Valorant matches into an audio guessing game, Sony is offering a solid reason to upgrade. The tech giant just dropped fresh, bold colorways for its pro-tier Inzone lineup — and the new E9 earbuds are already hitting Amazon with an early launch-day price cut.

The flagship Inzone H9 II Wireless Headset gets a bright, high-vis Fnatic orange edition (joining its standard black and white options), while the Inzone E9 Wired In-Ear Monitors debut in a sleek glass purple. Both models were co-developed with elite esports organization Fnatic, so they’re tuned specifically to help you pinpoint enemy footsteps before you even see them.

Credit: Sony

If you want complete active noise cancellation without feeling like your skull is in a vise during marathon sessions, the H9 II is built like absolute royalty. Sony actually pulled the sound drivers straight out of its flagship XM6 noise-canceling headphones, packing high-end flagship audio tech into a lightweight 260g frame.

Beyond raw audio quality, it comes loaded with FPS equalizer presets developed along with Fnatic pros to make positional cues hit with pinpoint accuracy, plus toggleable ANC to drown out ambient household chaos. You also get ultra-low-latency 2.4GHz wireless via a USB-C dongle, Bluetooth LE, 30 hours of battery life, and a detachable cardioid mic with AI noise reduction so your team hears your callouts instead of your mechanical keyboard.

If heavy over-ear clamping force gives you headaches — or you just prefer to rock compact in-ears under external ear defenders — the Inzone E9s are a lethal alternative. As Sony’s first fully enclosed sealed IEM design, they pair custom noise-isolating tips with an included USB-C audio box to unlock 360 Spatial Sound and deep EQ tweaking via the PC Inzone Hub.

They're built for pure endurance, offering four ear tip sizes, flexible ear hooks, and an ultra-thin 1.8m cable that slips comfortably under headgear without digging into your ears.

Both new colorways are available on Amazon right now, with early savings on the IEMs. Head over to grab the Inzone H9 II for $348 or the Inzone E9 for $129.99.

Believing in magic as an adult is the stuff of eldritch terror when it comes to the world of LAIKA. The stop-motion animation studio scared the shit out of us with Coraline, a twisted, whimsically macabre web that made a nightmare of the uncanny.

Now, with Wildwood, directed by creative chief Travis Knight, LAIKA once again leans into the dark and extraordinary world of fantasy and magic, this time nestled right across the river from the American Mecca of weird: Portland, Oregon. With handcrafted animation blended with painterly digital tech, the LAIKA team draws you into the Impassable Wilds, a magical realm where the forces of nature cannot be underestimated.

Though a fantasy tale, Wildwood's emotional core lies in reality. And in such a real world, where artificial intelligence is invading systems of creativity like the film's all-powerful ivy, LAIKA's hand-wrought, tactile artistry feels truly remarkable.

Wildwood is a dark coming-of-age tale that sees magic for its darkness and light 

Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay). Credit: LAIKA

From Wildwood's magnificent opening scene, adapted by screenwriter Chris Butler (LAIKA's Kubo and the Two Strings), it's clear this is not a fairy tale for children. Based on the novel of the same name by The Decemberists' frontman Colin Meloy and illustrator Carson Ellis, the film begins with a gothic tragedy involving a governess, Alexandra (voiced by Carey Mulligan), and her only son, one that recalls Tim Burton's Wednesday story "Tale of the Skull Tree" — and it sets the macabre tone for the film. For now, the film brings us back into a safe haven: a cosy kitchen in Portland where teen Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is leaving the magic of childhood behind her, despite her parents' (Maya Erskine and Jake Johnson) encouragement to believe.

Tasked with babysitting her brother Mac (Arthur Knight, the director's infant son), Prue's wish for adulthood is cruelly granted when he's kidnapped by a Hitchcockian murder of crows, flown deep into the forest that lies beyond St. John's Bridge. The Impassable Wilds, her father calls them, and along with adventure game-loving nerd Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), the pair manage to venture beyond the mist.

Into the woods... Credit: LAIKA

What ensues is a thrilling, dark, and oftentimes uproarious careen into the realm of Wildwood, where the stakes are toweringly high (honestly, don't think your favourite character can't die a horrible death) and the emotional complexity of its residents runs deep. War is brewing, as a ruthless coyote mercenary army and displaced people branded as "bandits" wage bloody land battles within the realm. The conflict affects the entire realm, from an Endor-like avian principality to a grassroots community of mystics ("hippies" Prue calls them). However, there's something even more sinister afoot, and "outsiders" Prue and Curtis must be careful who they trust to get her baby brother back.

As the geopolitical tension of Wildwood comes into focus across the North and South Woods, Prue and Curtis will meet a glorious array of familiar-voiced characters: Brendan the mighty Bandit King (Mahershala Ali), helpful wise-cracking rat (Awkwafina), glorious golden eagle General (Angela Bassett), rage-fuelled coyote lieutenant Maksim (Tom Waits), the flustered yet wise Owl Rex (Richard E. Grant), sage mystic leader Iphigenia (Tantoo Cardinal), fierce warrior Niamh (Amandla Stenberg), snivelling politician's henchman Roger (Jemaine Clement), a accidental soldier Dmitri (Charlie Day), and more.

And at the heart of it all lies someone torn apart by grief, who'll do anything to reclaim what was lost. 

Wildwood's extraordinary animation is at once magnificent and brutal

Prue and the General (Angela Bassett), LAIKA's largest puppet to date. Credit: LAIKA

This is LAIKA, one of the most lauded studios working in animation today, so if you're expecting Wildwood to be visually magnificent, you won't be disappointed (and Dario Marianelli's soaring score seals the emotional deal).

Through ancient ruins, coyote-patrolled forests, heaving halls of neverending bureaucracy, and dank dungeons adorned with hanging cages, we're treated to wondrous worldbuilding from production designer Nelson Lowry and superb visual detail from principal character designer Thibault Leclercq, costume designer Deb Cook, and head of character and practical effects Oliver Jones. Frame after frame of sublime, handmade landscapes (there were 132 sets) are populated by 233 unique character puppets, painstakingly brought to life by head of animation Brad Schiff and his small army of animators, with Brian McLean's Rapid Prototype (RP) and Benoit Dubuc's CG Facial Animation teams. And they're all boasting hundreds of intricate costumes from Cook and head of costume Anja Poland.

All shot to perfection by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and edited by Christopher Murrie-Green, the meticulous detail within each scene is nothing short of extraordinary — from the Bandit King's dreadlocks to Prue's tears (yes, stop-motion animated tears!) to the General's majestic flapping wings — and results in a world so resplendent, so visceral, and sometimes so shockingly violent you'll want to pause the screen or run from it. Within Wildwood, animals and people live alongside each other, with human governors, farmers, and bandits existing alongside rabbit constables, coyote commandants, and bear lumberjacks. The effect is one of harmony, tension, and fascination, with each character rendered with such individuality and detail that you could follow any one of them into their own Wildwood spinoff storyline. 

Respect the ivy... Credit: LAIKA

One of the major players in the film, a sprawling, interconnected mass of ivy stretched across the Impassable Wilds, is a feat of animation in itself, with every climbing vine, every veined leaf, moving as one powerful entity. This sense of gravitas extends to every scene in Wildwood, whether animating a rat swimming in a bowl of venison soup or rain falling on emerald mansion steps.

However, nothing compares to one of the most exceptional battle sequences you'll ever see on screen, a masterpiece of animation whose meticulous production boggles the mind. The largest ever created for a stop-motion feature film, the 12-minute battle scene is 411 thrilling, violent, and awe-inspiring shots that are sure to land this film an Oscar.

Wildwood's secret star is the city of Portland

Prue's family live in Portland and you won't miss it. Credit: LAIKA

If there's one hidden character within Wildwood, it's the city of Portland, Oregon, America's nucleus of alternative living, where the history of magic has ancient roots. 

In Wildwood's Portland scenes, the team hide Easter eggs and references that build a portrait of the city's weird and wonderful elements: from Prue enjoying the magic of Voodoo Doughnut to cycling past drag queen story hour at legendary independent bookstore Powell's. A bagpipe-playing Darth Vader on a unicycle? Yep, we're in Portland.

Within Prue's teen bedroom, inclusions of The Decemberists' posters pay homage to the Portland band whose "The Better Part Of Bravery," lies on the soundtrack — and whose frontman wrote the book Wildwood is based on. Prue's parents are so Portland they won't even say what happened at Burning Man and mention "medical doctors" as a last resort. Yes, it's reductive and stereotypical, but it renders the city a place where it makes sense there'd be a magical wilderness on the other side of the Willamette River.

It's this familiarity that anchors Wildwood in its most brutal moments, knowing a world of war, violence, and magic lies just beyond a city bridge. LAIKA doesn't treat its audience like glass, presenting the cruelty of magic as one of finality, of life and death. Find the biggest screen you can and ride boldly across the bridge into Wildwood, where magic is just as beautiful as it is brutal. 

Wildwood was reviewed out of BFI London Film Festival and will hit cinemas Oct 23.

SAVE OVER $500: As of Oct. 12, the Anker Solix S2000 portable power station is on sale for $649.98 at Amazon. That's $549.02 off its full price of $1,199.

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Credit: Anker

Anker Solix S2000 Portable Power Station

$649.98 at Amazon
$1,199 Save $549.02

 

Get Deal

Winter is not too far off, and if you're a bit worried about power outages from severe weather during those months, a portable power station is a helpful item to have around the house. The Anker Solix S2000 is a model designed to keep appliances powered up in moments like those, and this is a perfect time to grab it, as Amazon has slashed 46% off its list price.

Normally priced at a hefty $1,199, this portable power station is down to $649.98. That's a cent cheaper than the price we saw during last week's October Prime Day sale, and it may not be on sale for much longer, since it's marked as a "limited time deal."

With a continuous output of 1,500W and a peak output of 3,000W, the Anker Solix S2000 can power up a variety of household appliances, including fridges. It can keep a fridge powered for up to 35 hours, which is great news if you run into an emergency outage. Its battery also has a 15-year lifespan, so it will last for many years to come.

It also has a variety of ports, including AC outputs, an AC input, a 12W USB-A port, an XT60i input, a 15W USB-C port, and a 100W USB-C port. It weighs 35.7 pounds and measures 8.2 × 11.1 × 12.7 inches, so you can move it around to where it's most needed.

Don't let this deal pass you by. Be quick to save on the Anker Solix S2000 portable power station at Amazon while it's still on sale.

TL;DR: New and existing AT&T customers can get up to $1,200 off the iPhone Duo with an eligible trade-in. Customers who switch to AT&T can also get up to $800 toward their current device balance.

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Credit: Apple

AT&T: iPhone Duo for $1,200 off

 

Shop Now

Preorders for Apple’s iPhone Duo officially kick off this week, and AT&T is coming out of the gate with one of its most aggressive carrier promotions of the year.

Starting on Oct. 16, the Apple iPhone Duo will be available for preorder at AT&T before general availability opens on Oct. 23. To sweeten the launch, AT&T is offering up to $1,200 in bill credits with an eligible trade-in for both new and existing customers. If you are switching carriers, AT&T is also stacking an extra $800 credit to cover your remaining phone balance with your current provider, plus an exclusive $200 discount per line when you complete your order online.

To unlock the maximum $1,200 savings, you will need to trade in a qualifying smartphone with a minimum trade-in value of $230, activate or maintain your line on an eligible unlimited plan, and purchase the phone on a 36-month installment agreement.

Getting $1,200 off Apple's $1,999 flagship foldable brings your monthly cost down from $55.56/month to just $22.23/month. You are still required to pay state sales tax on the phone's full retail value upfront, plus AT&T's standard $35 device connection fee. The $1,200 discount is distributed as 36 monthly bill credits. If you cancel your plan, downgrade to an ineligible tier, or switch carriers before the three years are up, the remaining balance becomes due immediately.

Score the best preorder deal for the iPhone Duo at AT&T.

Danny Dyer hosted SNL UK on Saturday, and it was only right that the TV hard man beat up a few people on his way to the stage.

In the clip above he does his best to keep the language as live TV-friendly as possible with a little help from Rivals co-star Lisa McGrillis, before showing off his (slightly limited) range of UK accents.

Want more of the best of late night? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts.

TL;DR: The Apple iPhone 18 Pro is $1,000 off with T-Mobile. To claim this offer, switch and bring your number or trade in an eligible phone in any condition on an Experience Beyond plan.

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Credit: Apple

T-Mobile: Apple iPhone 18 Pro for $1,000 off

 

Shop Now

We keep close tabs on all the best deals on smartphones. T-Mobile is usually one of the first places we look, because they generally offer free deals on new handsets like the Motorola Razr+, Google Pixel 11, and of course, the iPhone.

For a period of time, T-Mobile was offering the iPhone 17 and iPhone 18 Pro for free. We were pretty crushed when we saw that T-Mobile had dropped this promotion. That was until we saw the alternative. The free deal might have gone, but they are still offering a huge discount on the latest iPhone.

For a limited time, the Apple iPhone 18 Pro is $1,000 off with T-Mobile. To qualify for this offer, switch and bring your number or trade in an eligible phone in any condition on an Experience Beyond plan.

T-Mobile spreads your savings across 36 monthly bill credits, effectively locking you into a three-year agreement. If you cancel or switch carriers early, you will owe the remaining balance immediately. You will also need to cover state sales tax on the phone’s full retail value upfront, plus a standard $35 device connection fee per line at checkout.

If you plan on staying with T-Mobile anyway, it is still one of the best ways to score a top-tier phone without taking a massive hit to your bank account.

Get the Apple iPhone 18 Pro for $1,000 off this week with T-Mobile.

SAVE $30: As of Oct. 12, the Nespresso Vertuo Pop+ is on sale for $99 at Amazon. That's a 23% discount on the list price.

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Credit: Nespresso

Nespresso Vertuo Pop+

$99 at Amazon
$129 Save $30

 

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A tasty coffee setup doesn't need to cost hundreds of dollars or require an advanced barista-level skill set. With the Nespresso Vertuo Pop+, all you need to do is push a button to get the perfect cup in a matter of seconds. And as of Oct. 12, it's on sale at Amazon for $30 off the list price.

It comes in a range of colors, but only the licorice black, buna yellow, candy pink, pacific blue, and beige are discounted.

This coffee machine will suit all tastes in your household, with five drink sizes ranging from single and double espressos to 5-, 8-, and 12-ounce coffees. You can also switch between hot and iced drinks. Its compact footprint and removable 25-fluid-ounce side water tank also mean it's a practical choice for smaller kitchens.

And it's not complicated to use. The one-touch brewing system heats up in just 30 seconds, so you can have your morning coffee in no time. Descaling alerts also help to make maintenance easier by letting you know when the machine needs attention.

Get this Nespresso deal from Amazon now.

SAVE $52.99: As of Oct. 12, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE is on sale for $426.99 at Amazon. That's an 11% saving on the list price.

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Credit: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE

$426.99 at Amazon
$479.98 Save $52.99

 

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Tablets are handy for just about everything, from watching Netflix on the couch to getting work done while you're out and about. But with so many options available, it can be tricky to find one that covers all the bases.

For a limited time, you can get a deal on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE at Amazon. Normally $479.98, you can get it for $426.99.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE is designed to handle a bit of everything, so it's a well-rounded option if you want one device for entertainment and productivity. Its large, bright screen has a 90Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling, plus dual speakers make it high-quality enough to watch films or catch up on your favorite shows.

It's also packed with a range of Samsung's AI tools, including Circle to Search for finding information directly from your screen, Handwriting Assist for tidying up notes, and Math Solver for converting handwritten equations into text.

It's also IP68-rated for water and dust resistance, so it's robust enough to cope with everyday use wherever you are.

Get this Samsung tablet deal from Amazon now.

SAVE $40: As of Oct. 12, the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker Pro Plus is back to its lowest-ever price of $139.99 at Amazon. That's $40 off its full price of $179.99.

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Credit: Ninja

Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker Pro Plus

$139.99 at Amazon
$179.99 Save $40

 

Get Deal

Slow cookers are perfect for making warm, comforting meals during the cooler months of the year. If you're on the hunt for a machine that can operate as a slow cooker and more for making tasty dinners this fall and winter, look no further than the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker Pro Plus.

As of Oct. 12, this 9-in-1 cooker is down to its lowest-ever price at Amazon of $139.99, so it's a perfect time to pick it up.

This is a $40 discount off its original price of $179.99, but it may not be on sale for very long. Amazon has marked it as a "limited-time deal," so if you've been hoping to grab it for your kitchen countertop, now is your chance before the offer disappears.

The Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker Pro Plus is quite an impressive cooker, with nine preset options to choose from: Slow Cook, Sear/Sauté, Bake, Braise, Proof, Sous Vide, Steam, Rice/Pasta, and a very simple Keep Warm option. It also has an 8.5-quart capacity, which could hold enough chili for up to 20 people, or even 10 pounds of spaghetti and meatballs with no draining required. Hosting for the holidays? It definitely has you covered.

The inner pot is also removable and oven-safe up to 500°F, so you can easily transfer it if needed. Plus, the inner pot, lid, and spoon are dishwasher safe, which makes clean-up even easier once you're all finished cooking.

If the 9-in-1 Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker Pro Plus has caught your eye, act fast to save at Amazon.