A brand-new Spyro game is on its way, video game studio Toys for Bob revealed during the 2026 Xbox Games Showcase.

Titled Spyro: A Realm Beyond, the game is set for a spring 2027 release. It is the first new Spyro game since 2008's The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, and is created in collaboration between Toys for Bob and Microsoft's Activision.

Some elements of Spyro: A Realm Beyond will be familiar to fans of the franchise. Tom Kenny is back to voice the title character, a role he's played since 1999's Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage.

However, some aspects will be totally new to the Spyro games. Most notably, its new flight mechanic, which Toys for Bob describes as "not gliding, not a limited set of flight levels. True dragon flight."

A teaser released at the Xbox Games Showcase revealed what some of this flight gameplay would look like, showing Spyro soaring far off the ground.

According to Lou Studdert, associate creative director for Spyro: A Realm Beyond at Toys for Bob, players can just "press a button" to get fully airborne. There are no restrictions on when or where players can do this, but, of course, the game will force them to think strategically about how to use their flight within the environment.

The true dragon flight, along with Spyro's new, larger-winged look, make their debuts in Spyro: A Realm Beyond, coming to Xbox Series X and S, PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2 next spring.

With Mortal Kombat II in movie theaters and Street Fighter coming soon, 2026 is a big year for film adaptations of fighting games. But even more are on the way.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a movie based on SNK's Fatal Fury is in the works at indie production banner The Arena. The company has commissioned a script from David S. Goyer (Foundation, The Dark Knight trilogy), which will tell the story of brothers Terry and Andy Bogard. In the original game, the pair are seeking vengeance against crime boss Geese Howard after he killed their adoptive father. And what better way to exact their vengeance than through a high-stakes combat tournament?

Fatal Fury is just one part of Arena's larger plan to build out an entertainment franchise around South Town, a fictional American city where several of SNK's games take place.

Also in the works is the feature film Geese, an origin story for Geese Howard that is reportedly inspired by The Godfather and Joker. Grant Singer (Netflix's Reptile) is set to write and direct.

Arena's plans for the world of South Town go beyond films. An animated Fatal Fury series, titled Fatal Fury: The Vow, is in development from Robert Kirkman's Skybound, which also makes Invincible.

Elsewhere, webtoon author Brandon Chen is developing an Art of Fighting webtoon, which will be the first of Arena's South Town titles to be released.

Paramount Skydance's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. could soon face opposition from U.S. States.

As reported by Reuters, California, New York, and other unnamed states are preparing to file a lawsuit to block the merger. Sources say the lawsuit would be filed "in the coming weeks."

The lawsuit's specific complaints are unknown at this time, though they could align with Hollywood and US senators' prior criticisms of the merger, which include antitrust concerns and concerns about the merger's harmful impact on the increasingly fragile film and TV industry.

Even if the lawsuit doesn't succeed in blocking the merger entirely, it could still significantly delay the deal. The consequences of a delay wouldn't be pretty for Paramount. If the deal isn't closed by October, the company will have to pay shareholders a daily fee of around $6.9 million.

However, Paramount has been laying the political groundwork for a smoother journey to regulatory clearance. As Reuters notes, Paramount CEO David Ellison's father, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, has ties to President Donald Trump. David Ellison has also been taking steps to appease the Trump administration since the Paramount-Skydance merger, resulting in internal conflict at Paramount, as seen most recently in CBS's firing of 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley.

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

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 June 7 Pips

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

Greater Than (13): Everything in this space must be greater than 13. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed vertically.

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed vertically; 3-2, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed horizontally.

Less Than (2): 2-2, placed vertically; 3-2, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for June 7 Pips

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

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 6-2, placed horizontally.

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

Equal (4): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 3. The answer is 1-4, placed vertically; 4-5, placed horizontally.

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

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

Hard difficulty hints, answers for June 7 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this purple space must add up to 6. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically; 5-3, placed horizontally.

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

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically; 5-4, placed vertically.

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

Number (7): Everything in this purple space must add up to 7. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally; 4-6, placed vertically.

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

Number (6): Everything in this red space must add up to 6. The answer is 5-4, placed vertically; 2-4, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this orange space must add up to 6. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 6-0, placed vertically.

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

Whether you should get a robot vacuum or a stick vacuum boils down to one question: How picky are you about cleaning?

Everyone can probably acknowledge the appeal of not lifting a finger to clean their floors. But to some, that convenience may not be worth the cringe sparked by watching a robot vacuum ignore a crumb or eat a phone charger. Despite notable upgrades in smart mapping and cleaning performance over the past half-decade, even the best robot vacuums of 2026 can't match the precision of the best cordless stick vacuums operated by, you know, an actual human with a brain.

Cordless vacuums also just have the physical advantage in a lot of tricky spots. If you'd like to keep up with couch cushions, car seats, stairs, or the dusty abyss lying behind every door, a stick vacuum that can go handheld (and go outside) is the only option with that flexibility.

But to be real, your willingness to do all the cleaning yourself also matters — if you dread vacuuming by hand so much that you'll just put off doing it, your floors might actually be cleaner with a robot vacuum. I personally have both at the ready at all times and can argue for the value and practicality on either side, depending on the situation. And while the convenience of a robot vacuum is undeniable, I still reach for a cordless vacuum in more cases than not.

Other cordless vacuums I've tested

I've tested several other vacuum cleaners that didn't make the most recent cut for this list. Some, like the Shark Detect Pro with auto-empty station and LG All-in-One Cord Zero with auto-empty station, were a top recommendation at one point, but have since been overshadowed by newer, more powerful models that are a better bang for your buck.

There are also a few Dyson vacuums from years past that still garner substantial search interest, but that I no longer think are worth your money compared to what else is out there. The Dyson V8 and (seemingly discontinued) Dyson V10 that my parents have lying around have a tendency to push large debris like cat food and rocks around, and leave behind a layer of pet hair on many dark rugs. While these Dysons may have been powerhouses in the late 2010s, $300 could get you a more powerful option — maybe even automatic emptying, like with the Shark Detect Pro I just mentioned. The only upside would be that Dyson includes the motorized hair screw tool with the V8 and V10.

I also bumped the Dyson V15 Detect Submarine out of the list. The Roborock 2-in-1 cordless mop that took its place just offers a more seamless mopping system all around. The swappable wet roller head that turns the V15 Detect into a "mop" completely cuts off airflow to the dust bin of the vacuum, meaning there's no real wet suction going on. During my testing, this just pushed liquid around instead of soaking up spills, which then led to a soggy manual cleaning process that was super prone to leaks and weird smells. It just required way too much maintenance by hand, compared to the self-cleaning features of the Roborock F25 Ace Combo.

I also test robot vacuums. Are they as powerful?

I also test a ton of robot vacuums at home. While I think the convenience of robot vacuums is worth for, say, keeping up with the layer of dust and crumbs that accumulate during the work week, I have found that cordless vacuums are consistently tougher on elusive debris like pet hair or fine powders. This is especially when they've been pressed down into rug fibers or have been caked into corners.

Cordless stick vacuums are generally more powerful than robot vacuums. The upright design is optimal for airflow and has the real estate to house larger motors and more complex cyclone systems that create extra force on top of suction power alone. A robot vacuum's motor can't exceed the three or four-inch clearance that the vac needs to scoot its whole body under furniture. The motor of an upright vacuum typically lives completely separately from the vacuum head and roller brush and is thus under fewer constraints.

Physics aside, you could argue that a cordless vacuum is less likely to leave debris behind because a person is actively assessing where the suction needs to be focused. This includes tricky spots that aren't even on a robot vacuum's radar, like staircases or cars.

There are some one-to-one comparisons where a robot vacuum could be as powerful or more powerful than a stick vacuum. For instance, I've tested both the Roborock Saros 10R robot vacuum and Roborock F25 Ace cordless vacuum, and both offer 20,000 Pa suction power. But robot vacuums with that kind of power typically reside in the $1,000+ category, while it's much more affordable to hit that number with a stick vacuum. Even with identical stats on paper, the cordless vacuum would probably have a higher pickup rate over time just because the person operating it can see when more passes are necessary.

TL;DR: Live stream Cobolli vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open men's final for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 French Open comes to a close today with the most anticipated match of the men's game, as Alexander Zverev faces Flavio Cobolli in the grand final.

The big story is focused on world No. 2 Zverev. The German superstar is chasing his first Grand Slam title, and with other top seeds crashing out of the tournament in the early stages, this could be his moment.

But he'll face fierce competition from Italian No. 10 Cobolli, who has fought hard to reach his first major tournament final and saw off higher-ranked competition along the way.

And while Zverev battled his way through the semi-final against Jakub Mensik, Cobolli reached the final via walkover when his opponent pulled out with a virus. Will the extra rest day be a factor when the finalists take to the court today?

It's been a tournament of surprises and shock twists so far, and the men's final is sure deliver more excitement. Don't miss the highly-anticipated match.

If you want to watch Cobolli vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open final for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Cobolli vs. Zverev for free

Cobolli vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now.

9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, 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 Australia, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like 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 Australia

4. Connect to 9Now

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window

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 they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, 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 sport?

ExpressVPN is the best choice 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 secure

• Fast connection speeds

• 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 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 Cobolli vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Watch the 2026 French Open for free on 9Now and France TV. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The world of tennis is focused on clay courts right now. Top players sharpened up in the Barcelona Open and Madrid Open, and now it's time for the main event: Roland-Garros.

Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz will not defend his title, but this year's tournament is not short of star names. It's always a special tournament filled with huge moments, and we've already seen some shock results as top seeds get dumped out.

If you're interested in watching the 2026 French Open from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

What is the French Open?

The French Open, also known as Roland-Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It's the only Grand Slam tournament held on a clay surface, and is the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments.

The current singles champions are Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff.

When are the 2026 French Open finals?

The 2026 French Open is the 131th edition of the competition. The women's and men's singles finals take place on June 6 and June 7 respectively.

How to watch the 2026 French Open for free

The 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now and France TV.

9Now and France TV are geo-restricted to Australia and France respectively, but anyone can access these free streaming platforms with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia or France, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like 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 Australia or France

4. Connect to 9Now or France TV

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window

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 they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, 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 French Open?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for streaming live sport on free platforms, 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 secure

• Fast connection speeds

• 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 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 2026 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Twang.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

DRAWL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Anxious.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

ANTSY

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Thigh bone.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

FEMUR

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Criminal.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

FELON

Final Hurdle hint

Ships.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

FLEET

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

Looking up at the Moon tonight and wondering what exactly you're looking at? Wonder no more, this is what you can see.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Sunday, June 7, the Moon phase is Waning Gibbous. Tonight, 62% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

Without visual aids you should be able to spot the Oceanus Procellarum, Kepler Crater, and the Tycho Crater. If you have binoculars you'll also spot the Gassendi Crater, the Mare Humorum, and the Alphonsus Crater. And finally, with a telescope you'll also see the Apollo 12 landing spot, the Schiller Crater, and the Rima Ariadaeus.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on June 29.

What are Moon phases?

NASA explains that the Moon completes one full orbit around Earth in about 29.5 days, during which it moves through a sequence of eight phases. Even though the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of sunlight we can see changes as it travels along its path. This shifting light is what produces the lunar shapes, ranging from slim crescents to half-lit Moons and the bright Full Moon. All of these stages together make up the lunar cycle:

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.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you always speak your mind.

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.

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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.

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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: See-through

• Green: To say

• Blue: To destroy

• Purple: Types of tunes

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Translucent, as fabric

• Green: Speak

• Blue: Demolish

• Purple: Music genre suffixes

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 #1092 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Translucent, as fabric: GAUZY, GOSSAMER, SHEER, THIN

• Speak: EXPRESS, STATE, UTTER, VOICE

• Demolish: GUT, LEVEL, TOTAL, TRASH

• Music genre suffixes: CORE, POP, STEP, WAVE

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new 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? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

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 are easy if you're an animal lover.

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: Herpetology 101

The words are related to animals.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe reptiles.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is diagonal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Coldblooded.

NYT Strands word list for June 7

• Snake

• Bullfrog

• Turtle

• Coldblooded

• Chameleon

• Crocodile

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 your finger is on the pulse.

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:

A finger.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter T.

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...

THUMB

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.

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.

You've heard of AI vibe coding, one dictionary's phrase of the year for 2025. As of this week, 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the AI vibe shift.

You wouldn't know the shift existed from the tech world's top pronouncements of late; it is, after all, always sunny in Silicon Valley. Microsoft's Build conference, like Google I/O in May, featured tons of techies talking about tokens, the metric by which AI prompts and answers are measured (a token, weirdly, is about three-quarters of a word on average).

Both conferences also centered claims about frontier AI that are dubious to say the least. DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis at Google I/O: "Artificial General Intelligence is just a few years away... we are standing in the foothills of the Singularity." Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman: "scaling laws are holding... we are building towards what we call Humanist Superintelligence."

Wall Street was still buying it, but investors were wavering. The ultimate AI bellwether, Nvidia stock, tumbled for a few days, rallied after CEO Jensen Huang insisted AI agents will run everything, everywhere in the future (presumably once they've stopped deleting databases), then got pummeled again on Friday.

Still, for now, Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX continue to chase trillion-dollar IPOs, the latter based in large part on the untested concept of AI data centers in space.

Regardless, outside the AI bubble, a backlash has been brewing for some time — and not only among students booing pro-AI commencement speakers.

Just 10 percent of Americans say they're thrilled about the future of AI, a Pew poll found in March; that same month, some 80 percent of registered U.S. voters in an NBC poll said neither Democrats nor Republicans are doing a good job on the AI front.

That number also appears in an April survey of white-collar workers: 80 percent are straight-up refusing to use AI even when it's mandated. In the last 30 days, 54 percent of workers reported bypassing company AI tools and completing jobs themselves.

Those numbers suggest general strike-levels of discontent with AI across every industry, out there in the real America beyond Silicon Valley and Wall Street, if not an outright revolutionary mood.

Data center protests, fueled by the 70 percent of Americans who say they don't want data centers near them, are only likely to grow going forward — especially now that they are producing tangible results.

At least 48 data center projects were blocked or delayed in 2025, according to Data Center Watch, and the fight is only getting more fierce. Take the planned Stratos data center in Utah, where local opposition just forced VC and Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary to downsize his land usage by 75 percent.

"We screwed up," O'Leary told local TV news Friday. "We pissed off a lot of people."

'Let them eat tokens'

And the threat of electoral guillotines may explain why politicians are starting to propose serious action.

This week alone, Senator Bernie Sanders came out in favor of the U.S. public owning a 50 percent stake in AI companies, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang proposed an AI tax, and President Trump finally signed an executive order on AI regulation that his AI czar, Silicon Valley titan David Sacks, has long opposed.

On Friday, New York State legislators sent a one-year data center moratorium to the governor's desk — and Trump seemed to come around to Sanders' way of thinking on the government taking an ownership stake in OpenAI. Some who doubt OpenAI's current worth saw it as a bailout.

The White House's AI executive order was announced while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was making rosy pronouncements on AI at Build, adding to the surreal sense that we're watching a tale of two worlds — the anti-AI people versus an out-of-touch AI regime that says, essentially, let them eat tokens.

But hold the revolution: Just below the surface (and the Microsoft Surface Ultra), the AI regime is showing signs of cracking all on its own — and it's all down to those tokens.

Silicon Valley's AI backlash begins

When it comes to AI true-believer companies, they don't get much truer than Uber. The rideshare giant says 90 percent of its engineers use AI tools, mostly Anthropic's Claude Code. As much as 10 percent of Uber's codebase is written by AI agents.

Uber also had leaderboards that encouraged as much usage of AI tokens as possible; in Silicon Valley, this is known as tokenmaxxing, and it was really hot in 2025.

Then the tokenmaxxing bill came due. "The budget I thought I would need [for 2026] is blown away already,” CTO Neppalli Naga told The Information on April 14 — less than four months into the year.

At the time, however, the information didn't make much of a dent in the AI news cycle — not until Uber's COO confirmed what it meant at the end of May. Naga's busted budget was a "head-exploding moment," Andrew MacDonald told the Rapid Response podcast. Such spending "becomes harder to justify because AI is not free...we're going to have to start talking about token consumption."

Just like that, we started talking about token consumption. Axios reported an unnamed company had burned through half a billion dollars of tokens in a single month "after failing to put usage limits on Claude licenses."

Next, we learned Amazon and Meta had shut down their own internal AI leaderboards; other companies like Walmart and Starbucks have scaled back their AI agent plans.

In a leaked email, one Amazon senior vice president told employees to "stop using AI just for the sake of using AI." You'd be forgiven for thinking this obliterates a large chunk of OpenAI and Anthropic's business model.

Both companies have spent years building models that, for the most part, consume more tokens. Now they're promoting agents who can consume tokens on steroids — often as much as 24 times as a regular model.

As high-minded as their missions might be, both companies are in it to sell tokens.

Why tokenmaxxing died

A scene from a data center protest in Tucson, Arizona. Credit: Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via Getty Images

Some AI leaders, sensing the shift in the wind, are starting to say that sort of thing openly. Ravi Kumar S., CEO of AI IT firm Cognizant, called tokenmaxxing "a vanity metric" at a Fortune conference on Monday. Kumar took aim at OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei, accusing them of "fearmongering."

Altman and Amodei have walked back previous predictions of an AI jobs apocalypse now that they have IPOs in the offing — reason enough for a vibe shift of its own. But what's really hurting the two CEOs is that they're also cashing in on user confusion over the complex cost of AI.

Earlier this year, Anthropic quietly changed the price of Claude for many customers, charging them per token. OpenAI is looking at dropping its "unlimited" ChatGPT plans — quite a change from a year ago, when Altman promised "intelligence too cheap to meter."

The shift isn't just happening at the two AI giants. Microsoft started cutting token costs for itself and raising token prices for everyone else — even before those rosy pronouncements at Build.

Microsoft began revoking developers' access to Claude Code, pushing them to Microsoft Copilot instead, in May. On June 1, Github Copilot users were switched from a fixed subscription to a per-token subscription model.

Reddit filled with angry users noting how expensive their AI prompts have suddenly become. In one extreme case, a Claude user blew 50 percent of his monthly credits on a single prompt.

"At the beginning of the year," Altman said in an OpenAI livestream this week, "people were totally happy with the amount they were spending... now, all of a sudden [it's] a huge issue." In a CNBC interview Monday, Altman admitted to a "ton of waste" in AI spending, and said companies were asking, "how long do I have to wait for [AI benefits] to show up in revenue?"

This was, Altman said, a "fair issue." And the closest Altman came to an answer? "The industry will figure that out pretty quickly... in another year or two."

Will the vibe shift burst the AI bubble?

How long OpenAI and Anthropic have to figure out this issue, however, depends largely on what happens in their IPOs.

"Nobody knows when this will all collapse, but 2026 will be remembered in hindsight as the year in which retail investors were left holding the bag," Gary Marcus, a professor and leading generative AI critic, predicted Monday.

Marcus, who has been increasingly proven right in the AI problems he's foreseen since 2022, may yet be off base here. But he does have a hunch, based on comments from Anthropic cofounder Daniela Amodei, that both companies had burned so much money they were "months from bankruptcy" and had "run out of options" other than to file for trillion-dollar IPOs.

In particular, OpenAI has long been losing more than a billion dollars a month — the cost of serving ChatGPT for free to hundreds of millions of people.

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Financial bubbles built around technologies invariably end with an Emperor's New Clothes moment. Eventually, enough people are pointing and laughing that courtiers can't carry off the hype any longer.

That's what happened to end the dotcom bubble in 2000. A business deal came along that was so ridiculous on its surface (the world's largest media empire, snapped up by the guys who gave away dial-up internet via CDs?!) that markets couldn't help but point and laugh. The vibe shifted. Overhyped, profitless dotcom companies began to look naked, and a stock collapse soon followed.

Human hiring and hallucinations

Times have changed, and the AI bubble is a hardier thing than its dotcom predecessor. It is built atop the one company currently making a fortune out of all this. NVIDIA has sold the picks and shovels to AI gold rush seekers for so many years now that they've started to seem invulnerable. Yet even Nvidia is learning lessons about the prohibitive growing cost of AI.

"The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees," one Nvidia executive told Axios in April. So even Nvidia is vulnerable to tokenmaxxing. And that's why the hottest thing in AI these days is hiring humans, because they're getting to be cheaper than AI — and are needed for quality control on AI's output anyway.

Cognizant's Kumar boasted about his AI company hiring 20,000 graduates last year, and more this year — a vibe shift if ever we've seen one.

So the jobspocalypse vibe has shifted. The tokens vibe has shifted. And the AI data center-building vibe has shifted, too — not just in terms of public and environmental opposition, but in the fact that there aren't as many data centers under construction as we'd been led to expect. (Gadfly journalist Ed Zitron has done yeoman's work here, scouring satellite photos of data center sites for signs of construction).

What's left? Arguably, the only vibe that hasn't shifted is the hallucination vibe, in that users still aren't aware how often most AI models hallucinate. Google, for example, won't say how often Gemini 3.5 Flash hallucinates, but a December Google study found that Gemini may only be accurate 68.8 to 83.8 percent of the time.

And hallucinations aren't hard to find these days. The hallucination that OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX are genuine trillion-dollar AI giants that deserve to be listed in top index funds despite being unprofitable (breaking news: as I wrote this, the S&P 500 officially opted out of that hallucination).

The hallucination that Nvidia will always remain on top, even as companies making up a majority of its business are developing their own AI chips (which is exactly why Michael Burry, the Big Short guy, continues to short the stock).

The hallucination that customers want AI in everything, when survey after survey says the opposite. The hallucination that AI content will dominate the future, when the generation that will take us there points and laughs at AI slop.

If these hallucinations fade from the fevered brains of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, the great AI vibe shift of 2026 will be complete.

This article reflects the opinion of the author.

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.

In New York, legislators have passed a one-year moratorium on new data center construction, reports The Verge, marking the first statewide ban on a critical component of the infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence. 

Governor Kathy Hochul has yet to sign the bill into law, however, so at this stage it is better understood as a proposed framework than actual policy, but the lawmakers behind the bill say it is designed less as an outright ban than as a means of buying time to assess the many impacts of new data center construction — on the environment, on energy prices, and on local jobs.

If passed into law, the bill would require any company planning to build a "large" data center, defined as having at least 20 megawatts of capacity, to also fund a public hearing into the desirability of the project among local residents. 

Public opinion on data centers has rapidly soured, even since last fall, with 7 in 10 Americans now opposed to the construction of new data centers in their area, and lawmakers are starting to take note. A similar moratorium was attempted in Maine earlier this year, but the proposal was ultimately rejected by Democratic Governor Janet Mills on the grounds that it failed to exempt a previously planned project. 

Unsurprisingly, representatives from companies backing new data center construction oppose the moratoriums, favoring a case-by-case assessment of new builds. Politico spoke with Stacy Sikes, the current president and CEO of the Long Island Association business group, who warned about the economic ramifications of a blanket ban: "We think it would overall be damaging to the state’s economy, because having a blanket moratorium instead of looking at it at a case by case basis would not allow the state to move forward on a data center project that would actually be helpful to our economy." 

When asked about the likelihood of the bill becoming law, Hochul's spokesperson Kristin Devoe was predictably terse: "The Governor will review the bill." 

In a recently released policy paper entitled "Democratic Governance of Frontier AI: A blueprint for a federal framework," OpenAI put forward its vision of AI regulation, built around five core priorities: promoting transparency, protecting innovation, addressing risks to national security and public safety, advancing democratic governance, and creating "adaptive institutions" capable of keeping up with these rapid technological developments. 

But while those are all laudable goals, there is very little agreement on how to pursue them in practice. And according to reporting by Politico, the timing of this paper is auspicious, coming shortly after the White House released two executive orders on "Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security" that would place AI regulation squarely within the government's remit.

As Politico AI reporter Brendan Bordelon points out, the OpenAI paper is an attempt to "nudge" the federal government towards a different approach, one in which civilian institutions are responsible for AI oversight. Outlining a process they call "reverse federalism," OpenAI proposes that states be allowed to "to develop and refine common legal frameworks first," before Congress adopts them at the national level.  

In their vision, the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) would act as the main point of contact between artificial intelligence companies and the government, working off a precedent set earlier this year when Microsoft, Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI all signed deals with the Commerce Department to allow the federal government to evaluate their AI models for potential national security risks.  

As AI becomes more ubiquitous across the country, regulators are struggling to catch up. Between the potential for massive job losses, even in manufacturing, and the turmoil caused by AI deepfakes and the "crisis of knowing" they precipitate, people everywhere are looking for clarity and structure, and neither AI makers nor politicians seems able to agree on what that should look like.

This push-pull dance between AI's creators and governments has been going on for some time, and it isn't likely to be resolved any time soon, as evidenced by the latest of Sam Altman's visits to Capitol Hill earlier this week, but it's worth paying close attention to all the same, because the balance struck here will have major consequences for the future of, well, everything.

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.

Amy Poehler is that fun, easygoing friend who's somehow good at everything she does. With the launch of the Good Hang podcast, the 54-year-old Parks and Recreation star has quickly amassed a devoted audience that continues to climb.

After releasing the first episode in March of 2025, Good Hang has racked up 709,000 subscribers on YouTube, 2 million on Instagram, and 757,300 on TikTok. Plus, it won the inaugural award for Best Podcast at the Golden Globes.

The format of each 60(ish)-minute episode is pretty straightforward: Poehler has a sit-down chat in a question-and-answer style that's at once engaging and delightful. But the power of its success lies with Poehler herself. She is so enjoyable to watch (or listen to, depending on where you get your podcasts) and clearly loves learning about what lights people up.

In its first 52 weeks on the internet, the podcast has featured a parade of convivial, high-profile guests, including Michelle Obama, Ryan Coogler, and Gwyneth Paltrow, plus a steady stable of Poehler’s former co-stars and collaborators.

The Saturday Night Live alum is effervescent in her role as host, giggling with friends about past projects, exploring the power of female friendships, and celebrating other creators and entertainers across a wide range of genres.

For anyone who's missed having a weekly dose of this comedy queen, Good Hang hits all the right spots.

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 to discover the internet's most exciting voices or see more of this year’s Mashable 101.

It's not often you get two of the most accomplished NFL players of all time in the same family, but that's the Kelce brothers for you. Travis Kelce, 36, is a Tight End for the Kansas City Chiefs, while his older brother Jason Kelce, 38, was a Center for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2008 until 2024. Jason is widely regarded as one of the best centers in NFL history, while Travis is considered one of the most accomplished tight ends.

Just in case they weren't busy enough, they co-host a weekly sports podcast, New Heights, which has 3.6 million followers on Instagram (@newheightshow) and 3.16 million subscribers on YouTube. In 2024, the podcast signed a deal with Amazon for over $100 million. The name is a nod to the brothers' upbringing in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and the show pulls in big-name guests such as Jon Hamm, Ryan Gosling, and a certain person named Taylor Swift.

Travis and Taylor are betrothed to be wed and announced their engagement in an internet-breaking post with the caption, "Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married." When Taylor made her New Heights debut in August 2025, the podcast achieved record-breaking viewership. The episode gained almost 20 million views in five days on YouTube, prompting a 3,000 percent surge in new Spotify listeners, and a 618 percent rise in female listenership to the podcast.

Travis has 7.7 million followers on Instagram (@killatrav) and 3 million followers on TikTok (@traviskelce), while Jason has 3.2 million followers on Instagram (@jason.kelce) and 626,200 followers on TikTok (@jasonkelce).

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 to discover the internet's most exciting voices or see more of this year’s Mashable 101.

The advertising industry presents several major awards, such as the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the CLIO Awards. Now, a new awards show honors the best AI-generated ads.

The Generated Awards took place on May 27 in New York City, where the Generated Group presented 9 awards to AI video creators and brands. Many of the nominated ads were "spec ads," unofficial creations by AI hobbyists and creators. However, ads from Google and the Gorilla Glue Company were also considered.

For instance, "Pac-Man Reimagined," winner of the "Best Visual Effects" award, is not actually an advertisement from Bandai Namco Entertainment, which owns Pac-Man.

Still, the event shows just how quickly the advertising agency is adapting to new AI technology. Last year at Google I/O, the company dropped the AI video model Veo 3 like a bomb, and ever since, we've had to question every viral video we've seen. Since then, we've seen rapid advancements in text-to-video models. AI video creators often use multiple video models, including Seeddance 2.0, Kling 3.0, and Luma Ray2, as well as tools to improve the resolution to 4K.

Google has explicitly pitched Veo as a tool for quickly creating advertisements at scale, and multiple ad agencies now specialize in creating low-cost AI ads. Coca-Cola's most recent holiday campaign was centered on a controversial AI video, and Jeep has several AI-generated commercials on the air now.

As I've said before, whether you like it or not, I think artificial intelligence in advertising is a train that can't be stopped.

Over email, I asked Tanya Porquez, the Generated Group CEO, if AI-generated ads should have mandatory disclosure requirements. She said, "I don’t think there should be a required disclosure unless there is a legal requirement."

"We’re going to have a crawl-walk-run situation where 'made with AI' disclosures are present to build public trust. There is a transparency issue where people want to know that they’re not being manipulated by AI tools. For example, in New York they’ve passed legislation to require disclosure of AI-created people, something we welcome. I can understand why they’re asking for it now at this early state."

The Generated Ads: See the winning ads

To see what advertising could look like in the near future, I've gathered all the award winners into this piece. You can watch them for yourself to see if you can tell the difference between what's real and what's not.

Some of the videos are more obvious than others, and feature the tell-tale glossy sheen that's a hallmark of many AI videos. However, as with AI-generated images, the tells are becoming harder and harder to spot.

Though this should be obvious, please note that all of these videos contain AI-generated content.

Best storytelling: "Perfection by Mistake" by Michal Kuzminski

Best Direction: "Meet the New Chief Tough Officer at The Gorilla Glue Company" by The Gorilla Glue Company

Best Audio Experience: "Instant Grind, Nescafe" by Blackbrightstudio

Fictional Ad of the Year: "Puppramin" by PJ Accetturo

Spec Ad of the Year: "Vans" by Çağlasın Yılmaz and Bilgehan Yoldas

Commercial of the Year: "The Watch" by Runway Creative and J. Felipe Orozco

At the Summer Games Fest in Los Angeles, Capcom teased the release of the much-anticipated remake of Resident Evil: Code Veronica, a game that was originally released on the Sega Dreamcast in the year 2000, before many of the franchise's modern fans were even born.  

In classic Capcom fashion, the trailer hints at far more than it reveals, opening with a high-angle night shot of Paris before descending into first-person POV as a woman (Claire Redfield, we assume, the heroine of the original game and of the beloved Resident Evil 2) enters a quaint French hotel where it's heavily hinted that her brother Chris has been staying. We get a brief glimpse of the disheveled hotel room (look closely, and you can see the iconic Resident Evil lighter on the coffee table) before an unknown person knocks on the door and the music turns ominous. 

Our first-person character opens the door only to be accosted by an unseen stranger, and suddenly both the music and the visuals switch up, giving us glimpses of factories, dead insects, gold-encrusted pistols, and a scary-looking island being approached by helicopters before the camera takes us back to Paris in a third-person perspective, showing us Claire Redfield with a knife to her neck. 

When the title screen emerges, we're given another important clue: the new game is going to be called Resident Evil: Veronica rather than Code Veronica, which indicates that Capcom will probably treat this title more like a reimagining rather than a straight remake, which is more or less how they treated the next-gen remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4.

The last thing we see, after a shot of some menacing zombies, is the year 2027, which suggests the game has been in development for some time and that fans still have a wait ahead of them. But given the fan reaction across social media, Capcom might have another hit on its hands.

Portable fans are a hot-weather staple. When I got married on a sweltering July day, one of my bridesmaids passed me a portable fan, which didn't leave my side all day. So it's no surprise that personal fans are coming back in even bigger ways this summer.

Personal fans can be found for under $20, but this year, some big names in appliances are joining the trend. Dyson dropped its $99 personal fan, but not before Shark launched the ChillPill this year. Shark's personal fan features the most unique and elaborate design of any personal fan. Even Justin Bieber collaborated with Shark on a special edition of the ChillPill just in time for Coachella.

So I put the Shark ChillPill to the test on the hottest day of the year, and spoiler, my cats might love this fan more than I do.

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An innovative design, but is it practical?

The Shark ChillPill fan looks like a a small pair of binoculars, but twists so you can hold one side while the other blows cool air. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The design is unlike any fan I've encountered IRL. It's two cylinders stacked on top of each other. The piece with the actual fan can twist to work from different angles. Rather than a wand-like grip, it's bulkier, which makes it feel awkward to hold. That said, the design makes it exceptionally easy to set down on surfaces. Suddenly, I had a mini desktop fan. I liked it best when stationary and imagined that, if I had used it while walking, it might have felt too big to hold.

The ultimate test will be when I take it on my European honeymoon and see how it holds up in the peak summer heat, whether I'm walking through ruins or lounging in a cabana.

It comes with three swappable fan heads

The ChillPill comes with three different attachments. The basic fan head, a misting fan head, and a metal cooling plate — each of which felt particularly useful in my time testing it on a sweltering day.

The Shark ChillPill comes with three swappable heads, including a cooling plate. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The standard head doesn't need explanation, while the other two have a little more flair. The attachment with a stainless steel surface is a cooling plate that claims to lower skin temperature by up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit. While I can't confirm that exact amount, I can say that on a 90-degree day when I was sweating without air conditioning, it was an incredible relief when pressed to my wrists, neck, and temples.

For those in dry heat, the misting head is particularly attractive. I tried it out in the New England humidity, and I have to say, it was still so refreshing, especially in the hottest temperatures. For as much as I love it, my two water-loving cats love it more, eagerly running over whenever I turn it on.

The only downside to the misting head is that it has a mini tank and runs out fast, especially when you turn up the speed. You can shut off the misting to conserve water, and then it operates like a standard fan head.

10 speeds of cool that's most effective up close

The screen displays what speed the fan is set to and as you can see, also displays the battery status, too. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The Shark ChillPill is secretly pretty smart. It has slightly different controls based on which fan head you use, and it automatically registers when you swap them. On the side of the ChillPill is an on/off switch, but to start it, you need to press the digital screen, which turns on the cooling function.

There are 10 speeds to choose from, and on sweaty days, I found I never needed to go beyond level three for a nice breeze. But I also didn't necessarily want to, as the ChillPill gets loud fast. If you were to crank it up to 10 in a public space, it would be making a scene. However, you do need to turn up the fan strength if you have it positioned far away, as I didn't find it had a very long reach.

Battery life made for summer travels

The Shark ChillPill's misting function in action. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

When fully charged, the fan lasts up to 11 hours. Using it intermittently over a few weeks, the battery held strong. The battery's strength is pretty impressive, and I'd feel confident bringing it on summer travels, knowing it will last all day and only need to be charged overnight. It recharges via USB-C, which most phones and tech use these days, meaning you won't need to pack an extra charger.

Let's talk about the price

Part of the appeal and widespread use of portable fans is their affordability. Most options on Amazon are under $20, and even Shein and Temu sell them alongside festival wear (though we're not sure we recommend them). So it's startling to see the Shark ChillPill's price of $149.99. It's more expensive than Dyson's portable fan ($99.99) and/or even a home fan like the super powerful Vornado 660 ($89.99). It's the same price as Shark's larger, more powerful FlexBreeze HydroGo Pro.

Even with its features and extra fan heads, and even though I love the fan, I still think it's way too expensive. If it were just $100, I'd say it was a good value, but for such a small, limited-use device, I don't think it's a great value, especially when you can get a much larger fan for much less than $150.

Is the Shark ChillPill worth it?

Is the Shark ChillPill worth $149.99? We're undecided. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The Shark ChillPill is the most unique take on the personal fan that I've ever encountered. With 10 speeds, it's effective at cooling you down, even on the hottest of days. With special attachment heads like the mister and cooling plate, it goes above and beyond most portable fans. Even with powerful settings and long battery life, it isn't without its downsides. Its innovative design may serve more as a hindrance, especially when you're on the go. But more importantly, is it worth its $149.99 price tag? I'm not so sure.

If you're eager to spend the money, the Shark ChillPill is an effective and useful way to stay cool, but I think you should wait to buy it until it's on sale.

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Paul Rudd (Anaconda, Friendship) Nick Jonas (The Jonas Brothers), and legendary filmmaker John Carney (Once, Sing Street) meet up with Mashable Executive Producer Mark Stetson and to discuss their new film Power Ballad.

Out of SXSW, Power Ballad got a lot of love from critics, who cheered its feel-good comedy vibe. Paul Rudd stars as Rick Power, a middle-aged American who came to Dublin 15 years ago on tour with his rock band. What might have been a path to fame and fortune was rerouted when Rick met the cool girl who'd become his wife (Marcella Plunkett), and they had a daughter (Beth Fallon) together. Nowadays, he still rocks, but as the lead of a wedding band called the Bride and Groove. As such, he mostly plays cover songs, though he still yearns to make music of his own. So, when one wedding gig throws him in the path of former boy bander Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), his life has the potential to change forever. The two spend the night jamming, sharing songs, and connecting on all things songwriting. What starts as potential buddy film, quickly takes a turn towards the unexpected. Power Ballad becomes a cautionary tale of what happens when ambition overtakes the pure love of making music.

In the interview with Mashable, Rudd, Jonas, and Carney talk about the creative process and the songs they wish they had been lucky enough to write.

Power Ballad is now in theaters.

TL;DR: Live stream Chwalinska vs. Andreeva in the 2026 French Open women's final for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The exciting and highly unpredictable 2026 French Open has reached the women's singles final. One on side of the court is the Russian world No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, on the other is Polish qualifier and world No. 114 Maja Chwalinska.

It's been a remarkable few weeks for Chwalinska, who had only won a single Grand Slam match before this tournament. She's battled through to the final with a series of impressive wins, helped along the way by the shock early exists of top seeds such as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Could Chwalinska get that fairytale ending and lift the coveted Suzanne-Lenglen cup?

Andreeva, however, will prove immensely tough competition on the clay court. The 19-year-old decisively beat Marta Kostyuk in the semi-final and is sure to fancy her chances at winning a first Grand Slam title. Whatever happens, this will be an exciting conclusion to an unforgettable French Open.

If you want to watch Chwalinska vs. Andreeva in the 2026 French Open final for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Chwalinska vs. Andreeva for free

Chwalinska vs. Andreeva in the 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now.

9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, 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 Australia, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

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Motorola has effectively bricked its WiFi routers without warning, and the issue has been ongoing for nearly a month, according to a Mashable investigation and user complaints across the App Store, Amazon, and Reddit.

Sometime around mid-May, Motorola's MotoSync+ app for iOS and Android went down. On iOS, the MotoSync+ app opens to the login screen, and a loading wheel just spins and spins. On Android, the app also loads to the login screen but displays a "Server License Expired" message.

Because the Motorola MotoSync+ app is required to set up all new compatible WiFi routers released by Motorola, many users have been completely blocked from using their routers.

Some Motorola customers may also be completely unaware of the issue, as existing router setups may continue to work — for now. However, if that user ever needs to factory reset their router, which Motorola recommends when experiencing certain problems, they must use the app to do so, according to Motorola's support documentation. Likewise, users with new Motorola routers can only add devices, change settings, or perform troubleshooting within the MotoSync+ app.

Mashable reached out to Motorola repeatedly for this story, but the company hasn't provided any explanation for the problems.

A Mashable screenshot showing errors with the iOS MotoSync+ app. Credit: Mashable screenshot

A Reddit user shared this screenshot from the Android app (personal info obscured). Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Reddit

Motorola's networking products and the MotoSync+ app are produced and operated by Premier LogiTech, LLC, which licenses the Motorola brand for WiFi products.

What's happening to Motorola routers?

Mashable first noticed the issue in May shortly after we began testing one of Motorola's latest networking devices, the Motorola Q15 WiFi 7 mesh router, which came out late last year and costs between $129.99 and $349.99, depending on the configuration.

Luckily, we set up the base router before the MotoSync+ app stopped working, so the router continues to work for now. However, we cannot set up the rest of the mesh network while the app is unavailable.

In comments on sites like Reddit and Amazon, angry users have left dozens of comments about the situation and the lack of customer support from Motorola.

Motorola has yet to publicly address the issue, and its routers are still being sold on Amazon and at retailers such as Best Buy. Motorola's main website continues to promote its routers on the Motorola Network ecommerce shop as well. 

However, Motorola recently removed all of its routers and modems from the Motorola Network online store, and product pages now return a 404 "Page not found" error or redirect to the home page. An archive of the site shows that Motorola was still selling routers up until at least May 18, roughly one week after the app stopped working.

All of Motorola Network's products have suddenly been removed from sale. Credit: Mashable screenshot

What are Motorola Network users saying?

A Reddit thread about the MotoSync+ app issue was originally posted on May 12 and has quickly been filled with negative comments from other unhappy customers.

"Tried without success to contact tech support again yesterday," said Reddit user u/Ok_Fortune_8672. "Unless you are contacting them about a cellphone, the lights are out and nobody's home."

Consumers have resorted to leaving negative comments across Motorola router product pages on sites like Amazon. 

"Phone based setup didn't work, returned. Motorola support was non-existent," reads one Amazon review posted on May 5, suggesting the MotoSync+ issue may have started earlier than previously reported.

The App Store and Google Play Store pages for the MotoSync+ app have also been filled with negative reviews. According to the MotoSync+ app profile on the App Store, the MotoSync+ app last received an update two months ago.

"The previous MotoSync app worked wonderfully with my MG8702 router, but ever since I was forced to switch to the MotoSync+ app, it’s been a pain," said one user, referencing how Motorola shut down its original legacy MotoSync app in April, pushing users to the new MotoSync+ app.

However, it seems that the original MotoSync app faced similar downtime issues a few years ago, too. Back in 2023, Reddit users reported that they were unable to use the legacy MotoSync app to set up and edit their devices for roughly a month before the app began working again.

What's even more frustrating for some users: The new MotoSync+ app offers an optional subscription service for premium features. Paying users can't access these features either while the app is down.

Motorola customers on platforms such as Reddit report contacting the company and receiving either a generic automated reply or no response at all. However, Reddit user u/SnooPoems7789, who started the main thread on Reddit about the issue, posted that they received a reply on May 14 from Motorola claiming it was an "issue with our networking vendor" and the company was "taking actions to address the problem."

Another Reddit user reported calling a customer support number listed on the MotoSync+ app and being connected with a router software company called Gryphon. The company currently sells the Motorola MQ20 router on its website. However, Gryphon reportedly told the customer that they "don't support MotoSync" and the user needed to speak to Motorola directly.

MotoSync+ app in the App Store Credit: Mashable screenshot

Interestingly, Gryphon has an app called Gryphon Connect on Apple's App Store that looks exactly like the MotoSync+ app. The user interface and even the App Store screenshots and marketing copy promoting the app are identical, with only the brand names for Gryphon and Motorola swapped out for each app.

Mashable also reached out to Gryphon to inquire about the company's relationship with Motorola.

"While the apps may look similar and are both associated with Gryphon technology, the Motorola MQ20 uses a different platform and management system from the Gryphon Tower, Guardian, and AX models," a Gryphon spokesperson said in a statement provided to Mashable. "The Motorola MQ20 has its own dedicated support environment and diagnostic tools, which are handled specifically by Motorola Support. They have access to the proper system needed to check the router status, settings, logs, and advanced diagnostics for the MQ20."

For now, however, many Motorola customers are left without answers or a working WiFi router — at least for the time being.

"Tbh if I was you I would go ahead and get rid of it and get a different router," wrote Reddit user u/SnooPoems7789 in the replies to other users on his Reddit thread. "They literally made it a paperweight now."

We know. You can't have a post-credits scene for a Broadway show, because they don't have credits — they have curtain calls. But what else are we to call it when, after the cast of the 12-time Tony–nominated The Lost Boys: A New Musical takes to the stage for their curtain call, the lights drop for one more scene? 

"We call it a tag," The Lost Boys director/co-lighting designer Michael Arden told Mashable in an interview over Zoom. "But it is a post-credit[s] scene." 

The two-time Tony–winning director is up for Best Director of a Musical and —alongside Jen Schriever — Best Lighting Design of a Musical this Sunday at the 79th Annual Tony Awards. So, as Mashable's Entertainment Editor, I sat down to delve into how Arden and company adapted Joel Schumacher's 1987 cult classic into a Broadway musical that has critics (this one included) raving. We talked about the changes from the movie, the expanded queer representation, and, of course, flying vampires.

Then, I had to ask about the scene that urges audiences to leave not on the high of a cheery curtain call, but on the dizzying surprise of what comes after. 

What happens in The Lost Boys: A New Musical's post-credits scene? 

LJ Benet, Ali Louis Bourzgui, Brian Flores, Dean Maupin, and Sean Grandillo fly in "The Lost Boys: A New Musical." Credit: Matthew Murphy

The lights rise to reveal the old ironworks at Coronado Bluff, the abandoned factory that the vampire David and his lost boys call home. But with them all staked and gone, who could possibly be poking around this place of death and decay? 

It's Mrs. Vasquez, the unwittingly widowed wife of Officer Vasquez, the cop who bit it in the show's opening. Over the course of the play, Mrs. Vasquez entreats the people of Santa Clara to help her find her missing husband, offering flyers with his picture on them to billboards and passersby, including new-to-town mom Lucy Emerson. 

At the end of the show, it seems her amateur sleuthing has brought her to the last place her husband let out a breath. She finds his police cap on a table, and groans. Then, she sees a bottle. 

It's the bottle that contains David's blood, introduced when he tempted Michael to drink. As the orchestra music plays a dark theme, Mrs. Vasquez seems irresistibly drawn to the bottle, drawn to drink. As she lifts the bottle to her lips, the curtain falls, leaving her future and that of Santa Clara uncertain. 

Arden said of this scene, "Ashley Jenkins, who plays Mrs. Vasquez, is an actor I've worked with a bunch of times. So the fact that she gets to end the show, and that we get that the next Big Bad bad-ass vampire might be like a fierce Black woman? I'm obsessed with [it]." 

Why does The Lost Boys: A New Musical's have a post-credits scene?

Ali Louis Bourzgui hovers over LJ Benet in "The Lost Boys: A New Musical." Credit: Matthew Murphy

For Arden, it's all about keeping true to the genre of the original film. Arden explained, "The cold open of our show is a character we never meet again that's killed. That is such a horror-specific trope. And I was like, 'Well, it feels like it wants that bookend, wouldn't it be crazy? Do you think we could ever?' And so I wrote a version of it, and put it on the last page of the script. And everyone was like, 'Ha, ha, ha! Wait, could we really do that?' And I was like, 'Why not? We make up the rules, baby!'" 

This reporter noted I couldn't think of any other theatrical production with a "tag," and Arden responded, "I don't think there are any. I think this might be the first." 

But what does it mean? 

Will The Lost Boys: A New Musical get a sequel? 

Maria Wirries and LJ Benet play Star and Michael in "The Lost Boys: A New Musical." Credit: Matthew Murphy

Schumacher's The Lost Boys got two. Twenty-one years after the first film, Lost Boys: The Tribe was released, starring Kiefer Sutherland's half-brother Angus as the surfer-bro vampire Shane. Two years later, Lost Boys: The Thirst debuted, with Corey Feldman stepping up from supporting player to protagonist, reprising the role of Edgar Frog. 

So, could The Lost Boys: A New Musical be expanded into a sequel? Sure, it's rare for a musical to get a sequel. But so are post-credits scenes in theatre. And what is a post-credits scene if not a teaser for more? 

Asked about the possibility, Arden took a pregnant pause, and then said, "Not at the moment. We all need a good rest." 

The Lost Boys: A New Musical is now on Broadway. 

The 79th Annual Tony Awards are coming this Sunday, and we're absolutely giddy in anticipation.

As big fans of Broadway, Mashable's Entertainment team has been hitting the Great White Way to see the best (and worst) of Broadway. Last winter, we celebrated eventual Tony nominees like Oedipus, Liberation, and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York City) as the best theater experiences of 2025.

Since then, we've reviewed new Broadway productions, like the Daniel Radcliffe-led revival of Every Brilliant Thing, the Jon Bernthal-led stage adaptation of Dog Day Afternoon, the disastrous musical — not based on the movie — Beaches, the joyous Céline Dion jukebox musical Titaníque, the ballroom-influenced Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and the astounding musical re-imagination of The Lost Boys. Yet there are even more shows we saw that we haven't had a chance to sing the praises of yet, including the biting revival of Becky Shaw and 12-time Tony nominee Schmigadoon!

So, before the 79th Annual Tony Awards announces its winners on June 7, we're sharing which shows we loved and why. Be sure to check out our critics' notes before you commit to your Tony predictions.

The Lost Boys: A New Musical

What's it about: Inspired by Joel Schumacher's 1987 horror movie about teen vampires menacing the beach city of Santa Carla, The Lost Boys: A New Musical reimagines the fanged biker gang as a local rock band, whose allure is sexual and supernatural. The Emerson family — Lucy (Shoshana Bean) and her two teen sons, Michael (LJ Benet) and Sam (Benjamin Pajak) — are new in town, but quick to find its dark and bloody underbelly. Specifically, Michael's attraction to a mysterious girl called Star (Maria Wirries) draws him into her circle, led by a charismatic and mulleted bad boy known as David (Ali Louis Bourzgui). Meanwhile, Lucy's flirting with the video shop owner, Max (Paul Alexander Nolan), and Sam has made new friends, self-proclaimed vampire slayers the Frog Brothers (Jennifer Duka and Miguel Gil). As one of the original songs by The Rescues goes, together, can they "make it through the night"?

Why we love it: Look, real talk, Schumacher's movie is loved most for being beautiful and bonkers, not particularly good. Director Michael Arden smartly pulls the best bits from the movie — its dramatic lighting, blend of comedy and horror, intoxicatingly cool vampires, and, yes, the oiled up, muscle-bound saxophone player — and brought them to the stage with remarkable showmanship. The masterful use of blocking and light to draw the eye makes seeing The Lost Boys feel like a horror movie you get to experience, and when his vampires take flight — well, as I raved in my review, it's "breathtaking."

But Lost Boys is marvelous for far more than its effects, which you can see from its 12 Tony nominations. The original songs by The Rescues are moving, while ranging from charmingly silly but sweet ("Superpower") to wistful ("Wild") to heart-wrenching ("Belong to Someone") to sexy as hell ("Have to Have You"). While the cast is full of terrific performances, Tony nominee Ali Louis Bourzgui is absolutely outstanding as David. Far from imitating Kiefer Sutherland's snarling vamp, he seems to draw on the surly sultriness of Rocky Horror-era Tim Curry, with a side of Catholic idolatry in his gestures and rituals. Altogether, The Lost Boys is a marvel, making moody magic on Broadway. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

Tony nominations: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score Written for the Theater, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Sound Design of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical — Michael Arden, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical — Shoshana Bean, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical — Ali Louis Bourzgui

How to watch: The Lost Boys: A New Musical is now on Broadway.

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

What it's about: Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is just what it sounds like: a tale of two strangers, a wedding cake, and an odyssey across New York City. Our strangers? Polar opposites Robin (Christiani Pitts) and Dougal (Sam Tutty). She's a world-weary Brooklynite, and he's an Englishman overjoyed to be in New York for the first time. Robin's also on cake duty for her sister's wedding to Dougal's father, and he's all too happy to help her bring the dessert from Brooklyn to Manhattan. But what starts as a simple task soon morphs into something deeper: an unlikely friendship, and an examination of Robin and Dougal's strained relationships with their own family members.

Why we love it: Take a look down Broadway, and what do you see? Waves and waves of musicals based on pre-existing IP. Case in point: this year's Best Musical field, which features a film adaptation (The Lost Boys), a TV adaptation (Schmigadoon!), and an inspired riff on both Céline Dion and Titanic (Titaníque). While they're all heavy hitters, Two Strangers stands alone as the only original work among them, and that deserves to be celebrated. It's a charming two-hander that tempers its fizzy joy with a disarming darkness. Nowhere is this clearer than in its two leading performances: Tutty lights up the stage with his enthusiasm, while Pitts' cool façade hides a wounded interior. The pair are electric, and the show, like its titular cake, is one sweet treat. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

Tony nominations: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score Written for the Theatre, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical — Sam Tutty, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical — Christiani Pitts, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical — Tim Jackson, Best Orchestrations

How to watch: Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is now on Broadway.

Schmigadoon!

What it's about: Based on Apple TV's comedy of the same name, Schmigadoon! is here to lovingly send up your favorite Golden Age musicals, from Oklahoma! to The Music Man. The show centers on couple Melissa (Sara Chase) and Josh (Alex Brightman), who find themselves in the magical town of Schmigadoon. Here, everything is a musical, and the only way to leave is by crossing the bridge out of town with your true love. Given that Melissa and Josh are going through a rough patch, that last bit might be tricky. Can they find love with any member of the town's chorus of musical archetypes, or even rekindle their own affection?

Why we love it: Schmigadoon! already works great on TV, but, man, it really high-kicks into a new gear on stage. Immaculate sets, costumes, and capital-D Dancing bring Golden Age Broadway roaring into 2026, with the show nicely balancing reverence and satire for its influences. Look no further than Cinco Paul's fiendishly clever songs for proof. Ported straight over from the show, they're a dense whirlwind of references, in-jokes, and pure, catchy fun. (Good luck getting "Corn Puddin'" out of your head.) Plus, they're performed by a killer cast whose delight is downright infectious. Now, is it too early to ask for a stage adaptation of Schmicago? Or of Schmigadoon!'s canceled third season, Into the Schmoods? Musical gods, if you're listening, I need them.

Tony nominations: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score Written for the Theatre, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical — Sara Chase, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical — Ana Gasteyer, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical, Best Sound Design of a Musical, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical — Christopher Gattelli, Best Choreography, Best Orchestrations

How to watch: Schmigadoon! is now on Broadway.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

What it's about: As Andrew Lloyd Webber once said, "Hal, it's about cats." But in Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Cats becomes so much more. Directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch transpose the musical's Jellicle Ball — a parade of cats competing to be reborn through the Heaviside Layer — onto the ballroom scene, an underground haven of queer expression. It's still the music and storyline of Cats, just in a different context, and that context is what makes Cats: The Jellicle Ball truly great.

Why we love it: Cats: The Jellicle Ball is exactly what you'd want from a Broadway revival. Its ballroom focus breathes new, extraordinary life into an oft-maligned musical, lending it deeper meaning. At times, it's a raucous celebration of ballroom, full of clacking fans, gravity-defying vogueing, and showers of glitter. At others, it's a moving reflection on the history of the art form, complete with a tear-jerking ode to the Founding Mothers to kick off Act 2. Overall, it's a triumphant reinvention that, as I wrote in my review, "is the only way I'll accept Cats from now on." — B.E.

Tony nominations: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical — André De Shields, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Sound Design of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical — Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Best Choreography, Best Orchestrations

How to watch: Cats: The Jellicle Ball is now on Broadway.

Chess

What it's about: Like most stagings of Chess before it, Broadway's 2025 revival examines the interplay between three chess players: American grandmaster Freddie (Aaron Tveit), Soviet grandmaster Anatoly (Nicholas Christopher), and Florence (Lea Michele), the brilliant woman caught between them. Unlike prior stagings, this revival turns up the Cold War allegory to DEFCON 1 levels, with Danny Strong's new book looping in real-life Cold War events. (Along with fourth wall-breaking Donald Trump and Joe Biden jokes, for some reason.) 

Why we love it: It's understandable that Chess missed out on a Best Revival nomination. It is, frankly, a bit of a mess. (Again, those fourth-wall jokes are a lot, and not in a good way.) But what isn't a mess are the performances, especially the three that picked up Tony nominations. Bryce Pinkham's Arbiter is a coy agent of chaos, so captivating he can make even the current-day political jokes seem funny and relevant. Hannah Cruz storms the stage as Svetlana, turning her 23 minutes of stage time into an emotional tour de force. And leading it all is Nicholas Christopher's spectacular turn as Anatoly. His lung-bursting "Endgame" makes even the hokiest of Chess's new jokes worth it. — B.E.

Tony nominations: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical — Nicholas Christopher, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical — Bryce Pinkham, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical — Hannah Cruz, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Orchestrations

How to watch: Chess is on Broadway until June 21.

Every Brilliant Thing

What it's about: Ice cream. Things with stripes. People falling over. These are just three of the entries on the million-long list of things worth living for at the heart of Every Brilliant Thing. The one-man-play's unnamed narrator (Daniel Radcliffe) began the list at the age of seven, after his mother attempted to die by suicide. He continues it well into his adulthood, a story he recounts to us with copious amounts of audience participation.

Why we love it: Every Brilliant Thing is a euphoric, life-affirming play bolstered by Radcliffe's ability to invite us in. Here, he must play two roles: that of the narrator, and that of facilitator, inviting audience members onstage to serve as key members of the story. Radcliffe's pure openness helps let participants' guards down, turning Every Brilliant Thing into the most communal theater experience I've ever been a part of. It's captivating, sob-worthy, and yes, brilliant. — B.E.

Tony nominations: Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play — Daniel Radcliffe

How to watch: Every Brilliant Thing is now on Broadway, with Mariska Hargitay in the narrator/facilitator role until July 7, when Tracee Ellis Ross takes to the stage.

Liberation

What it's about: Feminism's past and present collide in Bess Wohl's Pulitzer Prize–winning play Liberation. Tony nominee Susannah Flood stars as Lizzie, the founder of a '70s women's group. She also plays Lizzie's daughter, who connects with the group's remaining members in the present day to understand what happened to the promise of the feminist movement, as well as her own mother's role in it.

Why we love it: Part reflection on second-wave feminism, part mother-daughter story, Liberation is a towering play that acknowledges that there are no easy answers to the questions it's posing. It doesn't try to wrap up its own conversations in a neat bow, nor is it afraid to acknowledge its own blind spots. Take, for example, its examination of how second-wave feminism failed to include Black women. In these moments, Wohl reckons with whether she, as a white playwright, even gets to tell this story. It's these moments of reflection, as well Liberation's many cathartic women's group discussions, that made it such a vital watch during its run. — B.E.

Tony Nominations: Best Play, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play — Susannah Flood, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play — Betsy Aidem, Best Costume Design of a Play, Best Direction of a Play — Whitney White

How to watch: Liberation has closed.

Titaníque 

What's it about? Created by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli, Titaníque is a jukebox musical that uses Céline Dion's songs to retell the story of the Titanic. Sorry, I mean the story of Titanic. See, in this gleefully queer parody, Céline Dion (played by a pitch-perfect and wildly funny Mindelle) crashes a tour of the Titanic museum to recount the story of James Cameron's blockbuster movie as only she remembers it. Between songs and thumping her chest with her fist, Céline introduces her audience to the impoverished artist Jack (Rousouli) and poor little not-so-rich girl Rose (Melissa Barrera), as these star-crossed lovers swoon while avoiding her wretched mother (Jim Parsons in light drag), her cruel fiancé (John Riddle), an unforgiving iceberg (Layton Williams), and Victor Garber (Frankie Grande). 

Why we love it: We first fell for Titaníque during its Off-Broadway run, which began in 2024. There, a rotating cast — often peppered with celebrity guest stars — would weave in wacky bits specific to their fame. Like, when I saw RuPaul's Drag Race's Willam in the role of Victor Garber, he playfully recreated his messy exit from the runway. 

More fun still, this show had a light immersive element, with Céline going into the audience and getting them to interact with props and engage in silliness. We worried this inclusivity and irreverence of that production might get lost on a prestigious Broadway stage. But props to director/co-author Blue, Titaníque leveled up without losing its low-brow edge. 

As I cheered in my rave review, "This energy has been successfully transferred to Broadway, where the Heart of the Ocean shimmers high as a club mix welcomes the audience. The seats are cushier, but the vibes are still party." The bigger stage and flashier staging, "allows Mindelle to bloom, and her co-stars too. Together, they create a musical, magical epic, sure to please, but likely to make you want to shout, 'I'm alive!'" — K.P. 

Tony nominations: Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical — Marla Mindelle,  Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical — Layton Williams, Best Book of a Musical

How to watch: Titaníque is now playing on Broadway until Sept. 20. 

Becky Shaw

What's it about? Simply put, this is a darkly funny play about a date so bad it has ripple effects across a deeply dysfunctional American family. When the patriarch of the Slater clan dies, his wife Susan (Linda Emond), daughter Suzanna (Lauren Patten), and adopted son Max (Alden Ehrenreich) are all desperate to fill the hole in their hearts, be it with sex, work, or an impulsive wedding to a guileless indie dude (Patrick Ball). But when Max goes on a blind date with the nervous Becky Shaw (Madeline Brewer), the family's wicked wit is not enough to extract them from her tangle of need and manipulation. 

Why we love it: Playwright Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw may have debuted Off-Broadway in 2009, but all these years later, her brand of politically incorrect humor is sharper and less apologetic than the barbs lobbed in rival Broadway shows like Giant, which is about Roald Dahl's antisemitism, and The Balusters, which explores the prejudice and hypocrisy in suburban HOAs. At the 2026 Tonys, Becky Shaw is not competing with these plays, however, as they're both new. Instead, it faces off against fellow revivals Every Brilliant Thing, Death of a Salesman, Fallen Angels, and Oedipus. 

Being the funniest of these shows won't guarantee it a win. But regardless of how Tony night goes, we urge you to see Becky Shaw while you still can, because Alden Ehrenreich is on fire as the morally gray Max. 

The wide-eyed actor who starred in Solo and stole scenes in Hail, Caesar! is ruthlessly intense as the Slater family's fixer. He says the tough thing without blinking. He makes the move others fear to. He's an absolute bastard, but mesmerizing as he drops devastating witticisms and hard truths. Incredibly, even as his actions urge us to loathe Max, Ehrenreich's flickering vulnerability won't let us. See him do this emotional tightrope walk before Becky Shaw closes. — K.P.

Tony nominations: Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play — Alden Ehrenreich

How to watch: Becky Shaw is now playing on Broadway until June 14. 

Oedipus

What's it about? Playwright and director Robert Icke re-contextualizes Sophocles' Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex as a contemporary political thriller. Mark Strong stars as the eponymous tragic hero, who, in this version, is an idealistic politician under great strain on election night. One of his campaign promises is that he'd release his birth certificate and uncover the truth of how the old ruler, King Laius, died. However, his adviser Creon (John Carroll Lynch) and wife Jocasta (Lesley Manville) urge him to let sleeping dogs lie. After all, Jocasta was married to Laius back then. Revelations could get messy. Of course, a modern audience likely knows what the truth is going in. So watching Oedipus determinedly stomp toward his own destruction is a nerve-shredding experience, sharpened by a countdown clock that emphasizes the incoming moment that will change everything.

Why we love it: Staged in a simple office setting, Oedipus created a claustrophobic feel, where we're trapped with this family in the reality they've built. Strong and Manville are phenomenal together, sharing an electric sexual chemistry that is on full display as husband and wife find pleasure in each other's flesh. Of course, as the truth begins to come out, their world shatters. And Manville was, in particular, riveting. As I cheered in our Best of 2025 Theater experiences round-up, "She delivers monologues that radiate with rage and pain, and still rattle in my head days later. When she declares, 'Cowardice is sometimes the cost of survival,' I felt my heart crumble for her. And I could see by the counter, we still had a ways to go before the terrible, tragic end. A nail-biter, indeed." — K.P.

Tony nominations: Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play — Mark Strong, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play — Lesley Manville, Best Direction of a Play, Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Play, Best Sound Design of a Play

How to watch: Oedipus has closed.

The Tony Awards will air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 7, 2026 (8-11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT) on CBS. The Tonys will be streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S., preceded by The Tony Awards: Act One on Pluto TV.

TL;DR: Live stream England vs. New Zealand in a 2026 International Friendly for free on ITVX. Access this free streaming site from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 World Cup is just days away, so competing teams are hurrying to gain momentum and establish their best teams. England face New Zealand in a vital warm-up fixture in the U.S. Does the result really matter? Not really, but a win will help build confidence before the tournament starts.

If you want to watch England vs. New Zealand in a 2026 International Friendly for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is England vs. New Zealand?

England vs. New Zealand kicks off at 4 p.m. ET on June 6.

How to watch England vs. New Zealand for free

England vs. New Zealand is available to live stream for free on ITVX.

ITVX is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming service with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can access free live streams on ITVX from anywhere in the world.

Lve stream England vs. New Zealand for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like 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 the UK

4. Visit ITVX

5. Stream England vs. New Zealand for free from anywhere in the world

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ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.99 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 England vs. New Zealand without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select games before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming sites from around the world, 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 ITVX?

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

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

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• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

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• 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 England vs. New Zealand for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Get the iPhone 17e, iPhone 17, or iPhone 17 Pro for free with T-Mobile.

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Credit: Apple

Apple iPhone 17

Free when you switch and bring your number on an Experience Beyond or Better Value plan.

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Credit: Apple

Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Free when you trade in an eligible phone in any condition on an Experience Beyond plan.

Shop Now

Mashable is keeping a keen eye on all the iPhone Fold leaks, rumors, and renders, but until we get a release date, we're focused on delivering you the best deals on the iPhone 17 lineup.

There's a constant battle being waged between mobile carriers like Verizon and AT&T to bring you the best iPhone deals, but T-Mobile is leading the way right now with a fresh batch of free iPhone offers:

• Apple iPhone 17e — free when you port your number over from a competitor and activate a new line on almost any T-Mobile postpaid service plan.

• Apple iPhone 17 — free when you switch and bring your number on an Experience Beyond or Better Value plan.

• Apple iPhone 17 Pro — free when you hand over an eligible smartphone in any condition on an Experience Beyond plan.

The total retail cost of your iPhone is offset by 24 consecutive monthly bill credits. Your monthly statement will show a charge for the financing of the phone, immediately followed by an equal credit balancing that charge to $0. That means you are entering a 24-month commitment with the network.

If you decide to cancel your service or switch provider before the end of the contract, the remaining unpaid balance on the phone will be due immediately.

You do need to pay taxes and a $35 activation charge, but that's always the case with these free smartphone deals. Anyway, it's a small price to pay for a new iPhone that delivers a "great camera, beautiful display, 256GB of storage, fast performance, and long battery life."

Score the latest iPhone 17 lineup for free with T-Mobile.

Pride is a time in which everyone under the LGBTQ+ umbrella is encouraged to come out and wave their flag in spectacular parades. But for every wild night out, we might need a cozy night in, perhaps with a movie that keeps the party going?

Many a streaming service will make a rainbow show of their LGBTQ+ titles in June. Let us be your guide through the essentials, highlighting movies across Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, HBO Max, Kanopy, and beyond.

Whether you're in the mood for a thigh-slapping comedy, a heart-wrenching drama, a pulse-pounding romance, a mind-expanding documentary, or spine-tingling horror, we've got you covered.

Here is a sensational selection of LGBTQ+ movies to watch this Pride and beyond.

1. The People's Joker (2022)

Credit: Altered Innocence

The most original comic book movie in years just so happens to be a trans coming-of-age story. In The People's Joker, director Vera Drew (who also co-wrote, edited, and stars in the film) plays a closeted trans woman who leaves her hometown of Smallville to pursue her dreams of becoming a comedian in Gotham City. In this wacky political parody of the DC universe, Batman is the villain and Gotham has become a fascist police state where comedy is outlawed, Bat Drones surveil the city, and doctors prescribe an antidepressant gas that forces people to smile. After Drew's aspiring comic starts an underground anti-comedy club that becomes a hangout for Batman villains, she falls for Mr. J, a transmasc Joker who helps her come out and transition — from Joker to Harlequin, as she says. 

A playful riff on the age-old trans-women-as-villains stereotype in media, Drew brilliantly creates her own fusion of Joker and Harley Quinn to tell a complex story of a woman finding herself amid systems of abuse and oppression. Warner Bros. could never dream of making something this inventive. — Oliver Whitney, Contributing Writer

How to watch: The People's Joker is streaming on MUBI, and is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV, Prime Video, and Google Play.

2. I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Credit: A24

Anyone who felt like an outsider as a kid and relied on fiction to escape their reality, and especially especially queer and trans folks, will find something relatable in I Saw the TV Glow. Jane Schoenbrun's film manages to beautifully and hauntingly capture the power of escaping and coping through fictional worlds, only with the added layer of gender dysphoria.

In I Saw the TV Glow, teenage friends Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Jack Haven) are obsessed with a show about two psychic teen girls, blurring the line between their lives and what's on the screen. We follow Owen over the years as he goes from depressed teen to depressed adult, frozen into a shell of a person. While Schoenbrun's characters aren't explicitly trans, it's not hard to see the parallels to an experience of being an egg, dysphoria, and feeling trapped and afraid to transition to one's truer self. Emotional and devastating — in a Charlie Kaufman kinda way —  I Saw the TV Glow is a masterful meditation on nostalgia, escapism, and the painful journey of finding yourself. — O.W.

How to watch: I Saw the TV Glow is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

3. Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

A super gay, super steamy crime thriller cloaked in neon lights and splattered with blood and sweat — what more could you ask for? Set in the ‘80s, Love Lies Bleeding stars Kristen Stewart as Lou, a reserved gym manager in New Mexico. She sets her eyes on Jackie (Katy O'Brian), a jacked bodybuilder passing through town on her way to Vegas. In classic U-Haul style, the two immediately hit it off, fall in love, and move in together, but soon their blissful romance becomes interrupted by Lou's violent family. Oozing with moody visuals, a tense synth-heavy score, and plenty of sex appeal, Rose Glass' Love Lies Bleeding will scratch the itch for anyone craving a lesbian neo-noir that feels like “San Junipero” crossed with a Coen Brothers' thriller. — O.W.

How to watch: Love Lies Bleeding is available for rent or purchase on Fandango at Home and Prime Video. 

4. L'immensità (2022)

With L'immensità, we get something incredibly rare and long overdue — a story about a young trans boy grappling with gender identity, told by an actual trans filmmaker. The semi-autobiographical film is based on Italian writer/director Emanuele Crialese's own childhood and his memories of growing up in 1970s Rome. 

Penélope Cruz plays Clara, a mother of three young kids and the wife of a distant, abusive husband. Clara's eldest introduces himself as Andrea, yet the rest of his family still call him by his female birth name, Adriana, and claim he's only pretending to be a boy. Refusing to hide himself, he confidently rocks a handsome short haircut, wears masculine jumpsuits, and tells his mother he feels like an alien from another galaxy. L'immensità is reminiscent of Céline Sciamma's Tomboy in how it captures the world through the eyes of a child struggling to understand his gender without the language or guidance. Yet it's also something wholly its own and personal, and carries the authenticity of being told from a trans experience. — O.W.

How to watch: L'immensità is streaming on Kanopy and Hoopla and available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

5. Fire Island (2022)

Credit: Jeong Park / Searchlight

Calling all queers who love Pride and Prejudice, Fire Island is the movie for you! This gay revamp of the Jane Austen classic swaps the 19th-century social decorums and hetero romance for slutty underwear parties, drag bars, and plenty of messy drama set in the titular Long Island gay vacation spot. In director Andrew Ahn's film, Joel Kim Booster (who also wrote the screenplay) plays Noah, a bookish nurse from Brooklyn, and our Elizabeth Bennet. Enter our Mr. Darcy: a standoffish lawyer named Will (Conrad Ricamora) whose judgy attitude and reserved nature immediately turn Noah off. Eventually Noah warms to Will's charms, and the two get their Pride and Prejudice love story, iconic rain scene and all. What's most impressive about Fire Island is how it uses the classic straight romance to bring elements of gay male culture to the screen, earnestly touching on racism and fatphobia in the gay community, as well as telling a story with a predominately BIPOC cast and multiple Asian leads. — O.W.

How to watch: Fire Island is streaming on Hulu.

6. Maggots and Men (2009)

Maggots and Men, a film you've likely never heard of, is a radical vision of gender utopia and revolution that happens to have the largest cast of trans actors — and even more groundbreaking, of transmasculine actors — in any film, ever. 

An experimental work of historical fiction, Maggots and Men reimagines the true story of the 1921 Kronstadt uprising in which a group of sailors launched a revolt against the Bolshevik Party in post-revolutionary Russia. The film jumps between a theater troupe performance narrating the story and scenes of sailors in leisure and revolt, told with filmmaking techniques that wink at Soviet cinema and the Czech New Wave. But you don't need to understand the revolutionary politics of the time or be a film nerd to appreciate the brilliant way filmmaker Cary Cronenwett uses his cast to envision an alternate world of liberated, self-made masculinity. Here, transmasc bodies openly frolic, swim, and work in the glistening sunshine. It's a film for anyone longing to spend some time in a world where trans bodies exist openly and freely, outside the constraints of cis-centric gender norms. — O.W.

How to watch: Maggots and Men is streaming on The Criterion Channel. 

7. Maurice (1987)

Before Call Me By Your Name, there was Maurice. In the gay period drama from beloved and recently out gay filmmaker James Ivory (who wrote the screenplay for Call Me by Your Name), we follow a young man's journey of sexual acceptance in 20th-century London. While studying at Cambridge, Maurice (James Wilby) and his closest friend Clive (Hugh Grant) soon discover that what they feel for each other is deeper than any mere friendship. As time passes and the two men must leave school to enter a society where being gay is highly criminalized, Clive must decide whether or not to embrace his sexuality. Told with tenderness and sensitivity, Maurice will make your heart ache and flutter in the best of ways. — O.W.

How to watch: Maurice is streaming on Kanopy, Philo, Cineverse, and Fandor, and is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

8. T-Blockers (2023)

Rarely do we get the treat of an ultra-low budget campy horror film these days, especially one about a trans vigilante hunting down hateful men. In T-Blockers, the young Australian filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay translates the current political attacks on trans existence into a pulpy sci-fi horror story where the types of men who listen to Jordan Peterson become injected with brain worms that turn them into seething, anti-trans, flesh-eating zombies. After Sophie (Lauren Last), a struggling trans filmmaker, discovers she has the power to sense these monsters, she recruits her friends to take justice into their own hands.

With campy B-movie aesthetics reminiscent of Ed Wood mixed with the queer, punk energy of Gregg Araki films, T-Blockers is stylized, gory, and has a very DIY feel — after all, Mackay made the film when she was 17 years old on a teeny budget of $10,000. It's the kinda movie you'd discover in an old video store as a teen and obsess over with your weirdo friends. — O.W.

How to watch: T-Blockers is streaming Shudder and Philo and available for rent or purchase on Prime Video. 

9. All of Us Strangers (2023)

Credit: Searchlight Pictures

One of our favorite films from 2023, writer/director Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers tells a tale surreal and deeply personal. Adapted from Taichi Yamada's 1987 novel Strangers, this horror-laced drama was shot in part in Haigh's childhood home. There, a lonely screenwriter (Ripley's Andrew Scott) visits the ghosts of his long-dead parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy), allowing them to get to know him as the adult they did not in the intervening decades. This includes an unexpectedly cathartic coming-out arc. Yet as tender and sad as this drama is, it's also alive with love and lust — the latter thanks to Scott's onscreen romance with Aftersun's Paul Mescal, who plays a neighbor is desperate need of human connection. Altogether, this ensemble offers a movie that will make your spirit soar, your pulse race, and your heart shatter. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

How to watch: All of Us Strangers is available to rent or buy on Apple TV and Prime Video.

10. The Queen (1968)

You may have seen Paris Is Burning, but have you seen The Queen? Frank Simon's seminal 1968 documentary details the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant, a competitive drag pageant put together by trans and drag icon Flawless Sabrina. Simon's recently restored doc is so many things at once: an archival treasure of early drag performances, an intimate look at the lives of queer men and trans women offstage, and, most famously, a record of one infamous incident that would later give way to the birth of house culture and the ballroom scene: Crystal LaBeija's scorching tirade to the camera after losing to a white queen. LaBeija later went on to found the seminal House of LaBeija, which led to the very inception of ball culture we see in Paris is Burning, and has been massively influential to Black queer culture today. As an artifact of lost and, to many, largely unknown queer history, The Queen is essential Pride viewing, and honestly, essential every damn day viewing. — O.W.

How to watch: The Queen is streaming on Kanopy and Tubi and available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

11. Rope (1948)

Credit: Snap / Shutterstock

Rope may be known to most as Hitchcock's experimental attempt to shoot an entire film in what appears to be a single shot, but it's also the filmmaker’s gayest. The classic psychological thriller is about a gay couple who murders a man, then throws a dinner party using the trunk the dead body is in as the buffet — quite literally "be gay, do crime," Hitchcock-style. Of course, this was 1948, and that queerness is all subtext, but it roars to the surface thanks to gay screenwriter Arthur Laurents' script and performances by its notably gay leads: Farley Granger, who plays Phillip Morgan with an anxious flamboyance, and John Dall, whose Brandon Shaw embodies a more reserved, posh queerness. That's not even to mention the oozing eroticism of the opening scene — a closed curtain, a roaring scream, a shot of man sandwiched between two others with a rope around his neck. Oh, the abhorrent perversions two (or more) men commit behind closed doors! — O.W.

How to watch: Rope is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

12. The Stroll (2023)

Credit: HBO Documentary Films

There's nothing more powerful and more urgently needed than trans people telling their own stories. In The Stroll, filmmaker Kristen Lovell (making her directorial debut alongside co-director Zackary Drucker) does exactly that, gathering the trans folks she worked with in Manhattan's Meatpacking District to recount the history of The Stroll, an area that was a hub for trans sex workers from the 1970s through the early 2000s. The women and nonbinary interviewees recount not only the horrific police violence and neighborhood harassment they constantly faced, but, and perhaps most significantly, they speak to how The Stroll helped them find a resilient community that enabled them to survive. 

Through a mix of interviews, collage-style animation, and archival footage — including some possibly never-before-seen late footage of trans heroine Sylvia Rivera and an ultra-cringe clip from The RuPaul Show — Lovell and Drucker, who are both trans, achieve something beyond the reach of most cis filmmakers. In place of sorrowful trauma porn, the directing duo create a stunning ode to the power and resilience of trans sisterhood. The Stroll isn't only an essential document of trans history, it's a revitalizing reminder for trans folks that together we have the power to pave a path for a better trans future. — O.W.

How to watch: The Stroll is now streaming on HBO Max.

13. Bottoms (2023)

Credit: Orion Pictures

Craving a raunchy teen comedy that'll have you howling with laughter? Bottoms delivers. The Bear's breakout It Girl Ayo Edebiri stars with Bodies Bodies Bodies' Rachel Sennott (who reunites with Shiva Baby's director Emma Seligman). Together, they craft a tale of an all-girls fight club created to help two "ugly and untalented" gays, Josie (Edebiri) and PJ (Sennott), hook up with their cheerleader crushes. One good lie leads to a violent after-school activity, homemade explosives, sloppy sexcapades, and the most bizarre scene involving pineapple juice you'll ever see. But that's not all. With a wicked wit, Bottoms not only roasts the supposed "glory days" of teendom but also takes shots at rape culture, pushes queer lust to awkward (and relatably so) places, and brings on the blood. This comedy went so hard it not only had critics raving, it had audiences cheering out of its SXSW premiere and ever since.* — K.P.

How to watch: Bottoms is now streaming on MGM+ and available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

14. Dressed in Blue (1983)

Watching Dressed in Blue for the first time feels like discovering a long-lost treasure, one you almost can't believe exists and only wish you'd seen sooner. This docudrama from Antonio Giménez-Rico mixes docu-style interviews with narrative reenactments to tell the life stories of six Spanish trans women living in post-Franco Madrid. Josette, Loren, René, Eva, Nacha, and Tamara gather in the dazzling Palacio de Cristal in Madrid to trade stories, gossip, bicker, giggle, and gossip some more as Giménez-Rico jumps in and out of scripted moments of their pasts. The unique framing gives the film something of an ethereal quality, especially paired with Teo Escamilla's dreamy cinematography that imbues each woman with a glowy, almost goddess-like aspect. Depictions of trans life have long been victim to the gaze of cis creators, and though this film from a cis male director is no exception, Dressed in Blue does feel like something of an anomaly, especially for its time, by allowing these women more agency in recounting their most private memories. — O.W.

How to watch: Dressed in Blue is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube.

15. Born in Flames (1983)

Credit: First Run Features / Kobal / Shutterstock

For anyone in need of some radical-as-hell queer dystopian fiction during these increasingly dark and fascistic political times, Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames will prove to be a most satisfying balm. Set in a futuristic New York City after a socialist revolution, the film imagines America living under democratic socialism, but where the promises of that society are proving unfulfilled. Droves of women are losing their jobs, sexism and racism run rampant, and a queer Black revolutionary has just been captured and murdered by the state. This kicks off a new fiery revolt where feminist groups led by two radical radio hosts team up to take action into their own hands, from plotting direct action in underground meetings to teaching squads of women how to shoot rifles. 

This searing anti-capitalist, anti-racist, pro-feminist treatise is as relevant as ever. Hearing one queer radio DJ shout, "We're being murdered out there in the streets. Wake up, it's time to fight!" you can’t help but feel the parallels to the current attacks on queer and trans life and bodily autonomy happening in this country today. — O.W.

How to watch: Born in Flames is streaming on Kanopy and The Criterion Channel, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV.

16. Bound (1996)

Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

A lesbian neo-noir directed by two trans women — there has never been a better combination of words. Bound, the debut feature from Lilly and Lana Wachowski, is a cult favorite for a reason, or maybe 10. It features Gina Gershon playing a tough-as-nails butch lesbian named Corky (just a year after Showgirls' Cristal Connors, mind you), who falls for her sultry femme fatale neighbor, Violet (Jennifer Tilly). This is no mere queer romance though, but a razor-sharp crime thriller where two ordinary women decide to rip off the mob. Violet's abusive boyfriend (a perfect Joe Pantoliano) is about to come into a load of cash, so why not steal it, frame him, and make a getaway for it? Any casual Wachowskis fan can see the sisters' stylistic fingerprints all over Bound, but it's especially a pleasure to see the ways the two spice up classic noir genre conventions with queer sex, startling violence, and a whole lot of queer badassery. — O.W.

How to watch: Bound is streaming on MGM+ and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video. 

17. No Ordinary Man (2020)

There are myriad ways to make a documentary about historical figures, but in No Ordinary Man, Chase Joynt and Aisling Chin-Yee take a unique and even risky creative approach that lands beautifully. To tell the story of Billy Tipton, a jazz musician whose stealth trans status was outed after his death and grossly mistreated for years in the press, No Ordinary Man looks to today's trans community to search for the lost and ignored truths of his life. Joynt and Chin-Yee invite a collection of transmasculine actors to read scenes from a narrative script about Tipton's life. This manifests into something profound, with each actor wrestling with how to portray a man who lived at a time where his transness had to remain secret, and with close to no models to shape himself after. It's a fascinating and incredibly moving creative exercise that both attempts to repair the painful history attached to Tipton's legacy, and showcases the necessity for trans performers to embody the roles of trans characters. — O.W.

How to watch: No Ordinary Man is streaming on Kanopy, and is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

18. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)

Credit: HBO

One of the absolute best films of 2022, Laura Poitras' Oscar-nominated documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed manages to accomplish multiple things: documenting the activism of acclaimed photographer Nan Goldin in a tireless pursuit to takedown the wealthy family responsible for the opioid epidemic, commemorating the vast cultural significance of Goldin's art, and detailing the personal life of the woman behind the camera. A prominent name in the 1980s New York City art scene, Goldin, who identifies as queer, is most known for her visceral, probing photography that captured a community ignored not just by the art world but by the entire world — queer and trans folks, sex workers, and those living with and dying from HIV/AIDS. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed fuses past and present, the individual and the collective, to tell a story that's achingly human, full of urgency and rage yet still simmering with hope. — O.W.

How to watch: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is streaming on HBO Max and is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.

19. Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)

Toshio Matsumoto's Funeral Parade of Roses is an absolute trip, and it might be one of the most enthralling pieces of filmmaking about trans femininity. This 1969 Japanese New Wave film fuses avant-garde editing with meta-documentary style filmmaking and non-linear storytelling to follow Eddie (played by androgynous cis actor Peter), a trans woman who works as a hostess at a gay bar — the lines between trans and gay identity are messy at best, given when this was made. With jarring editing, we're torn between Eddie's love triangle with the bar's owner and his other mistress, fragmented memories of a traumatic childhood incident, and meta-interviews with the other trans bar hostesses. It's all quite disturbing and disorienting, both aesthetically and thematically, and that's kinda of the point — as critic Willow Maclay has written, Matsumoto's film "mirrors the breaking down of gendered perception through the destruction of cinematic form." It's the kinda thing you just need to watch to get, and maybe more than once. — O.W.

How to watch: Funeral Parade of Roses is streaming on Kanopy and NightFlight+.

20. God's Own Country (2017)

Sometimes gay romance dramas are tender, and sometimes they're just super hot. God's Own Country holds the honor of being both, leaving you crying one moment and indescribably turned on the next. Set on a farm in the Yorkshire countryside, Francis Lee's film traces the lonely and pained day-to-day life of Johnny (Josh O'Connor), a young gay man who buries his anger at his father with binge drinking and anonymous hookups. But when Gheorghe (Alec Secăreanu) arrives for a short stint to work at the farm, something shifts, and the newcomer's presence begins to melt Johnny’s hardened aggression. A sweet gentleness blossoms, along with one of the hottest (and muddiest) sex scenes in recent memory. If sexy emotional gay farmcore was a movie, this would be it. — O.W.

How to watch: God’s Own Country is streaming on Kanopy and Tubi, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

21. Shinjuku Boys (1995)

It’s the mid-'90s in Tokyo, and you walk into the New Marilyn nightclub. You're suddenly charmed by a flock of dapper studs in flashy suits with cool-as-ever haircuts. It's a paradise of transmasc cuties.

In Shinjuku Boys, a short documentary from Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams, we meet three transmasculine folks who work at a nightclub that caters to doting female customers. Tatsu, Gaish, and Kazuki, who all use he/him pronouns, describe themselves as "onabe," a broad Japanese term that's been used to describe a variety of identities from trans man to butch lesbian. The doc captures a rarely seen slice of transmasc life (including some not-so-great toxic masc behavior), and offers a series of incredibly raw interviews that speak to things not often shown in film. From personal disclosures about sex and dysphoria to a T4T couple lovingly gushing over how seen they feel by one another, Shinjuku Boys is a snapshot of a unique and little-known piece of Japanese trans history. — O.W.

How to watch: Shinjuku Boys is streaming on Kanopy.

22. Sylvia Scarlett (1935)

Credit: Rko / Kobal / Shutterstock

It's Katharine Hepburn in masc drag, what more could you need? How about her looking as dashing as ever in a fedora and popped collar, flirting with Cary Grant and Brian Aherne and confusing the hell out of them both? In this 1935 film that marks the first collaboration between Hollywood gay icons Hepburn, Grant, and director George Cukor, Hepburn plays Sylvia, the meek daughter of a bookkeeper who disguises herself as a boy to help her father flee gambling debts. Now going by the name Sylvester, Hepburn's character finds a swaggering confidence around other men while passing as one. Released during the start of the Hays Code, Sylvia Scarlett was a daring risk, and today remains a fascinating exploration of gender play, queer desire, and the inner empowerment one can discover in distorting gender expectations. — O.W.

How to watch: Sylvia Scarlett is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV, Prime Video, and VUDU.

23. Changing the Game (2021)

When Changing the Game was released in 2021, it felt like a dire time for trans athletes in America — at the time, 17 anti-LGBTQ+ bills had been passed. As of 2026, of the current proposed 793 anti-trans bills, 55 were passed. A large chunk of these bills have specifically targeted trans kids who just want to play sports, and more than ever, Changing the Game remains a crucial film that highlights the experiences of young trans athletes. 

The documentary from Michael Barnett follows Mack, a trans boy who's the Texas state wrestling champion...of girls' wrestling; Andraya, a Connecticut track star who, though able to compete on her school's girls team, is met with harassment from parents; and Sarah, an alpine skier who splits her free time between activism and a makeup vlog. While circumstances have only gotten horrifically worse for trans youth, Changing the Game is a reminder that the resilience and diehard activism of younger trans generations won't be dying down anytime soon. — O.W.

How to watch: Changing the Game is streaming on Hulu.

24. Desert Hearts (1985)

Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

Set in 1959, Donna Deitch's indie classic Desert Hearts finds Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver), a straight-laced English professor dressed in pearls and a skirt suit, arriving in dusty Reno to file for a quick divorce. The first time she meets Cay (Patricia Charbonneau), an openly queer, free-wheeling local, Cay's riotously racing down the highway backwards, like a lesbian James Dean straight out of Rebel Without a Cause. It's a classic story of opposites attracting as Cay begins to pursue the hesitant and old-fashioned Vivian. Brimming with quiet passion and yearning, and lit stunningly by master cinematographer Robert Elswit, Desert Hearts is a must-watch for any lover of queer cinema. — O.W.

How to watch: Desert Hearts is streaming on The Criterion Channel and HBO Max.

25. Adam (2019)

Filmmaker Rhys Ernst's directorial debut does something unexpected and controversial: It portrays an authentic transmasculine experience, but without a trans character as the lead. In Adam, Nicholas Alexander (a cis male actor) plays Adam, a cis male character who, after stumbling into New York City's queer scene, winds up pretending to be a trans guy. It sounds terrible, I know! But hear me out — Adam uses this scenario to flip expectations and, in the process, center transness while putting cis perspectives on the sidelines. Ernst (a trans man) does this through the friendship between Adam and trans man Ethan (The L Word: Gen Q's Leo Sheng). Their relationship proposes an alternative to a world where trans men grow up learning about masculinity (very often toxic) and sexuality (also often toxic) from a cis-centric perspective. Here, Adam comes of age through the wisdom of a man who has deeply investigated his relationship to conventional masculinity. Though a divisive film, Adam's worth seeing for the complex conversations it'll give way to. — O.W.

How to watch: Adam is streaming on Kanopy, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

26. Colette (2018)

Credit: Bleeker Street Media / Moviestore / Shutterstock

The only thing better than a Keira Knightley period piece? An unabashedly queer one. In Colette, Knightley portrays the titular famous French novelist best known for her 1944 work, Gigi, who for years was the ghostwriter of novels her husband took credit for. Wash Westmoreland's film isn't most interesting as a literary biopic, though, but for the way it spotlights how Colette was openly and radically queer, especially for the early 20th century. Knightley's Colette has affairs with women, including a long relationship with Mathilde De Morny, a French trans man and aristocrat referred to as Max and Missy throughout history (though played here by cis actress Denise Gough). Their onstage kiss at the Moulin Rouge in 1907 famously sparked a riot. — O.W.

How to watch: Colette is streaming on Kanopy and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

27. The Aggressives (2005)

In Daniel Peddle's documentary, there's one thing that each of his five subjects has in common: They all identify as "Aggressives," or "AG." That term can mean vastly different things from one person to the next. For Octavia, they're just a person who dresses like a dude with dude ways, while to Tiffany, it means carrying a femme-aggressive attitude and acting more like a gay guy. Rjai, on the other hand, is a ballroom champ with rows of trophies for walking in both masc and butch categories. And then there's Marquise Vilson, who binds his chest and describes himself as a trans lesbian; he's gone on to become a notable trans actor. Peddle's film is a rare document of Black and brown butch, transmasc, and gender nonconforming folks in early aughts New York City that remains a beautiful showcase of the expansiveness of gender identity and expression outside the binary. — O.W.

How to watch: The Aggressives is streaming on Kanopy and Tubi, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV.

28. Caravaggio (1986)

If you like your historical dramas ripe with unabashed queerness, look no further than the work of master British filmmaker Derek Jarman. In Caravaggio, Jarman queers the history of the Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio by taking the highly homoerotic subtext of his work (along with age-old suspicions about his sexuality) and injecting it right into the text, reimagining the artist in openly gay affairs. This dazzling and layered meditation, with a mise-en-scène that evokes the compositions of a Caravaggio painting, finds the artist (played by Nigel Terry) engaged in romances with a street fighter (Sean Bean) and his girlfriend (Tilda Swinton). Even with no knowledge of Caravaggio or art history, Jarman's film is quite a trip, and one bubbling with queer desire. — O.W.

How to watch: Caravaggio is streaming on Kanopy.

29. Anything's Possible (2022)

A sweet coming-of-age romantic comedy where a young trans girl gets to be charmed and loved and swept off her feet like every other woman of rom-coms' past? Yes, please! Anything's Possible is the directorial debut from Billy Porter, with a script by trans screenwriter Ximena García Lecuona. Eva Reign stars as Kelsa, a high school senior who starts crushing on Khal (Abubakr Ali). The two flirt, go on a cute first date, and romance begins to brew. But jealousy and backlash from Kelsa's friend group gets ignited, and for the first time, Kelsa's transness becomes a topic of fiery attention at her school — and in her relationship. Anything's Possible has all the charm of a teen rom-com like To All the Boys I've Loved Before, but centers the story on a trans girl without making her identity the sole focus of her character. — O.W.

How to watch: Anything's Possible is streaming on Prime Video.

30. Dicks: The Musical (2023)

Credit: A24

Imagine The Parent Trap as a scorching satire of queer culture and homophobic fears, and you'll get some idea of what's in store with writers/stars Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson's outrageous musical comedy. But nothing can prepare you for Megan Thee Stallion's ode to putting alpha males in their place, or the madcap chaos of Megan Mullally's ad-libbing, or even national treasure Nathan Lane spitting ham at his beloved Sewer Boys. It's also got Bowen Yang as God, and a finale number that is as joyous as it is absolutely iconoclastic. Seeking something unapologetically outrageous? Nothing made us laugh as hard or loud or long as Dicks: The Musical.* — K.P.

How to watch: Dicks: The Musical is streaming on Pluto TV and available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.

31. Disclosure (2020)

Ask anyone over 20 to name the first time they saw a trans character portrayed on screen, and it'll likely fall into one of the following categories: a villainous monster, a mocked disgrace, or a sad tragedy ending in death. Sam Feder's documentary Disclosure charts the history of transness depicted across film and TV, showing that from cinema's silent origins to the modern series of today, trans people have always been present, but largely only to be derided, misrepresented, and gawked at. With a mix of archival footage and talking head interviews with dozens of trans actors, directors, and authors, Disclosure offers a rare glimpse of a trans perspective on the painful history of representation in media. It's vital educational viewing for cis audiences. For trans folks, it provides a cathartic look back on an ugly history, but with a hopeful promise of what visibility can look like. — O.W.

How to watch: Disclosure is streaming on Netflix.

32. The Matrix (1999)

Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

What better way to celebrate Pride than by watching the most famous trans movie of all time, The Matrix? (It's canon, deal with it.) The sci-fi action epic may not be explicitly trans on the surface, but as trans critics and audiences over the years have observed, Neo's tale down the rabbit hole is littered with subtextual allusions to trans identity. There's the red/blue pill "splinter in your mind" metaphor for hormone therapy, the "waking up" and "unplugging" from the Matrix as a realization of one's gender when the egg shell cracks, the fact that Neo keeps getting deadnamed by Agent Smith, the whole essence of Trinity — you can go on and on. Read this sci-fi classic how you will, but once you start spotting all the trans symbolism, in the words of Morpheus, "There's no turning back." — O.W.

How to watch: The Matrix is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

33. Swan Song (2021)

Credit: Chris Stephens / Magnolia Pictures

Inspired by the real-life "Liberace of Sandusky, [Ohio]," Swan Song stars heralded character actor Udo Kier as a Mr. Pat, a retired and unapologetically flamboyant hairdresser out to secure his legacy with one last hurrah of a hairdo. Striding back into his old haunts to reconcile with his past, this wickedly funny hero finds new friends, old foes, and the glory of a mint-green vintage suit. With a fine wit, bold style, and a big heart, writer/director Todd Stephens' film pays dazzling tribute to a generation of gay men who were decimated by AIDS and societal indifference. Swirling together rage and gratitude into an intoxicating cocktail, Kier gives the best performance of his long and storied career.* — K.P.

How to watch: Swan Song is streaming on Kanopy and available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

34. Moonlight (2016)

Credit: David Bornfriend / A24 / Kobal / Shutterstock

Director Barry Jenkins' Academy Award-winning Best Picture may use some of the formulaic components seen in other coming-of-age stories, but it imbues them with such immense inventiveness and originality that to compare Moonlight to anything else feels like an insult. This film has rightly been called some of the most impactful filmmaking in history, a perennial meditation on abuse, regret, pain, and acceptance. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Moonlight is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

35. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is always best enjoyed on the stage. But when a visit to the theater isn't an option, director and star John Cameron Mitchell's screen adaptation more than does the trick. In this musical dramedy, Stephen Trask's spectacular songs once again come to life as the titular and iconic East German rock singer explores revenge, betrayal, and acceptance. — A.F.

How to watch: Hedwig and the Angry Inch is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

36-38. The Fear Street Trilogy (2021)

Credit: Netflix

A stellar example of queer horror hit in three parts in 2021, when R.L. Stine's beloved YA book series inspired a slasher trilogy centered on a lesbian couple. Kiana Madeira and Olivia Scott Welch are suffering the standard torments of teendom when the local legend of a vicious witch upends their lives — and may end them! Director Leigh Janiak ushers audiences through three eras of terror, chasing her heroes through shopping malls, summer camps, and colonial forests to unearth the dark truth of Shadyside. — K.P.

How to watch: Fear Street: Part One: 1994 is streaming on Netflix.

How to watch: Fear Street: Part Two: 1978 is streaming on Netflix.

How to watch: Fear Street: Part Three: 1666 is streaming on Netflix.

39. The Watermelon Woman (1996)

Credit: Dancing Girl / Kobal / Shutterstock

Director Cheryl Dunye's cinematic debut brings utter fearlessness to righting wrongs. In this romantic comedy, Dunye plays a pseudo-autobiographical version of herself intent on giving credit to the Black actors and filmmakers that came before her but were too often left unnamed. Widely regarded as the first feature-length film directed by an openly lesbian Black woman, The Watermelon Woman remains a triumph almost 30 years later. — A.F.

How to watch: The Watermelon Woman is streaming on Kanopy and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV.

40. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

In this charming, sexy, and silly comedy from Stephen Frears, Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day-Lewis play childhood friends-turned-lovers struggling to make the most of their meager means. When the pair take over a laundromat together, they must face the normal pitfalls of operating a business as well as battle the political climate surrounding immigrants in '80s Great Britain. — A.F.

How to watch: My Beautiful Laundrette is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV and Fandango at Home.

41. Rift (2017)

Want something uniquely chilling? Then check out this 2017 Icelandic thriller set in a frigid and frightful landscape. Written and directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen, Rift follows a man (Björn Stefánsson) to a remote cabin, where he hopes to help his distraught ex-boyfriend (Sigurður Þór Óskarsson) and maybe find some closure over their breakup. However, their reunion is rattled by a series of strange events that suggest they aren't alone. Something is in the darkness, watching and waiting. This fantastic film lures you in with beautiful vistas and a slow-burn pace, then spirals into scares sure to linger like a cold shiver down your spine.* — K.P.

How to watch: Rift is streaming on Kanopy and is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.

42. Carol (2016)

Based on Patricia Highsmith's groundbreaking 1952 novel, Todd Haynes' Carol brings the lives of Carol Aird and Therese Belivet to the screen through actors Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. This masterful rendition of a Christmas-set romance will pull at your heartstrings in all of the right ways, permanently nestling into a corner of your soul. — A.F.

How to watch: Carol is streaming on Hulu and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV.

43. Benedetta (2021)

Credit: IFC Films

When you hear that the director of Showgirls made a movie about lesbian nuns, you might suspect Benedetta to be outlandishly raunchy and ferociously campy, reveling in the trashy tropes. However, Paul Verhoeven brings exquisite artistry to this stranger-than-fiction tale, delivering a biopic full of outrageous moments with a sophisticated yet wicked wit. Virginie Efira stars as 17th-century Italian nun Benedetta Carlini, who drew raised eyebrows in her convent not only because of the miracles she seemed to perform but also because of her romance with a fellow sister (Daphne Patakia). — K.P.

How to watch: Benedetta is streaming on AMC+, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

44. Weekend (2011)

Tom Cullen and Chris New redefine the chance encounter in director Andrew Haigh's Weekend. Told over the course of a 48-hour period, this stirring, passionate romance considers the impacts strangers can have on one another — even when their time together is cut all too short. — A.F.

How to watch: Weekend is streaming on The Criterion Channel and Kanopy, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

45. Tongues Untied (1989)

Artist Marlon Riggs' experimental film Tongues Untied addresses the onslaught of racist and homophobic prejudices Black gay men have been forced to endure and navigate for decades. Combining documentary footage with scripted personal accounts, this 55-minute film remains an impactful and relevant point of reference in intersectional LGBTQ+ activism. — A.F.

How to watch: Tongues Untied is streaming on Kanopy.

46. Love, Simon (2018)

Folks looking for a heartwarming, sweet, and goofy romp to accompany the perfect at-home Pride celebration can stop their search. Love, Simon, starring the always charming Nick Robinson, broke ground as the first major studio film to focus on a gay teen romance. Delightful as it is important, this movie combines the best of rom-coms and coming out stories to check every box on a movie lover's list. — A.F.

How to watch: Love, Simon is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, and Google Play.

47. Shiva Baby (2021)

Credit: Utopia

Here's a nightmare scenario: You're a young, bi Jewish woman (Rachel Sennott) who just finished hooking up with one of your sex-work clients — he's rich and cute and, hey, maybe you kinda like him. You show up at the shiva your parents dragged you to, and oh fuck, Sugar Daddy walks in…with a hot wife…holding a newborn baby. And he knows your parents. Oh, and your ex-girlfriend, who's been a total flake lately, is there too. Emma Seligman's debut feature is like the Jewish comedic version of Trey Edward Schults' Krisha, only it finds the humor (and the suffocating anxiety) in the chaos. And it does it all in only an hour and 17 minutes.* — O.W.

How to watch: Shiva Baby is streaming on Kanopy and Netflix, and is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

48. Happy Together (1997)

Credit: Block 2 Pics / Kobal / Shutterstock

Directed by Wong Kar-wai, this nail-biting romantic saga depicts a tumultuous relationship on the brink of collapse. The film's leads, Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, explore passion and its limitations as Happy Together provides a unique, if not jarring, glimpse into affairs of the heart. — A.F.

How to watch: Happy Together is streaming on HBO Max.

49. But I'm a Cheerleader (2000)

Natasha Lyonne stars as a cheerleader forced to attend a conversion therapy camp in what may very well be the greatest lesbian fairytale of all time. Directed by Jamie Babbit, But I'm a Cheerleader was met with lukewarm reviews in 2000 but has since garnered a well-deserved cult following. Come for the promise of RuPaul trying to pretend he's straight; stay for a first kiss scene featuring Clea DuVall that will knock your pom-poms off. — A.F.

How to watch: But I'm a Cheerleader is streaming on Tubi and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

50. Wig (2019)

One of the most iconic events of New York City Pride, Wigstock has taken many forms over the years. Watch as director Chris Moukarbel follows present-day queens as they attempt to revitalize the festival made popular by legends, like Lady Bunny, in 2018. — A.F.

How to watch: Wig is available to stream on HBO Max.

51. Velvet Goldmine (1998)

Credit: Peter Mountain / Zenith / Killer / Kobal / Shutterstock

Another glittering gift from Todd Haynes, this '70s-set drama plays like fan fiction, penned about queer icons like David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Oscar Wilde. Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as a glam rock star who wins the heart of a headstrong American punk (Ewan McGregor), a glitzy party girl (Toni Collette), and the devotion of a young teen coming into his own (Christian Bale). Stuffed with incredible music, scintillating spectacle, and unapologetically queer lust, Velvet Goldmine is beautiful and bold even before you realize Haynes mopped its narrative structure from Citizen Kane. — K.P.

How to watch: Velvet Goldmine is now available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

52. Paris Is Burning (1990)

It's the film you knew had to be on this list. Director Jennie Livingston's unparalleled documentary Paris Is Burning captures the New York City drag ball culture of the late '80s with style, grace, and intelligence. It's a powerful reflection on wealth disparity, race discrimination, and stigma surrounding the LGBTQ+ community — a must-see if there's ever been one. — A.F.

How to watch: Paris Is Burning is streaming on The Criterion Channel and HBO Max, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV.

53. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger shepherd a nuanced narrative of passion, fear, romance, and shame in director Ang Lee's tale of star-crossed lovers in rural Wyoming and Texas. A timeless reflection on what it takes to unite who you are expected to be with who you really are, Brokeback Mountain can be a little sappy — but its faultless message always lands. — A.F.

How to watch: Brokeback Mountain is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

54. How to Survive a Plague (2012)

Reporter David France looks back on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this riveting, comprehensive documentary. Weaving hundreds of hours of archival footage into a cohesive narrative on the LGBTQ+ community's fight against biased healthcare practices, How to Survive a Plague bottles what it means to make societal change happen before it's too late. — A.F.

How to watch: How to Survive a Plague is streaming on Pluto TV, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

55. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Credit: Neon

Writer-director Céline Sciamma will blow you away with this historical French drama. Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel lead as a painter and her unwilling subject whose intimate time together begins a secret romance that threatens to unravel them both. Painful and poetic, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the under-appreciated watch you need to make time for. — A.F.

How to watch: Portrait of a Lady on Fire is streaming on HBO Max and Kanopy, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

56. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, and Guy Pearce star as drag performers traveling the Australian outback in this heartfelt comedy packed with iconic one-liners and costume changes. (It should be noted that this film contains some outdated, racist portrayals of non-white characters. Many argue the film remains a historic text for the changes it brought about in mainstream acceptance of LGBTQ+ art.) — A.F.

How to watch: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is streaming on Tubi and available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

57. Upstairs Inferno (2015)

Documentarian Robert L. Camina remembers the catastrophic fire that took the lives of 32 people at New Orleans gay bar UpStairs Lounge on June 24, 1973. Witnesses to the tragedy reflect on the lives lost, the expected arsonist behind the attack, and the city's lacking response to community devastation. This is a heartbreaking but essential chapter in any LGBTQ+ history book. — A.F.

How to watch: Upstairs Inferno is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

58. Kiki (2016)

There has never been a better time to revisit Sara Jordenö's breathtaking Kiki. Centered on the drag and ballroom scene of New York City and those communities' roles in rebuffing systemic intersectional bias, this documentary is an inspiring reminder that joy and love can bring about lasting change — but not without profound struggle. — A.F.

How to watch: Kiki is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

59. Pariah (2011)

Credit: Chicken and Egg / MBK / Northstar / Kobal / Shutterstock

Adepero Oduye devastates in this coming-of-age story. A cinematic journey that leaps from the screen straight to your soul, Pariah follows a 17-year-old Black girl as she fights to accept her lesbian identity and reconcile her sexual orientation with her family's vision of the future. — A.F.

How to watch: Pariah is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

60. Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019)

Queer horror is a genre full of cringeworthy moves. But fans of the much-maligned A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge came to embrace its quirky dance number and its groundbreaking scream queen, Mark Patton. Teaming with documentarians Tyler Jensen and Roman Chimienti, this fascinating leading man steps back into the spotlight to share his story as a closeted gay actor who survived public mockery and the AIDS crisis to find a love and community that takes pride in him. — K.P.

How to watch: Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street is streaming on Tubi, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV.

61. The Favourite (2018)

Only star Olivia Colman walked away with an Oscar for her work on The Favourite, but the 2018 historical black comedy more than earned its fair share of praise. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, this Best Picture nominee tells the story of two courtiers, played by Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, vying for the favor of Queen Anne (Colman). An excellent argument against aristocracies — and owning too many rabbits — this darkly hilarious and queer romp is well worth a watch. — A.F.

How to watch: The Favourite is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, and Google Play.

62. We Were Here (2011)

Director David Weissman's documentary We Were Here transports viewers back to the San Francisco LGBTQ+ scene of the '80s and '90s as interview subjects relive their struggle to contend with the unfathomable HIV/AIDS crisis. A testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of community, this is a history lesson worth paying attention to. — A.F.

How to watch: We Were Here is streaming on Kanopy and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

63. Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Timothée Chalamet leads in director Luca Guadagnino's stunning coming-of-age romance. Winner of Best Adapted Screenplay at the 90th Academy Awards, Call Me by Your Name approaches its starring couple with tenderness, understanding, and unshakable warmth. This is the perfect pick for a cozy-yet-ethereal night in. — A.F.

How to watch: Call Me by Your Name is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

64. Tomboy (2011)

Another installment from writer-director Céline Sciamma. Tomboy paints a staggering portrait of a gender non-conforming child grappling with societal expectations in a new environment. Full of hope but grounded in its true-to-life performances, this film exists as a testament to becoming who you really are at any age. Then-10-year-old Zoé Héran positively dazzles with her lead role. — A.F.

How to watch: Tomboy is streaming on The Criterion Channel.

65. A Fantastic Woman (2017)

Credit: Sony Classics / TIFF

Winner of Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, director Sebastián Lelio's A Fantastic Woman is a tragedy and triumph for the ages. Daniela Vega plays a woman who loses her partner unexpectedly. Amidst her grief, she must contend with her late partner's family and their transphobia. This film offers exquisite cognizance of the pain prejudice can add to existing loss. — A.F.

How to watch: A Fantastic Woman is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

66. My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Keanu Reeves and the late River Phoenix star in this 20th-century retelling of Shakespeare's Henry IV and Henry V. Director Gus Van Sant guides his leads through a tense, melancholy exploration of intimacy, power, and uncertainty that never fails to deliver poignant reflection despite its adventure-fueled storyline. Oh, and the pair's chemistry is...searing. — A.F.

How to watch: My Own Private Idaho is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV, Prime Video, and Google Play.

67. The Half of It (2020)

Credit: KC Bailey / Netflix

Since arriving on Netflix last year, The Half of It has quietly built a following of young queer people enchanted by its presentation of coming out. Starring Leah Lewis as Ellie Chu, an introverted Chinese-American high schooler, this romantic comedy is yet another retelling of the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, but with an intense honesty to its subject that makes it stand out. — A.F.

How to watch: The Half of It is streaming on Netflix.

68. Milk (2008)

In director Gus Van Sant's astounding biopic, Sean Penn stars as activist and politician Harvey Milk. The first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, Milk progressed the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans by unprecedented leaps and bounds. Milk honors that legacy with its heartfelt imagining of an icon. Penn won Best Actor for his portrayal of Milk at the 81st Academy Awards. — A.F.

How to watch: Milk is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

69. Tangerine (2015)

Credit: Augustas Quirk / Magnolia / Duplass Brothers Prods / Kobal / Shutterstock

Director Sean Baker's low-budget tour de force follows transgender sex worker Sin-Dee Rella (played by the effervescent Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) as she seeks to enact revenge on the man who cheated on her and the cisgender woman he cheated with. Bittersweet and hysterical, Tangerine is a one-of-a-kind viewing experience you'll cherish forever. — A.F.

How to watch: Tangerine is streaming on Kanopy and Hulu, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

70. The Birdcage (1996)

Credit: Lorey Sebastian / United Artists / Kobal / Shutterstock

In the wake of an unexpected wedding, The Birdcage chronicles the chaotic blending of two very different families. Along the way, Nathan Lane dons full drag, Robin Williams dances his pleated pants off, and Gene Hackman brings remarkable depth to his straight-man role. This is the perfect pick if you want something light and fun to watch with your chosen family. — A.F.

How to watch: The Birdcage is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

71. Rafiki (2018)

Starring Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva as burgeoning lovers, Rafiki was banned in Kenya "due to its homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law." As a result, of course, much of the rest of the queer world embraced it as a symbol against censorship. Director Wanuri Kahiu treats those viewers to a positively enchanting romance, one that only emphasizes the need for LGBTQ+ equality everywhere. — A.F.

How to watch: Rafiki is streaming on Kanopy, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

72. Welcome to Chechnya (2020)

The third film from Academy Award-nominated documentarian David France, Welcome to Chechnya takes viewers on a guerilla-style investigation into the anti-gay purges that still plague the constituent republic of Russia. 

Not only does the explosive project detail the abhorrent policies created by Vladimir Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to criminalize homosexuality, it also delves into the insidious culture the government has instilled in its citizens to encourage hate crimes. It’s a painful watch that demands attention from viewers, focusing in large part on the courageous efforts of underground networks working to help LGBTQ+ people escape the region.*  — A.F.

How to watch: Welcome to Chechnya is streaming on HBO Max and is available to purchase on Apple TV.

73. The Living End (1992)

Credit: Strand / Desperate / Kobal / Shutterstock

Often dubbed the gay Thelma & Louise, Gregg Araki's The Living End follows the reckless road trip of two HIV-positive, anti-establishment gay men who go on the run after killing a homophobic cop. There's Jon (Craig Gilmore), a slender, downbeat film critic who just found out his HIV status, and Luke (Mike Dytri), a hustler hunk who looks like he walked right out of Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising. The two become lovers and quickly set out on a fuck-everything crime spree across California. A fixture of New Queer Cinema that put Araki on the map, this low-budget punk queer road movie is sizzling with radical rage, and feels as fresh as ever today. — O.W.

How to watch: The Living End is streaming on Kanopy and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

74. Imagine Me and You (2005)

There are two types of queers: those who saw beloved lesbian rom-com Imagine Me & You early in their queerness and were forever changed, and those who've never heard of the undersung British movie. If you're in the latter camp, I’m so thrilled to finally introduce you to this silly, charming romance. Rachel (Piper Perabo donning a British accent) is about to marry her best friend, Heck (Matthew Goode), but as she's walking down the aisle, her eyes catch a woman named Luce (Lena Headey), and something indescribable happens. It's love at first sight, as they say, and thus begins a sweet love story between Rachel, who's only ever dated men, and Luce, an openly gay florist in the most '00s lesbian wardrobe you've ever seen. It's delightfully cheery and has an ending that will, shockingly, leave you teary-eyed with joy. A queer rom-com classic through and through. — O.W.

How to watch: Imagine Me & You is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV, Prime Video, and YouTube.

75. Before Stonewall (1984)

Filmmakers Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg did a public service in their creation of the seminal documentary Before Stonewall. An educational yet humorous work that provides essential context to the LGBTQ+ community's long-fought campaign for civil rights, this is a great starting place for anyone eager to better appreciate just how far acceptance has come and how far it still has to go. — A.F.

How to watch: Before Stonewall is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.

Asterisks (*) indicate the write-up comes from a previous Mashable list.

UPDATE: Jun. 3, 2026, 2:57 p.m. EDT This list has been updated with active links and additional movie recommendations.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Explosive.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

FIERY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Huge.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

GIANT

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Military ships.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

NAVAL

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Movie.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

STICK

Final Hurdle hint

To burn.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

SCALD

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

It's day 20 of the lunar cycle. The lunar cycle is the Moon's journey around Earth, which takes roughly 29.5 days. As it moves, the amount of sunlight we see reflected from its surface changes, creating either crescent, half or full moons.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Saturday, June 6, the Moon phase is Waning Gibbous. Tonight, 71% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

Without visual aids you should be able to spot the Mares Imbrium and Vaporum as well as the Tycho Crater. If you have binoculars you'll also spot the Grimaldi Basin, the Mare Humorum, and the Apennine Mountains. And finally, with a telescope you'll also see the Apollo 14 and 16 landing spots and the Caucasus Mountains.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on June 29.

What are Moon phases?

NASA explains that the Moon completes one full orbit around Earth in about 29.5 days, during which it moves through a sequence of eight phases. Even though the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of sunlight we can see changes as it travels along its path. This shifting light is what produces the lunar shapes, ranging from slim crescents to half-lit Moons and the bright Full Moon. All of these stages together make up the lunar cycle:

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.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you wear your heart on your sleeve.

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.

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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.

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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: Column

• Green: To show

• Blue: Reptiles

• Purple: Furniture

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Pillar

• Green: Indicate, as emotions

• Blue: Kinds of lizards

• Purple: __ Table

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 #1091 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Pillar: POLE, POST, SHAFT, STAKE

• Indicate, as emotions: BETRAY, DISPLAY, EXPRESS, REGISTER

• Kinds of lizards: BASILISK, DRAGON, MONITOR, SKINK

• __ Table: DINNER, DRAFTING, ROUND, TIMES

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new 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? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

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 today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're a newlywed.

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: With this ring...

The words are related to getting married.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe weddings.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Tying the Knot.

NYT Strands word list for June 6

• Vows

• Marriage

• Matrimony

• Tying the Knot

• Wedlock

• Nuptials

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 today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're constantly changing.

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:

To transform.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter M.

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...

MORPH

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.

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 today's Wordle.

A new trailer dropped for the long-awaited sequel to the 2014 video game classic Alien: Isolation.

While the trailer, premiered by developer Creative Assembly at Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, offers more details than the sneak peek shown on Alien day (April 26, an homage to LV-26, the planetoid featured in the 1979 Alien film), it still doesn't reveal much.

As we predicted a few months ago, it looks like Alien: Isolation 2 will take place on a moon or planet (the game's predecessor was set on a mostly abandoned space station overrun by xenomorphs, facehuggers, and murderous androids). Japanese dialogue (with English subtitles) suggests more nefarious behavior from the Alien franchise's other villain: the Weyland-Yutani corporation.

"Your mistake. It was expensive," the voice says. "That's something the company rarely forgives. This is your last chance. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," a voice says in English. That voice is ostensibly Amanda Ripley, the protagonist of the first game and daughter of the movie series' heroine, Ellen Ripley.

Update, June 6, 1 a.m. ET: A press release from Sega states Alien: Isolation 2 features a "brand-new setting, story and protagonist." It also reveals the game takes place on the Weyland-Yutani outpost of Kurosaki Station, "a new hunting-ground for the Alien."

Shots of a crashed module are intercut with images of blood, a bifurcated Working Joe android, and the series' famous xenomorph monster. Reddit posters surmise that the module is actually the Analysis Laboratory module Amanda jettisoned from the space station, along with a xenomorph, in the first game.

Creative Assembly did not reveal a release date for Alien: Isolation 2. The game is being released by Sega and 20th Century Games and is available to wishlist on PC, Playstation, and Xbox. Nintendo Switch 2 wishlisting is not yet available.

The only thing more surprising than Paramount+'s sudden release of the Among Us TV show is how much I enjoyed it.

Look, it's 2026. That means it's been six years since Among Us' peak popularity, when everyone from Twitch streamer Pokimane to U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez locked in on sniffing out who was truly sus. By the time CBS Studios announced it was developing an Among Us show in 2023, the game's viral popularity had already faded. The move to TV seemed like a bizarre attempt to milk a somewhat dated IP.

However, there were some bright spots during Among Us' development phase that hinted that it wouldn't be a lazy cash grab. First was the announcement of its creator Owen Dennis, the mind behind Cartoon Network's endlessly inventive (and gone too soon) Infinity Train. Then came the reveal of the voice cast, stacked with big names like Elijah Wood, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Randall Park. Even as the years-long wait between the show's announcement and its eventual release stretched on and on, I wondered, did these tidbits of information mean there was a chance an Among Us show could actually be... good?

The answer, thankfully, turns out to be yes! Among Us is a ridiculously fun adaptation of the game, complete with enough Easter eggs to satisfy the most diehard fans, as well as a surprising sharpness.

How does Among Us adapt the game to TV?

Among Us takes the basic premise of the game — a spaceship crew hunts down the parasitic alien Impostor among them — and fleshes it out. Now, the monochromatic astronauts players inhabit have clear personalities and roles within their crew. Red (voiced by Park) is The Skeld's incompetent captain, Orange (voiced by Brown) is an overly enthusiastic HR rep, and Green (voiced by Wood) is the crew's eager unpaid intern.

Other Crewmates (and suspects) include nepo baby White (voiced by Patton Oswalt), hippy gemologist Cyan (voiced by Kimiko Glenn), cynical geologist Black (voiced by Liv Hewson), sketchy security guard Purple (voiced by Ashley Johnson), conspiracy theorist Lime (voiced by Wayne Knight), sexy ship doctor Blue (voiced by Dan Stevens), and The Skeld's cooks — and sole union members — Brown (voiced by Phil LaMarr) and Yellow (voiced by Debra Wilson).

Among Us plays up these archetypes in ridiculous fashion, jamming as many laughs into each 15-minute episode. Sight gags abound too, with Dennis playing with the Crewmates' appearances, from their one big bone to their ever-present backpacks. (What happens when they take them off? The show gives a fittingly silly answer.)

Amid the laughs, Among Us emphasizes that the show's villain isn't just the Impostor. (Or Impostors.) It's also corporate greed, present here in the form of MIRA, the mining company behind this mission. Bearing shades of the Alien franchise's malevolent Weyland-Yutani, MIRA looms over the crew thanks to Orange's cloying company loyalty, which Dennis counters with Yellow's pro-labor screeds. Among Us is the one of the last places I'd expect to see such staunch anti-corporate messaging, but chalk that up as one of the show's many welcome surprises.

Among Us gets delightfully weird.

Some of these other surprises come from how Among Us chooses to engage with the visual language of the game. For example, when Crewmates move from room to room in the ship, the show mimics the game's camera style and the characters' 2D walks, a choice that both delighted me and catapulted me back to playing Among Us with my friends in 2020. Elsewhere, Dennis nods to everything from the game's specific tasks to its voting mechanics.

But some of Among Us' best moments have less to do with the game itself, and more to do with just getting weird with it. Perhaps the best example is the Impostor alien itself. When it first unveils its true self, it unleashes some unsettling body horror that takes Among Us' classic eye stab kill animation to new heights. Just like the rest of the show, it's a bizarre, welcome surprise.

All 10 episodes of Among Us are now streaming on Paramount+.

Emergency meeting! No, this isn't a gathering to sniff out the impostor in our midst. It's an announcement that the Among Us animated TV series is now streaming in its entirety on Paramount+. Series stars Yvette Nicole Brown and Liv Hewson revealed the surprise drop at Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles.

Released in 2018 by Innersloth, social deduction video game Among Us became a smash hit in 2020. Streamers flocked to it during the COVID-19 pandemic, with even U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar getting in on the impostor-seeking fun.

In 2023, CBS Studios announced that it was developing an animated series based on the game, with Infinity Train creator Owen Dennis heading up the adaptation. In 2024, the show revealed its stacked voice cast: Randall Park, Yvette Nicole Brown, Elijah Wood, Ashley Johnson, Dan Stevens, Liv Hewson, Kimiko Glenn, Debra Wilson, Patton Oswalt, Phil LaMarr, and Wayne Knight.

In October 2024, Dennis told Deadline that the show was "all finished and wrapped in a bow." However, updates on the series slowed in the following years as the show sought distribution.

Now, Among Us has found distribution on Paramount+. And while Among Us is six years past its cultural prime, the series is still a charming ride, and far sharper and funnier than you'd expect an Among Us show to be.

Just like the game, Among Us follows a crew of colorful aliens on a mission through space. There's just one huge problem: An alien impostor lurks among them, looking to kill them all and sabotage the mission. Who could it be? Is it unpaid intern Green (voiced by Wood)? Incompetent Captain Red (voiced by Park)? Enthusiastic HR rep Orange (voiced by Brown)? To figure out who's truly the sussest of them all, you'll just have to watch the show.

All 10 episodes of Among Us are now streaming on Paramount+.

While everyone else was getting ready for the weekend, Bitcoin took a plunge.

The popular cryptocurrency was trading below $60,000 for at least part of Friday. This marked the first time since Donald Trump's reelection in late 2024 that Bitcoin had dropped below that line, per Bloomberg.

It's also more than half the value of Bitcoin's all-time peak, in October 2025.

At time of writing, Bitcoin has rebounded a little and stands slightly above $60,000. Still, it's an ominous sign at a time when the U.S. government's executive branch is highly supportive of cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin reached a peak of $126,000 last October, but the decline has been steep. As to why investors are losing confidence in the cryptocurrency, Bloomberg cites geopolitical concerns such as the war in Iran. But that's not the whole story. Bitcoin has been on this trajectory for a while now, as we took note of its crashing value back in February.

One other potential reason: new advances in quantum computing have put traditional crypto mining techniques at risk, according to Google.

But if it continues declining at this rate, Bitcoin may not even be worth a future quantum computer hacker's time.

We saw the future in Taipei. Check out the hottest laptops, desktops, gaming gear, and PC components that will shape tomorrow.

Billion dollar tech company Google is embracing bugs. Literally. Not digital ones, but real, living insects that the Silicon Valley giant plans to release into the air.

It's an initiative known humorously as the "Debug Project." First announced a decade ago, the latest iteration of the project aims to introduce 64 million mosquitoes — male mosquitoes, to be clear, entirely sterilized by the miracle of a naturally occurring bacteria — across California and Florida in the near future.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the midst of reviewing the proposed release, according to a new filing in the Federal Register. Google's plan is to use these selectively infected bugs to curb the spread of dangerous diseases, including dengue, which have been introduced to U.S. areas primarily by non-native mosquito populations. The hoard of non-reproductive bugs would reduce spawning rates and shrink the population over several generations, and, as Google explains, male mosquitoes cannot bite or spread disease themselves.

Google calls them the "good bugs."

"Mosquitoes kill more people than every other animal combined," the company explains on the Debug Project homepage. "One species, Aedes aegypti, carries diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya, which make hundreds of millions of people sick every year. And these diseases are spreading faster than ever."

Controlling the spread of mosquito-transmitted diseases has been a global goal for decades. Scientists and vector control specialists have successfully introduced male bugs sterilized by radiation in the past. Other methods to reduce mosquito populations, such as draining standing water and using pesticides, have been in place for even longer. But the bugs are outpacing human efforts.

Google has already completed field trials of their bug army, including a 2018 Fresno, California study that resulted in a 95 percent drop in the wild female mosquito population during peak season. The company has collaborated with outside partners on the project, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore.

More in line with its reputation as a tech leader, Google is also designing new software and monitoring tools to aid the project, the Los Angeles Times reported, like sensors and traps to track releases and pinpoint treatment areas.

Best early Prime Day deals

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Best Apple Deal

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 (Save $100)

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Best headphone deal

Sony WH-CH720N

$88.58 at Amazon (Save $91.41)

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---

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Sonos Era 300

$379 at Amazon (Save $100)

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---

Best portable power station deal

Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station

$749 at Amazon (Save $750)

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Hisense 55-inch U6 4K Smart TV

$397.99 at Amazon (Save $150)

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Eufy C28 Robot Vacuum and Mop

$529.99 (Save $270)

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Cuisinart 2.6-Quart Air Fryer

$48.20 (Save $41.75)

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Best Lego deal

Lego Classic Large Creative Brick Box

$39.49 (Save $20.50)

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No matter what type of shopper you are, whether you use sales to stock up on household essentials like dish soap and paper towels or as a time to splurge, the time is nigh because Prime Day is coming.

Usually taking place in early July, Amazon has decided to shake things up this year and run the sale in June. Amazon Prime Day 2026 runs from June 23 to 26, and while the timing may have changed, we're still expecting the same great savings.

Even though we still have a few weeks until the official start of Prime, the deals kicked off as soon as the sale was announced. Each day we get closer to the sale, more deals go live. Look for early savings on Amazon devices, toys and games, kitchen appliances, and gadgets from Sony, Sonos, and Apple.

So if you're eager to start saving, we rounded up the top early Prime Day deals to start shopping now.

Best early Prime Day Apple deal

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Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100

 

Get Deal

Leading up to Prime Day, we're obviously hunting for the best Apple deals. Unfortunately, there aren't a ton of stellar deals yet. Right now, the best one is on the Apple Watch Series 11, which is down to $299. That's the lowest price ever on the smartwatch savings of $100. The latest Apple Watch is one of our favorite fitness trackers and is even waterproof, so you can record all your summer swims.

Don't forget: While most of the Apple deals we found are currently at record-low prices, there's still a chance prices will drop lower during Prime Day itself. The M5 MacBook Air is currently on sale for $949, but we expect it to reach $899 or lower by June 23.

More Apple deals

Apple Watch deals

• Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) — $219 $249 (save $30)

AirPods deals

• Apple AirPods 4 — $99 $129 (save $30)

• Apple AirPods Pro 3 — $199 $249 (save $50)

• Apple AirPods Max 2 — $499 $549 (save $50)

iPad deals

• Apple iPad, 11-inch (A16, 128GB, WiFi) — $299 $349 (save $50)

• Apple iPad Mini (A17 Pro, 128GB, WiFi) — $474 $499 (save $25)

Best early Prime Day headphone deal

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Credit: Sony

Sony WH-CH720N

$88.58 at Amazon
$179.99 Save $91.41

 

Get Deal

When Prime Day actually starts, our attention will be on the big names in headphones: the Sony WH-1000XM6s and the Bose QuietComfort Ultras. But leading up to it, those big brands still have lots of savings to give. Right now, the best deal on headphones is on the Sony WH-CH720N, an affordable pair of over-ear noise-cancelling headphones. Normally $179.99, the WH-CH720N just dropped under $100 ahead of Prime Day. Snag them now for as low as $88.58 and save $91.41.

More headphone deals

• Sony WH-CH520 — $38 $69.99 (save $31.99)

• Soundcore Space Q45 — $119.99 $149.99 (save $30)

• Logitech G735 — $141.53 $259.99 (save $118.46)

• Sennheiser Momentum 4 — $219 $299.99 (save $80.99)

• Sony WH-1000XM5 — $278 $399.99 (save $121.99)

• Sonos Ace — $299 $399 (save $100)

• Bose QuietComfort Ultra — $329 $429 (save $100)

• Sony WH-1000XM6 — $398 $459.99 (save $61.99)

• Apple AirPods Max 2 — $499.99 $549 (save $49.01)

More earbud deals

• Soundcore V20i Open-Ear Headphones — $26.99 $49.99 (save $23)

• Sony WF-C510 — $48 $69.99 (save $21.99)

• Technics AZ100 Earbuds — $247.99 $299.99 (save $52)

Best early Prime Day speaker deal

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Credit: Sonos

Sonos Era 300

$379 at Amazon
$479 Save $100

 

Get Deal

Whether you're hosting summer movie nights or dinner parties, if you want to upgrade your home's audio, early Prime Day deals are coming in clutch. The advanced Sonos Era 300 is equipped with Dolby Atmos and powered by six drivers for surround sound. Right now, grab it for just $379, saving you $100 off its $479 price tag.

More speaker deals

• Bose Soundlink Flex — $119.99 $139 (save $19.01)

• Sonos Roam 2 — $134 $179 (save $45)

• Sonos Era 100 SL — $169 $189 (save $20)

• Sonos Era 100 — $189 $219 (save $30)

• Sonos Move 2 — $399 $499 (save $100)

• Sonos Bean Gen 2 — $369 $499 (save $130)

Best early Prime Day portable power station deal

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Credit: Anker

Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station

$749 at Amazon
$1,499 Save $750

 

Get Deal

Ready for summer adventures? If you're gearing up to pack the car and head into nature, don't forget to invest in a portable power station to keep your campsite powered. Plus, it can serve as an at-home power backup in an emergency.

Right now, there's an outstanding deal on the Anker Solix C2000, which is 50% off. That takes it from $1,499 all the way down to $749. Ahead of Prime Day, that saves you $750.

More portable power station deals

• Jackery Explorer 1000 — $449 $799 (save $350)

• Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 — $499 $799 (save $300)

• Bluetti Elite 200 V2 — $799 $1,070 (save $271)

• Anker Solix F3800 Plus — $2,499.99 $2,699.99 (save $200)

Best early Prime Day TV deal

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Credit: Hisense

Hisense 55-inch U6 4K Smart TV

$397.99 at Amazon
$547.99 Save $150

 

Get Deal

Getting ready for the World Cup? If you want to watch every heart-racing moment in 4K and your TV isn't up to par, then shop the early Prime Day deal on the Hisense 55-inch U6 4K Smart TV. Normally $547.99, it's down to $397.99, saving you $150. It's an exceptionally bright TV (good for summertime viewing) with Dolby Atmos sound and Alexa built in.

More TV deals

• Google TV Streamer — $79.99 $99.99 (save $20)

• Roku 65-inch QLED 4K Smart TV — $379.99 $449.99 (save $70)

• TCL 75-inch T7 QLED 4K Google TV — $739.99 $899.99 (save $150)

• Hisense 65-inch U7 ULED 4K Google TV — $948.99 $1,499.99 (save $551)

• Samsung 65-inch S90F OLED 4K Smart TV — $1,397.99 $1,697.99 (save $300)

Best early Prime Day vacuum deal

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Credit: Eufy

Eufy C28 Robot Vacuum and Mop

$529.99 at Amazon
$799.99 Save $270

 

Get Deal

Mashable in-house vacuum expert Leah Stodart named the Eufy C28 Robot Vacuum and Mop the best affordable vacuum-and-mop combo. Despite its budget price, Stodart says it's the most heavy-duty robot mop you'll find, and delivers spotless cleans. Ahead of Prime Day, get the Eufy C28 for just $529.99. That's just $30 above its lowest price ever, but still provides $270 in savings.

More robot vacuum deals

• iRobot Roomba 105 Robot Vacuum — $248.98 $449.99 (save $201)

• Shark AV2501AE AI Robot Vacuum — $289.99 $448 (save $158.01)

• Dream X50 Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mop — $849.99 $1,049.99 (save $200)

More vacuum deals

• Bissell Little Green Mini — $86.65 $99.99 (save $13.34)

• Shark HV322 Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum — $149.99 $199.99 (save $50)

• Shark PowerPro Plus Cordless Vacuum — $219.99 $349.99 (save $130)

• Bissell PowerClean FurGuard Cordless Vacuum — $229.99 $299.99 (save $70)

• Kenmore 600 Series Canister Vacuum — $284.99 $349.99 (save $65)

Best early Prime Day home and kitchen deal

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Credit: Cuisinart

Cuisinart 2.6-Quart Air Fryer

$48.20 at Amazon
$89.95 Save $41.75

 

Get Deal

Here's a summer hack to keep your house cool: Don't turn on the oven. That doesn't mean only eating cold salads all summer. What you really need is an air fryer. My air fryer has saved me countless times in the summer, letting me cook dinner without breaking a sweat. Ahead of Prime Day, grab the Cuisinart 2.6-Quart Air Fryer for just $48.20, its lowest price ever, according to Camelcamelcamel.

More home deals

• Levoit Mini-P Air Purifier — $39.97 $49.99 (save $10.02)

• Levoit 36-inch Tower Fan — $54.95 $74.99 (save $20.04)

• Dreo Oscillating Standing Fan — $69.95 $79.99 (save $10.04)

• Dreo 36-inch Tower Fan — $69.96 $79.99 (save $10.03)

• Lasko 42-inch Tower Fan — $75.99 $88.99 (save $13)

More kitchen deals

• Ninja Blast Max Portable Blender — $69.99 $99.99 (save $30)

• Ninja UltraCrush Professional Blender — $89.98 $109.99 (save $20.01)

• Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Pressure Cooker — $89.99 $109.99 (save $20)

• Ninja NeverClog Cold Press Juicer — $129.95 $149.99 (save $20.04)

• Ninja Hot & Iced XL Coffee Maker — $139.99 $159.99 (save $20)

Best early Prime Day Lego deal

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Credit: Lego

Lego Classic Large Creative Brick Box

$39.49 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $20.50

 

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While novelty Lego sets are fun, there's something special about a set that gives you full creative control. The Lego Classic Large Brick Box has 790 pieces to build the neighborhood of your dreams. Just in time for summer break when kiddos need some entertainment, this box set is on sale for 34% off. Grab it now for under $40 ahead of Prime Day.

More Lego deals

• Lego Botanicals Happy Plants — $18.39 $22.99 (save $4.60)

• Lego Botanicals Mini Orchid — $23.95 $29.99 (save $6.04)

• Lego Botanicals Bonsai Tree — $39.98 $49.99 (save $10.01)

• Lego Botanicals Tiny Plants — $39.99 $49.99 (save $10)

• Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon — $67.99 $84.99 (save $17)

• Lego Art Mona Lisa — $79.99 $99.99 (save $20)

• Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle — $136.99 $169.99 (save $33)

SAVE $40: The Igloo Kool Tunes (red) is on sale at Amazon for $99.99, down from the normal price of $139.99. That's a 29% discount and the lowest we've ever spotted at Amazon.

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Credit: Igloo

Igloo Kool Tunes (red)

$99.99 at Amazon
$139.99 Save $40.00

 

Get Deal

Summer has finally arrived. If you'll be packing up the cooler and heading out to the lake for a day outside, you'll probably be packing beverages for hydration and a portable Bluetooth speaker for vibes. Instead of packing both, consider this two-in-one option that's on a great discount ahead of Amazon Prime Day.

As of June 5, the Igloo Kool Tunes (red) is on sale at Amazon for $99.99, down from the normal price of $139.99. That's a 29% discount and the best price we've seen at Amazon.

Last summer, Mashable Senior Shopping Reporter Haley Henschel reviewed the Igloo Kool Tunes and mentioned it was one of her favorite products she reviewed in 2025. "It's not a gimmick, but a fun fusion of summer party gear that's priced mostly fairly. All the better if you can find it on sale," she wrote in the review. And since it's on sale, it's a great time to make the upgrade for summer.

One of the strongest pros of the cooler is that it still had ice after 24 hours of Henschel's testing. That's something we'd expect to see in an Igloo cooler since the brand excels at making insulated coolers. But how's the speaker? According to Henschel, "I really do think the KoolTunes' audio is pleasantly clear and crisp, not tinny or muffled. Music playing from it sounded balanced, while voices on podcasts were undistorted."

The Igloo Kool Tunes is a 14-quart cooler with the classic Igloo cooler design that uses a molded-in handle for the upper part of the cooler, making for easy carrying. Igloo mentions this size is capable of holding 26 cans (without ice) and says playtime reaches about 10 hours per charge. Igloo includes a three-foot USB charging cable with the cooler. Plus, its water-resistant rating of IP56 makes it beach and pool-worthy.

Snag the Igloo Kool Tunes for your own camping adventures this summer, or consider it as a thoughtful Father's Day gift that'll cost you under $100.

Meta can't build AI data centers fast enough, so the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has resorted to running these computing facilities inside tents.

According to data center tracker Cleanview (as reported by TechCrunch), Meta is currently running six AI data centers just outside of New Albany, Ohio in recently erected tents. 

Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview, posted photos on X showing the construction and finished tents. Thomas said it appeared that Meta had scrapped its original plans to build out the data center buildings and instead went with "rapid deployment structures" as they're officially called.

"The AI race has officially entered its Mad Max phase," Thomas posted on X alongside the photos.

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According to Thomas, he reviewed city permits that show that Meta began building five 125,000 square foot tents between April and June. In contrast, the first five buildings that Meta built as part of its original plans in New Albany, Ohio took approximately two to three years to build out.

Thomas says Meta has also signed a decade-long deal to build off-grid power plants to power the data centers. The power plant construction started last year and is almost built.

As TechCrunch points out, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously told The Information that the company was going to build weatherproof tents for its data centers. Meta isn't done utilizing tents for its AI data center construction strategy either. According to Thomas, the company is building data center tents at its AI data center site in Tennessee as well.

Big Tech companies like Meta have announced massive increases in capital expenditures to build new data centers to power AI products. However, a growing backlash to data centers, combined with normal bureaucratic obstacles, has put some data center rollouts behind schedule, the Wall Street Journal recently reported.

NASA astronauts briefly sheltered in their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Friday during a Russian repair attempt on a leaky transfer tunnel of the International Space Station. 

The work was later halted for further analysis, and the crew resumed their normal tasks on the space station, which orbits about 250 miles above Earth.

The cracks in the Zvezda service module's transfer tunnel, known as PrK, are the latest sign of aging infrastructure at the 26‑year‑old outpost, which has already weathered a separate coolant leak on a docked Soyuz spacecraft. These incidents have forced NASA and Russia's Roscosmos space agency to coordinate on protecting the crew and keeping the station operational.

The PrK tunnel on Russia's Zvezda service module "has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date," NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens said in a statement on X. She said the cracks "have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely."

New leaks led Roscosmos to start a more extensive structural repair on June 5, prompting NASA to direct the four Crew‑12 astronauts — Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Russia's Andrey Fedyaev, and Europe's Sophie Adenot — and NASA's Chris Williams, who flew to the space station separately in November 2025, to take shelter inside the Dragon capsule as a safety precaution. 

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In an update about one hour later, Stevens said Roscosmos had paused the repair effort to take measurements and assess the data. With hands‑on work interrupted, NASA told the crew they could go back to business as usual.

"We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution," she said, adding that NASA intends to work with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks.

In a separate incident involving different hardware about 3.5 years ago, NASA and Roscosmos juggled a coolant leak on the Soyuz MS‑22 spacecraft docked to the station, which investigators attributed to a likely micrometeoroid strike on an external radiator line. Russia launched a replacement Soyuz to get the crew home. 

NASA plans to operate the space station through 2030 before deorbiting it into the Pacific Ocean, while Roscosmos has committed to the partnership until at least 2028. Both agencies plan to transition to new destinations.

SAVE $300: As of June 5, the Ecovacs Goat O1000 RTK robot lawn mower is on sale at Amazon for just $699.99 instead of $999.99. That's 30% off and matches its lowest price ever on record.

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Credit: Ecovacs

Ecovacs Goat O1000 RTK

$699.99 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $300

 

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While Amazon Prime Day is only a few weeks away (officially running from June 23 through 26), your lawn isn't going to magically halt its growth until then. If you're already sick of mowing season, perhaps you should hand off the work to a robot lawn mower. They're not the cheapest investments, but Amazon just dropped the price of the Ecovacs Goat O1000 RTK robotic lawn mower once again to save you a big chunk of change.

As of June 5, the Ecovacs Goat O1000 RTK robot mower is on sale for just $699.99 at Amazon. That's $300 or 30% off its list price of $999.99 and its lowest price on record.

This IPX6 waterproof mower's advanced mapping system generates a layout of your yard before going to work, ensuring no spot goes unmowed. You can customize it in the app to add or remove zones, split areas, or adjust the cutting height between 1.2 and 3.1 inches. Built-in 3D obstacle detection will keep it away from your pets, their toys, and anything else that may be out in the yard. And don't worry if your lawn isn't completely flat and wide open. The Goat O1000 RTK can climb slopes of up to 24 degrees and squeeze into spaces as narrow as 2.3 feet.

The Ecovacs Goat O1000 RTK is best suited for yards up to 1/4 acre. If your yard is around that size and relatively easy to navigate with segmented zones, this is the robot lawn mower for you. And now's a great time to grab it since it's the cheapest it's ever been.

Early Prime Day Father's Day gifts that are on sale:

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Best Bluetooth speaker deal

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 (blue)

$51.44 at Amazon (save $48.55)

Get Deal

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Best portable power station deal

Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2

$749 at Amazon (save $750)

Get Deal

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Best kitchen deal

Ninja Slushi

$233.99 at Ninja (save $116 with code SLUSH)

Get Deal

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Best water bottle deal

Owala FreeSip (32 ounce)

$27.97 at Amazon in select colorways (save $7.02)

Get Deal

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Best Lego deal

Lego Star Wars R2-D2 (75379)

$79.99 at Amazon (save $20)

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The question of what to gift dad for Father's Day is back again. Year after year, it never gets easier to find the perfect gift. Whether you're shopping for Dad, Grandpa, a stepdad, or the nice guy down the street, take note that Father's Day is June 21 this year.

We're not in the chaos of last-minute shopping yet, but snagging something this weekend means you'll likely have reassurance that your gift will arrive on time. Ahead of Prime Day, Amazon has a major selection of sales that'll work great for Father's Day. Below are some of our favorites to shop this weekend.

Best Bluetooth speaker deal

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Credit: Ultimate Ears

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 (blue)

$51.44 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $48.55

 

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Why we like it

Sitting at a major 49% discount, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 will make for a great Father's Day gift. In Mashable's guide to the best Bluetooth speakers, the UE Wonderboom 4 earns the top spot as the best option under $100. Thanks to this early Prime Day deal, it's on a significant discount. Mashable's review explains, "This speaker's small (and rugged enough) to take along for a hike, while traveling, and for tossing next to the pool." Since it's waterproof, it's also a great option for using as a shower speaker.

Best portable power station deal

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Credit: Anker Solix

Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2

$749 at Amazon
$1,499 Save $750

 

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Why we like it

Over the past few years, I've tested dozens of portable power stations, and the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 is the one I use the most. I'd rather overestimate my power needs than run short, which is why I head out with 2048Wh of battery capacity with the C2000 Gen 2. It's still portable enough to take for a weekend of camping without being too heavy to carry around. I also love the dual high-powered USB-C ports that can reach 140W. It's also quick to recharge, taking under one hour to go from totally dead to full power. Since I tend to decide last-minute to go camping (I'm a fair-weathered camper), the quick charging is super useful if I haven't planned in advance.

Dad is sure to find uses for the Solix C2000 Gen 2, from camping to yard work or for keeping the house powered up during the next storm. Shop today at Amazon and you'll be saving 50%.

Best kitchen deal

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Credit: Ninja

Ninja Slushi

$233.99 at Ninja
$349.99 Save $116

use code SLUSH at checkout

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Why we like it

Who doesn't love a frozen beverage? The Ninja Slushi needs no ice and hardly any time to slushify almost any liquid. Dad can toss some cans of Coke in there to have a refreshing beverage, whip up a batch of frozen margs for the barbecue, or go for the title of making the world's best milkshake. Using code SLUSH at checkout will get you the Ninja Slushi for $233.99. And while it would technically be a gift for dad, you know you'll benefit, too.

Best water bottle deal

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Credit: Owala

Owala FreeSip (32 ounces, select colorways)

$27.97 at Amazon
$34.99 Save $7.02

 

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Why we like it

For the dad who's always forgetting to drink water, gift him Mashable's favorite water bottle. The Owala FreeSip allows for both tipping the water bottle up to take a big glug or sipping through the built-in straw. In Mashable's review of the Owala FreeSip, Shopping Reporter Samantha Mangino said, "The FreeSip's insulation really is impeccable, offering 24 hours of cold. I've filled mine up with ice and water to come back a day later and still find the jingle of full ice cubes. Plus, the two-part locking lid can also double as a loop for easy carrying. Cleaning is also easy with the FreeSip."

The 32-ounce version of the FreeSip usually sells for $34.99, but Amazon has select colorways on sale for $27.97 or $27.99.

Best Lego deal

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Credit: Lego

Lego Star Wars R2-D2 (75379)

$79.99 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $20

 

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Why we like it

If the father figure in your life is a Star Wars fan and also enjoys building a Lego set, it's a win-win to snag the Lego Star Wars R2-D2. The build will look great on a bookshelf or on a desk, and the 25th anniversary edition features a Darth Malak minifigure.

Samsung has a new smartwatch coming out, the Galaxy Watch 9. We haven't seen it yet, but the Samsung Health app is already getting ready for its arrival.

The Korean tech giant announced in a blog post on Thursday that Samsung Health is getting an update starting on June 8 that will "showcase the key health features included in the upcoming Galaxy Watch." Of course, we haven't actually seen the watch yet (which we expect to be similar to the Galaxy Watch 8), but all available information suggests it will be announced in late July at a Galaxy Unpacked event in London.

Here's the Vitals screen. Credit: Samsung

As with the recent Google Health app update, AI is very much at the center of the new Samsung health portal.

“Samsung Health is evolving to connect health data measured by the Galaxy Watch with AI-based insights, enabling users to understand their physical condition more easily and intuitively,” said Hon Pak, Samsung SVP and Head of the Digital Health Team, in a blog post. "Samsung Electronics will continue to expand proactive and personalized health management experiences based on the connected Galaxy ecosystem and digital health innovations."

Anyway, as for the specific Samsung Health update, it brings a UI overhaul and some key new features that might hint at what to expect from the Galaxy Watch 9.

Samsung has "streamlined" (their words) the layout of the app into five key components: Sleep, Activity, Nutrition, Mindfulness, and Vitals. The Vitals display is a new one, as it studies several metrics, including heart rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen, while you sleep in order to compare them to your baselines and identify any potential problems.

There's also a new Heart Health Score, which combines several heart-related metrics into one easy-to-digest score. The new app also includes a Daily Cardio Load measurement, as well as a Fitness Index that exists to judge the effectiveness of your workouts. In all, it sounds like a pretty substantial update befitting a brand new smartwatch. We'll likely find out more in late July at the rumored Galaxy Unpacked event.

Even astronauts have down days.

Kellie Gerardi, the director of human spaceflight at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences and the 90th woman to fly to space, is also just a working mom juggling it all.

When she’s not parenting or teaching astronauts-in-training about microgravity, Gerardi documents her fertility challenges and motherhood journey on Instagram — the research astronaut recently gave birth to her second daughter, who was conceived through IVF.

In June of 2026, at just 8 weeks postpartum, Gerardi returned to work and became the first woman to pump breastmilk in microgravity during a parabolic flight for the IIAS. (Her device of choice was a breast pump from Willow's lineup.)

For those who find the science interesting [and] want to understand why it matters to research," Gerardi wrote alongside a recent Instagram post, "breast milk contains bioactive lipids that reflect things like maternal metabolism, inflammation, stress responses, and overall physiologic adaptation during the postpartum period. So studying how those molecules change in response to a controlled physiologic stressor like microgravity / high g can help us gain a better understanding of how maternal physiologic stress is reflected in milk during postpartum recovery."

After more than eight years of secondary infertility, the birth of her daughter was a vision finally realized. As a way to give back to her community, Gerardi teamed up with online registry site Babylist to establish a pair of IVF grants.

Gerardi, 37, is happy to serve as a role model for her 2.5 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, but not in the my-life-is-perfect way. Gerardi literally reaches for the stars, but also remains completely down to Earth about the heaps of expectations placed on women.

"I gained about 60 pounds across my most recent round of IVF and through this pregnancy,” Gerardi posted recently. "Those pounds are mostly still with me and I suspect they might be for a bit, and it’s such a relief to know I just… don’t have to spend mental energy feeling any sort of way about that.”

Two and a half years after visiting space on Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 05 Mission, Gerardi was recognized for her achievements when a Barbie doll was created in her likeness as part of a celebration of International Women's Day.

Gerardi had the perfect Instagram caption to mark the occasion: “When you worked your butt off the past 20 years so your daughter(s) can say Mommy is an astronaut AND a Barbie."

A throughline to much of Gerardi's online content is her belief that women — and girls — contain multitudes. It's not just something that she says, though; it's something she lives.

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 or see more of this year’s Mashable 101 to discover the internet's most exciting voices. 

If you're a fan of made up holidays, today's a day worth celebrating. June 5 is officially National Donut Day — something everyone can get behind — which means you can enjoy free or discounted donuts at restaurants and retailers across the nation.

The holiday was created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served up donuts and other treats to soldiers during World War I. It's celebrated annually on the first Friday in June.

If you're looking to participate in the sweet celebration of delicious pastries today, there are some very tempting deals from chains you know and love. We've rounded up some of the best freebies and discounts we could find below. Cheers.

National Donut Day deals and freebies

Dunkin'

Dunkin' customers can enjoy a free donut with the purchase of any beverage for National Donut Day for the 16th year in a row.

Krispy Kreme

It wouldn't be Donut Day without an offer from Krispy Kreme. Customers can get a free donut of their choice in stores on June 5 (with select specialty and limited-time donuts excluded). No purchase necessary. The offer is limited to one donut per person, so don't be greedy! Krispy Kreme is also offering $2 Original Glazed Dozens when customers purchase any regularly priced dozen.

7-Eleven

7-Eleven 7Rewards and Speedy Rewards members can score classic glazed donuts for just 50 cents a pop at participating 7-Eleven, Speedway, and Stripes stores nationwide. Grab as many as you want — there's no limit.

Shipley Donuts

Customers can enjoy a free Shipley Donut Signature Glazed Donut with any purchase not just on June 5, but every Friday in June.

Voodoo Doughnut

When you sign up for the Voodoo Doughnut Fan Club, you can redeem a free donut on National Donut Day. Note that the offer is not available at Universal CityWalk or airport locations.

Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons U.S. locations are giving out free donuts with the purchase of any beverage through June 7. Customers can redeem the offer once every day through June 7 with the Tims app.

Parlor Doughnuts

Parlor Doughnuts is celebrating National Donut Day by giving customers free French Toast Layered Donuts, topped with maple glaze, cinnamon sugar, and an icing drizzle, with any in-store purchase at participating locations on June 5. The offer is only valid while supplies last, so go sooner rather than later.

Sheetz

Customers can score one free donut with any food or beverage purchase of $5 or more at Sheetz from June 5 through June 9. The offer can be redeemed only once in the Sheetz app, while supplies last.

Given that Live Nation is a monopoly (according to a federal jury, anyway), getting a concert ticket for a decent price has been difficult in recent years. And artists are starting to get creative. Take Madonna, who last night streamed a pop-up performance on the ubiquitous gay hookup app, Grindr.

Madonna announced the surprise show on the app, and a half hour later took over Times Square. She debuted some tracks from her upcoming album, Confessions II, and performed some songs from the OG Confessions on a Dance Floor. Despite the short notice, Times Square filled up with fans. A Grindr bus was also there, naturally.

"The LGBTQ+ community has been with me from the beginning. We've inspired, challenged and stood by each other during both dark and joyful times," Madonna stated in a press release shared with Mashable. "Partnering with Grindr feels like a celebration of that connection – safety in numbers."

Credit: Cobrasnake

It's not the only collaboration the singer has done with Grindr. Last week, an interview with Madonna and several others — including Bob the Drag Queen and playwright Jeremy O. Harris — went live on Grindr's YouTube channel. During the discussion, Madonna discussed what it means to be a "mother" (in the slang sense of the word), and reiterated that the queer community has been her ride-or-die since the beginning of her career.

The concert will also be uploaded to Grindr's YouTube channel the week of June 8. Happy Pride!

Check out the first piloted hydrogen-powered helicopter flight, a major milestone toward sustainable aviation.

TL;DR: Amazon has the Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Perfect Order Booster Bundle available from just $48 through marketplace sellers. The Amazon-shipped listing with slightly faster delivery is also at $49.89, though you can get as low as $39.95 from Walmart and TCGplayer.

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Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundle

$48 at Amazon

 

Shop Now

Still the most affordable recent expansion in the Pokémon TCG, you can now grab the Perfect Order Booster Bundle even below market price — depending on your preferences for retailers. 

As of June 5, the Pokémon TCG’s Perfect Order Booster Bundle is available at Amazon for $48, with the lowest-priced listing coming from The Ardor Group and including free shipping. 

For a slightly speedier turnaround, you can pay $49.89 for the listing shipped from Amazon and sold by Collector’s Treasures — with delivery currently listed for June 10. 

Either one gets you six booster packs from Perfect Order, each with 10 trading cards each, but it is a far more budget-friendly way of jumping into the expansion than investing in a much more expensive Booster Display Box. 

Still, you have the chance to pull some valuable chase cards — including Mega Zygarde ex, with Mega Clefable ex, Mega Starmie ex, and Meowth ex. However, these are also available to buy individually on TCGplayer. 

However, you can save even more by purchasing from one of the other big sites in the trading card market. 

TCGplayer has listings starting at $40.34 shipped, while Walmart shows a current listing at $39.95, sold by Realgoodeal and fulfilled by Walmart. The latter makes it even lower than TCGplayer’s market value price of $40.13. 

To save more on recent expansions, though, you can grab the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising Booster Bundle for under $50. You can even grab the Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box for under $100.

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, would you rather listen to "Sunny Day" or "Rubber Duckie"?

Would you rather be able to fly or turn invisible?

These are some of the questions Sesame Street's Grover and Elmo answered when they stopped by Mashable's Say More studio to visit with Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko. With their distinct laughs and hilarious banter, Grover and Elmo covered a number of "Would You Rather" topics that taught us a little bit more about the classic Sesame Street icons.

After watching, drop your own answers in the comments. We'd love to hear them!

For more from Grover and Elmo and the whole Sesame Street family, check out new Sesame Street episodes are available on Netflix and PBS Kids June 8.

With Secretary of State Marco Rubio getting a grilling over Donald Trump's apparent mid-day napping habits, Seth Meyers decided to dig into the issue himself on Late Night.

"If there's one thing we know about Trump it's that he's a keen judge of character, he's alway paying close attention to the habits and qualities of the people around him," says Meyers over footage of Trump with his eyes closed in the Oval Office. "We've all seen him in meetings, razor sharp, laser-focussed, locking eyes with everyone around him, carefully scrutinising every word and every gesture, taking the true measure of the men and the soon-to-be-fired women who make up his administration and sure, to you it looks like he's asleep, but everyone looks like they're sleeping when you're so woke."

Cue five minutes of detailed analysis on the president's sleeping habits.

Want more of the best of late night? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter.

SAVE OVER $100: As of June 5, the Sony ULT Wear headphones in black are discounted to $144.95 at Amazon. This is $105.04 off their list price of $249.99.

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Credit: Sony

Sony ULT WEAR Over-Ear Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headphones

$144.95 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $105.04

 

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Sony's ULT Wear headphones are a pair we have a lot of love for. Landing on our list of the best noise-canceling headphones, they've actually earned the spot as our favorite pick for bass lovers. If they sound right up your alley, you don't actually have to wait until Prime Day to score a good deal, as they're currently on sale at Amazon.

The black pair of Sony ULT Wear headphones has dropped to $144.95 at Amazon, a discount of just over $100 from their full price of $249.99. They're not the only color on sale, though. For a few dollars extra at $148, you can also save on the off-white pair, if you prefer those.

If big bass is a high priority for you in headphones, the Sony ULT Wear can deliver. Mashable's Miller Kern noted in her original review that the "booming sound makes other (decidedly good) headphones sound flat, and the option to punch the bass up two levels is something I didn’t even know I needed in a pair of headphones."

She does mention that the "design is not as sleek as other headphones I’ve worn or seen, but that’s a fair tradeoff for amazing sound and a more affordable price." They'll last you quite a while through any long journeys you have planned as well, as they offer up to 30 hours of battery life.

Why not treat yourself to a pair of new headphones this summer? Save big on the Sony ULT Wear headphones at Amazon.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

TL;DR: Amazon has dropped the preorder price of Magic: The Gathering’s Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box to just $129, a $10 cut from its $139.55 base price. At $10.55 on the 30-pack box, this is its lowest price ever ahead of its June 26 release date.

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Credit: Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box

$129 at Amazon
$139.55 Save $10.55

Pre-order Here

As MTG’s Marvel Super Heroes expansion comes ever closer, you and other trading card collectors can now grab its high-value box of 30 packs at a new all-time low price point. 

As of June 5, the Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box is available to preorder on Amazon for $129, down from $139.55. This listing is shipped and sold by Amazon directly, with free delivery currently set for Monday, June 29 — shortly after the expansion’s launch on June 26. 

This also includes Amazon’s preorder price guarantee. So, if Amazon drops the price again before release, you should pay the lowest price offered between checkout and launch.

As confirmed by the price-tracking site camelcamelcamel, this $10.55 saving brings the Play Booster Box to its lowest price ever — after dropping to $140 only in late May. Now, you’ll only be paying $4.30 per pack instead of $4.65.

What’s more, this even takes the price of the Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box to under market value, also being over $10 lower than TCGplayer’s market price, and undercutting the dedicated trading card platform’s own lowest $140.38 listing.

Inside, you’ll get 30 Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Boosters, with 14 cards in each pack. Every pack includes one Traditional Foil card and one to four cards of rare or higher rarity, alongside commons, uncommons, and one land. There’s also a small chance of pulling a Foil Borderless Mythic Rare, while a Traditional Foil Land replaces the regular land in 20% of boosters. 

Speaking of preorders, you can also buy the 30-pack Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Play Booster Box on sale as well — for only $154.99. If you’re newer to MTG, you can also grab the 24-pack Jumpstart 2025 Booster Box for only $99.62.

If you’re also a Pokémon TCG fan, although currently not available on Amazon, the newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're a cinephile.

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.

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

Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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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.

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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: Children's tale

• Green: Breakfast grains

• Blue: An iconic actress

• Purple: Ways to get around

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

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Associated with Hansel and Gretel

• Green: Bit of cereal

• Blue: Demi Moore movies

• Purple: Ending in methods of transportation

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 #1090 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Associated with Hansel and Gretel: BREADCRUMB, FOREST, OVEN, WITCH

• Bit of cereal: CLUSTER, FLAKE, LOOP, PUFF

• Demi Moore movies: DISCLOSURE, GHOST, STRIPTEASE, THE SUBSTANCE

• Ending in methods of transportation: INCUBUS, OSCAR, QUATRAIN, SITUATIONSHIP

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new 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? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

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 today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're confrontational.

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: You wanna go?

The words are related to battling.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe combative words.

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

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Fighting Words.

NYT Strands word list for June 5

• Clash

• Scuffle

• Scrap

• Melee

• Fighting Words

• Skirmish

• Brawl

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 today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're a good person.

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.

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

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:

Honorably.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter N.

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...

NOBLY

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.

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 today's Wordle.

SAVE $100: As of June 5, the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) is on sale for $299 at Amazon, marking its lowest price yet at the retailer. This is $100 off its full price of $399.

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Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm]

$299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100

 

Get Deal

This year's Amazon Prime Day sale is coming up soon, but there are already quite a few exciting deals available, including on some Apple tech. The Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) is one discounted item that's crossed our radar, as it's returned to its lowest price so far at the retailer for $299.

If you've had your eye on this Apple smartwatch, this is an excellent deal to jump on. Overall, you're saving $100 compared to paying its full price of $399, which is some excellent savings before Prime Day. It applies to every available color as well, so you can save on your preferred style.

The Apple Watch Series 11 is filled to the brim with health and fitness features, from hypertension notifications and a sleep score to safety features and more. Plus, it also has quite a beefy battery life. Mashable's Stan Schroeder wrote in his review: "After nearly a full week of use, I can say that the Apple Watch Series 11 is easily a one-and-a-half-day smartwatch now, and it's possible to extend that to a full weekend if you carefully use Low Power mode."

This is also how it earned the spot as 'Best Apple Upgrade' in our roundup of the best smartwatches. Mashable's Timothy Beck Werth said in this piece: "OK, so you really, really do want all-day battery life? Then you really do need to upgrade to the $399 Apple Watch Series 11."

Don't wait for Prime Day, save big on the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) at Amazon today.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

TL;DR: You can now grab the six-pack Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution — Chaos Rising Booster Bundle on Amazon for $51.98, working out to $8.66 per pack. However, you can also find this bundle for as low as $47 across TCGplayer and Walmart. 

Opens in a new window

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Bundle

$51.98 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $8.01

 

Get Deal

Chaos Rising’s price fluctuations across the Pokémon TCG market continue; as a silver lining, though, this means you can score a lower cost-per-pack if you buy from the right retailer. 

As of June 5, the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising Booster Bundle is on sale at Amazon for $51.98, taking 13% off its usual $59.99 list price. At the time of writing, this listing is shipped and sold by Amazon directly, with free delivery available for June 12-17, or as soon as June 12-15 if you choose the fastest delivery option.

Stock is quite low, with back-up listings from third-party sellers on Amazon slightly more expensive at $57.35. 

Although if you’re willing to shop outside of Amazon, you can get the Chaos Rising Booster Bundle for as low as $47.10 at TCGplayer — which is only 28 cents above its $46.82 market price. Alternatively, Walmart is selling the six-pack box for $49.75 via Cash Cards Unlimited.

With those lower prices, you could be paying as little as $7.85 per pack before taxes, compared to Amazon’s $8.66 based on its lowest price of $51.98. 

Whichever seller you go for, though, each of the Chaos Rising Bundle’s six packs contains 10 trading cards from the new expansion. If you’re after the big-value chase cards — like Mega Greninja ex, Mega Floette ex, Mega Pyroar ex, and Mega Dragalge ex — you can also buy those individually at TCGplayer.  

To get more from this expansion, the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box is also on sale for under $100. Plus, to give you 36 packs at a reasonable price, the Chaos Rising Booster Display is on offer for $265.

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

If you found yourselves in the Backrooms, the nightmarish liminal space dimension found in Kane Parsons' movie of the same name, how would you survive?

The director himself has some tips. In the Tonight Show interview above, Parsons tells Jimmy Fallon that the three items he'd take with him would be "a hydrogen bomb, a really big magnet, and a toaster."

And as for his advice for anyone who does find themselves trapped in those endless yellow rooms?

"Make peace with it," says Parsons. "Don't give yourself hope."

Yikes.

For anyone who's seen Backrooms and is looking for an ending explainer, we've got you covered.

SAVE OVER $100: As of June 5, the Bluetti AC70 portable power station is on sale for $328.99 at Amazon. This is $100.01 off its full price of $429.

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Credit: Bluetti

BLUETTI AC70 Portable Power Station

$328.99 at Amazon
$429 Save $100.01

 

Get Deal

Whether you're planning to head out into the great outdoors on a camping trip this summer or just want to be prepared at home in case the power goes out, a portable power station is worth considering. If the thought has crossed your mind, the good news is Amazon has some great deals available on select models before its big Prime Day sale even kicks off. As of June 5, the Bluetti AC70 is one of them.

Bluetti's AC70 portable power station has dropped down to $328.99 at Amazon. This is a $100 price cut from its full price of $429, but it's worth noting that it's marked as a "limited-time deal" right now. There's no knowing how long it will stay at this price, so now is as good a time as any to scoop it up and save.

The Bluetti AC70 boasts plenty of power when you need it, too, with a 768Wh capacity, 1,000W AC output, and a 2,000W power-lifting mode, so it can power a wide range of devices. You can also use the Bluetti app to monitor its status, set charge/discharge mode, and update its battery.

Of course, it also has a top handle, making it easy to carry. Especially if you're planning a camping trip, this makes packing it up to take on the go a little more simple.

If you've been searching for a portable power station, this deal on the Bluetti AC70 at Amazon is worth a look.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

SAVE $850: As of June 5, the Eufy Robot Lawn Mower E15 is on sale for $949.99 at Amazon. That's a 47% discount on the list price.

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Credit: eufy

eufy Robot Lawn Mower E15

$949.99 at Amazon
$1,799.99 Save $850

 

Get Deal

The Eufy Robot Lawn Mower E15 is back on sale at Amazon, and if you're looking for a hands-free way to keep your lawn neat, this is the answer. As of June 5, this robot lawn mower is down to just $949.99 at Amazon, saving you $850 on the list price.

This model uses Pure Vision Navigation, stereo cameras, and AI algorithms to self-navigate your yard. This means there’s no need for boundary wires or an external station. It also uses a 3D obstacle-avoidance system that combines stereo cameras and Vision SLAM to detect and navigate around objects such as rocks, toys, trees, and yard borders.

In rain or low-light conditions, the mower will automatically return to its base and can then resume mowing on schedule. And everything can be controlled via the Eufy app, from scheduling to zone adjustments. 

This model is designed for lawns up to 0.2 acres, grass under 3.5 inches tall, and slopes up to 18°. It is not suitable for St. Augustine or dense Zoysia grass.

You can find this Eufy deal at Amazon now.

Dua Lipa has become a very specific kind of modern pop star. Yes, she’s famous. Yes, she is smart with incredible taste. Yes, she’s beautiful and rich. Yes, she is constantly on vacation. But her version of celebrity leisure doesn’t read as empty in the way a lot of celebrity leisure does.

Lipa's Instagram is basically a mood board for a dream version of adulthood: travel, food, dancing, friends, books, outfits, activism, beaches, museums, a really, really hot fiancé. She doesn’t really seem to be selling luxury, but she does seem to be selling the idea that pleasure is a perfectly fine end-goal. And not just through Instagram — Lipa's editorial platform Service95 positions itself as "the ultimate cultural concierge" through its website, newsletters, podcast, and popular book club.

Right now, the internet is obsessed with a certain fantasy of living beautifully without turning every single part of your life into work. Think Euro summer mood boards. Think Anthony Bourdain nostalgia. Think "it girl" reading culture. Think travel TikTok. Think the creator economy fantasy that your life could be both your job and your art.

Writer Madison Huizinga called this "the Dua Effect": a brand built around abundance and being a student of life. And Lipa's building it at the right time. Because for a lot of young people, the fantasy is to just have enough time, money, and emotional space to pursue curiosity. To read, travel, go to dinner, learn a language, make art and be social. Ultimately, to have a life that doesn’t feel completely consumed by productivity. Gen Z is less likely to be interested in hustle culture than previous generations — "the grind" is losing its appeal. That's not to say Lupa doesn't work extremely hard (she does) — it's just not visible on her Instagram feed.

Lipa's leisure feels different from, say, an influencer posting a sponsored hotel stay or a billionaire giving a tour of their closet — and that's despite Lipa partnering with tech giants like Google for sponsored, curated restaurant lists around the world. Her life is obviously excessive, but it’s framed as enrichment. Of course, that’s also the tension. Lipa's life is not replicable for most people. Most of us cannot casually build an international existence out of beaches, books, parties, and perfectly lit dinners. And the obsession with her probably won’t last — it never does. 

SAVE $20: As of June 5, the Google TV Streamer 4K is on sale for $79.99 at Amazon. That's a 20% discount on the list price.

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Credit: Google

Google TV Streamer 4K

$79.99 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $20

 

Get Deal

Streaming sticks are a simple way to add apps and streaming services to older TVs that don’t already have them built in. There are lots of options, but if you're looking for access to the Google TV platform, the Google TV Streamer 4K is the right choice.

This streaming device is a great way to get easy access to entertainment from both apps and live TV. You'll get access to over 800 free channels from services such as Pluto TV and Tubi, and you can watch them (and everything else) in 4K HDR with Dolby Vision.

This deal is for a newer generation of the device, with this one featuring a 22% faster processor and double the memory. The redesigned remote also allows voice control for searching content, managing smart home devices, and accessing functions via a customizable button. It even has a feature that helps you locate it if it gets lost, making a ringing sound.

You can also manage other smart home devices through a clever home panel that lets you adjust lighting or view security cameras without interrupting what you're watching.

This streaming deal is available at Amazon right now.

Curious about eharmony but not yet ready to dish out your credit card details? You're not alone, and the good news is that the dating site is reasonably generous in the scope it gives to non-paying members. 

In fact, there's almost no aspect of the user interface that is totally restricted to paid accounts, so if you want to get a sense of how the site operates and the emphasis it places on matchmaking assessments, testing the waters with a free account is a great idea. 

Here's everything you can and can't do with a free eharmony account:

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Credit: eharmony

eharmony

 

Learn More

What you can do with a free account

Create and fill out a profile

With a free account, you can create a profile, upload photos, fill out important facts about yourself, from whether or not you have children to what you like to do in your free time, and even take eharmony's proprietary personality quiz, which the site uses to compare you with other members and assign your potential match a "compatibility score."

Apply (some) search criteria

In the Discover section of the site, eharmony will present you with the profiles of various singles that fit your match criteria, helping you narrow down your search for a significant other. For free members, however, there are only a limited number of filters that you can apply. 

These include height range, age range, and whether or not someone is a smoker or has/wants children. If you upgrade to a premium account, however, you'll unlock many more filter options, including ethnicity, religion, income range, and education level.

And most frustratingly of all, while free account members can select which regions of their country they want to view profiles from, they cannot filter these profiles by distance, whereas paying members can elect to be shown only people within a certain distance of their location. 

Read profile bios

With a free account, you don't get full access to people's profiles, but you can generally get a very thorough understanding of who they are as a person, since key details like their hobbies, marital status, gender, location, height and body type, and even dating preferences are all visible. 

Verify your account

To get your eharmony account verified, follow these steps:

• Click on the SMS Verification button on your profile

• Enter your mobile phone number and click "Start the SMS verification"

• You will receive a verification code via text

• Enter the verification code in your eharmony prompt screen

If you follow the above steps, you'll earn a verification symbol on your profile, which is like a little vote of confidence to help potential matches trust in the authenticity of your account. 

Get matches

Free accounts are every bit as visible in the Discovery section as paid accounts, and they're allowed to like and dislike others, so don't be surprised when you start getting notifications that other people you've liked have returned your interest. 

There is a catch, though … there's still a lot you can't do with a free account.

What you can't do with a free account

View profile photos

If you're into blind dating, this might not be an issue, but the average online dater still wants to see what their match or potential match looks like, and eharmony blurs the profile photos for non-paying accounts, not enough to totally hide the photo — you can usually make out face shape and even hair color, for example — but enough to heighten the mystery. 

Initiate chats

As a non-paying member, you can send a message whenever you like an account, which is a great way to improve your odds of a match, and you can send matches an Icebreaker, eharmony's interactive photo-pairing game to help start a conversation, but you won't actually be able to send back-and-forth messages without giving up your credit card details.  

Worse, still, if you are sent a message by someone who happened to like your profile, you won't be able to read it without upgrading your account, which can be quite tortuous when the person you've been eyeing finally shows up in your inbox.

This is why eharmony's free accounts are really a "trap," because even though there's a fair amount of stuff you can do on the site for free, benefitting from your efforts really requires an upgrade. 

SAVE $270: As of June 5, the Eufy C28 robot vacuum is on sale for $529.99 at Amazon. That's a 34% discount on the list price.

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Credit: eufy

Eufy C28 Robot Vacuum

$529.99 at Amazon
$799.99 Save $270

 

Get Deal

Prime Day is fast approaching, but if you're looking for a robot vacuum deal now, you're in luck. Amazon's Daily Deals is still offering great discounts, like this latest on the Eufy C28 robot vacuum. As of June 5, this robot vacuum is down to $529.99 from $799.99. That's a savings of $270.

And this is a seriously impressive model. It features an 11-inch HydroJet roller with 24 water ports that spin at 270 RPM for self-cleaning during mopping. It also has a built-in scraper that removes dirt into a separate tank, keeping the roller clean while in use.

And if you have fluffy pets at home, this vacuum can more than cope. The DuoSpiral brush system is designed to handle hair up to 30 cm long without tangling. It also delivers up to 15,000Pa turbo suction, so all kinds of dirt can be picked up easily.

After it's full, the vacuum will return to its all-in-one docking station, where it can provide up to 75 days of hands-free maintenance by emptying dust into a 3L bag, washing the mop, drying it with 120°F hot air, and collecting wastewater. So, there's hardly any work for you to do.

Get this robot vacuum deal at Amazon now.

Prime Day is coming, and if you want to shop all the best deals, you'll need an Amazon Prime account.

Amazon's flagship sale kicks off June 23 and runs through June 26. The now annual four-day event is an exhausting extravaganza of deals. The retailer is likely to drop millions of deals during the sale, but to shop them, you must be a Prime member.

Not yet a Prime member? Want to revive your old Prime account? You can sign up for a free 30-day trial and unlock access to the sale. And nothing is stopping you from canceling before the 30-day promo period ends to avoid paying full price — just saying. Students (and anyone between the ages of 18 and 24) can also sign up for a 6-month trial for $0.

Regardless of whether or not you stick around, here's how you can sign up for Amazon Prime:

What are your Prime membership options?

If you are purchasing a Prime membership subscription, you have four plan options:

• Monthly Prime Membership — $14.99 per month

• Annual Membership — $139 per year or under $12 monthly

• Young Adult Monthly Membership — $7.49 per month (young adults are also eligible for exclusive offers, including a 6-month no-cost Prime trial)

• Prime for government assistance recipients — $6.99 per month (must verify eligibility)

It may have been overshadowed by his extremely expensive ballroom, but did you know Donald Trump is also renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool?

He's been banging on quite a bit about it at recent press events, with one notable moment seeing the president using a chart to compare the pool's size to that of the world's tallest buildings.

"What the f*** is happening right now?" asks Daily Show host Michael Kosta in the clip above. "Why did you make that chart? Our pool is bigger than skyscrapers? Those are two totally different things? I'd say you're comparing apples and oranges, but at least those are fruits. This would be like putting up a chart that says 'This sandwich is louder than haircuts.' What the f*** are we talking about?"

Want more of the best of late night? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter.

TL;DR: Live stream Arnaldi vs. Cobolli in the 2026 French Open for free on France TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

With the women's semi-finals done and dusted at the 2026 French Open, it's time for the men to step onto the clay courts and decide who goes to the grand final.

The big semi-final match is Alexander Zverev vs. Jakub Mensik, with No. 2 seed Zverev a hot favorite to go all the way and win his first Grand Slam. But the other men's semi-final match, the all-Italian showdown of Matteo Arnaldi vs. Flavio Cobolli, could be a sleeper classic.

Both men are entering a grand slam semi-final for the first time, and both have shown serious fire in the tournament. Arnaldi entered Roland-Garros unseeded and has battled his way through, while Cobolli eliminated the No. 4 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Both young Italians will now give it their all to reach the final.

If you want to watch Arnaldi vs. Cobolli in the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Arnaldi vs. Cobolli for free

Arnaldi vs. Cobolli in the 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on France TV.

France TV is geo-restricted to France, 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 France, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like 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 France

4. Connect to France TV

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window

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 they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, 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 sport?

ExpressVPN is the best choice 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 secure

• Fast connection speeds

• 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 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 Arnaldi vs. Cobolli in the 2026 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Mensik vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open for free on France TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 French Open continues with one of the most anticipated days of the entire tournament — the men's semi-finals. The first semi-final sees No. 2 Alexander Zverev continue his chase for his first ever Grand Slam title with a match against No. 26 Jakub Mensik.

German superstar Zverev is favorite to win the tournament following the shock early exits of other top seeds — including No. 1 Jannik Sinner — but Mensik will prove tough competition. The 20-year-old Czech has fought hard and already eliminated No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur — and lower-ranked players have repeatedly eliminated top seeds this year at Roland-Garros.

All eyes will be on Zverev, however. Tennis fans are well aware that this is the 29-year-old's big chance to win that all-important first major. However it plays out, this is a match not to miss.

If you want to watch Mensik vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Mensik vs. Zverev for free

Mensik vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on France TV.

France TV is geo-restricted to France, 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 France, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like 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 France

4. Connect to France TV

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window

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 they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, 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 sport?

ExpressVPN is the best choice 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 secure

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June is here, and Apple fans know what that means: It's time for the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, better known as WWDC.

While most of the event is catered to developers, the opening keynote address is traditionally way more consumer-oriented than most of Apple's competitors' developer events. Apple usually saves its big software announcements for WWDC (and also announces some of its most powerful desktop computers, like the Mac Studio, during the event).

So, if you want to watch Tim Cook's final WWDC as Apple CEO — and the potential debut of iOS 27, an all-new Siri, and potentially some new Mac devices — here's how to watch the keynote live.

Watch Apple WWDC 2026 live

WWDC 2026 takes place from June 8 to June 12. The big keynote, however, opens up the show on Monday at 10 a.m. PT (or 1 p.m. ET).

Apple fans will be able to watch the keynote live at Apple.com, on Apple's YouTube channel, and the Apple TV app. You can also join Mashable at the CNET WWDC livestream watch party, where tech editors from Mashable, CNET, and PCMag will break down the biggest announcements after the event wraps.

This will be Tim Cook's final WWDC as CEO

Held in Cupertino, WWDC is shaping up to be even bigger than usual. Apple is expected to announce details of the next operating systems for its entire hardware lineup, which should include iOS 27, macOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27.

Apple hasn't provided any information about what to expect. However, the long-awaited relaunch of Siri as a full-fledged AI assistant has been rumored to make its debut at this year's WWDC.

Also, beyond Apple's products, this is expected to be Apple CEO Tim Cook's very last keynote as head of the company. Apple's current Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus will become Apple CEO just in time for its big iPhone event in September.

VidCon is back again this year in Anaheim, with plenty of new surprises in store for fans and content creators alike.

The event is set to take place from Thursday, June 25, to Saturday, June 27, and includes a full schedule of nonstop meet-and-greets, mentorship sessions, informative talks, and interactive events for attendees.

Last year's VidCon fell on YouTube's 20th anniversary, so the event honored early YouTube legends like Hank Green, Rhett & Link, Grace Helbig, Tyler Oakley, Smosh co-founders Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, and more. The YouTube pioneers were celebrated and awarded at VidCon’s first annual Hall of Fame ceremony.

This year’s VidCon looks a little different — this time, the event focuses on the wider content-creating industry beyond YouTube. 

The three-day itinerary includes something for everyone: opportunities to meet favorite creators, informative sessions on content creation, interactive events like GorillaCon and pickleball, and more.

GorillaCon

VidCon 2026 promptly kicks off with the first-ever GorillaCon event on Thursday morning. What is GorillaCon, you ask? It’s a live event celebrating Gorilla Tag, described on the VidCon website as the world’s most popular virtual reality game.

At GorillaCon, attendees have the opportunity to celebrate being "Monke" in the 3,000 square foot VidCon Expo Hall. A GorillaCon ticket includes access to Gorilla Tag creators for autographs and photo-ops, and priority position for merchandise, prizes, raffles, and an auction for "crazy rare Monke artifacts."

The event will also include concerts, trivia, cosplay, parades, and more. VidCon attendees need a separate GorillaCon ticket to attend, which can be purchased on the VidCon website.

AI and content creation

This year's VidCon tackles an important elephant in the content creation industry room: how content creators can use AI and AI-powered tools. 

The title sponsor of VidCon is POP.STORE, an agentic AI commerce platform that allows creators to track follower analytics and sell products without relying solely on social media platforms. 

The platform also includes a tool called ECHO-ME, which adapts to an individual content creator’s voice and helps them respond to followers and brand deals authentically. POP.STORE is expected to showcase ECHO-ME at this year’s VidCon.

VidCon's schedule also includes several informative sessions on AI and content creation, ranging from the future of branded content to how content creators could use AI tools and AI authenticity in content creation.

Exclusive perks for VidCon, Creator, and Pro Pass holders

Different ticket tiers include a wide range of new perks this year as well. VidCon Pass holders will experience the new Live Podcast Studio, where featured creators will record live podcasts, and the Community Zone, where fans can gather for meetups and performances.

Creator Pass holders will have access to Creator HQ this year, a new space for collaborating with other creators, as well as a new, exclusive networking tool and creator meetups. 

Pro Pass holders will have access to a VidCon speed networking event, the first VIP Expo Hall party, and Think Tank 20, where attendees can gather in 20-person groups to explore topics in-depth. 

A few Pro Pass holders can also participate in the invite-only VidCon brand match accelerator, which will include one-on-one meetings between top creators and decision-makers. 

All VidCon attendees will have access to the new Sport Court, newly expanded Gaming Zone, as well as VidCon's street fest — aka a massive celebration that will feature food trucks, live music, and dancing.

Attendees can also expect a few familiar favorites events, like the pickleball tour and the Hall of Fame ceremony, which just inducted new members Markiplier, Philip DeFranco, Michelle Phan, and Cassey Ho.

Mashable will be on the ground at VidCon 2026, covering the creators, trends, and conversations driving internet culture, from breaking news and creator interviews to industry insights and live updates.

2026 is full of scary times. But if you like your horror confined to the screen, we've got you covered with a selection of the best that this year has had to offer so far.

Mashable's entertainment team has an insatiable thirst for all things horror. As such, we've not only seen the big flashy releases like Lee Cronin's The Mummy, Kevin Williamson's Scream 7, Nia Dacosta's 28 Year Later: Bone Temple, Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride!, and Sam Raimi's Send Help, but also indie offerings like Backrooms, Obsession, Iron Lung, and Hokum.

Whether you like to shiver for zombies, cackle for horror comedy, gleefully gag over gross-out scares, get goosebumps over serial-killer thrillers, or dream of surreal twists that'll ensure nightmares, we've got you covered.

Here are the best horror movies of 2026 so far.

15. Iron Lung

Horror has a rich tradition of trapping characters in claustrophobic spaces and making them suffer, and Iron Lung cranks that premise up to 11. The film follows Simon (Mark Fischbach, aka YouTuber Markiplier), a convict in a post-apocalyptic future forced to trade prison for an exploratory mission down to the bottom of a blood ocean on an alien moon. The stuff of nightmares? Yes! And Markiplier (who also directs) amps up the tension with juddering submarine noises and occasional creepy X-ray photos taken by the submarine of its unpleasant surroundings.

This movie isn't perfect — at over two hours, it feels longer than it needs to be, and the characters aren't particularly fleshed out — but it's worth watching for one sequence near the end alone, which is cosmic horror at its most terrifying and blood-spattered. — Sam Haysom, General Assignment Editor, UK

Starring: Mark Fischbach, Caroline Kaplan, Troy Baker, Elsie Lovelock, Elle LaMont, Mick Lauer, Seán McLoughlin, and Isaac McKee

How to watch: Iron Lung is available to rent or buy on YouTube.

14. Cold Storage

Fungal horror gets the chills in Cold Storage, an infectious film that knows its lineage. Directed by Jonny Campbell (Am I Being Unreasonable?), and written by Jurassic Park co-scribe David Koepp based on his 2019 novel, Cold Storage takes a real event (NASA's Skylab falling out of orbit in 1979) and makes it the catalyst for gruesome events within a U.S. storage facility. Stranger Things' Joe Keery and Barbarian's Georgina Campbell as chatty employees investigating strange noises are a delight. And thanks to the genius of special makeup effects designers Lou and Dave Elsey (the team who brought you the corpiscle of True Detective: Night Country), Cold Storage is full of grisly, festering gore. As I wrote in my review, "Unlike its hazardous fungus (or Koepp's original book), Cold Storage isn't that deep. Instead, the film is a fun body horror comedy that grows on you — or might result in projectile vomiting?" — S.C.

Starring: Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Sosie Bacon, Vanessa Redgrave, Lesley Manville, and Liam Neeson

How to watch: Cold Storage is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

13. Primate

From Johannes Roberts, helmer of the uniquely scary shark thriller 47 Meters Down, comes a creature feature that should have you thinking twice about treating a wild animal as a pet.

Set in a remote mansion in Hawaii, Primate begins with college student Lucy Pinborough (Johnny Sequoyah) coming home to her younger sister (Gia Hunter), her hard-of-hearing dad (Troy Kotsur), and their pet chimpanzee, Ben. For added fun (and a higher body count), Roberts and co-writer Ernest Riera loop in some college friends and a couple of hot guys looking to party. What could have been a night of booze and sex becomes one of blood and death because Ben has contracted rabies, and so goes from pet to predator.

It's not deep or remotely sophisticated. But if you seeking something gnarly, Primate has got bite. — K.P.

Starring: Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Gia Hunter, and Troy Kotsur

How to watch: Primate is now streaming on Paramount+.

12. Obsession

Audiences went feral for writer/director Curry Barker's ultra-creepy Obsession. The film turns rom-com expectations on its head by presenting a lovelorn protagonist named Bear (Michael Johnston), who might seem like a nice guy but is actually the movie's villain.

Obsessed with his friend Nikki (a riveting Inde Navarrette), he makes a wish that she'll not only notice him, but will love him more than anyone else. In the way of the mythic monkey's paw, this wish goes horribly wrong, transforming Bear's dream girl into a nightmare. Obsession is thoroughly chilling, especially thanks to Navarrette's harrowing performance. But Barker's exploration of sexual politics ultimately feels juvenile because of a flubbed final act. As I explained more in-depth in my review, "This makes the finale of Obsession unnerving — not so much for what it shows, but for the empathy it ultimately lacks." — K.P.

Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter

How to watch: Obsession is now in theaters.

11. Undertone

This slow-burn horror story is about the things that go bump in the night. Written and directed by Ian Tuason, Undertone centers on an isolated podcaster named Evy (Nina Kiri), who becomes fixated on a series of mysterious audio clips. As she goes down the metaphorical rabbit's hole on what they could mean, the world around her seems to shift, forcing her to face a horrid reality.*

Trapping audiences in a deteriorating house where Evy is caring for her dying mother, Undertone offers a claustrophobic atmosphere that is enhanced by a spooky soundscape of strange noises and stranger children's songs. It's a terrific concept, and Tuason puts a lot of care into each detail. However, as spooky as this one gets, it never had me full-on scared. — K.P.

Starring: Nina Kiri and Adam DiMarco

How to watch: Undertone is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

10. Thrash

I don't want to hear it. Nope. Not a bad word will be said here about Thrash, one of the most rudely welcomed movies on Netflix. Writer/director Tommy Wirkola (Violent Night, Dead Snow) delivers a proper nail-biter of a shark survival movie here, the 24-hour tale of a hurricane that becomes a tsunami that becomes a bona fide shark invasion of a South Carolina small town. It's glorious! We've got nightmarish cinematography; increasingly flooded sets; strong performances from Djimon Hounsou, Whitney Peak, and Phoebe Dynevor; and one wildly foreshadowed shark-infested water birth. The simple task of getting from A to B in this film? Good luck.

The Thrash production team, led by production designer David Ingram, built an entire town and utterly destroyed it with flash flooding, savage marine predators, and director of photography Matthew Weston's unrelentingly stressful camera work, and that's not enough for you? Did you see that bull shark kitchen scene? Well, you have your right to an opinion. This is mine: "If you like shark movies, Thrash is a solid survival thriller with a talented cast and visuals that had me locked in. Wirkola's ability to balance horror, action, and comedy remains a praise-worthy feat. Dive into it." — S.C.

Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou

How to watch: Thrash is now streaming on Netflix.

9. The Bride!

As writer and director, Maggie Gyllenhaal took a big swing with The Bride!, a dizzying reimagining of the Universal monster from Bride of Frankenstein. Critics were mixed on it, and despite starring Academy Award winners Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale as the Bride and her monster mate, this epic horror offering tanked at the box office.

But the world is wrong. Set in 1936 Chicago, The Bride! offers up a gangster's moll (Buckley) who is fatefully possessed by Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, who's long dead but still has things to say. So begins a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style crime spree with a besotted creature who loves movie musicals. The result is fitful, deranged, and uniquely beautiful.

Apparently, The Bride! is not for everyone. But to me, it was sensational. As I wrote in my review, "Gyllenhaal and her cast don't just dust off a classic tale for a safe money grab. (Looking at you, Disney live-action remakes!) They tear various Frankenstein iterations to bits, then create an exquisite corpse of the pieces, festooning it with elements from other films about violence, revolt, and violation. The result is a film that is utterly electrifying, sure to spark something in hearts young and old." — K.P.

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Penélope Cruz

How to watch: The Bride! is now streaming on HBO Max.

8. Backrooms

The concept of the Backrooms began with a 4chan post, which then-teenager Kane Parsons masterfully expanded into a series of extremely viral short horror films. Backrooms is his full-length feature adaptation, and it's about a bitter furniture shop owner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who discovers the doorway to another world in the basement of his store. So, does Parsons manage to land the jump to feature? For the most part, yes. Backrooms uses uncanny spaces and an ominous soundscape to chilling effect, dragging us into a world that's as unsettling as it is endless. The movie's only real issue is its third act, which loses some tension after we see the face of the thing that's been chasing the characters through this hellish labyrinth.

"Despite this, Backrooms is still well worth a watch. The ending isn't enough to spoil what came before," I wrote in my Mashable review. "If anything, Parsons has managed to prove himself as an incredibly talented emerging filmmaker while also establishing the first chapter in what will surely end up becoming a brand-new horror franchise." — S.H.

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell

How to watch: Backrooms is now in theaters.

7. Exit 8

Months after escaping from Exit 8, I remain ensnared in it. Genki Kawamura's haunting adaptation is more than an ode to Kotake Create's acclaimed 2023 game; it's an impeccable thriller that will have you actively participating in its labyrinthine puzzle. You'll genuinely root for Kazunari Ninomiya as a frantic man trapped in a nightmarish looping subway hallway beneath Tokyo, his only chance of escape being his ability to identify "anomalies" within this wretched corridor. A rare triumph among video game adaptations, Exit 8 is a masterpiece of production, from the meticulous sets to the dynamic cinematography and nerve-racking sound design.

As I wrote in my review, "While video game adaptations come in a range of sublime to mediocre, Exit 8 is a triumphant realisation and expansion of the original concept. Kawamura's punctilious direction and his incredibly talented cast and crew amplify this contained hallway in satisfying, chilling ways. You'll remain in this hallway long after you've left the cinema — we're all still staring blankly at that Exit 0 sign." — S.C.

Starring: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, and Nana Komatsu

How to watch: Exit 8 is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

6. Scream 7

Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, and Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson reunited for Scream 7, marking the highest-grossing sequel this franchise has seen.

With Williamson at the helm and co-writing with Guy Busick (Scream V & VI), this sequel dove into nostalgia. Ghostface is back in action, killing at Stu Macher's house and chasing Sidney around a charming suburb. For good measure, he's also threatening to kill Sidney's eldest kid, who was named after her high school best friend, Tatum!

Critics largely panned this one. But we found it fun. In my review, I cheered, "As someone who has long counted Scream as the best of the batch, I yearned for a sequel that recaptured that feeling of discovery but also shared in my affection for the first film. Scream 7 does that, paying homage without being beholden to audience expectation or constrictive lore. Incredibly, Williams gives us a hearty dose of nostalgia and Easter eggs while providing new ideas, weird reveals, and fresh chills." — K.P.

Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, Joel McHale, Mckenna Grace, Michelle Randolph, Asa Germann, Celeste O'Connor, Sam Rechner, Ethan Embry, Timothy Simons, and Mark Consuelos

How to watch: Scream 7 is now streaming on Paramount+.

5. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

Samara Weaving reteams with Ready or Not filmmakers Radio Silence for a star-studded sequel to their 2019 hit.

Recently widowed by some devilish intervention, newlywed Grace (Weaving) wants nothing more than to light a cigarette and walk away from the bloody mess of the late Le Domas family. But it's time to level up her hide-and-seek skills, as a cabal of the evil and affluent join forces to hunt her down for round two. This time, however, she'll have her estranged sister (Kathryn Newton) at her side, for better or worse.

Ready or Not 2 had a tough act to follow, but Radio Silence satisfies by offering comically quirky caricatures of privilege, eye-popping slaughter scenes, and a pair of vicious twins played by '90s icons Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy. As I wrote in my review, "Not all of these gambles pay off. Yet Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a winner when it comes to being a totally batshit good time." — K.P.

Starring: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood

How to watch: Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is available for purchase at Prime Video.

4. Send Help

Some movies are just so weird that it feels like a miracle they exist at all. Send Help is such a wonder, as it pairs A-list actress Rachel McAdams with much, much, much, much glop.

Directed by Sam Raimi, Send Help is a genre mash-up that combines tropes from adventure and romance, horror comedies, and survival thrillers with an eat-the-rich edge. McAdams stars as a mousy office worker whose hotshot boss (Dylan O'Brien) treats like a pimple that needs to be popped. But when they end up stranded on a desert island, the power dynamics are dramatically flipped. There will be blood. And vomit, and muck, and more blood. And it will be hilarious.

As I declared in my review, "It's also a rip-roaring, no-fucks-to-give good time." — K.P.

Starring: Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien

How to watch: Send Help is now on Hulu.

3. Apex

Kayaking solo in the Australian outback already sounds scary enough, but when you throw a sociopathic serial killer into the mix, it reaches a different level entirely. This is the situation that rock climber Sasha (Charlize Theron) finds herself in in Baltasar Kormákur's Apex when she encounters an initially quite charming ranger named Ben (Taron Egerton). The result is a cat-and-mouse survival thriller that's equal parts violent and tense.

"Apex is a relentless, exciting, and nerve-rattlingly scary thriller, wherein Theron and Egerton bring their very best to a brutal face-off," wrote Mashable's Kristy Puchko in her review. "It'll be a fun watch at home, hooking audiences on its gnarly twists and gore. But I pity those who won't get to see the vistas and violence Kormákur has captured on a big screen, where their wonders and horrors can truly overwhelm you." — S.H.

Starring: Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, and Eric Bana

How to watch: Apex is now streaming on Netflix.

2. Hokum

To date, the scariest movie of the year is Hokum. The latest from Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy (Caveat and Oddity) stars Adam Scott as a misanthropic American novelist who falls down a rabbit hole of folklore and horror.

You see, Ohm Bauman (Scott) has traveled to a remote hotel in Ireland for some grim business, including scattering the ashes of his deceased parents. But when a bartender who was kind to him goes missing, Ohm can't resist the urge to find her, even if he thinks the talk of a witch plaguing the hotel's honeymoon suite is "hokum."

In my review, I called Hokum "a seriously scary masterpiece," explaining, "It's a nerve-shredding, bone-rattling, scream-pulling good time, and an absolute blast to see in a theater." And in case you're on the fence, know this: This movie made me scream myself hoarse while watching it. — K.P.

Starring: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O'Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio

How to watch: Hokum is now playing in theaters.

1. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

One of the great crimes against cinema of 2026 is that 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple flopped at the box office.

Critics went wild for Hedda director Nia DaCosta's bold and brilliant sequel to Danny Boyle's resurrected zombie thriller. But audiences didn't turn out in the droves this heady blend of horror, heart, and heavy metal deserved.

Picking up the story of runaway Spike (Alfie Williams), The Bone Temple plunged us deep into the cult of Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell), whose bizarre introduction at the end of the last film had fans freaking out with theories. A self-styled Satanist with a fixation on torture, Jimmy Savile, and the Teletubbies, Jimmy was an instant icon in horror. But even he was awed by the uncanny stage presence of Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). The gentle doctor spent most of the movie getting stoned with the Alpha undead Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), in sequences that were tender and funny. But the climax of this movie had theaters cheering, as Kelson embraced his inner demons with a fiery performance of Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast." And it was one of the most riveting and surprising things I've seen in a movie, ever. It was magical, chaotic, and unforgettable.

As I cheered in my review, "This horror offering — like its prequel and also like 2025's other smash horror hit, Sinners — transcends the grimier aspects of the genre to unearth something gnarly and sublime." — K.P.

Starring: Alfie Williams, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry

How to watch: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is now streaming on Netflix.

TL;DR: Sign up for a 7-day free trial of Apple TV+ through Prime Video Channels to watch select F1 races for free. Watch the Monaco GP for free with the Prime Video app.

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Apple TV Prime Video Channel

Watch the Japanese GP for free with a 7-day trial

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This season of F1 has been really entertaining. I know a lot of fans are not keen on the regulation changes, but the racing has been pretty competitive this season. Yes, Mercedes are winning everything. But McLaren and Ferrari are not totally out of the picture.

You get the feeling that there's a lot to come from this season, and the Monaco GP is always unpredictable. It's the most iconic race weekend on the schedule. The racing can be a little dry, but it's still a unique spectacle that can produce unexpected results.

If you want to watch F1 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is the Monaco GP?

The Monaco GP is the sixth race of the 2026 F1 season. Here's the full schedule from the Circuit de Monaco:

• Practice 1 — 7:30-8:30 a.m. ET on June 5

• Practice 2 — 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET on June 5

• Practice 3 — 6:30-7:30 a.m. ET on June 6

• Qualifying — 10-11 a.m. ET on June 6

• Race — 9 a.m. ET on June 7

Fans can follow all the action from this race weekend without spending anything.

How to watch the Monaco GP for free

I subscribe to Amazon Prime. I hand over my cash for the fast shipping, exclusive Prime Day deals, and access to Prime Video. The access to Prime Video is not the priority for me. I occasionally watch the Champions League and NBA, but that's about it.

That was until I found out about F1 coming to Apple TV.

It is now possible to sign up for a seven-day free trial of Apple TV+ through Prime Video Channels. F1 is exclusive to Apple TV in the U.S., so by accessing this free trial, you can watch select races for free this season. The subscription costs £9.99 per month after the trial ends, but you can cancel this automatic renewal at any time.

By cancelling ahead of the renewal, you can watch the Monaco GP this weekend without spending anything.

I already pay for Amazon Prime, so I understand the argument that I'm not really watching for free. I get that, but Amazon Prime does offer a 30-day free trial period if you're new to the service. By signing up for this free trial and then gaining access to Apple TV through Prime Video Channels, you can truly watch select races for free this season.

Already used this hack to watch a race this season? It's not your only option.

My recommendation is you go direct to Apple TV. This popular steaming service comes with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. Alternatively, Apple One bundles Apple TV with Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness Plus, Apple News Plus, and 50GB of iCloud Storage for $19.95 per month after a one-month free trial.

The best Apple TV free-trial offer comes with purchases of new Apple devices. New subscribers can get three months of Apple TV for free after purchasing any eligible Apple product. If you're planning on upgrading to something from the Apple lineup in Memorial Day sales, you could gain access to Apple TV for a pretty large chunk of this season. You will obviously need to buy something, but if you were already in the market for an upgrade, this method makes a lot of sense.

How to live stream 2026 F1 for free in 2026

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Best Apple TV Deal

Apple TV

7-day free trial

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Best Prime Video Deal

Apple TV Prime Video Channel

7-day free trial

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Best Apple One Deal

Apple One

30-day free trial

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How to live stream 2026 F1 for free at a glance:

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Best Apple TV Deal

Apple TV

7-day free trial

Shop Now

---

Best Prime Video Deal

Apple TV Prime Video Channel

7-day free trial

Shop Now

---

Best Apple One Deal

Apple One

30-day free trial

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This season of F1 is unlike any other. Every season of F1 has a number of fascinating storylines to follow, but due to a major set of regulation changes, there's so much uncertainty right now. And uncertainty can lead to exciting racing.

Lando Norris secured an incredible title victory on the final day of last season. Now the pressure is on McLaren to defend that title against a long list of talented drivers and motivated teams. Expect the likes of George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton to challenge for race wins this season. Mercedes look like the team to beat this season, but there's still a lot of racing to come.

If you are interested in watching F1 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

What is F1?

Formula One (F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars. A season consists of a series of races (Grands Prix) that take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed public roads.

Lando Norris is the defending champion. McLaren won the Constructors Championship in 2025.

When is F1 in 2026?

The 2026 F1 season is the 77th edition of the championship. This year's championship features 24 Grands Prix events held all over the world between March and December:

1. Australian Grand Prix — March 8

2. Chinese Grand Prix — March 15

3. Japanese Grand Prix — March 29

4. Miami Grand Prix — May 3

5. Canadian Grand Prix — May 24

6. Monaco Grand Prix — June 7

7. Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix — June 14

8. Austrian Grand Prix — June 28

9. British Grand Prix — July 5

10. Belgian Grand Prix — July 19

11. Hungarian Grand Prix — July 26

12. Dutch Grand Prix — Aug. 23

13. Italian Grand Prix — Sept. 6

14. Spanish Grand Prix — Sept. 13

15. Azerbaijan Grand Prix — Sept. 26

16. Singapore Grand Prix — Oct. 11

17. United States Grand Prix — Oct. 25

18. Mexico City Grand Prix — Nov. 1

19. São Paulo Grand Prix — Nov. 8

20. Las Vegas Grand Prix — Nov. 21

21. Qatar Grand Prix — Nov. 29

22. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — Dec. 6

It's important to note that these dates are only for race days. The Chinese, Miami, Canadian, British, Dutch, and Singapore GPs will host a sprint race.

How to watch F1 for free

In the U.S., F1 is now exclusive to Apple TV. An Apple TV subscription costs $12.99 per month or $99 per year, but it's possible to gain access to Apple TV without spending anything.

Apple TV

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Credit: Apple TV

Apple TV (7-day free trial)

Apple TV comes with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. This is a sneaky trick, but you could sign up to watch the next F1 race and then cancel your subscription before you need to spend anything. This obviously isn't a long-term fix, but it does give you the opportunity to live stream select F1 race weekends for free.

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Apple TV Prime Video Channel

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Apple TV Prime Video Channel (7-day free trial)

Already an Amazon Prime member? You're in luck. You can sign up for a 7-day free trial of Apple TV+ through Prime Video Channels. This lets you watch select F1 races live with the Prime Video app. The subscription typically costs £9.99 per month after the trial ends, but you can cancel at any time. That means you can watch select races without actually spending anything.

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Apple One

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Apple One (30-day free trial)

Apple One bundles Apple TV with Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness Plus, Apple News Plus, and 50GB of iCloud Storage for $19.95 per month after a one-month free trial. Time it right and this trial could provide access to up to four race weekends for free. You do need to be a new or returning subscriber to each of the included services to get the free trial.

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It's worth noting that the best Apple TV free-trial offer comes with purchases of new Apple devices. New subscribers can get three months of Apple TV for free after purchasing any eligible Apple product, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, or Apple TVs. This special offer goes live for 90 days after the new device is activated — that's a good chunk of the season.

Meta has quietly added facial recognition tech for its smart glasses to its Meta AI app.

A Wired investigation discovered that the code has been added to Meta's AI app over "multiple updates this year." The feature is internally called NameTag, and it can reportedly identity people captured by the camera on Meta's smart glasses, including Ray-Bans and Oakleys, as well as alert the wearer when it recognizes someone.

The fact that Meta is looking into this is not new; The New York Times wrote about it last year, with Meta later commenting that it would take a "very thoughtful approach" if it ever were to release something like that.

And while the feature did not, in fact, roll out out to users, the fact that Meta has reportedly added some of the code need for it to run into Meta AI, an app distributed to tens of millions of users, is concerning. The groundwork for the feature includes three AI models – one which detects people's face them, one which crops them, and one which encodes them into biometric data — and all three already reside on the phones of people who have the Meta AI app installed.

Two security researchers who reviewed Wired's findings both noted that the app is nearly ready to go.

A Meta spokesperson reiterated to the publisher that the company is merely "exploring" such a feature, and that these findings are "evidence of that exploration."

"Nothing has shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything. If we do decide to roll something out, we will take a thoughtful approach and do so with full transparency. One decision we can be clear about—we are not building a central face database," said the spokesperson.

Meta has stirred up trouble with facial recognition tech before, most notably when it paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines due to collecting people's biometric data without prior consent, thus violating privacy laws. The matter was made worse when it was discovered that the facial recognition startup Clearview AI scraped billions of photos from Facebook to build an identity-matching database which was sold to third parties.

The news comes just one month after 70 organizations, including the ACLU and Fight for the Future, sent a letter to Meta, urging the company to "immediately halt and publicly disavow" any plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses.

SAVE $350: As of June 5, the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is on sale for $449 at Amazon. That's a 44% discount off the list price.

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Credit: Jackery

Jackery Explorer 1000 v2

$499 at Amazon
$799 Save $300

 

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Prime Day may still be a couple of weeks away, but there are already impressive deals on Amazon. For example, if you're looking for a portable power station, you can find the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 on sale for $350 off right now. As of June 5, this unit is down from $799 to $449.

This portable power station combines a 1,070Wh capacity with a 1,500W AC output and a 3,000W surge peak, making it suitable for powering a range of appliances, including fridges and air conditioners. Despite its capacity, it weighs just 23.8 pounds and features a foldable handle, making it a portable option for camping trips or road trips.

It can also be charged from 0% to 100% in one hour when emergency charging is enabled through the Jackery app. The default charging mode is quick, too, taking just 1.7 hours while optimizing battery health. It uses an LFP battery rated to retain more than 70% of its original capacity after 4,000 charge cycles, with an expected lifespan of over 10 years.

You can find this Jackery deal at Amazon now.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, June 5, 2026:

Across

Fruity dessert named for its crunch

• The answer is Crisp.

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

Beehive product

• The answer is Honey.

Tree whose wood is used to make Fender guitars

• The answer is Alder.

Log ___ (water park ride)

• The answer is Flume.

English county whose name sounds like the 19th and 24th letters of the alphabet

• The answer is Essex.

Down

Rub the wrong way, perhaps

• The answer is Chafe.

Starts a turn in Monopoly

• The answer is Rolls.

Longest river in South Asia (~2,000 miles)

• The answer is Indus.

Ominous note on a failed exam

• The answer is Seeme.

Oven-safe glassware material

• The answer is Pyrex.

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

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

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Mini Crossword.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will require first-aid knowledge.

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.

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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.

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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: Baseball clubs

• Green: First aid

• Blue: Geographically specific athletics

• Purple: Beginnings of words share a theme

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: MLB teams, informally

• Green: "Rice" method

• Blue: Nicknames of Alabama college teams

• Purple: Starts with a country

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 #620 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• MLB teams, informally: BUCCOS, CARDS, CUBBIES, YANKS

• "Rice" method: COMPRESSION, ELEVATION, ICE, REST

• Nicknames of Alabama college teams: BLAZERS, CRIMSON TIDE, TIGERS, TROJANS

• Starts with a country: CHILES, CUBARSÍ, INDIANA, MALININ

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 the latest Connections.

Apple’s big developers conference keynote is expected to focus updates to Siri and Apple Intelligence. But the software can sometimes give us clues to the direction of Apple’s future hardware. CNET’s Bridget Carey goes through what key areas she’s most interested in for WWDC news.

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

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 June 5 Pips

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

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

Equal (2): Everything in this red space must be equal to 2. The answer is 3-2, placed vertically; 4-2, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically; 4-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 4-1, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for June 5 Pips

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

Number (6): Everything in this red space must add up to 6. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 3. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 2-3, placed vertically.

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

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

Equal (3): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed vertically; 3-6, placed horizontally.

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

Hard difficulty hints, answers for June 5 Pips

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

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

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally.

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

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

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

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

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

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 0-0, placed vertically; 0-3, placed horizontally.

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

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 5-5, placed vertically.

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

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

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

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

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Christmas.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

NATAL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Emotional.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

CRIER

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Transplant.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

GRAFT

Hurdle Word 4 hint

To descend.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

SWOOP

Final Hurdle hint

Film.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

MOVIE

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

With clear skies tonight, you'll be able to pick out a few details on the Moon’s surface. But what exactly are you looking at? With the help of NASA's Daily Moon Guide, we have the answers.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Friday, June 5, the Moon phase is Waning Gibbous. Tonight, 79% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

Without visual aids you should be able to spot the Mares Imbrium and Vaporum as well as the Tycho Crater . If you have binoculars you'll also spot the Grimaldi Basin, and the Gassendi and Alphonsus Craters. And finally, with a telescope you'll also see the Apollo 16 landing spot and the Caucasus Mountains.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on June 29.

What are Moon phases?

NASA explains that the Moon completes one full orbit around Earth in about 29.5 days, during which it moves through a sequence of eight phases. Even though the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of sunlight we can see changes as it travels along its path. This shifting light is what produces the lunar shapes, ranging from slim crescents to half-lit Moons and the bright Full Moon. All of these stages together make up the lunar cycle:

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.

Perhaps Kayla Sims (@lilsimsie) was destined to play The Sims, Electronic Arts' hit life simulation franchise. Yes, that's her real name. But when she uploaded her very first YouTube video in 2015, a playthrough of The Sims 4's Get Together expansion, she probably never expected the game to change her life the way it did.

Sims, now 27, currently counts over 2.2 million YouTube subscribers and more than 954,000 followers on her main Twitch channel, where she streams Monday through Saturday. She occasionally plays other cozy games, but TS4 is her bread and butter.

As one of the biggest "Simmers" in the biz, Sims' influence can be felt in the game's very code. Since 2020, she's teamed up with EA on two expansions and a "Comfy Gamer" pack. Some in-game objects are actually named after her or her characters, including the iconic Cowplants. She's also the mastermind behind several popular player challenges.

Many of Sims' fans have grown up with her. They tune in not just for her helpful tutorials and creative builds, but also for her refreshingly wholesome vibes. "I love how positive and genuine she is, and I respect what she stands for," one fan wrote on Reddit.

Sims hasn't shied away from speaking up about issues that matter to her. She's run an annual charity stream for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital since 2020, raising over $1 million for the cause in 2025, and again in May 2026, she said on YouTube. Separate fundraisers she's organized have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the National Immigration Law Center, the Trans Lifeline, and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.

In late 2025, Sims announced that she was leaving the EA Creator Network after EA was acquired by Saudi investors. "The values represented by the people acquiring EA are fundamentally at odds with what I stand for and support," Sims wrote at the time. More recently, she's rallied other players to sign a petition calling to block the deal.

Sims isn't done playing TS4, but she's started to post more unrelated content on YouTube — a move that viewers have embraced. "I follow the creator, not the content," said one commenter. Sims' integrity has earned her the kind of community that Simoleons can't buy.

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 or see more of this year’s Mashable 101 to discover the internet's most exciting voices. 

Update: This story was updated to reflect Sims reporting on YouTube that she raised $1 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital again in 2026.

SAVE $40: The Soundcore Sport X10 workout headphones are on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $39.99, down from the normal price of $79.99. That's a 50% discount and the lowest price we've spotted at Amazon.

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Credit: Soundcore

Soundcore Sport X10

$39.99 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $40.00

 

Get Deal

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Credit: Soundcore

Soundcore Sport X10

$39.99 at Best Buy
$79.99 Save $40.00

 

Get Deal

Not all headphones or earbuds are designed for taking to the gym. Some can't handle getting wet, while others simply fall out unless you stay still. If you've been thinking about getting headphones that are worthy of bringing along to the gym or a pair that can handle a summer evening run, check out this deal.

As of June 4, the Soundcore Sport X10 workout headphones are on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $39.99, marked down from the normal price of $79.99. That's a 50% discount that shaves $40 off the price. It's the best price we've seen at Amazon.

With an IPX7 waterproof rating and Soundcore's Sweat Guard, the Sport X10 are a great option for summer workouts. The earbuds include comfortable ear hooks that rotate 210 degrees to find the most secure fit possible. Expect to get about eight hours of listening time to a single charge, which increases to 32 hours with the included charging case.

Of course, you can also receive calls on the Sport X10. Soundcore equipped the headphones with six mics and noise cancellation. You can also activate transparency mode to hear your surroundings without taking the earbuds out.

Before you head out on another warm summer run, consider upgrading to the Soundcore Sport X10 workout headphones. They're on sale for under $40 at both Amazon and Best Buy. Since this is the lowest price we've seen, it's probably smart to shop today rather than waiting for Prime Day.

Annual developer conferences aren't always the most engaging events, but the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference tends to be a lot more interesting than, say, Microsoft Build.

WWDC 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Apple events in years, and we're expecting huge announcements related to Siri, iOS 27, and the future of Apple Intelligence. Not only that, but this is Tim Cook's final WWDC as Apple CEO.

The big event is just days away, and we have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Of course, we don't know what we don't know, and we also have a handful of burning questions.

When is WWDC 2026?

WWDC 2026 is scheduled to take place from June 8-12 at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. WWDC will kick off with a "Special Event" keynote scheduled for June 8 at 10 a.m. PT. You'll be able to livestream the show at Apple's website as well as via YouTube. Most of the big announcements typically take place at this opening keynote, though Apple will be hosting events for developers throughout the week.

You can also join us at the CNET WWDC livestream watch party for a post-keynote breakdown of the biggest news and announcements.

Mashable will be covering all of the announcements on our site and in a dedicated live blog, so check back on Monday for more.

The AI Siri makes its grand entrance (no, really this time)

The long-promised overhaul to Siri — the one Apple has been teasing and delaying since the early Apple Intelligence announcements — is expected to be front and center at WWDC 2026. Apple first promised the AI version of Siri two years ago, and had to settle a class-action lawsuit for $250 million when it failed to deliver (Apple did not admit to any wrongdoing, of course).

AppleInsider reported that the update, codenamed "Campo" internally, will give Siri an interface closer to what you'd expect from ChatGPT or Claude. It's a more conversational, chatbot-style experience that Apple has been quietly building toward. We know that the newer, smarter Siri will be powered by Google Gemini, with Apple tapping Nvidia to power the compute. Given Apple's complicated history with an AI-powered Siri, Mashable's Chris Taylor wonders whether a live demo of the AI Siri is in store for WWDC.

Apple is also heavily rumored to debut a standalone Siri app at WWDC 2026. And Bloomberg's Mark Gurman — the source of virtually all iOS 27 and Siri rumors — predicts that the WWDC 2026 promotional artwork gives us a glimpse of what this new Siri experience will look like. To promote the event, Apple has been using images with glowing, neon lights, along with a dove outline and the phrase "All systems glow."

Could this glowing dove be a hint about the new Siri app logo? Credit: Apple

In addition to a possible app, Gurman says that Siri will have a major presence in the iPhone's Dynamic Island.

So, has a hint to the new AI Siri been hiding in plain sight all along? Will the Dynamic Island light up and glow when Siri is listening or responding to users? We should find out come June 8.

Credit: Apple

Credit: Apple