SAVE OVER $50: As of Oct. 29, the Sony WH-CH730N are on sale for $128 at Amazon. That's a 29% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Sony

Sony WH-CH730N

$128 at Amazon
$179 Save $51

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Black Friday sales officially get underway at the end of November, but unofficially, deals start to ramp up at the end of October. In the coming weeks, we can expect to see discounts across everything from home appliances, tech, household essentials, and Christmas gifts. If a new pair of headphones is on your to-buy list for this year's sales, you might not have to wait until the madness kicks off.

Right now at Amazon, there's a deal on the new Sony WH-CH730N headphones, taking the price down from $179 to $128. These were only released in September, so this is a significant price drop, and it's the biggest drop in price so far. They come in five different colors, each one at the same new low price.

Sound quality is great, with impressive noise cancellation that uses Dual Noise Sensor technology to reduce background noise, helping you focus on your music, calls, or work. When you need to hear what's happening around you, Ambient Sound Mode offers 20 adjustable levels, plus Voice Passthrough for more natural conversations.

Battery life lasts up to 50 hours with noise canceling on or 75 hours with it off, and a three-minute quick charge gives you up to an hour of playback. And if you are going to use them for hours at a time, you'll find that they are incredibly comfortable. This is thanks to their soft ear cushions, which are designed to keep you comfortable for long listening sessions.

This deal is available at Amazon right now.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is available for $59.99 at Amazon. That's way under market price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box

$59.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

For a brief period, Amazon's wild $59.99 deal on the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box ceased to exist. At the start of the week, we were seeing prices hovering around $175. The "request invite" had gone, but we were looking at paying well over market price. This was a tough time for everyone involved, but we're glad to see Amazon's generous offer has made a triumphant return.

For a limited time, the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is on sale for just $59.99 on Amazon. Shipping and sales are handled directly by Amazon, but Amazon is still routing orders through its "request invite" system. These are selling fast, so collectors are clearly getting through.

Amazon’s price is way under TCGplayer’s $1117 market price. That's rare to see nowadays, so you know shoppers will jump on this.

The 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box contains nine 30th Celebration booster packs, an exclusive full-art foil Nidorina promo card, 16 foil Basic Energy cards, 65 custom card sleeves, damage-counter dice, a condition marker, card dividers, a collector’s player guide, and a code card for Pokémon TCG Live.

Shop the Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration ETB for under $60 at Amazon.

TL;DR: Google's new When to Buy Guide analyzed holiday shopping data across thousands of retailers to pinpoint the best days to shop. The verdict: Lock in your OLED TVs, sneakers, and skincare hauls over Black Friday weekend, but wait until late December for hardshell luggage and Dutch ovens.

Holiday shopping usually feels like a high-stakes guessing game where you’re gambling on whether to buy an item now or hold out for a steeper markdown down the road. Wait too long, and your colorway sells out, shipping cutoffs slam shut, or you’re left scrambling through picked-over store aisles on Christmas Eve.

To take the guesswork out of the seasonal madness, Google dropped its 2026 When to Buy Guide, analyzing massive amounts of U.S. promotional patterns, search trends, and aggregated discount data across merchants. Instead of relying on gut feelings, Google mapped out exactly when promotional volume and price cuts reach their absolute peak across every major consumer category.

Here are 10 things Google's retail data reveals about how you should actually be timing your holiday haul:

Don't fall for "up to 70% off" banner hype

Before diving into specific items, it helps to know how Google tracks these sales. Stores love slapping massive discount banners on their homepages, even if the price cut applies to only a handful of items nobody wants. To bypass the hype, Google used an impression-weighted setup that looked at two things: how many items were actually marked down and the average size of the price cut. This filters out outlier noise and tracks when an entire category is truly discounted.

Wrap up your big-screen ambitions before Cyber Week ends

If a new television, soundbar, or smart home security camera is on your list, dragging your feet into December is an easy way to overpay. The data confirms that the stretch between Black Friday and Cyber Week is the absolute sweet spot for main electronics. This is when you'll find both the widest selection of gear on sale and the largest price drops. Once December settles in, promotional momentum dries up, leaving you with weaker discounts and annoying backorders.

Drones and motorized toys march to their own chaotic beat

Standard consumer tech demands an early purchase, but tech toys behave completely differently. If you’re hunting down remote-controlled cars, motorized gadgets, or drones, playing the waiting game actually works. Pricing patterns show these kinds of toys don't hit their deepest markdowns until the final week before Christmas, making them a solid last-minute win.

Gaming consoles hit an awkward mid-December slump

Shoppers looking for a PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo setup or party board games and puzzles need to watch the calendar. Black Friday weekend is still your best bet for console bundles and wide game sales. But if you miss that opening window, step away from the checkout cart in the middle of the month. Deal quality takes a noticeable dive in mid-December, then a second wave of discounts bounces back right before Christmas wraps up.

Buy packing cubes now, but leave the rolling suitcase for later

Shopping for a frequent traveler takes a split approach. Smaller travel gear, like packing cubes, tech pouches, and dopp kits, peaks during Black Friday weekend and then slowly drops off. Large luggage is the exact opposite. Big suitcases and hard-shell sets don't hit their lowest clearance prices until late December. Grab the smaller organizers early, but hold off on the heavy bags.

Treat your dog early, but hold out for the reptile tank

Gifting four-legged family members comes with its own retail schedule. Treats, apparel, and cozy beds for dogs and cats hit their widest selection and steepest discounts over Black Friday weekend, followed by a mid-December lull. However, if you are shopping for specialty pets like reptiles, aquarium fish, birds, or small critters, late December triggers an aggressive secondary wave of deep-discount clearance.

Buy appliances early; skip mid-December for holiday decor

Big-ticket household upgrades like dishwashers, refrigerators, and living room couches demand early planning. Retailers roll out their best inventory and steepest cuts during Black Friday weekend. Given the delivery hassles and inventory caps that come with oversized items, putting it off past November is asking for a late delivery.

Meanwhile, holiday decor works best if you buy early to enjoy it, or wait until late December for deep clearance on lights and storage bins. Just skip mid-December, where both selection and discounts hit a dead zone.

Gourmet cookware rewards the shoppers who wait

Unlike living room furniture, kitchen essentials and fancy dinnerware reward late-season patience. Retail data shows that deep percentage markdowns on cookware sets, kitchen gadgets, and dining tools don’t fully surface until late December. If an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven or a new knife set is on your radar, waiting until the final weeks of the season will net you the lowest prices.

The late-December skincare clearance is a myth

If signature scents, makeup, or fancy skincare are on your gift list, lock them down early. Fragrance promotions peak between the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, falling off a cliff after that without getting any cheaper. Skincare follows that exact same pattern: Black Friday delivers the widest brand selection, and steep late-December skincare clearance has basically vanished in recent years.

That early-bird rule also applies to footwear and heavy workout gear, such as treadmills, weights, and golf clubs, before inventory thins out. If you're just hunting for sweaters and everyday gym clothes, though, don't sweat it — those stay steadily discounted all the way to Christmas.

The predictable spiral of waiting until Christmas Eve

Google's search query logs reveal a predictable panic routine that plays out every single December:

• Dec. 22 — Searches for "next day shipping" jump as regular delivery windows vanish. This is also the single biggest day of the year for "DIY gift" searches, as shoppers try to figure out if overnight freight is worth it or if they should just make something by hand.

• Dec. 23 — With delivery options gone, everyone pivots to local storefronts, driving searches for "gifts near me" and "in-store pickup" to their yearly peak.

• Dec. 24 — Curbside panic sets in, pushing "same day pickup" searches to their highest point of the season.

• Dec. 25 — With stores finally closed on Christmas Day, shoppers hit the inbox with last-second searches for e-gift cards, digital vouchers, and streaming subscriptions.

The funniest find in the entire report? Searches for "last minute gift for mom" consistently start climbing on Dec. 23. Searches for "last minute gift for dad," on the other hand, don't show any real movement until Christmas Eve.

The numbers don't lie: when it comes to holiday procrastination, dads get the absolute worst of it.

We choose stories alongside the kids, often listen together, and talk about what’s happening.

They’ve proven to be a great tool to soften transitions, help the kids have some quiet time to rest while we prepare meals or clean up, take along during long car rides, and engage their brains without being overly stimulating. 

There is no shortage of options on the market right now specifically aimed at our kids’ age group, so we decided to put some to the test. We spent three months trying out a collection of popular players, both at home and in the car, to come up with this list.

After lots of hands-on testing, the Yoto player came out on top as our favorite screen-free audio player, with the Toniebox as a close second. Read on to learn why and see what else made the list.

Editor's note: We have not yet tested the Eddi, Lunii, or Nex Playground.

Astronomers have just spotted a small, bright world in the outer reaches of the solar system they think could be a dwarf planet like Pluto. 

The mysterious space object, for now known as 2026 ED138, lies about 46 times farther from the sun than Earth, and may measure between 370 to 930 miles wide. Scientists estimate it's about 1.1 billion miles farther than Pluto in the Kuiper Belt, a zone of icy debris past Neptune.

Matthew Holman, a researcher at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, made the discovery two weeks ago by running data from the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory through a program he built with fellow astronomer Kevin Napier. 

"My first reaction was one of excited disbelief," Holman said in a statement. "Objects like this are very rare, so I immediately started checking whether I or the code had done something wrong."

The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, the official recordkeeper for new objects in our solar system, announced it as a candidate on Wednesday. If confirmed, ED138 could become the sixth officially recognized dwarf planet in the solar system, following Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. 

Rubin's detection of a previously unknown world in our own cosmic backyard highlights a new accelerated way of doing astronomy. After the initial find, the team was able to piece together a detailed "picture" of the object in three days. By pairing the observatory's repeated sky scans with archival data and pictures from other telescopes, the researchers learned quite a bit about ED138 and its stretched orbit around the sun. 

You can think of a dwarf planet as a scaled-down planet. It gets pulled around the sun by its own gravity, but it's not quite massive enough to clear other space rocks out of its way like a regular planet does. Pluto's 2006 demotion from planet status occurred because other icy bodies cross its orbit. 

"Once we identify a new object, we can search back months, and sometimes even decades, finding it in images where nobody knew to look," said Mario Jurić, Rubin's lead solar system scientist at the University of Washington, in a statement. "This ability to both discover and 'precover' objects is transforming how quickly and accurately we can determine their orbits and understand the distant solar system."

Astronomers say ED138 shines so brightly that folks with fairly small telescopes could probably see it. The reason no one has noticed it until now may be that it hides in plain sight among the Milky Way's crowded band of stars in the sky. 

Want more science and tech news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's Light Speed newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Looking back in the vault, Rubin's Simonyi Survey Telescope had observed ED138 some 30 times between March 4 and July 11. Then, using the Asteroid Institute's ADAM Precovery tool, which combs archives for old matches to newly found objects, the team saw it again in 2016 images taken with the Dark Energy Camera at another observatory in Chile. Combined, the data allowed astronomers to trace the object's path over a decade. 

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory took these images of 2026 ED138, a possible dwarf planet beyond Pluto that may be one of the largest and brightest objects ever found that far from the sun. Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA / M. Jurić / D. de Martin / M. Zamani

For now, scientists call ED138 a dwarf planet candidate because they still need to prove it's round. Icy objects of this size usually get pulled into a round shape by their own gravity. To be sure, though, scientists need to observe it with other telescopes in infrared light — a kind of light our eyes can't see — to pin down its exact size and other details.

Distant objects like ED138 are artifacts from the era when the planets, including Earth, formed, and they could help explain how the solar system and its giant planets came together.

Over the next 10 years, Rubin will photograph the whole southern sky repeatedly. Scientists believe this new detection is just the beginning of many discoveries to come. 

"Any others hiding in the places earlier surveys skipped are now within reach," Holman said. 

Spooky season means wild decorations, even wilder costumes, and surprisingly, free food promos from a wide range of popular chains.

Halloween falls on October 31, but plenty of promotions are already live. You can find BOGO offers, limited-edition drops, steep discounts, and genuinely free giveaways at this time of year. And we're not talking about impossible-to-claim offers buried in the small print. We're talking about huge brands like Chipotle, Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, and Wendy’s shouting about their special Halloween deals.

Check out some of our favorites below:

Halloween 2026 food deals

7 Brew

On Oct. 31, pick up the Fill-A-Tray bundle to snag four medium drinks for $17. If you're dropping by earlier in the week, the seasonal lineup features the Frankenchai Matcha Latte ($5.20), Original Pumpkin Blondie Breve ($4.95+), Rocky Road Mocha ($4.55+), Nightshade 7 Energy ($5.25+), Boo Raspberry Blue Pom Smoothie ($5.65+), and Drizzled Apple 7 Fizz ($3.30+).

7-Eleven

On Oct. 31, save $10 on a 7NOW delivery order of $20 or more with promo code TREAT at in-app checkout.

Andy’s Frozen Custard

Kids aged 12 and under who visit in costume on Halloween can score a free small sundae with one topping in-store.

Applebee’s

Kids aged 12 and under who wear a costume can get a free meal with the purchase of an adult entree at select locations on Halloween.

Baked by Melissa

Through Oct. 31, take 20% off any 100-pack of bite-sized cupcakes with promo code TRICK20 at online checkout. Additionally, purchasing a Hocus Pocus 50-pack automatically adds a free Boo Crew 6-pack directly into your digital cart.

Baskin Robins

Rewards members can mix and match three treats for $15 through Oct. 31.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s

Kids aged 12 and under wearing a costume get a free kids' meal with the purchase of an adult entree on Halloween.

Biggby Coffee

Kids in costume can claim a free kids' drink through Oct. 31.

Blue Bunny

Score a BOGO free deal on frozen dairy desserts when ordering via DashMart on DoorDash from Oct. 29 through Nov. 4.

Bojangles

Save 20% on the Halloween Bite Box by applying promo code 20BITEBOX in the mobile app. You can customize it with six, nine, or 12 Bo Bites, plus a biscuit, a side, a drink, and a dipping sauce (select stores also include three doughnut Bites with salted caramel dip).

Buffalo’s Cafe

Kids aged 12 and under wearing a costume get one free kids' meal item with the purchase of an adult entree on Oct. 31 (dine-in only).

Burger King

Royal Perks members can unlock a digital BOGO Whopper Jr. coupon on Oct. 31 via the BK app or website. You can also grab the limited-time $3.59 Vampire’s Bite Strawberry & Sprite, which comes with an edible Sour Punch candy straw (or add it to any Game Day meal for an extra $0.50).

California Pizza Kitchen

Grab $5 CPKids Jack-O-Lantern Pizzas through Oct. 31 for dine-in, takeout, or delivery, available either fully baked and ready-to-eat or as build-your-own kits.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill

The Cellar’s Glow Halloween Wine Dinner runs Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. local time, offering a structured four-course meal with wine pairings for $65 per person (online RSVP required).

Carvel

Snag seasonal ice cream cakes like the Crunchie Munchie Monster Cake or Carvelanche and get free delivery on orders placed through Oct. 31.

Chipotle

On Oct. 31, wear a costume and get a $6 entree in-restaurant from 3 p.m. until closing, local time. Scan your in-app rewards card at checkout. Limit one per member.

Chuck E. Cheese

Through Oct. 31, buy one large Build Your Own one-topping pizza and get the second at 50% off with promo code BOGOLarge at checkout.

Church’s Texas Chicken

Real Rewards members can open the app through Oct. 31 and tap the mysterious door to reveal weekly surprise perks through the "Chick or Treat" promotion.

Cold Stone Creamery

Seasonal scoops available through Oct. 31 include the Treat or Treat creation ($7.99+), Witches’ Boo Shake ($6.99), and Boo Batter Ice Cream Taco ($7.99+).

Corner Bakery

Kids visiting in costume on Oct. 31 get a free bakery cookie.

Dairy Queen

The Spellbound Series runs through Nov. 1, spotlighting the Bubble Brew Sparkler, Enchanted Oreo Blizzard, and Ghost Pepper Sauce alongside a 4-piece Chicken Strip Basket. You can also add a $4 mystery Blizzard Buddy plush keychain to any order through Oct. 31, with a shot at pulling a rare Goldie plush for free Blizzards for a year.

Dave & Buster’s

Advance-ticketed Halloween parties run on Oct. 31. The family-focused Boo Bash (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) starts at $21 and includes a breakfast banquet, $10 Power Card, three hours of unlimited gameplay, and a costume contest. The 18+ Moonlight Mixer (7 p.m. to 10 p.m.) starts at $24.99 and packs a dinner banquet, unlimited soda, three hours of gaming, and a costume contest.

Dave’s Hot Chicken

Grab limited-edition Dave’s Slashers for $5.99, drizzled with blood-red wildberry puree and poured into a themed cup with a "bloodied" straw.

Del Taco

Del Yeah! Rewards members score an in-app BOGO Free deal at The Del Taco, running Oct. 28-31.

Denny’s

Kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entree on Oct. 31 when dining in (limit one kids' meal per adult entree, maximum two per ticket).

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

Get a free Big Yellow Cup with any purchase when you wear a costume. Plus, get a free kids’ meal with an adult purchase of $15 or more.

Dog Haus

Rewards members bag 31 bonus points with any purchase on Halloween (register by 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 30 to qualify).

Dunkin’

Rewards members can earn 3x points on half-dozen or dozen donuts and 25- or 50-count Munchkins treats from Oct. 30-31.

Eastern Standard Provisions

Save 25% on select soft pretzel gift boxes with promo code GETBOOD at checkout, featuring boxes priced under $50 and free shipping.

Eddie Merlot’s

Save $20 on online orders of $60 or more from Oct.30 through Nov. 1 with promo code SPOOKY at checkout.

Einstein Bros. Bagels

Rewards members can pick up six fresh bagels for $7 by activating the Spooky Deal reward in the app through Nov. 3.

Farmer Boys

Kids visiting in costume can grab a free Spooky Face Hot Cake and a free giant carving zucchini from 7:00 a.m. to noon on Oct. 31 (in-store only, no purchase necessary).

Fazoli’s

Wear a costume to the counter or drive-thru on Oct. 30 for National Breadstick Day to claim six free breadsticks (no purchase necessary).

First Watch

Seasonal breakfast features include the $5.95 Blazing Dragon juice and the $14.95 Godfather Breakfast Bowl.

Fresh Brothers

Preorder a pumpkin-shaped pizza for Oct. 31 and take 15% off with promo code FBSPK15 at checkout, online or in-app.

Friendly’s

Kids get a free kids' meal on Halloween with the purchase of a full-price adult entree.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop

The limited-run Halloween menu runs through Nov. 8, serving the Draco Taco II ($4.69), Draco’rrito ($10.25), Drac a ‘Rita ($9.25), Midnight Matador ($11.69), and $5 Modelo draft beers.

Harry Potter Shops (New York and Chicago)

Visit the Butterbeer Bar in costume from Oct. 29-31 to receive a free pumpkin-shaped sugar cookie.

Hot Head Burritos

Kids aged 12 and under in costume receive a free kids' meal and a Leroy paper mask with an entree purchase on Oct. 31 (in-store only).

Huddle House

Score a free kids' meal with an adult entree purchase of $8 or more from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 (dine-in only; beverage not included).

Hurricane Grill & Wings

Kids under 12 in costume get one free kids' meal item on Oct. 31 (dine-in only, no adult purchase required).

Jack in the Box

Grab two oversized Monster Tacos for $3 for a limited time. You can also pick up the $14 Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" Munchie Meal, which bundles a Double Krusty Burger of Terror or Double Chicken Sandwich of Terror with two tacos, curly fries, a drink, Spooky Simpsons Sauce, and one of six glow-in-the-dark cups.

Jamba

Take 31% off orders placed on Oct. 31 using promo code SPOOKY (excludes catering). October's mystery sip is the Berry Boo-st smoothie topped with coconut whip.

Krispy Kreme

Wear a costume from Oct. 3031 to get a free Original Glaze or Classic Ring doughnut. No purchase necessary.

Marie Callender’s

Take home whole bakery pies and cheesecakes with tiered savings throughout October: $5 off one, $10 off two, $20 off three, $25 off four, $30 off five, or $40 off six when ordering online for pickup.

McAlister’s Deli

Rewards members can score a $5 regular sandwich from Oct. 30 through Nov. 3. For office or party spreads, take $45 off catering orders of $300 or more with code OCT2026, or order the Halloween Catering Bundle featuring a gallon of Witch’s Brew and 52 assorted mini cookies and treats.

McDonald’s

Collectible Disney Villains Boo Buckets (featuring Maleficent, Ursula, Cruella de Vil, Jafar, and Scar) are available alongside Happy Meals through Oct. 31, while supplies last.

Mellow Mushroom

Order the limited-time Wicked Wizard cocktail at participating bar locations through Oct. 31.

MOD Pizza

Kids aged 12 and under in costume get a free kids' meal with the purchase of any regular-size pizza or salad on Oct. 31 (in-restaurant only).

Moe’s Southwest Grill

From Oct. 31 through Nov. 1, rewards members can get a BOGO entree on Halloween, including burritos, bowls, quesadillas, three tacos, salads, nachos, and stacks.

Noodles & Company

Rewards members who buy any regular entree can take 50% off regular-size Ramen dishes on Oct. 31.

Nothing Bundt Cakes

Bundtastic Rewards members earn 100 bonus points on delivery purchases from Oct. 30-31.

Original ChopShop

Stop by on Oct. 31 for an in-store pumpkin hunt to find hidden vouchers good for $15, $25, $50, or $100 toward your order.

Papa Johns

Grab a festive Jack-O’-Lantern pizza for $11.99+ (regularly $16.99) through Oct. 31 online, in the mobile app, or for carryout.

Papa Murphy’s

Large take-and-bake Jack-O Pizzas are $10 through Oct. 31 (family size or dairy-free cheese adds $3). If you want dessert included, pick up the $15 Scream of a Deal bundle paired with chocolate chip cookie dough.

Paris Baguette

PB Rewards members get a free pastry with any beverage purchase on Oct. 31.

Parlor Doughnuts

Grab individual Candy Classics doughnuts for $3.65 each through Oct. 31, or pick up the Classroom Cravings dozen for $31.80 (saving $1 per doughnut).

Peter Piper Pizza

Order a large, one-topping pumpkin-shaped pie online for $16.47+ through Oct. 31.

Pizza Hut

Grab the $6.99 My Haunt Box through October, which packs a Personal Fang Pizza alongside your choice of seasoned fries or four boneless wings.

Pluckers

Dine in on Oct. 31 to get $1 bone-in wings all day long (costumes encouraged).

Pokeworks

Get a free dessert or Spam Musubi with any entree purchase when you enter promo code TREAT at checkout from Oct. 26 through Nov. 1 (valid online, in the app, and in-store).

Qdoba

Rewards members get a Buy One Entree and Drink, Get One Entree Free coupon on October 31 and November 1 (Gold Status members unlock early access on Oct. 30). Valid online, in the app, or in-restaurant.

QuickChek

QC Rewards members unlock $3 smoothies, shakes, and lattes after 3:00 p.m., or can grab any size iced coffee (including Witch’s Brew) for $1.99.

Rainforest Cafe

Kids ages 10 and under wearing a costume get a 99¢ kids' meal with each adult entree purchase through Oct. 30 (mention the offer to your server; excludes Las Vegas and Disney theme park locations).

Raising Cane’s

Score a limited-edition Halloween cup for $1.49 with the purchase of any combo or 32-ounce drink, while supplies last.

Red Lobster

Kids eat free from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1. Score up to two free kids' meals per table with one full-price adult dinner entree when kids dine in costume. For takeout, use promo code SPOOKY26 at online checkout for one free kids' meal per adult entree.

Red Robin

Kids under 11 wearing costumes can get a free kids sundae with a kids meal purchase from Oct. 30th through Nov. 1. Dine-in only and limit one per child.

Rita’s Italian Ice

Zombie’s Blood Italian Ice (a rich sweet cherry flavor) is back through Halloween. If you're new to the app, signing up and making a first purchase earns a free small ice, custard, or Gelati.

Round Table Pizza

Loyalty members can order a $29.99 Halloween Bundle (large Double Play Pepperoni Pizza, one shareable appetizer, and a 2-liter soda) on Oct. 30-31.

Shake Shack

Use promo code SCARYGOOD online or via the Shack App to receive a free ShackBurger with any order of $10 or more through Oct. 31 (redeemable once per day).

Shipley Do-Nuts

Take $5 off orders of $25 or more through Nov. 1 using promo code JustTreat5 online.

Sonic

Pick up $0.50 Corn Dogs all day on Oct. 31 at participating drive-ins (no app or coupon code needed).

Stan’s Donuts

Stan’s Perks members score a BOGO free donut after 3 p.m. every Wednesday in October.

Starbucks

The limited-run, grande-only Black Cat Frappuccino starts at $6.45+ (featuring chocolate cake flavor and dark cat ears), accompanied by the $5.45 Venti Black Night Cookie loaded with dark chocolate and caramelized white chocolate swirls.

Stoner’s Pizza Joint

Grab a pumpkin-shaped pizza through Oct. 31 at participating locations.

Subway

Sub Club members unlock BOGO Footlongs when ordering online or through the Subway app through Nov. 8.

Sullivan’s Steakhouse

Take $20 off online orders of $60 or more from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 by entering promo code SPOOKY at checkout.

Tabanero

Save 20% on hot and BBQ sauces with promo code SPOOKY20 at checkout through Nov. 1.

Teriyaki Madness

Enjoy free delivery on all app and online orders on Oct. 31 with no minimum spend required.

TGI Fridays

Sip on a $10 Dracula’s Kiss Dragon Fruit Margarita served in a festive "blood bag," or grab the $10 Creepy-Crawly Brownie Obsession sundae for dine-in through Oct. 31.

The Brass Tap

Show up in costume on Oct. 31 to receive 50% off your first drink (limit one per customer).

Tim Hortons

Pick up a 31-piece Timbits Trick-or-Treat Bucket for $11.99 (bucket refills run $6 while supplies last).

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Try the seasonal Fanta Phantom Smoothie (starting at $9.09), blended with vanilla-flavored popping boba.

Wendy’s

Pick up a $1 Boo! Book through Nov. 1, packed with five coupons for free Jr. Frosty treats and one coupon for a $1.99 Kids’ Meal with purchase (Frosty vouchers remain valid through Dec. 31).

Whataburger

Rewards members unlock an exclusive in-app BOGO 9-piece Whatawings deal on Oct. 31.

White Castle

Craver Nation Rewards members can snag five Original Sliders for $3 or a BOGO free Crispy Chicken Slider in restaurants through Oct. 31. You can also grab 12-piece Chicken Rings for $4.99 through Nov. 1 and check the app for a Halloween Mystery Offer running Oct. 29 through Nov. 1. New app sign-ups receive $5 off their first in-app order of $8 or more for their first 30 days.

Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that's before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each streamer!

Don't be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We've got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, and animation, among others. But if you're seeking something brand new (or just new to streaming), we've got you covered there, too.

15. Ali G: Who Iz I?

Sacha Baron Cohen has released his third movie of 2026. And if you're surprised to hear he's had three movies out this year, and you might have missed most, if not all of them, consider that a sign of their quality. First came the abysmal battle-of-the-sexes comedy Ladies First. Next was the Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser comedy about condom marketing, Balls Up. And now, Cohen brings back Ali G after 20 years.

Once more in disguise, Cohen interacts with unsuspecting folks as the outrageous character. And sure, critics thrashed the film when it opened in theaters last Friday. But now it's on streaming. So, you can see it for yourself for free — if you already subscribe to Prime Video. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen and Morgana Robinson

How to watch: Ali G: Who Iz I? is now streaming on Prime Video.

14. The Mob

If you can't get enough of Traitors, Hulu's hoping you'll join their Mob.

This reality TV game show brings together a gaggle of celebrity contestants in an Italian villa, where they are The Family. Each week, they'll compete in challenges inspired by mafia movies, earning prizes and power. They want to be chosen as the don, so they're safe from being whacked (kicked off the show). The prize money is $100,000, so the competition should be pretty cutthroat.

Parker Posey brings her bold fashion sense and comedy chops as the host, while a variety of actors, reality stars, and one of our favorite (drag) queens compete. But are we alone in being worried there's just not enough Willam in this trailer? — K.P.

Starring: Bella Palk, Willam Belli, Demi Engemann, Maria Georgas, Joe Gorga, Harry Jowsey, Chelsea Lazkani, Debi Mazar, Romeo Miller, Shane Parton, Bruno Tonioli, and Aida Turturro

How to watch: The Mob is now streaming on Hulu.

13. The Dog Stars

Based on Peter Heller's 2012 novel of the same name, The Dog Stars is a post-apocalyptic action thriller that bombed at the box office this summer. Set in a not-so-distant future where a pandemic has wiped out much of mankind, the film focuses on Hig (Jacob Elordi), a pilot who survives alongside his dog and a gruff former marine named Bangley (Josh Brolin). But as tensions rise over Bangley's methods of protection, Hig looks for a way out to thrive, not just survive.

Critics jeered Ridley Scott's latest, calling it overrun by cliches and gimmicks without much meaning. So, despite its incredible talent behind the scenes and in front of the lens, we're not recommending The Dog Stars. — K.P.

Starring: Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Guy Pearce

How to watch: The Dog Stars is now available for rental or purchase on Prime Video.

12. Minions & Monsters

The Minions have caused all kind of comical mayhem since they debuted in Despicable Me back in 2010. But their latest adventure is uniquely thrilling for cinephiles as it lets these lovable critters loose in 1920s Hollywood, where they're searching for monsters to make a movie of their own.

This means a lot of allusions to cinema on top of the Minions' signature silliness. So whether you love slapstick, goofy gibberish, or classic Hollywood icons, this comedy should satisfy.* — K.P.

Starring: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, and Phil LaMarr

How to watch: Minions & Monsters is now streaming on Peacock.

11. Dexter: Resurrection, Season 2

It may be all about serial killers, but Dexter is a show that refuses to die.

The main series ran for eight seasons from 2006 to 2013, then there was a follow-on set 10 years after (Dexter: New Blood), then a prequel (Dexter: Original Sin), and now there's a sequel to the sequel (Dexter: Resurrection), which is on its second season. Got all that?

To be honest, the main thing you need to know is that it's about a serial killer (Michael C. Hall) who only murders other killers. Now in his fifties, Dexter is having something of a midlife crisis, but there are still plenty of bad people out there that need hunting down. — Sam Haysom, General Assignment Editor, UK

Starring: Michael C. Hall, Uma Thurman, Jack Alcott, David Zayas, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Kadia Saraf, Dominic Fumusa, Emilia Suárez, James Remar, Peter Dinklage, Brian Cox, Dan Stevens, Bokeem Woodbine, Nona Parker Johnson, and Desmond Harrington

How to watch: Dexter: Resurrection Season 2 debuts on Showtime and Paramount+ on Oct. 30.

10. The Stunt Driver

Jay Baruchel reteams with Man Seeking Woman director Michael Dowse for a historical comedy based on the life of Canadian daredevil stuntman Ken Carter. Known as The Mad Canadian during his heyday, Carter pulled off a variety of wild stunts. Set in the 1970s, The Stunt Driver focuses on the time he aimed to drive a rocket car over a one-mile jump across the Saint-Laurent river.

Within its silliness, The Stunt Driver explores how following even a "stupid" dream can be important. Critics have cheered the Canadian comedy, highlighting Baruchel's portrayal of Carter as a defining moment in his career. See for yourself what the buzz is all about. — K.P.

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Ed Helms, Ben Foster, Laurence Leboeuf, and Dan Bakkedahl

How to watch: The Stunt Driver is now available for rental or purchase on digital.

9. Minimum Wage

Comedy sketch group American High Shorts' viral Minimum Wage web series makes the jump to Netflix this year, with original cast members Aidan Micho, Grace Reiter, Hyde Healy, Julia Dicesare, Luke Burke, Ryan Micho, and Tommy Armstrong returning.

Like in the original Minimum Wage, the Netflix series is an ensemble comedy that follows a group of teenagers trying their best to run a local pizzeria, complete with awkward customer interactions and a neurotic manager. It's also the latest example of creators charting their own course in Hollywood, so if you're searching for laughs and rising comedy stars, Minimum Wage is sure to serve up both.* —B.E.

Starring: Aidan Micho, Grace Reiter, Hyde Healy, Julia Dicesare, Luke Burke, Ryan Micho, and Tommy Armstrong

How to watch: Minimum Wage is now streaming on Netflix.

8. Verity

Based on Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel Verity, this psychosexual thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Lowen Ashleigh, a little-known novelist who is offered a bizarre opportunity that she can't turn down. After world-famous novelist Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) is left catatonic from a car collision, a ghost writer is needed to finish her hit book series. But there's one catch: Lowen must come and stay in the remote cabin where Verity lives with her handsome husband (Josh Hartnett) and young son. While there, she goes through Verity's notes, and finds some things truly shocking that make her suspect Verity is not what she seems.

Is this a good movie? No. Is this a juicy psychosexual thriller? Not really. Helmed by Michael Showalter, Verity feels pretty tame, especially in the year Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and Pillion came out. But as I wrote in my review, "Anne Hathaway gives top-notch psycho-biddy." And it is worth watching for her alone. —K.P.

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett, Ismael Cruz Córdova, and Brady Wagner

How to watch: Verity is now available for rental or purchase on Prime Video.

7. Nocturne

Last year, Stephen Graham broke hearts (and dominated awards season) with his portrayal of a broken father in Adolescence. In this fall's Nocturne, he's less likely to break your heart than he is to stop it outright as he takes on the role of a terrifying serial killer.

Based on Lars Kepler's novels Lazarus and The Sandman, Nocturne introduces soldier-turned-homicide detective Jonah Lynn (Liev Schreiber). He and his family trade the streets of Philadelphia for a small town in Western Pennsylvania, but trouble finds them in the form of Jurek Walter (Graham), a cunning killer. As Jonah and his surrogate daughter, FBI agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz), seek out Jurek's latest missing victim, how far will they go to stop him?* —B.E.

Starring: Liev Schreiber, Zazie Beetz, Stephen Graham, and Bill Camp

How to watch: Nocturne premieres on Apple TV on Oct. 30.

6. SCTV: The Greatest Show You've Never Heard Of

SCTV isn't as well known as Saturday Night Live, but they both pulled from the same pool of crackling improv talent out of Toronto. Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, Catherine O'Hara, Dan Aykroyd, and John Candy were all friends doing comedy together when these sketch shows came calling. And if you don't know SCTV, you can learn all about it with the new Netflix doc SCTV: The Greatest Show You've Never Heard Of.

For comedy nerds, this doc plays as a companion to the perfectly titled You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (in a Canadian Kind of Way). Both films begin with talking about how the Toronto production of Godspell launched the careers of many of the comedy greats above. However, the SCTV doc dives more into what happened next. Featuring interviews with the cast members, including Levy, O'Hara, Short, Thomas, and Martin, this doc explores how Second City in Toronto fostered budding comedy geniuses, and how their show fought for its place after SNL debuted. Plus, there's interview with the comedians the show inspired, speaking to how SCTV influenced them. Though a bit stiff considering the talent and the topic, this film is still a must-see for comedy lovers. — K.P.

Starring: Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, Tom Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Conan O'Brien, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Kathryn Hahn

How to watch: SCTV: The Greatest Show You've Never Heard Of premieres globally on Netflix on Oct. 30.

5. The Gilded Age, Season 4

Julian Fellowes' The Gilded Age returns for a fourth season to show the drama behind 1880s New York City, where the culture clash was new money versus old money (versus no money).

Carrie Coon returns as Bertha Russell, the social-climbing wife of dashing robber baron George Russell (Morgan Spector). But as the trailer reminds us, their marriage is "on shaky ground." What will that mean for Bertha and New York society? We can't wait to find out. — K.P.

Starring: Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Cynthia Nixon, Denée Benton, and Christine Baranski

How to watch: The Gilded Age Season 4 premieres on HBO Max on Nov. 1.

4. Instadocs: Jane Doe v. Cornell

The Cornell 7 case has launched protests at Cornell University and discussions around rape culture nationwide. You might know that a former Cornell student — protected in her lawsuit with the name Jane Doe — has alleged that seven members of the university's Chi Phi fraternity chapter sexually assaulted her in October of 2024, and that the university and local district attorney's response has been seen as insufficient to Cornell's student body and beyond.

Now, Netflix offers an Instadoc from showrunner Steve Yaccino, which explores the case through interviews with The Cornell Daily Sun editor-in-chief Sophia Dasser and senior editor Cereese Qusba; current New York governor Kathy Hochul; Amanda Walsh, deputy director of the Victims Rights Law Center and a former Title IX coordinator at Brown University; Thomas Giuffra, Jane Doe’s attorney; a former Cornell fraternity president; and a recent Cornell graduate who went through the Title IX process. — K.P.

How to watch: Instadocs: Jane Doe v. Cornell is now streaming on Netflix.

3. Never After Dark

Seeking something uniquely haunting for Halloween? I recommend Never After Dark.

Per my review, "From House of Ninjas' writer/director Dave Boyle comes a horror thriller that has the slow burn of '70s classics like The Shining and The Exorcist. Like those searing horror legends, Never After Dark also centers its story of supernatural infestation in one location. The forest-bound bed-and-breakfast of Never After Dark might seem an unremarkable space, much like the Overlook Hotel or the MacNeil home at first glance. But as the chilling story develops, its many-windowed exterior grows foreboding, and its wood-paneled interiors slyly sinister, suggesting the presence of something inhuman and dangerous... In the end, Never After Dark is a beguiling haunted house tale with tantalizing twists, skin-crawling scares, and a tender tale of sisterhood at its core. Horror lovers should be on the lookout for this one." — K.P.

Starring: Moeka Hoshi, Kurumi Inagaki, and Kento Kaku

How to watch: Never After Dark is now available for rental or purchase on digital.

2. Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant

One of the weirdest movies of the year is now on digital. And just in time for Halloween! Make it a movie night with friends and kick back to the gross-out sci-fi sex comedy Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant.

THUNDERLIPS, the Kiwi writing/directing duo, offers a story about a slacker (Hannah Lynch) whose laundry room hookup with a new neighbor leads to an accelerated pregnancy that's out of this world. Understandably, she's less than thrilled about this unexpected turn of events, and so seeks an abortion. Hilarity ensues in a film I called "hilarious, heartfelt, and unapologetically gross." See for yourself. —K.P.

Starring: Hannah Lynch, Yvette Parsons, Arlo Green, and Jackie van Beek

How to watch: Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant is available for rental or purchase on digital.

Best of streaming this week: Forgotten Island

The best animated movie of the year you might have missed is now on digital. Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, Forgotten Island is a rousing adventure about friendship that's steeped in Filipino culture and '80s/'90s American radio. And it's totally awesome.

The story centers on wild child Jo (H.E.R.) and her brainy bestie Raissa (Liza Soberano), who grow up together, relishing in action movies, karaoke, and folklore around the magical island of Nakali. However, it's when their friendship is on the brink that they unexpectedly tumble into this incredible and dangerous realm, having a wild night they can't remember! As they retrace their steps to find their way home, they'll meet a collection of colorful characters, including a comically vain merman, an adorable baby demon, and a weredog, perfectly voiced by Dave Franco. Plus, it's a heartfelt story that's sure to comfort the misfits out there, reminding us we're not alone.

As I cheered in my review, "Forgotten Island will deliver an ending that is sensational and satisfying, reassuring us that being a weirdo works out once you've found your wild pack." — K.P.

Starring: H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, Kevin McCann, and Lea Salonga

How to watch: Forgotten Island is now available for rental or purchase on digital.

(*) denotes a blurb came from a prior list.

TL;DR: A typical content project can involve writing, images, documents, and a recording that still needs transcribing. The 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan puts those tasks into one platform with a single upfront payment. Lifetime access is just $69.97 (MSRP $540) through Nov. 1.

Opens in a new window

Credit: 1minAI

1min.AI Advanced Business Plan Lifetime Subscription

$69.97
$540 Save $470.03

 

Get Deal

You can chat with assistants powered by models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI, and others, including Claude and Gemini. Having several options in one place gives you flexibility when a coding question needs a different approach than a marketing draft.

The writing tools cover keyword research, blog generation, rewriting, summaries, grammar checks, and brand voice generation. You can also generate images, remove backgrounds, upscale pictures, and edit unwanted objects.

Document tools let you ask questions about PDFs, summarize their contents, translate files, and generate presentations. Audio and video features extend the workflow with transcription, voice isolation, translation, caption generation, and text-to-video creation.

The plan includes 4 million credits each month, plus opportunities to earn up to 450,000 additional monthly credits at no extra cost. Your output depends on which tools you use: lifetime access does not mean unlimited generation, and the listed monthly output examples aren’t a combined allowance.

For shared work, the plan supports 20 members, with member management, sharing, and collaboration features. Unlimited storage, an unlimited prompt library, and unlimited brand voice are also included.

For freelancers, small businesses, and creative teams, having a broad toolkit available without managing a separate workspace for every task is a big win.

Get 1min.AI Advanced Business lifetime access for $69.97 (reg. $540) through Nov. 1.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get ChatPlayground AI Unlimited lifetime access for a one-time $79 payment (reg. $619) for a limited time.

Opens in a new window

Credit: ChatPlayground AI

ChatPlayground AI: Lifetime Subscription (Unlimited Plan)

$79
$619 Save $540

 

Get Deal

Using several AI tools doesn’t mean copying the same question into multiple browser tabs. ChatPlayground AI’s Unlimited Lifetime Subscription brings multiple models and creative tools into one workspace, and it’s only $79 (reg. $619) for a limited time.

Enter your prompt once and compare responses side by side. With access to more than 20 models, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, you can explore different approaches without repeatedly starting over in separate tools.

That’s useful when one answer has the right structure, but another offers a better explanation. Compare coding suggestions, test headline ideas, or review different takes on a research question. Seeing alternatives helps you choose what fits your task, but it doesn’t remove the need to check important facts.

The platform also lets you upload PDFs and images and ask questions about their contents. Instead of manually pulling information into a prompt, you can bring the file into the conversation.

For creative work, AI image generation sits alongside chat and coding tools. Prompt-engineering features help refine your requests, while saved chat history keeps useful exchanges available for ongoing projects.

The Unlimited Plan includes unlimited messages per month, subject to a fair use policy, plus priority customer support and priority access to new features and future models.

Available models are updated regularly and may change. Get ChatPlayground AI Unlimited lifetime access for one $79 payment.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get a free iPhone 17e when you sign up for a T-Mobile plan, with no trade-in required. Alternatively, get the iPhone 17 for under $100 from T-Mobile when you switch to T-Mobile and bring your number on an Experience More or Experience Beyond plan.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iPhone 17e

 

Shop Now

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

iPhone 17

 

Shop Now

Apple is going extremely hard right now. In recent weeks, we've had new iPhones, MacBooks, and iPads. What are you supposed to do with all these new product launches? Check out the best deals on older models, of course.

For those interested in investing in the Apple iPhone 17, we recommend checking out T-Mobile. The popular carrier is offering another "free iPhone" deal this week.

You can switch to almost any T-Mobile plan and get a free iPhone 17e with no trade-in required. Alternatively, you can score the iPhone 17 for under $100 when signing up for a 36-month Experience More or Experience Beyond plan. T-Mobile will charge taxes on these free deals, as well as a $35 device connection fee. That's mildly irritating, but that's how it often goes with this kind of deal.

It's important to note that the Experience More and Experience Beyond plans are designed for power users who want 4K streaming, massive hotspot data, and the best international roaming. It therefore comes with a higher monthly bill than more limited plans. They do include perks like Apple TV+ and Netflix, which help offset some of that cost.

The iPhone 17 is the first base model built specifically to handle Apple’s most advanced AI features. Mashable's Stan Schroeder said it's an "excellent phone that matches the iPhone Pro models in many ways that matter." That's enough for us to consider upgrading.

Score an iPhone 17e for free this week with T-Mobile.

Witchbrook finally has a solid release date. A decade after developer Chucklefish first teased the cosy witch life sim, it and co-developer Robotality have now announced the game will launch on Jan. 28 next year. That's only three more months of waiting.

First teased in 2016 under the working title Spellbound, Witchbrook has become one of the most highly anticipated upcoming cosy games, competing with ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier. According to SteamDB, Witchbrook is currently the ninth most wishlisted game on Steam. Players take on the role of a student at Witchbrook College, a magic school for witches in training.

Witchbrook's developers had initially planned to release the game in Winter 2025, announcing the launch window in March that year. This was eventually pushed back to 2026, allowing them to bring Witchbrook to more platforms and add support for additional languages. This Wednesday's release date announcement has now delayed it just a little bit further until 2027.

"We have poured detail and care into every pixel, to create a truly handcrafted experience," Chucklefish and Robotality said in their release date announcement. "Thank you for all of your support and patience, especially within the last year, while we took the additional time to make a game we’re truly proud of."

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

In Witchbrook, there are classes to attend, assignments to complete, and exams to pass, with subjects such as Potions, Astrology, Demon Hunting, and Tarot. However, you won't be spending all your time on your studies. You can also start a business, creating goods and delivering them via broom, as well as partake in extracurricular activities such as cooking, gardening, decorating your home, and exploring the seaside town of Mossport.

Like many good cosy games set in friendly villages, Witchbrook is a social RPG as well, with an attractive cast of local residents and classmates to befriend — or even date. If none of them take your fancy, you can spend time with your real-life friends instead, as Witchbook supports up to four players in online multiplayer.

While the 10-year wait has caused the hype to die down for some, many eager gamers have still reacted to the news of Witchbrook's launch date with joy. Several have even likened the excitement and anticipation for the game to that surrounding Grand Theft Auto VI's launch. Despite the additional delay to cap it off, many fans are just happy that Witchbrook is finally arriving, and has a definite date they can mark in their calendars.

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

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

Witchbrook will launch Jan. 28, 2027 for $24.99 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier for fans of abbreviations.

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

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

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

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Yellow: Southeastern Conference

• Green: Football stats

• Blue: Nicknames

• Purple: Parts of a hockey team

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: SEC Schools, Abbreviated

• Green: QB Stats, Abbreviated

• Blue: Nicknames of NBA Stars

• Purple: Hockey Positions, Abbreviated

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 #765 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• SEC Schools, Abbreviated: LSU, OU, UGA, UK

• QB Stats, Abbreviated: INT, QBR, TD, YDS

• Nicknames of NBA Stars: AD, KD, PG-13, SGA

• Hockey Positions, Abbreviated: C, G, LW, RW

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to play Pips

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Easy difficulty hints, answers for October 29 Pips

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

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

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally; 1-6, placed vertically.

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

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

Medium difficulty hints, answers for October 29 Pips

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 6-1, placed vertically; 0-2, placed vertically.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally; 4-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed vertically.

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

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

Hard difficulty hints, answers for October 29 Pips

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

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed horizontally; 0-6, placed horizontally.

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

Greater Than (1): Everything in this space must be greater than 1. The answer is 6-2, placed horizontally.

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

Greater Than (7): Everything in this space must be greater than 7. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-2, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed vertically; 6-3, placed vertically.

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally; 5-0, placed vertically.

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

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 0-3, 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.

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

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

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Cover story.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

ALIBI

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A prank.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

CAPER

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Protrusion.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

BULGE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Serious.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

STERN

Final Hurdle hint

Sorcery.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

MAGIC

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

The full Moon may be behind us, but there's still plenty of lunar activity to look forward to as October draws to a close.

What is today's Moon phase?

As of Thursday, Oct. 29, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in the Waning Gibbous phase, with 87% of its surface visible.

Tonight, without the use of visual aids you should be able to spot the Tycho Crater, Copernicus Crater, and the Mare Imbrium. Binoculars will also help you see the Posidonius Crater, the Mare Humorum, and the Grimaldi Basin. Plus, if you have a telescope, you'll also see the Apollo 12 landing spot, the Rupes Altai, and the Caucasus Mountains.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on November 24.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon takes approximately 29.5 days to complete an orbit around Earth, going through a series of phases along the way. Depending on its position relative to Earth and the Sun, the amount of its illuminated surface we can see changes, creating the familiar sequence of crescents, quarter moons and the Full Moon. Once the cycle is complete, the pattern repeats, as explained by NASA.

The eight phases are:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anthropic has announced new Claude reporting tools, allowing employers to see exactly how and why their employees are using the AI tool. Smart reports are available now for users on paid Claude Enterprise plans, and can be enabled in an organisation's settings.

Announced on Wednesday, Claude's smart reports feature produces graphs showing how a team has been using the AI tool, what they've produced, and how much they've spent on it. Managers simply specify the team, a date range up to the last 28 days, and Claude products they'd like to be included in the report. 

Credit: Anthropic

The products that can be selected are chat, Claude Code, Claude Cowork, or the "unified chat and Cowork experience." (The recently announced Claude Duet AI agent isn't available on Claude Enterprise.) Smart reports will then pull data from the chosen tools and create an overview of what workers have been doing. This involves reading the team's conversation transcripts, grouping them into workstreams and types of output (such as vibe code or technical documents), and determining how much they've been spending.

"If a spend limit is holding someone back, admins with billing permission can raise it from the report," wrote Anthropic. 

On Monday, the company submitted an IPO filing stating that its existing customers had increased their spending by 900 percent since last year — though it still reported $80 billion loss in the first half of 2026 alone. Organisations can generate up to 10 smart reports per month for free, after which they'll incur an additional fee. 

Credit: Anthropic

Anthropic states that in addition to telling smart reports what to focus on in its analysis, managers can also ask their own custom questions about usage and cost. These questions can be saved to be asked again, so managers don't have to reenter them every time. Smart reports will make recommendations as well, such as suggesting new rules that could be added to a code repository.

Each smart report generates interactive charts, with managers able to click on them to see a breakdown of sessions in a workstream. Sessions can be ranked and filtered by cost, the product used, the date, and the type of output produced.

Smart reports will also not only show obstacles encountered and how often they cropped up, but also what Anthropic calls "inefficiencies." This includes sessions where workers didn't produce usable output, as well as ones classified as were "personal or off-topic."

Credit: Anthropic

Claude's new AI reporting tool is likely to leave some workers feeling apprehensive. There have been multiple reports of companies using AI to make layoff decisions, with a recent survey finding that one in four managers in the U.S. use it for this purpose "often or all the time." In July, a group of former Meta employees alleged that it relied on improperly tested AI tools to evaluate workers' productivity and track their AI token use, ranking them for inclusion in a mass layoff. Meta denied the allegations, saying workforce decisions were made by people, not AI.

Anthropic appears aware of such concerns, noting that Claude's smart reports aren't intended to be used in this manner.

"Smart reports help you understand adoption and plan your investment in Claude," Anthropic wrote. "They aren't designed and should not be used for evaluating individual performance or making employment decisions."

Claude's smart reports also have restrictions on the questions it will accept. Users will not be allowed to ask queries on topics such as race, gender identity, religion, political affiliation, immigration status, health, union activity, harassment complaints, or workers' personal lives.

Even so, the AI-powered reports are unlikely to nurture worker affection for the technology, or trust in their managers.

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

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

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

Parking meter meaning

A device in the street or in a parking lot that you put money into so that you can park your car next to it for a particular period of time.

Payphone meaning

A public telephone that requires prepayment before a call can be placed.

Piggy bank meaning

A small coin container, traditionally shaped like a pig, with a slot on top for inserting coins or paper currency.

Wishing well meaning

A traditional water feature, fountain or spring where people throw coins or small objects while making a wish.

Calico meaning

A multicolored animal coat pattern.

Candy corn meaning

A small, kernel-shaped American candy made from sugar, corn syrup, fondant and marshmallow cream.

Neapolitan meaning

Relating to, or coming from, the city of Naples, Italy.

Traffic light meaning

A visual signal, such as a system of colored lights, for controlling traffic.

Antarctica meaning

Earth's southernmost continent that surrounds the geographic South Pole.

Emperor meaning

The sovereign ruler of an empire, representing the highest and most prestigious rank in monarchic tradition.

Tuxedo meaning

A formal evening suit for men distinguished by satin or grosgrain accents on the lapels, buttons, and trouser side seams.

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

Waddle meaning

To walk with short, awkward steps while swaying or rocking your body from side to side.

Gothic meaning

A medieval art style.

Roman meaning

Of, relating to or coming from the city or ancient empire of Rome.

Sans meaning

Lacking something or doing something in the absence of an item, person or condition.

Typewriter meaning

A mechanical or electromechanical machine with a keyboard that prints letters, numbers and symbols directly onto paper by striking an inked ribbon with type elements.

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

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

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

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

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

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you love the cold.

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

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

What is Connections?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Spare change

• Green: Cold birds

• Blue: Microsoft Word

• Purple: Colorful

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

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Things You Put Coins into

• Green: Associated with Penguins

• Blue: Ends of Famous Fonts

• Purple: Things that Feature Three Colors

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 #1236 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Things You Put Coins into: PARKING METER, PAYPHONE, PIGGY BANK, WISHING WELL

• Associated with Penguins: ANTARCTICA, EMPEROR, TUXEDO, WADDLE

• Ends of Famous Fonts: GOTHIC, ROMAN, SANS, TYPEWRITER

• Things that Feature Three Colors: CALICO, CANDY CORN, NEAPOLITAN, TRAFFIC LIGHT

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

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

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

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

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

Today's NYT Strands hints will be easy if you belive in magic.

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: Double, double toil and trouble

The words are related to witchery.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe making potions.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

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

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Cauldron.

NYT Strands word list for October 29

• Tongue

• Worm

• Newt

• Lizard

• Bubble

• Cauldron

• Blood

• Fire

• Snake

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

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

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

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

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

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:

Keeps a car running.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter O appears twice.

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

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter 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...

MOTOR

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Xreal Aura, spatial computing glasses made in partnership with Google for the Android XR platform, are now available to order. We first learned about these XR glasses at Google I/O 2026, and early adopters can finally try them in a matter of weeks.

The futuristic XR device combines elements of augmented reality and virtual reality in a pair of smart glasses. They're the first wired smart glasses to run on the new Android XR operating system from Google. The glasses and accessories are available for preorder at the Xreal website as of today, and they're scheduled to ship in mid-November, according to a press release shared with Mashable. Customers who preorder the glasses can save $180 on the hefty $1,279 price tag.

“Xreal Aura is finally here, and we're so proud to unlock new ways for people to work, watch, play, and build," said Chi Xu, co-founder and CEO of XREAL, in a press release.

The Xreal Aura utilizes dual Sony Micro-OLED displays to create a virtual display with a 70-degree field of view, up to 1,050 nits of brightness, and up to a 120Hz refresh rate.

Credit: Xreal

Credit: Xreal

Xreal is one of the leading augmented reality companies, known for its tethered AR glasses, which project a large virtual display into the user's field of view. The Xreal Aura will provide spatial computing and virtual reality experiences usually associated with headsets in the smart glasses form factor.

The Xreal Aura is part of a new generation of spatial computing smart glasses, along with the Specs AR glasses from Snap and the recently announced Meta VR glasses. The Snap Specs are fully wireless but have a chunky design and a $2,195 price tag. The Meta VR glasses have a $1,299 price tag but won't launch until spring 2027.

What do the Xreal Aura Glasses do?

Credit: Xreal / Mashable Photo Composite

Xreal says the new glasses will support "productivity, immersive entertainment, and next-generation XR experiences."

The Xreal Aura offer the same augmented reality features as other AR smart glasses, but they up the ante with spatial computing experiences powered by the Android XR operating system and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Reality Elite Platform. (A press release states that the glasses were made in partnership with Google and Qualcomm.)

Unlike most AR glasses, the Xreal Aura can also be controlled via voice and hand movements, thanks to onboard sensors and cameras. Instead of simply plugging into a user's smartphone, laptop, or gaming device, the Aura glasses come with a puck, which houses the battery and powers most of the compute necessary for spatial computing.

The Apple Vision Pro introduced spatial computing into the public consciousness. The technology turns a user's surroundings into a 360-degree virtual canvas, and users can open apps, games, entertainment, and AI tools directly into their space. However, unlike headsets, which can be extremely limiting, smart glasses don't limit a user's movements or block their peripheral vision.

“This is a defining moment for XR," Xu said in a press release. "We built AURA for people who want the power of spatial computing without being removed from the world around them. With transparent lenses, a category-leading lightweight design, Gemini by your side, and access to the Android ecosystem from day-one, the promise of XR is more approachable than ever."

The Xreal Aura will also offer support for Gemini, letting users ask questions about their environment or complete tasks across apps.

Spatial photos, virtual reality, and more

Credit: Xreal / Android XR

Using Google Photos and Android XR, Aura users will be able to view their photos and videos in new immersive ways. For example, users can convert their existing photos and videos into 3D, while panoramas will become full 360-degree experiences. Via Google Maps, users can explore destinations in immersive 3D, either with an aerial view or via Street View.

Users can also enjoy 360-degree and VR180 video content on YouTube.

New XR experiences

At launch, users will also be able to access a library of more than 150 XR experiences, with more to come in the months ahead. Some of the highlights include:

• NBA App for Android XR

• Fallout: Factions video game

• Project Hail Mary: Journey Among the Stars, a mixed-reality adventure

• NASCAR XR app

• Oh My Galaxy!, a physics-based arcade game

• XR HoloMedicine

• Simply Piano XR

Where to preorder the Xreal Aura

The Xreal Aura are available for preorder now exclusively at the Xreal online store. The glasses have a retail price of $1,279 but are available for $1,099 for a limited time.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Xreal

Xreal Aura XR Glasses

$1,099 at Xreal
$1,279 Save $180

 

Preorder at Xreal

Xreal Aura specifications

Credit: Xreal

And for the real AR/XR nerds, here are the key specs for these upcoming smart glasses:

• Displays: Dual Sony Micro-OLED

• Field of view: 70 degrees

• Refresh rate: Up to 120Hz

• Resolution: 1200p resolution (1,920 × 1,200 pixels per eye)

• Peak brightness: 1,050 nits

• Controls: Support for voice, hand, keyboard, trackpad, and game controller input

• Tint: Electrochromic dimming with 5 transparency levels

• Sound: Bose audio

• Microphones: 4 microphones

• Glasses weight: Under 95 grams

• Processor: Xreal X1S Chip

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

How did baseball broadcasts get like this? Over 40 camera angles, shots change every couple of seconds, pitch speeds, exit velocity, spin rate, launch angle, and ads everywhere you look. I went back through the archives of Major League Baseball to see how we got here, starting with the very first World Series in 1903. 

Read more about the World Series: Brewers vs. Rays: How to watch the 2026 World Series for free

Timecode chapters
0:00 How did we get here?
0:38 1903: The first World Series
1:21 The megaphone man
1:51 The Playograph
2:39 1921: Radio, baby!
3:36 1939: The first televised MLB game
5:07 1947: The first televised World Series
5:40 1951: Baseball in color
5:57 The center field camera
6:17 The first instant replay
6:56 The 1990s and the Fox Box
7:54 Today: The modern super broadcast
9:11 Is it too much?
9:55 Bring back the local booths
10:54 Why I love this game

Video credits
Host: Dillon Lopez
Scripted by: Dillon Lopez
Producer: Dillon Lopez
Camera: Dillon Lopez
Video editor: Dillon Lopez
Thumbnail designer: Dillon Lopez

TL;DR: Upgrade your listening method with these comfortable new, open-box Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds, on sale now for just $89.99 (reg. $229.99).

Opens in a new window

Credit: Sony

Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds White (Open Box)

$89.99
$229.99 Save $140

 

Get Deal

Whether you’re on a walk, working at your desk, or just tackling chores around your house, earbuds make it all a little more fun. The Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds let you enjoy your tunes and podcasts while staying aware of your surroundings. And right now, they’re on sale for just $89.99.

If you’re in the market for a new pair of earbuds, you don’t have to spend hundreds to enjoy your content comfortably. These Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds deliver clear audio, comfort, and peace of mind, so you can stay safe and still hear the world around you.

The Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds feature an open-ring design that lets ambient sound through, while adaptive volume control automatically adjusts to your surroundings. This combo makes them an excellent option when you can’t fully tune out the world around you.

The integrated V2 processor delivers a balanced audio experience, while the 11mm ring-shaped driver unit delivers clear sound no matter what you’re listening to.

You can enjoy up to 22 hours of battery life with the charging case, and you can listen that long thanks to the comfortable air-fitting supports that make these excellent for everyday wear. When you run out of battery, the fast power-ups give you 60 minutes of playback with just a 3-minute charge.

You’re saving big on these earbuds thanks to their Open Box status. That means they were likely excess inventory from store shelves, but they have been verified to be in new condition and in clean packaging.

Snag your own pair of Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds for just $89.99 today.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Meta has yet another cute little creature it would like you to get to know.

The company's new app, Waddle World, combines a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet with AI-assisted journaling. Available on iOS and Android only in the Philippines for now, the free app lets adults hatch a 16-bit pixelated pet, feed it, play mini-games, and tell it about their day.

Meta's App Store listing calls it "a daily journal disguised as a pet." Users must be 18 or older.

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

How Waddle World works

The setup will feel familiar to anyone who has raised a Tamagotchi. You hatch a digital creature and spend time looking after it, with mini-games such as catching stars, stacking groceries, and solving word puzzles, earning stamps to spend on your pet.

But this creature also wants to hear how your day went. Users can speak or type an update, which the app turns into a journal entry written in the pet's voice, complete with a doodle. That personalized writing and illustration is where AI comes into play, although the listing does not identify the model powering those features.

Over time, Meta says, the pet notices what lifts users' moods or wears them out and brings those details up in later interactions. Daily questions offer prompts for anyone unsure what to share, while weekly email postcards can reference something they previously mentioned.

It's a familiar idea with a different approach to keeping a diary. Finch, for example, already pairs a virtual bird with reflection prompts, daily goals, and breathing exercises. As its slogan goes: "Take care of your pet by taking care of yourself!" Waddle World takes on some of the writing, turning a brief update into something users can revisit.

Meta presents that routine as low-pressure, promising "no pressure, no streaks to protect, no scores to chase." Still, the same description calls Waddle World a "gentle journal habit tracker" and encourages daily check-ins. There may be no leaderboard, but the app gives users plenty of reasons to return.

Meta keeps giving AI a cute face

The little pet arrives shortly after another character joined Meta's lineup. Last month, the company introduced Jolly, the cheerful mascot for its Muse AI agent, alongside a handheld device called Muse Charm.

Meta has not established that Waddle World runs on Muse or connects to Charm. The clearer connection is how these products invite people to interact with technology through a character they can get attached to.

As Mashable previously explored, mascots have long helped tech companies make unfamiliar products feel more welcoming. Microsoft had Clippy, Duolingo has its green owl, and Meta now has Jolly. And don't forget about ChatGPT recently launching an array of adorable Dots. With Waddle World, that familiar design choice could help make sharing personal experiences with AI feel as ordinary as checking in on a pet.

What happens to your personal updates?

The app's App Store privacy disclosure, supplied by Meta, lists audio data and other user content among the information that may be collected and linked to a user’s identity. Both appear under categories for third-party advertising and the developer's own advertising or marketing. (Apple notes that it has not verified the disclosure.)

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

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

That leaves some details unresolved. The listing does not clarify whether journal entries fall within those advertising categories or whether entries are used to train AI models. It also does not explain what controls users have over the information their pet remembers.

For an app that invites conversations about relationships, routines, and difficult days, those are meaningful questions. The pet's ability to remember a personal detail may be part of its appeal; knowing how to delete that detail should probably be part of the experience, too.

A group of select OpenAI employees will spend Nov. 3 in the AI giant's new midterm election "war room," tasked with monitoring ChatGPT's role in the political machine.

The company announced, via Politico, that it would convene its own Election Operations Center ahead of next week's nationwide elections with the express task of spotting potential misuse of its AI models.

"We’ve put considerable effort [into] ensuring we help users get reliable voting information, combat misuse of our tools, and support election defenders. The Elections Operations Center builds on that years long work, bringing our teams together to respond quickly to emerging issues and enforce our policies as people head to the polls," Josh Lawson, head of civic and strategic risk for OpenAI, told Decoded by Politico.

Other tech giants have diverted resources to election integrity in recent years, including Microsoft's voter education and AI literacy initiative and Meta's $30 billion spend to advance its election security initiatives, following allegations its platforms sowed political discord.

In the midst of the 2024 presidential election, a coalition of tech companies pledged to work together to combat generative AI's potential to undermine global elections. The agreement included commitments to mass public education, more transparent AI policies, and robust detection tools to curb the spread of political deepfakes.

Even so, many remain concerned about AI's role in election disinformation campaigns. According to misinformation watchdog NewsGuard, disinformation campaigns directed by foreign governments have increased ahead of election day, primarily amplified on social media platforms like X. More than half of Americans were fooled by such election misinformation, and X's Community Notes failed to identify more than 93 percent of such posts, according to the organization's research.

A report from the Brennan Center for Justice found that guardrails in major AI models, including Gemini and Meta AI, were failing to prevent the generation of fake election images — ChatGPT was the only model that showed some improvement in curbing photorealistic images, according to the center's findings. But NewsGuard's tests of OpenAI's ChatGPT Images 2.5 found the model repeatedly generated lifelike images of political candidates when prompted.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans are leaning on chatbots to help them find polling information, research candidates, and even fill out their ballots.

SpaceXSI (formerly xAI) owner Elon Musk has personally contributed more than $366 million to Republican election efforts ahead of the 2026 election, making him one of the most prolific mega donors in recent history.

Wednesday marked the apex of Apple's "Pro and Tell" week of announcements with the unveiling of the new touch-enabled MacBook Pro. It turns out a touchscreen isn't the only thing this new laptop has in common with iPhones.

Tucked away in the lengthy announcement press release for the "PROLED" MacBook Pro is the reveal that this new laptop feautres a Dynamic Island module, just like modern iPhones. This marks the very first Mac product to come with Dynamic Island. Apple's press release only included a paragraph of information about Dynamic Island on the MacBook Pro, but it did reveal that it's the new home for Siri AI, Spotlight, and Live Activities, similar to how it works on an iPhone.

That's handy. Credit: Apple

If Apple's included screenshots are to be believed, you can also use the Dynamic Island pop-up to control incoming AirDrop transfers and music playback. In all, it seems fairly equivalent to what you can use Dynamic Island for on an iPhone, with one exception: This laptop doesn't have Face ID. You'll still have to use Touch ID for biometric login purposes.

Still, it's interesting to see Apple homogenize its user interfaces across devices even more so than usual. Perhaps future MacBooks will have Dynamic Island, too.

TikTok already helps decide which restaurants get people lining up outside. Now, it wants to help users sort through those recommendations and, in some cases, book a table.

The company announced Must Eat on Wednesday, Oct. 28, a restaurant guide launching in the areas around New York City, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Drawing on more than 40 million posts, reviews, and comments, the feature gathers restaurants attracting attention on TikTok into city-specific lists.

How TikTok's Must Eat guide works

Must Eat is part of TikTok GO, the app's offering for discovering and booking experiences. Its restaurant lists are divided into Everyday Eats, covering casual spots and neighborhood favorites, and Elevated Dining, for celebrations and other special occasions. Users can filter by cuisine, price, score, and location, explore restaurant pages with related TikTok content, and save places to their existing collections. Select restaurants also offer reservations through OpenTable.

The guide is accessible through TikTok search, the Local feed, restaurant location pages, and location links on videos featuring listed businesses. TikTok says it checks that businesses are open and operating before publishing a list.

"Independent restaurants and local specialties take priority, and no restaurant can pay to be featured," the company said in its announcement.

Much of that will sound familiar to anyone who already keeps a running list of places to eat. Beli lets users rank restaurants, track places they want to try, see where friends are eating, and receive personalized recommendations. Yelp's annual "Top 100 Places to Eat" similarly turns community feedback into a restaurant guide, using factors including review volume and ratings.

Google offers an especially timely comparison. Earlier this month, it introduced its first Fan-Favorite Dining List, using Maps reviews, ratings, and searches for directions to identify dining spots across 10 cities worldwide, including New York and San Francisco. Maps also has weekly dining lists highlighting trending restaurants, neighborhood gems, and established favorites.

FoodTok's influence reaches beyond the feed

TikTok's pitch brings those familiar planning tools closer to the videos that might have sparked someone's interest in the first place. A creator's review, the comments underneath it, videos from inside, and an available reservation can all become part of deciding where to eat within the same app.

For restaurants, that attention can reach well beyond their usual customers. In TikTok's announcement, Ann Redding, co-owner and chef of New York's Thai Diner, described watching diners introduce the restaurant to a wider audience.

"TikTok has given our guests a way to share those experiences with people far beyond our dining room," Redding said. "It’s pretty amazing to watch."

There is data to support TikTok's strategy, particularly among younger diners. In a recent survey, 38 percent of Gen Z respondents reported discovering new restaurants through TikTok, making it that group's leading discovery channel. Social media's influence also extends beyond dedicated food influencers. A 2025 report, based on a survey of U.S. consumers and hospitality operators, found that 69 percent of Gen Z diners relied on social media for restaurant discovery.

TikTok has its own figures, too. Citing PF Global research in the announcement, the company says 27 million Americans visited an independent restaurant, cafe, or shop for the first time after discovering it on the platform in 2025, generating an estimated $4.7 billion in local spending. That estimate includes retail shops as well as dining businesses.

Of course, going viral can mean a lot more people showing up hungry. For Sam Yoo, chef-owner of Golden Diner and Golden HOF, keeping up with that rush took some adjusting.

"When we went viral about three years ago, our team had to adapt quickly, but our focus stayed the same: making great food and taking care of our guests," Yoo said. "I’m proud of how our team rose to that occasion, and grateful that people are still coming through our doors years later."

TikTok has explored turning food videos into meal orders before. As Mashable reported in 2021, the company announced plans for TikTok Kitchen, a delivery concept built around viral recipes. That project stalled, though Virtual Dining Concepts later rolled out a similar offering called "Creators' Kitchen As Seen On TikTok" in 2024. But Must Eat is "cool" and "pretty convinent," at least according to some X users. Though others are more critical, writing complaints like, "finally an app for discovering new lines to stand in," and "tiktok taking the reservation too, wild."

For food creators, Must Eat could give a restaurant recommendation a longer life beyond the feed. For viewers, it could make that place they’ve been meaning to try easier to find when someone finally asks, "Where should we eat?"

Google announced Gemini 4 Carbon, a new frontier AI model that arrives just two weeks after Gemini 4 Argon reached the Gemini app.

In a blog post published Oct. 28, Koray Kavukcuoglu, SVP at Google DeepMind, the company’s frontier AI lab, called Carbon Google’s strongest model yet. (Kavukcuoglu is leading Google DeepMind now that former CEO Demis Hassabis has stepped aside.) The post points to cybersecurity and long-horizon tasks, meaning complicated jobs that take many steps or run for a long time, as Carbon’s biggest strengths.

Already, Gemini 4 Carbon has the top spot in the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, beating out Claude Opus 5.5.

Credit: Screenshot: Artificial Analysis

The pace at which AI companies are releasing new frontier models has accelerated sharply in recent months, as the frontier AI labs race to have the best model available. Anthropic released Claude Opus 5.5 on Sept. 22, OpenAI shipped GPT-6 Astra earlier that month, and Google announced Argon on Sept. 30 before releasing it to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers on Oct. 13. Each lab has claimed a new lead within weeks of the last.

As with Argon, Google is announcing Carbon well before most people can use it. Carbon is starting with a small group of cybersecurity defenders, and Google hasn’t said when it will reach everyone else. (Last week's PHP2Shell incident shows just how much havoc new AI models could wreak on the internet at large.) Announcing early lets Google claim the top spot on the leaderboards now. It also gives everyone a look at the benchmarks before the next round of releases.

Gemini 4 Carbon: Benchmarks

In Google’s comparison table, Carbon posts the top score on 15 of 17 benchmarks against Argon, GPT-6 Astra, Claude Opus 5.5, and Claude Fable 5.1. All figures in this section are as reported by Google.

Credit: Google

The two benchmarks Carbon doesn’t win are worth noting. GPT-6 Astra still leads on FrontierSWE 2, a software engineering test. Claude Opus 5.5 leads on OSWorld-2.1, which measures how well a model can operate a computer.

A big change from Argon is that Google now reports Terminal-Bench 4.0 scores run by Artificial Analysis, an independent testing firm, rather than its own. For quick context, Terminal-Bench 4.0 measures how well an AI model can complete real technical tasks — like installing software or fixing broken code — by typing commands into a computer’s terminal on its own. It's one of the hardest agentic tests for LLMs.

This is notable because the scores companies reported for each other’s models didn’t always line up with independent testing. On Terminal-Bench 4.0, Carbon jumps about eight points over Argon and moves ahead of Opus 5.5.

Google also says Carbon can work on difficult engineering problems for days at a time. Its web development skills improved enough to climb to fourth place on WebDev Arena, a leaderboard where people vote on AI-built websites.

The Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index

The Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is one of the most closely watched independent leaderboards for AI models. Artificial Analysis runs a range of tests itself and combines them into a single composite score.

On the newly updated version 5.0, Carbon (high) scores 59, one point ahead of Claude Opus 5.5 (max).

Gemini 4 Carbon's score of 59 is leaps above Argon's 50. Credit: Artificial Analysis

The scores can’t be directly compared to the previous version of the index, where Argon (High) scored 53. A one-point lead is also thin enough that the next release from OpenAI or Anthropic could easily erase it. Carbon and Meta’s Muse Wonder Full are both flagged on the leaderboard as having no publicly available API, so they can’t yet be used outside their companies’ own access programs.

Gemini 4 Carbon: Safety and safeguards

Google says Carbon uses the same safety system as Argon, which includes monitoring the model’s reasoning, and adds more work on alignment, or keeping the model behaving as intended. According to Google’s own testing, Carbon is also better behaved than its predecessor.

Google says Carbon never successfully cheated on Terminal-Bench 4.0, meaning it never found a shortcut that passed a task without actually doing the work, and it tried to cheat only 0.4 percent of the time. During internal coding work, high-severity misalignment alerts, which flag a model acting in ways its developers didn’t intend, dropped by nearly 80 percent. Carbon also makes about half as many unsupported claims as Argon. And on Gray Swan’s prompt injection benchmark, which tests whether hidden instructions can hijack a model, Carbon blocked every attack attempt, improving on Argon’s 0.7 percent attack success rate.

All of these figures come from Google’s own testing.

How to try Gemini 4 Carbon

For now, you can’t use Gemini 4 Carbon unless you’re an approved cyber defender in Google’s Fairwind Program. Starting this week, Carbon is rolling out to a small group of those testers, and Google says it will gradually add more trusted partners. Developers, businesses, and consumers will get access after that, but Google hasn’t given an exact public launch date.

If we use Argon to figure out a timeline, about two weeks passed between its announcement and its arrival in the Gemini app for Pro and Ultra subscribers. Though we won't be able to confirm whether Google will commit to that same schedule for Carbon.

When Carbon does reach the API, Google says it will cost the same as Argon’s introductory price:

• $2 per million input tokens

• $10 per million output tokens

• Cached input tokens at 95 percent off the input price

That keeps Carbon well below its main rivals. Mashable previously reported that Claude Opus 5.5 costs $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens, while GPT-6 Astra costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens.

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

TL;DR: Watch Genoa vs. Juventus in Serie A for free on SportyNet. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Serie A is showcasing some interesting midweek fixtures, including Genoa vs. Juventus. The visitors are looking to secure three points and move into the top six places in the standings. Juventus have made a decent start, but fans will expect to compete at the top end of the table.

If you're interested in watching Genoa vs. Juventus in Serie A from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Genoa vs. Juventus?

Genoa vs. Juventus in Serie A kicks off at 3:45 p.m. ET on Oct. 28. This fixture takes place at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

How to watch Genoa vs. Juventus for free

Genoa vs. Juventus in Serie A is available to live stream for free on SportyNet.

SportyNet is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Brazil, meaning you can live stream Genoa vs. Juventus for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Genoa vs. Juventus for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

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

4. Visit SportyNet

5. Watch Genoa vs. Juventus 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 generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watchGenoa vs. Juventus without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus other Serie A action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Serie A?

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

• Servers in 105 countries, including Brazil

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Live stream Genoa vs. Juventus for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The touchscreen MacBook Pro is finally here – and it's pricey.

On Wednesday, Apple unveiled its first-ever touchscreen laptop, the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. The starting price for the 14-inch model powered by the M5 Pro chip with 24GB of memory and 1TB of storage is $2,899. While that's quite costly, remember, that's just the base model for the device.

Looking to completely max out all the specs so you have the most premium, top-of-the-line model of the new touchscreen MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display?

That's going to cost $14,549. 

That's right, $14,549.

Just to compare, the latest and most powerful MacBook Pro model without the touchscreen, completely maxed out, comes to a total of $10,149. So, the maxed-out version of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display seems to be the most expensive Apple MacBook so far.

What does the maxed-out model include? First, upgrading the MacBook Pro from a 14-inch display to a 16-inch one bumps the starting price up to $3,399.

Then upgrading the standard glass display to the nano-texture glass adds an additional $150.

Next, we're going to upgrade the M5 Pro chipset to the M5 Max, which gives us a total cost of $4,949 so far. When you upgrade to the M5 Max chip, Apple also forces buyers to upgrade from 24GB of RAM to 36GB, which adds an additional $300.

For another extra $300, we're upgrading the processing power from an 18‑core CPU and 32‑core GPU to an 18‑core CPU and 40‑core GPU.

Next, we're maxing out the memory too and going from that previously mentioned 36GB of RAM to 128GB of RAM, which, thanks to the AI-boom-related shortages, adds an extra $2,000 to our total.

And you can thank AI once again for driving prices of storage up too. Bumping the MacBook Pro from 2TB of storage to a whopping max of 16TB adds another $7,000 to the final price.

That brings us to our grand total of $14,549. Tax not included.

So, Apple's got new MacBook Pro devices to show us. They're very powerful; they have touchscreen OLED displays for the first time, and they're the MacBooks you'll lust over from now on (until the new ones come along).

That's all fine and dandy, but the coolest thing about these new Macs isn't even listed in the tech specs. The two colors on offer, Space Black and Silver, are standard fare for Apple, and even the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips have been seen before. But these new MacBooks are distinctive in a different way: They have a glowing Apple logo on the back.

Step aside, commoners. I have a special MacBook Pro. Credit: Apple/YouTube

You may remember the glowing logo. It was introduced in ancient times, in 1999, on the third-gen PowerBook G3, and it lasted until the 2015 MacBook Pro. It was a very cool detail that most other laptops didn't have (well, until everyone started copying Apple), but by the end, it did look a little stale. The glowing logo was replaced by a simple, shiny Apple logo, and that was that...

...until now. The 2026 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro devices with PROLED display have a glowing Apple logo on the back once again.

Be careful, though: The glowing logo isn't advertised anywhere, and it's not even prominently visible in Apple's marketing materials (except for the video below). It's not available on all of the new MacBook Pro devices; only the ones with the PROLED display and either an M5 Pro or an M5 Max chip.

And yes, those do not come cheap. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899, while the 16-inch model starts at $3,399. Does the glowing logo justify the price? Don't ask us; we're nerds, and we like shiny stuff.

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

TL;DR: Apple announced the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. The touchscreen MacBook is available for purchase now, starting at $2,899.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display

Starting at $2,899

Preorder at Apple

During its "Pro and Tell" event on Oct. 28, Apple announced the long-awaited (and long-rumored) touchscreen MacBook Pro. Officially named MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, the new laptop starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch base configuration and $3,399 for the 16-inch base configuration, and is available to preorder now. Apple's education pricing drops those starting prices to $2,749 and $3,199, respectively.

The new MacBook is available in 14-inch and 16-inch models and is equipped with Apple's M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Configurations start at 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and go up to 128GB of RAM and 16TB of storage.

Currently, the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is only available to order directly from Apple.com. We will update this story as more retailer listings become available. To learn more about the laptop, read our full breakdown of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display.

John Ternus has been busy since taking over as Apple’s CEO on Sept. 1. Two weeks after the company’s "Welcome Home" smart home launch, Apple held its "Pro and Tell" event in Los Angeles on Wednesday. There, Apple finally unveiled the OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro that many fans have been waiting on for years.

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

The new laptop, with a "groundbreaking" display dubbed PROLED, was the last in a series of announcements. Apple surprised the tech world by announcing a bunch of new products before the "Pro and Tell" event, including a new iPad Mini, M6 Mac devices, and updates to Apple Creator Studio, the company's subscription bundle of creative apps.

Now that the long-rumored MacBook PROLED model has finally manifested, here's everything Apple announced around its "Pro and Tell" private event.

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display

Credit: Apple

• Price: Starts at $2,899 for 14-inch; $3,399 for 16-inch

• Release date: Pre-orders start Oct. 28, shipping Nov. 6

The headliner is the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, the first Mac with a touchscreen. It’s a notable reversal for Apple. Steve Jobs famously dismissed touchscreen laptops at Apple’s "Back to the Mac" event in Oct. 2010, arguing that reaching up to a vertical screen quickly wears out your arm and calling the idea "ergonomically terrible."

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

Clunky name aside, it’s Apple’s version of tandem OLED, the display technology it already uses in the iPad Pro. Available in 14- and 16-inch sizes, the screen reaches up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness for both HDR and SDR content. It has a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio and a refresh rate that scales from 10Hz to 120Hz. Apple says it covers both the P3 and Adobe RGB color spaces, a pitch aimed squarely at photographers and colorists.

Apple says the touch sensor is built into the display panel itself, which cuts latency. Many existing apps work right away because macOS translates taps into clicks. Apps like Adobe Lightroom, DaVinci Resolve, Blender, and Microsoft Office are adding touch-specific features. The Dynamic Island also comes to the Mac as a home for Spotlight, Live Activities, and Siri AI.

The new design is lighter, too. Apple says the 14-inch model now weighs 3 pounds, half a pound less than before, and the 16-inch weighs 4 pounds, down 0.7 pounds. Notably, these machines run M5 Pro and M5 Max, not M6. They support up to 128GB of unified memory, up to 16TB of storage, and up to 24 hours of battery life, according to Apple. Ports include three Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, an SDXC slot, and MagSafe.

This may be partially the fault of RAMageddon, but this device is premium with a capital P. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display starts at $2,899. A fully maxed-out 16-inch model costs $14,569. That configuration includes the nano-texture display, a 40-core GPU, 128GB of RAM, and 16TB of storage. The ongoing memory crisis that's affecting computer components has pushed prices up across the industry. Pre-orders open today, Oct. 28, with availability beginning Friday, Nov. 6.

14-inch MacBook Pro with M6

Credit: Apple

• Price: Starts at $1,999

• Release date: Pre-order starting Oct. 28, ships Nov. 6

Before Apple announced the MacBook Pro with its new PROLED XDR touch display, the headline product of the week was the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which gets M6's 12-core CPU. Apple says M6 features the world’s fastest CPU core. Apple claims the 12-core GPU is up to 30 percent faster for graphics and up to 25 percent faster for AI workloads than the M5, while the Neural Engine is up to 1.9x faster. Owners of an M1 model could see bigger jumps: Apple cites up to 11x faster graphics and up to 13x faster AI performance.

Apple's AI benchmarks are the more telling numbers. It says LLM prompt processing delivers a first token up to 1.3x faster than the M5 model, with similar gains in Blender rendering and Xcode builds.

Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours, which Apple calls the longest ever in a Mac, and fast charging reaches 50 percent in 30 minutes with a 96W adapter. Memory starts at 16GB and tops out at 32GB. Wireless connectivity upgrades to WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and the laptop supports up to two external displays.

Speaking of displays, the MacBook Pro has a Liquid Retina XDR display (with up to 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness and a nano-texture option), a 12MP Center Stage camera, six speakers, and the same ports, including HDMI, MagSafe 3, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and an SDXC slot.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999, or $1,899 with education pricing, and comes in space black and silver. Apple Upgrade leases start at $38.99 per month for 36 months. Pre-orders open Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the U.S. and 34 other countries and regions, with availability beginning Friday, Nov. 6.

iMac with M6

Credit: Apple

• Price: Starts at $1,499

• Release date: Pre-order starting Oct. 28, ships Nov. 6

The iMac skips M5 entirely, jumping from M4 straight to M6. Apple says the CPU and GPU each gain two cores, with configurations offering up to 12 cores apiece and delivering up to 2x faster graphics than the M4. Again, Apple’s big claim is that the iMac can run AI locally. The company says the iMac runs on-device AI up to 5x faster than M4, including prompt processing in LM Studio. For anyone still on an Intel iMac, Apple reports an overall performance gain of up to 18x.

Connectivity gets some of the more practical upgrades. WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6 come standard, available 2.5Gb Ethernet is up to 2.5x faster than before, and Apple says SSD speeds have doubled. Up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports support two 6K external displays.

The rest of the iMac is unchanged, including the 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, 12MP Center Stage camera, color-matched accessories, and seven colors: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange, and silver.

The iMac with M6 starts at $1,499 ($1,449 for education) with a 10-core CPU and GPU, and $1,699 ($1,599 for education) with a 12-core CPU and GPU. That base price matches what the M4 iMac currently sells for after a $200 increase in June. Apple Upgrade leases start at $28.99 per month for 36 months. Pre-orders open Wednesday, Oct. 28, with availability beginning Friday, Nov. 6.

Apple Creator Studio

Credit: Apple

• Price: $12.99 per month or $129 per year

• Release date: Apple says it "will be available on the App Store this November"

Apple also gave its new Macs more AI software to run. Apple Creator Studio adds intelligent assistants (in beta) to Logic Pro for Mac and to Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. Notably, Apple says those assistants are built on a combination of its own models and OpenAI’s. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers also gain Model Context Protocol (MCP) support, which lets third-party AI agents read documents, make edits, and run automated actions inside the apps.

Elsewhere, Final Cut Pro for Mac now includes MotionVFX's library of effects, transitions, and templates, and Pixelmator Pro adds Generate Fill, which lets you edit selected parts of an image using text prompts. Logic Pro's Stem Splitter can now separate drums.

The Creator Studio updates arrive in November at no additional cost for existing subscribers. The subscription costs $12.99 per month or $129 per year, with education pricing of $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

iPad mini with A20 Pro

Credit: Apple

• Price: Starts at $699

• Release date: Pre-order starting Oct. 28, ships Nov. 6

Apple's week of Pro and Tell announcements technically started Monday with the new iPad mini, which Apple calls the tablet's "biggest update ever." The headline change is a larger 8.5-inch OLED display that fits in the same footprint, thanks to 24 percent thinner bezels. Apple says peak brightness reaches 1,200 nits, more than double that of the previous model, and a nano-texture option is available.

The A20 Pro chip follows the same local AI script as the M6. It has Neural Accelerators in each GPU core, and Apple claims up to 4.5x faster AI performance than the previous generation. The tablet is also thinner, at 5.4mm, and adds IP67 water and dust resistance, a 12MP front camera on the landscape edge, and Apple's N1 wireless and C2 cellular chips.

The iPad mini starts at $699 for WiFi and $849 for WiFi + Cellular (education pricing starts at $649), and comes in midnight and starlight. Pre-orders open Wednesday, Oct. 28, with availability beginning Friday, Nov. 6.

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

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Wednesday a major safety bill that effectively prohibits artificial intelligence chatbots from offering a range of standard features to users under the age of 18.

Among the blocked behaviors are pretending to be a real person or feel human emotions; offering "people-pleasing" or flattering responses; and asking unprompted emotional questions or referring to a child's private health information from earlier conversations.

The law also addresses features that are particularly dangerous for young users.

Once the bill goes into effect, minors will not be able to converse with chatbots that promote or give advice related to drug or alcohol use, eating disorders, self-harm, or suicide. Chatbots will also be banned from encouraging kids to keep secrets, as well as discussing sexually explicit content or child sexual abuse material with minors.

"No company should be peddling chatbots to kids encouraging self-harm or pretending to be their friend or more," Hochul said in a press release.

Companies subject to the law must verify user age and offer more than one method of doing so, including verification that doesn't solely require government identification.

Among the leading chatbot providers, only Anthropic prohibits minors from creating an account. Google and OpenAI, which operate Gemini and ChatGPT, respectively, both allow children ages 13 and older to use their chatbots. Kids under 13 can even access Gemini apps. OpenAI also offers ChatGPT for Teens, which independent researchers recently said should be turned off until certain safety concerns are resolved.

Violations of the law could result in a civil penalty up to $25,000 for each instance. The bill also establishes a public website where New Yorkers can file complaints against chatbot companies for potential violations.

Hochul has supported several bills related to digital and AI safety, including legislation on AI transparency and AI companions, as well as a law that restricts addictive social media features.

Jim P. Steyer, founder and CEO of the nonprofit advocacy group Common Sense Media, described the legislation signed Wednesday as the "strongest kids' AI safety bill in the country."

The absence of federal AI regulations has prompted policymakers across the country to develop their own laws.

In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law designed to enforce stronger safety requirements for AI companies. The legislation was named for Adam Raine, a young teen who died by suicide after consulting with ChatGPT. Raine's parents filed the first wrongful death lawsuit against an AI company for alleged harmful chatbot behavior.

Adam's Law requires developers of companion chatbots to conduct and publish annual child safety risk assessments and to submit their products to independent audits. Developers must create crisis response processes for chatbots, as well. Many companies already have safety measures in place, but guardrails have consistently failed to fully prevent chatbot behavior harmful to teens.

Matthew and Maria Raine, the parents of Adam Raine, supported the New York legislation.

"The loss of our son did not need to happen," they said in a statement. "He would be here with us today but not for a harmful relationship with an unregulated AI chatbot. This new law is a significant step forward to reduce the risks to the children and teens of New York, so many of which are now communicating with AI chatbots every day."

UPDATE: Oct. 28, 2026, 10:40 a.m. PDT This story has been updated to include comments from Jim P. Steyer and Matthew and Maria Raine.

Additional reporting by Chase DiBenedetto.

The parents of a 31-year-old Seattle woman are suing OpenAI, alleging the company's AI chatbot led to her death, according to a new report from The New York Times.

Per the Times' report, the parents of Bowen Wan allege ChatGPT helped their daughter taper off the medication that controlled her severe epilepsy, and helped her hide the plan from her doctors in the weeks before she died. In February, Wan was found dead in her apartment; her official cause of death was sudden, unexpected death in epilepsy, the NYT reported. Her parents, Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu, filed the lawsuit the same day.

According to the Times, Wan had come to lean heavily on ChatGPT. Wan worked as a software engineer for Amazon; however, her worsening epilepsy symptoms forced her to take disability leave. After learning she would be laid off from Amazon, she grew worried that her medication was slowing her speech. She feared it would hurt her in the job interviews she needed to pass to stay in the U.S. Wan averaged more than 1,500 messages a week in 2025 while calling her parents less often.

The Times reports that ChatGPT drafted schedules that would take her off lamotrigine — a medication that treats epilepsy and bipolar disorder — entirely within weeks. It also endorsed cutting her pills without telling her doctor, and cast physicians’ caution as mere risk aversion. When she described symptoms resembling seizures, the chatbot repeatedly reassured her. The Times’ analysis found she raised concerns about the taper at least 158 times. Her neurologist told the Times he would never have considered tapering a patient with her history.

The lawsuit claims ChatGPT practiced medicine without a license and portrayed her doctors as obstacles. It also alleges the chatbot may have been less likely to refuse her requests for medical advice because she was chatting in Chinese.

An OpenAI spokesperson told the Times that the case was heartbreaking and that it involved an earlier version of ChatGPT that is no longer available. Wan used GPT-4o, which OpenAI pulled from the consumer app on Feb. 13, 2026, the day after the medical examiner believes she died. The spokesperson told the Times that newer models are better at recognizing when a situation needs urgent attention.

GPT-4o has a long record of complaints about sycophancy. In April 2025, OpenAI rolled back an update to the model after CEO Sam Altman admitted it had become "too sycophant-y and annoying," as Mashable reported. At the time, users warned that a chatbot that agrees with everything could validate delusions and deepen mental health crises.

The Wan case joins a growing list of wrongful death lawsuits against OpenAI. The family of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued in August 2025, alleging ChatGPT validated his suicidal thinking. In a court filing, OpenAI denied responsibility and pointed to his mental health history and his violations of its usage policies, Mashable reported. That November, seven more lawsuits alleged ChatGPT contributed to wrongful deaths and assisted suicides.

If you’re feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.

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

Apple just debuted a swanky and seriously expensive new MacBook Pro, its first-ever Mac with a touchscreen or OLED display, and you can see it in video form right now.

In a new promo video posted to YouTube on Wednesday afternoon, Apple debuted the new touchscreen-equipped MacBook Pro, with what Apple is calling a "PROLED" display. In the video, Apple refers to the device as a "portable reference" monitor because its display is so good and color-accurate. Apple also boasted about the laptop's speaker quality, selection of ports, and horsepower, even though it uses an older M5 Pro or M5 Max chip.

You can get all of that for a starting price of $2,899.

In a video posted to X, new Apple CEO John Ternus revealed one more surprise: the new MacBook Pro features a glowing Apple logo on the top/back of the device, a feature we haven't seen in years.

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

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

GET $50 OFF: As of Oct. 28, you can get the Beats Pill for $99.95, down from $149.95, at Amazon. That's a 33% discount, or $50 in savings.

Beats Pill

$99.95 at Amazon
$149.95 Save $50.00

 

Get Deal at Amazon Get Deal at Walmart Get Deal at Best Buy

Summer might be in the rearview, but now it's spooky szn. To me, that means roasting marshmallows, swapping scary stories, and blasting some good tunes by the bonfire. (Can you tell I grew up in the boondocks?) If you haven't found a portable speaker that can handle your funk (or survive being dragged out into the yard), we just found a Beats deal that's definitely worth a look.

Right now, you can get the Beats Pill for $99.95, down from $149.95, at Amazon. That's a 33% discount, or $50 in savings. It's not the lowest price we've ever seen, but it's within 10 bucks of it (it hit $88.99 last September).

You'll get 24 hours of battery life (more than enough to keep you partying through the night) and a built-in racetrack woofer that displaces 90 percent more air than the previous generation. It's also IP67-rated for dust and water resistance, so you can take it just about anywhere.

In a sharp reversal of a long-held company ethos, Apple announced a thinner, lighter MacBook Pro with a tandem OLED touchscreen today at its "Pro and Tell" event in Los Angeles. The new "MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display" runs on the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, has a glowing Apple logo on its lid, and comes in 14- and 16-inch sizes starting at $2,899. It's set for release on Friday, Nov. 6, and preorders are now live.

The new MacBook Pro marks the biggest redesign to Apple's premium laptop since 2021. The company is positioning it as a device for creative professionals with "the most demanding workflows," according to a press release.

Credit: Apple

"The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is a monumental step forward for the Mac," said Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer. "PROLED XDR is the world’s best laptop display. ... And with the magic of Touch coming to MacBook Pro, combined with the game-changing performance of M5 Pro and M5 Max, we’ve created a whole new way for pros to interact with their content, taking their workflows to a completely new level."

Srouji added: "The new MacBook Pro is the result of the deep integration between Apple silicon, hardware, and software, and there’s simply nothing else like it."

The announcement isn't a total surprise. Apple insiders have been circulating rumors of an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro since early 2023. But it's certainly a twist, given that prominent Apple executives have spent over a decade and a half dismissing the idea of a touch-enabled MacBook (including now-CEO John Ternus).

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

It's not clear what inspired Apple's change of heart, though the logical explanation is that it's simply meeting the competition. Many premium Windows laptops have had OLED touchscreens for years.

The touchscreen MacBook Pro caps off a busy few days of Apple announcements. Earlier this week, the company unveiled an OLED iPad Mini, a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip, an M6-powered iMac, and updates to the Apple Creator Studio suite.

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display: Specs and features

Credit: Apple

The new MacBook Pro's PROLED XDR display has a 10 to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, and a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio for ultra-deep blacks. Apple said its touch sensor is located inside the display panel, not on top of it, to reduce lag. It also has a stronger hinge so it doesn't wobble when you tap it.

Compared to Apple's standard MacBook Pro, which has a non-touch "Liquid Retina XDR" mini-LED display, the new PROLED XDR model has a brighter, sharper picture. It also supports the Adobe RGB color space, not just P3, and has slightly smaller bezels for more usable screen space. Users can still upgrade it with an etched nano-texture (matte) coating for $150 extra.

The new MacBook Pro has a 12MP Center Stage webcam that lives in a hole-punch cutout within the Dynamic Island, an interactive pill-shaped notification area at the top of its screen. (It borrowed this feature from modern iPhones.) Yes, the notch is gone.

Credit: Apple

The new MacBook Pro is powered by the high-end M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which Apple rolled out in an updated non-touch MacBook Pro this spring. (It's not available with the newer M6 chip.) It's configurable with the same amount of memory — 24GB to 128GB RAM — but its storage maxes out at 16TB SSD, up from 8TB. The beefiest configuration costs a whopping $14,549.

Both sizes of the new MacBook Pro have slimmed down by up to about a millimeter, and they weigh up to 0.7 pounds less than their non-touch counterparts. (The 14-incher is only three pounds.) Apple said it reworked their thermal system so they still run cool despite being so much lighter. They still come in the same two finishes: space black and silver.

Credit: Apple

On the speaker front, the new MacBook Pro has new woofers and tweeters for better bass and clearer sound, respectively. Connectivity-wise, you still get three Thunderbolt 5 ports, an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot, WiFi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0.

The new 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 with an M5 Pro chip, 24GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The 16-inch version starts at $3,399 with the same specs.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, 14-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD)

$2,899 at the Apple Store

 

Preorder at the Apple Store

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, 14-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD)

$3,399 at the Apple Store

 

Preorder at the Apple Store

TL;DR: The new 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro goes live on Oct. 28 at Apple. Apple's latest MacBook is set to launch on Nov. 6 with prices starting at $1,999.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

M6 MacBook Pro

$1,999 at Apple

 

Preorder at Apple

The kids are excited about costumes and candy this week, but if you're an Apple fan, we have something that's equally special for you. There's a new MacBook Pro launching early next month, and it's equipped with the M6 Chip.

Preorders for the new 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro go live at Apple on Oct. 28. Prices start at $1,999 for the M6 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and a standard display. Going with more RAM or storage, or upgrading to the nano-texture display, are all options during preorder. Apple has the launch date set for Nov. 6.

For creatives who need top performance and portability, the new MacBook Pro with the M6 chip could be awesome. In Mashable's lineup of the best MacBooks, the previous M5 MacBook Pro won the award as being the best model for artists, content creators, and casual gamers.

The upgrade to the M6 chip in the 2026 model means this machine is even more powerful. And as a bonus, the new M6 MacBook Pro didn't see a price hike compared to the M5 MacBook Pro. Both start at $1,999.

Great news: Apple says the M6 MacBook Pro can get up to 24 hours of battery life. While we haven't tested it, a true all-day battery life would be a major benefit for creators, students, or busy people.

The base model of the M6 MacBook Pro comes with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, but you can upgrade to 24GB or 32GB of RAM and up to a 4TB SSD. An additional $150 gets you the nano-texture display, which Apple says helps reduce glare and might be ideal for those who work outdoors often.

Get ready to preorder the powerful new M6 MacBook Pro from Oct. 28. The new MacBook officially launches on Nov. 6.

TL;DR: Preorder the new Apple iMac with M6 starting on Oct. 28 so it arrives on its Nov. 6 release day. Prices start at $1,499.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iMac (M6)

 

Preorder

If you've been looking for the right time to upgrade your desktop computer, Apple just dropped a new iMac for the first time since 2024. The company has launched the new desktop, MacBook Pro, and iPad mini as part of the "Pro and Tell" event.

The new iMac skips the M5 chip altogether and opts for the outrageously fast M6 chip. "Everything feels extra snappy and responsive for families managing busy calendars, students putting the finishing touches on a project, and small business owners running their companies," Apple writes in a press release.

As for how speedy it actually is, here's the breakdown:

• Up to 2.5 times faster performance in apps like Microsoft Excel compared to M1 iMac, up to 1.5 times faster than M4 iMac

• Up to 3.3 times faster graphics performance compared to M1 iMac, up to 2 times faster than M4 iMac

• Up to 12 times faster AI performance compared to M1 iMac, up to 5 times faster than M4 iMac

• Up to 2 times higher gaming performance compared to M4 iMac

Aside from the addition of the M6 chip, the new iMac also has the Apple N1 wireless networking chip, alongside Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 on the base model. Otherwise, it's not all that different from the previous M4 iMac from 2024. It still features a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, a 12MP Center Stage camera, up to four USB-C ports, and support for connecting up to two 6K external displays.

The M6 iMacs start at $1,499 for the 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU configuration, while the 12-core CPU and GPU model starts at $1,699. In the age of RAMageddon, these prices come as no surprise. The M6 iMac comes in the same shades of green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and standard silver as the M4 iMac.

Where to buy the Apple M6 iMac

The new Apple M6 iMac is available for preorder from Apple starting at 1:10 p.m. ET on Oct. 28. Other retailers like Amazon and Best Buy will likely join the fray shortly after. The desktop computer will be fully available in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers on Friday, Nov. 6.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iMac (M6)

starting at $1,499

Preorder

TL;DR: The new Apple iPad mini is available to preorder starting Oct. 28. Prices start at $699, and Apple has set the launch date for Nov. 6.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iPad mini

$699 at Apple

 

Preorder at Apple

Apple has a slew of new products to keep us happy as we head into the finale of 2026. We have the foldable iPhone Duo, a new Apple smart speaker, and now we get to look forward to a new iPad mini. If you loved the old iPad mini or you're looking for a tablet that isn't gigantic, here's how to get your hands on the new iPad mini.

The new Apple iPad mini launches on Nov. 6, and preorders go live at Apple on Oct. 28. Prices start at $699 for the 128GB version with standard glass. You can also go with more storage and get the 256GB model or max out at 512GB. Apple is also offering the iPad mini with nano-texture glass, which starts at $899 for the 256GB model, the smallest offering with the upgraded glass.

The iPad mini is the perfect tablet for anyone who wants a model that's easy to hold and travel-friendly. The 8.5-inch display is larger than the previous model, but the tablet itself is the same size. Apple simply thinned the bezel to make this possible.

In Mashable's review of the previous model, the iPad mini 7th Gen, Senior Tech Editor Stan Schroeder wasn't impressed with Apple's decision to use the A17 Pro chip instead of the A18 Pro. But that's no longer a concern with the new model, because the 2026 iPad mini has the A20 Pro chip.

The OLED display on the new iPad mini 8th Gen has over twice the peak brightness of the 7th Gen, reaching up to 1,200 nits. Additionally, the 12MP center camera will be great for video calls this holiday season. Plus, it's water- and dust-resistant.

In Mashable's review of the best iPads, the 7th-gen iPad mini earned the top spot for reading.

Now's your chance to preorder the 8th-gen iPad mini. Given its small size and portability, it'll be the perfect companion for upcoming holiday travel.

Reddit is following in the footsteps of TikTok (and virtually every other social media app), even if it's a few years later than the rest.

In a company blog post, Reddit announced the rollout of a new "For You" feed for users, which appears on the Reddit homepage.

Reddit says this will start popping up on users' feeds globally in the coming weeks, and it's already live for many users in the United States.

With this change, the Reddit homepage experience will now be divided into two tabs: Following and For You, similar to how other apps like X and TikTok work. The Following tab will strictly show you posts from communities you follow, while For You will blend those with posts from communities you might be interested in.

Often abbreviated to FYP, these "For You" feeds are common across many social media apps.

Credit: Screenshot: Reddit

"At Reddit, good recommendations should help people follow an interest into a community, and from there, into a conversation," the blog post said. "Across thousands of communities, discovery can help people find others who get them, encounter perspectives that broaden their own, and take part in something bigger while sharing their own experiences."

The new feed seems fairly self-explanatory if you've ever used X, Instagram, or Threads, and Reddit's blog post didn't expand much beyond what we've revealed here. As with those other apps, you can freely choose to ignore it if you don't like it, and the app will default to the last one you looked at when you open it next time.

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

The best early Black Friday Dewalt deals

---

Best Early Black Friday Dewalt Deal

Dewalt 20V MAX Drill and Impact Driver

$129 (Save $110)

Get Deal

---

Best Early Black Friday Dewalt Cordless Tool Deal

Dewalt Cordless Screwdriver

$81.10 (Save $10.88)

Get Deal

---

Best Early Black Friday Dewalt Tool Kit Deal

Dewalt 20V MAX 5Ah 9-Piece Brushless Power Tool Set

$749 (Save $150)

Get Deal

Need to tackle some jobs around the house? Grab the right tools to handle them ahead of Black Friday. Early Black Friday discounts on Dewalt tools and accessories have already started rolling in, and we're seeing a variety of discounts you can shop right now ahead of the official shopping event.

That makes this the right time to fill out a toolbox, whether it's your own or you're shopping for someone who's been borrowing your drill for too long. A DeWalt kit is a safe bet for a new homeowner, a kid moving into their first apartment, or a relative who's hinted at a home project they never get around to.

These tools tend to sell out fast, so you'll want o grab whatever you need now rather than waiting for the week of Thanksgiving and hoping it goes back on sale (and comes back in stock).

Here are the best early Black Friday DeWalt deals we've found so far.

Best early Black Friday Dewalt deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Dewalt 20V MAX Drill and Impact Driver

$129 at Amazon
$239 Save $110

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

This kit is a great option for anyone looking to build out their own tool set. It has a 1/2-inch drill/driver and 1/4-inch impact driver, plus two 20V MAX batteries, a charger, and a contractor bag. The drill has a two-speed transmission and a 16-setting clutch for everything from pilot holes to driving long screws, while the impact driver puts out up to 1,400 in-lbs of torque and loads bits one-handed.

Best early Black Friday Dewalt cordless tool deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Dewalt Cordless Screwdriver

$81.10 at Amazon
$91.98 Save $10.88

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

This cordless tool is the perfect companion for jobs that require a screwdriver, but not necessarily a massive one. Just twist your wrist to the right to drive and to the left to back a screw out, and the harder you turn, the faster it spins, up to 430 RPM. The kit comes with two 8V MAX batteries and a charger, so you're ready to handle just about any project that comes your way.

Best early Black Friday Dewalt tool kit deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Dewalt 20V MAX 5Ah 9-Piece Brushless Power Tool Set

$749 at Amazon
$899 Save $150

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

This deluxe tool kit is the perfect option for setting up your own projects at home or for helping someone get started with a set of accessories to tackle their own home improvements. It comes with a brushless 1/2-inch drill/driver, a 1/4-inch impact driver, a brushless reciprocating saw, a 6-1/2-inch brushless circular saw, a three-speed oscillating multi-tool, a brushless grinder, a 5-inch random orbit sander, a 1/2-inch impact wrench, and an LED work light. It's everything you need and then some.

More early Black Friday Dewalt deals

• Dewalt 20V MAX Air Inflator — $141.95 $179 (save $37.05)

• Dewalt 20V Max Cordless Impact Wrench — $196.25 $239.99 (save $43.74)

It appears that Discord has some users spooked.

On Tuesday, Mashable reported on Discord's upcoming changes to its platform, which will see tens of thousands of public servers get indexed on Google Search, along with some of the messages in the servers' channels. That means some Discord conversations may soon appear in Google Search results, similar to how Reddit threads and comments can surface in Google.

The reason for the change is to make Discord's public Discoverable Servers, well, more discoverable, helping those communities grow. However, some Discord users who value the privacy aspects of the platform are concerned about this change. Until Discord made this change, the only way to see messages in a server, regardless of whether it was public or private, was to sign up for Discord and join the specific server.

Looking to delete your Discord message history so that it's not included in Google Search? You don't have to do that. Discord is providing users with a simple way to opt out of their messages being searchable.

Also, if you did want to delete all your Discord messages, you'd have to go through the servers and delete each and every one of your messages individually. Even deleting your Discord account won't remove your past messages.

How to remove your Discord messages from Google 

Discord users can go to their User Settings > Data and Privacy and change their Channel Messages settings. This will ensure that your Discord messages cannot be seen on publicly accessible Server Web Pages that are indexed by search engines. 

Discord may still use the content of users' messages for Channel Summaries on Server Web Pages. However, those summaries will not be connected to specific users, and usernames and avatars won't be shown next to messages on these public Server Web Pages.

How to remove your public Discord server from Google 

If you're a server admin, you can also opt your server out of Google Search indexing. Admins can go to Server Settings > Web Presence on their public server and choose which channels to make searchable. Admins can change these settings to opt out of every one of their server's channels. 

If an admin does not opt out, though, all public channels will be added to the Server Web Page when it goes live next month. Admins can also choose to turn off channel summaries on their Server Web Page. In order to ensure a Server Web Page isn't created for their server, admins must make these changes by Nov. 16, 2026. 

If you're worried about your private server or private messages, there's no need to be. These changes do not affect those servers and messages. They remain completely private and excluded from search engines. Private servers also continue to require an invite to join.

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

The coolest tech gifts may look like the most boring box in the present pile... until they're unwrapped. But in a second, you'll both unlock a new favorite memory: They get to gush over owning one of the most sought-after gadgets of the year, and you get to watch their face light up.

Our tech gift guide for 2026 includes some of the best new releases of the year from Apple, Amazon, Bose, Shark, and Sony, most of which we personally reviewed. We're obviously loving the latest upgrades, like the refreshed Kindle and the second-gen QuietComforts. But even if you're not shopping for an early adopter, we've still found some awesome under-the-radar gadgets that'll speak to their niche interests. The cool teenager on your list may not care about Apple's new smart home devices, but they will freak over the Camp Snap 2. (It's one of our top Gifts of the Year.)

To find the best holiday gifts for the techies in your life, Mashable's tech and shopping reporters have come together to curate a guide to our favorite gift-worthy gadgets of the year — the true "I can't believe you got this for me" gifts. So, whether you're splurging on a MacBook or searching for stocking stuffers, here are the best tech gifts for 2026.

When it comes to streaming video games, a $500 microphone won't get you 500 viewers. Most new game streamers are lucky to have 100 people watching in their first few months.

It helps to know what makes a difference on day one, whether you're buying gear for yourself or someone on your gift list.

Not even the best gear will make you a good streamer -- personality, practice, and becoming comfortable talking to an audience from an empty room will do that. Start with what you have, and upgrade to better equipment when your audience gives you a reason.

You can watch me walk through the essential streaming gear, along with other holiday shopping advice for the gamers on your list, in a new CNET Group video franchise called Holiday Office Hours From the Labs.

Here’s the short list of what you need to start streaming video games.

Your PC

If your computer already runs your games well, it can probably stream them too. If you’re shopping for a new one, look for three things: At least 16GB of RAM, an SSD instead of a hard drive, and a modern graphics card.

These are important because your PC needs to handle both streaming and gaming. With an SSD, your games can load faster, and a decent-quality graphics card can do the bulk of the work. We recommend the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060.

Opens in a new window

Credit: GIGABYTE / NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 5060

$459.99 at Amazon
$499.99 Save $40

 

Shop Now at Amazon

All the current graphics cards from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have a built-in hardware encoder, which turns your gameplay into a video stream without slowing down the game. NVIDIA’s encoder is the most widely supported and best-regarded option in free streaming software like OBS. That makes the RTX 5060 the easiest card to set up and forget.

A word of warning: demand from the AI boom has pushed up the prices of RAM and graphics cards, so compare prices before you buy. A prebuilt PC that costs about $1,000 should cover everything above. Used and refurbished listings are worth a look too. I bought my own prebuilt on Facebook Marketplace for $800, and it came with an RTX 5080 Founders Edition card. Deals like that are out there.

Credit: Mashable/Cole Kan

Capture card

If you’re gaming and streaming on the same PC, you can skip a capture card. Free software like OBS captures your gameplay directly. You’ll need one only if you’re streaming from a console or if you use a second PC just for streaming.

If that’s you, our pick is the Elgato 4K S, at about $160.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Elgato

Elgato 4K S

$159.67 at Best Buy

 

Shop Now at Best Buy

Microphones

This is the one place we’d tell most new streamers to spend a little extra effort. Your webcam is a small box in the corner of the screen, but your voice carries the whole stream. Viewers will forgive a grainy picture long before they forgive bad audio.

Our pick is a Logitech Creators Blue Yeti, a plug-and-play USB mic that sounds good without extra equipment.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Logitech

Logitech Creators Blue Yeti USB Microphone

$99.99 at Amazon
$139.99 Save $40.00

 

Shop Now at Amazon

But you don’t need a dedicated mic right away. The headset you already own can sound surprisingly good with some basic noise removal and EQ, and there are plenty of free tutorials that show you how. I don’t own a standalone mic myself. When I need to record, I use my Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones.

Webcam and lighting

For a webcam, a 1080p model is plenty. The Logitech C920x, at about $70, is our pick.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Logitech

Logitech C920x

$69.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Lighting is what makes a cheap camera look expensive. Our pick is the Philips Hue starter kit, at about $140, at the time of this writing. It includes two smart bulbs and the Hue Bridge, the hub that connects them to your Wi-Fi so you can control them from your phone. Govee makes good options for less.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Phillips

Philips Hue Smart Light Starter Kit

$139.86 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $60.13

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Opens in a new window

Credit: Govee

Govee Smart Light Bulbs

$39.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

You can also skip smart lighting entirely. Pointing an inexpensive desk lamp at your face, so your monitor isn’t your only light source, goes a long way.

Stream deck

The Elgato Stream Deck MK.2 is a grid of programmable buttons for switching scenes, muting your mic, playing sound effects, and more. It’s great, and it’s our pick when you’re ready for one. But it’s built for people who stream regularly, so you don’t need it on day one.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Elgato

Elgato Stream Deck MK.2

$119.99 at Amazon
$149.99 Save $30.00

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Best early Black Friday unlocked phone deals at a glance

---

Best Google Pixel deal

Google Pixel 10 Pro

$749 (save $250)

Get Deal

---

Best Samsung deal

Samsung Galaxy S26

$789 (save $210.99)

Get Deal

As much as we try to ignore it, having a phone has become a necessity. You can Brick it to stay off doomscrolling apps, but you'll need a phone to accomplish life's most basic tasks these days.

But having a phone isn't all bad. We can use them to take photos, keep in touch with friends, and watch endless hours of Christmas movies. But if your phone can barely hold a charge, has cracks across every angle of the screen, or takes lame photos, it's time for an upgrade.

As an early Black Friday treat, we're seeing nice discounts on models from Samsung, Google, Motorola, and more. Here are the best deals to shop if you're in need of a new phone.

Best Google Pixel deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Google

Google Pixel 10 Pro (128GB)

$749 at Amazon
$999 Save $250

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

The Google Pixel 11 is Mashable's top pick for the best Android phone, but we can't ignore the previous generation. The older but still great Google Pixel 10 Pro is on sale for a major 25% off before Black Friday. The Pixel 10 Pro has a 6.3-inch display, a battery that can last for over 24 hours, and an impressive camera that's great even in low-light.

Best Samsung Galaxy deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S26

$789 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $210.99

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

Unlocked and with 256GB of storage for all your photos and videos, the Samsung Galaxy S26 is already on sale ahead of Black Friday shopping chaos. The Samsung uses the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor for speedy operations across the board.

More unlocked phone deals

• TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro (128GB) — $279.98 $329.99 (save $50.01)

• Motorola Razr (2025, 256GB) — $549.99 $699.99 (save $150)

• Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (512GB) — $1,349.99 $1,599.99 (save $250)

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 — $1,699.99 $1,899.99 (save $200)

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Behold, fellow period drama lovers, the trailer for the much-anticipated Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is finally here.

Adapted for the screen by Dolly Alderton and directed by Euros Lyn, the six-part series stars Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet, Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy, and Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet. The other Bennet sisters are played by Hopey Parish (Mary), Hollie Avery (Kitty), Rhea Norwood (Lydia), and Freya Mavor (Jane). Daryl McCormack is Mr. Bingley, Jamie Demetriou plays Mr. Collins, and Louis Partridge is Mr. Wickham. Fiona Shaw plays the esteemed patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

For those of us who cherish previous adaptations of the beloved Austen novel, we have high hopes for this six-part series. No pressure, Netflix. Though one can't judge from the trailer alone, my initial impressions (as an Austen devotee) are that it looks faithful to the story, romantic at its heart, and the period drama treat that we're all craving this cosy season.

Pride and Prejudice hits Netflix on Dec. 3.

TL;DR: Score up to 50% off during LELO's fall sale. Plus, get a free MIA 3 when you spend $199+.

Opens in a new window

Credit: LELO

Get up to 50% off

plus a free toy when you spend $199+

Shop Now at LELO

Halloween is just a few days away, but retailers are still dropping thrills for the ghouls and gals who want all the treats this year.

Right now, you can get up to 50% off top-rated vibes during LELO's fall sale. Just be sure to use the promo code PUMPKINSPICE10 (how fitting) for an additional 10% off at checkout. (Note: This code doesn't work on bundles, and it expires on Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m. ET!)

If you spend $199+, you'll get a free MIA 3 — a travel-sized lipstick vibrator with eight settings. It's waterproof, USB rechargeable, and has a travel lock, so you can toss it in your bag without worrying about it turning on by accident.

Unsure of what to buy? Here are a few of my favorites:

• ENIGMA Double Sonic (or any of the Enigma toys, honestly) for G-spot and clitoral stimulation

• SONA 3 Cruise for intense clitoral suction

• GIGI 3 for targeted G-spot pleasure

LELO also has a handful of male sex toys and, of course, bundle deals for those of you who want more for less (just remember that promo code won't apply to the bundles).

Best early Black Friday Ninja deals at a glance

---

Best air fryer deal

Ninja Crispi Pro Glass Air Fryer

$269.99 (save $30)

Get Deal

---

Best Ninja multicooker deal

Ninja PossibleCooker Pro

$109.99 (save $60)

Get Deal

---

Best Ninja ice cream maker deal

Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl

$279 (save $70.99)

Get Deal

---

Best Ninja blender deal

Ninja CrushBoss 3-in-1 Blender & Food Processor

$199.95 (save $80.04)

Get Deal

---

Best Ninja pizza oven deal

Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven

$249.95 (save $50.04)

Get Deal

---

Best Ninja coffee maker deal

Ninja Fresh Brew Coffee Maker

$69.99 (save $20)

Get Deal

---

Best cooler deal

Ninja FrostVault (50 quart, Lakeshore Blue)

$229.95 (save $20.04)

Get Deal

We've barely had time to eat stale candy corn, but Black Friday deals are already coming in hot. Every year, we look forward to early deals to get ahead of holiday shopping, and I have good news if you're a fan of Ninja kitchen appliances. We're already seeing excellent discounts with the brand on some of Mashable's favorite Ninja items.

Shopping early Black Friday kitchen deals makes sense if you're hosting Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas brunch, or you have a chef to shop for this season. Ninja makes a massive collection of kitchen appliances from luxury espresso machines to glass air fryers that you'll use everyday.

I've gathered the best Ninja deals below if you're looking to shop early or make some upgrades in your own kitchen.

Best coffee maker deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Ninja

Ninja Fresh Brew Coffee Maker

$69.99 at Amazon
$89.99 Save $20

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

Sometimes you just need a pot of drip coffee. Fancier options exist, but some of us need a giant mug of simple drip to make it through the season. If that's the case, the 12-cup Ninja Fresh Brew coffee maker is the way to go. The stainless steel design looks modern in any kitchen, and you can stop mid-brew to pour a cup right away.

Going with a simple coffee maker is also a great choice if you'll be hosting guests this holiday season since it can serve up 12 cups with one brew. No one will have to wait in line to get a cup. For other times, the Ninja has a small batch setting that brews between one and four cups.

More Ninja coffee deals

• Ninja Single Serve Coffee Maker — $89.99 $129.99 (save $40)

• Ninja Espresso & Coffee Maker — $229.95 $279.99 (save $50.04)

• Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus — $449.99 $499.99 (save $50)

Best air fryer deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Ninja

Ninja Crispi Pro Glass Air Fryer

$269.99 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $30

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

The Ninja Crispi earned a Mashable Gift of the Year award and makes the list of the best kitchen gear we always recommend. The glass containers set this model apart from most other air fryers, and the Pro version comes with a 6 and 2.5-quart containers with storage lids.

Ninja equipped this model with six cooking functions like roast, crisp, and bake. Plus, the glassware and lids are dishwasher safe.

More Ninja air fryer deals

• Ninja Air Fryer XL — $99.99 $179.99 (save $80)

• Ninja DualZone Air Fryer — $149.99 $269.99 (save $120)

• Ninja French Door Premier Air Fry Oven — $199.99 $279.99 (save $80)

Best blender deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Ninja

Ninja CrushBoss 3-in-1 Blender & Food Processor

$199.95 at Amazon
$279.99 Save $80.04

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

If you're anything like me, you put ice cubes, frozen mango chunks, banana, and spinach in the blender and expect it to perfect crush ice and frozen fruit. Not every blender is up for that task, but the Ninja CrushBoss can handle it. With a powerful 1,850W base, the blender is ready to chop and puree almost anything you toss at it.

The food processor attachment on this blender is excellent for helping out with food prep since it can slice and cut veggies. It can even mix dough so you don't have to spent time and manpower on the task.

More Ninja blender deals

• Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro — $73.99 $109.99 (save $36)

• Ninja Professional Plus Duo Blender — $109.99 $149.99 (save $40)

• Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System — $159.99 $219.99 (save $60)

Best frozen treat deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Ninja

Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl

$279 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $70.99

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

Life is short. You should have soft-serve ice cream on demand in your own kitchen if you feel like it. The unique Ninja Scoop & Swirl can make ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, gelato, milkshakes, and give you the ability to become an expert soft serve swirler. Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Samantha Mangino's review of the Ninja Scoop & Swirl proved it's worth the investment if you're a fan of frozen treats at home. Just be sure you have counter space to handle the addition.

The best early Black Friday board game deals

---

The Best Early Black Friday Board Game Deal

Slay The Spire: The Board Game

$99.99 (Save $15)

Get Deal

---

Best Early Black Friday Strategy Board Game Deal

Catan

$39.99 (Save $10)

Get Deal

---

Best Early Black Friday Kids' Board Game Deal

Operation

$13.99 (Save $6)

Get Deal

---

Best Early Black Friday Dungeons & Dragons Deal

Dungeons & Dragons - Starter Set: Heroes of the Borderlands

$39.95 (Save $10.04)

Get Deal

Looking to start up a board game night tradition? Now's the perfect time to do it, especially since retailers have started slashing prices on board games weeks ahead of Black Friday. In fact, some of the discounts we're seeing now are actually better than what showed up on Black Friday itself last year, which means you should go ahead and stock up while the discounts are so deep.

A board game isn't just the perfect thing to add to your arsenal of entertainment items at home. It's also a good gift idea for hard-to-shop-for relative, older kids, or family who just doesn't want or need anything else. There are some great titles available now with some significant price cuts too, so they're definitely worth grabbing now rather than hoping they're still around the week of Thanksgiving.

Here are the best early Black Friday board game deals we've found so far.

Best early Black Friday board game deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Slay The Spire: The Board Game

$99.99 at Amazon
$114.99 Save $15

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

This cooperative deck-building roguelike, based on the video game of the same name, feels very similar to the digital version. Choose the Ironclad, the Silent, the Defect, or the Watcher, start with a bare-bones deck, and climb the Spire floor by floor. You work to add cards and relics while fighting through elites and bosses along the way, The box is stuffed with more than 650 cards plus four miniatures, map boards, and a token tray, so every game plays out differently. It works just as well solo as it does with a full table, and you can save a campaign mid-climb and pick it up next game night.

Best early Black Friday strategy board game deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Catan

$39.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $10

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

Catan is a veritable board game classic, and it's a great pickup to snag while it's discounted. Three to four players settle a randomly laid-out island, collecting wood, brick, wool, grain, and ore to build roads, settlements, and cities. Games wrap up in about an hour to 90 minutes, and it's fairly easy to learn. And if you're tired of playing the same things over and over, Catan's modular board means no two games set up the same way. It's a significant upgrade from Monopoly that's suitable for the whole family.

Best early Black Friday kids' board game deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Operation

$13.99 at Amazon
$19.99 Save $6.00

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

This classic board game has delighted kids and families for years, and nothing has changed after all this time. Cavity Sam lies on the table with a dozen ailments like the Wishbone, Charley Horse, and Butterflies in the Stomach. Players take turns using the tweezers to pull each piece out without touching the metal edges. Brush the side and his nose lights up and buzzes, and you lose your turn. Once you've all taken all of the issues away from (and out of) Sam, the game is over. That buzzer may very well haunt your dreams for years.

Best early Black Friday Dungeons & Dragons deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Dungeons & Dragons - Starter Set: Heroes of the Borderlands

$39.95 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $10.04

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

If you've ever wanted to get started with Dungeons & Dragons but didn't know how, this board game is the perfect introduction. It has a quick-start guide, player boards for the Cleric, Rogue, Wizard, and Fighter, and cards for species, backgrounds, spells, and gear so nobody has to build a character from scratch. Three to five players run through three adventure booklets split between combat, exploration, and roleplaying, and the poster maps for the Keep and the Caves of Chaos pull from one of the oldest modules in the game’s history. It's got everything beginners need and then some, so it's a much less daunting introductory experience.

More early Black Friday board game deals

• Catan on the Road Card Game — $7.99 $9.99 (save $2)

• Bananagrams — $11.99 $15.99 (save $4)

• Hot Dog Drop — $23.99 $29.99 (save $6)

• Dixit — $39.99 $44.99 (save $5)

• 7 Wonders — $51.10 $58.99 (save $7.89)

• Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West — $103.28 $119.99 (save $16.71)

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The Adventure Game — $98.95 $149.99 (save $51.04)

You might need to take a break from salivating over every Grand Theft Auto VI trailer to clear some space on your PS5 or Xbox hard drive.

An X account called PlayStation Game Size allegedly caught wind of the install size for GTA 6 and posted it on Tuesday. Ladies and gentlemen, wait for the reveal...it's apparently 210GB. That's pretty huge (though still not as big as Call of Duty), which should be a surprise to no one. However, given that a base PS5 has a little less than 1TB of usable storage space, you might need to do some virtual inventory management if you also keep other big games installed.

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

A 210GB file size for a purely single-player (for now) game is massive. Just to compare it to a couple of other major open-world games from this console generation, Elden Ring is only about 65GB, Assassin's Creed Shadows was just north of 100GB, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 asked for 98GB of space on your hard drive. That doesn't necessarily mean GTA 6 is twice as big as those games, as a lot of different variables can factor into file size, but it does mean that it's probably pretty huge regardless of how it compares to anything else.

Only a few more weeks now until it's finally in our hands. Remember: GTA 6 officially launched Nov. 19.

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

SAVE $50: The brand-new Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are on sale at Woot for $99, down from $149. That scores you a $50 discount (34% off) on Apple's latest open-ear noise-cancelling buds.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple AirPods 4

$99 at Walmart
$149 Save $50

 

Get Deal at Walmart

Apple’s brand-new AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation just took a massive price cut at Woot, dropping down to $99 from their standard $149 retail price. That is a straight $50 discount for a pair of earbuds that just hit the market. Apple managed to bring legitimate active noise cancellation to an open-ear design, ditching the silicone tips that many people find uncomfortable on the AirPods Pro.

Mashable’s Kimberly Gedeon awarded them a 4.6/5 score and a Mashable Choice Award. When she took them on an eight-hour flight across 3,319 miles, the earbuds handled the high-pitched drone of airplane engines and airport chaos with ease, while outlasting Apple’s battery ratings by clocking 5 hours and 12 minutes on a single charge with ANC turned on.

The AirPods 4 run on the upgraded H2 chip, which powers handy perks like Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness to lower your volume automatically when you start speaking to someone. Voice Isolation cleans up loud street noise during calls, while Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking gives music and movies an expansive, theater-like vibe.

The hardware received a subtle shape overhaul for a more stable one-size-fits-most fit, complete with an IP54 dust, sweat, and water resistance rating on both the buds and the case. That redesigned charging case is the smallest in the industry with wireless charging support, powering up via USB-C, standard Qi pads, or even an Apple Watch charger puck, with an integrated speaker for Find My tracking.

Get this no-brainer AirPods 4 deal while it lasts.

TL;DR: The Amazon Echo Show 16 is available for preorder for $399.99 (normally $499.99) at Amazon when you click the on-screen coupon. That's a $100 discount on a smart display that doesn't even release until Dec. 16.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Amazon Echo Show 16

$399.99 at Amazon
$499.99 Save $100

 

Preorder at Amazon

Amazon just launched a new lineup of smart home tech, including an Alexa Photo Frame, an upgraded Echo Dot, and the Echo Show 16 — Amazon's "most advanced" Echo Show yet.

Right now, you can preorder the Amazon Echo Show 16 for $399.99 at Amazon. Its sticker price is $499.99, so if you want to get it on sale before the holidays, now's your chance. This $100 discount is a limited-time introductory offer (via an on-screen coupon), and we don't expect it to last much longer after its official launch on Dec. 16.

The Echo Show 16 features a 16-inch display (10 percent larger than the Echo Show 15), Alexa voice remote, and built-in Fire TV. You can access thousands of apps, including your fave streaming platforms, manage your calendar, and order groceries, all with the touch of a button or Alexa+.

It also acts as a smart home hub, featuring a new Alexa Home Map that lets you scan your house with an iPhone to create a virtual layout of your devices. (I mean, IDK if that's a great idea, but if you're fully invested in the ecosystem, it makes controlling your lights and cameras pretty seamless.) It even comes with a wall mount right in the box, though you'll have to buy a stand separately if you prefer keeping it on the counter.

TL;DR: Pokémon GO kicked off its two-part Halloween 2026 event on Oct. 27, featuring top-hatted Zubat, cape-wearing Pikachu, the debut of Shiny Greavard, and up to 3× Candy and Stardust via the Halloween GO Pass through Nov. 5.

If you noticed PokéStops and Gyms looking a little more festive than usual this week, you aren't imagining things. Pokémon GO has officially kicked off its two-part Halloween 2026 celebration, running through Nov. 5.

Alongside seasonal map decor and the classic Lavender Town theme music remix playing in the game every night, the event packs costume debuts, massive resource multipliers, and a brand-new shiny ghost dog into a tidy schedule.

Part I kicked off Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. and runs through Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. local time. The initial stretch focuses on fresh seasonal costumes and map bonuses:

• Zubat wearing a top hat — Spawns in the wild, with a possible Shiny encounter.

• Pikachu wearing a hat and capelet — Featured in one-star raids, with a Shiny chance.

• Sinistea wearing a bow — Appears in one-star raids alongside Pikachu, also eligible to be Shiny.

• Themed wild spawns — Duskull, Piplup wearing a Halloween Mischief costume, Drifblim wearing a Halloween Mischief costume, and more will appear in the wild.

• Spooky map surprises — Mischievous Pokémon leave behind objects on the overworld map; tapping them triggers encounters or awards Pikachu, Zubat, Sinistea, or Rare Candy.

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Part II picks up on Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. and ends on Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. local time. The second half shifts focus toward a new Shiny debut and battle upgrades:

• Shiny Greavard debut — Available for the first time in Pokémon GO, appearing in the wild, through Field Research tasks, and via the GO Pass.

• Themed wild spawns — Litwick, Rowlet wearing a Pokémon Halloween costume, Gengar wearing a Spooky Festival costume, and others will spawn in the wild.

• Super Max Level Mega Sableye — You can raise Mega Sableye's Mega Level to Super Max Level.

• Night Shade+ Charged Attack — Unlocking Super Max Level lets eligible Mega Evolved Pokémon learn a second Charged Attack, granting Sableye the move Night Shade+.

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Running across both halves of the event is the GO Pass: Halloween 2026. By completing pass tasks and collecting GO Points to rank up, you'll unlock passive resource multipliers at major milestones:

• Tier 1 (Rank 10) — Unlocks 2× Catch Candy, which bumps to 3× Catch Candy if you pick up the GO Pass Deluxe.

• Tier 2 (Rank 20) — Unlocks 2× Catch Stardust, which jumps to 3× Catch Stardust on the GO Pass Deluxe.

• Free GO Pass rewards — Ranking up grants encounters with event-themed Pokémon, themed Candy, Rare Candy, and Ultra Balls.

Every reward unlocked along your GO Pass must be claimed before Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. local time, or it disappears for good.

Clear out your item bag, crank up the in-game audio for the Lavender Town vibes, and get hunting — you only have until Nov. 5 to make the most of this year's haunted haul.

TL;DR: Krispy Kreme’s limited-edition All Jacked Up Dozen is currently live for $13 in shops, at drive-thrus, and online — running now through Thursday, Oct. 29.

If you’ve walked into a bakery lately, you already know holiday-themed treats usually come with a holiday-themed markup. Krispy Kreme seems to be going the other direction this week, quietly selling a full Halloween-themed box for roughly what you’d pay for a plain dozen.

The chain's limited-time All Jacked Up Dozen has dropped for $13, though you won’t have long to catch it. The promotion is only scheduled through Thursday, Oct. 29.

Thankfully, nobody tried to reinvent the wheel with artificial pumpkin glazes here. It’s just the classic melt-in-your-mouth pastry dressed up in a loud Halloween costume with a handful of playful toppings:

• Jack's Original Glazed Doughnuts (9) — The standard melt-in-your-mouth glazed ring, tinted festive orange with an extra drizzle of icing.

• Mummy Jack Doughnut (1) — An orange Original Glazed dipped in icing, piped with white vanilla buttercreme "bandages," and finished with a green iced stem.

• Jack O' Doughnut (1) — An orange-glazed base detailed with chocolate frosting to look like a mini carved jack-o’-lantern.

• Monster Jack Doughnut (1) — Topped with orange icing, crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, piped chocolate stitches, and a green stem.

You can grab one at participating shops, through the drive-thru, or via the app for pickup and delivery — just keep in mind that once Oct. 29 ends, the $13 run is done.

The best early Black Friday deals under $25:

---

best Amazon device deal

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

$19.99 (save $40 with Prime-exclusive on-page coupon)

Get Deal

---

best apple deal

Apple AirTag (2nd gen)

$23 (save $6)

Get Deal

---

best toy deal

Play-Doh Blooms Rosy Petite Flower Bouquet

$18.74 (save $6.25)

Get Deal

---

best home deal

Blink Mini 2K+

$16.99 (save $33)

Get Deal

Working with a smaller budget this holiday season? You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to pick up a great gift for White Elephant or treat yourself to something awesome. Believe it or not, you can grab plenty of deals for less than $25 during Black Friday sales.

Technically, Black Friday is still a few weeks away, but there are already lots of inexpensive items available. To point you in the right direction, we've rounded up some of our favorite deals we've spotted so far.

As with every major sale, we'll be keeping an eye on all the best deals leading up to and during Black Friday 2026. We'll update this list with any new budget friendly steals that pop up. For now, here are the best early Black Friday deals under $25.

Best early Black Friday deal under $25

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2026)

$19.99 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $40

with Prime-exclusive on-page coupon

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

Every Fire TV Stick was hit with a price increase this year, but we're still seeing drastic discounts ahead of Black Friday. For instance: the brand-new Fire TV Stick 4K (just released last month) is on sale for just under $20 for Prime members, thanks to an on-page coupon. This recent release effectively replaces the 4K Select, though it just came out last year. Amazon heard the cries of customers over the 4K Select's limited app store and added over 2,000 more apps (including Spotify, Xbox, VLC, and a range of VPNs). It also comes with the Vega 2.0 OS, 8GB of storage, a quad-core 1.7GHz processor, support for WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, HDR10+, HLG, Alexa+, and a redesigned remote.

More early Black Friday deals under $25

• Anker USB-C to USB-C Cable (2-pack) — $9.99 $12.99 (save $3)

• Play-Doh Blooming Flower Garden Playset — $14 $23.99 (save $9.99)

• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select — $14.99 $49.99 (save $35 with on-page code SELECT4K)

• Blink Mini 2K+ — $16.99 $39.99 (save $33)

• Amazon Fire TV Stick HD — $17.99 $39.99 (save $22 with on-page code HDFTV)

• Play-Doh Blooms Rosy Petite Flower Bouquet — $18.74 $24.99 (save $6.25)

• Play-Doh PD Blooms Wildflower Petite Bouquet — $18.74 $24.99 (save $6.25)

• Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse — $19.99 $29.99 (save $10)

• Yeti Rambler Travel Bottle (22-ounce) — $21 $28 (save $7)

• Apple AirTag (2nd gen) — $23 $29 (save $6)

• Blink Wired Doorbell 2K+ — $23.99 $49.99 (save $26)

• Anker Nano Power Bank — $23.99 $29.99 (save $6)

• Anker Soundcore Select 4 Go — $23.99 $34.99 (save $11)

• Yeti Rambler Ceramic Lined Mug (10-ounce) — $24 $30 (save $6)

• Bluey Cruise Ship Playset — $25 $59.99 (save $34.99)

SAVE 75%: Proton VPN's Black Friday sale drops its two-year VPN Plus subscription down to $2.49 per month (billed as $59.76 for 24 months) — save 75% off the standard monthly rate.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Proton VPN

Proton VPN (2-Year Plan)

 

Get Deal at Proton VPN

If you have been putting off getting a VPN because you didn’t want to add another expensive monthly bill to your plate, this is the time to pounce. Proton VPN has rolled out its biggest sale of the year for Black Friday, slashing 75% off its two-year VPN Plus plan. That brings the price down from the regular $9.99 per month to just $2.49 per month (billed all at once as $59.76 for the first 24 months).

The biggest hesitation most people have with VPNs is simple: can you actually trust the company with your private browsing?

With Proton, the answer is built into the foundation. Unlike many providers that keep your data behind closed doors, Proton’s software is completely open-source, so independent security experts can inspect the code at any time. It runs on a strict no-logs policy, so whatever you search, stream, or click never gets tracked, stored, or sold off to advertisers.

Of course, solid privacy doesn't mean much if your connection grinds to a halt every time you try to stream a show. Proton solves that by giving you unlimited bandwidth with zero speed throttling across a massive network of over 20,000 high-speed servers in more than 140 countries. Thanks to its VPN Accelerator, which boosts speeds up to 400%, you can stream movies while traveling without annoying lag or buffering.

Plus, a single subscription covers up to 10 devices at once, keeping your phone, laptop, tablet, and smart TV protected under one login. Besides keeping prying eyes off your traffic, it actively cleans up your daily web experience. The built-in NetShield feature acts as an automatic bodyguard, wiping out annoying pop-up ads, trackers, and malicious phishing sites before they even have a chance to load.

If you're still on the fence, you may as well take advantage of the 30-day money-back guarantee to see how it handles your daily browsing. Just keep in mind that once those initial 24 months wrap up, it rolls into a yearly renewal at $83.88 unless you turn off auto-renew.

Grab the two-year plan for $2.49 a month while the lowest price of the year is still live.

TL;DR: The Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Play Booster Box is on sale for $139.99 at Amazon, down from its $207.95 list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Play Booster Box

$139.99 at Amazon
$207.95 Save $67.96

Get Deal at Amazon

Just when it seemed like Magic: The Gathering's The Hobbit Play Booster Box couldn't get any cheaper, Amazon has surprised us with another major price drop. Less than a week after the 30-pack display fell below $160 for the first time, this Middle-earth-themed box is now almost $20 cheaper again.

As of Oct. 28, the Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Play Booster Box costs just $139.99 at Amazon. Compared to the $207.95 list price, that's a staggering $67.96 in savings after a 33% discount, bringing the cost of each of the 30 included packs down to $4.67. Better still, Amazon is handling both the sale and shipping — with free delivery set for Nov. 2, or as soon as Oct. 30 for Prime members.

Amazon isn't the only retailer offering this price. Walmart has matched the $139.99 deal, although its listing is sold by Cataclysm Games and fulfilled by Walmart.

You'll get 30 Play Boosters containing 14 cards apiece, plus an exclusive traditional foil Middle-earth Box Topper featuring a special reprint from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth. 

Every pack also includes at least one foil card and one to three rare or higher-rarity cards, with chances to uncover special alternate-art and borderless versions of characters from Bilbo's classic adventure in the original tale of The Hobbit book.

At the first signs of fall, I'm getting cozy. As the leaves turn and temperatures drop, you'll find me under a pile of blankets with a warm beverage in hand. I relish getting into bed every night and getting under the covers with a good book, but there's nothing worse than cold hands. That's the appeal of a page-turning remote so you can turn the pages on your e-reader with your hands under the covers.

The market for e-reader remotes is incredibly popular. There are plenty of cheap ones being sold on Amazon, which inspired Kobo and Boox to make remotes to pair natively with their e-readers. Amazon has finally caught up with the release of its Kindle Click. I was more excited about the first Kindle remote than I was about the new Kindles, and I'm pleased to report it doesn't disappoint.

What to know about the Kindle Click

The Kindle Click lets you turn the page and adjust the brightness on your Kindle. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The Kindle Click is a page-turning remote that connects to Kindle devices. It comes with two buttons that turn the page forward or back, and you can customize which does what in your Kindle settings. It also has two buttons on the side to adjust the screen brightness on your Kindle.

It connects to your device via Bluetooth. Pair it with your device by holding down any button until the light flashes blue, then find the device in your Kindle's Bluetooth settings. The remote stays connected, but you will need to wake it by pressing any button.

It's USB-C rechargeable and connects to all Kindles released in 2024 and onward. It costs $34.99 and is available to purchase on Amazon.

It's a breeze to use, with no screen obstruction

Plenty of people have gotten creative with page-turning remotes being sold on Amazon. The off-brand models usually have two components: one to tap the screen and another that operates as the remote. Having tested these, they work perfectly fine, except that they can't turn the page backward, and the screen clip obstructs the screen.

The Kindle Click is a much more sophisticated option as it connects via Bluetooth. It's just one remote, no screen-tapping clip required, aka no screen obstruction. It's also lightweight and easy to navigate by touch. The buttons have a nice tactile feel, so you can tell where the buttons are without looking. An optional wrist lanyard comes with the device, which I do find helpful as someone who has both a tendency to doze off while reading and a proclivity for losing remotes in blankets.

If I had any complaints about the Kindle Click, I do wish it had a slight curve, like the Kobo remote, to make it more ergonomic.

The brightness buttons are genius

Adjust the brightness on your Kindle with the Kindle Click and your hands stay cozy under the covers. Credit: Samanta Mangino / Mashable

I would have been totally pleased if the Kindle Click came as is with its two page-turning buttons, but what absolutely blew me away was the inclusion of buttons to adjust the screen brightness. When you have your hands tucked under the covers, you don't want to reach for anything, but the other setting I most commonly adjust is screen brightness.

Every time I use the remote, I find myself needing to adjust the brightness, and those buttons are such a nice touch. It's not something I'd think to ask for, but I'm so glad it's there.

I wish it worked with more Kindles

Amazon is known to phase out Kindles, but plenty of models are still supported. That's why it's such a bummer that the Kindle Click only works with 2024 and 2026 Kindles. Since the 10th generation of the Kindle Paperwhite was released in 2018, the devices have included Bluetooth, allowing you to connect headphones to listen to audiobooks. Since the Kindle Click connects via Bluetooth, I'd think any Kindle with Bluetooth could pair with it. That is not the case, excluding many Kindle users.

So if you want to use a Kindle Click, you'll need to own or upgrade to a 2024 or 2026 Kindle.

Is the Kindle Click worth it?

While you technically don't *need* the Kindle Click, it's nice to have. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

If you own a 2024 or 2026 Kindle, you should absolutely scoop up a Kindle Click. It's only $34.99, which is $5 more than Kobo's remote and slightly more expensive than the cheaper remotes you can find elsewhere, but it can do more. You can customize which buttons turn the page and adjust the screen brightness on the remote. It's well-designed and lightweight in your hand, with tactile buttons that make it easy to navigate by touch.

Sure, you don't need the Kindle Click, but it will level up your cozy evenings spent reading.

Kindle Click

$34.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

I'm the first to say you don't always need the newest product, but these new Kindles make it hard to resist. When Amazon revealed the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, it popped with its new colorful aluminum finish, but with most of its changes on the outside, I had to see just how much impact it would have on the e-reader's overall performance and value.

But the upgrades aren't just superficial. After Amazon raised prices across its devices, there's added pressure to make sure the tech measures up to its higher price. After a few weeks with the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, Amazon did a phenomenal job on its new e-reader, making it worthy of the increased price.

What's new in the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition?

The new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition has an aluminum case and compatibility with all of Amazon's new accessories. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The changes between the 2024 and 2026 Kindle Paperwhite Signature Editions are visible. With a new aluminum casing, it feels more like an iPad Mini than it does the previous Kindle. But it still has the same matte paper-like display with adjustable brightness and warmth. The power button on the e-reader was moved from the bottom to the side of the device, a welcome change.

A big draw on the new Paperwhite Signature Edition is the compatible accessories. Amazon also released the Kindle Click, its first page-turning remote. While the Click is compatible with all 2024 and 2026 Kindle e-readers, Amazon's new Page Turn Cover is exclusively compatible with the 2026 Paperwhite Signature Edition and Colorsoft Signature Edition.

What's the difference between the Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition?

In the past, the Paperwhite has been Amazon's flagship e-reader, with the Paperwhite Signature Edition being the more luxe option. However, with the 2026 redesign, it seems like the script has been flipped, with Amazon pushing the Signature Edition while the standard Paperwhite takes a back seat.

Plenty remains the same between the devices. They have the same 7-inch screen with 300 ppi resolution and adjustable warmth and brightness. Both are waterproof with IPX8 ratings and 12-week battery life. The new devices also have easy-to-open back panels to make replacing the battery that much easier.

The Paperwhite is the cheaper option at $199.99, but it comes with only 16GB of storage (which, to be fair, is still plenty) and is available in graphite with a plastic casing. The Signature Edition is more expensive at $249.99, but comes with 32GB of storage and is available in the aluminum finish in seaglass green and graphite. Beyond its nicer finish, it also has an ad-free lockscreen, automatic front-light adjustment, a rotating screen, and wireless charging. The real perk of the Paperwhite Signature Edition is its compatibility with the Page Turn Cover, which adds page-turning buttons to your Kindle.

It feels as expensive as it is

The aluminum casing makes the Paperwhite Signature Edition feel like a tablet rather than an e-reader. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The aluminum case on the Paperwhite Signature Edition is nearly enough to justify its $250 price tag. The Paperwhite Signature Edition is about the same size as the previous generation, but it's about one millimeter thinner and 10 grams lighter. Compared to the previous generation, it has squared edges and an aluminum case, making it feel more like a tablet or smartphone.

The pogo pins on the back of the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition connect to Amazon's Page Turn Cover. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Plus, it comes in a neutral graphite, but the seaglass green is a vibrant alternative that's really dazzling. It now feels like more sophisticated tech, which is enough for me to justify its price tag.

Its performance is great, but is it really better?

One thing I feel certain about Kindles is that they're fast — easily the quickest e-readers we've tested. Every time a new Kindle is released, Amazon touts that they're some percentage faster than a previous generation; that's the case with this year's base Kindle, which Amazon says is 30 percent faster. However, that claim is missing on the Paperwhite Signature Edition.

This year's Paperwhite Signature Edition still has quick processing time, but it doesn't seem faster than the previous generation. Before trying the 2026 model, I read with the 2024 Paperwhite Signature Edition daily, and I didn't notice any changes in processing speed between the two e-readers. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, as it was already a zippy e-reader.

With a rotating screen, the page-turn cover is a must

Screen rotation lets you use the Page Turn Cover buttons on the right... Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

...or left side of the device. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Since Amazon discontinued the Kindle Oasis, Kindle users have been shouting from the rooftops that they want a Kindle with page-turning buttons. As reported by The Verge, Amazon has said it won't be making Kindles with buttons, but it's offering something in between. The new Kindle Page Turn Cover now magnetically attaches to Signature Edition Kindles and lets you turn the page by pressing the buttons on the case.

The case works seamlessly, and Amazon added a key feature to the Paperwhite Signature Edition — a rotating screen. The rotating screen is key when using page-turning buttons. That way, when you're reading in bed and want to roll over and switch sides, you can rotate the device to use your preferred hand, and the screen rotates too. The only downside is that you have to buy the cover separately for $79.99.

The Kindle pulldown menu on the Paperwhite Signature Edition now includes a screen rotation lock. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

We initially had a problem with the screen rotation, as the unit we were testing didn't support it. This appeared to be a glitch, and Amazon replaced the model. On the Paperwhite Signature Edition, the screen rotation worked seamlessly. In the pull-down menu, there's an option to lock the rotation too, if you don't want your screen to rotate while in use.

Is the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition worth its price?

With an upgraded aluminum case, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition feels expensive and earns its price tag. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Yes, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is worth its $249.99 price tag. In fact, I think it's the first Signature Edition to really be worth the upgrade. It has the same perks as before, like 32GB of storage and automatic brightness adjustment, but what puts it a step above is its finer casing materials. It feels like a more advanced piece of tech, so while it's still the same reliable Kindle platform, it has a more sophisticated build.

Not to mention, its rotating screen and compatibility with the Kindle Page Turn Cover make it the most versatile and functional Kindle yet.

If you're ready to upgrade your e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is the absolute best one you can buy. If you want something more budget-friendly but equally colorful, go for the standard Kindle. But if you're wondering if the Paperwhite Signature Edition is worth its price, without a doubt, it is.

Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition

$249.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

When I heard that new Kindles were coming, there was one thing I wanted above all else — page-turning buttons. Few e-readers have them, which is why I love the Kobo Libra Colour so much. Unfortunately, Amazon isn't reviving the Kindle Oasis, but it did introduce the next best thing: the Kindle Page Turn Cover.

The new accessory is compatible with the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition and Colorsoft Signature Edition e-readers, and, in addition to protecting your Kindle, it adds buttons to it. While testing the newest Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, I tried the new cover, and it's the perfect e-reader companion.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Amazon Kindle Page Turn Cover

$79.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

How does the Kindle Page Turn Cover work?

The case connects to the device through pogo pins. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The Kindle Page Turn Cover has no battery and doesn't need to be charged. To set up the cover, all you need to do is place your Kindle (Signature Edition models only) into the case, and it's ready to use. The cover connects via pogo pins that press into the port on the back of the Kindle.

You can customize the buttons of the cover in the settings of your Kindle. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The case has two buttons that you can customize to go back or forward in your Kindle's settings. Plus, when you rotate your Kindle to use the opposite hand, it preserves which button turns the page forward or back. The cover snaps shut magnetically. It wakes the screen or puts it to sleep, and you can fold it over while in use so it stays flat.

It couldn't be easier to use

In addition to page-turn buttons, this case also has an automatic wake/sleep cover. Credit: Samatha Mangino / Mashable

The appeal of accessories like AirPods for iPhone users is their seamless connectivity. Kindle has essentially done its own version of that with the Kindle Page Turn Cover. It works perfectly with the Kindle Signature Edition models, and I was so pleased at how quickly I could start using it. Once it's in, the buttons work immediately.

Adjusting the settings is a breeze too. There's now an accessories tab in the Kindle settings where you can adjust which button turns the page forward or back. Once I had mine set up, I tucked in for a cozy night of reading.

The Kindle Page Turn Cover works no matter what hand you read with. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The best part is that when I was lying in bed reading, if I rolled over to swap hands, I rotated the device and the screen followed suit. Plus, the button orientation stays the same when rotated.

It's so unbelievably easy to use that anyone, no matter how tech-savvy, can use it. With no battery in the case, you never have to worry about charging it either.

It's perfectly designed — with extremely limited compatibility

From the outside, the Kindle Page Turn Cover isn't normally what I'd go for in a case. It's a little plain, and I usually like a MagSafe case over a sleep cover case. But I can't deny how perfectly it's designed. It's slim and sturdy without adding any bulk to the device.

The Amazon Kindle Page Turn Cover adds a seven-millimeter edge to your e-reader. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The case adds a seven-millimeter edge to the screen, with two well-placed buttons you can easily tap. Since it's so thin, I thought the edge wouldn't provide enough grip, but it ended up being totally comfortable for hours of reading.

What really impresses me is how well the cover folds flat. With the magnetic closure, it snaps tightly to the back of the cover and stays totally out of the way, so you're not dealing with a cover flapping around while you're trying to binge-read the latest Sarah J. Maas.

When folded, the Page Turn Cover is still exceptionally thin. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

But here's the bummer of the cover. It only works with two Kindles: the Paperwhite Signature Edition and the Colorsoft Signature Edition, meaning the basic Kindle and Paperwhite don't work with it.

Take it to the pool or beach because it's waterproof, too

The Kindles that are compatible with the Page Turn Cover are both waterproof, and luckily, so is this case. It's made from plant-based leather (primarily composed of corn and viscose fiber) and has a plush microfiber interior screen. The case has an IPX8 rating, which covers splashes and rain, and is the same IP rating as Kindle Signature Edition e-readers.

I don't love its price

My least favorite thing about the Kindle Page Turn Cover is its price. At $79.99, that's an incredibly expensive case, since you can find plenty on Amazon for under $15. Yes, this case does a lot more than a typical protective case, but $80 is still a lot, especially when you factor in the cost of the e-reader.

This case only works with the 2026 Paperwhite and Colorsoft Signature Editions, meaning if you're buying this case, you're also buying a new e-reader. The Paperwhite Signature Edition costs $249.99, while the Colorsoft Signature Edition is $319.99. That means for both a new Kindle and e-reader you're paying over $300 and in the case of the Colorsoft, nearly $400.

Is the Kindle Page Turn Cover worth it?

If you're buying the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, the Page Turn Cover is an essential accessory. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

As much as I don't like the price of the Kindle Page Turn Cover, I think it's an exceptional accessory. If you miss the buttons on Amazon's now-discontinued Kindle Oasis, this cover fills the void. There's practically no setup, and it works seamlessly. The design is a marvel, too, as it's fully waterproof and comfortable for your next reading marathon.

For me? It's definitely coming along with me as I dive into A Court of Splintered Harmony.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Amazon Kindle Page Turn Cover

$79.99

 

Shop Now

Amazon has made several new product announcements this year — including the exciting new Kindle lineup. The retail giant is back with another round of updates; this time in the smart home space. Amazon unveiled the new Echo Dot, Echo Studio with Home Camera, Echo Time, Echo Show 16, and Alexa Photo Frame.

All but the Echo Show 16 are available beginning Oct. 28 — the Echo Show 16 is available for preorder today, shipping later this year.

I got an early first look at the devices, so let's dig into what's new:

Echo Dot

The new Echo Dot comes in graphite, glacier white, agave green, and coral pink. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

The new Echo Dot's focus is two-fold: Better music listening and more advanced smart capabilities. It features a full-range driver for more back volume, delivering clear vocals and 50 percent more bass than the previous generation.

The smart speaker is powered by Amazon's AZ3 custom silicon, which enables advanced on-device processing for faster, more natural conversations through Alexa+. It's equipped with four microphones, up from the previous gen's three, which helps Alexa better hear you as you move around the room and determine who's speaking to personalize the experience.

Echo Dot users likely have other smart devices, and the new Echo Dot serves as a smart home hub with built-in support for Zigbee, Matter, and Thread, enabling them to control thousands of devices straight out of the box.

Arguably the coolest feature of the new Echo Dot is its ability to act as an eero WiFi extender, which adds up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to an existing eero network. The Echo Dot retails for $99.99 and is available in graphite, glacier white, agave green, and coral pink colorways.

Amazon Echo Dot (2026)

$99.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Echo Studio with Home Camera

Amazon's best-sounding speaker now comes with even more smart capabilities. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

Remaining Amazon's best-sounding speaker, the Echo Studio with Home Camera got updated with, you guessed it, an onboard camera. It features Dolby Atmos sound that fills the room with spatial audio — the new Advanced Room Adaptation senses your space and automatically adapts the room's acoustics.

The camera expands Alexa+'s capabilities. It can tell who's who, meaning each household member can ask Alexa to play music, and it'll pull from their individual playlists. You can also drop into a room in the Alexa app if you need to check in on a pet or make sure you've turned off the lights before leaving home. And you can hold up items in front of the camera, and Alexa will help you with myriad questions or tasks. Alexa can tell you the rules to a board game you hold up or help visually impaired people determine what's in their hands.

If you have a Fire TV (or Fire TV Stick), you can pair the Echo Studio with the Home Camera to make video calls on the big screen.

In terms of privacy, the camera doesn't record; it just streams live. And there are indicators when the camera is active. Like all Echo devices, there's a dedicated button to turn the microphones and cameras on/off.

The Echo Studio with Home Camera retails for $249.99 and is available in graphite.

Amazon Echo Studio with Home Camera

$249.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Echo Time

The Echo Time is super customizable. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

The Echo Time builds on what Amazon did with the Echo Spot and has even more reasons to earn a place on your nightstand. Amazon's team designed it to be a clock first — they didn't want it to feel like an on-your-face digital asset. It doesn't have a camera, and the clock face screen is the main feature. You can personalize the clock face and choose different widgets, such as date and time or weather, to display on it.

With Echo Time, you can customize your wind-down or wake-up routines. The device has sensors that monitor your breathing and detect when you're in lighter sleep. It wakes you at your optimal sleep stage within 10 to 60 minutes of your set alarm, helping you wake up feeling less groggy. It's not like the Hatch Sleep Clock, which fully tracks your sleep stages, but there are some similarities.

The display adapts throughout the day to mimic natural sunlight, dimming and reducing blue light at night. If you have smart lights, you can pair the two to wake you up together with a sunrise and gentle sounds.

There's also a kids' version of the Echo Time, which has more fun designs and engaging clock faces. The Amazon Kids Echo Time features support for Amazon Kids+ and Sleep Studio. The latter turns the device into a complete bedtime system, with curated sleep content from Headspace, Calm, and Moshi.

While the standard Echo Time is geared more toward waking up, the kids' version is designed to aid bedtime and help kids sleep better.

Amazon Echo Time

$199.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

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

Echo Show 16

The Echo Show 16 is a comprehensive smart home hub. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

The Echo Show 16 is Amazon's most powerful Echo Show yet. It features three new Screen Styles, so your home screen can act either as a smart home hub, family organizer, or digital photo frame. It also comes loaded with the full Fire TV experience, so you can watch your favorite shows and movies while you cook (or wherever you place your device).

The new Echo Show has 10 percent more viewing area than the Echo Show 15, is 40 percent thinner with a sleek aluminum frame, and can be wall-mounted or placed on a stand. It's equipped with eight custom micro woofers and two tweeters for full sound no matter where it's placed.

Amazon heavily considered what the UI of AI should feel and look like. So, they've redesigned Alexa conversations. Rather than just a list of transcripts, your conversations now appear as cards grouped by category or ask. You can tap into the cards, and a rich conversation unfolds. In addition to your back-and-forth with Alexa, you'll see suggested next steps, related videos, and more.

So, for example, let's say you've asked Alexa about planning a trip to hike and see fall foliage in New York. Alexa will create a card, and once you tap in, you might find suggested hikes from AllTrails, YouTube videos of peak foliage times, and suggestions of other excursions to do while you're there.

Left: Your conversations appear as cards. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

Right: Tap into one and you'll get a comprehensive conversation with Alexa. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

Within the smart home hub on the Echo Show 16, you'll be able to access the new Alexa Home Map, which lets you virtually map your home to control all of your smart devices room by room. To set it up, enter your address, then walk through your home, scanning each room with a compatible iPhone. Once the map is created, you can place your devices where they sit in your home. The map is interactive, so if you turn on a smart light in real life, you'll see it glow on the map as well. It also integrates with Ring cameras, so you can get a comprehensive view of what's happening in and around your house.

The Echo Show 16 is available for preorder today, but won't ship until closer to the holidays. It retails for $499.99 for a standard display, or $569.99 with a Nanomatte display. However, if you preorder the device, you'll get an introductory price that's $100 off MSRP.

Amazon Echo Show 16

$499.99 at Amazon

 

Preorder at Amazon

Alexa Photo Frame

The Alexa Photo Frame blends in with your home decor with black, birch, and walnut finishes. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

Digital photo frames are not new technology, but Amazon is bringing Alexa to a digital frame, making it one of the smartest options in the category. The Alexa Photo Frame has a 10-inch anti-glare touchscreen display. It syncs with the Amazon Photos app, which provides unlimited storage with a Prime membership. Again, the team didn't want this product to scream "digital asset," and, having seen it in person, it blends in incredibly well with printed, framed photos.

It does more than just cycle through your camera roll. Alexa intelligently groups images based on people, places, and activities. And to avoid black bars on the sides of portrait-mode images, Alexa will place two vertical photos side by side, grouped by context. So, you might find two photos from your trip to Japan side by side, or an image of your kid at 6 years old next to a photo of them graduating from college (Alexa's gunning for the waterworks). You can also ask Alexa to show you specific images, like "Show me all the photos of our trip to Japan," and Alexa will cycle through that specific photo set.

Within the Alexa Photos app, you can also attach voice notes to individual photos. This adds a touch of sentimental value and acts as the writing on the back of a printed photo, explaining when and where it was taken.

The Alexa Photo Frame would be an awesome holiday gift, especially for parents. I know my mom would absolutely love one. And Amazon knows that, too. These are actually set up to be extremely giftable. You can buy a frame for somebody else, and you'll get a link to collaborate and fill their Photo Frame with images from your library. And you can add a special touch with voice notes.

The Alexa Photo Frame starts at $199.99 in the black finish, and costs $229 for the real birch or walnut wood frames.

Amazon Alexa Photo Frame

$199.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Amazon

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Elite Trainer Box is on sale for $116.40 at Amazon, down from its $139.64 list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Elite Trainer Box

$116.40 at Amazon
$139.64 Save $23.24

 

Preorder at Amazon

With less than two weeks until the Pokémon TCG's Delta Reign expansion arrives, Amazon sellers are continuing to bring down the cost of its Rayquaza-themed Elite Trainer Box. After initially launching preorders at $140 earlier this month, the retailer is now offering one of its biggest discounts yet, even edging below Walmart's latest listing.

As of Oct. 28, the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Elite Trainer Box is available to preorder for just $116.40 at Amazon. That's $23.24 knocked off its typical $139.64 price, giving you a 17% discount and bringing the cost of its nine booster packs down to $12.93 each before counting the extras.

Coming from third-party seller BetterShopping4You, this deal’s currently set for a Nov. 12 delivery, six days after the expansion’s Nov. 6 release date. 

Surprisingly, that undercuts Walmart’s lowest listing of $118.77 by $2.37.

Whichever site you buy the Delta Reign ETB from, you’ll get exactly the same contents: nine titular booster packs, an exclusive full-art foil Kyogre promo card, 65 card sleeves, 40 Energy cards, seven dice, a plastic coin, six dividers, a collector's box, a player's guide, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card.

TL;DR: De’Longhi just launched its redesigned All-in-One Combination Coffee and Espresso Machine for $349.95, with a 20% smaller footprint, quick cold brew, six drip-brew sizes, and a dedicated cold-foam frother.

Opens in a new window

Credit: De'Longhi

De'Longhi All-in-One Combination Coffee and Espresso Machine

$349.95 at Best Buy

 

Shop Now at Best Buy

Finding one coffee maker that can please everyone in a home is rarely simple. Some mornings call for a classic pot of drip coffee, while afternoons and evenings demand a double espresso, an iced latte, or a matcha topped with protein cold foam. De’Longhi has spent the last decade building a reputation around hybrid brewing, and the brand has given its flagship All-in-One Combination Coffee & Espresso Machine a complete, modern redesign to keep up with how much daily drink routines have shifted.

The redesign trims the machine’s overall counter space by 20% while expanding its brewing capacity. On the drip side, you can choose from six sizes, ranging from a quick 8-ounce cup or a 20-ounce travel tumbler to a half carafe or a full 12-cup glass carafe. Beyond standard Classic and Bold strengths, there is an Over Ice setting and a rapid Cold Brew mode that extracts a smooth, chilled cup in a few minutes, skipping the typical overnight steep.

The espresso system relies on a 15-bar Italian pump with single- and double-shot presets, paired with a fast-heating Thermoblock system and electronic temperature control to keep extraction flavors balanced. The milk frothing setup is split into two specialized tools. An adjustable two-setting steam wand handles dairy and plant-based alternatives like oat or almond milk, creating everything from silky steamed milk to dense microfoam for latte art. For cold drinks, there's a built-in, retractable cold frother engineered specifically to whip milk into velvety cold foam for chilled favorites.

Operating the machine is handled through a front-facing digital touchscreen that replaces mechanical switches with programmable controls. De'Longhi also included an adjustable dual-shelf system, featuring a fold-away cup platform that fits everything from small demitasse cups to tall latte glasses and travel mugs. A generous removable water reservoir sits in the back for easy refilling, and the machine is designed to cover the full spectrum of a coffee shop menu on a single countertop.

The redesigned All-in-One is now available for $349.95 on De'Longhi's website and at major retailers nationwide. Getting this all-in-one coffee machine feels like a fair trade to keep a classic drip lover and an iced-latte fan satisfied from the same counter.

Hot Ones Versus is always a chaotic affair, but when you have five SNL stars competing things really ramp up a notch.

In the video above Tommy Brennan, Kam Patterson, Ben Marshall, Veronika Slowikowska, and Jeremy Culhane take turns in what is essentially an elaborate truth or dare game, where the punishment is eating a very spicy wing.

The entire thing is filled with laughs, bickering and chaos, culminating in an amusingly competitive game of musical chairs.

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

TL;DR: T-Mobile is overhauling its unlimited plans with T-Mix — starting at $55 a month with AutoPay — trading traditional bundled perks for customizable "Picks" and slightly lower single-line pricing.

T-Mobile is shuffling its lineup once again. After nudging rates upward over the past couple of years, the carrier is introducing T-Mix, a trio of plans built around an à la carte menu of digital freebies.

Instead of baking the same streaming bundle into everyone's account, T-Mobile gives you a monthly allotment of Picks that you can redeem for entertainment apps, food delivery perks, airline miles, or connectivity upgrades.

The lineup lands in November and comes in three tiers (all assuming AutoPay with a debit card, bank account, or T-Mobile Visa, with taxes and government fees billed separately):

• T-Mix Standard ($55/month for one line) — Comes with 50GB of premium data, 480p standard-definition streaming, zero high-speed mobile hotspot (you're throttled to basic 3G speeds), and 1 Pick.

• T-Mix More ($75/month for one line) — Bumps you to unlimited premium data, 4K streaming, 60GB of high-speed mobile hotspot, solid international roaming (15GB in Canada/Mexico, 5GB abroad), and 2 Picks.

• T-Mix Loaded ($95/month for one line) — Delivers unlimited premium data, 4K streaming, a massive 250GB mobile hotspot allowance, hefty roaming data (30GB in Canada/Mexico, 15GB abroad), and 3 Picks.

Adding extra lines also grows your pool of Picks. Lines two and three add the same allotment as your base plan, while a fourth line adds one extra Pick on Standard and More, and two on Loaded. Discounted versions will also be available for seniors (55+), military and veterans, first responders, and college students.

How the Picks actually work

T-Mobile gives you a set monthly allowance of credits to spend on a menu of add-ons. Basic services cost one Pick, while pricier ad-free plans and gaming passes cost more:

• 1-Pick freebies — Ad-supported Netflix, ad-supported Hulu, Apple TV (for a limited promotional window), Paramount+ Essential, DoorDash DashPass, Google AI Plus, Pandora Plus, SiriusXM app access, YouTube Premium Lite, 500 Delta SkyMiles each month, or T-Satellite roaming (via Starlink).

• 2-Pick freebies — Ad-free YouTube Premium, Apple Music Individual, Google AI Pro, Pandora Premium, or Xbox Game Pass Premium.

• 3- to 4-Pick freebies — Higher-tier upgrades like Netflix Standard (ad-free) or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for 3 Picks, and ESPN Unlimited or Netflix Premium for 4 Picks.

You are not stuck with your choices forever, either. You can swap your partner perks four times a year — during three dedicated change windows plus an “Annual Remix” window — while network-level add-ons like T-Satellite can be toggled whenever you want.

All tiers still include standard weekly discount drops through T-Mobile Tuesdays. You can also bank one to three Picks per line to unlock discounted pricing or trade-in deals when upgrading your phone.

Will T-Mix actually save you money?

It depends on how many lines you need and how willing you are to strategize over subscription vouchers. If you only need one or two lines, T-Mix More and Loaded can actually come in lower than previous Experience and Go5G equivalents. If you already pay cash out of pocket for perks like DashPass or YouTube Premium, the bundled value adds up quickly.

Families, however, have good reason to pause. Because older setups frequently leaned on third-line-free promotions, accounts with three or four lines could easily pay more under T-Mix than on legacy plans.

Don't forget about extra fees, either. Unlike classic Magenta and Go5G setups that rolled regulatory surcharges and taxes straight into the advertised rate, T-Mix bills them on top, so your final credit card charge will inevitably run several dollars higher than the sticker price.

T-Mobile says existing subscribers will not be forced off their current plans right away, but the carrier is pulling older options from its website and moving them to in-store-only sales.

If you are happy with what you are paying and already use the freebies tied to your account, the smartest move right now is to do absolutely nothing.

SAVE $400: The 55-inch LG C6 OLED 4K TV is down to $999.99 at Amazon, saving you $400 off its regular $1,399.99 price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: LG

LG 55-inch C6 evo AI OLED 4K TV

$999.99 at Amazon
$1,399.99 Save $400

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Finding a current-year flagship OLED from LG for under four digits usually requires waiting for holiday doorbusters, but Amazon is jumping ahead of the calendar.

The 2026 55-inch LG OLED evo AI C6 4K Smart TV is down to $999.99, shaving a clean $400 off its usual $1,399.99 sticker price. The C6 packs over 8.3 million self-lit pixels, delivering the pure, ink-black contrast and vibrant colors OLED is famous for, backed by LG’s Brightness Booster to keep highlights punchy.

Running the entire show behind the panel is the new a11 AI Processor Gen 3. Compared to the older A9 chip, this silicon jump brings 5.6 times the AI neural processing power, 50% faster overall performance, and a 70% graphics boost. In simpler words: menus fly, upscaling looks remarkably clean, and AI Director Processing ensures films look balanced rather than artificially blown out.

The TV comes fully equipped with Dolby Vision for dynamic HDR rendering and Dolby Atmos for spacious room-filling sound. You also get Filmmaker Mode paired with Ambient Light Technology, which smartly reads the lighting in your living room and fine-tunes brightness and color temperature so you see movies exactly as directors intended — whether you are watching in a sunlit afternoon room or a pitch-black den.

If you plan on hooking up a console or a PC rig, the C6 pulls double duty as an elite gaming monitor. It serves up an ultra-quick 0.1ms response time and pushes refresh rates up to 165Hz, backed by NVIDIA G-Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) to completely eliminate screen tearing and input lag. For everyday streaming, LG’s webOS platform has you covered with Google Gemini intelligence built right in, plus instant access to more than 400 free LG Channels.

Grab this top-rated OLED at Amazon before the price jumps back over four digits.

SAVE $108.99: As of Oct. 28, the Garmin vívoactive 5 is on sale for $191 at Amazon. That's a 36% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Garmin

Garmin vívoactive 5

$191 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $108.99

 

Get Deal at Amazon

You don't have to wait until Black Friday to score a deal on a Garmin fitness tracker. The Garmin vívoactive 5 is already discounted by $108.99 at Amazon, bringing the price down from $299.99 to just $191.

It packs in plenty of fitness tracking, health monitoring, and everyday wellness features, all in a sleek design. However, there is a small catch: this deal only applies to the ivory-colored watch. For the navy watch, you'll need to pay $3 more, and for the orchid and slate options, you'll need to pay around $10 and $20 more.

For fitness tracking, enjoy more than 30 indoor and GPS sports apps covering activities such as walking, running, cycling, and HIIT. The vívoactive 5 also has a wheelchair mode that tracks pushes rather than steps and gives you tailored workouts and activities, including strength and cardio.

Garmin's health and recovery tools are another highlight. These include Body Battery which estimates your energy reserves throughout the day, sleep tracking with a sleep score, personalized sleep coaching, and heart rate variability (HRV) status. You'll also get heart rate tracking, stress monitoring, morning reports, fitness age, and menstrual cycle tracking.

Head to Amazon to grab this Garmin deal while it's still available.

SAVE ALMOST $300: As of Oct. 28, the DJI Power 1000 V2 is on sale for $399.98 at Amazon. That's a 43% discount off the list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: DJI

DJI Power 1000 V2

$399.98 at Amazon
$699 Save $299.02

 

Get Deal at Amazon

With winter storms bringing the risk of power cuts, having a backup power source at home could come in handy.

The DJI Power 1000 V2 is a high-capacity portable power station designed to keep essential devices and larger appliances running when you need them. And as of Oct. 28, it's on sale on Amazon. Normally, this unit goes for $699, but right now it's priced at just $399.98. According to price tracker camelcamelcamel, this is also the best-ever price for this portable power station.

The unit has a 1,024Wh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and can power 99% of appliances. DJI says it can recharge to 80% in just 37 minutes when connected to mains power, which is useful when you need to top it up quickly before heading out or if a storm is coming in.

And for storms, when you get unexpected power cuts, this unit also features an uninterruptible power supply function with a 10ms switchover time, helping keep connected devices running when the mains supply is interrupted. It also operates at noise levels as low as 26dB, making it a quieter option for overnight use in an RV or camper van.

Get this DJI deal at Amazon now.

SAVE OVER $100: As of Oct. 28, the Dyson Airstrait is on sale for $427.74 at Amazon. That's a 23% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Dyson

Dyson Airstrait

$427.74 at Amazon
$554.99 Save $127.25

 

Get Deal at Amazon

If you prefer straight hair to curl or a bouncy blowout, don't worry, Dyson still has a styling tool for you.

The Airstrait takes a different approach to styling than the brand's popular Airwrap: it combines drying and straightening in one step to give you sleek, straight hair. And as of Oct. 28, it's on sale at Amazon for more than $100 off the list price.

Usually $554.99, you can take it home now for $427.74. This deal also includes a bottle of Dyson's Omega Oil, which helps nourish your hair and banish frizz. It also helps to lock in the shine you'll get from your straightening routine.

So, how does this tool work? Rather than relying on hot plates to straighten hair, the Airstrait uses controlled airflow to dry and smooth strands simultaneously. The wet-to-dry design means you can go from damp hair to a straightened style without drying it first.

It directs air at a 45-degree angle to create the tension needed to straighten hair, helping to reduce the time spent drying and styling.

You can find this Dyson deal at Amazon now.

We're in the Waning Gibbous phase of the lunar cycle, which means the Moon appears more than half illuminated but is gradually getting smaller as we move towards the Third Quarter Moon.

What is today's Moon phase?

As of Wednesday, Oct. 28, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in the Waning Gibbous phase, with 94% of its surface visible.

Tonight, without the use of visual aids you should be able to spot the Tycho Crater, Copernicus Crater, and the Mare Imbrium. If you have binoculars you'll also see the Posidonius Crater, the Mare Humorum, and the Grimaldi Basin. Finally, if you have a telescope, you'll also see the Apollo 12 landing spot, the Rupes Altai, and the Caucasus Mountains.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on November 24.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon takes approximately 29.5 days to complete an orbit around Earth, going through a series of phases along the way. Depending on its position relative to Earth and the Sun, the amount of its illuminated surface we can see changes, creating the familiar sequence of crescents, quarter moons and the Full Moon. Once the cycle is complete, the pattern repeats, as explained by NASA.

The eight phases are:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet Prismatic Evolutions Elite Trainer Box is on sale for $43.85 at Amazon, down from its $177.62 typical price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Scarlet and Violet Prismatic Evolutions Elite Trainer Box

$43.85 at Amazon
$177.62 Save $133.77

 

Get Deal at Amazon

In a very rare turn of events for the Pokemon TCG market, one seller on Amazon has not only dropped the price of one of its most sought-after ETBs to under market price, but it’s still available to buy. 

As of Oct. 28, the Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet Prismatic Evolutions Elite Trainer Box is listed for just $43.85 at Amazon. That means you’ve not only got a $133.77 discount on list price, but it’s also $6.14 cheaper than its market price. 

This all-time low price (confirmed by the price tracker camelcamelcamel) is offered by third-party seller What America Buys, which currently has an Amazon seller rating of four and a half stars out of five. Essentially, there’s nothing in the information provided to suggest that this shockingly low price isn’t legit — so it's well worth jumping on.

For additional perspective, TCGplayer currently values the sealed ETB at a market price of $122.31, while the cheapest listings only go as low as $122 plus $6.99 shipping. That puts Amazon's latest offer at an astonishing $78.46 below market value.

The ETB comes with nine Prismatic Evolutions booster packs, a full-art Eevee foil promo, 65 Stellar Tera Eevee sleeves, 45 Energy cards, dice, condition markers, a player's guide, dividers, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card.

Those boosters also give collectors another shot at pulling the expansion's coveted and valuable chase cards (also available to buy individually on TCGplayer) — including Umbreon ex, Sylveon ex, and Espeon ex.

We expect this deal to sell out insanely quickly — more than any readily available low-priced Pokemon TCG product we’ve covered before.

TL;DR: According to reporting from PokéBeach, the upcoming McDonald's x Pokemon TCG collab will feature plastic toys of 15 Pokemon and two random Pokémon cards out of a set of 15.

We cover a lot of collabs, because there's something special in seeing two of your favorite brands come together to create something fun. And you clearly feel the same, because fans go wild for the limited-edition merch that drops.

Of course, there are levels to this game. The Burger King x Hello Kitty collab was popular. The Starbucks x Winnie the Pooh collab went down well. But when we talk about McDonald's x Pokemon TCG, you know it's going to be absolute chaos.

McDonald’s and Pokémon are reuniting this November, and according to PokéBeach, they are bringing back physical toys to the Happy Meal for the first time in eight years. The campaign is expected to introduce 15 collectible plastic Pokémon as mini Happy Meal boxes, each doubling as a display frame for one of two bundled Pokémon cards.

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

PokéBeach reports that the limited-time event is scheduled for the following dates:

• Canada: Nov. 3 — Dec. 7

• Australia: Nov. 5 — Dec. 9

• United States: Nov. 10 — Dec. 14

This 2026 rollout will mark the first time since 2018 that customers get a genuine 3D collectible toy with playable cards. The mini-boxes are designed to resemble iconic McDonald's cartons shaped around fan-favorite Pokémon. Here's the predicted roster of 15 collectible character boxes:

• Bulbasaur

• Charmander

• Chikorita

• Eevee

• Espeon

• Espurr

• Minccino

• Munchlax

• Pikachu

• Piplup

• Rowlett

• Sobble

• Squirtle

• Sprigatito

• Weedle

Inside each meal, you will also find two randomized cards drawn from a specialized 15-card McDonald's reprint set. PokéBeach reports that Metagross from Temporal Forces, Palafin from Obsidian Flames, and Hawlucha from Scarlet & Violet are already confirmed.

When comets hit Earth billions of years ago, they pelted the planet too fast and too steep for them to have delivered fragile organic molecules, according to a new study. 

Using advances in computer simulations, a University of Cambridge-led team of researchers ran scenarios of comet strikes, comet interactions with an atmosphere, and gravity's influence on comet movements through space to determine whether they could have brought the chemical ingredients for life to Earth. 

Rather than look at a bunch of important molecules, the researchers focused on one in particular: hydrogen cyanide, or HCN. Made of one hydrogen, one carbon, and one nitrogen atom, it's a simple molecule commonly carried on comets. They found that the immense heat would have literally vaporized most of those molecules on impact, challenging a theory on the origins of life that has existed for about a century.

Even in the rare case that HCN survived a crash to Earth, it would not have come in large enough quantities, said Richard Anslow, lead author of the paper, which appears in the journal Scientific Reports.

"It would really have to be a one-in-a-million occurrence," said Anslow, a Cambridge astronomer, in a statement. "We can't rule out for certain that it happened that way. But it seems to be a really rare occurrence — at best, a one-off fluke." 

Comets are chunks of ice, dust, and rock left over from when the solar system began about 4.6 billion years ago. Most range from a few hundred yards to dozens of miles wide, and they travel on long, stretched-out orbits. When a comet swings close to the sun, its heat converts some of the comet's ice into gas, which creates the glowing cloud and long tail. Scientists long suspected they helped start life on Earth.

In 1992, scientists Christopher Chyba and Carl Sagan studied the moon's craters and found that space dust, not comets, brought most of the carbon that reached Earth. But space dust holds its carbon in tough compounds that don't easily react, so it couldn't supply something like HCN. 

The Rosetta space mission took images of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November 2014. Credit: ESA / Rosetta / NAVCAM

Because comets do carry HCN in a usable form, they have remained a contender as a source of life's building blocks. Lab experiments show that concentrated HCN can produce fats, sugars, and the nucleic acids that make up DNA and RNA.

The researchers selected HCN as the best case study because it's the only starter molecule that comets carry in useful amounts, and its triple bond makes it tougher than more complex molecules. In short, the scientists figured if HCN can't survive a comet crash, others chemicals probably won't either. 

Want more science and tech news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's Light Speed newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Recent computer models show that only comets wider than about 300 feet make it through the early Earth's atmosphere without breaking apart or burning up. Those models also show that earlier studies overestimated how much HCN can actually survive a high-speed collision. 

But if not comets, what could have brought life's ingredients? The researchers suggest asteroids, which slammed into Earth far more often. Their impacts may have triggered the critical chemical reactions to make prebiotic molecules. Or, an even simpler source: Maybe Earth made them on its own, without any extra help from space. 

The study showed comet delivery was slightly more probable for Mars. It's smaller than Earth with a thinner atmosphere, so comets had a better chance of reaching its surface intact. But the more likely answer is that it didn't happen on either planet, Anslow said. 

"Historically, scientists thought that comets were important for the origin of life on Earth because they carried carbon and nitrogen-bearing molecules, so these giant space snowballs were almost like a get-out-of-jail-free card that brought all the molecules a planet would need to seed life," Anslow said. "It’s kind of a romantic idea, but our results suggest it's highly unlikely." 

TL;DR: Bring the party wherever you go with this JBL Xtreme 5 Portable Waterproof Speaker, on sale now for just $319.99 (reg. $399.95).

Opens in a new window

Credit: JBL

JBL Xtreme 5 Portable Waterproof Speaker (Open Box)

$319.99
$399.95 Save $79.96

 

Get Deal

Looking for a speaker that brings stellar sound, can survive the outdoors, and even keeps your phone powered up? It may sound like a unicorn, but that describes the JBL Xtreme 5 Portable Waterproof Speaker. It combines powerful audio with IP68 protection, ambient lighting, and a built-in power bank so the party never has to stop.

Right now, you can secure your own JBL Xtreme 5 Portable Waterproof Speaker for just $319.99.

Whether you’re planning holiday parties or already looking forward to beach days next summer, you need the right speaker for your perfectly curated playlists. The JBL Xtreme 5 Portable Waterproof Speaker is an excellent option — with deep bass, IP68 protection, and even an option to charge your phone.

A dedicated subwoofer and dual tweeters, all tuned by JBL’s AI sound processing, make sure you hear your favorite songs loud and clear with deep bass and sharp highs. A Smart EQ mode analyzes what you’re playing and adjusts the EQ in real time, whether you’re listening to rock, R&B, or a podcast.

A shoulder strap with floating hooks lets you roll up to the party totally hands-free. It’s also super durable, IP68 waterproof, dustproof, and drop-proof, so it can tag along to any kind of event.

The JBL Xtreme 5 gives you an impressive 28 hours of playtime per charge, so you can party the night away. Need more battery? You can get two more hours of playback with just a 10-minute charge. A built-in power bank lets you charge your phone right from the speaker’s USB-C port, too.

You’re saving big on this model thanks to its Open Box status. That means it was likely excess inventory from store shelves, but is verified to be in new condition, repackaged in clean packaging, and comes with a one-year warranty.

Get your own JBL Xtreme 5 Portable Waterproof Speaker for just $319.99 while supplies last.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

It's not entirely uncommon for hecklers and protesters to crash Donald Trump's rallies, but it's not often they manage to yell an insult that can be clearly heard throughout the stadium.

In the clip above, Jimmy Kimmel plays footage of Trump's flow being interrupted by a man yelling, at top volume, "Shove that ballroom up your fat ass."

"Wouldn't it be a shame if people start yelling that everywhere he goes?" Kimmel responds. "You know what would be even worse? If people started printing it on shirts. Please, please don't do this at his next rally tomorrow in Ohio, or the next one in South Carolina. Please, it's beneath us."

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

TL;DR: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Oct. 26-30. Get Spooked, hosted by Indie Author Collective, offers thrillers, mysteries, paranormal, and horror books for Kindle and Kobo users.

Stuff Your Kindle Day provides an awesome opportunity for bookworms to add to their TBR list without any guilt.

We're blessed with a pretty busy Stuff Your Kindle Day schedule in 2026, including romance, thriller, and young adult giveaways. Now that it's officially spooky season, Get Spooked has launched with 100s of free thrillers, mysteries, paranormal, and horror books.

Get Spooked, hosted by Indie Author Collective, is aimed at Kindle and Kobo users. Everything you download is yours to keep forever, so you can go wild.

Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.

When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?

Get Spooked takes place from Oct. 26-30. This five-day giveaway doesn't carry the same stress as a 24-hour event. You can consider your options and take your time. You could dip into the selection today and come back later in the week.

Which books are free?

Get Spooked is offering a huge selection of thrillers, mysteries, paranormal, and horror books. The helpful hub page has filters for price, retailers, e-reader, representations, and genres. Play around with the filters and find exactly what you want to read. Chances are you'll find something for free.

Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?

Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep forever, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time, so what's holding you back?

The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Kindle (16GB) + Kindle Unlimited (3 Months)

$149.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Why we like it

These popular e-readers let you take your entire library on the go, with weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase for a limited time.

TL;DR: Enjoy a more private and peaceful internet experience with this AdGuard VPN and Ad Blocker Family Security Suite, on sale now for just $34.97 (reg. $439.39) through Nov. 1.

Opens in a new window

Credit: AdGuard

AdGuard VPN + Ad Blocker Family Security Suite

$34.97
$439.39 Save $404.42

 

Get Deal

Between pop-up ads, trackers, and online privacy concerns, browsing the internet can feel like a chore. The AdGuard VPN and Ad Block Family Security Suite makes it easier by combining VPN protection and ad blocking, so you can enjoy a more private and less cluttered online experience.

Right now, you can lock in a 5-year subscription to AdGuard VPN and a lifetime subscription to the Ad Blocker Family Plan with this AdGuard VPN and Ad Blocker Family Security Suite for just $34.97, with no coupon code required, until Nov. 1.

We’re all multitasking, so it’s time for our tools to do it, too. The AdGuard VPN and Ad Block Family Security Suite can tackle two things for the price of one — keeping you safer online while providing an ad-free internet experience.

The AdGuard VPN and Ad Block Family Security Suite kicks off with a 5-year subscription to AdGuard VPN, boosting your cybersecurity so you can rest easier knowing hackers and cybercriminals are stopped in their tracks. You can use it on up to 10 devices in your household.

AdGuard VPN provides encrypted internet access and a zero-logging policy, so your internet activity stays secure and private. You can also enjoy internet access without geographic restrictions, choosing from over 60 locations worldwide and watching content from anywhere.

In addition to a safer internet, you’ll also get a more peaceful one with a lifetime subscription to the Ad Blocker Family Plan. This handy tool stops ads in their tracks, banishing pop-ups, banners, and video ads. You can share with up to nine devices, and it works with both Android and iOS. There’s also a parental control feature available to help the little ones in your life stay safer.

Lock in this AdGuard VPN and Ad Blocker Family Security Suite, on sale now for just $34.97 (reg. $439.39) through Nov. 1.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Peacock has released the official trailer for Dig, an upcoming comedy series by Amy Poehler and Michael Schur (Parks and Recreation, The Good Place). 

Based on the novel Excavations by Kate Myers, Dig follows a group of archeologists and students working on a Greek excavation site. However, the expedition takes an unexpected turn when they discover a rare artefact. 

"When the team uncovers a long-buried secret with the potential to rewrite history, they find themselves at the center of a high-stakes international conspiracy," Dig's logline reads.

Led by Poehler, Dig's cast features Geraldine Viswanathan (Bad Education), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls), Antonia Thomas (The Good Doctor), and Hugh Laurie (House). The trailer teases a few other familiar faces as well, including Jason Mantzoukas (Taskmaster) and Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20).

Dig premieres Nov. 23 on Peacock.

AT&T settled a $177 million class-action lawsuit last year, agreeing to pay customers whose personal information was stolen in two data breaches. A Texas district court approved the settlement agreement on Oct. 2. However, even if you were impacted, this doesn't guarantee you'll be getting the maximum $7,500 payout.

In March 2024, AT&T announced that data belonging to approximately 73 million current and former customers had been found on the dark web. The data appeared to be from 2019 or earlier, and included personal information such as Social Security numbers.

Four months later in July, AT&T announced a second major data breach. A bad actor had accessed AT&T's workspace on a third-party cloud platform and downloaded records of customers' calls and texts, as well as their phone numbers. This breach impacted nearly every AT&T customer who used the telco's network between May 1 and Oct. 31, 2022, as well as some on Jan. 2, 2023.

Customers filed multiple class-action lawsuits against AT&T which were later combined. The company ultimately agreed to pay a cash settlement fund of $177 million: $149 million for those impacted by the first breach, and $28 million for the second. Though that is no small chunk of change, the amount each individual claimant receives will be significantly smaller. After $59 million in lawyers' fees and other approved costs are deducted, the remaining settlement must be divided among several million people.

Claimants in the AT&T class-action settlement are split into three tiers, each of which will receive a different payout. Tier 1 class members had their Social Security number exposed by the breach discovered in March 2024. Over 1.65 million people made claims as members of this class, and will each receive around $39-$40.

Tier 2 claimants were impacted by the same breach, but did not have their Social Security number exposed. More than 687,000 people submitted claims as part of this tier, and will each get approximately $7.50-$8.10.

Finally, Tier 3 claimants are eligible account owners impacted by the July 2024 breach. Over 1.5 million of these class members are estimated to take home around $6.50-$7.10 each.

People in Tier 1 could submit a claim for up to $5,000 if they had documentation proving they suffered actual losses due to the AT&T breaches. Similarly, those in Tier 2 could claim up to $2,500 if able to show such losses as well. These aren't mutually exclusive either, so claimants could receive up to $7,500 if they are part of both tiers. Even so, the majority of class members are unlikely to have documented losses.

Unfortunately, if you haven't already submitted a claim, it's too late to do so now. The deadline to opt in for a payout from AT&T's settlement was Dec. 18 last year. If you didn't submit a claim before then, you will not receive any money. Those applying for a higher payout due to documented losses also had to submit their evidence by Sept. 8 this year.

If you didn't file a claim but also didn't explicitly exclude yourself from the class by Nov. 17 last year, you are still bound by the settlement's terms once it becomes final. This means that you can't bring your own lawsuit against AT&T for the claims covered by the settlement, even though you won't receive a payout.

It isn't clear exactly when class members will receive their money.  The official settlement website states that even after the court approves the settlement, appeals may delay any payouts. Class members will only begin receiving settlement money after the time window for appeals has expired, and all claims have been reviewed. However, if no appeals are filed, payments are expected to begin around December this year.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier for people who've played football.

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

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

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

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Yellow: Assembling a team

• Green: Reggie, who?

• Blue: Backfield route tree

• Purple: Gymnastics equipment

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Club

• Green: Reggie____

• Blue: Receiving Routes for a Running Back

• Purple: Rhythmic Gymnastics Apparatuses

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 #765 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Club: GROUP, SIDE, SQUAD, TEAM

• Reggie____: JACKSON, MILLER, WAYNE, WHITE

• Receiving Routes for a Running Back: ANGLE, FLAT, SWING, WHEEL

• Rhythmic Gymnastics Apparatuses: CLUBS, HOOP, RIBBON, ROPE

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 today's Connections.

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

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

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

How to play Pips

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Easy difficulty hints, answers for October 28 Pips

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

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

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically; 4-1, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally; 5-2, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for October 28 Pips

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically; 3-5, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed vertically.

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

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically.

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

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

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

Hard difficulty hints, answers for October 28 Pips

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically.

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

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

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

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

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Prepare.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

BRACE

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Soft bread filling.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

DOUGH

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Worship.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

DEIFY

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A form of writing.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

PROSE

Final Hurdle hint

Darkest color.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

BLACK

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

TL;DR: Watch Venezia vs. Inter in Serie A for free on SportyNet. Access this free livestream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Serie A is back for a batch of midweek fixtures, including Venezia vs. Inter. The visitors have made an incredibly strong start to the season, winning seven of their opening eight fixtures. Venezia are bottom of the standings after winning just one of their eight games. Fans will expect Inter to win this clash comfortably.

If you're interested in watching Venezia vs. Inter in Serie A from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Venezia vs. Inter?

Venezia vs. Inter in Serie A kicks off at 1:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 28. This fixture takes place at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium.

How to watch Venezia vs. Inter for free

Venezia vs. Inter in Serie A is available to live stream for free on SportyNet.

SportyNet is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Brazil, meaning you can live stream Venezia vs. Inter for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Venezia vs. Inter for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

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

4. Visit SportyNet

5. Watch Venezia vs. Inter 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 generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Venezia vs. Inter without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus other Serie A action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Serie A?

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

• Servers in 105 countries, including Brazil

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

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

Live stream Venezia vs. Inter for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

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

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

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

Attachment meaning

A digital file, document or image sent along with an email message.

Body meaning

The main part of a letter, article, book or email, separate from the header or signature.

Signature meaning

A unique mark written or created on a document to prove identity,

Subject meaning

A main theme of conversation, a book or an academic branch.

Attraction meaning

A feeling of liking, interest or drawing toward another person.

Crush meaning

A strong, often temporary or unexpressed romantic liking for someone.

Feelings meaning

The conscious, subjective experience of an emotion, physical sensation or opinion

Interest meaning

A feeling that accompanies or causes special attention to something or someone.

Curiosity meaning

A strong desire to learn, know,or discover something

Opportunity meaning

A favorable time, occasion or combination of circumstances that makes it possible to do, achieve or experience something you want or need.

Perseverance meaning

The continued effort to achieve a goal, complete a task or maintain a course of action despite difficulties, failures, setbacks or opposition

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

Spirit meaning

The non-physical, vital essence of a person or living thing.

Coarse meaning

Consisting of a harsh, abrasive or non-smooth surface.

Rode meaning

.The past form of ride, used to describe sitting on, being carried by or controlling an animal or a vehicle.

Rout meaning

An overwhelming defeat in a battle, sports match or election

Weigh meaning

To ascertain the heaviness of by or as if by a balance.

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

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

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

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

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

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you've got butterflies.

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

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

What is Connections?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Love is in the air

• Green: Electronic communication

• Blue: Out of this world

• Purple: The way

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

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Romantic Liking

• Green: Components of an Email

• Blue: NASA Mars Rovers

• Purple: Homophones of Paths

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 #1235 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Romantic Liking: ATTRACTION, CRUSH, FEELINGS, INTEREST

• Components of an Email: ATTACHMENT, BODY, SIGNATURE, SUBJECT

• NASA Mars Rovers: CURIOSITY, OPPORTUNITY, PERSEVERANCE, SPIRIT

• Homophones of Paths: COARSE, RODE, ROUT, WEIGH

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

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

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

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

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

Today's NYT Strands hints will be easy if you're the class clown.

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: Comedy club

The words describe making people laugh.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe where you'd go for a stand-up show.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

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

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Funny Business.

NYT Strands word list for October 28

• Slapstick

• Sketch

• Farce

• Burlesque

• Funny Business

• Improv

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

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

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

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

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you make food from scratch.

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:

Grain.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter G.

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...

GRIST

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

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

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

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

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

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

SAVE $400: As of Oct. 27, the 27-inch LG UltraGear OLED QHD Gaming Monitor (27GS93QE) is on sale for $499.99 at Amazon. That's down from its standard $899.99 list price — a 44% discount and its best price ever.

Opens in a new window

Credit: LG

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

$499.99 at Amazon
$899.99 Save $400

 

Get Deal at Amazon

If you've been waiting for a deal on high-end OLED, the 27-inch LG UltraGear Gaming Monitor (27GS93QE) is on sale for $499.99 at Amazon. That is a $400 discount, or 44% off its usual $899.99 tag, matching the lowest price we have ever tracked for the screen.

Speed is the main draw here, and LG built this panel to keep action silky smooth. The QHD 1440p resolution delivers crisp visuals, backed by an ultra-fast 240Hz refresh rate and a near-instant 0.03ms response time, virtually eliminating ghosting and motion blur during frantic shootouts. You also get official Nvidia G-Sync Compatibility and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, which work together to eliminate distracting screen tearing and stutter when frame rates fluctuate.

Visual fidelity also gets a big boost thanks to self-lit OLED pixels. Certified with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 and an impressive 1.5 million-to-one contrast ratio, it delivers inky blacks and sharp details in dark scenes without washed-out gray tones. It also covers up to 98.5% of the DCI-P3 color spectrum for rich, vibrant hues, while an anti-glare, low-reflection coating keeps stray room lighting from ruining your focus.

The physical build is also just as flexible as the display. An ultra-thin, slim-bezel frame leaves plenty of room on your desk, and the included stand lets you adjust height, tilt, and pivot between landscape and vertical modes. You can switch through preset modes for FPS or RTS titles, and you get both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports to hit 240Hz speed, whether you are plugged into a PC or a modern game console.

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

SAVE $500: As of Oct. 27, the wire-free Roborock RockMow X130H 4WD robot lawn mower is on sale for $1,999.98 at Amazon. That's down from its typical $2,499.99 list price — its best price to date.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Roborock

Roborock RockMow X130H 4WD Robot Lawn Mower

$1,999.98 at Amazon
$2,499.99 Save $500.01

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Tending to a sprawling yard usually means giving up half your weekend, but Amazon has a steep markdown to help you take that time back.

The wire-free Roborock RockMow X130H robot lawn mower is down to $1,999.98, saving you $500 off its typical $2,499.99 sticker price. That 20% discount marks the best price ever for this heavy-duty model, making it a great time to automate your yard work before next season rolls around.

Setting it up does not require spending hours digging trenches to bury boundary wires. The mower can handle properties up to a full acre and lets you choose how to map your space. You can let the machine chart an open yard on its own, or steer it through the companion app like a remote-controlled car to set custom lines around flowerbeds and tricky landscaping. To keep from wandering off course, it pairs satellite positioning with four built-in cameras, allowing it to navigate reliably past tall fences, thick tree cover, and shaded corners.

Tough terrain is not an issue, either. It uses true four-wheel drive and a dynamic suspension setup to climb steep hills with slopes up to 80% and roll right over roots and bumps up to 3.15 inches tall. Active steering keeps it agile, so tight turns never rip up your grass. A wide 9.49-inch cutting deck lets you pick grass heights between 1.57 and 3.54 inches, while four intelligent sensors spot pets, stray patio furniture, and garden tools to steer clear of trouble.

You can also manage the whole routine from your phone. The app lets you create separate mowing schedules for different parts of your yard and includes a wildlife-safe setting to keep local animals protected. Built-in 4G service, a loud siren, a PIN lockout, and real-time GPS tracking round out the package, keeping the mower safe from curious hands while it keeps your lawn tidy on its own.

Grab the Roborock RockMow X130H robot lawn mower at its record-low $1,999.99 price before the deal ends.

TL;DR: Get lifetime Microsoft Project Professional 2024 license for Windows for just $49.97 (reg. $1,299.99).

Opens in a new window

Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft Project Professional 2024: Lifetime License for Windows

$49.97
$1,129.99 Save $1,080.02

 

Get Deal

A project gets complicated when changing one deadline affects five other tasks. But there are ways to make your project life easier. Microsoft Project Professional 2024 for Windows is $49.97 (reg. $1,299.99) through Nov. 1, giving you a lifetime license for one PC and tools to manage those connections.

Pre-built templates provide a starting point, so you can focus on the work instead of building a plan from scratch. Set task dependencies, and Project can automatically populate start and end dates based on how those tasks relate.

The visual tools make detailed schedules easier to follow. Multiple timelines show different parts of a project, while task path highlighting in Gantt charts reveals relationships between activities. That visibility helps when you need to understand what a schedule change could affect.

What-if scenarios let you explore task assignments before committing to adjustments. Baselines then give you a reference point for comparing actual progress with the original plan, which is useful when a status update needs more substance than “we’re getting there.”

Built-in reports, including Burndown and Resource Overview, help communicate progress and resource information to stakeholders. Timesheets capture time spent on project and non-project work for payroll, invoicing, and other needs.

For connected workflows, Project supports synchronization with Project Online and Project Server. Microsoft Teams for Business integration can show colleagues’ presence and enable chats or calls, but it requires a separate Teams license.

Get Microsoft Project Professional 2024 for Windows for one $49.97 payment through Nov. 1.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Finding good Discord servers relevant to your interests can be tough unless you sift through Discord's own database or get an invite to one.

The popular messaging and chat service is looking to solve that problem with an obvious yet big change to the platform. Discord will now make public servers discoverable through Google Search.

On Tuesday, Discord announced that starting Nov. 16, 2026, all Discoverable Servers will receive a Server Web Page. These public Server Web Pages will include summaries of discussions happening in that public server. In addition, starting in mid-December, some messages within these servers will be made publicly accessible on the Server Web Page. There will be no need for visitors to join the server or even have a Discord account in order to see these messages.

On Discord, users can join public servers or private servers, which require an invite. Public servers can also be Discoverable Servers, meaning they are listed in Discord's searchable database of 63,000 Discoverable Servers, which anyone can join.

However, Discover servers, even Discoverable Servers, are not listed in Google Search, as servers don't have a public web page for Google to index. While public servers are open to anyone, users must join with their Discord account to see messages and discussions.

There are many reasons for Discord to make this change. In its announcement, the company explained how it will help some of its main user types — indie game developers, fandoms, and content creators — grow their communities and more easily spread their work. 

Other community platforms like Reddit have long benefited from search engine traffic as discussions on the platform tend to rank well for various user search queries on Google. Discord could also benefit from this.

However, Discord seems to be aware that some users on the platform have long valued its privacy stance. The company announced that both server owners and users on a server can opt out of making their content searchable by search engines.

Discord server admins can opt out of specific channels starting today, before anything goes live on Nov. 16, 2026. Admins can go to Server Settings > Web Presence on their public server and choose which channels to make searchable. Admins can opt out of every one of their server's channels. If an admin does not opt out, however, all public channels will be added to the Server Web Page when it goes live next month. Admins can also choose to turn off channel summaries on their Server Web Page.

In addition, users can opt out of having their messages displayed on the Server Web Page. Discord users can simply go to User Settings, then Data and Privacy, and then change their Channel Messages settings. Users cannot opt out of having their messages used in Channel Summaries on Server Web Pages. However, usernames and avatars won't be shown next to messages on these public Server Web Pages.

Private servers and DMs will remain completely private on Discord. Users do not need to change any settings for these features.

An overflowing inbox is stressful enough, but reading work emails with phrases like "Going forward" or "Not sure if you saw this" can send some workers over the edge, at least according to a new study.

ZeroBounce, an email validation platform, revealed the results of its survey of 2,000 American and European professionals on email vernacular. Specifically, the survey examined common email phrases and whether they are perceived as passive-aggressive.

The phrase that topped the list of most passive-aggressive email sayings? "Just to be clear." That statement was cited as the most passive-aggressive phrase by 21 percent of respondents, followed by "Per my last email" (14 percent), with "Kindly note" and "As previously discussed" tied for third place at 10 percent each.

Other hated sayings included "Just checking in," "Not sure if you saw this," "Going forward," "For future reference," and "Friendly reminder."

ZeroBounce also asked respondents what passive-aggressive phrases they still use in their workday. Seen as necessary evils, apparently, "Thanks in advance," "Following up," "Just checking in," and "Any updates" were at the top of that list.

"People may not intend to sound passive-aggressive when they write an email," Liviu Tanase, founder and CEO of ZeroBounce, said in a statement. "But some phrases have picked up so much baggage that the reader perceives light hostility. 'Just to be clear' is a perfect example. It sounds neutral, but more than half of the professionals surveyed read something else into it."

The survey also examined phrases that go beyond being irritating and are instantly stress-inducing. The most stressful email phrases are "Need this ASAP" (56 percent), "Can we chat?" (40 percent), "Action required" (34 percent), and "Let's take this offline" (27 percent).

See the full survey results here, including data on how many unopened emails workers consider "too many."

Read more of our creator coverage, sign up for our Trending Now and Top Stories newsletters, or get Mashable push alerts to discover the internet's most exciting voices.

The Golden State Valkyries could win their first WNBA championship on Thursday morning. Watching them do it might require an awkward conversation with your boss: The WNBA announced Monday that Game 6 of the Finals against the Atlanta Dream will tip off at 12:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 29 — 9:30 a.m. in the Bay Area, where the Valkyries are based.

Valkyries guard Veronica Burton has a suggestion. "Call in sick. I recommend it," she said after Golden State’s Monday-night win, according to reporter Annie Costabile. That victory gave the team a 3–2 series lead and a chance to clinch a title in the franchise’s second season — provided its fans can clear their work calendars to watch.

The issue comes down to two teams needing the same arena. The Dream's usual home, Gateway Center Arena, holds approximately 3,500 spectators. Atlanta hosted Finals Games 3 and 4 at the roughly 17,000-seat State Farm Arena instead, selling out both games. Keeping Game 6 there, however, meant working around the Atlanta Hawks, who were already scheduled to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday evening.

The solution? A doubleheader. Move the WNBA game from 8 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. and delay the Hawks’ tipoff by an hour, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert thanked the teams, leagues, arena, and broadcaster "for the collaboration and flexibility that made this move possible."

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

Fans were less enthusiastic about the flexibility now required of them.

"How are we supposed to watch this game in the middle of the workday?? This is so strange to me," one commenter asked on Reddit's r/wnba. Another Atlanta-based commenter said they had planned to attend but now couldn't even watch live. "I’d rather them play at Gateway so at least folks could watch it in real time," they wrote.

Flavor Flav offered fans some help getting the afternoon off, posting a signed permission slip to give their bosses. "Consider it your contribution to gender equality," he wrote in the document.

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

Commentators across sports offered their own (rather heated) opinions. To Richard Deitsch, host of the Sports Media Podcast, the timing threatened to undercut the moment the season had been building toward. "The prospect of crowning a champion on a Thursday afternoon is just brutal optics (and will be brutal television ratings.)," he wrote on X.

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

The Ringer founder Bill Simmons sounded similarly exasperated with league leadership, writing, "People want to like this league!"

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

Their frustration comes after a season of record audience growth for the WNBA. According to the league, 51 regular-season telecasts averaged at least one million viewers, up from 19 last year. Its social accounts generated four billion views, with engagement up 24 percent from 2025. The demand is there, which helps explain why making a potential championship game harder to watch has struck such a nerve.

For some critics, the decision also sends a message about how the players are valued. Former NFL player and commentator Emmanuel Acho called it "high-key disrespectful" to the sport and its athletes.

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

In the Reddit discussion, some fans also questioned why a women's Finals game had to work around a men's regular-season matchup in the first place, with many finding the whole ordeal wildly "mysoginistic" and exposed a blaring double standard. "If this were a men’s game, this time would never even be considered," one Reddit commenter said. Another commenter in r/WNBATalks wrote, "If society was less misogynistic, it wouldn’t be an issue."

Women's sports creator and podcast host Coach Jackie also questioned the decision in a video posted to Instagram. "Somebody could become a WNBA champion over brunch? During lunch? While you’re in a Teams meeting? Did you think it through?" she asked.

The players, meanwhile, have been more measured. Dream guard Jordin Canada welcomed the chance to play in front of another State Farm Arena crowd, while teammate Allisha Gray kept her focus on what was at stake.

"It’s the Finals, you gotta do what you gotta do," Gray told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We can play at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., midnight, you have a championship to win."

X would like you to pay to promote your posts. And if you've managed to ignore the button offering that option, a giant hand may soon point it out for you.

Users across the Elon Musk-owned social media platform have been sharing screenshots of a hand appearing while they compose posts, directing their attention toward the Promote button. The animation is hard to miss, which appears to be the point.

"I just went to write a tweet and a massive hand popped up pointing to the promote button," The Verge’s Tom Warren wrote on X on Oct. 26.

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

The button offers paid promotion, allowing users to spend money to get their posts in front of more people. X already offers tools for promoting posts without setting up an advertising campaign.

The hand is a particularly literal way of drawing attention to them. And it’s certainly getting noticed.

"Jumpscared the shit out of me," wrote one user. Another wrote, "I thought I’d been hacked!" describing his rather seasonal experience: "I wish I could explain how jarring this hand and animation was in the X app. It was truly shocking, almost like a Halloween gag, but I'm pretty sure it was real. I guess I see the promote button now."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Others were less concerned with the hand's appearance than with where it was pointing. "The fact that it’s pointing at promote and not post is the real comedy here," wrote one user. Another account described the experience as getting "physically assaulted by the algorithm into buying ads." One put it plainly: "This should somehow be illegal."

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

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

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

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

One startled user tagged @X and @grok to ask, "What is that hand? Is this a Halloween thing?" Grok replied, describing it as a new prompt encouraging users to pay for extra reach, adding that it was "Not confirmed as a Halloween prank, though the timing makes it feel like one."

That hand is a new X compose-screen nudge. A realistic (sometimes animated) arm pops up while drafting to point at the Promote button, encouraging you to boost the post for extra reach. It started rolling out in the last day or so and has jumped out at lots of people. Not confirmed as a Halloween prank, though the timing makes it feel like one. - Grok

One iOS user said the hand was more than a static graphic. "It’s animated, and you can move it around," they wrote, adding, "Hopefully it’s just a one-time popup."

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

TBPN president Dylan Abruscato also shared his surprise at an arm appearing just as he was about to post. He called it the "most Nikita-coded thing I’ve ever seen," referring to the growth tactics associated with X's former product chief, Nikita Bier.

"So obstructive, yet so effective," Abruscato added.

The hand’s appearance coincides with a leadership change at X. Peter Sellis, a former product executive at Snapchat and Discord, announced on Oct. 26 that he was joining the company to lead product. (He hasn’t said whether he had a hand in this particular update. Get it?)

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

It’s also unclear how widely the hand is appearing. One Android user said they hadn’t encountered it. Another user said it disappeared before they could capture it.

For now, the hand has succeeded in getting people to post about the Promote button. Getting them to actually pay to use it might require a different, more subtle approach.

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

Gift giving is an art form. But picking a truly wonderful gift that the recipient is sure to love for years to come? Now that’s a science. 

Of all the products we’ve tested and loved this year, the following 15 are the ones that we’ve deemed as a Gift of the Year. Everything on this list was rigorously tested in a real world, at-home setting by a member of the Mashable staff. These are the products that sit at the top of our “best of” lists, the ones we gift to others — or may be coveting for ourselves.

In the world of tech gifts, you’ll find our favorite headphones, a laptop that won’t wipe out your gifting budget, and the season’s must-have gaming device. We have gifts that make your home smarter, your dinner faster, and your music louder. For the kids on your list, we’ve chosen the toys that will evolve and grow with them as they get bigger, and for the smartphone obsessed teen there’s the one piece of tech that will help them find some much-needed balance.

Our sibling tech sites are also hosting their own, unique selections for their own Gift of the Year awards. Check out the winners at CNET, Lifehacker, PCMag, Popular Science, and ZDNET.

Read on to discover which products made the cut for our inaugural Gift of the Year awards and consider this your must-have shopping list when it comes to Christmas gifts, Hanukkah presents, and beyond.

Best Tech for Teens Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Camp Snap

Opens in a new window

Credit: Camp Snap

Camp Snap 2 Digital Camera

$69.99 at Camp Snap

 

Shop Now at Camp Snap

Why we like it

Originally designed for summer campers who want a digital camera to capture camp memories, the Camp Snap is screen-free. However, the Camp Snap has attracted an audience beyond summer campers, thanks to its nostalgic-looking photos. The photos the camera takes are reminiscent of photos from a disposable camera, just digitized. It looks like film, but it has the convenience of digital. Don't expect crisp, detailed photos; everything has a slight fuzz to it, but that's part of the style to just embrace. —Samantha Mangino

Best Audio Player for Kids Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Yoto

Opens in a new window

Credit: Yoto

Yoto Mini (2024 Edition)

$79.99 at Yoto

 

Shop Now at Yoto

Why we like it

There is perhaps no device more universally beloved in my house than the Yoto Mini. Great for a wide range of kids, my 6-year-old and 3-year-old are particularly smitten. The Yoto is a screen-free audio player that puts the power into the hands of the kids. Compatible cards power up everything from chapter books and shorter stories to music and learning-based content and are available to check out at many local libraries. There’s also an ad-free, kid-friendly radio station built-in, as well as a daily podcast, plus others that are accessible via the compatible app. Custom cards allow you to create your own content, including mix tapes, books, family messages — whatever you can come up with. It’s great for little hands, will adapt and grow as kids get bigger, and is both rugged and travel-friendly. We love that this is the kind of device that keeps kids engaged and entertained — without a screen — and will adapt to the whims of our family for years to come. —Nicole Cammorata

Best Toy for Preschoolers Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Tonies

Toniebox 2

$149.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Why we like it

As our kids have grown, we’ve noticed that compared to the Yoto Mini (above), the Toniebox is particularly well-suited for preschool-aged kids. We’ve had one in our family for the last couple of years and our kids have loved being able to listen to stories, choose their own content, and be in charge of their own entertainment. As parents, we love that it’s screen-free, keeps them entertained, travels well, and offers a wide library of content to choose from. The Toniebox is powered by a collection of Tonies — small figures preloaded with content from a multitude of beloved movies and TV shows, including those from Disney, Pixar, Bluey, Peppa Pig, National Geographic, and more. Our kids are often just as smitten with the characters as objects as they are with the content itself. —Nicole Cammorata

Best Headphones Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Bose

Bose QuietComfort (Gen 2)

$359 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Best Buy Shop Now at Bose

Why we like it

These headphones are nearly $100 cheaper than the Bose QC Ultra 2 headphones, but offer many of the same features. For starters, the comfort and noise cancellation are nearly on par with the significantly more expensive headphones, which is to say it's very, very good — like easily wearable for a full day of travel. The tactile controls are intuitive and functional, the colors are varied and unique while remaining appealing, and there's an Immersive Audio listening mode for changing up how you hear your music. In a time when most tech prices are rising, it's refreshing to see a brand release a pair of headphones that strive for ultra-premium performance, while sticking to a more mildly premium price. —Bethany Allard

Best Kitchen Gadget Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Ninja

Ninja Crispi

$179.95 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Best Buy Shop Now at Ninja Kitchen

Why we like it

Air fryers are great for anyone, but the Ninja Crispi is made for meal preppers. With its portable design, it stores nicely and can be used on the go. Plus, it actually works. The controls are simple, and the glass baskets come with storage lids for easy food storage. Since we originally tested this device, it's become a favorite of the Mashable shopping team. Not to mention, the Crispi has gotten quite a bit of attention online as folks seek a plastic-free air fryer, and the Crispi is really the best option available. —Samantha Mangino

Best Wellness Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Oura

Oura Ring 5

$499 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Why we like it

Oura outdid itself with the Ring 5. Before its release, we rated the Oura Ring 4 the best smart ring available, but the Ring 5 blows it out of the water. It's the most comfortable, accurate, and well-designed smart ring we've tested. The new Oura Ring 5 still offers the same biometric data and in-app experience, but now it's 40 percent smaller. It's thinner and lighter, meaning the battery had to shrink. But it didn't sacrifice battery life, as it still lasts six to seven days on a single charge. The ring contains a red and infrared LED, a green and infrared LED, a movement-tracking accelerometer, and digital temperature monitors that all work together to calculate your biometrics, which are presented in the app. With a slim fit and rounded edges, it looks like a classic band that blends right into your wardrobe but remains comfortable without digging in or pinching your finger. —Samantha Mangino

Best Stocking Stuffer Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Brick

Opens in a new window

Credit: Brick

Brick

$59 at Brick

 

Shop Now at Brick

Why we like it

Sometimes the best tech is the device that helps us take a break from our tech. The Brick is a small, square device that does exactly that — and makes for an excellent stocking stuffer. A quick tap via the app will shut down all the apps you’ve deemed unnecessary, and the phone will stay that way until you re-tap it to the Brick. For anyone looking to break free from a phone addiction, get some mental clarity, or find more digital balance, it’s an incredible device that allows all of us to get a break from that tiny screen without losing the convenience of a mobile phone. I love that the app restrictions are customizable and that accessing the forbidden parts of my phone requires a physical action — a much-appreciated counterpoint to the mindless scrolling that comes with phone addiction. —Nicole Cammorata

Best Laptop Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Apple

MacBook Neo

$689 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Why we like it

Even after a $100 price bump this summer, the MacBook Neo is still an unrivaled value in the budget category. Most cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks have plastic components, but this little guy has the same luxe, all-aluminum build quality as any other MacBook. The Neo's A18 Pro processor is technically a pared-down iPhone chip, but don't be fooled: It's extremely impressive for a budget laptop CPU. In simple single-core workloads (web browsing, word processing), the Neo is just as fast as a last-gen M4 MacBook Air. In such scenarios, it feels snappier than most Windows laptops we've tried lately, including 10 that cost $2,000 or more. —Haley Henschel

Best Robot Vacuum Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Eufy

Eufy C28

$599.99 at Eufy
$799.99 Save $200

 

Shop Now at Eufy Shop Now at Amazon

Why we like it

The C28 finally answers the call of spill-prone households who need something more heavy-duty (and less likely to smear). The HydroJet system rinses the mop nine times per second as it's mopping to prevent smearing. From catnip flakes to tufts of dryer lint to handfuls of crushed chips, I really had to squint to find a few tiny pieces that the C28 left behind. The Eufy C28 gets bonus points for its slow, deliberate vacuuming when spot-cleaning the tricky area where a rug changes to hardwood — its crumb pickup around rug edges has actually been more reliable than premium Roborock and Dreame models. Its performance on hardwood and tile has been even more stellar. The damp roller presses down firmly to wipe up dust and pet hair on hardwood that would stick to the floor during regular vacuuming. —Leah Stodart

Best Smartwatch Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Apple

Apple Watch Series 12

$389.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Best Buy Shop Now at Walmart

Why we like it

The Series 12 has a new S11 chip that adds support for Audio Intelligence tools and offers more battery life during workouts (plus faster charging). The Apple Watch Series 12's chip and sensors are the exact same ones you'll find inside the rugged Apple Watch Ultra 4, which costs twice as much. The Ultra 4 is awesome in its own right, especially if you prioritize battery life and durability, but this means you don't need to splash out on Apple's most expensive smartwatch in order to use its most advanced features. The mid-tier option has never been a smarter buy or a more worthwhile upgrade from an older model. —Haley Henschel

Best Smart Home Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Amazon

Echo Show 8

$199.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Why we like it

It can act as a sous chef in the kitchen, serving up recipes while keeping your hands free, and it can just as easily make video calls to keep up with friends and family or stay productive while WFH. You can also "Drop-In" on any other Alexa devices in your household, including video chat with other Echo Shows. That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Echo Show 8's visual feats, though, and the gorgeous display really opens up the door to an incredible amount of enhanced Alexa functionality. The Echo Show 8 can even function as a security camera, and you can check in on what it sees via the Alexa app on your phone while you're away. That said, you can close the camera shutter and shut off the mic for more privacy. —Samantha Mangino

Best Handheld Gaming Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Nintendo

Nintendo Switch 2

$499 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Walmart

Why we like it

Those who want to stay on the cutting edge of handheld gaming consoles need to get a Nintendo Switch 2 at some point. It's the latest and greatest version of the handheld, with more power, improved features and accessories, and a constantly expanding slate of games that'll almost certainly induce FOMO if you don't hop on the bandwagon. If you're excited about playing the long-awaited The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, love all things Pokémon, or have a kiddo that needs to be introduced to the joys of Mario Kart, then the Switch 2 is a must-have. —Timothy Werth

Best TV Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/TCL

TCL 65-inch QM6K Mini LED 4K TV

$647.99 at Amazon
$799.99 Save $152

 

Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Best Buy

Why we like it

The TCL QM6K is the quintessential beginner fancy TV between the absolute cheapest and most expensive QLEDs out there. Compared to regular LED TVs, the QM6K is brighter and sharper — better for daytime viewing and watching sports. Compared to more premium mini-LED TVs, the QM6K stays comfortably under the $1,000 mark. —Leah Stodart

Best Outdoor Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Bose

Bose SoundLink Plus

$269 at Walmart

 

Shop Now at Walmart Shop Now at Amazon

Why we like it

Bose's SoundLink line includes an array of excellent speakers, and we've found the Plus to be in that sweet Goldilocks spot between the SoundLink Flex and SoundLink Max. It's incredibly loud with crisp, clear audio. And its size makes it portable and not too heavy (though it does have some heft to it), while still producing room-filling sound. Whether you're at the beach, hosting a pool party, camping, or just hanging out at home, the Bose SoundLink Plus is a stellar Bluetooth speaker. It can also easily pair with other Bose SoundLink speakers for extended sound. —Miller Kern

Best Beauty Tech Gift of the Year

Credit: Rene Ramos/Mashable/Shark

Shark Cryoglow Mask

$349 at Amazon

 

Shop Now at Amazon

Why we like it

It would be hard to argue that any mask is a better value or offers a more premium experience than the Shark CryoGlow. The Shark mask is lined with 160 evenly spaced tri-wick bulbs. Every single bulb can emit red, near-infrared, or blue light, and each bulb can emit all three light types simultaneously for 480 light sources total. That's true full-face coverage for the duration of any setting, compared to other masks that turn red light bulbs off completely if you're on the blue light setting. —Leah Stodart

Apple's M6 Macs finally arrived on Tuesday, two weeks after the company's "Welcome Home" smart home launch. The announcement, part of another slate of press releases Apple dropped ahead of its private Pro and Tell event on Wednesday, Oct. 28, includes a new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6, a refreshed iMac with M6, and a round of AI features for Apple Creator Studio, the company's subscription bundle of creative apps.

The timing isn't a surprise. When the M6 MacBooks were missing from the Oct. 13 home announcements, Mashable reported that Bloomberg's Mark Gurman still expected them in October. For the time being, though, outlets like MacRumors report that the expected touchscreen MacBook Pro won't be announced until Wednesday — so check back here after tomorrow for more details.

In the meantime, Apple's M6 chip is the main upgrade here. Both machines keep their existing designs, and Apple's pitch leans hard on running AI locally. According to Apple, M6 adds two CPU cores and two GPU cores over its predecessor, puts Neural Accelerators in every GPU core, and pairs them with a new dual 16-core Neural Engine and up to 170GB/s of memory bandwidth. Apple frames the result as a platform for running large language models (LLMs) on-device while keeping data private.

It’s the same AI push Apple made with its home devices. As Mashable noted earlier this month, Gurman has argued the AI boom caught Apple off guard. Both Macs ship with macOS 27 Golden Gate, which brings Siri AI, Apple’s rebuilt assistant. Apple says it can draw on personal context from messages, email, and photos, answer questions on virtually any topic, and act across apps.

Here's everything Apple announced for the Mac on Oct. 27:

14-inch MacBook Pro with M6

Credit: Apple

The headline product is the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which gets M6's 12-core CPU. Apple says M6 features the world’s fastest CPU core. Apple claims the 12-core GPU is up to 30 percent faster at graphics and up to 25 percent faster at AI workloads than M5, while the Neural Engine is up to 1.9x faster. Owners of an M1 model could see bigger jumps: Apple cites up to 11x faster graphics and up to 13x faster AI performance.

Apple's AI benchmarks are the more telling numbers. It says LLM prompt processing delivers a first token up to 1.3x faster than the M5 model, with similar gains in Blender rendering and Xcode builds.

Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours, which Apple calls the longest ever in a Mac, and fast charging reaches 50 percent in 30 minutes with a 96W adapter. Memory starts at 16GB and tops out at 32GB. Wireless connectivity upgrades to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and the laptop supports up to two external displays.

Speaking of displays, the MacBook Pro has a Liquid Retina XDR display (with up to 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness and a nano-texture option), a 12MP Center Stage camera, six speakers, and the same ports, including HDMI, MagSafe 3, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and an SDXC slot.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999, or $1,899 with education pricing, and comes in space black and silver. Apple Upgrade leases start at $38.99 per month for 36 months. Pre-orders open Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the U.S. and 34 other countries and regions, with availability beginning Friday, Nov. 6.

iMac with M6

The iMac skips M5 entirely, jumping from M4 straight to M6. Apple says the CPU and GPU each gain two cores, with configurations offering up to 12 cores apiece, delivering up to 2x faster graphics than M4. Again, Apple’s big claim is the iMac’s ability to run AI locally. The company says the iMac runs on-device AI up to 5x faster than M4, including prompt processing in LM Studio. For anyone still on an Intel iMac, Apple reports an overall performance gain of up to 18x.

Connectivity gets some of the more practical upgrades. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 come standard, available 2.5Gb Ethernet is up to 2.5x faster than before, and Apple says SSD speeds have doubled. Up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports support two 6K external displays.

The rest of the iMac is unchanged, including the 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, 12MP Center Stage camera, color-matched accessories, and seven colors: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange, and silver.

The iMac with M6 starts at $1,499 ($1,449 for education) with a 10-core CPU and GPU, and $1,699 ($1,599 for education) with a 12-core CPU and GPU. That base price matches what the M4 iMac currently sells for after a $200 increase in June, according to MacRumors. Apple Upgrade leases start at $28.99 per month for 36 months. Pre-orders open Wednesday, Oct. 28, with availability beginning Friday, Nov. 6.

Apple Creator Studio

Credit: Apple

Apple also gave its new Macs more AI software to run. Apple Creator Studio adds intelligent assistants (in beta) to Logic Pro for Mac and to Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. Notably, Apple says those assistants are built on a combination of its own models and OpenAI’s. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers also gain Model Context Protocol (MCP) support, which lets third-party AI agents read documents, make edits, and run automated actions inside the apps.

Elsewhere, Final Cut Pro for Mac now includes MotionVFX's library of effects, transitions, and templates, and Pixelmator Pro adds Generate Fill for editing selected parts of an image using text prompts. Logic Pro's Stem Splitter can now separate drums.

The Creator Studio updates arrive in November at no additional cost for existing subscribers. The subscription costs $12.99 per month or $129 per year, with education pricing of $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

ICYMI: iPad mini with A20 Pro

Apple's week of announcements technically started Monday with the iPad mini, which Apple calls the tablet's "biggest update ever." The headline change is a larger 8.5-inch OLED display that fits in the same footprint, thanks to 24 percent thinner bezels. Apple says peak brightness reaches 1,200 nits, more than double that of the previous model, and a nano-texture option is available.

The A20 Pro chip follows the same local AI script as the M6. It has Neural Accelerators in each GPU core, and Apple claims up to 4.5x faster AI performance than the previous generation. The tablet is also thinner, at 5.4mm, and adds IP67 water and dust resistance, a 12MP front camera on the landscape edge, and Apple's N1 wireless and C2 cellular chips.

The iPad mini starts at $699 for Wi-Fi and $849 for Wi-Fi + Cellular (education pricing starts at $649), and comes in midnight and starlight. Pre-orders open Wednesday, Oct. 28, with availability beginning Friday, Nov. 6.

Do you know someone who basically lives at the local climbing gym? Are you friends with a person whose only personality trait is taking their dog hiking? Or maybe your partner is obsessed with the idea of living in a van (#vanlife) and traveling the country?

If any of these groups sound like you or someone you know, you've been exposed to the granola lifestyle. Similar to gorpcore, folks who fit the granola aesthetic are typically into camping, hiking, and kayaking, and have probably talked about moving to Colorado one day (guilty). They love to be outdoors, sip craft beer, and of course, wear Patagonia fleece sweaters.

Outdoorsy folk have taken to TikTok with the hashtags #granolagirl, #granolaboy, and #granolacheck over the last few years to show off their adventurous, outdoor-oriented lifestyles. For many, getting into nature was a direct response to feeling cooped up during the lockdowns of the early pandemic. But that trend is here to stay.

How to shop for an outdoorsy gift

For people who are unsure about adventure gear themselves but still want to find the perfect granola gift this holiday season, we chatted with outdoor expert and REI soft goods Lead and Virtual Outfitter Mike Kreis for some outdoor gear shopping tips.

Kreis suggests that you consider how long your giftee has been into their activity, whether it's hiking, skiing, camping, or climbing. "The longer they have been doing the activity, the more gear they will have," he says.

If your gift recipient already owns some gear, Kreis says it's best to go for nonessentials. "I always like to go with items that aren't necessarily needed for the activity, as they most likely have that," he says. So opt for a portable charger, a cozy outdoor blanket, or extra camp cooking gadgets. Really, anything that can make outdoor life more comfortable will make a great gift.

If you find yourself shopping for the outdoorsy person in your life, look no further. We've rounded up 30 of the best presents out there, whether their version of adventure is having a picnic in the park or roughing it in the back country.

Kai Cenat had barely gotten his hands on Apple's new iPhone Duo before another foldable caught his attention. The surprise? It was a Samsung.

During a livestream from Japan that accumulated millions of views, the streamer spotted a fan's folding phone and asked, "Is that the iPhone Duo?" When the owner explained that it was a Samsung, Cenat responded with a startled "What!"

"Wait, they been had this? I might have to switch to Samsung," he says in a viral clip.

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

For Samsung users watching, the answer to that first question was an emphatic yes. And they were more than happy to catch him up.

"Apple fans watching Kai discover Samsung features that have existed for years are about to have a rough day" one user wrote on X. "It’s crazy how ignorant normies are," another wrote, while one user said, "everyone starting to realize Apple is washed and overpriced; Samsung actually feels like an upgrade worth the value and the features alone make it worth it."

"Just imagine when he finds out they have a trifold," another user pointed out.

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

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

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

The snark comes with some history. Samsung unveiled its original Galaxy Fold in February 2019 and put it on sale that September, seven years before Apple’s first foldable arrived. Both follow the same basic idea — a phone with an outer screen that opens like a book to reveal a larger, tablet-like display, with room to run apps side by side. Samsung’s first Fold could already display three apps at once, while the iPhone Duo supports two side by side, with picture-in-picture video available too.

Samsung has released several generations since then, with its current lineup including the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Comparing the Duo with the standard Fold 8, Mashable Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth noted that Samsung's phone is thinner, lighter, and $100 cheaper at its starting price. Cameras were his biggest complaint about the Samsung, particularly its 10MP selfie camera. But after testing the Duo, Senior Editor Stan Schroeder found that Apple’s under-display FaceTime camera produced heavily processed, smudgy selfies, too.

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

Apple introducing more people to foldables could actually benefit Samsung, and Cenat's viral interaction is a prime example of how. Samsung says European sales of its Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra rose 45 percent compared with a year earlier, while Google search interest in Samsung foldables jumped 260 percent between Sept. 6 and 12 — the week Apple announced the Duo.

Whether Cenat actually switches remains to be seen. For now, he’s given Samsung fans something almost as satisfying as a new customer: an iPhone owner asking what he's been missing.