SAVE $90: The DJI Flip is on sale for $349 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $439. That's a 21% discount.

Opens in a new window

Credit: DJI

DJI Flip

$349 at Amazon
$439 Save $90

 

Get Deal

Choosing a new hobby is packed with endless options. Common options include running, reading, hiking, or cooking. You can also get obscure like synchronized swimming, growing bonsai trees, or beekeeping. But there's also the option to capture incredible scenes with a drone. If you like the idea of becoming an expert drone pilot in your free time, there's a great deal at Amazon that'll get you started.

As of Aug. 20, the DJI Flip is on sale at Amazon for $349, down from the list price of $439. That's a 21% discount, taking $90 off the drone and DJI RC.

DJI does a great job of making drones that are great for those who've spent hundreds of hours flying or those who are brand new. The DJI Flip weighs under 249 grams, which means you don't need a license to fly in most instances. There's also a 4K UHD camera with a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor.

With the included battery, you'll get about 31 minutes of flight time, and today's bundle deal also includes the DJI RC-N3, a remote control that makes flying the DJI Flip even easier. The drone folds down to a compact size for easier transport and has full-coverage propeller guards.

If you've been eyeing a DJI drone, consider today's sale price on the DJI Flip at Amazon as your sign to make this your new hobby. We're getting into great drone-flying weather this fall.

Google just launched a bunch of new Pixel phones, coincidentally at the same time that Pixel devices are getting an interesting new keyboard feature.

According to 9to5Google, Gboard beta users are starting to get access to a feature that lets them manually adjust the size of emojis. In case you don't know, Gboard is the default keyboard on Pixel phones and some other Android devices. It's also available as a standalone app you can install on other phones, including iPhones.

Anyway, when the feature rolls out to everyone at an indeterminate point in the future, users will be able to go to Settings, then Preferences, then Appearance to find an emoji size slider underneath the already-existing font size slider. It seems like it does exactly what you'd think: Emojis will scale up and down depending on what you choose, making them easier on the eyes for users who might need that.

And maybe you'll be able to enjoy this feature on your brand new Pixel 11 Pro Fold soon.

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

Reddit, once a favorite source of information for AI chatbots, is now barely being cited by ChatGPT, according to a new report from an AI search and analytics company.

Published this week by PromptWatch, the report found that Reddit citations in ChatGPT Search fell more than 86 percent over a recent four-day period.

PromptWatch data shows that Reddit held an average share of 3.83 percent of ChatGPT citations. This made Reddit one of ChatGPT's most cited domains from across the web. However, within one day, that quickly changed. PromptWatch noticed that starting on Aug. 14, Reddit's citation share plunged to less than 1 percent.

Between Aug. 14 and 17, Reddit's ChatGPT citation share fell even lower, to an average of 0.52 percent, or an 86.4 percent decline.

This is a stunning and sudden drop in ChatGPT citations for Reddit. So, what happened?

As of now, exactly why Reddit fell out of favor with ChatGPT is unclear. 

The drastic decline in Reddit citations is unique to ChatGPT, according to PrompWatch's report, although there were slight decreases in Reddit citations in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode during the same timeframe.

Search Engine Journal reports that ChatGPT changed its search process on Aug. 8, but that this wouldn't explain the massive drop days later on Aug. 14. As the outlet explains, a similar drop has occurred before, and neither ChatGPT creator OpenAI nor Reddit was responsible. In September of last year, Reddit citations on ChatGPT also declined. It turned out that that citation plunge was due to a search parameter change that Google had made, and which many tools, including ChatGPT, relied on.

Reddit has long had a complicated relationship with AI and scraping bots. Generation engine optimization, or GEO, is a new branch of search engine optimization (SEO) that optimizes websites specifically for AI. As a result of AI's rising popularity, Reddit has dealt with a significant uptick in spam and other promotional GEO tactics from users and agencies looking to get their websites and clients mentioned by AI chatbots.

With that said, Reddit has also benefited from the AI boom as well. The company signed a lucrative deal with OpenAI a few years ago, which allowed the AI company to train its LLMs using Reddit user content. When news broke last month that Reddit may not renew a similar AI licensing deal with Google, Reddit stock took a dive.

While it's possible that either Reddit or OpenAI made a purposeful decision that resulted in the citation decline, don't be surprised if ChatGPT soon reverts to regularly sourcing Reddit again either.

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

In a world flooded with AI slop, there's no better cure-all than watching an artist walk you through their human, hand-made process.

Enter a new featurette for LAIKA's new film Wildwood, an epic fantasy tale brought to life by gorgeously crafted stop-motion animation. Directed by Travis Knight (Masters of the Universe), Wildwood follows headstrong teenager Prue McKeel (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) as she goes on a quest to save her abducted baby brother. Her journey takes her to the Impassable Wilderness, an enchanted forest outside Portland, Oregon filled with talking animals and bandits.

Every element of Wildwood is painstakingly brought to life by an army of artists and animators, including the many horses roaming the Impassable Wilderness. In the featurette above, lead armaturist Matt Cole walks us through the creation of the film's stop-motion horses.

As an armaturist, Cole creates the skeletons within the stop-motion puppets, which will then be manipulated by animators.

"With Wildwood, we were tasked with building quadrupeds, and the animals have their own expression, their own musculature," Cole explained. He grew up around horses, calling the experience "transformative," which meant he felt extra pressure to get their movement right onscreen.

"We ended up making basically a Swiss watch inside of the puppet," Cole said. "There are gears that drive movement. There's specialized joints to be able to rotate. So we have to nail down both the look and the performance for the animators. Those are equally important."

The featurette above shows each painstaking step of the process that brings Wildwood's horses to life, from designing the skeletons in CAD to testing their movement to their final onscreen appearance.

"Every single [LAIKA] film is pushing things further and further," Cole said. "The horse was kind of the ultimate challenge, and this personally circular thing for me to revisit my childhood as an adult. That's part of the magic of stop motion at LAIKA. We're always looking for that way back."

Wildwood hits theaters Oct. 23.

Want more film and TV news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

If you have opened TikTok or Instagram lately, you have probably been informed that something — anything — is “kinda chic.” Repeating outfits is kinda chic. So are taking a coffee walk at work, letting people be wrong about you, being a beginner at something, and making all your major decisions in the bath.

The phrase’s takeover did not come from nowhere. For years, the internet has applied "chic" to an ever-expanding collection of clothes, products, habits, and lifestyles, stretching its meaning until it became little more than shorthand for "something I like." Fashion writers have declared the word dead, even as Google search interest in "chic" has reached its highest level since the company’s publicly available data began in 2004.

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

Over the past several months, however, "chic" has found new life through an endlessly reusable social media format. TikTok and Instagram users have been posting videos and carousels that declare their habits, hobbies, insecurities, and occasional displays of wealth "kinda chic." Almost anything can qualify, which may explain why some people are already begging the internet to find a new phrase.

What is the 'kinda chic' trend?

The format is simple: Users place text, generally in a pale yellow font, over a photo or video and complete the phrase "kinda chic to…" with something they want to celebrate.

Some posts declare it "kinda chic" to eat pizza, be overdressed, spend time outdoors, or love Joe Jonas. Others are more earnest, celebrating setting boundaries, following your dreams, accepting your body, moving somewhere new, continuing to learn, or doing something alone and scared.

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

The trend’s exact origin is unclear, but examples began appearing as early as April. Know Your Meme points to an April 27 post from plus-size creator Maria Castellanos, known online as MariaBegins, as one of the earliest examples, writing at the end of her carousel, "tell me something 'kinda chic' about you!"

At its most sincere, the trend separates chicness from money, designer clothing, Ibiza trips, and whatever other aspirational lifestyles the algorithm is currently selling. Users don't need an extensive wardrobe, expensive hobby, or packed social calendar to participate. Chic is a mindset: if something makes you feel more comfortable, confident, or like yourself, it qualifies.

By early August, celebrities including Drew Barrymore, Ashley Graham, and Reese Witherspoon had joined in. Witherspoon’s version deemed it "kinda chic to cheer on other women," start a book club, and call your mom. Barrymore announced that it was "kinda chic to be in your 50s," while Graham said it's "kinda chic to know cellulite never held you back."

Brands have joined in, too — naturally. Boots called reapplying sunscreen, romanticizing your daily routine, and removing your makeup before bed "kinda chic." Simple Skincare used the trend to promote sensitive-skin care, while Laneige declared it "kinda chic" to be obsessed with its Cream Skin toner. Outside the beauty aisle, Aldi celebrated selling a foldable sock hanger beside the wine, and Virgin deemed requesting the window seat "kinda chic."

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.

According to The Guardian, Google searches for "kinda chic" increased by 5,000 percent as the hashtag accumulated more than 60,000 Instagram posts.

The internet is already experiencing 'kinda chic' fatigue

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

Yet rising search interest does not mean people feel positively about the word. Madé Lapuerta, the fashion data analyst behind Data, But Make It Fashion, conducted a sentiment analysis of online articles containing "chic" and found that positive sentiment had fallen by an average of 14 percent per month since March.

Online, users are fed up: "It’s every second post I see on Instagram," one Threads user wrote. Another said they had reached the point where they see "kinda chic" and "just scroll," describing their aversion as "trend fatigue." "It’s chic to not be annoying as heck," one Reddit user wrote on the r/petpeeves subreddit. Some influencers agree; New York stylist Coco Schiffer announced that “kinda chic” had been “revoked.” By Aug. 18, Naomi May’s Cultural Memory newsletter was calling for the adjective to be retired "for the sake of humanity."

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 problem is not what the posts are saying, of course. Loving your body, establishing boundaries, and calling your mom are all perfectly nice things to do. The irritation comes from watching one person’s personal observation become a fill-in-the-blank strategy for thousands of creators, celebrities, and social media managers.

"Kinda chic" is also only one format in a feed increasingly built from templates. Examples are endless: Remember the Unfortunately, I do love… trend? "This and yap?" "5 things that are worth the money"?

Fashion editor and creator Brenda Weischer has called this sort of resulting sameness "template slop." In her newsletter, she described an Instagram Explore page filled with butter-yellow and pastel type, recycled "cool girl" advice, and interchangeable cultural recommendations. "Everyone is getting good. No one is getting better."

The exhaustion, then, is larger than any one meme. Users are not simply tired of being told what is "kinda chic." They are tired of scrolling past supposedly personal posts that all use the same handful of fonts, hooks, and formulas. Even when the person filling in the template has something sincere to say, the result can feel like content the viewer has already consumed dozens of times.

I mean, if everything is “kinda chic,” nothing really is — right? At this point, coming up with a different caption might be the chicest move of all.

The best gaming monitor deals at a glance:

---

BEST OLED deal

LG 27-inch Ultragear OLED 27GX790A-B

$499.99 (save $500)

Get Deal

---

Best budget pick

Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G55C

$199.99 (save $130)

Get Deal

---

Best curved deal

Samsung 57-inch Odyssey Neo G95NC

$1,449.99 (save $650 + get a free $120 Amazon credit)

Get Deal

Gaming hardware might come with major sticker shock, but upgrading your gear can truly make a world of difference in how you experience your favorite games. If your current setup is feeling lifeless, I've spotted a few deals on gaming monitors that'll take some of the pain out of upgrading. A discount of up to 50% is a great excuse to make the jump to a new monitor, don't you think?

While the market is wide and varied, here are three of the best deals we could find on gaming monitors as of Aug. 20. Gaming is not a cheap hobby by any means, but it also doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Best OLED gaming monitor deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: LG

LG 27-inch Ultragear OLED 27GX790A-B

$499.99 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $500

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

LG's Ultragear gaming monitors are some of the most popular models on the market for their premium specs, excellent build quality, reliability, and performance. And the OLED 27GX790A-B is no exception.

It packs a brilliant 27-inch matte 1440p OLED panel with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, a blistering 480Hz refresh rate, and a 0.03ms response time for fluid gameplay. There's also plenty of ports on board, including dual HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, and USB 3.0 (1 upstream / 2 downstream). While the LG UltraGear OLED 27GX790A-B's premium specs might be out of reach on a normal day, this 50% discount makes it a whole lot more approachable. At $499.99, it's the cheapest it's ever been.

Best curved gaming monitor deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Samsung

Samsung 57-inch Odyssey Neo G95NC

$1,449.99 at Amazon
$2,099.99 Save $650.00

+ get a $120 Amazon credit

Get Deal

Why we like it

If you like to be in the center of the action while gaming, this Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 monitor deal is for you.

Beyond its wild 57-inch screen real estate, the Odyssey Neo G95NC also features a 1,000R curve that envelops you as you play. A 1,000R curve is considered ideal for a monitor, as it closely matches the human field of view, reduces eye strain, and enhances depth perception. It's worth noting, however, that the G9's 32:9 aspect ratio isn't compatible with every game (check that your faves will work before pulling the trigger). The G95NC packs a solid 240Hz refresh rate, a 1ms response time, VESA DisplayHDR 1000, and G-Sync and FreeSync Premium Pro compatibility. There's also plenty of ports for connectivity, including HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, and a USB Hub.

Not only is it 31% off as of Aug. 20, but you'll also get a free $120 Amazon credit with your purchase for a limited time.

Best budget gaming monitor deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Samsung

Samsung 32-inch Odyssey G55C

$199.99 at Amazon
$329.99 Save $130

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

If you're a little curious about curved monitors, but don't want to break the bank making the switch, Amazon's deal on the Samsung Odyssey G55C can transform your gaming experience for under $200.

It packs a 32-inch 2560x1440 QHD display with a 1000R curvature and 16:9 aspect ratio. That means the screen will wrap around your field of view, enhancing the depth of your games while reducing eye strain. It also features a 165Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, AMD Radeon FreeSync, HDR10, and an eye-saver mode to reduce screen flickering during extended gaming periods.

While it's not the most premium monitor on the market, Samsung monitors have a solid reputation. If you're balling on a budget, it's a hard deal to pass up for only $199.99. That's just $10 away from its best price ever.

The best 3D printer deals at Amazon:

---

Best for everyday printing

Flashforge 3D Printer

$378.99 (save $170)

Get Deal

---

Best overall 3D Printer

Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printer

$499.99 (save $49.01)

Get Deal

---

Best for large-scale prints

Creality K1 Max 3D Printer

$548.98 (save $170)

Get Deal

Getting into 3D printing usually means choosing between speed, print quality, and not blowing your whole budget — but this week's deals make that trade-off a lot less painful. Three printers from Bambu Lab, Creality, and Flashforge are discounted right now, with savings up to $171 (31% off).

There's a fit here no matter what you're after — a beginner-friendly all-rounder, a large-format speed machine built for bigger projects, and a quiet, filtered option for everyday use.

Best for everyday printing

Opens in a new window

Credit: Flashforge

Flashforge 3D Printer

$378.99 at Amazon
$549 Save $170.01

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

The AD5M Pro is the printer that gets out of your way. Setup takes 10 minutes or less with no experience required, and full-auto leveling means you skip manual adjustments before your first print. It moves fast, up to 600mm/s with 20,000mm/s² acceleration, backed by a CoreXY metal structure that keeps output stable and precise even at that speed.

It's also the pick for anyone printing at home or in a shared space. It's quiet enough for a living room or classroom, and the enclosed design keeps fumes and dust from escaping into the room. There's also a built-in camera so you can check on prints remotely or capture time-lapse videos, easy nozzle swaps for different filament types, and automatic recovery if the power cuts out mid-print.

Best overall 3D Printer

Opens in a new window

Credit: Bambu Lab

Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printer

$499.99 at Amazon
$549 Save $49.01

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

The Bambu Lab P1S earns the top spot in this lineup because it balances speed, quality, and ease of use better than most printers at this price. It sets up in about 15 minutes, handles calibration automatically with auto bed leveling, and prints fast — up to 500mm/s — without sacrificing quality. That combination makes it approachable for someone printing their first model, while still being capable enough that experienced makers won't outgrow it quickly.

What sets it apart is the AMS add-on, which unlocks multi-color and multi-material printing (up to 16 colors) without any manual filament swapping. It's fully enclosed, so advanced filaments like ABS and ASA print consistently, and the build volume is generous enough for bigger projects.

Best for large-scale prints

Opens in a new window

Credit: Comgrow

Creality K1 Max 3D Printer

$548.99 at Amazon
$719 Save $170.01

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

The Creality K1 Max packs a massive 300x300x300mm build volume into a compact footprint, giving you room for larger prints while staying space-efficient. Pair that with a 600 mm/s print speed and 20,000 mm/s² acceleration, and you get a printer built to move fast without making you choose between size and speed.

The AI Lidar scans the first layer and automatically halts the print if something's off, while the onboard camera monitors for print failures or debris mid-print. It also comes with dual hands-free auto leveling and dual-fan cooling that hardens each layer before warping or stringing can set in.

SAVE $30: As of Aug. 20, the 30qt Ninja FrostVault cooler in cloud white is discounted to $169.99 at Amazon. That's $30 off its full price of $199.99.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Ninja

Ninja FrostVault 30qt Hard Cooler with Dry Zone

$169.99 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $30

 

Get Deal

Throughout the summer, Amazon has had some excellent outdoor deals, and it's not slowing down as we inch closer to fall.

If you're someone who can't wait to enjoy camping trips and outdoor gatherings in the cooler weather, the retailer has plenty of discounts worth exploring right now, including a $30 price cut on the 30qt Ninja FrostVault cooler in cloud white.

This durable cooler is normally priced at $199.99 at the retailer, but shoppers can snag it for $169.99 right now instead. Unfortunately, only the cloud white model is down to this price, but the other available colors are priced just $10 higher.

From food to drinks, this 30-quart cooler can handle it all. When it comes to the latter, it can hold up to 48 cans without ice or 26 with ice. And thanks to a heavy-duty build with up to three inches of insulation, they'll stay safe and cool while you're out and about. What really stands out about this cooler is the FrostVault Dry Zone.

This keeps your food in its own section of the cooler so it stays dry and cool, away from the drinks. It's a really helpful way to keep everything packed together without it getting all soggy from the ice and condensation. Plus, this cooler comes with integrated handles, so carrying it around during fall outings will be much easier.

If the 30qt Ninja FrostVault cooler in cloud white has caught your eye, act fast to save at Amazon.

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

SAVE $200: As of Aug. 20, the Amazon Fire TV 50-inch Omni QLED 4K TV is on sale for $269.99 at Amazon. That's a $200 drop from its list price of $469.99.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Amazon Fire TV 50-Inch Omni QLED Series 4K UHD smart TV

$269.99 at Amazon
$469.99 Save $200

 

Get Deal

Cooler weather is right around the corner, and if you can't wait to settle in for fall's batch of streaming shows and movies, you'll want a high-quality TV to watch it all on. If you've been thinking about an upgrade, Amazon's been dropping great deals recently, including the Amazon Fire TV 50-inch Omni QLED 4K TV.

As of Aug. 20, this smart TV has been slashed from $469.99 to $269.99. That's a solid $200 discount, and not too far from its lowest-ever price of $249.99. It's only on sale at this price for a limited time, so act fast to save.

Since this 50-inch Fire TV is a smart TV, you'll be able to access all of your favorite streaming services right from the home screen. What you watch will look stunning as well, as this TV boasts a 4K resolution QLED display that sharpens details and brings out rich colors on screen. It even comes with Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive to give pictures an added color boost, and also supports HDR10 and HLG.

Another cool highlight of this TV is that it can automatically optimize the brightness of what you watch using a built-in sensor that detects the room's lighting. That way, you won't miss any of the action happening on screen. It also comes with the Fire TV Ambient Experience, which lets you display art or photos when you're not watching anything.

If you're thinking it's time to grab a new TV, don't miss out on this great deal on the Amazon Fire TV 50-inch Omni QLED 4K TV at Amazon.

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

Seth Meyers' Late Night may be on summer vacation but the news keeps rolling. So, the host has launched a version of his popular deep dive segment "A Closer Look" as a video podcast series during the break.

A Closer Look: Out of Office is now streaming on YouTube, Peacock, and major podcast platforms. For the series, Meyers catches up with supervising writer/producer Sal Gentile on a video call to unpack the last current affairs.

"You had another name which I did really like," Gentile says in the first episode. "A Closer Look: Proof of Life, to show people we're still alive. Kind of like the way Mitch McConnell releases a new photo."

For the first episode, Meyers and Gentile explore Donald Trump's Air Force One catering cart switcheroo, and the Department of Justice's push to revive the case of vandalism concerning the controversially renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.

Apparently Meyers saw the word "vacation" and thought, I'll pack my podcast equipment.

Want more film and TV news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts.

'Weird Al' Yankovic on Tiny Desk Concert? It happened. Again.

The music comedy legend and king of parody squished himself and eight musicians into NPR's minuscule performance space for the latest fundraising episode, and it's honestly a delightful time. You'll snack upon renditions of some of his big hits from Weezer-style "Skipper Dan" to Backstreet Boys parody "eBay," and epic Star Wars-inspired "American Pie" tribute "The Saga Begins."

Weird Al has actually appeared on Tiny Desk Concert before, playing a set of originals in 2010.

"It's really great to be back at Tiny Desk. We did play here in 2010 and apparently we did so great they invited us back 16 years later," he said during the set.

You can watch the set above or on NPR's YouTube channel. It's a treat.

Want more film and TV news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Rosie O'Donnell's Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest-hosting run has been peppered with digs at Donald Trump. On Monday, the comedian called the president "Mango Mussolini," and on Tuesday, "President Oompa J. Loompa."

And on Wednesday, O'Donnell, a longtime Trump critic, started the show with another.

"A special hello to those of you watching from home and from the White House," the host started her monologue with. "But I do have some bad news for President Petty Roosevelt. That's all I'm gonna say about you tonight, sweetheart."

With Kimmel on vacation, O'Donnell's guest-hosting run comes after weeks led by Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, and Colman Domingo, and there's more monologues where that came from.

Want more film and TV news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts.

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.

Telephone meaning

A device for making calls.

Apostrophe meaning

A form of punctuation frequently used to indicate possession.

Oxford meaning

A city in England.

Serial meaning

Things that happen as part of a sequence.

Hawaiian meaning

Something linked to Hawaii.

Okina meaning

A consonant in the Hawaiian language.

Ratchet meaning

A tool frequently used to tighten or remove bolts.

Comma meaning

Punctuation used to indicate a pause, though not a complete stop.

White meaning

A color that represents all visible light frequencies.

Pigment meaning

An ingredient that infuses color into items or materials.

Atomic meaning

Describing something linked to atoms.

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.

Dragonfly meaning

A flying insect often found near water.

Diavola meaning

Italian for devil.

Cedilla meaning

A mark used to change a letter from a hard sound to a soft sound.

Meat lovers meaning

Frequently used to describe a collection of pizza toppings.

Social Security meaning

A U.S. program designed to provide assistance to those with low income for a variety of reasons.

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.

We're always looking for new and inventive ways to hit you with big savings on popular items. We cover hundreds of deals every month. You can find these deals on site, on socials, and on our newsletter. We've also launched a Mashable Deals text group. The daily deals that we send to this group are researched and assessed by the team with the same level of care that we dedicate to the rest of our shopping content.

You can find a live hub for those deals right here.

It won't shock you that there's a superabundance of interview podcasts and internet series out there. You're probably subscribed to a bunch of content creators (perhaps those who made this year's Mashable 101) or maybe you depend on your feed to hand-deliver the most viral clips. But your time is precious, so we've rounded up the best on the internet this week.

Whether you're into deadpan showdowns, niche hot takes, or simply wholesome interviews between creative minds, here's what we reckon is worth your time (and of course, we'd never leave out Mashable's own Say More, what are you, nuts?).

1. Iconic Guest: Ziwe x Law Roach

The whole "name a more iconic duo" thing gets thrown around these days, but it applies with full effect here. In the latest episode of Iconic Guest, writer and comedian Ziwe Fumudoh interviews iconic stylist Law Roach — and if you watch just one podcast interview this week, make it this one. The host and guest are matched in deadpan, aligned in stone-faced determination, as the pair unpack Roach's career one Zendaya hat, dystopian definition, and "Hatuna Makata" at time.

Where to watch: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram

2. Subway Takes: Kareem Rahma x Lucy Dacus

Yes, it's not technically a podcast, it's an internet interview series, shut up, move on.

Kareem Rahma's Subway Takes keeps our feeds brimming with steaming hot perspectives, and the latest episode of his wildly popular web series won't leave my consciousness. The journalist interviewed musician Lucy Dacus on a boat off Rhode Island during Newport Folk Fest, asking for her hottest take.

Her answer? "Birds shouldn't walk."

Where to watch: TikTok, Instagram

3. Say More: Kristy Puchko x Hannah Einbinder and Jane Schoenbrun

Mashable's Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko sat down in the Say More studio with filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun and actor Hannah Einbinder to unpack Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, one of the best horror films of the year. It's a wonderful chat between likeminded horror fans, talking KFC, Little Death (Jack Haven), Counting Crows, and the inspirations behind this unforgettable slasher.

Where to watch: Mashable, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

4. Good Hang: Amy Poehler x Keke Palmer

One of the most wholesome interview podcasts on the internet, Amy Poehler's Good Hang is always exactly that. This week, the host interviewed Keke Palmer, whose own brilliant podcast Baby, This is Keke Palmer should already be on your weekly listening list. The star of The Burbs and I Love Boosters makes it hard for Poehler to keep it together, unpacking whether Jesus was a Virgo ("You can't have disciples if you can't organise them!"), Kelis' 1999 eternal banger "Caught Out There," and whether you can say "Macbeth" on a podcast.

Where to watch: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

5. Mythical Kitchen: Angela Giarratana

Angela Giarratana enjoyed her "last meal" on Mythical Kitchen, joining her friend, host and chef Josh Scherer, for one of the most gleeful, fun, and real chats you'll see this week. The Smosh star, writer, comedian, and actor feasted on her favourites: extra dirty gin martinis, her grandmother's pastina, the tuna melt from San Diego's Beginners Diner, the roast pork from Miami's La Carreta, her party-leaving strategy order from Silverlake Ramen, and more. It's a hoot.

How to watch: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

6. Vanity Fair's Lie Detector Test: Marc Jacobs

OK, I'm just going to let you watch this one. Vanity Fair's Lie Detector Test — the one that threw Merrily We All Roll Along stars Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez into the sea — values the truth and nothing but the truth. Fashion legend Marc Jacobs' interview goes to some real corners of possibility, but it's the very first question, involving styling Luigi Mangione, that has people talking.

Where to watch: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

7. Criterion Closet: Colman Domingo

If you're invited to the Criterion Closet, you usually have a plan. And Oscar-nominee Colman Domingo absolutely did, picking out Ousmane Sembène's Black Girl, Ermanno Olmi's Il Posto, John Berry's Claudine, René Clément's Purple Noon, Cher's Oscar-winner Moonstruck, and a Wong Kar-wai box set. But Domingo lets fate decide his final film, closing his eyes to select Russian Civil War film Coup de Grâce.

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

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're familiar with the theater.

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: Pizza

• Green: Important numbers

• Blue: Punctuation marks

• Purple: Zodiac animals

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: Kinds of Pizza

• Green: Kinds of Numbers

• Blue: Similarly Shaped Typographical Marks

• Purple: Starting with Chinese Zodiac Animals

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 #1165 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Kinds of Pizza: DIAVOLA, HAWAIIAN, MEAT LOVERS, WHITE

• Kinds of Numbers: ATOMIC, SERIAL, SOCIAL SECURITY, TELEPHONE

• Similarly Shaped Typographical Marks: APOSTROPHE, CEDILLA, COMMA, OKINA

• Starting with Chinese Zodiac Animals: DRAGONFLY, OXFORD, PIGMENT, RATCHET

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.

It turns out, drinking water is one of the best things we can do when it comes to health. That's good news considering water is one of the most affordable beverages out there. But when we think about the invisible things in our tap water that might not be so great to drink, we run into problems.

Instead of buying endless plastic bottles of water, Ninja has a solution. The new Ninja HydraSense is a sleek and slim countertop water purification system that's a great addition to the lineup of Ninja kitchen appliances we've come to love.

Features of the Ninja HydraSense

The Ninja HydraSense sits on your countertop, plugged in to wall for access to filtered water on-demand. The reservoir can hold 96 ounces of water for less frequent refills, and the touchscreen gives you access to metrics like remaining filter life.

From the touchscreen, you can select your desired ounces, which will send water through the Ninja purifier that'll rid it of up to 99% of contaminates like chlorine, heavy metals, microplastics, and pharmaceuticals. However, Ninja says the filter leaves natural minerals and electrolytes. If you're curious, Ninja has a performance data sheet available to show filtration results from third-party testing.

Each Ninja HydraSense comes with one filter, which is designed to clean 120 gallons of water. Ninja says this can last for up to six months of use. Replacement filers come with a price of $39.99 for a single or $69.99 for a two-pack.

How to buy the Ninja HydraSense

The Ninja HydraSense is already available to buy at both Amazon and Ninja's online storefront. If you like the look of the white or blue, Amazon is a good bet. If you'd prefer the Rosewater Pink or Black HydraSense, they're available at Ninja. If you like freebies, Ninja is tossing in a free 24-ounce Ninja Thirsti Travel Bottle with purchase of HydraSense.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Ninja

Ninja HydraSense (Dove White or Midnight Blue)

$199.99 at Amazon

 

Get Deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Ninja

Ninja HydraSense + free Ninja Thirsti 24-ounce Travel Bottle

$199.99 at Ninja

 

Get Deal

Shop the best deals of Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale:

---

Best Apple deal

Apple iPhone Air (256GB, Unlocked)

$839.99 (save $160)

Get Deal

---

Best TV deal

Hisense 65-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K TV

$598.99 (save $501)

Get Deal

---

Best Windows laptop deal

Asus Zenbook A14 (Snapdragon X2 Elite, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)

$999.99 (save $350)

Get Deal

---

Best robot vacuum

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum & Mop

$349.99 (save $350)

Get Deal

---

Best earbuds deal

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2

$199.99 (save $50)

Get Deal

---

Best headphones deal

Beats Studio Pro

$159.99 (save $190)

Get Deal

---

Best Lego deal

Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’ Museum Collection

$55.99 (save $24)

Get Deal

---

Best Pokémon TCG deal

Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box

$112.50 (save $207.50)

Get Deal

---

Best speaker deal

Marshall Stanmore III

$199.99 (Save $200)

Get Deal

---

Best fitness tracker deal

Apple Watch Series 11

$299 (Save $100)

Get Deal

Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale is happening this week, which is great news for anyone who's missed out on the loads of tech deals we've seen so far this summer. (It's probably the biggest sale we'll get until Labor Day.) The event runs through Sunday, Aug. 23, and My Best Buy Plus and Total members earn 10% back in rewards on most purchases.

While the sale is live both online and in stores, it would behoove you to visit your nearest brick-and-mortar Best Buy this Saturday, Aug. 22. That day, in-person shoppers will be able to score $100 Best Buy gift cards for only $60 (while supplies last), among other exclusive deals. We can see people camping out for that one.

As things currently stand, the sale involves some pretty great deals on RGB and OLED TVs, Apple gadgets, Windows laptops, headphones, and even collectibles like Lego sets and Pokémon cards. We've done a little digging and rounded up a list of our favorite deals below. Make sure you check back later this week: Best Buy is planning on dropping another round of discounts on Friday, Aug. 21.

Best Apple deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iPhone Air (256GB, Unlocked)

$839.99 at Best Buy
$999.99 Save $160

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

It's not every day that you can score a discount on an iPhone with no strings attached. But during Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale, you can nab an unlocked iPhone Air with any storage capacity for $160 off. That means you can bring it to any provider without having to navigate a trade-in. Mashable's reviewer called the iPhone Air the "sexiest iPhone" he's ever tested. It's incredibly thin and light, has a gorgeous OLED display, and its camera performs better than you'd expect. It may not be the phone for everyone, but it's the iPhone with the best value.

More Apple deals

AirPods

• AirPods 4 without ANC — $99.99 $129.99 (save $30)

• AirPods 4 with ANC — $149.99 $179.99 (save $30)

• AirPods Pro 3 — $189.99 $249.99 (save $60)

• AirPods Max — $429 $549 (save $120)

AirTags

• Apple AirTag (2nd gen) — $24 $29 (save $5)

• Apple AirTag, 4-pack (2nd gen) — $89 $99 (save $10)

iPads

• Apple A16 iPad, 11-inch (WiFi, 128GB) — $399 $449 (save $50)

• Apple M4 iPad Air, 11-inch (WiFi, 256GB) — $749 $849 (save $100)

• Apple M5 iPad Pro, 13-inch (WiFi, 512GB) — $1,599 $1,699 (save $100)

iPhones

• Apple iPhone 16e (128GB, unlocked) — $489.99 $599.99 (save $110)

• Apple iPhone Air (512GB, unlocked) — $1,039.99 $1,199.99 (save $160)

• Apple iPhone Air (1TB, unlocked) — $1,239.99 $1,399.99 (save $160)

MacBooks

• Get a free $25 Starbucks gift card with purchase of Apple MacBook Neo — starting at $699

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,499 $1,599 (save $100)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,849 $1,999 (save $150)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M4 Pro, 48GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $2,499 $2,899 (save $400)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M4 Max, 36GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,999 $3,399 (save $400)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M4 Max, 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $3,399 $3,899 (save $500)

Best TV deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Hisense

Hisense 65-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K TV

$598.99 at Best Buy
$1,099.99 Save $501

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

We can't stop raving about the Hisense U6 Pro. We named it our favorite budget TV of 2026, as it lands perfectly in the sweet spot of performance and value. And during Best Buy's Anniversary Sale, it's even more of a steal; the 65-inch model is down to a record-low $598.99. That's cheaper than it was on Prime Day. While it's not an OLED display, it does offer an impressive full-array local dimming setup, vibrant quantum-dot color, and deep black levels, an anti-glare coating for minimal reflections, and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits. It also packs a native 144Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and two HDMI 2.1 ports for gamers. Every size is currently discounted, but the 65-inch model is what we'd recommend for most people.

More TV deals

60-inch and under

• Hisense 58-inch QD50 Hi-QLED 4K TV — $189.99 $399.99 (save $210)

• Insignia 55-inch F50 LED 4K TV — $199.99 $349.99 (save $150)

• Hisense 43-inch QD6 QLED 4K Fire TV — $209.99 $299.99 (save $90)

• Samsung 55-inch M70H Mini LED 4K TV — $349.99 $449.99 (save $100)

• LG 55-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $379.99 $599.99 (save $220)

• Hisense 55-inch S7 Canvas QLED 4K Art TV — $799.99 $1,499.99 (save $700)

• Hisense 55-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $999.99 $1,499.99 (save $500)

• Sony 55-inch Bravia 7 II RGB 4K TV — $1,499.99 $2,099.99 (save $600)

65-inch TVs

• LG 65-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $479.99 $699.99 (save $220)

• TCL 65-inch QM6K QD-Mini LED 4K TV — $699.99 $999.99 (save $300)

• Hisense 65-inch S7N Canvas QLED 4K Art TV — $800.99 $1,299.99 (save $499)

• Hisense 65-inch U7 Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $899.99 $1,499.99 (save $600)

• Samsung 65-inch S90F OLED 4K TV — $1,399.99 $2,499.99 (save $1,100)

• TCL 65-inch QM8L SQD-Mini LED 4K TV — $1,399.99 $2,499.99 (save $1,100)

• Hisense 65-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,499.99 $1,999.99 (save $500)

• LG 65-inch C5 OLED 4K TV — $1,499.99 $2,699.99 (save $1,200)

• LG 65-inch B6 OLED 4K TV — $1,699.99 $1,999.99 (save $300)

• Samsung 65-inch S85H OLED 4K TV — $1,699.99 $1,999.99 (save $300)

• LG 65-inch C6 OLED 4K TV — $1,799.99 $2,699.99 (save $900)

• Sony 65-inch Bravia 7 II RGB 4K TV — $1,799.99 $2,599.99 (save $800)

75-inch to 77-inch TVs

• Samsung 75-inch U7900 LED 4K TV — $399.99 $649.99 (save $250)

• LG 75-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $649.99 $999.99 (save $350)

• Hisense 75-inch U7 Mini LED 4K TV — $1,199.99 $1,999.99 (save $800)

• TCL 75-inch QM7L SQD-Mini LED 4K TV — $1,299.99 $1,999.99 (save $700)

• LG 77-inch B5 OLED 4K TV — $1,399.99 $2,999.99 (save $1,600)

• Hisense 75-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,899.99 $2,499.99 (save $600)

• Samsung 77-inch S90F OLED 4K TV — $1,999.99 $3,499.99 (save $1,500)

• LG 77-inch C5 OLED 4K TV — $1,899.99 $3,699.99 (save $1,800)

• Samsung 75-inch R85H Micro RGB 4K TV — $1,999.99 $2,799.99 (save $800)

85-inch TVs

• Insignia 85-inch Class F50 Series 4K Fire TV — $599.99 $899.99 (save $300)

• Insignia 85-inch QF QLED 4K TV — $659.99 $1,099.99 (save $440)

• Hisense 85-inch UR9 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $3,999.99 $4,499.99 (save $500)

Best Windows laptop deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: ASUS

Asus Zenbook A14 (Snapdragon X2 Elite, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)

$999.99 at Best Buy
$1,349.99 Save $350

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

Mashable's laptop expert named the Asus Zenbook A14 the "best Windows laptop for most people" in 2026 for a few reasons. It's ultraportable, packs an amazing battery life of over 27 hours (!), a stunning OLED display, a lightweight build, and impressive performance that rivals the MacBook Air. While the 2026 version got a price bump, this discount at Best Buy knocks it back down below $1,000.

More Windows laptop deals

• HP Omnibook 3 16 (AMD Ryzen 5 40, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $399.99 $779.99 (save $380)

• HP OmniBook X 14 (Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $699.99 $1,099.99 (save $400)

• HP OmniBook X Flip 16 (Intel Core Ultra 7 256V, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $749.99 $1,199.99 (save $450)

• Lenovo Yoga 7a 2-in-1 14 (AMD Ryzen AI 5 430, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $749.99 $1,299.99 (save $550)

• Microsoft Surface Pro, 12-inch (Snapdragon X Plus, 8GB RAM, 256GB UFS) — $749.99 $849.99 (save $100)

• Acer Swift Go 16 (Intel Core Ultra 7 355, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,199.99 $1,549.99 (save $350)

• Microsoft Surface Laptop 13 (Snapdragon X2 Elite, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,599.99 $1,999.99 (save $400)

• Asus ROG Flow Z13 (AMD Ryzen AI Max+, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,099.99 $2,999.99 (save $900)

• Lenovo Legion Pro 7i 16 (Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,899.99 $4,249.99 (save $1,350)

Best robot vacuum deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Shark

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop

$349.99 at Best Buy
$699.99 Save $350

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

This robot vacuum combines powerful vacuuming with sonic mopping, so it can clean carpets and hard floors in a single run. Its Matrix Clean technology makes multiple passes over dirt and debris, and the CleanEdge Detect targets dust and hair around corners and edges. It also features a self-cleaning brushroll, HEPA filtration, and a bagless, self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days' worth of dirt. And right now at Best Buy, it's $350 off — an impressive 50% savings.

More robot vacuum deals

• Roborock Q10 Series — $299.99 $399.99 (save $100)

• Ecovacs DEEBOT T80S Omni — $479.99 $649.99 (save $170)

• Roborock Qrevo Series — $499.99 $629.99 (save $130)

• Dreame X40 — $499.99 $799.99 (save $300)

• Shark PowerDetect — $749.99 $1,199.99 (save $450)

• Roborock Saros Z70 — $999.99 $1,999.99 (save $1,000)

Best earbuds deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Beats

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2

$199.99 at Best Buy
$249.99 Save $50

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

For working out, these are some of the best earbuds available. With a secure hook fit and built-in heart rate monitoring, workout earbuds can't get any better than this. In fact, when given the full review treatment, they were described as "ideal for all workouts, especially running."

More earbud deals

• JBL Tune 245NC — $49.95 $109.95 (save $64)

• JBL Tune Flex 2 — $69.95 $109.95 (save $40)

• Sony WF-C710N— $89.99 $129.99 (save $40)

• Beats Powerbeats Fit — $169.99 $199.99 (save $30)

• Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 — $189 $229 (save $40)

Best headphones deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Beats

Beats Studio Pro

$159.99 at Best Buy
$349.99 Save $190

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

These headphones have Personalized Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking for a 360-degree listening experience. They also offer impressive noise cancellation to block out distractions, with different modes to keep you aware of your surroundings. They offer up to 40 hours of battery life, USB-C, Bluetooth, and 3.5mm connectivity, plus compatibility with both Apple and Android devices. This week, the Black/Gold pair is a whopping 54% off at Best Buy. They're only $159.99; the other colors cost $10 extra.

More headphone deals

• Sony WH-CH520 — $39.99 $68 (save $28.01)

• Marshall Major V — $89.99 $159.99 (save $70)

• Beats Solo 4 — $129.99 $199.99 (save $70)

• Sony WH-1000XM6— $399.99 $458 (save $58.01)

Best Lego deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Lego

Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’ Museum Collection

$55.99 at Best Buy
$79.99 Save $24.00

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

This Animal Crossing-themed Lego set builds into a brickified replica of Blathers’ Museum, where players complete exhibits by donating fish, fossils, and art. It's geared toward ages seven and up, and contains 543 pieces — including minifigures of Blathers himself and Lily, a frog villager. Best Buy's Anniversary Sale offers 30% off the list price, leaving you to pay just $55.99. FYI: It sold out at Target at the same price.

More Lego deals

• Lego Minifigures Series 29 — $3.49 $4.99 (save $1.50)

• Lego Friends Horse & Baby Foal Trailer — $20.99 $29.99 (save $9)

• Lego Disney Minnie’s Pet Hotel — $27.99 $39.99 (save $12)

• Lego Super Mario: Mario Kart Toad's Garage — $27.99 $39.99 (save $12)

• Lego DREAMZzz Nightmare Scorpion Digger — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)

• Lego Friends Beach House with Seals — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)

• Lego Friends Heartlake City Fashion Show — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)

• Lego Technic Chevrolet Corvette Stingray — $41.99 $59.99 (save $18)

• Lego DREAMZzz Crocodile Submarine — $48.99 $69.99 (save $21)

• Lego Friends Horse Stable and Riding Academy — $62.99 $89.99 (save $27)

• Lego Star Wars Grogu with Hover Pram — $89.99 $99.99 (save $10)

• Lego Ideas BTS Dynamite — $119.99 $126.99 (save $7)

• Lego Editions Lionel Messi Celebration — $179 $199.99 (save $20.99)

Best Pokémon TCG deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box

$112.50 at Best Buy
$320 Save $207.50

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

This Elite Trainer Box contains nine Destined Rivals booster packs, 45 energy cards, foil promo art of Team Rocket's Wobbuffet, six damage-counter dice, and other accessories. Best Buy has it marked down to $112.50 during its 60th Anniversary Sale — a whopping 65% off its regular price there — which is only a couple bucks above its current market price. For comparison's sake, it's currently going for around $130 at Amazon and Walmart.

More Pokémon TCG deals

• Pokémon TCG Mega Moonlit Tin (Mega Clefable ex) — $39.99 $59.99 (save $20)

• Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet 151 Booster Pack — $44.77 $59.99 (save $15.22)

• Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Build & Battle Box — $49.99 $69.99 (save $20)

• Pokémon TCG Paradox Clash Tin (Walking Wake ex) — $49.99 $64.99 (save $15)

• Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet Surging Sparks Booster Bundle — $89.97 $115 (save $25.03)

• Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box (Mega Gardevoir) — $149.99 $165 (save $15.01)

• Pokémon TCG Charizard ex Super-Premium Collection — $179.97 $200 (save $20.03)

Best speaker deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Marshall

Marshall Stanmore III

$199.99 at Best Buy
$399.99 Save $200

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

The Marshall Stanmore III is a larger home speaker designed to fill a room with sound, with a wider soundstage than its predecessor. Its two-way driver system delivers crisp treble and controlled bass, and the Dynamic Loudness adjusts the sound depending on the volume. It also has Bluetooth 5.2, RCA and 3.5mm inputs, plus Marshall’s classic rock-inspired design.

More speaker deals

• JBL Grip — $64.95 $99.95 (save $35)

• JBL Flip 7 — $94.95 $149.95 (save $55)

• JBL Charge 6 — $149.95 $199.95 (save $50)

• Sony ULT Field 5 — $188 $349.99 (save $161.99)

• JBL PartyBox — $249.99 $329.95 (save $79.96)

• Sony XP700 — $398 $549.99 (save $151.99)

• Sonos Move 2— $399 $499 (save $100)

Best fitness tracker deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 11

$299 at Best Buy
$399 Save $100

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

The newest Apple Watch is packed with incredible health and fitness features, including sleep tracking, ECG, heart-rate alerts, and hypertension notifications. It also gives you workout metrics such as training load, heart rate zones, and Pacer, plus safety features including fall and crash detection. Battery life is up to 24 hours, with fast charging available for a quick top-up.

More fitness tracker deals

• Fitbit ACE Kids — $99.99 $179.99 (save $80)

• Fitbit Charge 6 — $119.95 $159.95 (save $40)

• Garmin Forerunner 55 — $143.99 $169.99 (save $26)

• Apple Watch SE — $219.99 $249.99 (save $30)

• Garmin Instinct 3 — $299.99 $349.99 (save $50)

• Garmin Venu 3S — $299.99 $449.99 (save $150)

• Garmin Forerunner 265 — $349.99 $449.99 (save $100)

• Samsung Galaxy Ring — $379.99 $399.99 (save $20)

• Garmin Forerunner 965 — $499.99 $599.99 (save $100)

SAVE $32: As of Aug. 20, the Kindle Scribe Premium Pen is on sale for $47.99 at Amazon. That's a 40% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Kindle Scribe Premium Pen

$47.99 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $32.00

 

Get Deal

The Kindle Scribe Premium Pen is currently on sale at Amazon for its best-ever price. The stylus is designed for a more natural writing experience, with extra features that make it more advanced than the standard Kindle Scribe pen. And right now it's down to $47.99 from $79.99, saving you $32.

As the name suggests, this stylus is designed specifically for the Kindle Scribe, with a sleek, matching design and an improved eraser for a writing experience that feels like using a traditional pen on paper. You can choose between two colors, tungsten and metallic jade (both at the same reduced price), so it matches your e-reader perfectly.

It lets you write, underline, and highlight directly in books, as well as create journals, lists, and other notes. It doesn't need any setup or pairing and is battery-free, so there's no need to charge it. It attaches magnetically to the side of the Kindle Scribe and also fits in the pen holder on a Kindle Scribe Cover.

To erase, just turn the pen upside down. There's also a shortcut button that can be customized to highlight, erase, or switch between pen, fountain pen, marker, and pencil styles. The package includes the Premium Pen, five replacement tips, and a tip replacement tool.

This price is a new low for the Premium Pen, so if you're interested, head to Amazon now to grab this new deal.

At a glance:

• Release date: We're expecting the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to arrive in fall 2026, but rumor has it the iPhone 18 may not arrive until early 2027.

• Colors: Possible leaks point to four main color options for the Pro models this year: light blue, silver, dark gray, and dark cherry.

• Key upgrades: Besides iOS 27 and the Siri AI beta, we're expecting bigger batteries, camera improvements (including variable aperture for the main camera), and possibly a smaller Dynamic Island.

• Pricing: Most new phones are arriving with price increases, and we think a starting price increase is very likely for the new iPhone 18 lineup, sadly.

Apple's flagship smartphone hasn't taken a year off from its updates since 2007, and barring a massive surprise, 2026 won't be different — but there will be a twist.

The Cupertino-based tech giant is widely expected to launch a new lineup of iPhones later this year, including the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max, and the rumored iPhone Ultra, the company's first-ever foldable. The regular iPhone 18, the 18e, and the new iPhone Air are likely to arrive early next year.

We asked you to predict what Apple will do next. See the results and find out how to get a shot at winning an Apple Watch!

As we await the iPhone 18 — and its updated operating system, iOS 27 — rumors continue to trickle out. The pace of leaks on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, in particular, is likely to increase after a massive hack exposed thousands of Apple's internal documents, reportedly including iPhone 18 Pro suppliers and tests.

We won't see any of the new Apple phones in the wild for a couple more months, but we can bring you all of the latest iPhone 18 rumors and the most likely updates in one place.

iPhone 18 lineup pricing

If you're in the market for a new iPhone, you should circle September in your calendar. That's when Apple typically holds its big iPhone launch event, and there's no reason to believe Apple will change that for the iPhone 18. The first week of September is most likely, probably Wednesday, Sept. 9, to give attendees enough time to travel after Labor Day (Sept. 7).

Expect to see new Apple CEO John Ternus take the stage, as his term of office officially begins Sept. 1. What he'll be introducing, alas, may put more of a dent in your wallet.

Thanks to the ongoing RAM shortage caused by the AI industry (also known as RAMageddon), tons of smartphones, laptops, and gaming consoles are seeing huge price hikes. Experts who've spoken to Mashable say that trend isn't going to stop anytime soon.

As the world's number-one smartphone maker, Apple has advantages over its rivals, but a price increase is very likely. Apple recently raised prices on a variety of its products, and outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook even took the unusual step of preparing us for a pricier iPhone.

"Price increases are unavoidable," Cook told the Wall Street Journal in a June interview. The Journal quoted an analysis showing that the memory chip components in the iPhone 18 Pro will cost Apple $150 more than those in the iPhone 17 Pro.

So should you expect the phones to cost just $150 more than their predecessors (check the iPhone 17 prices for reference)? You wish. There's the pesky fact that Apple is a for-profit company, and the iPhone is the #1 smartphone in the world for a reason, even though it's already pricier than Samsung's.

How much of an increase will Apple fans bear? We may be about to find out, but the Journal estimated the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,399 ($300 more than last year). Apple analysts are coming to similar conclusions; one research note seen by 9to5Mac predicted $250 to $300 price increases.

iPhone 18, 18 Pro, and 18 Ultra launch dates

The iPhone 18 Pro Max smartphones at last year's iPhone launch event. Credit: CNET

Barring a huge turn under Ternus, Apple will release the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone Ultra in early September. Apple's first foldable iPhone is the biggest headline here, but the Pro models will also bring numerous improvements.

The iPhone 18, however, alongside the cheaper iPhone 18e, and the next-gen iPhone Air, are rumored to come next year, likely in March 2027.

iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro design

Again, Apple has not released any official teasers or other imagery for the iPhone 18 lineup yet, so anything reported to date could be wrong. Still, from the sum total of all reports, it sounds like Apple isn't really reinventing the wheel, design-wise. But Ternus, a hardware guy, is reportedly bringing the company's industrial design group into the center of the Apple fold.

Looking further into the future, the iPhone 20 is said to bring big changes, including a curved waterfall display.

Per our friends at CNET (Mashable and CNET are both owned by Ziff Davis), the display sizes will be roughly the same as last year:

• iPhone 18: 6.3 inches

• iPhone 18 Pro: 6.3 inches

• iPhone 18 Pro Max: 6.9 inches

In August, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman shared on X that popular phone case maker Otterbox is already selling iPhone 18 Pro cases, even though the phone hasn't been announced yet. This is noteworthy because the case's packaging indicates that both the 17 Pro and 18 Pro fit in the same case, suggesting the two phones are about the same size, as CNET suggested.

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

However, the display quality might be a little different this year. Prominent leaker Instant Digital shared on Chinese social media that Apple's brightness demands are unusually high this year, so it would be reasonable to expect much brighter displays than in previous years.

Some iPhone 18 models could also have a smaller camera bump compared to previous models. There are reports of a slightly redesigned Dynamic Island on the screen itself, with the pill-shaped notification hub potentially being made smaller in the iPhone 18 Pro models. One alleged leaked image purports to show an iPhone 18 Pro with a downsized Dynamic Island cutout.

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

iPhone 18: rumored hardware features

So we know the software the iPhone 18 will run: iOS 27, introduced at WWDC 2026. Time to start talking about some of the internal hardware changes Apple is reportedly making to the iPhone 18 lineup.

For starters, it sounds like the lineup will have a standardized 12GB RAM count across the board. In previous years, the Pro models had 12GB of RAM, while the base model had only 8GB. According to Korean outlet The Bell, Apple will be upgrading the base model to the Pro models in that regard. It's also widely expected that Apple will adopt new A20 and A20 Pro chips for the base and Pro models, respectively.

It's also expected that the new iPhones will have a new C2 modem for improved cellular connectivity, and they may also have 5G satellite support. Also reported: a new N2 chip for better WiFi performance.

As for the battery, leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo reported that the batteries will finally be upgraded to 5,000mAh, which would be a big improvement over the iPhone 17 Pro. This year, 5,000mAh has become the new standard for flagship phones, including in Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Instant Digital posted in a separate Weibo leak that the back glass of the iPhone 18 Pro has been altered, resulting in a new unified look, as opposed to the two-tone look of the iPhone 17 Pro. Whether that change will affect durability (or if it's just an aesthetic difference) remains to be seen. Other possible upgrades include an improved LTPO+ display, Apple's new C2 modem, 5G via satellite connectivity, and the improved N2 chip, which should improve hotspot and AirDrop reliability.

The most colorful iPhone 18 Pro rumors

Courtesy of leakers, we may already know the iPhone 18 Pro colors. If that's the case, the must-see equivalent of the iPhone 17's unforgettable "cosmic orange" shade is said to be a wine-like "dark cherry," which we'd expect to sell like hot... cherry pies?

Based on numerous leaks, the most likely color lineup for the iPhone 18 Pro will be silver, dark gray, light blue, and the aforementioned "dark cherry."

Sadly, we think fans of black iPhones are out of luck, though the rumored dark gray color looks black in supposed dummy units shared by leakers like Sonny Dickson.

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.

What about the iPhone 18 Pro Max?

Several reports out of China say that because the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a much larger battery, it may be a bit of a chunky boy.

We're not talking about a huge increase in weight and width: a quarter of a millimeter in thickness and 7 grams more, respectively. Still, every gram counts on the heftiest iPhone model you can get — so iPhone 17 Pro Max upgraders may want to check that their pocket linings can bear the bulk of a larger iPhone 18 Pro Max.

The iPhone 17 Pro has helped Apple break sales records in 2026. Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

iPhone 18 camera rumors

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a source of many spot-on iPhone reports, says the iPhone 18 Pro, in particular, will have "some of the biggest camera hardware upgrades in the lineup's history."

Why? First, the telephoto camera has a larger aperture. But more important is the variable aperture.

First reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, variable aperture is a huge deal. It would let the iPhone 18 Pro camera capture varying amounts of light in different situations — potentially leading to a huge leap in photo quality if you know what you're doing.

For instance, the bokeh effect famously associated with portrait mode on iPhones would be possible in-camera rather than through software processing, resulting in more natural and generally better-looking shots.

While all of that sounds great, leaker Ice Universe poured some water on the fire by claiming that variable aperture would be exclusive to the iPhone 18 Pro Max. This is the first indication, as far as we can tell, that the regular Pro won't have a variable aperture. That would certainly be disappointing to people who want the feature but don't want a gigantic phone, but perhaps the Pro Max's size gives it an advantage in terms of including the technology.

Also, perhaps Ice Universe is wrong. We'll find out soon.

What about Siri AI?

Of course, one of the first things many users will want to know about the iPhone 18 when they get their hands on one: what is the new, revamped, AI-upgraded Siri experience like?

If you're feeling adventurous, you can try it yourself by installing the iOS 27 beta.

The new features include Siri becoming an actual chatbot with its own app. It can also understand what's on your screen and help you write, create images, and edit photos.

For an overview, check out our guides to iOS 27 and Siri AI's top features.

SAVE OVER $300: As of Aug. 20, the Segway Navimow i110N robot lawn mower is back to its lowest-ever price of $788 at Amazon. Compared to its full price of $1,099, you're saving $311 with this deal.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Navimow

Segway Navimow i110N Robot Lawn Mower

$788 at Amazon
$1,099 Save $311

 

Get Deal

Yard work can often feel like a hassle, particularly in the summer when it's really warm outside. A robot lawn mower can help take trimming the grass off your to-do list, at least, and while some models can be really pricey, Amazon's been a great spot to look for deals lately.

One that's worth checking out is the Segway Navimow i110N robot lawn mower, which is back to its lowest-ever price at the retailer. For a limited time, this robot mower has had over $300 slashed off its price tag at Amazon, plummeting from $1,099 to $788. Since this is the cheapest this model has ever been at Amazon, this is a great opportunity to make a move.

The Segway Navimow i110N can mow yards up to 0.25 acres with various layouts, thanks to custom RTK positioning technology and vision sensors that help it navigate more complex yards as it mows. It also has an AI-powered Assist Mapping feature that identifies the edges of your lawn, so it can easily maneuver around the entire area for an efficient cut.

There's no need to worry about it running into objects on your lawn or in your garden, as it's fitted with a 140-degree field-of-view camera and built-in AI algorithms that can detect over 150 types of objects. That way, you can just set it up to go trim without worrying about anything getting in its way and slowing it down.

Worry less about mowing this summer and get a little help from the Segway Navimow i110N while it's still on sale at Amazon.

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

TL;DR: The Acer Predator X27U F5 26.5-inch QD-OLED gaming monitor is on sale for $499.99 at Amazon, down from its $799.99 list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Acer

Acer Predator X27U F5 Gaming Monitor

$499.99 at Amazon
$799.99 Save $300

Get Deal

Jumping to a QD-OLED display with a high refresh rate can get expensive very quickly, but Amazon has carved a sizeable chunk off one of Acer’s speedier Predator models. 

As of Aug. 20, the Acer Predator’s 26.5-inch F5 QD-OLED gaming monitor (X27U model) has been discounted to $499.99 at Amazon. That’s $300 off its original $799.99 price tag, for a 38% discount. Sold and shipped by Amazon directly, free delivery is estimated for Aug. 25 at the time of writing, and it even comes with the retailer’s usual 30-day refund or replacement policy if there are any issues. 

The Predator X27U F5 combines a 2560 x 1440 QHD resolution with a QD-OLED panel, delivering the deep blacks and punchy contrast OLED is known for. It’s especially great for competitive play, as its 500Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time are geared towards extremely high-frame-rate games like Fortnite and Counter-Strike 2. 

Even when you’re playing the newest titles like Marvel: TOKON Fighting Souls, the included AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility help keep gameplay looking smooth and reduce tearing.

What’s more, this gaming monitor’s panel comes with another must-have feature: 99% DCI-P3 coverage and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification, adding extra appeal for anyone prioritizing richer colors and stronger HDR performance alongside raw speed. 

On the off-chance you’re willing to spend a bit more, the massive 57-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 gaming monitor is still $650 at Amazon. For anyone looking for an extra cheap monitor to have on the side, Samsung’s 32-inch Odyssey G5 gaming monitor has never been cheaper.

TL;DR: The Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box is on sale for $124.98 at Amazon, down from its $209.70 list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box

$124.98 at Amazon
$209.70 Save $84.72

Get Deal

The Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box has bounced around in price lately, but Amazon has now dropped these trading cards below $125.

As of Aug. 20, the Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box is ready to buy for $124.98 at Amazon. From its $209.70 list price, this takes $84.72 off in total, for a 40% discount, and puts each Play Booster at roughly $4.17 before tax. This particular listing is sold by third-party seller DOUBLE INFINITY GAMING, although Amazon handles the shipping. Free delivery is currently estimated for Sept. 2-9, with the fastest option arriving Sept. 2-6. Just keep in mind that Amazon marks the box as a final sale, so it isn't eligible for returns. 

If you'd rather buy from Amazon itself, there’s also a $139.99 listing sold and shipped directly by the retailer. 

Walmart currently has the same Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box for $119.95 with free shipping, while TCGplayer goes lower still. Unopened boxes there start at $113.75, including shipping, just below the current $114.53 market price. 

Inside the display are 30 Play Boosters, each containing 14 Magic cards. Every pack includes one Traditional Foil card alongside one to four cards of rare or higher rarity, three to five uncommons, six to nine commons, and one land. 

Play Boosters are made with Limited play and drafting in mind, but the sheer number of packs also makes this box ideal for anyone wanting to tear through the Marvel crossover and hunt down heroes, villains, borderless artwork, and cards such as The Mind Stone. 

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

A group of three.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

TRIAD

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A complaint.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

GRIPE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

An animal that is used for transportation.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

HORSE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

To make fun of.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

TEASE

Final Hurdle hint

Common description of an act that removes steam from car windows.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

DEFOG

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 new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 is an interesting phone in a time when most phones are aggressively boring.

Flip it open in front of someone for the first time, and they will inevitably ask questions about it or ask if they can hold it.

When the pink colorway first appeared on the Galaxy Unpacked livestream, the Mashable group chat blew up — and we're a bunch of phone snobs with most of our feet firmly planted in Apple-land.

But the Z Flip 8 is more than a pretty face. While the new $1,199.99 price tag is definitely a big pain point, it's an easy recommendation unless you need Ultra or Pro-level cameras for creative or professional reasons. And if you do, you'll be paying a lot more for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Pixel 11 Pro Fold, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, or Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra anyway.

Galaxy Z Flip 8: By the numbers

Credit: Joseph Maldonado / CNET Group

This phone has mostly iterative upgrades over last year's Galaxy Z Flip 7, and despite rumors to the contrary, it does have a new Snapdragon chipset.

• Inner display: 6.9-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate

• Outer display: 4.1-inch HD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate

• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset

• Colors: Pink, cream, graphite, mint

• Unfolded dimensions: 166.9 x 75.4 x 6.1 mm

• Folded dimensions: 85.7 x 75.4 x 13.1 mm

• Weight: 180 grams

• RAM: 12GB

• Storage: 256GB, 512GB

• Battery: 4,300mAh

• Cameras: 50MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP selfie camera

Galaxy Z Flip 8 review: Design

Credit: Joseph Maldonado / CNET Group

The new Samsung flip phone is lighter and thinner than its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip 7. It still has ultra-thin bezels, and while it's not quite as thin as the excellent Galaxy Z Fold 8 (or the Z Fold 8 Ultra), Samsung did shave off 0.6mm.

When unfolded, it feels nice and light in your hand, and even when it's folded, it slips right into your pocket like a flip phone should. I'm one of the few phone reviewers who has hated the trend of bigger and bigger phones, which is why I held onto my iPhone SE as long as I could. I love the way phones like the Z Flip 8 and the Motorola Razr Ultra feel in my pocket compared with iPhone or the oversized Galaxy S26 Ultra.

For the Galaxy Z 8 series, Samsung also added flex titanium hardware, which results in a more durable hinge and less visible crease. The phone certainly feels solid, and the crease on the flexible display really does disappear.

Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

Credit: Joseph Maldonado / CNET Group

The phone also won me over with its charming good looks. This is a smartphone with good vibes. I love the pink color (which is more of a purple-pink than a bubblegum or millennial pink), and I really like the white color as well.

For a lot of reasons, I think this would be the ideal phone for a young person or college student, or as a starter phone for a cool teen, if your parents love you enough to splurge on a $1,199.99 device.

Galaxy Z Flip 8 review: Performance

Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

Last year, we complained about the Z Flip 7's Exynos processor, but this year, Samsung opted for the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset found in the Z Fold 8 Ultra. When we ran the Geekbench 7 benchmarking test, the phone received a single-core score of 2,658 and a multi-core score of 7,157.

That single-core score is actually a little higher than the Z Fold 8, though the Z Fold 8 had a higher multi-core score of 9,919. Its scores are also significantly higher than those of the Motorola Razr Ultra, the flagship entry in the Razr lineup this year.

What this means is that the phone can handle basic AI processes on the device without breaking a sweat, and you can run tons of apps at the same time without slowing it down. The processor is also critical for photo processing, which is one of the few pain points with this phone. I found the color and light balance to be much better on the Z Fold 8, but the Z Flip 8 actually performed better with digital zoom (we'll come back to this in the camera test section).

Samsung also redesigned the outer display experience from the ground up, and it's now easier to access apps and widgets when the phone is closed (though not all apps will work on the front display).

Galaxy Z Flip 8: Setup, migration, and software

Setting up the Z Flip 8 was incredibly easy. Assuming you already have another Galaxy device, you can quickly transfer the contents. You do have to scroll through and accept a lot of terms of service and other screens when you first boot up the phone, which was annoying. Samsung was also keen to stress that it has made it as simple as possible to migrate from iOS to Android, and overall, the phone has better compatibility with Apple devices.

Crucially for me, Samsung has introduced Quick Share, an AirDrop-like feature that lets you quickly and wirelessly send photos, videos, and other files to nearby devices, including Apple devices. I was able to select all of the photos and videos I took for this review and send them to my MacBook Pro work laptop in seconds.

Like last year, the phone is also equipped with a fingerprint sensor.

Setting up the phone Credit: Screenshot by Timothy Werth

Credit: Screenshot by Timothy Werth

Galaxy Z Flip 8: The cameras are just OK

There's a simple reason that the Z Flip 8 couldn't be my everyday phone: the cameras.

The Z Flip 8 has a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP selfie camera. By comparison, I got good results with the larger Z Fold 8, which has dual 50MP cameras. The Z Flip 8's cameras suffer in comparison, especially for a phone that costs over $1,000.

Samsung redesigned the outer display experience for the Z Flip 8. Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

If you're a professional who depends on high-quality pictures and videos (like, say, a tech journalist), this phone won't meet your needs. Likewise, even if creators love the design of this phone, it won't suit their video needs the way the iPhone 17 Pro Max would, for example.

However, for the vast majority of people, I think the cameras are good enough. Hence, why I think this phone makes sense for young people, or folks who prefer a small phone that disappears in their pocket.

The results of my camera test

Ultimately, I found that the Z Flip 8 sometimes oversaturated my photos, as you can see in this New York City park scene. The sky wasn't quite so blue that day, I'm afraid.

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

I also found that in bright sunlight, some of the photos looked a little overexposed. The highlights were too bright in some cases, giving the photos a glossy sheen.

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Strangely, the digital zoom on the Z Flip 8 seemed to work better than on the Z Fold 8, for reasons I don't understand. Both phones lack a telephoto lens for high-quality zoom shots. Still, it worked well enough, and better than expected in some cases.

Left: Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Right: Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

However, I did get great results with selfies, so long as I didn't rely on the front-facing 10MP selfie camera. One of the coolest features of the Z Flip 8 is that you can see a live video of the camera preview when the phone is folded, letting you line up the perfect selfie. This is so handy that I don't think you ever need to use the inner 10MP selfie camera, and I don't know why it's included at all. The drop-off in photo quality is very apparent.

Left: A selfie taken with the main camera. Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Right: Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Fortunately, Portrait mode works well, so long as you're using the main cameras.

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

A full suite of AI features

If you're an AI user, there's a lot to love about the Galaxy Z Flip 8. Thanks to the Snapdragon processor, you can get a lot accomplished on device.

With the Z 8 series, users get access to Gemini LM, which is a great perk. On top of that, you can get free six months of Google AI Pro, unlocking a ton more AI features (just be sure to cancel after six months if you don't want to be charged!).

However, the only AI feature I really find myself using on these devices are the AI photo editing tools, which work very well.

The AI eraser can help you eliminate unwanted pimples, photobombers, or other details from your shots. The tool easily erased a tote bag strap from one of my selfies, and eliminated people in the background of photos I took at a dog park.

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

You can also have more fun with your photos, by adding fantastical details. Crucially, when you edit photos with AI, an AI content watermark is added automatically to your photo (in addition to a digital watermark), which I very much appreciate.

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Is the Galaxy Z Flip 8 worth it?

While this isn't the right phone for me, I'm a big fan of foldable smartphones, and I had a lot of fun testing this phone. If you don't need a 200MP camera or 8K video recording (and who does, really?), then this phone will suit your needs just fine.

I do resent the $100 price increase for the new generation of Samsung foldables, but the global memory crisis has driven up prices on almost everything this year. If you can take advantage of trade-in offers from your mobile carrier, that should help offset the cost.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8

$1,199.99 at Amazon

 

See It at Amazon See It at Samsung See It at T-Mobile

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.

12. Rosebush Pruning

Karim Aїnouz's satire of wealth comes to Mubi this week, with a major cast of rich characters fit to eat. Written by Efthimis Filippou (who co-wrote The Lobster, Dogtooth, and Alps with Yorgos Lanthimos), Rosebush Pruning takes us to Catalonia, where an affluent extended American family lives a life of bacchanalian excess. Like Succession and The End, there are childish grownups (Callum Turner, Lukas Gage, and Riley Keough), a haunted patriarch (Tracy Letts), and an outsider (Elle Fanning) who threatens the very foundations of this privileged life. What could go wrong? — Shannon Connellan, Senior Editor

Starring: Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Elle Fanning, Jamie Bell, Tracy Letts, and Pamela Anderson

How to watch: Rosebush Pruning debuts on MUBI on Aug. 21.

11. Passenger

No more driving, thanks. I'll be staying put after watching the trailer for Passenger. The latest horror film from André Øvredal (The Last Voyage of the Demeter) follows engaged couple Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and Maddie (Lou Llobell), whose van life road trip takes a dark turn when they witness an accident — and become literally haunted by it. What is the entity leaving claw marks on their van? All we know is you'll be unlikely to ever stop for a bathroom break next time you hit the road. — S.C.

Starring: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, and Melissa Leo

How to watch: Passenger is now streaming on Paramount+.

10. The Dynasty: UConn Huskies

When it comes to basketball, the UConn Huskies are synonymous with dominance. Look no further than their 12 NCAA Championships, or their 111 game win streak, both records across women's and men's programs. Now, step inside their locker room through the decades in The Dynasty: UConn Huskies. Apple TV's three-part documentary series offers an in-depth look at the rise of the Huskies, featuring interviews with coach Geno Auriemma and UConn legends like Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Paige Bueckers, and Azzi Fudd. If you love women's basketball, consider this a must-watch. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

Starring: KK Arnold, Geno Auriemma, Sue Bird, Paige Bueckers, Jim Calhoun, Swin Cash, Chris Dailey, Mickie DeMoss, Jana El Alfy, Jamelle Elliott, Azzi Fudd, Jeff Goldberg, Sally Jenkins, Steve Kerr, Rebecca Lobo, Jackie MacMullan, Maya Moore, Alexa Philippou, Shea Ralph, Semeka Randall, Jennifer Rizzotti, Breanna Stewart, Sarah Strong, Diana Taurasi, and Tamika Williams-Jeter

How to watch: The Dynasty: UConn Huskies debuts on Apple TV on Aug. 21.

9. Outer Banks, Season 5

It's time for one last adventure with the Pogues, as Netflix's hit teen drama Outer Banks comes to an end this week. In its fifth and final season, Outer Banks sees its core group at rock bottom. They're mourning the loss of JJ (Rudy Pankow), and they've lost the Blue Crown, which is now in the murderous hands of Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane). As threats from Corsairs and Kooks alike converge on the Pogues, they've got one last shot to take their future and their freedom into their own hands. You know what to do, Pogues. Bring it on home. — B.E.

Starring: Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Carlacia Grant, and Drew Starkey

How to watch: Outer Banks, Season 5 is now on Netflix.

8. Conan O'Brien Must Go, Season 3

Conan O'Brien's completely silly comedy travel show is back for a third season, sending the comedy icon (and former Mashable CEO) to India, the Netherlands, Morocco, and the Philippines this time around. Watching O'Brien meet locals, take part in customs, and create tomfoolery in beautiful locations around the globe is the kind of travel show we want, nay deserve. And we very much hope that means more post-credit scene shenanigans. — S.C.

Starring: Conan O'Brien

How to watch: Conan O'Brien Must Go, Season 3 debuts on HBO Max on Aug. 21.

7. Buffet Infinity

Who's hungry? Simon Glassman's trippy, experimental horror satire takes a bite out of capitalism and consumerism, coming to Shudder this week. What started as a YouTube sketch made by the Canadian filmmaker during lockdown, Buffet Infinity is made up entirely of fake local TV ads, which weave a tale of rivalry between restaurants. And things get…weird. — S.C.

Starring: Kevin Singh, Claire Theobald, Donovan Workun, and Allison Bench

How to watch: Buffet Infinity debuts on Shudder on Aug. 23.

6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 18

The Gang returns for Season 18, continuing It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's reign as the longest-running American live-action sitcom. On their latest outing, Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob Mac), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and Frank (Danny DeVito) have their hands full with a twisted wedding, conspiracy theories, ADHD diagnoses, and a visit to the Renaissance Faire. As always, expect chaos and the worst decisions known to mankind. — B.E.

Starring: Charlie Day, Rob Mac, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito

How to watch: The first two episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 18 are now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes airing Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on FXX, FX, and Hulu.

5. Power Ballad

Writer/director John Carney (Flora and Son) returns with another movie about the space where music and feelings collide. Critics out of SXSW cheered his latest, but in my review, I yearned for his earlier films, like Once and Sing Street, which took bigger swings and were wonderful because of that.

Power Ballad stars Paul Rudd as Rick Power, a middle-aged frontman for a wedding band who thinks his dream of rock stardom is long gone. That is, until a fateful meeting with a former boy band member who's going solo turns things around. The song they write together is a hit! The only problem is, Rick's getting none of the credit. Nick Jonas stars as this pop idol. And the two are fun together, but unfortunately, most of the hijinks of this dramedy keep them apart. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor*

Starring: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Jack Reynor, and Havana Rose Liu

How to watch: Power Ballad is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

4. The Audacity

From Succession and Better Call Saul writer Jonathan Glatzer comes The Audacity, a sharp Silicon Valley satire that originally aired on AMC and just hit Netflix this week. Billy Magnussen stars as data-mining CEO Duncan Park, whose quest for greatness leads him down some wildly unethical paths. Caught in the crossfires is his therapist, Dr. JoAnne Felder (Sarah Goldberg), who gets more than she bargains for when she tries to exploit her relationships with her "billionaire man children" clients.

What follows is a delicious send-up of the tech world, bursting with questions about how Silicon Valley and its overlords have warped our humanity over time. It's a cutting commentary that manages to feel both heightened and close to home, all anchored by incredible lead performances. As I wrote in my review, "There are few joys in television greater than watching two great actors have it out, and you'll get plenty of that in The Audacity thanks to Magnussen and Goldberg." — B.E.

Starring: Billy Magnussen, Sarah Goldberg, Zach Galifianakis, Rob Corddry, Meaghan Rath, Simon Helberg, Paul Adelstein, Lucy Punch, Everett Blunck, Thailey Roberge, and Ava Marie Telek

How to watch: The Audacity is now streaming on Netflix.

3. Toy Story 5

Woody and Buzz are back with Toy Story 5, but the real hero of this latest Disney/Pixar adventure is Jessie the Cowgirl (voiced by Joan Cusack). She's taken over as sheriff, leading the toys of Bonnie's room through highs and lows. But when a digital tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee) appears, playtime could change forever.

In my review for Mashable, I wrote, "Whether she is cheering for her friends or condemning her foes, Jessie is exhilarating, funny, and riveting. Cusack's performance is bolstered by a top-tier animation team who created a beautiful and gleefully alive cowgirl, and who have continued that careful illustration to a broader cast of characters. Perhaps predictably, Toy Story 5 is an unabashed crowd-pleaser." — K.P.

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Blake Clark, John Ratzenberger, Ernie Hudson, Tony Hale, Conan O'Brien, Greta Lee, and Melissa Villaseñor

How to watch: Toy Story 5 is now available for purchase or rental on digital.

2. Mother Mary

David Lowery has wowed critics with a surreal array of films, ranging from the artsy A Ghost Story to the whimsical Pete's Dragon to the mind-bending The Green Knight. With Mother Mary, he offers two highly acclaimed actresses facing off over passion and fashion.

Anne Hathaway stars as Mother Mary, a pop star who's long been away from the spotlight. On the eve of her comeback performance, she returns to Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), a bold costume designer — and the best friend that Mother Mary betrayed.*

In my review for Mashable, I cheered, "Mother Mary is not only slippery, riveting, unnerving, and haunting, but also one of the most enthralling films 2026 is likely to reveal."* — K.P.

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, Atheena Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Isaura Barbé-Brown, Alba Baptista, Sian Clifford, and FKA twigs

How to watch: Mother Mary debuts on HBO Max on Aug. 21.

Best of streaming this week: The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE

Hello, fellow Beautiful Unwell. Still gagging over that Vampire Lestat cliffhanger? Still got his glam rock/pop songs stuck in your head? Well, ahead of The Queen of the Damned, AMC+ is now giving audiences worldwide a chance to see the one and only time star Sam Reid performed composer Daniel Hart's biting original songs live.

In my review of the concert at New York City's Beacon Theater, I reveled, "Reid's onstage persona evoked David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Steven Tyler, as he crooned, strutted, flipped his hair, flung a scarf, and generally oozed sex appeal with a crooked grin. At one point, he recreated the shoulder shimmy that drove fans wild in the Season 2 episode where Armand recalls seeing the vampire onstage, performing as a Harlequin for humans. The crowd caught the reference and screamed with appreciation. Occasionally, Reid would reach out a hand out to his audience. He'd crawl on the floor. He made the stage his own."

Now you can see it for yourself. — K.P.

Starring: Sam Reid

How to watch: The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE begins streaming on AMC+ on Aug. 23.

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

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more with a lifetime license for Microsoft Office, just $54.99 (reg. $249.99).

Opens in a new window

Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus for Windows: Lifetime License

$54.99
$249.99 Save $195

 

Get Deal

Microsoft 365 costs more the longer you use it. Instead of paying $99.99 per year at a minimum, you can officially switch over to Microsoft Office to get many of the same apps for a one-time fee. Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business works on PC or Mac, includes all the latest AI updates, and lasts for life. Pick it up on sale for $54.99 (reg. $249.99).

This version comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, redesigned with a unified interface that feels cleaner, faster, and more intuitive, and it doesn’t require an internet connection to access.

Performance gets a noticeable lift with this version of Office. Excel handles large datasets more efficiently, PowerPoint lets you record full presentations with audio and video, and Outlook includes enhanced accessibility tools and improved search. Word introduces Focus Mode and Smart Compose, giving you a writing space that feels distraction-free and intelligently supportive.

Offline access and a one-time purchase might matter most of all. Your license is tied to your Microsoft account rather than your device, so you can keep using it continuously without subscription fees. You also get Microsoft’s built-in security improvements, including new protections against malicious add-ins.

Whether you’re a small business owner, a freelancer juggling multiple clients, or someone who prefers dependable offline tools, Office 2024 Home & Business gives you a streamlined experience that free apps can’t match.

Stop paying every month for basic apps and get Microsoft Office for life for $55.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: A quality refurbished Apple MacBook Pro from 2020 with a 13-inch display, Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD is on sale for $399.99 (reg. $1,999).

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Pro 2020 (Refurbished)

$399.99
$1,999 Save $1,599.01

 

Get Deal

Anyone shopping for a dependable laptop for everyday tasks without the new Mac price tag should take a look at this refurbished Apple MacBook Pro. The 2020 model has dropped to $399.99 (reg. $1,999), bringing a familiar Apple machine back within reach.

This MacBook Pro features a 13-inch Retina display, a 2GHz 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB solid-state drive. That’s a strong spec list for day-to-day tasks like web browsing, email, streaming, document editing, and file management. Turbo Boost pushes the processor to 3.8GHz when a task calls for it, while WiFi and Bluetooth cover all standard connectivity needs. Above the keyboard, a Touch Bar puts app-specific controls within reach as you switch between programs.

Each unit is quality refurbished and ships in Grade A or Grade B condition. That means it’s been thoroughly tested, cleaned, and restored to full working order, with cosmetic wear that varies by device. For anyone open to minor signs of previous use, the value compared to buying new is hard to beat.

Students, remote workers, and anyone in the market for a capable travel or home machine are the natural fit here. Writing projects, résumé updates, and online learning all fall squarely within what this configuration handles, minus the premium that a newer model commands. Storage is generous at 1TB, so a full media library fits without an external drive, though the 2020 Intel generation does trail Apple silicon on battery life and heavier creative work.

Get this refurbished 2020 MacBook Pro while it’s on sale for $399.99 (reg. $1,999).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Live stream Serie A for free on SportyNet. Access these free live streams from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

What do you look for when watching elite football? Do you need the speed and physicality of the Premier League? Do you yearn for the technical ability of La Liga? Or perhaps you love spotting young talent in Ligue 1?

If you are passionate about tactical discipline and defensive organization, Serie A is the league for you. Some of the world's best players have competed in this competition, including Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Paolo Maldini. The league isn't the powerhouse that it once was, but it still offers fascinating matchups week after week.

If you want to watch Serie A for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is Serie A?

Serie A is a professional football league in Italy and the highest level of the Italian football league system. The league is contested by 20 clubs, with each team playing 38 fixtures. Serie A is home to some of football's most successful clubs, including Juventus, Napoli, Inter Milan, and AC Milan.

The defending champions are Inter Milan.

When is Serie A?

The 2026-27 Serie A season will start on Aug. 22. The season will end on May 30.

How to watch Serie A for free

Select Serie A fixtures are available to live stream for free on SportyNet.

SportyNet is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can bypass these restrictions 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 unblock free live streams of Serie A from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of Serie A by following these simple steps:

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

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

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

4. Visit SportyNet

5. Watch Serie A fixtures 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 leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams of Serie A without actually spending anything. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch select fixtures (plus Premier League action) before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free live streams all season, you will need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for Serie A?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport for free, 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 always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 80% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with a money-back guarantee).

Live stream Serie A for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

A large collection of Apple memorabilia has gone up for auction, including a sealed first-generation iPhone, a prototype iPod, and Steve Jobs' 8th grade science fair project. 

The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction Part Two is currently live on RR Auction, featuring 212 items primarily from the tech giant's history. Marking half a century since Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple in the former's California home, the auction provides a look at a few early iterations of gadgets that are now ubiquitous in the U.S.

Among these is an iPod development prototype, labelled the "Stealth iPod." This prototype allowed engineers to work on refining iPod's hardware and software, while still obfuscating the gadget's design during its secret development. The Stealth iPod is thus considerably larger than the version that went into production, measuring in at 8.5 x 12 x 2.5 inches.

Also up for auction are various documents and paraphernalia from throughout Apple's history, including bank statements from the year it was founded, a 1976 cheque Jobs made out to a circuit board manufacturer, and a few signs and displays featuring the old rainbow Apple logo.

Credit: Mashable Composite: RR Auction

Some of the items for sale come from Steve Jobs' stepbrother John Chovanec, whose mother Marylin married Jobs' father Paul in 1990 — five years after Jobs was ousted from Apple. Chovanec told RR Auction that while Paul had proudly preserved memorabilia from across his son's life and career, Jobs had been disinterested in keeping them after he died in 1993. As such, Jobs allowed Chovanec to take them instead.

"I told him several times about the school project display and that my mom really wanted him to have it," said Chovanec. "Steve would tell me to leave it where it was [at the family's California home]. I finally told him my mom was adamant as it was stressing her out so if he wasn't going to take it, I was going to take it to my house. This was the first time I had debated with Steve and received an intense look from him. He responded, 'Fine, but I don't want to be bothered about it again.'"

Chovanec thus held on to Jobs' 8th grade Cupertino Junior High School project on silicon-controlled rectifiers, and has now put it up for sale alongside various other items from the tech exec's life. These include a note Jobs wrote to his father on a NeXT business card (his venture after Apple), a 1984 Macintosh computer, a 1979 Apple II computer, and a rainbow Apple logo suncatcher.

Credit: RR Auction

This is the second Apple anniversary auction held by RR Auction this year, the first having listed 142 items in January. Of these, the item that attracted the highest bid was an Apple-1 computer prototype board, which ultimately sold for $2.75 million. Released in 1976, the Apple-1 was Apple's first product, back when it was known as the Apple Computer Company.

Similarly, the highlight of the current auction is a fully functional Apple-1 computer, which originates from the second batch Apple ever produced. RR Auction's listing notes that the computer's manual even has the name "Steven Jobs" pencilled in near the Apple Computer Company's mailing address, "apparently as a note identifying whom to contact at Apple." One of just 50 computers in its run, the Apple-1 comes with original documentation, all components and accessories needed to operate it, and is housed in a modified Smith Corona typewriter case.

As of writing, the highest bid on the Apple-1 is sitting at $225,500. This is also the top bid in the current auction, outstripping Steve Jobs' signed business card by over $100,000. Of course, both items are likely to sell for much more as bidding heats up closer to the auction's end. The Apple auction kicked off on July 24, with bidding on all items to close on Thursday, August 20 at 7:30 p.m. EDT / 4:30 p.m. PDT.

Credit: Mashable composite: RR Auction

Though primarily focused on Jobs and Apple, the auction includes a few artefacts from other companies as well. Various displays from Twitter's offices are available, dating back to before Elon Musk took over and rebranded the platform to X. There is also a prototype Atari gaming console, and a flag from Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

SAVE $50: As of Aug. 20, the Bambu Lab P1S Combo is on sale for $499.99 at Amazon. That's a 9% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Bambu

Bambu Lab P1S Combo

$499.99 at Amazon
$549 Save $49.01

 

Get Deal

The Bambu Lab P1S Combo is currently on sale at Amazon for its best-ever price, so if you've been looking for a 3D printer deal, don't miss out. As of Aug. 20, it's down from $549 to $499.99, saving you $50.

This 3D printer supports multi-color and multi-material printing with up to 16 different colors when connected to a Bambu Lab AMS. This makes it a great choice if you're looking to create more detailed and colorful designs.

It offers printing speeds of up to 500 mm/s and acceleration of 20,000 mm/s², so you significantly reduce the time spent waiting for prints to finish. That's more time to be spent creating new designs. It also has a fully enclosed design, helping to improve print performance.

But the best part? It can be set up in about 15 minutes, with a user-friendly design that makes assembly straightforward. You don't need to be an expert or have advanced experience with 3D printers to use and set this up; it's designed with complete beginners in mind.

Supported filaments include PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA, PET, ABS, and ASA; PA and PC are also supported. Carbon and glass fiber-reinforced polymers are not recommended.

Get this 3D printer deal at Amazon right now.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising 3-Pack Blister is on sale for $24.99 at Amazon, down from its $29.99 list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Triple Pack (3-Pack Blister)

$24.99 at Amazon
$29.99 Save $5

 

Get Deal

As far as trading card expansions go, Pokémon’s Chaos Rising has become much easier on the wallet since its May launch, and Amazon has now brought one of its smaller sealed buys down to its lowest-ever third-party price. 

As of Aug. 20, the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising 3-Pack Blister is available for $24.99 at Amazon through third-party seller The Sports Card Zone. Against the $29.99 list price, that cuts $5 from the total for a 17% discount, with free delivery currently scheduled for Aug. 24-26 at the time of writing. What’s more, as confirmed by price tracker camelcamelcamel, this is the lowest-priced listing we’ve seen from a third-party seller on Amazon. 

That also puts each of the three Chaos Rising booster packs at roughly $8.33 before factoring in the included Charmeleon foil promo card. Each booster contains 10 game cards, one Basic Energy, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card. It's a better deal than the $37.72 Amazon price we spotted for the same blister back in May.

Those three packs will give you the chance to pull Chaos Rising’s most valuable chase cards, currently worth up to $195 — including the SIR and MHR versions of Mega Greninja ex, Cinccino ex, and Mega Floette ex. Alternatively, you can also buy any of Chaos Rising’s cards from TCGplayer directly to save yourself some time. 

Speaking of three-pack blisters, you can also buy the Pokémon TCG’s Pitch Black 3 Booster Pack Blister for under $25. For even more packs at a reasonable price, the six-pack Perfect Order Booster Bundle is on offer at $10 off. 

The full lineup of free phones at T-Mobile:

---

Apple iPhone 17

Free when you trade in your eligible phone on an Experience More or Experience Beyond plan.

Get Deal

---

Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Free when you switch to T-Mobile and bring your number on an Experience Beyond plan (no trade-in needed).

Get Deal

---

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

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

Get Deal

---

Google Pixel 11

Free when you activate a new line on an Experience More or Experience Beyond plan (no trade-in needed).

Get Deal

---

Google Pixel 11 Pro

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

Get Deal

---

Motorola Razr

Free when you activate a new line on an Experience More plan (no trade-in needed).

Get Deal

---

Motorola Razr+

Free when you activate a new line on an Experience Beyond plan (no trade-in needed).

Get Deal

Getting a new phone usually means paying for it, one way or another. But right now, T-Mobile is handing out some of the biggest names in the mobile game — the iPhone 17, Galaxy Z Fold 8, Pixel 11, Razr, and more — On Us, for $0 upfront. And you don't necessarily need a trade-in to get there — some of these deals just require a new line, or a new line plus porting in your number from another carrier.

The catch is that "On Us" here means the cost is paid off through monthly bill credits over 24 to 36 months. As long as you stick around for the whole term, you'll never pay for the device itself. Switch carriers or downgrade early, though, and the rest of the balance comes due right away.

Our favorite free phone deal at T-Mobile

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

iPhone 17 Pro

Free with any-condition trade-in on Experience Beyond (up to 36 months of bill credits). No trade-in? Still free with a new line and port-in on Experience Beyond or Experience More.

Get Deal

Why we like it

What makes the iPhone 17 Pro deal stand out is how many paths there are to finding real value:

• Any trade-in + Experience Beyond: Free, no conditions on the trade-in's condition

• No trade-in, but porting your number: Still free with a new line on Experience Beyond or Experience More

• On a 55+, Military, First Responder, or Student Perks plan: Up to $900 off with trade-in (new line/port-in required on the discounted plans, trade-in alone works on Experience Beyond)

• Trade-in only, no new line, on Experience More/Beyond: Up to $830 off

• New line + trade-in on most plans: Up to $730 off

• Trade-in on a savings-tier Experience Beyond plan: Up to $630 off

• Trade-in on most other plans: Up to $300 off

• Legacy Simple Choice plan + trade-in: Up to $150 off

• Switching carriers and porting your number: An extra $800 back via prepaid Mastercard, stackable with your device discount

Bottom line: whatever your current T-Mobile setup looks like, there's almost certainly a version of this deal that gets you to $0 or close enough.

It's rare to see this many flagship phones from so many different brands — Apple, Samsung, Google, and Motorola — all free on the same carrier at the same time. If any of these phones have been on your radar, this is about as good a moment as you're likely to get to make the jump for free.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier if you've been to a hockey game.

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: EPL teams

• Green: Famous Houstonians

• Blue: Types of counts

• Purple: Songs after a score

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: London Soccer Clubs

• Green: Houston Sports Stars, Historically

• Blue: Can Come Before "Count"

• Purple: NHL Goal Songs

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 #696 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• London Soccer Clubs: ARSENAL, CRYSTAL PALACE, FULHAM, TOTTENHAM

• Houston Sports Stars, Historically: BAGWELL, BIGGIO, MOON, OLAJUWON

• Can Come Before "Count": FULL, HARD, PITCH, SILENT

• NHL Goal Songs: CHELSEA DAGGER, HOWL, LITHIUM, SHOUT

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 catalogue.

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

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

How to play Pips

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Easy difficulty hints, answers for August 20 Pips

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

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally; 6-5, placed vertically.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 6-5, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically; 3-3, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for August 20 Pips

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally; 4-1, placed horizontally.

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

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 5-6, placed horizontally.

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

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-0, placed vertically; 2-5, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 2-1, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed horizontally.

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 5-6, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for August 20 Pips

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

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 6-5, placed vertically.

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

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

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 6-5, placed vertically.

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

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed vertically.

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

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

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically; 5-2, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (10): Everything in this space must be greater than 10. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed vertically.

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

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

The Moon is looking brighter than it did just a few nights ago. Tonight, it reaches its First Quarter phase, when half of the Moon’s visible surface is illuminated.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Thursday, Aug. 20, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon phase is in First Quarter phase, with 52% of its surface visible.

Without any visual aids, tonight you can see the Mares Crisium, Tranquillitatis and Fecunditatis. With binoculars you'll also be able to see the Endymion Crater, Posidonus Crater, and the Mare Nectaris. A telescope will also help you spot the Apollo 17 landing spots, the Rima Hyginus, and the Descartes Highlands.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on August 28.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon goes through a series of phases that cause its appearance to change as seen from Earth. As the Moon orbits Earth, it goes through a lunar cycle that takes about 29.5 days to complete, according to NASA. The positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon determine how much of the Moon’s illuminated side is visible from Earth, creating its different phases. Throughout the cycle, the Moon changes from a thin crescent to a half Moon, then a Full Moon, before repeating the cycle once more.

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.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you still have your HS yearbook.

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: Spilt Superlatives...

The words are related adjectives you might find in a yearbook.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe idioms/phrases that describe someone that's excellent.

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 You're The.

NYT Strands word list for August 20

• Bees

• Knees

• Cats

• Pajamas

• Very

• Best

• Gold

• Standard

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've been stuck in an overhanging fog.

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:

Low visibility likely caused by fog.

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 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...

MURKY

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

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

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

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

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

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

TL;DR: Through August 23, you can get Microsoft Office for life for only $42.97 (reg. $219).

Opens in a new window

Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime License

$42.97
$219 Save $176.03

 

Get Deal

Software subscriptions are only a good option if you won’t be using the apps for long. For apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that you’ll be using indefinitely, buying them outright is a much smarter option. Right now, you can even pick up a lifetime license for Microsoft Office on sale for only $42.97. That’s less than half the price of a single year of Microsoft 365, but this offer ends soon.

Most people have been using Microsoft Office long before cloud apps and browser-based alternatives became the norm. With this deal, you can install the full Office suite on a single device for lifetime use at home or at work without worrying about monthly renewals, annual price hikes, or surprise charges down the line.

This license includes all the core apps most people actually rely on: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and OneNote. That means drafting documents, crunching numbers, building presentations, managing email, and organizing notes using the full desktop versions of each app. Unlike free alternatives or web-based tools, you get access to the complete feature sets, which makes a difference when you’re working on longer documents, detailed spreadsheets, or presentation-heavy projects.

Once you purchase, your license key and download links are delivered instantly, so there’s no waiting around to get started. Microsoft also includes lifetime customer support, which can be helpful if you ever need assistance with installation or troubleshooting.

Instead of committing to yet another recurring subscription, this one-time purchase lets you snag software you’ll likely keep using for years.

Get Microsoft Office for life on sale for only $42.97. Sale ends Aug. 23 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

NASA's Hail Mary attempt to rescue a falling spacecraft has failed, leaving scientists to grieve the eventual loss of a key space telescope later this year. 

The space agency hired Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies to build a small servicing spacecraft to push the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory about 150 miles higher, into a safer orbit. The contractor had less than a year to build and plan the urgent mission. Their rescue craft, called LINK, launched on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket on July 3. 

But ongoing problems with LINK's "attitude control" system — the orientation equipment — since then mean the mission will not capture and boost Swift as planned, officials announced Wednesday. 

The demise of the NASA spacecraft, which will likely burn up in Earth's atmosphere in a matter of months, will eliminate a crucial telescope for catching brief, one‑time‑only events in the sky. In its absence, scientists will have fewer tools to chase the most powerful explosions in the universe, called gamma-ray bursts, as well as black hole flares and changing comets. 

"This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting," said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman in a statement. "The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift a chance to carry out more science while advancing capabilities America will need for satellite servicing in the future."

For nearly two decades, Swift was on the lookout for gamma-ray bursts, brief blasts of high‑energy light that can outshine entire galaxies for a few seconds. It launched in 2004 into low-Earth orbit, a few hundred miles above the planet, and was only supposed to run for two years. 

Swift outlived predictions and became the go-to first responder for ephemeral cosmic events over the years, whipping around in less than a minute to new targets of interest.

Though the observatory had been going strong, with all of its instruments still in good shape, a combination of solar storms and a thickening upper atmosphere dragged the spacecraft down and made it unstable. That quashed earlier hopes that it could continue working into the 2030s. 

Katalyst officials said the team will still try to carry out a close flyby with LINK, short for Lightweight In-space Navigation and Kinematics, to test navigation and docking techniques for future satellite servicing missions.

"We took on this high-risk, high-reward challenge and are proud of the milestones we reached along the way. We have already learned a tremendous amount," said Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee in a statement. "Now our job is to turn those lessons into something durable — building a repeatable playbook to inform future rendezvous and proximity operations and satellite servicing."

NASA repeatedly described the effort as a "first‑of‑its‑kind" mission on an unusually short timetable. They have framed the project as a step toward an era where future spacecraft might include standard attachment points and replaceable parts, so small robotic "space mechanics" can fix or refuel them instead of letting expensive hardware burn up in the atmosphere. 

"NASA should be willing to move quickly and take smart risks when the potential return is worth it, and that is exactly what we did with this mission," Isaacman said.

Since Hayden Panettiere’s death at 36 on Aug. 16, fans have been revisiting the actress’s life in public — from her childhood roles and Heroes fame to her candid discussions of addiction, motherhood, and postpartum depression.

One allegation from the final months of her life is now drawing particular outrage.

While promoting her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, Panettiere claimed that Neutrogena tried to end its longtime partnership with her after she publicly discussed experiencing postpartum depression. Her representative prevented the brand from immediately dropping her, she said, but her contract was not renewed the following year.

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.

Fans are turning their anger into calls for a boycott.

A Reddit post targeting Neutrogena has received more than 7,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments, while many other X and TikTok posts accuse the company of punishing Panettiere for speaking candidly about her mental health. Neutrogena’s own social media accounts are also being flooded with comments from people promising to stop buying its products.

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.

What did Panettiere say about her Neutrogena contract?

The actress began appearing in Neutrogena advertisements in the mid-2000s, eventually becoming closely associated with the brand’s cleansers and acne products.

Then, in September 2015, less than a year after giving birth to her daughter, Kaya, Panettiere appeared on Live with Kelly and Michael. During the interview, she said she could relate to her Nashville character’s struggle with postpartum depression.

"There’s a lot of misunderstanding," she told the hosts, describing the condition as painful and frightening. "Women need a lot of support."

Panettiere later explained that she had not arrived at the interview planning to discuss her own mental health. The subject came up, and she answered honestly. However, Panettiere later said that those comments put her relationship with Neutrogena in jeopardy.

During a May appearance on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, Panettiere said she received a call informing her that the company wanted to fire her for violating a morals clause in her contract.

"Of all the things that they would fire me over, this was the last thing I thought they would fire me over," she said.

Her representative pushed back, Panettiere recalled, preventing Neutrogena from immediately ending the agreement. But she said she understood that the relationship was effectively over, and that the company did not renew her contract the following year.

What hurt most, Panettiere said, was how quietly the decade-long partnership ended. Panettiere recalled receiving no goodbye or acknowledgment from the people she had worked with at the company.

"I remember that really breaking my heart," she told Shetty.

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

Panettiere repeated the allegation in her memoir and in a May interview with The Hollywood Reporter. By telling the story publicly, she hoped other companies would think twice before treating someone similarly.

Neutrogena has not discussed Panettiere’s claims or publicly explained why its partnership with the actress ended. The company also did not respond to requests for comment from multiple outlets when the allegations first attracted attention in May.

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

After Panettiere's death, the anger has spread well beyond angry X posts and compilation videos on TikTok.

As boycott calls continue to flood social media, shares of Neutrogena parent company Kenvue — which also owns Tylenol, Band-Aid, and Aveeno — fell more than 2 percent on Monday, giving the backlash even more momentum.

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

At a glance:

GTA VI will be a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S console exclusive at launch, with no confirmed PC release date. Given Rockstar's history, a PC port seems likely to arrive eventually, but PC gamers should brace for a wait that could stretch well into 2027 or beyond.

The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is set to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on Nov. 19, 2026, but PC players will have to wait. Rockstar has confirmed that the game is console-only at launch, with no PC version officially announced.

Rockstar and Take-Two haven't given an official reason for skipping PC at launch, but a few factors are typically cited when publishers stagger releases this way.

Console hardware is standardized, which tends to make optimization more straightforward than building for the huge range of PC configurations. Some industry data has also indicated that consoles generate higher per-unit revenue, giving publishers an incentive to front-load console sales.

A more cynical take is that Take-Two could just be double-dipping, hoping fans who can't wait for the PC launch will buy the console first, then buy the PC version later. A PC Gamer poll found that 39 percent of respondents said they're fine waiting for a port rather than needing it on day one, suggesting a meaningful share of the PC audience isn't treating the delay as a dealbreaker.

However, there could be another, less finacially motivated reason for all of this.

Speaking to YouTuber KiwiTalkz, former Rockstar producer John Ricchio explained that building for consoles first and scaling up to PC is technically easier than the reverse, since consoles have fixed, predictable hardware. According to IGN, Ricchio said it's simpler to start with tighter constraints and add polish later than to build a PC-first game and then try to trim it down to fit console limitations.

This wouldn't be the first time Rockstar has held back a PC release. If you look at several past Rockstar games, you can see that there's a significant amount of time between the console launch and the PC port.

Grand Theft Auto 4 was released in April 2008 and didn't reach PC's until that December. Grand Theft Auto V was released in Sept. 2013, and its PC counterpart was released 19 months later in April 2015. Red Dead Redemption 2 arrived on PC roughly a year after its console release.

The one exception was Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which launched simultaneously across platforms in 2021. Based on that track record, a GTA VI PC port, if it follows the usual pattern, could be a year or more away.

Have an Amazon Fire TV device? Well, you just got Alexa+, Amazon's AI assistant, for free — whether you like it or not.

On Wednesday, Amazon announced that the company would now include Alexa+ at no cost with every Fire TV device.

This includes the current-generation Amazon Fire TV Sticks, the Fire TV Cube, Amazon Ember smart TVs, as well as other smart TVs by third parties, such as Hisense, TCL, and Panasonic TVs running on the Fire TV operating system.

Amazon says Alexa+ will roll out to all U.S. customers with a Fire TV device automatically. Users will not have to take any action or download any additional apps.

Previously, the only way for users to access Alexa+ was to subscribe to Amazon Prime or pay $19.99 per month specifically for the AI assistant service.

The Alexa+ AI assistant provides users with ways to interact with the movies and TV shows that they are watching or find new content based on their entertainment preferences. Users can ask Alexa+ for specific film and television recommendations based on genre, cast, year of release, and more. Users can also ask Alexa+ questions regarding the content they are currently viewing. 

Alexa+ can also perform other tasks, such as providing real-time weather updates or sports scores. Users can connect Alexa+ to other smart home devices. With this utility, Alexa+ can broadcast your Ring camera feed on your smart TV or even lock a door with a paired smart lock.

According to Amazon, Alexa+ is already a hit with users. Amazon says that Alexa+ customers "have nearly twice as many conversations on Fire TV as they did with the original Alexa." The company claims that millions of customers already use the service. Amazon says that Alexa+ recommendations have improved too, with customers picking the AI assistant's top recommendations "over 40% more than they were with the original Alexa."

Amazon is now looking to expand on that user base exponentially with the new rollout to all Fire TV users. In doing so, Amazon follows in the footsteps of other Big Tech companies like Google, which also grew its Gemini user base by rolling out its AI features to its existing product offerings at no additional cost to users.

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

Meta’s smart glasses have officially become so controversial that even Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doesn’t want them around. Well, at least not the consumer version.

In a memo issued Aug. 18, acting ICE Director David Venturella told employees that Meta’s camera-equipped glasses count as personal body-worn cameras and therefore cannot be worn in federal workplaces.

"The use of Meta Glasses or similar devices could unintentionally capture, record or transmit sensitive information, potentially compromising privacy and legal protections," Venturella wrote, according to The New York Times.

The rule applies to all ICE employees, not only agents conducting raids or interacting with the public. It also covers similar personal devices capable of recording audio or video.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson emphasized that the agency is not introducing a new policy. "Personally owned body-worn cameras and unauthorized recording are prohibited, as they always have been," the spokesperson told The Times. Meta declined to comment.

ICE and Border Patrol personnel have repeatedly been spotted wearing their own Meta smart glasses during immigration operations and protests. A March investigation by The Independent found sightings of DHS agents wearing the glasses in at least six states. In some cases, agents appeared to use them to photograph or record members of the public.

Footage examined by 404 Media showed a Border Patrol agent recording an immigration raid with the glasses’ indicator light illuminated, despite DHS rules that bar employees from recording with personal devices.

The issue isn’t simply that the glasses contain a camera. ICE already has an official body-camera policy that governs when agency-issued devices should be activated, how their footage is stored, and when employees can review recordings.

The problem with employees bringing their own smart glasses is that ICE loses control of the footage. Recordings could end up on a personal phone or pass through Meta’s platform, leaving the agency with little oversight of who can access them, whether they are preserved as evidence, or what other sensitive information they might capture.

Those concerns are hardly unique to ICE. Meta's glasses look similar to ordinary Ray-Bans but can capture photos and video from the wearer’s point of view. A small white light is supposed to signal when the camera is recording, though critics argue that the indicator is easy to overlook — and can potentially be circumvented.

That discreet design has helped turn the glasses into a privacy nightmare. Creators and pickup artists have used them to film strangers for social media content, sometimes attracting millions of views before the person recorded knows the video exists.

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

The backlash has moved beyond angry comment sections (where many have dubbed the glasses as "pervert glasses"). Businesses, court systems, and conferences have begun restricting camera-equipped glasses, while Apple has reportedly delayed introducing its own version as it develops additional privacy protections and tries to distinguish its product from Meta’s.

The irony is that DHS wants smart glasses of its own. Its fiscal 2027 budget proposal sought $7.5 million for new enforcement technologies, including prototypes capable of providing agents with real-time information and biometric identification. Democratic senators urged the department to abandon the plan, citing the risk of agents scanning people without their knowledge. DHS has not detailed how the glasses or their data would be managed.

For now, ICE employees will have to leave Meta’s glasses at home. But the next pair agents wear could come directly from the government...and know far more about the people standing in front of them.

If your For You page has recently started whispering about a creek, don’t worry: You have not accidentally wandered onto FishingTok.

"Quiet on the creek" is the latest TikTok catchphrase to escape the app. People are whispering it, dancing to it, and dropping it into comment sections whenever someone reveals a little too much information. But where did it come from, and what does it mean?

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

The sound comes from rapper Saucy Santana, who turned a resurfaced livestream clip into a song. In the original video, Santana is eating snapper with his friend, rapper Yung Miami, when he recalls fishing with his family as a child.

"I used to go fishing when I was a little girl," Santana says. "You gotta be real quiet on the creek."

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

As Santana explained during an Aug. 13 appearance on The Breakfast Club, his grandmother warned the children not to stomp, throw rocks, or make enough noise to scare away the fish.

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

Although several early explanations described the clip as coming from a July 2026 TikTok Live, Santana said it was recorded about two years earlier, likely during an Instagram Live at Yung Miami’s house. After someone resurfaced it this summer, viewers began flooding Santana’s livestreams with references to the creek.

Once he realized how far the joke had traveled, Santana decided to capitalize on it, he said.

"People pay to go viral, people pray to go viral, and I’m doing it authentically," he told The Breakfast Club. "This moment is so big, though. Let me do something about it."

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

Santana called producer Tre Trax and livestreamed much of the process of choosing a beat, writing and recording the song, and developing its dance. He said he finished the track in a few hours, and clips from the studio session had already taken over his For You page by the time he got home.

"Quiet on the Creek" arrived July 17, only days after the phrase began spreading far and wide.

What does 'quiet on the creek' actually mean?

Online, the fishing advice has become a metaphor for moving in silence.

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

Someone might stay quiet on the creek about a new relationship, an upcoming promotion, or any other good news they do not want to announce prematurely. Think "keep it on the down-low," "don’t jinx it," or "stop telling everybody your business."

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.

Santana offered the example of knowing that a promotion is coming but keeping it private until the official announcement. He also acknowledged that one verse applies the phrase to a discreet relationship with a man who already has a partner. However, Santana rejected the idea that “quiet on the creek” refers exclusively to closeted men, saying it can describe any situation in which sharing too much might spoil a good thing.

Creators perform its simple dance by bouncing their shoulders, covering their mouths, and putting a finger to their lips. Others pair the sound with scenes of people sneaking around, stealing a late-night snack, or trying not to get caught doing something naughty.

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

Celebrities soon joined in. Lizzo, Monica, Da Brat, Ice Spice, and Judy Dupart, and Love Island USA alum Serena Page participated in versions of the trend. Damon Wayans even revived Blaine Edwards, his In Living Color character, for an Instagram video.

Santana said the TikTok audio generated over 200,000 creations in one day and remained the platform’s No. 1 song when he appeared on The Breakfast Club in August. "Quiet on the Creek" debuted at No. 45 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, marking his first Billboard appearance since 2022. As of Aug. 19, it had accumulated more than 3.6 million Spotify streams, while its audio and official music video had each attracted millions of YouTube views.

The success follows a familiar pattern for Santana, whose songs "Material Girl" and "Walk" also found enormous audiences through social media. This time, all it took was an old fishing story and an internet incapable of keeping quiet.

Everything and everyone has a story. But not all of them are true.

I still remember my first undergraduate journalism class when I heard the famous phrase "he who controls the media, controls the mind." Ever since, I have stayed acutely aware not only of the narratives directed at me, but also of those I tell myself about who I am.

I started my career at the epicenter of the greatest storytelling genre of all time; Hip Hop. First as an assistant at Def Jam Records, then into management at Universal Music Group and Atlantic Records. A scrawny kid from Long Island with deep roots in Queens, where I was born, I realized I was standing on the side of the industry that kept telling the story wrong. The lyrics called for community infrastructure, better schools, and economic justice. We were selling the opposite, packaged in staged photoshoots and videos.

A young person who never sees himself represented with dignity learns to price himself accordingly. That is the machinery of a culture quietly deciding who counts, and I have watched it up close. That instinct never left me, and it surfaced again in the spring of 2020, watching an industry perform enlightenment with its eyes closed.

What started as a simple text to a few friends, "do you see what's happening? We need to do something. These black squares are stupid!" turned into the Black Owned Media Equity and Sustainability Institute (BOMESI). The first person to raise their hand was Rhonesha Byng, founder of Her Agenda, and now cofounder of BOMESI Foundation serving as its Chief Mission Officer.

By the summer of 2020, we were done watching a market be mistaken for a favor. Diverse publishers were stronger as one voice than as hundreds fighting alone for scraps. One of our first projects was a verified directory of Black-owned publishers: 50 names then, nearly 400 now, including Blavity, The Root, and Her Agenda.

Here is the math we couldn't unsee. There is a multicultural consumer market in this country worth trillions, and Black-owned media receives roughly two percent of total advertising spend, about the same share it held decades ago, despite everything that has supposedly changed. Diverse-owned publishers who spent generations earning the trust of their audiences watch the dollars that trust generates flow somewhere else. In any other category, a gap that wide between market size and investment would be called an arbitrage opportunity, and capital would rush to close it. Because this one wears the label "diversity," the industry treats it as a liability to manage instead of what it is: the most underpriced audience relationship in American media.

We built BOMESI to correct that error at the root. Reaching the fastest-growing audiences in America is not a favor; it is a distribution strategy. Buying media from the outlets those audiences trust is marketing, the plain arithmetic of reach, resonance, and return. For too long, that work lived on a special budget, reported to a special officer, insulated from the core business, so it could be deleted the moment the political weather turned.

In the aftermath of 2020, it was. I watched the pledges arrive with fanfare and leave through the service entrance, and sympathy dollars dry up the instant sympathy became inconvenient. Sympathy carries no contract and no renewal clause, a poor foundation for anything durable.

BOMESI stands on sturdier ground. We unite more than 300 Black-owned and 2,200 diverse-owned publishers into a powerhouse network reaching roughly 100 million households a month, and put that scale to work three ways. We build the ecosystem: shared ad technology, collective sales, first-party data no platform can take away. We provide the education and resources publishers need to scale their businesses and stand their ground. And we drive economic empowerment by moving real advertising dollars to the outlets that earn them; through deals, not penance. Penance expires; contracts renew.

Let me be precise: BOMESI operates as an advocacy and strategic-resource organization, and I correct anyone who reaches for the word charity, because it misreads the enterprise. The systemic underinvestment that made this organization necessary is real, and we name it plainly rather than soften it.

The wins belong to the publishers' own resilience; the coalition supports that resilience rather than taking credit for it. The humanity of these communities does not depend on a business case, though the business case has always held up on its own terms. The moral argument was sufficient long before I learned to lead with the economic one. The moral case tells you what is right; it has never once told a CFO what is durable.

BOMESI was created because the moral case and the economic case point in the same direction, and the only thing standing between a company and acting on both is some nerve. The audiences are still here. The publishers are still building. The trillions in spending power never moved. What went missing was the industry's courage to act on what it already knew. BOMESI exists to make that courage structural, to build infrastructure that outlasts any single news cycle and keeps diverse-owned media telling its own stories, in its own voice, for the decade ahead.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This article represents the opinions of its writer.

DéVon Christopher Johnson is a media entrepreneur and a marketing expert with over 19 years of experience in creating and leading diverse and inclusive multimedia platforms. He is the Founder and CEO of BOMESI, a non-profit organization that supports and empowers underrepresented media outlets to thrive and grow. He is also the founder and CEO of BleuLife Media Group, a full-scale media company that speaks to the modern and aspirational multicultural male audience through print, digital, podcasts, events, and influencers.

TL;DR: T-Mobile is offering the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 when you trade in an eligible device on a qualifying Experience Beyond plan, with credits paid out over 36 months.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

Claim by trading in an eligible device on the Experience Beyond plan.

Get Deal

Samsung's summer Unpacked event didn't hold back. Alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8, the company introduced a wider, more productivity-focused Z Fold 8 Ultra, the pocket-sized Z Flip 8, an updated set of Galaxy Watches, and its first-ever pair of smart glasses built around Gemini AI — a full Unpacked lineup with something for every kind of Samsung fan.

The Z Fold 8 has garnered a lot of attention, and T-Mobile is backing it with one of its best offers of the year: the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is yours with an eligible trade-in on the Experience Beyond plan, no matter what condition your old phone is in.

Here's how to qualify for the deal:

Trade in an eligible device and add a line on the Experience Beyond plan, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 (256GB, normally $1,899.99) is paid off through up to 36 monthly bill credits. There's also a $35 device connection charge, plus applicable taxes and fees, so it's not entirely cost-free, but the device itself is covered.

If Experience Beyond isn't the plan for you, T-Mobile has scaled-down versions of the same offer:

• Experience More, with trade-in: up to $1,100 off

• Most other plans, with trade-in: up to $500 off

• Simple Choice plans, with trade-in: up to $250 off

All of these pay out the same way, as monthly bill credits over up to 36 months rather than an instant discount, so the savings only fully materialize if you stay on the plan for the full term.

There's also a separate switcher incentive: trade in your phone, activate a new line, and port your number over from another carrier, and T-Mobile will send up to $800 via a prepaid Mastercard — on top of whatever device discount you already qualify for.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available in cream, lavender, and graphite, and you can upgrade from the base 256GB to 512GB for more storage.

As districts across the country debate the efficacy of tech-enabled classrooms, Google wants to upgrade the average students' school supplies with new AI features. And they don't even need to leave the Google homepage to find them.

Google Search becomes a study helper

Announced today, Google is refashioning Search and AI Mode into a one-stop shop for homework help. When users turn to Google's query box for questions, they will also be able to ask the search engine to come up with visuals to understand tricky concepts — much like Gemini's interactive visuals announced last year — or create practice quizzes across a variety of subjects.

Search can help students study for standardized tests in collaboration with education companies The Princeton Review, Careers360, PhysicsWallah, and Akira Enem.

Users can also upload images of assignments and study guides to get detailed help using Lens and AI Overview, or connect Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) while in AI Mode to further personalize homework help. With all this data in hand, Search can leverage AI Mode conversations, files, and more to generate entirely personalized study documents, the company explained.

Is Google Search safe for kids?

Google has spent the last year overhauling the classic Search experience with the help of AI.

Last month, child safety watchdog Common Sense Media declared Google's AI-powered Search posed an "unacceptable risk" to minor users. Across the country, students have access to Google's AI features, including Search, through the company's Classroom suite and Google devices like Chromebooks. At the time of the report, Google had blocked access to Gemini for users under 18, but many K-12 students could still interact with the AI model indirectly through Search.

In the weeks following, Google reportedly opened up Gemini access to minors using its Classroom app. Via a new Gemini tab on student accounts, users could ask the chatbot for help with assignments, create study resources, and generate images linked to materials provided by teachers, the New York Times reported.

Google told Mashable that Common Sense Media's study of AI Overviews and AI Mode was flawed. "Our AI Search features are an incredibly useful way for kids and teens to learn, explore and make sense of information and the world," the company said. "This report tests a narrow set of ambiguous and contrived queries that don’t reflect how people use Search and aren't an effective way to measure product safety and helpfulness."

More Back to School upgrades

Google's homework features aren't limited to Search, however. The company is also upgrading Gemini with a brand new student hub, centralizing its school-focused AI tools. Intended to help users manage their customized study resources, users can have Gemini automatically sync study dates, assignment deadlines, and test notifications to Google Calendar.

Google will be adding visualizations, like graphs and charts, to Notebook lesson plans over the coming months. They will also be able to access Google's Deep Research mode while using Gemini Live voice chat.

Google AI Pro for free

Starting today, U.S. college students can get a free year of Google AI Pro or bundle Google subscriptions (like Google AI Pro and a YouTube Premium) at a discount. Students outside the U.S. are eligible for 12 months of Google AI Plus, the company's lower tier subscription, at no cost.

Tickets for IMAX 70mm screenings of Dune: Part Three, including early showings, went on sale on Aug. 18. What followed was chaos.

On social media, fans scrambling to buy tickets online lamented that sites like Fandango and AMC were crashing. If you were actually able to make it onto a site, chances are you were met with a virtual queue with a long wait time, as if you were waiting to snag Taylor Swift concert tickets on Ticketmaster instead of plan a night at the movies.

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.

In a statement on X, AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron addressed the "crushing volume" that caused AMC's online ticketing systems to glitch, saying that ticketing traffic "reached levels approximately three times higher than what we experienced during the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ticket launch, which itself followed strong advance sales for The Odyssey ticket launch before that."

Dune: Part Three ticket pandemonium wasn't just online. At New York City's Lincoln Square AMC location, home to one of the largest IMAX screens in the U.S., a line to buy IMAX 70mm Dune: Part Three tickets wrapped around the block, with people camping out beforehand. According to social media users, someone in line even bought 80 tickets.

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

On resale sites, scalpers are now listing tickets for hundreds of dollars. AMC terms and conditions prohibit the resale of any ticket for over face value. AMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how it enforces this rule.

This fervor doesn't just stem from excitement about Dune: Part Three, although that is certainly high. It also comes down to the exclusivity of the IMAX 70mm format, which became a major talking point in the lead-up to The Odyssey's release. Only 41 theaters in the world are capable to showing movies in this format, 25 of which are in the U.S.

Despite the scarcity of theaters that can actually show films in IMAX 70mm, the format has become tied to the marketing of two of the year's buzziest films. In The Odyssey's case, director Christopher Nolan has long been a champion of the IMAX 70mm format. In 2023, he said it the "best possible" way to see Oppenheimer. That goes double for The Odyssey, which is the first movie to be shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, meaning if you see it in any other format, you lose a sizable amount of the frame.

Dune: Part Three is taking a similar approach to The Odyssey with its emphasis on seeing the film in premium formats. In April, tickets for opening weekend IMAX 70mm screenings sold out in minutes. In July, IMAX theaters hosted fan screenings of the trailer and footage. Said footage screened before The Odyssey, but only before IMAX 70mm screenings.

A press release from IMAX tied to yesterday's ticket release states that "Dune was, in director Denis Villeneuve’s own words, 'dreamed, designed, and shot' for the format, making IMAX the definitive way to experience the film as he intended."

Both campaigns aren't just telling audiences to see these movies. They're saying that they need to see them in the way that best matches the director's vision, which just so happens to be the most exclusive fashion. That emphasis on IMAX 70mm stokes the high demand that inevitably leads to site crashes, scalpers, and FOMO for people who aren't close to a theater. Because nowadays, just seeing an event movie like The Odyssey or Dune: Part Three isn't good enough. How you see it is just as important.

Dune: Part Three hits theaters Dec. 18.

This week's launch of ChatGPT for Teens may be welcome news to parents concerned about the role of artificial intelligence in their child's life.

OpenAI positioned its new product as a learning partner for students. The company said ChatGPT for Teens limits the emotional and intimate exchanges between young people and AI that have driven concerns about well-being and mental health.

In some tragic cases, that dynamic has allegedly led teens and young adults to attempt or die by suicide after heavy engagement with ChatGPT, according to lawsuits filed against OpenAI.

So parents who know their teen is using ChatGPT, or who want their child to safely access AI, may see OpenAI's teen product as the answer.

Yet experts who spoke to Mashable about ChatGPT for Teens urge parents to remain cautious. They say more independent testing is needed before concluding that ChatGPT is an effective study aid, and that its safeguards against emotional dependence hold up under everyday teen use.

"I think that like OpenAI's teen experience makes some really important safety commitments," Robbie Torney, head of AI and digital assessments at the Youth AI Safety Institute at Common Sense Media, told Mashable. "What we really need now is evidence that they work, and we need this evidence, including our testing and the testing of others, before anyone, including parents, puts real trust in ChatGPT for Teens."

What should parents know about ChatGPT for Teens?

Importantly, Torney said parents shouldn't assume their child is using ChatGPT for Teens. While OpenAI uses age estimation to place users in the age-appropriate version of ChatGPT, it can still mistake a user as older.

Why you still need parental controls

Parents can be sure their child is using the teen version by linking their ChatGPT account to their child's and implementing OpenAI's parental control features. If a teen has previously lied about their age — and plenty do — they may continue to access the adult version of ChatGPT.

Parental controls allow caregivers to limit sensitive content and turn on Study Mode and Quiet Hours. The former restricts ChatGPT to learning content, while the latter shuts down ChatGPT altogether.

Torney said caregivers must enact parental controls to receive notifications from OpenAI should their teen discuss suicide, self-harm, or acts of violence in immediate or dangerous ways.

Even then, Torney said notifications may not reach parents immediately or quickly. Previous research conducted by the Youth AI Safety Institute at Common Sense Media designed to test notifications for self-harm and suicidal content found that such messages arrived a day or two after the exchange, or not at all.

An OpenAI spokesperson said every notification is reviewed by a trained human before it's sent. The company strives to review notifications in under one hour.

"You can view these features as backup, but they're not a replacement for your continued involvement in how your child is using the product, because we don't have confirmation or independent verification that they work," Torney said.

Teens still may turn to ChatGPT instead of humans first

Given the growing concern over teens replacing human relationships with AI chatbots, it's unsurprising that OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens as a product it claims supports real-world connections.

"Supporting children’s cognitive development in the age of AI will require asking not only whether a product can be made safer for young people, but what role we want AI to play in their development in the first place," Camille Carlton, senior director of strategy and impact at the Center for Humane Technology, said in a statement. "Some of the most critical capacities children develop are not learned by interacting with a machine, but by spending time without one."

Lauren Jonas, head of youth and families at OpenAI, told Mashable that ChatGPT for Teens would redirect personal or emotional conversations back toward task-oriented discussions.

"If they are not engaging in learning-focused content, the goal is to continue to bolster the age-appropriate experience and the safeguards," she said.

However, Torney said Youth AI Safety Institute researchers conducting preliminary testing of ChatGPT for Teens were still able to have "personal support conversations" unrelated to learning.

He said parents should watch for exchanges that feel more like companionship or mimicking of human connection, even if OpenAI believes ChatGPT for Teens shouldn't behave in that manner.

Can ChatGPT really help with learning and studying?

Though OpenAI said ChatGPT for Teens will stick to learning, the tool's ability to foster that is still up in the air, according to experts.

The company's first attempt to turn ChatGPT into a homework helper was "fairly weak," explained Dr. Hamsa Bastani. Bastani is an associate professor of Operations, Information, and Decisions at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a leading researcher into AI's potential learning gains. 

OpenAI launched Study Mode for ChatGPT over a year ago, amid a major push to get the company's AI tools in the hands of students around the country. In Mashable's own testing, ChatGPT Study Mode still provided answers to homework questions when prompted and failed to generate appropriate study tools.  

Bastani reviewed Mashable's tests at the time, as well as our comparisons with competitors Google and Claude. She noted that many AI learning tools were repackaged Large Language Models (LLMs) with additional backend prompts to curb cheating. Bastani and her team had yet to find an effective AI tutor on the market as of last year.

Bastani and her colleagues published their first, genuinely positive AI learning result just five months ago, long after Study Mode's launch. Bastani has not yet tested the upgraded version for teens, which now includes additional notifications to complete homework "responsibly." Jonas told Mashable that OpenAI is conducting randomized, controlled trials of Study Mode in a number of countries.

Trusting teens to keep themselves on track

The increasingly personalized, frictionless assistance provided by universal chatbots is counter to the principles of learning, some experts say.

"This is especially important for teens, who may over-rely on general-purpose AI tools for tasks that should help them build their own skills," said Dylan Arena, chief data science and AI officer at education solutions company McGraw Hill. "It also matters in social contexts, where teens are still developing the skills and confidence to navigate real-world interactions. To be built for learning, [chatbots] must be dependable, repeatable, and safe."

Arena agreed that an AI learning tool that attempts to form a relationship with the student is a red flag.

The best educational tools — designed with limited use cases, safety guardrails, and measurable learning outcomes — often come with their own crash courses on how to actually use them effectively. Learners, in turn, have to be committed to sticking to those recommendations. That's a tall order for a teen just trying to get a bit of help with their schoolwork.

"It seems like OpenAI is trying to put responsibility on teens to have agency and say, 'This is how I want to learn,'" said Torney. "Putting that responsibility on a still-developing brain that may be frustrated or stuck may lead to different outcomes that undermine learning."

Bastani recently co-authored a study that explored this concept of "self regulation," which has become a key component in the AI in education debate. Researchers compared learning outcomes from chess academy students who received automatic, pre-programmed hints from AI versus students who could request help from AI at any time.

"Poor self-regulation caused students to increasingly over-rely on AI assistance even when they expressed that they were worried it would harm learning," she said of the findings.  

A recent Common Sense Media report on teen AI use for schoolwork found another noteworthy pattern: A majority of students still lean on AI for answers, even those who use chatbots in appropriate, recommended ways.   

Torney said a number of questions remain unanswered about learning and ChatGPT for Teens, including the efficacy of its step-by-step guidance and responsible homework reminders.

"How much does this prevent kids from taking shortcuts when we know that those shortcuts undermine learning?" Torney asked.

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

Shop the best deals of Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale:

---

Best Apple deal

Apple iPhone Air (256GB, Unlocked)

$839.99 (save $160)

Get Deal

---

Best TV deal

Hisense 65-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K TV

$598.99 (save $501)

Get Deal

---

Best Windows laptop deal

Asus Zenbook A14 (Snapdragon X2 Elite, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)

$999.99 (save $350)

Get Deal

---

Best robot vacuum

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum & Mop

$349.99 (save $350)

Get Deal

---

Best earbuds deal

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2

$199.99 (save $50)

Get Deal

---

Best headphones deal

Beats Studio Pro

$159.99 (save $190)

Get Deal

---

Best Lego deal

Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’ Museum Collection

$55.99 (save $24)

Get Deal

---

Best Pokémon TCG deal

Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box

$112.50 (save $207.50)

Get Deal

---

Best speaker deal

Marshall Stanmore III

$199.99 (Save $200)

Get Deal

---

Best fitness tracker deal

Apple Watch Series 11

$299 (Save $100)

Get Deal

Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale is happening this week, which is great news for anyone who's missed out on the loads of tech deals we've seen so far this summer. (It's probably the biggest sale we'll get until Labor Day.) The event runs through Sunday, Aug. 23, and My Best Buy Plus and Total members earn 10% back in rewards on most purchases.

While the sale is live both online and in stores, it would behoove you to visit your nearest brick-and-mortar Best Buy this Saturday, Aug. 22. That day, in-person shoppers will be able to score $100 Best Buy gift cards for only $60 (while supplies last), among other exclusive deals. We can see people camping out for that one.

As things currently stand, the sale involves some pretty great deals on RGB and OLED TVs, Apple gadgets, Windows laptops, headphones, and even collectibles like Lego sets and Pokémon cards. We've done a little digging and rounded up a list of our favorite deals below. Make sure you check back later this week: Best Buy is planning on dropping another round of discounts on Friday, Aug. 21.

Best Apple deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iPhone Air (256GB, Unlocked)

$839.99 at Best Buy
$999.99 Save $160

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

It's not every day that you can score a discount on an iPhone with no strings attached. But during Best Buy's 60th Anniversary Sale, you can nab an unlocked iPhone Air with any storage capacity for $160 off. That means you can bring it to any provider without having to navigate a trade-in. Mashable's reviewer called the iPhone Air the "sexiest iPhone" he's ever tested. It's incredibly thin and light, has a gorgeous OLED display, and its camera performs better than you'd expect. It may not be the phone for everyone, but it's the iPhone with the best value.

More Apple deals

AirPods

• AirPods 4 without ANC — $99.99 $129.99 (save $30)

• AirPods 4 with ANC — $149.99 $179.99 (save $30)

• AirPods Pro 3 — $189.99 $249.99 (save $60)

• AirPods Max — $429 $549 (save $120)

AirTags

• Apple AirTag (2nd gen) — $24 $29 (save $5)

• Apple AirTag, 4-pack (2nd gen) — $89 $99 (save $10)

iPads

• Apple A16 iPad, 11-inch (WiFi, 128GB) — $399 $449 (save $50)

• Apple M4 iPad Air, 11-inch (WiFi, 256GB) — $749 $849 (save $100)

• Apple M5 iPad Pro, 13-inch (WiFi, 512GB) — $1,599 $1,699 (save $100)

iPhones

• Apple iPhone 16e (128GB, unlocked) — $489.99 $599.99 (save $110)

• Apple iPhone Air (512GB, unlocked) — $1,039.99 $1,199.99 (save $160)

• Apple iPhone Air (1TB, unlocked) — $1,239.99 $1,399.99 (save $160)

MacBooks

• Get a free $25 Starbucks gift card with purchase of Apple MacBook Neo — starting at $699

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,499 $1,599 (save $100)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,849 $1,999 (save $150)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M4 Pro, 48GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $2,499 $2,899 (save $400)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M4 Max, 36GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,999 $3,399 (save $400)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M4 Max, 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $3,399 $3,899 (save $500)

Best TV deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Hisense

Hisense 65-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K TV

$598.99 at Best Buy
$1,099.99 Save $501

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

We can't stop raving about the Hisense U6 Pro. We named it our favorite budget TV of 2026, as it lands perfectly in the sweet spot of performance and value. And during Best Buy's Anniversary Sale, it's even more of a steal; the 65-inch model is down to a record-low $598.99. That's cheaper than it was on Prime Day. While it's not an OLED display, it does offer an impressive full-array local dimming setup, vibrant quantum-dot color, and deep black levels, an anti-glare coating for minimal reflections, and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits. It also packs a native 144Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and two HDMI 2.1 ports for gamers. Every size is currently discounted, but the 65-inch model is what we'd recommend for most people.

More TV deals

60-inch and under

• Hisense 58-inch QD50 Hi-QLED 4K TV — $189.99 $399.99 (save $210)

• Insignia 55-inch F50 LED 4K TV — $199.99 $349.99 (save $150)

• Hisense 43-inch QD6 QLED 4K Fire TV — $209.99 $299.99 (save $90)

• Samsung 55-inch M70H Mini LED 4K TV — $349.99 $449.99 (save $100)

• LG 55-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $379.99 $599.99 (save $220)

• Hisense 55-inch S7 Canvas QLED 4K Art TV — $799.99 $1,499.99 (save $700)

• Hisense 55-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $999.99 $1,499.99 (save $500)

• Sony 55-inch Bravia 7 II RGB 4K TV — $1,499.99 $2,099.99 (save $600)

65-inch TVs

• LG 65-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $479.99 $699.99 (save $220)

• TCL 65-inch QM6K QD-Mini LED 4K TV — $699.99 $999.99 (save $300)

• Hisense 65-inch S7N Canvas QLED 4K Art TV — $800.99 $1,299.99 (save $499)

• Hisense 65-inch U7 Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $899.99 $1,499.99 (save $600)

• Samsung 65-inch S90F OLED 4K TV — $1,399.99 $2,499.99 (save $1,100)

• TCL 65-inch QM8L SQD-Mini LED 4K TV — $1,399.99 $2,499.99 (save $1,100)

• Hisense 65-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,499.99 $1,999.99 (save $500)

• LG 65-inch C5 OLED 4K TV — $1,499.99 $2,699.99 (save $1,200)

• LG 65-inch B6 OLED 4K TV — $1,699.99 $1,999.99 (save $300)

• Samsung 65-inch S85H OLED 4K TV — $1,699.99 $1,999.99 (save $300)

• LG 65-inch C6 OLED 4K TV — $1,799.99 $2,699.99 (save $900)

• Sony 65-inch Bravia 7 II RGB 4K TV — $1,799.99 $2,599.99 (save $800)

75-inch to 77-inch TVs

• Samsung 75-inch U7900 LED 4K TV — $399.99 $649.99 (save $250)

• LG 75-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $649.99 $999.99 (save $350)

• Hisense 75-inch U7 Mini LED 4K TV — $1,199.99 $1,999.99 (save $800)

• TCL 75-inch QM7L SQD-Mini LED 4K TV — $1,299.99 $1,999.99 (save $700)

• LG 77-inch B5 OLED 4K TV — $1,399.99 $2,999.99 (save $1,600)

• Hisense 75-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,899.99 $2,499.99 (save $600)

• Samsung 77-inch S90F OLED 4K TV — $1,999.99 $3,499.99 (save $1,500)

• LG 77-inch C5 OLED 4K TV — $1,899.99 $3,699.99 (save $1,800)

• Samsung 75-inch R85H Micro RGB 4K TV — $1,999.99 $2,799.99 (save $800)

85-inch TVs

• Insignia 85-inch Class F50 Series 4K Fire TV — $599.99 $899.99 (save $300)

• Insignia 85-inch QF QLED 4K TV — $659.99 $1,099.99 (save $440)

• Hisense 85-inch UR9 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $3,999.99 $4,499.99 (save $500)

Best Windows laptop deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: ASUS

Asus Zenbook A14 (Snapdragon X2 Elite, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)

$999.99 at Best Buy
$1,349.99 Save $350

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

Mashable's laptop expert named the Asus Zenbook A14 the "best Windows laptop for most people" in 2026 for a few reasons. It's ultraportable, packs an amazing battery life of over 27 hours (!), a stunning OLED display, a lightweight build, and impressive performance that rivals the MacBook Air. While the 2026 version got a price bump, this discount at Best Buy knocks it back down below $1,000.

More Windows laptop deals

• HP Omnibook 3 16 (AMD Ryzen 5 40, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $399.99 $779.99 (save $380)

• HP OmniBook X 14 (Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $699.99 $1,099.99 (save $400)

• HP OmniBook X Flip 16 (Intel Core Ultra 7 256V, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $749.99 $1,199.99 (save $450)

• Lenovo Yoga 7a 2-in-1 14 (AMD Ryzen AI 5 430, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $749.99 $1,299.99 (save $550)

• Microsoft Surface Pro, 12-inch (Snapdragon X Plus, 8GB RAM, 256GB UFS) — $749.99 $849.99 (save $100)

• Acer Swift Go 16 (Intel Core Ultra 7 355, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,199.99 $1,549.99 (save $350)

• Microsoft Surface Laptop 13 (Snapdragon X2 Elite, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,599.99 $1,999.99 (save $400)

• Asus ROG Flow Z13 (AMD Ryzen AI Max+, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,099.99 $2,999.99 (save $900)

• Lenovo Legion Pro 7i 16 (Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,899.99 $4,249.99 (save $1,350)

Best robot vacuum deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Shark

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop

$349.99 at Best Buy
$699.99 Save $350

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

This robot vacuum combines powerful vacuuming with sonic mopping, so it can clean carpets and hard floors in a single run. Its Matrix Clean technology makes multiple passes over dirt and debris, and the CleanEdge Detect targets dust and hair around corners and edges. It also features a self-cleaning brushroll, HEPA filtration, and a bagless, self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days' worth of dirt. And right now at Best Buy, it's $350 off — an impressive 50% savings.

More robot vacuum deals

• Roborock Q10 Series — $299.99 $399.99 (save $100)

• Ecovacs DEEBOT T80S Omni — $479.99 $649.99 (save $170)

• Roborock Qrevo Series — $499.99 $629.99 (save $130)

• Dreame X40 — $499.99 $799.99 (save $300)

• Shark PowerDetect — $749.99 $1,199.99 (save $450)

• Roborock Saros Z70 — $999.99 $1,999.99 (save $1,000)

Best earbuds deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Beats

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2

$199.99 at Best Buy
$249.99 Save $50

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

For working out, these are some of the best earbuds available. With a secure hook fit and built-in heart rate monitoring, workout earbuds can't get any better than this. In fact, when given the full review treatment, they were described as "ideal for all workouts, especially running."

More earbud deals

• JBL Tune 245NC — $49.95 $109.95 (save $64)

• JBL Tune Flex 2 — $69.95 $109.95 (save $40)

• Sony WF-C710N— $89.99 $129.99 (save $40)

• Beats Powerbeats Fit — $169.99 $199.99 (save $30)

• Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 — $189 $229 (save $40)

Best headphones deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Beats

Beats Studio Pro

$159.99 at Best Buy
$349.99 Save $190

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

These headphones have Personalized Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking for a 360-degree listening experience. They also offer impressive noise cancellation to block out distractions, with different modes to keep you aware of your surroundings. They offer up to 40 hours of battery life, USB-C, Bluetooth, and 3.5mm connectivity, plus compatibility with both Apple and Android devices. This week, the Black/Gold pair is a whopping 54% off at Best Buy. They're only $159.99; the other colors cost $10 extra.

More headphone deals

• Sony WH-CH520 — $39.99 $68 (save $28.01)

• Marshall Major V — $89.99 $159.99 (save $70)

• Beats Solo 4 — $129.99 $199.99 (save $70)

• Sony WH-1000XM6— $399.99 $458 (save $58.01)

Best Lego deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Lego

Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’ Museum Collection

$55.99 at Best Buy
$79.99 Save $24.00

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

This Animal Crossing-themed Lego set builds into a brickified replica of Blathers’ Museum, where players complete exhibits by donating fish, fossils, and art. It's geared toward ages seven and up, and contains 543 pieces — including minifigures of Blathers himself and Lily, a frog villager. Best Buy's Anniversary Sale offers 30% off the list price, leaving you to pay just $55.99. FYI: It sold out at Target at the same price.

More Lego deals

• Lego Minifigures Series 29 — $3.49 $4.99 (save $1.50)

• Lego Friends Horse & Baby Foal Trailer — $20.99 $29.99 (save $9)

• Lego Disney Minnie’s Pet Hotel — $27.99 $39.99 (save $12)

• Lego Super Mario: Mario Kart Toad's Garage — $27.99 $39.99 (save $12)

• Lego DREAMZzz Nightmare Scorpion Digger — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)

• Lego Friends Beach House with Seals — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)

• Lego Friends Heartlake City Fashion Show — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)

• Lego Technic Chevrolet Corvette Stingray — $41.99 $59.99 (save $18)

• Lego DREAMZzz Crocodile Submarine — $48.99 $69.99 (save $21)

• Lego Friends Horse Stable and Riding Academy — $62.99 $89.99 (save $27)

• Lego Star Wars Grogu with Hover Pram — $89.99 $99.99 (save $10)

• Lego Ideas BTS Dynamite — $119.99 $126.99 (save $7)

• Lego Editions Lionel Messi Celebration — $179 $199.99 (save $20.99)

Best Pokémon TCG deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box

$112.50 at Best Buy
$320 Save $207.50

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

This Elite Trainer Box contains nine Destined Rivals booster packs, 45 energy cards, foil promo art of Team Rocket's Wobbuffet, six damage-counter dice, and other accessories. Best Buy has it marked down to $112.50 during its 60th Anniversary Sale — a whopping 65% off its regular price there — which is only a couple bucks above its current market price. For comparison's sake, it's currently going for around $130 at Amazon and Walmart.

More Pokémon TCG deals

• Pokémon TCG Mega Moonlit Tin (Mega Clefable ex) — $39.99 $59.99 (save $20)

• Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet 151 Booster Pack — $44.77 $59.99 (save $15.22)

• Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Build & Battle Box — $49.99 $69.99 (save $20)

• Pokémon TCG Paradox Clash Tin (Walking Wake ex) — $49.99 $64.99 (save $15)

• Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet Surging Sparks Booster Bundle — $89.97 $115 (save $25.03)

• Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box (Mega Gardevoir) — $149.99 $165 (save $15.01)

• Pokémon TCG Charizard ex Super-Premium Collection — $179.97 $200 (save $20.03)

Best speaker deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Marshall

Marshall Stanmore III

$199.99 at Best Buy
$399.99 Save $200

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

The Marshall Stanmore III is a larger home speaker designed to fill a room with sound, with a wider soundstage than its predecessor. Its two-way driver system delivers crisp treble and controlled bass, and the Dynamic Loudness adjusts the sound depending on the volume. It also has Bluetooth 5.2, RCA and 3.5mm inputs, plus Marshall’s classic rock-inspired design.

More speaker deals

• JBL Grip — $64.95 $99.95 (save $35)

• JBL Flip 7 — $94.95 $149.95 (save $55)

• JBL Charge 6 — $149.95 $199.95 (save $50)

• Sony ULT Field 5 — $188 $349.99 (save $161.99)

• JBL PartyBox — $249.99 $329.95 (save $79.96)

• Sony XP700 — $398 $549.99 (save $151.99)

• Sonos Move 2— $399 $499 (save $100)

Best fitness tracker deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 11

$299 at Best Buy
$399 Save $100

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

The newest Apple Watch is packed with incredible health and fitness features, including sleep tracking, ECG, heart-rate alerts, and hypertension notifications. It also gives you workout metrics such as training load, heart rate zones, and Pacer, plus safety features including fall and crash detection. Battery life is up to 24 hours, with fast charging available for a quick top-up.

More fitness tracker deals

• Fitbit ACE Kids — $99.99 $179.99 (save $80)

• Fitbit Charge 6 — $119.95 $159.95 (save $40)

• Garmin Forerunner 55 — $143.99 $169.99 (save $26)

• Apple Watch SE — $219.99 $249.99 (save $30)

• Garmin Instinct 3 — $299.99 $349.99 (save $50)

• Garmin Venu 3S — $299.99 $449.99 (save $150)

• Garmin Forerunner 265 — $349.99 $449.99 (save $100)

• Samsung Galaxy Ring — $379.99 $399.99 (save $20)

• Garmin Forerunner 965 — $499.99 $599.99 (save $100)

Wattpad readers, cancel the emergency evacuation. Your mafia bosses, K-pop idols, vampires, and emotionally unavailable fictional boyfriends are safe for now.

Despite the panic spreading across TikTok, X, and Reddit, Wattpad says it has not banned smut. The storytelling platform updated the language in its Content Guidelines on Aug. 10, prompting users to fear that sexually explicit stories were about to disappear and begin plotting a move to Archive of Our Own, better known as AO3.

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.

According to Wattpad, however, the rules themselves have not changed.

"We recently updated some of the language in our Content Guidelines to make our policies clearer and easier to understand, adding more specificity about what has always been allowed and not allowed on our platform," a Wattpad spokesperson told Fast Company on Aug. 18, following the backlash. "Our policies, content categories, and how we moderate haven't changed."

The company also tried to extinguish the rumor in a post to users, writing that Wattpad remains a home for stories that are "steamy, complicated, romantic, weird, emotional, and everything in between."

"This isn’t changing," Wattpad said.

Under Wattpad’s clarified guidelines, stories may contain explicit sexual content when the people involved are at least 18 years old and the content supports a larger story rather than serving as its primary purpose. Those stories must be marked Mature.

Wattpad prohibits pornography or material created primarily for sexual arousal, sexual content involving anyone under 18, sexual solicitation and roleplay, illegal sexual acts, and sexual exploitation, coercion, or nonconsensual behavior that is glorified. Stories involving intense violence, self-harm, and other sensitive subjects may also require a Mature rating.

That means Wattpad is not banning every story that contains sex. Its rules do, however, draw a line between sexual content that is part of a broader narrative and content that exists mainly to be erotic.

The update may affect "porn without plot" (PWP) — a long-established fanfiction category where the explicit encounter is very much the point — as well as dark romance and other genres involving coercion, power imbalances, or taboo scenarios. Wattpad maintains that these boundaries existed before the update and that any recently removed stories would have already violated its policies.

With a global community of 94 million users, it appears even policy changes can become an enormous game of telephone, and through the grapevine, users heard the words "smut ban" and ran with it. "BEING SOLD TO ONE DIRECTION IS NOW AGAINST THE TERMS OF SERVICE ON WATTPAD??? this is the start of the end," one X user wrote. A reply warned, "We’re about to lose the ancient texts." Another user argued that Wattpad "would be NOTHING without one direction smut," while someone else compared the supposed ban to "the forest banning trees."

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

To understand the level of alarm, it helps to remember what Wattpad has meant to a generation of young internet users, including me. (Writing One Direction fanfiction there helped inspire me to become a professional writer, after all.)

Since launching in 2006, Wattpad has allowed aspiring authors to publish stories chapter by chapter, hear directly from readers, and build audiences without first securing an agent or publisher. Some of those stories eventually became major screen adaptations, including After, The Kissing Booth, Through My Window, and My Life With the Walter Boys.

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

The exchange between writers and readers can also function as an informal writing workshop: A 2016 study of online fanfiction communities identified a process called "distributed mentoring," where authors received encouragement, corrections, and suggestions from numerous community members instead of a single teacher or editor. The authors interviewed believed this process helped them become better writers.

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

Continuing interest in websites like Wattpad is especially relevant as concerns about youth literacy grow. Average U.S. reading scores for fourth- and eighth-graders fell again in 2024 and remained below 2019 levels. Though fanfiction writing can't solve that problem alone, a platform that motivates young people to spend hours reading long-form stories, writing their own, and responding to one another shouldn't be dismissed.

Why are Wattpad users really fleeing to AO3?

Archive of Our Own has emerged as an escape route for Wattpad users online. TikToks with instructions for Wattpad users preparing to move their stories have emerged, along with guides explaining everything from AO3’s search filters to its fandom etiquette.

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.

Unlike Wattpad, AO3 is a nonprofit, noncommercial archive operated by the fan-run Organization for Transformative Works. It has no advertising, paid tier, or algorithmic recommendation feed; readers find stories by searching fandoms, relationships, characters, and tags.

That search system supports the organization’s commitment to "maximum inclusiveness of fanwork content," even when a story may be offensive or disturbing. Rather than removing fiction based on its subject, AO3 expects authors to label their work and gives readers filters for avoiding material they do not want to see.

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

That difference became the focus of the migration discourse. TikTok users posted tutorials telling Wattpad arrivals to read tags before opening a story. Others explained the "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" tag, which warns readers that the disturbing or taboo material listed in a story’s description will appear exactly as advertised.

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

Some users joked that AO3 was experiencing its annual season of welcoming people who had fled another platform, except this group was arriving shortly before Kinktober, a fandom tradition built around publishing kinky stories throughout October. The resulting culture shock, the post predicted, would be "Olympic-level."

And since this is the internet, not everyone is welcoming.

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.

"They’re trying to gentrify AO3," one commenter wrote on the subreddit r/AO3 with 366,000 weekly visitors. Another responded, "This is our ecosystem, not yours. Adapt or perish." Some complained that an influx of fan-fictions were being reported on AO3 since the announcement.

Why is everyone talking about fanfiction again?

The scramble, and attention, comes at a particularly buzzy moment for fanfiction. AO3 passed 18 million fanworks in July, only a few months after the archive officially exited beta following 17 years of operation.

In August, model and actor Kaia Gerber revealed on Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast that she privately writes fanfiction for fun. (Hint: The main character is "not a human.") Gerber isn't alone; fans now openly trade recommendations for Dramione, Reylo, Marauders, BTS, Supernatural, Marvel, and anime stories across TikTok and other social platforms.

Fanfiction is only one part of the current enthusiasm around reading. TikTok reported that more than 80 million posts used #BookTok as of June 1. Meanwhile, U.S. print romance sales rose 3.9 percent in 2025 to nearly 44 million copies. Earlier Circana data identified romance as the print market’s leading growth category, with especially fast gains for romantasy, sports romance, and darker stories.

All of that means there are more public conversations about tropes, ships, spice levels, and formerly niche fandom terminology on social media — at least in Gerber's timeline. For the moment, though, Wattpad readers do not need to flee anywhere. The platform says its smut rules remain the same as before; there are just a few more boundaries.

And anyone who still decides to visit AO3 is welcome to browse its 18 million works. Just read the tags carefully.

SAVE $650: As of August 19, get the Samsung 57" Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor for $1,449.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $2,099.99. That's a discount of 31%.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Samsung 57" Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor

$1,449.99 at Amazon
$2,099.99 Save $650.00

 

Get Deal

If you're a hardcore gamer, you no doubt enjoy feeling like you're in the middle of your favorite titles. A great gaming monitor can do all that and more for you, though they can be a bit pricey if you want the best of the best. That's why you shouldn't skip out on this Samsung deal while it's available.

As of August 19, get the Samsung 57" Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor for $1,449.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $2,099.99. That's $650 off and a discount of 31%.

This massive, 57-inch monitor boasts an impressive 1000R curve and excellent specs, like a 240Hz refresh rate and a 1ms GTG. That translates to deep immersion and a fantastic picture, even when you're playing games that require insanely fast reflexes. It also has a 2.1 HDMI and 2.1 DP port for quick connectivity and flexibility with your other devices.

This is a dual UHD monitor as well, which means you can use it as two displays in one, with two 32-inch UHD displays each, with 3840 x 2160 resolution. It has a 1,000 nit peak brightness and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio as well, so you'll be enjoying a crisp, bright picture.

If you're ready to add a large and in-charge monitor to your setup, this is the model you should absolutely snap up while it's discounted. Your favorite games will thank you, and so will your eyes.

SAVE 13%: As of Aug. 19, you can get the Narwal Flow 2 robot vacuum-and-mop combo for $1,299.98, down from $1,499.99, at Amazon. That's a 13% discount, or $200.01 in savings.

Narwal Flow 2

$1,299.98 at Amazon
$1,499.99 Save $200.01

 

Get Deal at Amazon

If you've ever owned a budget robot mop, you've probably realized that most of them just drag a damp, dirty cloth around your home until the run is finished. Not only that, but the water tank is usually gross afterward, too (especially if you have fur babies).

But that doesn't mean there aren't quality robot vacuum mop combos out there; you just gotta know where to look. Right now, you can get the Narwal Flow 2 robot vacuum-and-mop combo for $1,299.98, down from $1,499.99, at Amazon. That's a 13% discount, or $200.01 in savings.

I'll admit $1,300 is definitely an investment, but with 300+ reviews, a 4-star average rating, and a Mashable Choice Award, the Flow 2 is worth considering. Its FlowWash system continuously washes its track mop with 140°F hot water in real time while scraping dirty water into a separate sealed tank — meaning only fresh water touches your floors.

On the vacuuming side, it delivers 31,000Pa suction power and has a certified zero-tangle dual-brush system that pet parents will definitely appreciate. Throw in dual-camera AI vision for navigating around shoes, cords, and pet bowls, plus a smart status light bar right on the unit, and it's built to run totally hands-off.

Best TV deals at Best Buy:

---

Best overall

65-inch LG Class C6 Series OLED evo AI 4K Smart webOS TV (2026

$1,799.99 (save $900)

Get Deal

---

Best budget TV

85-inch Hisense Class QD50 Hi-QLED Series 4K UHD Smart Roku TV (2026)

$189.99 (save $120)

Get Deal

---

Best gaming TV deal

55-inch LG Class B6E Series OLED AI 4K Smart webOS TV (2026)

$799.99 (save $500)

Get Deal

Buying a new TV is one of those purchases that starts out exciting but usually ends in decision paralysis and an empty wallet. Between trying to figure out what all the specs mean, sticking to a budget, and finding a size everyone can agree on, it's honestly easier to just keep whatever's been sitting in your living room for the last five years.

But Best Buy is currently throwing its 60th Anniversary Sale, and after doing a little digging, I found some price drops worth snagging. Here are the best TV deals you can shop at Best Buy right now.

Best TV deal overall

Opens in a new window

Credit: LG

65-inch LG Class C6 Series OLED evo AI 4K Smart webOS TV (2026

$1,799.99 at Best Buy
$2,699.99 Save $900.00

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

I always tell people that if you're going to invest in a TV, OLED is the way to go. LG makes some of the best OLEDs on the market, and saving $900 on a current-year 65-inch model is basically unheard of before Black Friday. Sure, $1,799 is still pricey, but it's worth every penny for this specific screen.

Best budget TV deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Hisense

85-inch Hisense Class QD50 Hi-QLED Series 4K UHD Smart Roku TV (2026)

$189.99 at Best Buy
$399.99 Save $210

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

You don't have to spend a fortune to get a capable TV. Finding a 58-inch 4K TV under $200 with a QLED display is a legitimate steal. It's not going to rival the LG OLED above, but the QLED tech gives you much better color and brightness than a standard cheap screen. Plus, it has Roku built-in, so you don't have to buy an extra streaming stick.

Best gaming TV deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: LG

55-inch LG Class B6E Series OLED AI 4K Smart webOS TV (2026)

$799.99 at Best Buy
$1,299.99 Save $500

 

Get Deal

Why we like it

If you want those incredible OLED black levels and contrast but don't want to drop C6-level cash, the B-series offers a middle-ground option. It's built to make your PS5 or Xbox games look gorgeous without any screen tearing, and at under $800, it gives you a pretty good excuse to upgrade your setup.

Need a different size or brand? If you want to browse more options, take a look at the rest of Best Buy's current TV deals.

Grand Theft Auto VI has become one of the most anticipated video game releases of all time, and Rockstar Games is finally set to pull back the curtain with an "extended look" event on Netflix later this month. But a major leak is keeping the studio from controlling the narrative.

According to IGN, a group calling itself Cyberleek has claimed responsibility for two leaked gameplay videos and a map image. Cyberleek says the leak is tied to a broader protest against digital pre-orders, "fake" single-player DLC, Sony's killing of physical disks, and a demand for offline fallback modes in games. The purported leaked content spread rapidly across social media this week, adding yet another chapter to a launch run already haunted by past security breaches.

Grand Theft Auto VI Cyberleek incident: What leaked?

An official screenshot previously released by Rockstar Games. Credit: Rockstar Games

Two gameplay clips surfaced online recently: one showing the protagonist, Jason, shooting hoops outside his waterfront home, and another showing a road-rage confrontation with a delivery driver that escalates into a violent encounter with police in pursuit.

In addition, an image reportedly showing the game's full map, covering the Florida-inspired state of Leonida, also circulated. Rockstar has not confirmed the material is genuine, though outlets covering the leak, like PC Gamer, described the clips as looking authentic, noting they resemble the kind of mundane test footage a QA tester might capture.

Reporters combing through this footage flagged several gameplay systems not previously confirmed. A six-star wanted system appears to return, alongside a new police awareness indicator that tracks what officers know about a suspect's clothing, appearance, and vehicle.

A stamina meter seems tied to melee combat, which outlets compared to the fistfighting in Red Dead Redemption 2, and a small on-screen icon suggests some form of morality or karma system reacting to violent actions.

Cars appear to track fuel and engine condition for the first time in the series, and a basketball mini-game seems to raise a "Focus" stat. The map leak reportedly shows both playable characters' locations simultaneously, along with race tracks and a small airstrip near the Keys that some speculated could be a military base.

The genuine leak has also opened the door to a wave of misinformation.

According to Kotaku, AI-generated clips and screenshots have been circulating alongside the real footage, with some users passing them off as part of the new leak. Old footage from GTA VI's 2022 breach has reportedly been recirculated and mislabeled as new material, making it harder for fans to distinguish authentic clips from fabricated AI slop or recycled videos.

Kotaku noted that the footage in this latest leak, if genuine, appears to come from a build considerably further along in development than the one that leaked in 2022, though the exact age of the footage remains unknown.

The Cyberleek group reportedly has a manifesto that lists several demands for Rockstar and other publishers, threatening further leaks if the demands aren't met. A second leak followed within a day of the first, this time showing taser gameplay and a cutscene, along with an unrelated promotion for a cryptocurrency token.

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

The leak arrives just ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, a Netflix-exclusive gameplay reveal scheduled for Aug. 27. GTA VI is due out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on Nov. 19, 2026.

'Grand Theft Auto VI' for PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X

$79.99 at Amazon

 

See It at Amazon See It at Best Buy See It at GameStop

'Grand Theft Auto VI' Ultimate Edition: PS5 or Xbox

$99.99 at PlayStation Store

 

See It at PlayStation Store See It at Xbox See It at Rockstar Games

SAVE $350: As of Aug. 19, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop combo is on sale at Amazon for only $349.99. That's half off its typical list price.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Shark

Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 robot vacuum mop combo

$349.99 at Amazon
$699.99 Save $350

 

Get Deal

Mashable's robot vacuum expert Leah Stodart has tested over 35 different models and only recommends a few specific models from Shark, one being the Matrix Plus 2-in-1. But only if it's on sale. Lucky for you, the budget-friendly robot vacuum and mop combo model is currently half off its list price.

As of Aug. 19, you can pick up the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop combo for just $349.99 instead of its usual $699.99. That's 50% or $350 in savings.

Stodart says she recommends the Matrix Plus 2-in-1 to "budget shoppers who don't want their new vacuum to be a huge investment." Some hybrids can cost well over $1,000, so a few hundred bucks is a whole lot more appealing to most shoppers. Of course, you won't get a boat load of fancy AI features and all that jazz, but you'll get a reliable and simplistic robot vacuum that has impressive spot cleaning abilities.

Make note that while the Matrix Plus can empty and charge itself, you'll have to do some heavy lifting in the mopping department. The self-emptying dock doesn't wash its own mopping pads or refill its water tank like more expensive models, which means it requires manual maintenance from you multiple times per week.

It may not be the most advanced robot vacuum on the market, but if you want something cheap, reliable, and from a reputable brand, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 is a solid grab at only $349.99.

Would you let AI handle your emails?

If the masochist in you says "yes," well, I guess you're now in luck!

Anthropic has just updated its Claude connector for Google Workspace to allow full Gmail inbox management. This notably includes the ability for the AI assistant to send and reply to emails without additional user input or approval.

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

Claude Connectors are integrations that connect Anthropic's AI assistant Claude to external apps. As 9to5Google points out, a Claude Connector for Google Workspace has already existed for a while. Along with Google Calendar and Google Drive, this Claude Connector included some access to Gmail.

However, this week, Anthropic added a new capability to the connector: Claude can now send and reply to emails without even checking with the user. Claude can also forward emails now without asking for approval too.

Claude still needs a human user to ask the AI assistant to draft or reply to an email. But, once Claude writes up the response, it no longer needs to check with the user before sending it.

According to Anthropic, users can still control when Claude checks for approval before sending an email. Anthropic also says Claude asks for approval by default. So, Claude users need to change their settings to give the AI permission to hit "send' without asking first.

One caveat for free Claude users: If you'd like Claude to send emails on your behalf, you will need to subscribe to a paid Claude plan.

SAVE $50.01: As of August 19, get the DJI Power 1000 V2 Portable Power Station for $399.98 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $449.99. That's a discount of 11%.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

DJI Power 1000 V2 Portable Power Station

$399.98 at Amazon
$449.99 Save $50.01

 

Get Deal

Summer may be ending soon, but that doesn't mean the power outages will go away forever. If you're looking for an affordable and easy way to ensure you've got a backup when you lose electricity in a storm or just need a way to charge up while off-grid, a portable power station is your best bet, and this deal is well worth snapping up.

As of August 19, get the DJI Power 1000 V2 Portable Power Station for $399.98 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $449.99. That's $50.01 off and a discount of 11%.

This particular model is great for traveling or just having a backup at home. Mashable's Lauren Allain took it for a spin and awarded it a 4.4 out of 5 score in her review, calling it a "a great model for content creators, those who prioritize a super-quiet power station, or anyone looking for exceptional value in portable power." She especially appreciated its quiet operation, given that so many models from competitors can be loud and disruptive.

You can recharge this power station in just under an hour to reach 100% battery, so even if you deplete it quickly, you won't be left waiting to be able to charge a phone or device, or other mission-critical items when you need them the most. It has a 1,024Wh LFP battery with a 10-year lifespan as well, so you know it'll stay running over the years when you need to be able to rely on it the most.

Whether you just want a quick and easy way to stay powered up or need an off-grid solution, this model is an excellent pick.

If Amazon gets its way, your next emergency phone-charger order may not arrive in a van, but buzz into your yard from the sky before you have time to forget you ordered it.

That possibility is about to become real for many more people. On Wednesday, Amazon announced that Prime Air will expand to nearly 500 cities and towns across the United States by the end of 2026. That would represent a sixfold increase from the drone service’s current footprint.

For now, Prime Air operates from just 11 sites spanning 10 metropolitan areas in Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas. Amazon plans to launch next in the Chicago, Syracuse, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Boise metro areas, with more communities expected to follow later this year.

Does that mean Amazon is building 500 new drone facilities? Not quite.

The company is counting every city and town reached by the service, rather than individual launch sites. Each existing Prime Air site covers an area of roughly 175 square miles, allowing one facility to serve multiple communities. Even then, not every address within a listed ZIP code will necessarily qualify, and Amazon has not yet published a full list of the nearly 500 places included in its plans.

If your address does make the cut, drone delivery will appear as an option while shopping and at checkout. Most products weighing 5 pounds or less and fitting inside a large shoebox are eligible, which Amazon says encompasses more than 60 percent of the items its customers purchase most frequently.

That leaves room for more than just a forgotten tube of toothpaste. Groceries, cosmetics, medications, electronics, and even products like iPhones, AirPods, Samsung Galaxy phones, and Ring doorbells can all potentially make the trip by drone.

Amazon says those orders can arrive in as little as 30 minutes, although most take closer to an hour. Prime members receive free drone delivery on orders of at least $50 and pay $2.99 for smaller orders. Non-Prime customers pay $4.99.

The sudden push to reach hundreds of communities has been a long time coming. Jeff Bezos first demonstrated Amazon’s drone delivery concept in 2013, and Prime Air began making deliveries to customers in 2022. Amazon now says the service has completed hundreds of thousands of deliveries this year and is making thousands more each day.

Part of what changed is how far Amazon is allowed to fly. The company holds the Federal Aviation Administration’s Part 135 air carrier certification, which is required for operators transporting other people’s property by drone beyond a pilot’s direct line of sight. In 2024, the FAA also gave Amazon additional permission to conduct those longer-range flights using its onboard detect-and-avoid technology.

Amazon says its drones independently monitor their surroundings using cameras and sensors. When a drone reaches its destination, it checks that the delivery area is clear of people, pets, and vehicles before releasing the package. The company says the cameras are used for navigation and obstacle detection, rather than tracking people, and that no employee watches a live feed.

Of course, sending autonomous aircraft over people’s homes presents more complicated risks than misplacing a package on the wrong porch. Prime Air’s path to expansion has already included several reminders of that.

Two Amazon drones collided with a crane in Tolleson, Arizona, in October 2025, prompting federal investigations and a temporary pause in local service. The following month, the FAA opened another investigation after a drone struck and severed an internet cable in Waco, Texas. No injuries were reported in either incident.

Amazon will not have the skies to itself, either. Its expansion comes as seemingly every major delivery platform tries to determine where drones fit into its network.

On July 29, DoorDash launched DoorDash Air after becoming the eighth drone operator to receive Part 135 certification. The company is developing its own aircraft and plans to place drones inside the same network that already assigns orders to human Dashers, ground robots, and autonomous delivery partners.

Alphabet-owned Wing, meanwhile, has completed more than 1 million commercial drone deliveries and is working with Walmart to build a network of more than 270 locations reaching more than 40 million Americans by 2027. Uber also partnered with Zipline on Aug. 17, which has completed more than 2 million deliveries globally, to bring drone delivery to Uber Eats.

The competition is intensifying just as the federal government makes it more expensive to source some of the technology from overseas. DoorDash has emphasized that its aircraft was designed in the United States and uses mostly American-made components. That distinction could become more valuable after President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on foreign-made drones and components, including a 100 percent tariff on drones considered particularly sensitive to national security concerns.

For more than a decade, drone delivery has been a futuristic demonstration in search of an everyday use. If Amazon and its rivals hit their targets, the next phase will be much less theoretical: finding out whether people really need their toiletries badly enough to summon them from the sky.

Last year, the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold was technically in competition with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, but in reality, it was no contest. Google's phone was just too bulky to really be a true peer of Samsung's excellent foldable.

This year, while one might arrive at the same ultimate conclusion, it is more of a real competition. The $1,899 Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a clear, marked improvement over its predecessor, thanks largely to a remarkably thinner and lighter form factor. While there are some software improvements to chew on, the fact that the new Pixel foldable is so much more comfortable in the hands than the 2025 model is enough to make it feel more on par with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Even so, a noticeable price increase year-over-year and Samsung's continued excellence in the space still mean that you're probably better off with a Z Fold. But the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a very nice phone in its own right, and there are some good reasons to get one if you're in the market for a premium foldable.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold review: A $400 price increase hits hard

It's a lot thinner this time. Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

Speaking of price increases, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold launched at $1,499, and the 11 Pro Fold is launching at $1,899. There are noteworthy improvements from one device to the next, as I'll cover extensively in the rest of this review, but not to the tune of an extra $400. You can blame RAMageddon and the rapid spread of AI data centers for that.

Still, even with a valid economic justification, a price hike is a price hike. It's not good, and I don't want to normalize that sort of thing, no matter how normal it is in 2026.

Easily the biggest change Google made between the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and this model is in the physical design of the device itself. Last year's Pixel foldable was notably thicker and bulkier than the Z Fold 7, to the point where I couldn't earnestly recommend it to anyone, even though it was a perfectly OK device in its own right. Google trimmed the Pixel 11 Pro Fold down substantially, bringing it down to 10.1mm of thickness when folded and 5.0mm when unfolded.

That's compared to 10.8mm and 5.2mm last year, respectively. Google also pared the weight down from around 258g to 239g. All of that is to say that the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is significantly better from an ergonomic and design standpoint than its predecessor. As soon as I picked it up for the first time, I was immediately impressed by how much more svelte it is. The only problem is that the Z Fold 8 Ultra is an even tinier 4.1mm when unfolded, so Samsung still wins in that regard.

Still, Google is closing the gap.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Design, specs, and price

Boring colors this year. Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

The new Pixel 11 Pro Fold also only comes in two very drab and boring colors: Olive and Obsidian. Blegh. Here are the rest of the basic specs for the device:

• Exterior display: 6.5-inches with 1080x2342 resolution, 1-120Hz refresh rate, and 3,600 nits peak brightness

• Interior display: 8-inches with 2076x2152 resolution, 1-120Hz refresh rate, and 3,600 nits peak brightness

• Processor: Google Tensor G6

• RAM: 16GB

• Storage: 256/512GB, 1TB

• Battery: 4,806mAh

• Rear cameras: 48MP wide, 10.5MP ultra-wide, 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom

• Selfie cameras: 10MP outer and inner cameras

We'll get to camera and battery changes shortly, but one upgrade worth mentioning here is that both displays have seen their peak brightness rise from 3,000 nits on Pixel 10 Pro Fold to 3,600 nits on this device. When you're using the foldable outdoors on a sunny day, the brightness is definitely noticeable. In general, the displays look great, but to my eyes they don't look all that different from last year's model outside of the brightness change.

I will say, though, that the crease in the inner display is fairly visible. It's not a big deal, but Samsung wins that competition this year.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Performance

As usual, Google has included a new in-house Tensor processor with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The Tensor G6 chip makes everyday activities, from web browsing to photography and social media, extremely breezy. I have absolutely zero complaints about the performance profile here, though I should mention that I didn't really have any last year, either. It'd be a big story if a nearly $2,000 phone didn't perform well.

Unfortunately, the Geekbench 7 benchmarking software that we use to put a number on performance does not have Pixel 11 Pro Fold support just yet. Take my word for it, though: Performance is fine on this phone.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: AI features and HiLight

That little white circle is where HiLight happens. Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

As always, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is fully Gemini-powered out of the box. It comes with six months of the Google AI Pro subscription and otherwise has some contextual Gemini-based actions that can occur, usually within the realm of text messages. For example, if someone texts you about a lunch date, Gemini might surface a little visual card with information about the restaurant in question sourced from the internet.

This sort of thing isn't terribly new or exciting (it's also somewhat difficult to test), but I suppose it can help save a little bit of time here and there. The most standout new AI feature actually involves photography. It's called Magic Capture, and the way it works is that you open the Camera app, swipe to a new Magic Capture tab the same way you would swipe between the photo and video modes, and start filming anything that's moving or otherwise dynamic and difficult to capture in still image form.

After you're done filming, the phone will take a few seconds to process a sort of "ideal" photographic still from the video you just took. It can also optionally crop and unblur these photos without your input. Fast-moving animals like New York's lovely pigeons or dogs at a dog park made for decent test subjects; even with the maximum zoom distance of 4x and twitchy, unpredictable subjects, the stills actually came out looking pretty nice.

This came from a video. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

So was this. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

I am broadly speaking not a fan of the AI creep that's been happening with smartphones in recent years. That said, Magic Capture is genuinely pretty neat and I could see it being very useful for people with kids and/or pets.

One other aspect worth talking about is HiLight, the only real new hardware feature in the Pixel 11 Pro series. It's a little multi-colored light that lives in the rear camera bar, and it lights up either when Gemini is active or when someone calls you. Those are the only two use cases right now. It's neat that you can set custom colors for different contacts, but I really don't understand why Google prioritized phone calls over text messages for HiLight at launch.

As it is, HiLight doesn't add much to the experience.. Maybe it'll get better over time.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Battery life

As with all devices that Mashable reviews, I tested the Pixel 11 Pro Fold's battery life by looping an HD video on its display until the phone died.

Google rates the Pixel 11 Pro Fold as having more than 24 hours of battery life, but using our testing method, I was only able to get about 24 hours of juice out of the phone's battery, which is smaller than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's cell. I'm certain you could wring a bit more life out of it by sticking to normal everyday activities like scrolling social media, so this isn't a big deal. It's also about the same result I got out of the Z Fold 8 Ultra, so even though I like Samsung's device a bit more, it doesn't outright win on battery life.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Cameras

Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

I mentioned earlier that there are arguments to be made for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold over the Z Fold 8 Ultra. The biggest one is definitely the cameras.

That's interesting because Samsung's rear camera array wins heavily on megapixel counts. You only get a 48MP main shooter here, versus a 200MP lens on the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Megapixels usually don't tell the full story, though, and whatever Google is doing behind the scenes with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold's software produces much better-looking shots in certain conditions.

As an example, both phones can digital zoom up to 30x. On the Z Fold 8 Ultra, everything taken at that zoom level looks terrible. It's a bunch of AI-corrected mush that no one should ever substitute for a real photo. On the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, though, 30x zoom images are fairly clear and nice-looking.

1x zoom. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

30x zoom. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

The ultra-wide lens also produces vibrant, colorful shots.

Only a month or two before the leaves start falling. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Macro photography is always nice to have, as well.

Macro-licious. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

And portrait mode does what you want it to do.

Sorry, I don't like including my own selfies in these reviews. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Between all of that and the usefulness of Magic Capture, I would probably recommend the Pixel 11 Pro Fold over the Z Fold 8 Ultra purely on the merits of its cameras. However, you'd be better off getting a traditional flagship phone like a Pixel 11 Pro if photography is really your passion.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: My final verdict

Google has made great strides towards catching up with Samsung in the tablet-style foldable space in the past 12 months.

Simply put, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a massive improvement over the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, if only because it's a lot more comfortable to hold. It's still not anywhere near as thin as Samsung's Z Fold 8 Ultra, but it's hard to imagine anything on the market topping that soon.

Even so, its performance is rock solid. I actually think it's better at taking photos than the Z Fold 8 Ultra, and it's generally a very nice phone to use. Maybe next year Google can win the fight.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold (Obsidian)

$1,899 at T-Mobile

 

See It at T-Mobile See It at Google Store See It at Amazon

Google has some new phones coming out, and we've been busy testing them all. Let's talk about them.

As part of its annual Made by Google event earlier this month, Google lifted the veil off the entire Pixel 11 series. While we don't quite have full reviews ready for each phone just yet, we wanted to share our first impressions of the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, and Pixel 11 Pro XL. (You can read our full review of the Pixel 11 Pro Fold.)

In general, this is another year of incremental improvements for the Pixel family, but there are some noteworthy changes to talk about. Let's dig in.

The base Pixel 11 camera bar is much thinner

Slimmed down. Credit: Rene Ramos / Mashable

One thing that becomes very apparent right away when putting your hands on the base model Pixel 11 is that its physical profile has been trimmed down to an extent. However, Google didn't do that by changing the phone's dimensions; those are exactly the same as last year.

So, what did Google do to achieve a thinner silhouette (while shaving 0.3 oz off the weight) for its cheapest Pixel 11? It noticeably reduced the size of the camera bar this time around. It's not quite the same as what Google did to the Pixel 10a, which basically doesn't have a camera bar at all, allowing the phone to lie completely flat on a table. But the end result is close enough, as this is, as far as I can tell, the thinnest camera bar Google has put on a Pixel in a long, long time.

It's barely noticeable when viewed from the side, and the phone is close enough to being flat on any given surface that it's functionally pretty similar to the Pixel 10a in design. You can also basically make the phone completely flat on its backside by putting a case on the Pixel 11.

This isn't a monumental change or anything, and it only applies to the base model, but still, it's pretty nice.

HiLight is a swing and a miss so far

It's not much to look at. Credit: Rene Ramos / Mashable

With the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Samsung introduced a major hardware upgrade: Privacy Display. Unfortunately, Google's big hardware innovation is pretty underwhelming.

We're talking about HiLight, a small, multi-colored light module that lives in the camera bar of the Pro models. Yes, you read that right: Base Pixel 11 phones can't use HiLight.

You might think, based on that fact, that HiLight is some highly advanced technological feat. Based on early impressions, that's not really the case. HiLight can pretty much do two things at the moment: light up when Gemini is active, or light up when someone calls you on the phone. The idea is to notify you that things are happening when you have the phone flipped face down, but I feel pretty strongly that Google should have prioritized text messages instead of phone calls for the initial HiLight rollout.

If HiLight worked with texts (and I expect that it will eventually), it would at least be pretty neat that you can set custom colors for different contacts. But as it is, in a world where I pretty much only get phone calls from people who are trying to drain my bank account, it's not particularly useful.

And again, it really should be available on all four Pixel 11 phones.

Magic Capture is a pleasant surprise

The Google Pixel 11 series. Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

In terms of software additions, the most impressive one I've seen in my time with the Pixel 11 series has been Magic Capture. This, fortunately, is available on all four Pixel 11 devices, and it's worth trying once you have your new phone all set up and ready to go.

Magic Capture is available as a new mode in the Camera app; just choose it from the same little section where you'd choose either photo or video mode and you're good to go. The way it works is that you film anything you want, ideally an object or living thing in motion, and Magic Capture will automatically process the video and choose several still frames from it that would work as standalone photos.

Kinda neat! Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Pigeons are cool. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

This processing happens on-device and works without a cellular or internet connection, which is great. There's also an option to let Magic Capture automatically crop and unblur these images. In practice, I found Magic Capture surprisingly capable of picking out neat still frames from videos. I filmed a train speeding by me and it found a frame where I'm clearly visible as a reflection in the train's window, which I thought was pretty cool. I was also able to catch a pigeon mid-take-off.

Magic Capture seems eminently useful for things like filming sports or other dynamic events full of moving subjects. Even as an AI skeptic (to put it mildly), this is one AI feature I actually sort of dig.

SAVE $400: As of Aug. 19, the Apple MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip (18-core CPU and 20-core GPU), 24GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage is on sale for $2,799 at Amazon and Best Buy. That's 13% off its usual sticker price of $3,199.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5 Pro with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, 24GB RAM, 2TB SSD)

$2,799 at Amazon
$3,199 Save $400

 

Get Deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5 Pro with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, 24GB RAM, 2TB SSD)

$2,799 at Best Buy
$3,199 Save $400

Deal of the Day (only available Aug. 19).

Get Deal

Apple jacked up its MacBook prices this June amid RAMageddon, making it all the more crucial to shop smart and look for deals before you buy a new model. Lately, Amazon has been the place to go for those. Following some discounts on the M5 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro earlier this month, the retail giant is selling another MacBook Pro variant for $400 off this week. It's actually cheaper now than it was prior to Apple's price hike.

The model in question has an upgraded M5 Pro chip with an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, plus 24GB of memory and two terabytes of storage. It typically retails for $3,199 these days — up from $2,899 before June — but right now, it's marked down to just $2,799 on Amazon. That's an impressive $400 savings. (Best Buy is matching Amazon's pricing as an Aug. 19 Deal of the Day, meaning it won't linger there past midnight tonight.)

Choose from two colors: silver or space black. Credit: Apple

This is the MacBook I'd recommend to any creative professional who wants an ultra-powerful, long-lasting, and well future-proofed machine that's easy to take on the go. Apple also makes a 16-inch MacBook Pro with the same specs, which is nice if you want a bigger screen, but at 4.7 pounds, it's very heavy.

The M5 Pro-powered MacBook Pro offers several upgrades over the base M5 model (beyond a beefier processor), including faster Thunderbolt 5 ports, a newer wireless networking chip, and support for a third external monitor. It's too much laptop for the average person, but if you're editing huge video files or on a regular basis, for instance, it's up to the task.

SAVE $300: As of Aug. 19, the Samsung 32-inch Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor is down to just $999 instead of $1,299 at Amazon. That's 23% off and matches its lowest price on record.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Samsung

Samsung 32-inch Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor

$999 at Amazon
$1,299 Save $300

 

Get Deal

If you're going to spend hours upon hours gaming in front of a screen, you might as well invest in something that looks good. It won't be cheap, but if you're strategic, you can lock in a pretty solid discount on a high-quality gaming monitor. For instance, the 2026 Samsung 32-inch Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor is currently on sale for its best price ever.

Typically $1,299, you can pick up the Odyssey OLED G8 for just $999 as of Aug. 19. That's $300 or 23% in savings and matches its lowest cost on record from Prime Day. 

Released in May, the Odyssey OLED G80SH sports a stunning 32-inch 4K display that uses OLED Glare Free technology, which means it's less glossy than other monitors. This makes it more appealing to anyone who games in bright rooms or gets distracted by reflections. It's also VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certified, which ensures deep blacks and vibrant colors.

Specs-wise, the monitor has a speedy 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time paired with features like FreeSync Premium Pro and VRR. So you can expect a smooth, responsive, and lag-free gaming experience.

If you've been staring at the same dull screen for long enough and are ready to make the leap to a premium setup, now's a great time. Snag the Samsung 32-inch Odyssey OLED G8 while it's the cheapest it's ever been.

SAVE $122: As of August 19, get the DJI Mic 3 (1 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case) for $207 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $329. That's a discount of 37%.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

DJI Mic 3 (2 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case)

$207 at Amazon
$329 Save $122

 

Get Deal

Content creators or anyone looking to take a few videos here and there can benefit from a great mic. DJI boasts a variety of excellent options when it comes to audio equipment, though the company is primarily known for its drones. If you want to add a little oomph to your audio recordings to go along with your videos, it's a good idea to pick up a DJI mic whenever it's discounted, and now is one of those times.

As of August 19, get the DJI Mic 3 (1 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case) for $207 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $329. That's $122 off and a discount of 37%.

This mic set, with a charging kit to keep everything juiced up while on the go, is a great option for capturing audio no matter what kind of situation you're in. Use it for recording interviews, adding voiceover, or just to enhance the audio you have in a video in general. This bundle nets you a transmitter, a receiver, a charging case, and everything else you need to record audio right out of the box.

The mic itself is tiny and unobtrusive, which makes it perfect for adding to a lapel, putting in a bag to transport, or even hold if you prefer. Pair it with up to four transmitters and a receiver to sync audio, and you've got a great way to ensure your videos always sound great. It also has plenty of features to tweak your audio should you need.

If you're thinking about making videos or just want to level up your audio, this is a no-brainer of a buy, especially while it's discounted.

SAVE 10%: As of Aug. 19, you can get the DJI Mini 4K for $269, down from $299, at Amazon. That's a 10% discount, or $30 in savings.

DJI Mini 4K 3-Axis Gimbal Camera Drone (Under 249 Grams)

$269 at Amazon
$299 Save $30

 

Get Deal at Amazon

If you've been wanting to take your photography to the skies without dropping a grand (or dealing with FAA registration), the DJI Mini 4K is an affordable entry-level option.

As of Aug. 19, you can get the DJI Mini 4K for $269, down from $299, at Amazon. That's a 10% discount, or $30 in savings.

The DJI Mini 4K weighs less than 249 grams, so you can bypass the FAA registration and Remote ID sign-up process as long as you're using it recreationally. You'll also get a crystal-clear 4K UHD video stabilized by a 3-axis gimbal, Level 5 wind resistance, up to 10km of HD video transmission, and 31 minutes of flight time.

Bonus: It offers convenient features for newbie pilots, like GPS Return to Home, one-tap takeoff and landing, and automated "QuickShots" (like Helix, Dronie, and Boomerang) that capture cinematic aerial footage with just a couple of taps.

SAVE $100: Through Sept. 7, Fox One is offering new subscribers a year of streaming for only $99. That's 50% off your first year of streaming or $100 in savings, just in time for football season.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Fox One

Fox One annual subscription

$99
$199 Save $100

*for your first year*

Get Deal

It's the most wonderful time of the year for football fans. College football kicks off next week and a new NFL season opens on Sept. 9, which means it's time to get your streaming lineup in order.

While there are numerous streaming services you'll need to watch football this season, Fox One has become a main pillar. It gives cable-less fans live access to Sunday afternoon NFL games in network, as well as Big Ten college football matchups and plenty of national broadcasts. Typically, it costs a pretty penny at $199 for the year. Through Sept. 7, however, new subscribers can lock in an entire year of Fox One for just $99. That's $100 or 50% off.

Just a couple of years ago, the only way to watch live Fox channels without cable was through a cable replacement service like YouTube TV or Fubo, which cost upwards of $90 per month. Thankfully, Fox finally launched its own streaming service last year. It serves as a one-stop shop for the entire Fox TV portfolio, meaning you can tune into live local Fox stations, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox News, and beyond. You'll also get on-demand access to content from Fox Entertainment, including movies, TV shows, and ad-supported channels like LiveNOW, TMZ, and Fox podcasts.

One notable difference about Fox One compared to other mainstream streamers is that it currently doesn't offer any original content. Instead, it's mainly focused on giving cord cutters access to live sports, events, and news. Still, for less than $100 for the whole year — which breaks down to only $8.25 per month — that's an excellent value (particularly for football fans). Just be sure to cancel before the year is up if you want to avoid being automatically charged full price for the following year.

TL;DR: HoverAir's new Versa — a handheld gimbal camera that converts into a drone with an optional Flight Kit — just became the first consumer quadcopter to clear the FCC's foreign drone ban. The Flight Kit itself contains no RF transmitters, so it doesn't need its own FCC certification, even though it turns the camera into a flying drone. The Indiegogo campaign is live now, with pricing starting at $449.

Opens in a new window

Credit: HoverAir

HoverAir Versa

$449 at Indiegogo

 

Learn More

HoverAir says it's pulled off something no other Chinese drone maker has managed since the FCC's foreign drone ban took effect: getting a flying camera cleared for U.S. sale. The company's new Versa has launched on Indiegogo, and, according to HoverAir, its modular design is what lets it slip past FCC restrictions that have kept competitors grounded.

The Versa is a compact camera built for solo creators and vloggers. It records stabilized video up to 4K at 60fps, uses a fairly large Type 1/1.3 image sensor, and includes an OLED touchscreen. HoverAir also claims up to 17.5 stops of dynamic range, which would put it ahead of every other vlogging camera on the market, including DJI's newer Osmo Pocket 4P.

Once the Flight Kit is attached, the entire setup weighs 230 grams, which is light enough to remain under the FAA's 250-gram registration threshold. That means recreational pilots won't need to register the Versa or attach a Remote ID transmitter to fly it. Commercial pilots, however, will still need an external Remote ID transmitter, sold separately.

How the Versa gets around the ban

Since December 2025, the FCC has blocked new equipment authorizations for foreign-made drones — a rule that already cost HoverAir once. Its Aqua drone launched last year but never reached American buyers because of the ban.

The Versa is built differently. On its own, it's a handheld, gimbal-stabilized vlogging camera, similar in shape to DJI's Osmo Pocket 3. What turns it into a drone is a separate accessory called the Flight Kit, a set of propellers that snaps onto the camera magnetically.

A HoverAir representative told our sister site PCMag why: the Flight Kit doesn't contain any RF transmitters, so it doesn't need its own FCC ID or listing, even though attaching it lets the camera fly. That means the camera and its remote control show up in the FCC database, while the Flight Kit doesn't — it just connects to the camera through magnets and small pogo pins for data and power, without triggering the same scrutiny drones typically face.

None of this is settled, though. The FCC has pulled approvals from devices shortly after granting them in recent weeks, so there's no guarantee this one sticks. But if it holds, the Versa would become the first consumer drone to reach the U.S. market since the ban on foreign drones took effect.

The Versa is live on Indiegogo now, which means you're funding the product before it ships, not buying a finished item outright. The camera alone is $449 through Aug. 20, then $499.

The best streaming deals to watch NFL games in the 2026-2027 season:

---

BEST PRIME VIDEO DEAL

Prime Video (No Prime Membership)

$8.99 per month (save $6 per month)

Get Deal

---

BEST PARAMOUNT+ DEAL

Paramount+ Essential Annual Subscription

$89.99 per year (save $17.89)

Get Deal

---

BEST YOUTUBE TV DEAL

YouTube TV Sports

Free 10-day trial, then $54.99 per month for your first year (save $10 per month)

Get Deal

---

BEST FUBO DEAL

Fubo TV Sports

$54.99 for your first month (save $10)

Get Deal

---

BEST PEACOCK DEAL

Peacock Premium Annual Subscription

$109.99 per year (save $21.89)

Get Deal

---

BUNDLE DEAL

ESPN Unlimited and Fox One

$39.99 per month (save $19.98 per month)

Get Deal

---

Bundle deal

ESPN Unlimited and NFL+ Premium

$39.99 per month (save $4.99 per month)

Get Deal

---

Best Fox One deal

Fox One Annual Plan

$99.99 per year (save $100 through Sept. 7)

Get Deal

It's finally that time again: a new NFL season is upon us. That means it's also time to get all of your streaming services in order. Sorry in advance.

Notorious gatekeepers of their broadcasts, the NFL has made watching NFL games a tangled web of subscriptions. Even if you still have cable, you'll need a couple of extra subscriptions to watch every game. We've done our best to sort out all the complicated details for you.

If you want to watch your favorite teams battle it out this season with or without cable, here's everything you need to know — including the cheapest possible way to do so (legally).

When does the 2026 NFL season start?

The season kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, with a Super Bowl LX rematch between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

How to watch NFL games during the 2026–2027 season

Since no single network owns the rights to every game, watching your favorite teams isn't as cut and dry in the NFL as it is with some other sports. And now with streaming services throwing hats in the ring, even cable TV subscribers will need a few extras to catch every game.

Here's the general weekly schedule for the 2026–2027 season, along with which channel or streaming service you'll need.

Thursday Night Football

• Thursday Night Football kicks off the week exclusively on Prime Video (starting week two).

Sunday afternoon games

• Sunday afternoon games air on local CBS stations for AFC teams.

• Sunday afternoon games air on local Fox stations for NFC teams.

• The local AFC games in your network will stream on Paramount+.

• The local NFC games in your network will stream on Fox One.

Sunday Night Football

• Sunday Night Football games air nationally on NBC.

• Don't have cable? Sunday Night Football will also stream on Peacock for subscribers.

Monday Night Football

• Monday Night Football games air on ESPN, with select games simulcast on ABC.

• You can stream all ESPN and ABC games live with ESPN Unlimited.

Other exclusive games

• NFL Network will also broadcast seven different games throughout the season, including five international matchups.

• Netflix expanded its broadcast partnership with the NFL to five games this season, up from two, starting in Week 1.

Noteworthy info

• It's ESPN's "Year of the Super Bowl," which means it has its largest NFL portfolio ever, airing a total of 29 games between ESPN, ABC, ESPN Unlimited, and NFL Network.

• The season kicks off on a Wednesday on NBC at 8:20 p.m. ET.

• There are nine international games this season — the most ever.

If you don't have cable, you have plenty of options to watch games live. If you're a casual fan, you can simply invest in a digital TV antenna to catch local games and national broadcasts live on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX. Beyond football, a digital antenna will also grant you free access to local news, nationally broadcast events like the Grammys or Oscars, and other network programming. If you're reasonably close to your local TV stations, you should be able to pick up at least the four main networks. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to access ESPN or NFL Network.

You can also sign up for a cable alternative like YouTube TV or Fubo to get access to local networks, plus a ton of other channels. Live TV streaming services can be pretty pricey, but you do get a lot of bang for your buck. This option will get you ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, and NFL Network in most markets. No need to be close to your local TV stations.

With either option you choose, you'll still have to sign up for Prime Video if you want to watch Thursday Night Football games and Netflix for its five exclusive games this season. You can also utilize streaming apps like Peacock, Paramount+, Fox One, and ESPN Unlimited to watch many in-market regular-season games. It's all up to you and how many games you want access to (and how much money you're willing to spend). Below, we've rounded up the best streaming deals for each streaming service required to watch football games this season to help you out.

Something to consider: In-market vs. out-of-market games

Before you pull the trigger on any paid TV provider or streaming service, you need to decide whether you want access to local in-market games or out-of-market games (or both). This is where watching sports gets really confusing and frustrating.

If you're a fan of your local sports team and strictly want to watch their season unfold, a digital antenna or live TV streaming service will get the job done. You will generally only get access to in-market games, which include the teams geographically closest to you.

If your favorite teams are not geographically close to you, they will likely be blacked out unless they are national broadcasts. In this case, the only legal way you can watch out-of-market games is via NFL Sunday Ticket. A costly streaming service, NFL Sunday Ticket exclusively streams out-of-market, regular-season, Sunday football games. There are two ways to subscribe: as an add-on to a YouTube TV base plan or as an individual primetime channel on YouTube. It costs $378 as a YouTube TV add-on and $480 as a standalone service, although there are typically deals around the start of the season (more on that below).

So if you’re a Baltimore Ravens fan living in Nashville, you can watch all of the Sunday Ravens games that aren’t shown on NBC, CBS, or FOX in your area with NFL Sunday Ticket. If you're a Ravens fan living in or near Baltimore, however, you'll want to grab a digital antenna or sign up for a streaming service like Paramount+ or YouTube TV.

The best football streaming deals for the 2026–2027 NFL season

The best Prime Video deals

For Thursday Night Football and Black Friday

In addition to Thursday Night Football games, Prime Video is also set to stream an exclusive Black Friday game and a playoff game again this season during Wildcard weekend. Prime members get access to Prime Video included in their subscription, which costs $14.99 per month. If you're new to Prime, you can even score a free 30-day trial before you owe a monthly fee. Here are a few other ways you can save some money.

• Best for long-term viewing: Save 22% by signing up for an Annual Prime subscription and paying $139 upfront for the whole year. That drops the cost of Prime down to just $11.59 per month instead of $14.99

• Most affordable: Ditch the Prime perks and simply subscribe to Prime Video as a standalone streaming service for just $8.99 per month — $6 cheaper than a full Prime membership.

• Best for those under 24: Prime for Young Adults, designed for those between the ages of 18 and 24, as well as college students of any age, can score a free six-month trial to Prime. After the trial, it'll cost just $7.49 per month — a savings of 50%.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Amazon Prime Annual

$139 per year (save $40.88)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Prime Video

Prime Video only

$8.99 per month

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Prime for Young Adults

Free 6-month trial, then $7.49 per month

Learn More

The best live TV streaming deals

For local NFL Sunday afternoon games

Sunday afternoon games are broadcast on either CBS (for AFC teams) or FOX (for NFC teams). CBS is available without cable through Paramount+, while Fox is now available through a new streaming service called Fox One (see the bundle deal under Monday Night Football). Meanwhile, live TV streaming services like Fubo, YouTube TV, or Hulu + Live TV will give you access to both CBS and FOX, although they are much more expensive. Whichever route you choose, we've found a few different deals currently live for the start of the NFL season. Here are our top picks.

• Best for AFC games only: Paramount+ Essential monthly subscriptions cost $8.99, but drop to $7.50 per month with an annual subscription (save 17%).

• Best for students (AFC games only): Students can get 50% off any Paramount+ plan by proving their student status through SheerID.

• Best for NFC games only: Fox One costs you $19.99 per month, but if you subscribe for the whole year, it's just $199. That breaks down to just $16.59 monthly. If you sign up by Sept. 7, you can even save 50% on your first year (just $99 instead of $199).

Opens in a new window

Credit: Paramount+

Paramount+ annual subscription

$89.99 per year (save 17%)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Paramount+

Paramount+ for students

$4.49 per month for 12 months (save 50%)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Fox One

Fox One annual subscription

$199 per year (save $40)

Learn More

• Best live TV streaming service deal overall: YouTube TV has a new Sports plan that's just $54.99 per month for your first year. It includes both networks you'll need to watch Sunday afternoon games, plus ESPN, NFL Network, NBC, and more.

• Most bang for your buck: Hulu's live TV streaming service costs $89.99 per month, which includes access to 100+ channels, plus Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited.

• Another live TV streaming option: Take $10 off your first month of Fubo Sports plan, knocking it down to just $54.99. It includes access to CBS, Fox, and ESPN Unlimited.

Opens in a new window

Credit: YouTube

YouTube TV Sports plan

$54.99/month for 12 months (save $120)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Hulu

Hulu + Live TV (with Disney+ and ESPN+)

$82.99 per month

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Fubo

Fubo TV Sports plan

$54.99 for your first month, then $64.99 per month

Learn More

The best Peacock deals

for Sunday Night Football

If you don't have access to local networks via a live TV streaming service or a digital antenna, you can still tune into Sunday Night Football on NBC by signing up for Peacock. The network (and streamer) will also host the first game of the season on Wednesday, Sept. 9, a Thanksgiving Night game, as well as a Week 17 Peacock exclusive game. Subscriptions now start at $10.99 per month, but we've rounded up a few ways you can save.

• Best for long-term viewing: Sign up for a Peacock Premium yearly subscription for $109.99 and save 17% versus a monthly subscription, which adds up to $131.88 per year.

• Best for students: Students can sign up for Peacock Premium for just $5.99 per month for a whole year by proving their student status through SheerID.

• Best for first responders, teachers, and military: With annual verification for first responders, teachers, and military, you can get Peacock Premium for $6.99 per month and save $4 per month.

• Best Peacock third-party deal: You can get Peacock Premium for free when you sign up for Instacart+ for $99 per year.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Peacock

Peacock Premium yearly subscription

$109.99 per year (save 17%)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Peacock

Peacock Premium for Students

$5.99 per month for one year (save $5 per month)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Peacock

Peacock Premium for First Responders

$6.99/month (save $4/month)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Peacock

Peacock for Military Personnel

$6.99 per month (save $4/month)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Peacock

Peacock Premium for Teachers

$6.99/month (save $4/month)

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: Instacart / Peacock

Free Peacock Premium

with Instacart+ subscription (save $10.99 per month)

Learn More

The best ESPN deals

for Monday Night Football and the Super Bowl

With a total of 29 games between ESPN, ABC, ESPN Unlimited, and NFL Network, ESPN Unlimited is a must-have streamer if you don't already have cable or a cable alternative. Since ESPN acquired the rights to NFL Network and RedZone, you can also stream these channels on the updated ESPN app with a bundle deal. ESPN Unlimited costs $29.99 per month on its own, but there are a few options that let you save a little cash or get more bang for your buck.

• Best for long-term viewing: Go all in on an ESPN Unlimited annual subscription for $299.99 and save 17% ($60) compared to paying monthly.

• Best bundle deal: Pay an extra $10 per month and get unlimited access to both ESPN and NFL+ with the $39.99/month ESPN Unlimited and NFL+ Premium bundle.

• Another great bundle option: Bundle ESPN Unlimited and Fox One for just $39.99 per month and save $10 per month.

Opens in a new window

Credit: ESPN

ESPN Unlimited annual plan

$299/year (save

Learn More

Opens in a new window

Credit: ESPN / NFL+

ESPN Unlimited and NFL+ Premium bundle

$39.99 per month (save $4.99/month)

Get Deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: ESPN / Fox One

ESPN Unlimited + Fox One

$39.99/month (save $9.98/month)

Learn More

What's the cheapest way to watch NFL games this season?

Good question. If you want to watch mainly in-market and nationally broadcast games, the cheapest way to do so is to sign up for the new YouTube TV Sports plan and Prime Video. The YouTube TV Sports plan is just $54.99 per month for your first year, and Prime Video on its own costs $8.99. That's a grand total of $63.98 per month. You'll also have to add Netflix into the mix for a couple of months to access those exclusive games, which will increase the total to $72.97 for those months.

You could also choose to go the à la carte route and sign up for individual services like ESPN Unlimited, Fox One, Peacock, Paramount+, and Prime Video. Here's what the price breakdown looks like at a glance.

YouTube TV Sports option

• $54.99 per month for your first year of YouTube TV Sports — includes ABC, ESPN, FOX, NBC, CBS, NFL Network

• $8.99 per month for Prime Video — Thursday Night Football

• $8.99 per month for Netflix — five exclusive games

Grant total: $63.98 per month without Netflix, $72.97 per month with Netflix

A la carte option

• $39.99 per month for ESPN Unlimited and Fox One — NFC games on Sunday afternoons and Monday Night Football games on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN+

• $10.99 per month for Peacock — Sunday Night Football games on NBC, plus Peacock-exclusive game

• $8.99 per month for Paramount+  — AFC games on Sunday afternoons

• $8.99 per month for Prime Video — Thursday Night Football

• $8.99 per month for Netflix — five exclusive games