The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you're fashionable.
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.
The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Yellow: Fighter necessities
Green: Final showdown
Blue: Shirt features
Purple: White and fluffy
Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:
Yellow: Gear for a boxer
Green: Championship
Blue: Kinds of necklines
Purple: Snow ___
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 #958 is...
Gear for a boxer: GLOVES, MOUTHGUARD, ROBE, SHORTS
Championship: AWARD, CROWN, CUP, TITLE
Kinds of necklines: BOAT, CREW, HALTER, SCOOP
Snow ___: CONE, GLOBE, LEOPARD, PEA
Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.
NYT Strands hints, answers for January 24, 2026The NYT Strands hints and answers you need to make the most of your puzzling experience.
Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're an art connoisseur.
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.
The words are related to art.
These words describe iconic artworks.
Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
Today's spangram is Famous Painting.
Famous Painting
Night
Starry
Lilies
Party
Water
Boating
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.
Wordle today: Answer, hints for January 24, 2026Here's the answer for "Wordle" #1679 on January 24 as well as a few hints, tips, and clues to help you solve it yourself.
Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you love beach diving.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
An edge.
The letter F appears twice.
Today's Wordle starts with the letter C.
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...
CLIFF
Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on January 24See the Moon phase expected for January 24, 2025 as well as when the next Full Moon is expected.
It's day six of the lunar cycle, and the Moon is well in our view now. There's plenty to spot on its surface, so what can you see when you look up?
As of Saturday, Jan. 24, the Moon phase is Waxing Crescent. According to NASA's Daily Moon Guide, 32% of the Moon will be lit up tonight.
Don't have any visual aids? Not a problem. Without, you'll still be able to see the Crisum, Serenitatis and Fecunditatis mares. If you have binoculars you'll also be able to catch a glimpse of the Endymion Crater and the Posidonius Crater. If you have a telescope, you can also see the Apollo 11 and 17 landing spots and the Rupes Altai.
The next Full Moon will be on Feb. 1. The last full moon was on Jan. 3.
The Moon’s phases are part of a repeating lunar cycle that lasts roughly 29 and a half days, according to NASA. This is the length of time it takes the Moon to orbit Earth once. During this time, the Moon moves through eight separate stages. Although the same face of the Moon is always turned toward Earth, how much of it we see lit up changes as its position shifts around the planet. This changing angle of sunlight is what causes the Moon to look fully illuminated, partly lit, or nearly invisible at different times. The eight phases in the lunar cycle 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.
Stay prepared with the Bluetti AC180 Portable Power Station for its lowest price everAs of Jan. 23, get the Bluetti AC180 Portable Power Station for its lowest price ever.
SAVE $350: As of Jan. 23, get the Bluetti AC180 Portable Power Station for $449, down from its usual price of $799. That's a discount of 44% and the lowest price we've seen.
A portable power station could be one of the most important purchases you ever make, especially if you find yourself staring down a huge winter storm (like this weekend!). If being prepared for situations where you lose electricity is important to you, you might want to seize this opportunity for being ready for the next time a disaster strikes.
As of Jan. 23, get the Bluetti AC180 Portable Power Station for $449, down from its usual price of $799. That's $350 off and a discount of 44%. It's also the lowest price we've seen.
This powerhouse packs a 1152Wh LiFePO4 battery to help you charge up all your stuff. It itself can be juiced back up to full capacity in just an hour as well, so you won't be caught waiting too long to use it again when needed. It has an 1800W output and a massive 11 outlets to use as well, so you don't have to swap out items and wait for them to charge. Use the optional solar charge controller and get up to 500W as well when needed.
All of that makes this portable power station a good option for going off-grid, or just powering everything you need if you happen to lose power in, say, a huge winter storm. It's a good idea to have on hand even if you don't need it too, though. So it's a good idea to get it while it's hot, so to speak, and lock yours in before it's gone.
Save $1,500 on the LG 77-inch B5 Series OLED TV at Best BuyAs of Jan. 23, the LG 77-inch Class B5 Series OLED TV is on sale for $1,499.99 at Best Buy. That's basically a 50% discount.
SAVE 50%: As of Jan. 23, the LG 77-inch Class B5 Series OLED AI 4K UHD Smart webOS TV (2025) is on sale for $1,499.99 at Best Buy. That's basically a 50% discount or a $1,500 price cut.
If you have the wall space for a cinema-sized upgrade, this is one of the best value-for-money TV deals we've seen in a while.
As of Jan. 23, the LG 77-inch Class B5 Series OLED AI 4K UHD Smart webOS TV (2025) is on sale for $1,499.99 at Best Buy. That's basically a 50% discount or a $1,500 price cut.
The B5 Series features LG's Alpha 8 AI Processor, which uses AI to optimize picture and sound quality in real-time. Because it’s an OLED, you get over 8.3 million self-lit pixels delivering perfect blacks and infinite contrast.
For gamers and sports fans, the native 120Hz refresh rate ensures smooth motion without blur. It’s also surprisingly future-proofed with four HDMI 2.1 inputs, support for NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium, and a dedicated Game Dashboard to tweak settings on the fly.
Say goodbye to monthly cloud fees and hello to 100TB of lifetime storageEnjoy a lifetime of cloud storage with this 100TB subscription to Internxt Cloud Storage, on sale now for $974.97 through Jan. 25.
TL;DR: Enjoy a lifetime of cloud storage with this 100TB subscription to Internxt Cloud Storage, on sale now for $974.97 through Jan. 25.
How much would 100TB of cloud storage cost with iCloud? It’s a trick question. The most Apple offers is 12TB, and that will set you back $59.99 a month — that’s $719.88 every single year. Internxt Cloud Storage gives you a better option — own your cloud storage outright for life.
Right now, you can secure a lifetime subscription with 100TB to Internxt Cloud Storage for just $974.97, now through Jan. 25.
If you want to invest in a cloud storage solution you can use for life, it’s time to meet Internxt. With Internxt Cloud Storage, you can own your storage outright. This lifetime subscription for 100TB gives you plenty of room for life, and you only have to pay once.
Internxt gives you affordable cloud storage while keeping your data private. End-to-end encryption means that not even Internxt itself can access your data, while other companies not only access your data but also make money from it through targeted ads and data sharing. They’re GDPR-compliant, meaning they comply with strict European laws on user privacy and data security, too.
If you’re already established with another cloud storage company, rest easy knowing the transition will be seamless. Internxt offers easy cross-platform compatibility, and you can access it on all of your devices via the desktop app, web browser app, and iOS/Android app. They’re all user-friendly, making it simple to secure your files.
Get this 100TB subscription to Internxt Cloud Storage, on sale now for $974.97 through Jan. 25.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Bring Microsoft Office staples to your Mac for less than $9 eachBring the best of Microsoft to your Mac with this Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 lifetime license, on sale now for just $49.97 (reg. $219) through Feb. 22.
TL;DR: Bring the best of Microsoft to your Mac with this Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 lifetime license, on sale now for just $49.97 (reg. $219) through Feb. 22.
Apps aren’t cheap these days. In fact, they typically come with endless monthly fees. If you’re looking for some dependable tools for your Mac that won’t set you back a small fortune, you can enjoy the best of Microsoft with this Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 lifetime license.
Right now, this suite of six helpful apps can be yours for just $49.97 (reg. $219) — less than $9 each — through Feb. 22.
If you’re looking for dependable apps to help you tackle both personal and professional tasks, look no further than this Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 lifetime license. It’s packed with six essentials ready to give your Mac a serious productivity boost.
This lifetime license allows you to draft your documents in Word, manage your emails in Outlook, design eye-catching presentations in PowerPoint, and create budgets in Excel. You’ll also have Teams to stay connected with family, friends, and coworkers, and OneNote to improve how you take notes.
Make sure your Mac is running macOS 14 or later for compatibility purposes. After your purchase, you’ll receive an instant delivery and download so you can permanently access these six apps on your Mac for life — no subscription fees, and no cloud connectivity needed.
Upgrade your Mac with this Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 lifetime license, on sale now for just $49.97 (reg. $219) through Feb. 22.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
TikTok just changed its Terms of Service. What does that mean for your privacy?TikTok users were prompted with new Terms of Service following the platform's shift in ownership. Here's what's new.
When U.S.-based TikTok users opened up the app on the morning of Jan. 23, many were met with a fresh pop-up. It was time to read the app's new Terms of Service (ToS) and there was only one option to continue using the app: Agree.
The prompt came along with a change in the platform's ownership, part of extended TikTok negotiations (brokered by President Trump) that spun out a U.S. TikTok entity with a U.S.-majority ownership instead of the continued exclusivity of Chinese company ByteDance. Most of the refreshed ToS comply with national security demands placed on the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC entity, in addition to state privacy obligations, like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Washington’s My Health My Data Act.
But some users noticed some concerning language as they reviewed the new document. "NO ONE is talking about Tiktok’s latest update on their terms and services," wrote X user GEEDEE, noting that the terms included tracking immigration status, religious affiliation, race, gender identity, and medical diagnoses. Others spotted language about collecting precise geolocation data.
So what's the deal? Did we all just agree to give more of our personal information to the social media giant as it bows down to its American owners?
Simple answer: Not really. TikTok's updated Privacy Policy isn't changing the bulk of its existing data collection policies, which previously included collecting data users provide about themselves, including information about sexual and gender orientation, citizenship, and mental health diagnoses. TikTok has reserved the right to scan user-generated content — posts, comments, livestreams, audio messages, and other "virtual items" — to collect this information.
Here's the language from the previous policy, as recorded by the Wayback Machine on Dec. 1, 2025:
While some of the information that we collect, use, and disclose may constitute sensitive personal information under applicable state privacy laws, such as information from users under the relevant age threshold, information you disclose in survey responses or in your User Content about your racial or ethnic origin, national origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, citizenship or immigration status, or financial information, we only process such information in order to provide the Platform and within other exemptions under applicable law. For example, we may process your financial information in order to provide you the goods or services you request from us or your driver’s license number in order to verify your identity.
And here is the new language as of Jan. 22, 2026:
Information You Provide may include sensitive personal information, as defined under applicable state privacy laws, such as information from users under the relevant age threshold, information you disclose in survey responses or in your user content about your racial or ethnic origin, national origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, citizenship or immigration status, or financial information. For example, we may process your financial information in order to provide you the goods or services you request from us or your driver’s license number in order to verify your identity. We may also collect precise location data, depending on your settings and as explained below. We process such sensitive personal information in accordance with applicable law, such as for permitted purposes under the California Consumer Privacy Act.
We've bolded lines where the language is slightly different. The most apparent change in the app's data collection practices is that TikTok is now admitting that it will collect precise location data, unless you've opted out, and it explicitly mentions obligations under the CCPA.
Both versions of the privacy policy include a caveat that TikTok can collect this information from any kind of user-generated content. Previously, TikTok noted that it could "collect a version of your User Content that does not include [an] effect," meaning that if you thought you were fully anonymizing your content with a face or voice filter, TikTok could still see past it.
Under the new privacy policy, this practice also applies to generative AI products. And the content doesn't even need to be published, covering content that is in the "pre-uploading" stage, so while users are creating, importing, or editing — this is how TikTok has been able to recommend trending audios or generate hashtags while you're making a post, for example.
As the New York Times reported, TikTok U.S. has expanded its advertising policies, with more "sweeping" language that allows for "customized ads and other sponsored content" from third parties based on information collected from TikTok users — that includes ads off the app.
Previously, TikTok's policy only mentioned using data for "tailored" in-app advertising and personalized recommendations.
TikTok also added a brand new section for content featuring generative AI, aligning the new tech with its existing Community Guidelines. Under the new policy, users cannot use AI-powered bots or interfere with the app's own generative AI tools, for example, and misleading, unlabeled generative AI content is prohibited.
TikTok instituted AI labelling in 2023, and added additional ways to filter out AI content in November.
Some users online have said they'll be leaving the platform under its new ownership, citing concerns about government surveillance and content moderation, following federal scrutiny of the app for its "foreign influences" and data collection. The concerns aren't entirely off the mark, with TikTok's new leadership already announcing it would be retraining and updating the app's content recommendation algorithm with more U.S.-centric aims.
If you've been on the app for a while and still haven't read through its Terms of Service, maybe now is the time.
Babbel helps you travel beyond tourist modeBabbel helps you learn 14 different languages, and a lifetime subscription is available now
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Anyone who wants to get more out of their travels — whether that’s next month or years down the road — learning the language can change everything.
Being able to order food, ask for directions, or hold a simple conversation instantly makes trips feel more immersive and authentic. That’s how Babbel Language Learning shines.
Thanks to the StackSocial coupon LEARN, new users in the U.S. can get lifetime access to all 14 Babbel languages for $159 (reg. $646.20). It’s a one-time payment that gives you the freedom to learn now, later, or whenever travel calls.
Babbel is designed around real-life conversation, not endless drills. Lessons are only about 10 to 15 minutes and focus on situations you actually encounter while traveling, like transportation, dining, shopping, and meeting people.
You can use Babbel on your phone, tablet, or desktop, and your progress syncs automatically across devices. Heading somewhere without Wi-Fi? Download lessons ahead of time and keep learning offline.
You’ll have access to 14 languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and more. Babbel also uses speech recognition technology to help fine-tune pronunciation and an AI conversation partner to practice speaking in real time. Both are helpful for building confidence before you arrive.
Developed by more than 100 linguists and backed by academic research, Babbel is built to help you speak and understand languages faster. With lifetime access, you’re not racing a subscription clock — you’re learning on your own timeline, trip by trip.
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Meta hits pause on its AI characters for teensMeta's AI characters are no longer accessible to Teen Account users — but the company says they'll be back.
They call it the Friday news dump — companies posting embarrassing news on a day the media is least likely to bother covering it. But Meta just took the Friday news dump to a whole new level with this announcement: It's disabled its AI characters for teen accounts, at least until the characters can behave themselves.
The news wasn't just dropped on Friday — it was dropped in an update to a blog post from last October.
"We’ve started building a new version of AI characters, to give people an even better experience," the note from Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram and Alexandr Wang, Chief AI Officer, now reads — an upgrade Meta has long promised. Then came the part that would give many kids a very un-Rebecca Black Friday.
"While we focus on developing this new version, we’re temporarily pausing teens' access to existing AI characters globally. Starting in the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to access AI characters across our apps until the updated experience is ready. This will apply to anyone who has given us a teen birthday, as well as people who claim to be adults but who we suspect are teens based on our age prediction technology."
The Instagram and Facebook maker wants to stress "it is not abandoning its efforts" on AI characters, according to TechCrunch. Still, this is clearly an admission that something has the potential to go very wrong with the current version of its AI characters, where teen safety and mental health is concerned.
Meta isn't alone in this discovery. Character.AI and Google both settled lawsuits this month, brought by multiple parents of children who died by suicide. One was a 14-year-old boy who was in effect groomed and sexually abused, his mother says, by a chatbot based on the Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen.
Blasted by a report from online safety experts, Character.AI shut down all chats for under-18 users back in October, two months after Meta simply decided to start training its teen chatbots to not "engage with teenage users on self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or potentially inappropriate romantic conversations." Evidently, that training wasn't enough.
This isn't the first time Meta has had to backtrack on its ambitions for AI character accounts. In 2024, it removed AI personas based on celebrities. In January last year, it took down all its AI character profiles after a backlash over perceived racism.
The teen usage problem isn't a small one, either. More than half of teens 13-17 surveyed by Common Sense Media last year said they used AI companions more than once a month. For now, they'll have to do so somewhere other than Meta.
Behold, the Lego x Crocs footwear collab that dreams are made ofLego and Crocs announced the launch of a multi-year partnership with the launch of the new Lego Brick Clogs. Find out how to buy the collectible Crocs.
Lego and Crocs announced the beginning of a new partnership with the launch of the spectacular Lego Brick Clogs ($149.99), which look more like Legos than Crocs.
Described as a "multi-year global partnership," the brands will follow the new limited-edition Crocs with more product launches throughout 2026, starting in the spring. The future products will include "Crocs’ largest licensed assortment of unique Jibbitz charms" and more unspecified products for kids and adults.
“The Lego Group’s boundless imagination makes them the perfect match to Crocs’ wonderfully unordinary spirit,” said Carly Gomez, Chief Marketing Officer at Crocs, in a blog post. “We are both brands that pride ourselves in being built different, in celebrating self-expression, and in fueling creativity. I can’t wait for our fans to see what we’re creating together — we’ve truly broken the mold in a way that we never have before.”
The Lego Brick Clogs truly have to be seen to be believed. They're, dare I say it, brick-tacular.
The Lego website describes the Brick Clogs as "a new and imaginative silhouette, constructed with the playfulness of Crocs and the boundless creativity of the Lego brick." Shaped like Lego bricks, they feature four logo-stamped studs, Lego and Crocs branding, and a pivotable heel strap. The product description also states that the clogs are made with an easy-to-clean and quick-dry material.
These are definitely collectibles more than practical footwear, and a description on the Crocs website clearly states they're "not intended for all-day wear."
My favorite detail? The new Lego Crocs come with a Lego Minifigure — who is wearing his own pair of Lego Crocs. In fact, the Minifigure comes with mini Lego Crocs of his own in four different colors.
Crocs is known for its cross-brand collaborations and unique, limited-edition designs. The iconic ugly footwear brand has partnered with everyone from General Mills Cereal and 7/11 to Balenciaga. But this might be my favorite yet.
The shoes are online now at both the Lego and Crocs websites, but they're listed as unavailable in all sizes. A "Coming Soon" notice says the shoes will be available Feb. 16. In the meantime, you can sign up for email notifications. The Lego announcement blog post also teases a second drop in the spring.
Just think, if you get your hands on these once-in-a-lifetime Crocs clogs, you too could look this cool:
Once upon a time, there was an online video platform called Vimeo that internet users knew as the high-brow alternative to YouTube. If YouTube was known for its vloggers and amateur comedy skits, Vimeo was known as the place for well-produced short films by actual indie filmmakers. It had its own version of YouTube Premium, produced its own originals, and even received an Emmy nomination.
While Vimeo still technically exists, that version of Vimeo no longer does. Last September, Vimeo was acquired by the Italian tech company Bending Spoons. And now Bending Spoons has just laid off a significant number of Vimeo's employees.
Bending Spoons has confirmed the layoffs to TechCrunch but did not disclose just how many employees would lose their job. However, a former senior Vimeo engineer who left the company last month after 13 years, according to his LinkedIn, says the layoffs have nearly cleared out Vimeo entirely.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
"Reviving this account to say: Almost everyone at Vimeo was laid off yesterday, including the entire video team," Derek Buitenhuis posted to his account on social media platform X. "If you're looking for talented engineers, there are a few on the market."
"Sucks to see something I built killed by private equity in a technology company skin suit," Buitenhuis continued.
Vimeo’s now-former VP of Global Brand and Creative, Dave Brown, also confirmed on LinkedIn that they were part of the layoffs and a "large portion of the company" was impacted.
Vimeo was founded in 2004, and while it never quite reached YouTube's levels of success, it carved out a respectable position as the number two video platform by focusing on artists and the art of filmmaking. However, as TechCrunch points out, in recent years, Vimeo attempted to pivot into artificial intelligence, offering new AI tools to screenwriters and video editors.
In September 2025, Vimeo announced that it was being acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.38 billion.
The name Bending Spoons may sound familiar to you. In 2024, a Bloomberg article described the company as "private equity hipsters" for the app store generation. The company has been on a buying spree over the past few years, acquiring legacy tech brands like AOL, Evernote, MeetUp, and WeTransfer. The company has also acquired other video platforms like StreamYard and Brightcover, too. By now, Bending Spoons is known in the tech industry for buying up underperforming legacy brands, firing employees, hiring cheaper labor, and raising prices, a familiar private equity playbook.
Vimeo as a service continues to exist, providing paid video hosting subscriptions for ad-free uploads. As of now, it's unclear what changes Bending Spoons has in store for the platform.
Do you have one of these 17 browser extensions? They could be tracking your browsing history.Cybersecurity researchers are flagging the GhostPoster malware campaign. It includes 17 sketchy browser extensions on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
You might have a dangerous browser extension monitoring your browser history and not even know it.
As the good folks at Lifehacker reported, cybersecurity researchers with LayerX identified 17 malicious browser extensions across Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, with some active for up to five years. (Disclosure: Lifehacker is owned by Ziff Davis, the same parent company as Mashable.) These malware-infected browser extensions are part of the GhostPoster campaign, first identified in December by Koi Security.
The Koi Security researchers originally identified 17 malicious browser add-ons, for a total of 34 dangerous extensions. The extensions are no longer available, but if you've already downloaded them, they remain active and must be manually deleted as soon as possible.
As Koi Security found, the extensions hide "a multi-stage malware payload that monitors everything you browse, strips away your browser's security protections, and opens a backdoor for remote code execution." LaxerX further reports that the malware can weaken websites’ security measures, hijack affiliate traffic, inject iframes and scripts that track users, and inject malicious scripts onto a user’s device.
Here's the full list of extensions, via LayerX and Lifehacker:
Google Translate in Right Click
Translate Selected Text with Google
Ads Block Ultimate
Floating Player – PiP Mode
Convert Everything
Youtube Download
One Key Translate
AdBlocker
Save Image to Pinterest on Right Click
Instagram Downloader
RSS Feed
Cool Cursor
Full Page Screenshot
Amazon Price History
Color Enhancer
Translate Selected Text with Right Click
Page Screenshot Clipper
Some of these were quite popular extensions. Google Translate in Right Click, for instance, had more than half a million installs, according to LayerX researchers.
The malware in the extensions is known as GhostPoster, which hides malicious code in the extension's PNG logo. The researchers say the malware campaign relied on sophisticated methods that let it evade detection for years. So if you've downloaded any of these extensions, it's best to delete them right away.
Read more about the GhostPoster campaign at Lifehacker.
Sabrina Carpenter and Miss Piggy are a fabulous pair in The Muppet Show trailer"The Muppet Show" returns for a special event on Feb. 4 on Disney+ and ABC, with Sabrina Carpenter as a guest.
"Isn't it wonderful to be back in the theater and giving people what they truly want: moi?" So asks Miss Piggy in the trailer for The Muppet Show, which returns for a special episode on Disney+ and ABC this February.
The one-night event revives the beloved Muppets variety series, which originally ran for five seasons from 1976 to 1981. All your favorites are back, from Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear to Gonzo and Statler and Waldorf. Plus, they'll be greeting new guests like Maya Rudolph, Seth Rogen (who also executive produces), and Sabrina Carpenter.
Carpenter already has history with the Muppets — specifically, with Miss Piggy herself. On the final stop of her Short n' Sweet tour, Miss Piggy was the Grammy winner's "Juno" arrest, which means that Carpenter was arresting her for being "too hot." We're sure that was music to Miss Piggy's ears.
You know what's not music to Miss Piggy's ears? What Carpenter tells her in the trailer: that her grandparents used to watch The Muppet Show. Maybe just stick to telling her she's hot!
For more of Carpenter and Miss Piggy's glamorous get-together (as well as more general Muppet chaos), check out the full trailer above.
The Muppet Show will also see the return of veteran Muppet performers Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, David Rudman, and Matt Vogel.
The Muppet Show premieres Feb. 4 on Disney+ and ABC.
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TCLs brightest mini LED TV from 2025 is 50% off at Best Buy — get the 65-inch QM9K for $1,499.99The TCL QM9K has unbelievable peak brightness and great gaming features. All sizes are at least 40% off at Best Buy.
SAVE $1,500: As of Jan. 23, the 65-inch TCL QM9K Mini LED QLED TV is on sale for $1,499.99 at Best Buy — a full 50% drop from its usual $2,999.99. All other sizes have significant discounts as well.
TCL has already generated some serious buzz in 2026. The TCL X11L was one of the most talked about CES 2026 TVs, and as of Jan. 20, Sony has handed its TV business to TCL. But there was one big TCL announcement from the fall that may have slipped under your radar: TCL quietly released a new mini LED flagship TV, the QM9K, in Sept. 2025. Every single size is at least 40% off at Best Buy now, including a full 50% discount on the 65-inch TCL QM9K. That $1,499.99 price tag looks so much better than the original $2,999.99.
The QM9K is a slight step up from the TCL QM8K, which is also seeing a jaw-dropping discount (60% off) at Best Buy. As our current pick for the best QLED TV for most people, the QM8K clearly gets plenty bright enough for most situations. Yet the QM9K manages to outshine even that, with peak brightness beaming up to 6,500 nits compared to the QM8K's 5,000.
The other big jump happens between the number of dimming zones: The QM9K packs up to 6,000 dimming zones (depending on how big the screen is), while even the largest QM8K maxes out at 3,800 dimming zones. The QM9K also features Bang & Olufsen audio. All of these tweaks add up to quite the immersive HDR and graphically-demanding gaming experience.
The other QM9K sizes on sale include 75, 85, and 98 inches.
The enormous 39-inch LG 39GX90SA-W 39-inch Ultragear OLED Curved Gaming Monitor is over $700 offAs of Jan. 23, get over $700 off the LG 39GX90SA-W 39-inch Ultragear OLED Curved Gaming Monitor.
SAVE $723: As of Jan. 23, get the LG 39GX90SA-W 39-inch Ultragear OLED Curved Gaming Monitor for $876.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,599.99. That's a discount of 45%.
The right gaming monitor can completely change the way you experience your favorite games. So if you can splurge on one that rocks your world, you very well should. Thanks to this deal from Amazon, it's the perfect time to treat yourself and save some money while you're at it.
As of Jan. 23, get the LG 39GX90SA-W 39-inch Ultragear OLED Curved Gaming Monitor for $876.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $1,599.99. That's $723 off and a discount of 45%.
This immersive 39-inch curved OLED panel is all about keeping you in the middle of the action. It boasts a 3440 x 1440 resolution with deep, satisfying darker hues and eye-popping colors. It has a 240Hz refresh rate that promises smooth motion as well as a 0.02ms response time. Plus, it's compatible with NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, both of which combat screen tearing.
Additionally, the monitor has a built-in WebOS platform that lets you skip the additional streaming device. You can use apps like Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, and more straight from the screen, so if you prefer simply to watch content on this big boss of a monitor, you can do that with no strings attached.
Whatever you use it for, this is an excellent price for the monitor and you should lock yours in now if you're ready to spend on a gaming monitor that delivers.
Save $100 on the 2024 Apple Mac mini with M4 chipAs of Jan. 23, the Apple Mac mini (M4) is on sale for $499, down from $599, at Amazon. That’s a 17% discount or $100 in savings.
SAVE 17%: As of Jan. 23, the Apple Mac mini (M4) is on sale for $499, down from $599, at Amazon. That’s a 17% discount or $100 in savings.
If you want the power of Apple’s latest silicon without the MacBook Pro price tag, the redesigned Mac mini is arguably the best bang for your buck right now. It’s super tiny, surprisingly powerful, and currently on sale. (What more could you want?)
As of Jan. 23, the Apple Mac mini (M4) is on sale for $499 at Amazon, down from $599. That’s a 17% discount or $100 in savings.
The new chassis is incredibly small. At just 5x5 inches, it’s roughly the size of an Apple TV box, making it easy to hide on any desk. Inside, it runs on the M4 chip with a 10-core CPU and GPU. Bonus: It now starts with 16GB of unified memory (double the previous generation's 8GB base), so it's fully capable of handling Apple Intelligence features and heavier multitasking.
Apple also finally added ports to the front for convenience. Just remember that this is a BYOD (Bring Your Own Display) situation — you get the computer, but you'll need to supply the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
Save $29 on a like-new Kindle — tested, charged, and updated by AmazonAs of Jan. 23, get a like-new Kindle Paperwhite for just $114.99. That saves you $29 off its usual list price for 20% savings.
SAVE $29: As Jan. 23, get a like-new Kindle Paperwhite at a major discount. Shop a like-new Kindle Paperwhite at Amazon for just $114.99. That saves you $29 off its $143.99 list price.
How are your reading goals going this year? We're just a few weeks into 2026 and if you're finding it hard to fit in reading time, maybe you need a little extra help. A Kindle Paperwhite is an extraordinary device as it basically puts an entire library in your pocket. We love Kindles for their small lightweight design, always easy to carry on the go. And right now, you can get a like-new Kindle Paperwhite at a discount.
As of Jan. 23, like-new Kindle Paperwhites are down to $114.99. That saves you $29 off the usual price of $143.99. A brand new Kindle Paperwhite costs $159.99 so this refurbished model is nearly $50 cheaper. While this isn't the lowest price we've ever spotted, it's still a decent savings of 20% off.
But why go for a refurbished model? These models are basically brand new. They're the latest generation of Kindle Paperwhite, but they that may have previously been returned. However, Amazon's verified their efficacy. Each device has been tested for functionality, battery tested, charged, and software updated.
The Kindle Paperwhite is not only our favorite Kindle, but our favorite e-reader. It's quick, user-friendly. With 16GB of storage, that's enough space to store not just hundreds of books but thousands of them
Shop the like-new Kindle Paperwhite at Amazon for $114.99 and save $29.
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on January 23See the Moon phase expected for January 23, 2025 as well as when the next Full Moon is expected.
The Moon is getting brighter each night as it works its way through the lunar cycle. It'll keep getting brighter and bigger until the Full Moon, on Feb. 1.
As of Friday, Jan. 23, the Moon phase is Waxing Crescent. According to NASA's Daily Moon Guide, 22% of the Moon will be lit up tonight.
You don't need any visual aids tonight, without you'll be able to see the Crisum and Fecunditatis mares. If you have binoculars you'll also be able to catch a glimpse of the Endymion Crater, and with a telescope you can also see the Apollo 17 landing spot.
The next Full Moon will be on Feb. 1. The last full moon was on Jan. 3.
The Moon’s phases are part of a repeating lunar cycle that lasts roughly 29 and a half days, according to NASA. This is the length of time it takes the Moon to orbit Earth once. During this time, the Moon moves through eight separate stages. Although the same face of the Moon is always turned toward Earth, how much of it we see lit up changes as its position shifts around the planet. This changing angle of sunlight is what causes the Moon to look fully illuminated, partly lit, or nearly invisible at different times. The eight phases in the lunar cycle 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.
Hurdle hints and answers for January 23, 2026Hints and answers to today's Hurdle all in one place.
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.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.
A talent.
KNACK
A book.
NOVEL
A small brass instrument.
BUGLE
Typically found atop a church tower.
SPIRE
To be inundated.
DROWN
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Amazons Echo Studio is back down to its Black Friday priceGet the Amazon Echo Studio on sale for $189.99 when you enter the on-page coupon code. That matches its Black Friday price.
SAVE $30: As of Jan. 23, the Amazon Echo Studio is on sale for $189.99 with the on-page coupon code ECHOSTUDIO30. That's a savings of about 14% and drops it down to its record-low Black Friday price.
Last fall, Amazon launched four new Echo devices specifically built for Alexa+ — including a superpowered Echo Studio smart speaker. Previously debuting in 2019, this is technically the Echo Studio's first update in six years, though it looks and acts quite different. The speaker saw its first discount ever during Amazon's Black Friday sale. And now that same discount has reappeared.
As of Jan. 23, you can pick up the Amazon Echo Studio speaker for $189.99 instead of $219.99. Just enter the code ECHOSTUDIO30 at checkout (or click "redeem" next to the on-page coupon) to shave $30 or 14% off the price.
According to Amazon, you "can't find any smart speaker that sounds this amazing at this size." Despite being 40 percent smaller than its predecessor (it measures 6.1 inches by 5.8 inches), it packs Dolby Atmos and spatial audio support. You can even link up to five Studio (or Echo Dot Max) devices to Fire TV Sticks and get a home theater sound going. Plus, of course, it' s built for Alexa+, the superpowered AI assistant that can do more than ever before.
As for the look, Mashable's tech editor says it resembles the Death Star, with a circular orb design and flat control panel. Whether or not that's a selling point for you, we think it's pretty sleek. It comes in two shades (both of white are on sale): glacier white and graphite.
Siri might become an AI chatbot in iOS 27Apple's next big iOS revision will apparently bring the long-awaited Siri overhaul and, with it, a new AI chatbot-like experience.
Apple has been running behind the competition when it comes to built-in AI features on iPhones for a couple of years, but the company may finally be set to change this by the end of 2026.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported this week that Apple is planning a big overhaul for Siri in iOS 27, which would theoretically launch in September alongside the iPhone 18, based on historical precedent. With this update, Siri will finally gets its long-awaited AI makeover and turn into more of a chatbot à la ChatGPT. Apple will reportedly announce this at WWDC in June and deeply integrate the new AI-powered Siri into iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
According to Gurman, users will be able to ask Siri to search the internet, generate AI images, analyze files, and use personal information, such as calendar entries and text messages, to complete tasks in a new chatbot interface. The new AI tool will also be integrated into music, podcasting, and email apps, though it remains to be seen if this is something users can turn off or not.
Apple has been working on an AI-powered version of Siri for a while now, but delays have pushed it to (presumably, based on this report) late 2026, while companies like Google and Samsung already have similar features on their mobile devices. In fact, Apple recently announced that it's using Google's Gemini technology to power the new AI Siri.
When it launches, Apple will face steep competition, as Google, OpenAI, xAI, and Meta have been operating in this space for years. Of course, Apple is also the most popular mobile brand in the world, which givers it a big advantage over its rivals.
Get the Xreal One Pro AR Glasses for $170 less at AmazonAs of Jan. 23, the Xreal One Pro AR Glasses are on sale for $599, down from$769, at Amazon. That's a 22% discount or $170 in savings.
SAVE 22%: As of Jan. 23, the Xreal One Pro AR Glasses are on sale for $599 at Amazon, down from $769. That's a 22% discount or $170 in savings.
If you love your Steam Deck or your new iPhone but hate the neck strain that comes from looking down at a handheld screen for hours, Xreal has a pretty futuristic fix.
As of Jan. 23, the Xreal One Pro AR Glasses are on sale for $599 at Amazon, down from $769. That's a 22% discount or $170 in savings. It's also the best price we've seen this year.
Mashable Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth recently took these for a spin, and while the required USB-C tether left him with "mixed feelings," the utility was undeniable. He found that being able to float Slack and email windows above his laptop made him feel like he was "living in the future," effectively creating a portable multi-monitor setup wherever he worked.
Sure, the look gives off major "Terminator 2 vibes," but unless you're ready to spend $3,000 on an Apple Vision Pro, this is a much more realistic entry point into AR — especially at this price.
How to watch all of the 2026 Best Picture Oscar nomineesHere's how to watch every nominee for Best Picture at the 2026 Oscars: "One Battle After Another," "Sinners," "Hamnet," and more.
2025 was another year of movie magic, but only 10 films made the cut in the Academy's eyes to earn spots on the Best Picture Oscar nominations list. We found narrowing the best movies of the year down to only 10 to be impossible, instead opting for a list of the top 25. So, of course, there were bound to be a ton of snubs (and some welcome surprises) this year. (Zero nominations for Wicked: For Good? Nothing for Chase Infiniti or Paul Mescal? Preposterous!)
Even though we're a bit flabbergasted that a few of our favorites didn't make the list, the ones that managed to nab the nomination are definitely worth watching.
Want to get familiar with the best films of the year (at least by the Academy's standards)? We've rounded up how to watch all 10. Queue 'em up for a movie marathon that's sure to be one for the books.
The dynamic duo that brought us Poor Things — director Yorgos Lanthimos and actor Emma Stone — is back with Bugonia, a conspiracy caper that'll make you question everything. It also stars the fantastic Jesse Plemons as Teddy, a bike-riding beekeeper and conspiracy theorist who believes aliens live among us and are to blame for the current state of the world — one being the no-nonsense big pharma CEO Michelle Fuller (Stone). He and his cousin enact a plan to kidnap Michelle and uncover the truth.
Bugonia was one of Mashable's top 25 movies of 2025, coming in at No. 11, so we're not surprised the Academy gave it a nod for Best Picture. It also picked up nominations for Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Read Mashable's review of Bugonia.
Bugonia made its streaming debut on Peacock on Dec. 26, 2025. Peacock subscriptions start at $10.99, but you can save about 17% by opting for an annual plan instead. There are also significant discounts available for students, young adults, military personnel, first responders, medical professionals, and teachers. Of course, you can also rent or purchase the film at digital retailers like Prime Video for as low as $5.99.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on this list, F1: The Movie stars Brad Pitt as legendary Formula 1 driver Sonny Hayes. After nearly three decades, he comes out of retirement to mentor a young hotshot rookie (Damson Idris) and lead a struggling team to victory. While it didn't earn a spot on our favorite films of 2025 list, audiences were obsessed with the film, flocking to theaters and giving it glorious reviews (currently a 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes). Besides Best Picture, it also picked up nominations for Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects.
F1 is an Apple Original film, so it's streaming on Apple TV+, of course. If you're not an Apple TV+ subscriber, you can sign up for a seven-day free trial to watch the movie. After your trial period is up, it'll cost you $12.99 per month. You can also purchase it at digital retailers like Prime Video for $19.99.
Guillermo del Toro has brought everyone's favorite monster back to life with a stirring new adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. It stars Oscar Isaac as the titular doctor who is trying to overcome the childhood trauma of losing his mother (Mia Goth) by resurrecting an exquisite corpse (Jacob Elordi). As Mashable's Kristy Puchko writes in her review, "This misfit monster becomes a radiant analogy for self-love, as he is both horrid and beautiful, misunderstood and full of potential and love." Cracking the top five on our list of the best movies of 2025, we're happy the Academy gave Frankenstein its flowers. Beyond Best Picture, it's also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Production Design.
Read Mashable's review of Frankenstein.
Frankenstein opened in select theaters in October 2025 and hit Netflix shortly after on Nov. 7. Netflix subscriptions start at just $7.99 per month if you don't mind watching with ads or $17.99 per month if you prefer to go ad-free.
Cracking the top 10 of Mashable's favorite films of 2025 list, Hamnet finds Academy Award–winning director Chloé Zhao back in the Oscar race. It's a heart-wrenching historical drama, based on the novel by Maggie O'Farrell, that offers a view of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his mystical wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) from a different lens. When the pair loses their youngest son, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), they weather their devastating grief in dramatically different ways. Be sure you have a box of tissues nearby. In addition to its Best Picture nomination, Hamnet also earned six other nods, including Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Casting, and Best Directing. Unfortunately, our favorite sad boy, Paul Mescal, was snubbed.
Read Mashable's review of Hamnet.
At the time of writing, the only way to watch Hamnet is in select theaters. However, we are expecting an early February digital release at retailers like Prime Video, Fandango at Home, and Apple TV. We'll keep you updated when a specific date is announced. As a Focus Features film, we also expect it to stream on Peacock at a later date.
Directed by Josh Safdie and distributed by A24, Marty Supreme is a major contender this awards season. Chalamet already won the Golden Globe for his performance and is now hoping to grab his first Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In the sports comedy, he stars as Marty Mauser — a man with a dream to achieve greatness and bring the art of ping pong to the masses. It also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma (aka Tyler, the Creator), Abel Ferrara, and Fran Drescher. Besides Best Picture and Best Actor, it's also nominated for Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Casting, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Screenplay.
Read Mashable's review of Marty Supreme.
As an A24 film, we know that Marty Supreme will eventually make its way to HBO Max — likely not until April 2026. Until then, you can rent or purchase the film at digital retailers like Prime Video and Apple TV as of Feb. 3 for $19.99 or $24.99.
Part political thriller, part parenthood comedy, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another is an absolute gem. As someone who has a hard time watching movies over 1.5 hours, this three-hour journey had me glued to the screen from start to finish. It's inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland, One Battle After Another, and follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) as an ex-revolutionary who's living off the grid with his teen daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his former nemesis and military antagonist Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) resurfaces and Willa goes missing, Bob must jump into action to find and protect her. It's our second favorite movie of the year, "not only for what it brings to cinema in terms of spectacle and spirit, but also what it has to say about America today," as Puchko puts it. It also scored the second-most Oscar nominations of any film: Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Supporting Actor (x2), Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Casting, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
Read Mashable's review of One Battle After Another.
One Battle After Another made its streaming debut on HBO Max back in December 2025. The cheapest HBO Max subscription will cost you $10.99 per month, but you'll have to endure some ads along the way. Don't want ads? The price jumps up to $18.49 per month. You can also rent or purchase the film on digital retailers if you prefer for as low as $6.99.
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent is a time-jumping political crime thriller that follows Marcelo (Wagner Moura), a tech expert in his early 40s, who's justifiably paranoid in his mission to escape his country's authoritarian regime. "It's a heavy topic explored with humanity, boasting such a compelling script, impeccable acting, and striking 1970s aesthetic that it's impossible to look away," Mashable's Shannon Connellan writes in her review. It also picked up nominations for Best Actor, Best Casting, and Best International Feature Film.
Read Mashable's review of The Secret Agent.
The Secret Agent makes its digital debut on Jan. 27, 2026, which means you can rent or purchase it at digital retailers like Prime Video and Fandango at Home for $14.99 or $19.99. Eventually, since it's a Neon film, we expect it to make its streaming debut on Hulu at a later date. Stay tuned.
A riveting family drama, Sentimental Value follows the reunion of sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) with their estranged father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), a charismatic, once-renowned director. Gustav offers Nora a role in his hopeful comeback film, but when she turns it down, he gives the part to a young Hollywood actress (Elle Fanning). It navigates the complicated relationships and dynamics that arise and dives deep into human emotions. Beyond Best Picture, it's also nominated in several other categories: Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress (x2), Best Original Screenplay, Best Lead Actress, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, and Best International Feature Film.
Sentimental Value made its digital debut on Dec. 23 — you can rent or purchase it at digital retailers like Prime Video and Fandango at Home for $14.99 or $19.99. Eventually, it will make its streaming debut on Hulu alongside other Neon films. We're expecting a March streaming date, but stay tuned for more details to come.
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is back with another smash hit. Puchko called it "easily one of the best movies of the year" back in April, and it ended up earning the top spot on our list in December. It's set in the 1930s Jim Crow-era South and stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers who return to their hometown with the goal of setting up a juke joint. Its grand opening is disrupted by something supernaturally monstrous. With bits of horror, history, and musical theater all sprinkled in, it's a genre-fluid movie in every sense of the term. Sinners took the Oscars by storm with a record-breaking 16 nominations. Essentially, every award it could be nominated for, it is.
Read Mashable's review of Sinners.
Sinners made its streaming debut on July 4, 2025, on HBO Max. As noted above, HBO Max subscriptions start at $10.99 per month, but you can save money by opting for an annual subscription instead. Rather not sign up for a streaming service? You can purchase or rent Sinners at digital retailers like Prime Video for only $5.99 or $14.99.
Based on Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella of the same name, Train Dreams follows a man's search for meaning as the 20th century arrives. Joel Edgerton stars as Robert Grainier, who grows into adulthood among the Pacific Northwest forests, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire. As Mashable's reviewer writes, "it's a steady, meditative, and at times devastating journey with many a conversation around the fire." It's also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Song.
Read Mashable's review of Train Dreams.
You can stream Train Dreams on Netflix as of Nov. 2025. The cheapest Netflix subscription will run you $7.99 if you watch with ads or $17.99 per month if you watch ad-free.
Snag a Magic: The Gathering March of the Machine booster box for below market valueAs of Jan. 23, get the Magic: The Gathering March of the Machine booster box for below market value.
SAVE $26.54: As of Jan. 23, get the Magic: The Gathering March of the Machine Booster Box for $123.45 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $149.99. That's a discount of 18% and below market value.
There are always a ton of Magic: The Gathering expansions floating around at any given moment, and more on the way. If you want any hope of getting all the cards on your wish list or you just want to make great decks, you'll want to wait for some great sales, like this one going on at Amazon.
As of Jan. 23, get the Magic: The Gathering March of the Machine Booster Box for $123.45 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $149.99. That's $26.54 off and a discount of 18%. It's also well below market value.
This booster box contains 36 packs, which equates to 540 additional Magic: The Gathering cards. That breaks down to 15 cards per booster, with at least 1 Multiverse Legend card per pack, 1-2 cards of rarity Rare or higher, and 1 traditional foil in every pack. You can also look forward to 3-5 Uncommons, 8-9 Commons, and 1 Land card each pack.
The set itself explores the fall of planes in the Magic: The Gathering Multiverse to the Phyrexian invasion. That means corrupted Planeswalkers and devious machines, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
Whether you're building new decks for play or you're ready to add a whole new set to your collection, this is a good deal to go ahead and snag and get started cracking those packs.
Get the Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 portable power station for nearly half priceThe Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 is on sale at Amazon for only $429. That's 46% or $370 off its list price.
SAVE $370: As of Jan. 23, the Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 portable power station is on sale for $429 at Amazon. That's nearly half off its list price.
Anker is well-known for its lineup of quality tech at budget-friendly prices — and the Solix C1000 Gen 2 portable power station is no exception. Its typical $799 price tag is already relatively low compared to competitors, but Amazon has dropped the price to make it even more affordable.
As of Jan. 23, the Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 is on sale for only $429. That's 46% or $370 in savings on a Mashable Choice Award-winning device. You'll notice a progress bar on the shop page below the price — this means it's a Lightning deal at Amazon. You'll have to grab it before that progress bar reaches 100 or before the timer runs out, whichever comes first.
Mashable contributor Lauren Allain spent some time with the second-generation Solix C1000 and called it "the perfect model for taking on a weekend camping trip or keeping around the house for occasional power outages." She credits its respectable 1,024Wh capacity, peak output of 3,000W, zippy 49-minute recharge time, and its convenient array of ports.
Compared to the previous generation, it has a fancier LCD display, charges quicker, and weighs less, plus two of its USB-C ports can now handle 140W (as opposed to 100W). And for what it's worth, the newer model is currently about $40 cheaper if you act fast.
How to watch Skyscraper Live: See Alex Honnold climb one of the worlds tallest buildings in real timeAlex Honnold will climb Taipei 101 skyscraper live on Netflix in 'Skyscraper Live.' Here are the streaming details.
One of the greatest free solo climbers of all time, Alex Honnold, is about to risk everything to scale the Taipei 101 skyscraper — one of the tallest buildings in the world. And you can watch it all happen live on Netflix. Here's everything you need to know to tune in.
Unlike the prerecorded climbing documentary Free Solo, Skyscraper Live will follow Honnold as he scales the Taipei 101 skyscraper in real time. A true high-stakes live broadcast, viewers will experience every moment of Honnold's ascent of the iconic 1,667-foot-tall building live. If you can already feel your palms sweating, you're not alone.
"I’m sure viewers will probably be on edge watching this," Honnold said in a Q&A. "I assume that most people will be sort of uncomfortable watching the whole thing. But I hope that viewers get a little bit of my joy from the experience — that they can appreciate the fun of it and the beauty of it, the scenery, just the whole experience. It’s not just extreme sports — it’s more."
The Skyscraper Live two-hour global event will take place on Jan. 23, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) live only on Netflix.
If you don't already subscribe to Netflix, the most affordable way to sign up is to opt for the monthly subscription with ads for $7.99. If you don't want ads, your next-best choice is to sign up for Netflix Standard for $17.99 per month. There's also a third tier dubbed Netflix Premium, which costs $24.99 per month and lets you watch on four household devices at once in 4K Ultra HD + HDR with no ads.
Before you sign up for Netflix, check out the deals below to see if you can get a free or discounted subscription. Be sure to double-check the terms for more details.
T-Mobile customers on most Go5G plans, as well as Experience Beyond and Experience More plans, get Netflix Standard with ads for free (reg. $7.99 per month) as long as their account is in good standing. You need to have two or more lines of any type of Go5G or Magenta plan, or at least one line of Go5G Next, Go5G Plus, Magenta MAX, Experience More, or Experience Beyond, in order to be eligible.
While the Netflix subscription is free for eligible customers, you'll have to manually activate it by logging into My.T-Mobile and selecting Manage add-ons. Once there, add Netflix in the Services section, and you'll be prompted to either create a Netflix account or sign in to an existing one. T-Mobile will take care of your Netflix bill each month. Check out the terms and FAQs on the promo page.
As of December 2023, Verizon customers with myPlan can add a Netflix and HBO Max bundle (with ads) for just $10 per month ($8.98 per month in savings). That essentially gets you Netflix with ads for free. Eligible Verizon customers include those on the Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Ultimate plans. After enrolling in the promo, you'll have to complete the account setup separately for each service. Eligibility details, terms, and FAQs can be found on the Verizon support page.
Comcast launched its Xfinity StreamSaver package in 2024, which includes Netflix Standard with ads ($7.99 per month), Peacock Premium ($10.99 per month), and Apple TV+ ($12.99 per month). Essentially, current and new Xfinity Internet or TV customers can add the StreamSaver bundle to their existing services for only $18 per month. Typically $31.97 per month for all three, you'll save about $13.97 monthly.
Free Solo, the National Geographic Documentary Film following Honnold climbing the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, is a great way to pre-game the Skyscraper Live broadcast. Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the 2018 Oscar winner is a captivating and nauseating adventure up a 3,000-foot mountain without the assistance of ropes, harnesses, or other protective gear.
If you want to watch the documentary feature before diving into the livestream, it's currently streaming on Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. If you're already signing up for Netflix to watch Skyscraper Live, you can kill two birds with one stone. If you want to see what you're getting yourself into before pulling the trigger, you can watch for free on Hulu with a 30-day trial.
Super Marios Wonder is coming to life — heres where to preorder Nintendos Talking FlowerNintendo is bringing 'Super Mario Bros. Wonder' to life with the Talking Flower. Preorder now at Nintendo before its March 12 arrival.
PREORDER NOW: Nintendo is releasing a real life Talking Flower from the Super Mario Bros. Wonder game. Preorder now at Nintendo, before it arrives on March 13, 2026.
For trinket lovers, you can never have enough tchotchkes to showcase all of your passions. With the upcoming launch of Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the Switch 2, Nintendo is bringing some of the game to life with a delightful new talking toy. A hallwark of Wonder are the sweet little talking flowers all along the path, which speak sweet affirmations as you play. If you've thought, "Wow, I need one of these flowers in real life," then this news is for you.
Nintendo is launching the Talking Flower figurine that actually speaks to you and can in ten different languages. Spontaneously throughout the day or whenever you press the Talk Button, the Flower will send you some words of encouragements. It will even comment on the time of day, temperature, and play the occasional background music.
The Talking Flower is available for preorder and will launch on March 13, 2026. Preorder it now at Nintendo for $34.99 and prepare for a springtime treat delivering some much needed affirmations.
Tesla cars in the U.S. no longer come with AutopilotTesla has discontinued its Autopilot set of driving assistance features in the U.S.
Tesla has discontinued Autopilot in the U.S.
As odd as that may sound, given how adamant CEO Elon Musk has been about the importance of autonomous driving, it's more of a pricing reshuffle than an actual removal of any specific feature, but it's still going to annoy many users.
Here's what's happening: If you buy a new Tesla car in the U.S., you will no longer receive the Basic Autopilot set of features, which was previously included with every Tesla. Instead, you're getting Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, which is a feature that maintains set driving speed and slows down when there's a slower vehicle in front of you.
Basic Autopilot, which is no longer available in the U.S., also includes Autosteer, which is an important driving assistance feature as it keeps vehicle centered in the lane. The combination of Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer is what enables you to hit one button (or stalk) and basically have the car drive itself on a highway (with you paying attention, of course).
It's worth noting that Tesla also offers Enhanced Autopilot in some countries outside of the U.S., which is a far more comprehensive set of features, as it includes Autosteer, Navigate on Autopilot, Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, and Smart Summon.
In the U.S., Tesla configurator now offers just one option: Full Self-Driving (FSD), which costs $99 per month, and is still available as a one time purchase for $8,000, though that option is going away on Feb. 14.
Annoyingly, Tesla's configurator doesn't really mention the change. The word "Autopilot" simply isn't mentioned anywhere on the page.
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The move is likely another (desperate?) Tesla effort to push customers to purchase FSD. But it's a very costly change for users who want Autosteer and don't really care about FSD (which is still beta software and does not offer autonomous driving, despite Musk having promised it for years), as they now have to pay $99 per month to get this feature. Even worse, Musk recently said that the price of the software will "rise as FSD's capabilities improve."
Buyers of Tesla's premium models — the Model S, Model X, and the "Cyberbeast" version of Cybertruck — get FSD for free, so this change doesn't really affect them. For anyone buying a new Model 3 or Model Y, though, it's FSD or (almost) nothing.
Judging by some of the comments on social media, people aren't happy about this change. Some have noted that cheaper, entry-level cars from other companies now come with these basic safety features whereas a Tesla Model 3 or Y doesn't.
Ironically, the situation is better in Europe, where most Full Self-Driving features aren't allowed yet. There, buyers still get Basic Autopilot with every new car, and can also opt for the Enhanced Autopilot, which costs half the price of FSD. This will likely change when (if) FSD gets the green light from European regulators, which, even more ironically, means that Tesla buyers in Europe will likely stop hoping (and petitioning) for it to happen.
Microsoft 365 outage cause revealedMicrosoft shed some light on what caused its major 365 outage on Jan. 22.
Updated on Jan. 23 at 9:43 a.m. ET: Microsoft said it had fully resolved the issues that caused a large-scale Microsoft 365 outage on Thursday, rendering a number of users unable to access their email during a workday.
"We've confirmed that impact has been resolved," Microsoft posted on X at around 1:30 a.m. ET on Friday.
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Microsoft blamed the outage on a problem processing traffic in North America, posting Thursday night that it was seeing "continued improvements in service availability and functionality as a result of our load-balancing efforts." Microsoft 365 customers can also reference the closure communication MO1221364 in their admin dashboard for more details. The communication provides a little more insight, blaming a third-party networking issue for the outage.
Microsoft 365 suffered a major outage on Thursday, leaving some users unable to send or receive emails. That's obviously not ideal in the middle of a workday.
As the afternoon bled into the evening on the East Coast, the company said it was working toward a full resolution — though folks may still see issues — and shed some light on what caused the problem.
The most recent update on Microsoft's 365 status page indicated its infrastructure either mishandled or wasn't able to handle the traffic coming its way.
Under a section labeled "root cause," the status page read, "A portion of dependent service infrastructure in the North America region isn't processing traffic as expected."
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The company also said it was "carefully rebalancing traffic across all affected infrastructure in the region." It added it was "proceeding as quickly as possible and this incremental approach will also help us identify whether any additional actions may be required to ensure longstanding recovery."
We may get further details down the line from Microsoft, but, for now, it appears the company is working toward resolving the issue.
How to watch college basketball without cableHow to watch college basketball without cable. Watch college basketball live streams and get the best streaming deals.
The 2025-26 men’s college basketball season is now well underway. The season's action began last November and will run until March, after which we get a 68-team single elimination tournament to determine the NCAA Division I national champion. That tournament culminates in the 2026 Final Four, the semi finals and championship games, held at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 4 and 6 in Indianapolis.
In other words, that's a whole lotta college basketball. More than 5,000 games are played per season — in fact, it's closer to 6,000 — with each team playing 31 games in the regular season. And that number is set to increase in 2026-27.
The University of Florida is the defending men’s college basketball national champion. The Florida Gators won the title in last year's San Antonio Final Four, clinching their third title overall and beating off competition from the Houston Cougars. Current favorites to win the 2026 national title include Michigan, Arizona, and UConn.
All of which means there's a near-endless amount of college basketball to watch this season. You just need to know how and where to watch your favorite teams.
Yes, you can watch college basketball games without cable. For many games, if you can’t be there in person, the only way to watch is via online live streaming services.
Some of the exclusive streaming services are ACC Network Extra, B1G+, ESPN+, FloHoops, Peacock, and SEC Network+. Even for those games on traditional TV channels, there are plenty of options to watch without cable or satellite TV.
There are two main alternatives to cable or satellite TV. One option is cable replacement, such as FuboTV or Sling. They offer a variety of channels, but they will cost you. Another option is to get a streaming service connected to a specific TV network. Those are cheaper, but they also have fewer channels.
Knowing what channels broadcast your favorite team will help you decide what streaming services to select. Broadcast contracts are based on the home team, so we've put together a list of the TV networks with contracts connected to each conference.
Here is a list of each conference and the channels and streaming services that will air games for each conference in 2025-26:
America East — ESPN+
American Athletic Conference (AAC) — CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
Atlantic 10 (A10) — CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN+, MASN, USA Network
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) — ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN+, The CW
Atlantic Sun — ESPN+
Big 12 — CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, Fox, FS1, Longhorn Network
Big East — CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox, FS1, FS2
Big Sky — CBS Sports Network, ESPNU, ESPN+,
Big Ten — Big Ten Network, B1G+, CBS, Fox, FS1, Peacock
Big West — ESPN+, Spectrum Sports
Colonial Athletic (CAA) — CBS Sports Network, FloHoops, MSG, NBC Sports Philadelphia, SNY
Conference USA (CUSA) — CBS Sports Network, ESPNU, ESPN+
Horizon — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
Ivy League — ESPN+
Metro Atlantic Athletic (MAAC) — ESPNU, ESPN+
Mid-American Conference (MAC) — CBS Sports Network, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
Mid-Eastern (MEAC) — No intra-conference national TV games
Missouri Valley — CBS Sports Network, ESPN+
Mountain West (MW) — CBS, CBS Sports Network, Fox, FS1, NBC Sports Bay Area
Northeast (NEC) — YES
Ohio Valley (OVC) — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
Pac-12 Conference — CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, Fox, FS1, Pac-12 Network
Patriot League — CBS Sports Network, ESPN+
Southeastern Conference (SEC) — CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, SEC Network, SECN+
Southern (SoCon) — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
Southland — ESPN+
Southwestern Athletic (SWAC) — ESPNU, ESPN+
Summit League — CBS Sports Network
Sun Belt Conference (SBC) — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
West Coast (WCC) — CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
Western Athletic (WAC) — ESPNU, ESPN+
In-season tournaments can make separate deals with TV networks. So for your favorite team, its road games and tournament games may appear on different networks than listed here.
The channels needed to comprehensively watch college basketball during the 2025-26 season are ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, Fox, FS1, FS2, Longhorn Network, MASN, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, SNY, Spectrum, The CW, USA Network, and YES.
Additionally, you may want to consider streaming-only services like ACC Network Extra, B1G+, ESPN+, FloHoops, Peacock, and SEC Network+. Then for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, you’ll also need TNT, TBS, and TruTV.
If you have all those options, you can watch nearly every game this season, but there are not enough hours in the day to watch every game of every basketball team this season. Here’s some help to select the best streaming services to see the teams and leagues you’ll watch the most.
FuboTV will be a great option for the college basketball regular season. Its Pro plan at $84.99 per month will give you access to hundreds of college basketball games. There is also a seven-day free trial.
If you’re a fan of teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, you’ll want to upgrade to the Elite plan to get the ACC Network. The Elite plan is $104.99 per month.
The biggest channels missing from the FuboTV lineup are TBS, TNT, and truTV. Those carry a large chunk of games during the NCAA Tournament, and the 2026 Final Four and national championship game are scheduled to be broadcast on TBS. To get those games, you’ll need to go elsewhere such as the B/R Sports add-on with Max.
FuboTV Pro plan channels: CBS, FOX, Big Ten Network, CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, and USA Network.
FuboTV Elite plan channels: CBS, FOX, Big Ten Network, CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Pac-12 Network, SEC Network, and USA Network. Plus, ACC Network, ESPNU, and ESPNEWS.
Channels unavailable through FuboTV: Longhorn Network, MASN, SNY, Spectrum, TBS, TNT, truTV, The CW, and YES.
If you’re a casual college basketball fan, an option like Sling may be a good fit for you. With the Sling Orange plan, you get ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, and TNT for $45.99 per month (with an introductory deal of 50% off for the first month).
You may want to increase your Sling tier if there are specific teams or leagues that you’re passionate about watching. The biggest channel that you can’t get through Sling is CBS, so you may need to look to Paramount+ to supplement this to catch all those games.
Sling Orange plan channels: ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, and TNT.
Sling Orange & Blue plan channels: ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, and TNT. Plus, FS1, truTV, USA Network, and Fox (in select markets).
FOX is available on Sling TV in select markets. Those include Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Gainesville, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, D.C.
Sling Orange & Blue + Sports Extra plan: Fox (in select markets), ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, TBS, TNT, truTV, and USA Network. Plus, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, FS2, Longhorn Network, Pac-12 Network, and SEC Network.
There are other options through Sling with different price points for just the Blue plan or the Sports Extra package added to either just the Orange plan or just the Blue plan.
Channels unavailable through Sling: CBS, CBS Sports Network, MASN, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, SNY, Spectrum, The CW, and YES.
CBS mainly shows college basketball games on the weekends, so if you’re mainly a weekend viewer until March, this would work for you.
Paramount+ gives you a seven-day free trial. To live stream CBS on Paramount+, you need the Paramount+ with Showtime tier, and that is $12.99 per month. You can also choose the annual plan at $119.99 per year, and you save about $3 per month.
Paramount+ also gives students a 25% discount.
CBS Sports Network games are not available to live stream through Paramount+
The Big Ten Conference will have games exclusively on Peacock this season, so to catch all those conference contests, you’ll need Peacock.
Members of the Big Ten Conference in 2025-26 include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, and Wisconsin.
There are 58 Big Ten men’s basketball games scheduled to be broadcast exclusively on Peacock. Peacock Premium costs $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year.
If your favorite team plays in the America East, Atlantic Sun, Ivy League, or Southland conference, then ESPN+ is the only way to watch those teams without going to the games. For many other leagues that don’t have many games on traditional TV channels, ESPN+ is the primary way to watch games.
The ESPN Select tier (for classic content, studio shows, and replays) is priced at $12.99 per month or $129.99 per year. ESPN Unlimited (all ESPN live channels and ESPN+ content) costs $29.99 per month or $299.99 per year.
YouTube TV offers a 7-day free trial. It is then $59.99 per month for the first two months. That will get you most of the way through the 2025-26 college basketball season. After the introductory rate, the rate is $82.99 per month starting in the fourth month.
YouTubeTV Base Plan channels: CBS, FOX, ACCN, Big Ten Network, CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, FS1, FS2, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, truTV, The CW, and USA Network,
Channels unavailable through YouTube TV: Longhorn Network, MASN, MSG, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Pac-12 Network, SNY, Spectrum, and YES.
How to watch Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights online for freeHow to watch NHL for free. Live stream Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL for free.
TL;DR: Live stream Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The NHL action starts this weekend with the Toronto Maple Leafs facing off against Vegas Golden Knights in a non-conference matchup. This is an intriguing prospect. The Golden Knights sit on top of the Pacific Division and won 6-5 in overtime in their last encounter with the Maple Leafs. That being said, it's tough to get a result at the Scotiabank Arena.
If you want to watch Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL starts at 7 p.m. ET on Jan. 23. This fixture takes place at the Scotiabank Arena.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL is available to live stream for free on 9Now.
9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock 9Now to live stream the NHL for free from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL for free by following these simple steps:
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia
Visit 9Now
Watch Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the NHL without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL (plus more NHL fixtures) before recovering your investment.
ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on 9Now, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Australia
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
Fast connection speeds free from throttling
Up to 10 simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $78.18 and includes an extra four months for free — 78% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Watch Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL for free with ExpressVPN.
How to watch NHL live streams online for freeHow to watch NHL for free. Live stream the 2026 NHL for free from anywhere in the world.
TL;DR: Live stream the NHL for free on 9Now or Prime Video. Access these free live streams from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
There is no other sport that combines skill, grace, elegance, and people punching each other quite like ice hockey.
We love the merging of elements, and so do millions of fans from all around the world. The issue for these legions of dedicated hockey fanatics is that it's not easy to follow the sport for free. But nothing is impossible in this golden age of streaming.
If you want to watch the NHL for free from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America made up of 32 teams (25 in the United States and seven in Canada).
The NHL season is typically held from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. After the regular season, 16 teams advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs, a four-round tournament that runs into June to determine the league champion.
Select fixtures from the NHL are available to live stream for free on these platforms:
Australia — 9Now (21 regular-season games)
Canada — Prime Video (Monday Night Hockey with 30-day trial)
These free streams are geo-restricted, but anyone can bypass these restrictions with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in Australia and Canada, meaning you can access these streaming services from anywhere in the world.
Live stream the NHL for free by following these simple steps:
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia or Canada
Visit 9Now or Prime Video
Live stream the NHL for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch the NHL without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select NHL fixtures before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best service for streaming sport is on sale for a limited time.
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Australia and Canada
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 one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream the NHL for free with ExpressVPN.
How to watch NBA live streams online for freeHow to watch NBA for free. Live stream NBA games for free from anywhere in the world.
TL;DR: Live stream the NBA for free with a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime. Live stream the NBA for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The NBA is a unique sport. There's nothing else in which incredibly tall athletes can be made to look absolutely tiny by aliens who can dunk without leaving the ground. And almost all of these shockingly tall athletes display a skillset that mere mortals can't even fathom.
The NBA could make a legitimate argument that it hosts the very best athletes in the world. Sure, the NFL might disagree. And rugby definitely attracts some special specimens. But the NBA has a bunch of seven footers dunking on each other. That's tough to beat.
If you are interested in watching the NBA for free from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America made up of 30 teams (29 from the United States and one from Canada). The defending champions are the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 2025–26 NBA season is the 80th edition of the competition. The regular season runs from Oct. 21 to April 12. The play-in tournament is scheduled to be played on April 14-17, followed by the playoffs on the next day, and concluding with the NBA Finals from June 4 to June 21.
The in-season NBA Cup will take place from Oct. 31 to Dec. 16.
The NBA is available to live stream for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime in the UK.
86 regular-season games, the Emirates Cup Championship, the play-in tournament, one third of first and second round games of the Playoffs, a Conference Finals series, and the NBA Finals are available to Prime members in the UK. The full schedule can be found here.
These free live streams are geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can access free live streams of the NBA from anywhere in the world.
Live stream the NBA for free by following these simple steps:
Sign up for a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime (if you're not already a member)
Subscribe to a VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK
Watch the NBA from anywhere in the world on Prime Video
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer money-back guarantees or free trials. By leveraging these offers, you can watch NBA live streams without actually spending anything. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does mean you can watch select NBA games before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming sites from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.
ExpressVPN is the best service for accessing live streams on platforms like Prime Video, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including the UK
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
Fast connection speeds free from throttling
Up to eight simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also 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 $12.95 (including money-back guarantee).
Watch the NBA for free with ExpressVPN.
Jimmy Kimmel breaks down the FCCs latest threat to talk showsThe FCC is once again coming for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" with new threats around "equal time" rules for interviews with political candidates.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is coming once again for shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! with new guidance for "equal time" rules for broadcast interviews with political candidates.
On Thursday night, Kimmel himself unpacked the rules and Donald Trump's FCC chair Brendan Carr's "latest attack on free speech" (Carr's threats toward ABC saw Kimmel's show temporarily pulled off the air in September). The late show host said the FCC is "now trying to use equal time rules to prevent shows like ours and The View from conducting interviews with candidates. They're reinterpreting long agreed upon rules to stifle us."
So, what exactly are these rules and how do they affect talk shows? In his monologue, Kimmel broke it down, running through the impact of the 1927 Radio Act, which required broadcasters "to give equal time for legally qualified camps, meaning, if you put one candidate on the air, you had to offer the same amount of airtime to all the other candidates."
As Kimmel explains, a 1959 amendment made exempt "what they call bonafide newscasts and bonafide news interviews from the rules governing equal time, and that allowed ABC, CBS, NBC, etc, to interview one candidate without having to interview all of them, which mostly applied to news programs, until years later, when talk shows started having candidates on."
Kimmel's examples include John F. Kennedy's 1960 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar and Bill Clinton's 1992 interview on The Arsenio Hall Show, both while campaigning for president. And Jay Leno's 2006 interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger when campaigning for governor of California, which saw Democratic rival Phil Angelides file a complaint to the FCC demanding equal time — the FCC denied his request and the exemption for talk shows has remained to this day.
"They ruled that Arnold appearing on Leno, this was a bona fide news interview, even though it was a talk show and therefore not subject to those equal time rules," said Kimmel. "And that's how every talk show's operated since then. Until this week, when Trump's little ferret in the FCC, Brendan Carr, who, as you know, is doing everything he can to shut us up the easy way or the hard way, is trying to say we no longer qualify for the bona fide news exemption when it comes to interviewing candidates, which is a sneaky little way of keeping viewpoints that aren't his off air."
"I have no idea what the outcome of this is going to be," Kimmel concluded. "I wanted to point it out, because it is another example of this administration trying to squash anyone who doesn't support them."
How to watch Spizzirri vs. Sinner online for freeWatch Australian Open for free. Live stream Spizzirri vs. Sinner in the 2026 Australian Open online for free from anywhere in the world.
TL;DR: Live stream Spizzirri vs. Sinner in the 2026 Australian Open for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
It feels like it only just began, but we've already reached the third round of the 2026 Australian Open. And that means more huge games involving some of the top stars, like defending champ Jannik Sinner.
Sinner faces off against Eliot Spizzirri in the third round. The unseeded American faces a tough task here, with most fans expecting the Italian to make it through to another final. Sinner has made the final of the last five Grand Slams. Now that's consistency.
If you want to watch Spizzirri vs. Sinner in the 2026 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
Spizzirri vs. Sinner in the 2026 Australian Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now.
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Where to pre-order Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the Nintendo Switch 2Super Mario Bros. Wonder is coming to Switch 2 this year on March 26. Find live preorders and understand upgrades.
It's official: Super Mario Bros. Wonder is getting an expanded Nintendo Switch 2 release this year. The delightful game — which we called "an exceedingly silly and playful return to form for Nintendo's mascot" in our review back when it was originally released in 2023 — is set to get both a physical and digital Switch 2 Edition on March 26.
This new version also comes with an expansion called Meetup in Bellabel Park, new additions to the cast with Rosalina and her buddy, Co-Star Luma, plus a number of other smaller enhancements.
If the announcement has you itching to get your hands on it, preorders are now live, although for the moment they're only available for the upgrade pack. If you already own a Switch 2 console and a copy of Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the original Switch, you can drop some cash on the upgrade pack right now at Nintendo for $19.99 to secure the upgrade, which will activate when the edition launches for Switch 2 on March 26.
At the time of this writing, preorders are not available for the standard Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Super Mario Bros. Wonder in its digital or physical format.
The Switch 2 upgrade for Super Mario Bros. Wonder is stacked with exciting new goodies for Nintendo fans.
The main new addition is Meetup in Bellabel Park, an expansion that adds a brand new area to the existing game. Here's what Nintendo has to say about the new location: "Gather friends and family and visit Bellabel Park, a new area of the Flower Kingdom that features two large plazas filled with attractions. Team up or face off in challenges like Fast Cash: Tip Tap’s Coin Spree where you collect as many gold coins as you can, or Knock ‘em Back: Bubble Blaster where you duke it out and try to survive with the most lives intact."
Alongside a new spot to explore, the Switch 2 Edition also expands the cast to include Rosalina and Co-Star Luma. It's perfect timing for the former, given she's about to have her big screen debut in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Alongside new characters, there's also new boss courses and a new assist mode to help you out as you play.
That's not all, though. Nintendo also revealed that three new amiibo are set to drop on the same day as the Switch 2 Edition: Elephant Mario, Poplin & Prince Florian, and Captain Toad and Talking Flower.
The Talking Flower — which is now available to preorder at Nintendo for $34.99 with a release date of March 12 — speaks to you randomly throughout the day, whether about what time it is, the temperature, or just to give you words of encouragement. If this chatty plant is something you can't wait to bring home, you can get your preorders in now ahead of release day.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo has hit a record-low price at Amazon — save $500 right nowThe DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale at Amazon for $1,099, down from the normal price of $1,599. That's a 31% discount.
SAVE $500: The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale at Amazon for $1,099, down from the normal price of $1,599. That's a 31% discount that matches the record low at Amazon.
Despite the FCC ban on foreign drones, you can still get yourself a DJI drone. The fine print of the ban explains that any drone already in the country are excluded from the new legislation, which means they're fair game for ownership and operation. However, that means stock is dwindling, so if you're searching for a DJI drone, check out this deal.
As of Jan. 23, the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon, marked down from the standard price of $1,599. That's a 31% discount that takes a hefty $500 off the price. It also matches the record low at Amazon.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro is a premium drone and the Fly More Combo makes it just that much more appealing. The bundle includes the DJI Mini 5 Pro drone itself, the DJI RC 2 camera-drone remote controller, a set of filters, three DJI Mini 5 Pro Intelligent Flight batteries, three propeller sets, a shoulder bag, and more. Boiled down, this is everything you'd want for an epic drone set-up.
In terms of performance, the DJI Mini 5 Pro is a stellar model. It has a one-inch CMOS camera with 4K HDR filming at 60fps. You can also go with 4K 120fps for slow-motion filming. DJI also made this model especially appealing for night flying thanks to the 360 degree Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing and Nighttime return-to-home function. DJI's ActiveTrack 360° technology is a must-have feature if you'll be filming moving subjects like a cyclist, skier, or surfer.
While it's still in stock and on sale for a record-low price, snag the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo. The bundle is packed with advanced accessories while still being a perfect model for beginners.
Seth Meyers unpacks Trumps detail-free framework of a deal on GreenlandDonald Trump announced he'd secured the "framework of a future deal" on Greenland. But as Seth Meyers points out, there are no details.
Donald Trump announced on Truth Social he'd secured the "framework of a future deal" on Greenland on Thursday, but as for the details? That's basically it.
Seth Meyers took "A Closer Look" at the president's deal (?) with NATO on Late Night, including the fact that Trump referred to the timeframe as "infinite" without supplying terms, a timeline, or any other details.
"How do you have, like, no more details about a deal you just made for a thing only you want. You sound like you're doing a book report on a book you didn't read, but it's worse, because it's a book you wrote," says Meyers. "It's like if JD Salinger got up in front of the class and said, 'Uh, Catcher in the Rye is about, like, a baseball game or something. It takes place in like, a bakery, maybe.'"
Meyers then finished his monologue examining reports on why Trump backed down on his Greenland demands, after threatening tariffs and refusing to rule out using military force.
"This dumb episode's yet another example of what happens when Trump encounters even minimal resistance, he backs down," Meyers said. "It's a lesson opposition leaders here and abroad should remember."
The LG UltraGear 34-inch OLED gaming monitor is almost half price at Amazon — save $600The LG UltraGear 34-inch OLED curved gaming monitor is down to $699.99 at Amazon, nearly half off its $1,299.99 list price.
TL;DR: The LG 34-inch UltraGear OLED curved gaming monitor has dropped to $699.99 at Amazon. That's nearly half off its usual $1,299.99 list price.
The LG UltraGear range of gaming monitors have been seeing some strong price cuts on Amazon, but the latest offer is perfect if you’ve been hunting for an OLED version at a steal. As of Jan. 23, the LG 34-inch UltraGear OLED curved gaming monitor has dropped to $699.99 on Amazon, slashing nearly half off its original $1,299.99 list price.
That’s a serious discount for a monitor that’s firmly aimed at high-end PC gamers, with all the bells and whistles one would expect from a brand like LG.
The 34-inch OLED panel sports a 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio with a dramatic 800R curve, wrapping your field of view in a way that flat screens can’t compete with — making it one of the best ways to improve your immersion when gaming. Resolution comes in at WQHD (3,440x1,440), which promises to strike a nice balance between visual sharpness and performance demands.
In terms of specs, speed is one of this monitor’s greatest strengths. You’re getting a blistering 240Hz refresh rate paired with an almost instantaneous 0.03ms response time, making it a great fit for competitive shooters like Fortnite and fast-paced action games like Hades II. Support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-Sync also helps keep things smooth and tear-free, even when frame rates fluctuate.
What’s more, LG has leaned into the OLED advantage with DisplayHDR True Black 400, delivering deep blacks and punchy contrast that shine in darker scenes. Add HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort support, plus a fully adjustable stand, and you’ve got a monitor that works just as well for long gaming sessions as it does for everyday use when working or doing life admin.
As for other brands, you can also grab the 49-inch Samsung curved Odyssey G9 monitor for only $699.99. For more from LG, the 32-inch version of another monitor from the UltraGear range is now only $199.99.
NYT Mini crossword answers, hints for January 23, 2026Answers to each clue for the January 23, 2026 edition of NYT's The Mini crossword puzzle.
The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.
With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.
So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.
Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, Jan. 23, 2026:
The answer is Graft.
The answer is Reply.
The answer is Amp up.
The answer is Nolte.
The answer is Dweeb.
The answer is Grand.
The answer is Remow.
The answer is Apple.
The answer is Flute.
The answer is Type B.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Mini Crossword.
Whatever is happening in Teyana Taylor and Geeses SNL teaser, Ill buy itTeyana Taylor, Geese, and Marcello Hernández promote their upcoming "SNL" show and it's wonderfully weird.
Teyana Taylor is hosting SNL this week alongside musical guest Geese, and the teaser is wonderfully weird.
The Oscar-nominated One Battle After Another star appeared with the Brooklyn band and SNL's Marcello Hernández to promote the upcoming show, and the sheer awkwardness is my kind of energy.
"Dream brunch rotation" indeed.
Stephen Colbert torches CBS during monologue on Trumps billion-dollar peace boardDonald Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, and Stephen Colbert has thoughts.
Donald Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, the president's committee that will function as "transitional administration" in the reconstruction of Gaza. 60 nations have been invited to join, with each member guaranteed a seat for the sky-high cost of $1 billion.
Stephen Colbert unpacked Trump's new billion-dollar board on The Late Show Thursday, including reports that Trump will be its chairman for life (even after he is no longer U.S. president) and hold the only veto over any matter. But he also landed a blow on his own network CBS (Colbert's show was controversially cancelled after the host accused CBS' parent company Paramount of paying a "big fat bribe" to Trump during a monologue.)
"Admittedly, the idea of paying a billion dollars to obey Donald Trump seems a little steep," Colbert said of the Board of Peace admission fee. "After all, CBS got to do it for just $16 million. Check my math on that one."
Someone call the fire department.
Save over $500 on the Roborock Qrevo CurvX at Amazon right nowGet the best robot vacuum deal on Amazon. Save 37% on the roborock Qrevo CurvX at Amazon right now.
SAVE $550: As of Jan. 23, the Roborock Qrevo CurvX is on sale for $949.99 at Amazon. That's a 37% discount on the list price.
Our love for robot vacuums has well and truly followed us into 2026, and if you've been looking for a great model that can vacuum and mop your floors, the Roborock Qrevo CurvX is a great choice. And as of Jan. 23, it's on sale for $949.99, taking $550 off the list price.
This robot vacuum is built to tackle all kinds of mess. With a 22,000Pa suction and a zero-tangle design, it can deal with everything from stubborn carpet debris to pet hair. The built-in mop means it can also scrub away at any stains or spills. It’s also the slimmest Roborock yet, so it can get into the low spaces under couches and cupboards where dust is hard to reach.
Part of this vacuum's design is the dock. This is where it charges, empties, and does all its maintenance. The mops are washed here using 80°C hot water, and the dock handles drying, emptying, and refilling automatically. The navigation doesn't need any help from you either. It has obstacle recognition via structured light and an RGB camera, and the AdaptiLift chassis lets it adjust height up to 4cm to get over door thresholds and around furniture.
And it can all be controlled from the Roborock app, including cleaning modes and settings. It even a two-way voice interaction so you can talk to your pet when you're away from home.
Get this robot vacuum deal from Amazon now.
The Kamrui Pinova P2 Mini PC is down to its lowest-ever price at Amazon — save over $400 with this coupon codeFind the best Mini PC deal. Get the best-ever price on the Kamrui Pinova P2 Mini PC at Amazon.
SAVE OVER $400: As of Jan. 23, the Kamrui Pinova P2 Mini PC is on sale for $292.46 at Amazon. Get 10% off and use code 12600KAMRUI at the checkout.
If you're in need of a new gaming setup, but your desk space won't allow it, this deal on the Kamrui Pinova P2 Mini PC is the answer. A small, compact unit, this model is the ideal pick for gamers with not much space to spare. And as of Jan. 23, it's on sale for a new record-low price. You can find it at Amazon right now for $292.46 by stacking the 10% off code and 12600KAMRUI at the checkout.
And despite its size, it's powerful. It's powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12600H processor, giving you up to 4.5GHz turbo performance. It comes with 16GB of dual-channel RAM and a 512GB SSD, with support for up to 4TB storage, so it's more than capable of handling multitasking and heavy gaming without lagging or slowing down.
The mini PC also supports triple 4K displays at 60Hz via HDMI, so you can extend your setup for a more immersive experience. It also includes WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and Gigabit Ethernet for fast connectivity, and has multiple USB ports for connecting extra devices or headsets.
Get this mini PC deal from Amazon.
How to watch Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere: Now streaming'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere' is now available to watch at home on video-on-demand and stream on Hulu.
Move over, A Complete Unknown, a new biopic just hit the streaming world. This time around, Jeremy Allen White trades The Bear's kitchen for the recording studio in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, where he plays The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen.
The biopic also stars Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Odessa Young, Marc Maron, and David Krumholtz. It hit theaters last fall, but if you missed it, now's your chance to stream it at home. Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.
Written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on Warren Zanes' book Deliver Me From Nowhere, Springsteen follows Bruce Springsteen (White) during a pivotal moment in his life: recording his 1982 album Nebraska, just as he was on the cusp of global stardom. Rather than charting his life and career from beginning to end, Springsteen is already a star when Deliver Me From Nowhere opens. Like 2024's Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, it chronicles him grappling with his success and the ghosts of his past.
Check out the full trailer:
While it didn't earn a spot on our list of the best movies from 2025, White's performance has stirred up awards season hype. He was already nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture.
The Springsteen biopic currently holds a 60 percent critic rating at Rotten Tomatoes, but a more positive 82 percent audience rating.
Mashable's own film critic writes, "While the film's music remains classic as ever, and while White does an admirable job channeling Springsteen, Deliver Me From Nowhere fails to deliver anything revelatory about the actual emotions behind the music."
Still, if you're a Bruce Springsteen or Jeremy Allen White fan, it's certainly worth a watch.
Read our full review of Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.
Springsteen opened in theaters nationwide on Oct. 24, 2025, after premiering at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival. If you missed out, no biggie; it's now officially available to watch at home. You'll have three different ways to watch as of Jan. 23, 2026: buy it on digital video-on-demand retailers, rent it from digital video-on-demand retailers, or stream it. See the details below.
The 20th Century Studios film officially made its at-home debut via video-on-demand retailers like Prime Video and Apple TV on Dec. 23, 2025. You can purchase Springsteen for your own digital library or rent it for 30 days. Just keep in mind that with rentals, you'll only have 48 hours to finish watching once you start.
Here are some quick links to buy or rent the film on digital:
Prime Video — $19.99 to rent, $24.99 to buy
Fandango at Home — $19.99 to rent, $24.99 to buy
Apple TV — $19.99 to rent, $24.99 to buy
Google Play — $24.99 to buy
YouTube — $24.99 to buy
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere made its streaming debut on Hulu on Jan. 23, 2026, just three months after its theatrical debut.
Hulu subscriptions start at $11.99 per month (thanks to a recent price hike), but there are a few different ways you can save. We've rounded up the best ongoing Hulu streaming deals below.
The best way to cut back on the cost of a Hulu subscription is to opt for an annual plan instead of a monthly plan. By paying for a year upfront for $119.99 (which breaks down to $9.99 per month), you'll save about 16% or just shy of $24. It's not the biggest discount, but every dollar counts.
One of the best deals in the streaming world is Disney's bundle plan. You can get both Disney+ and Hulu with ads in the Duo Basic bundle for just $12.99 per month. That's only a dollar more than paying for one streamer on its own, saving you about 45% total. Better yet, through Feb. 17, you can save an extra $3 on your first month of this bundle plan if you've never subscribed before.
College students can save 83% or $10 per month on a Hulu with ads subscription. Sign up through the Hulu Student promotional page and verify your college email address via SheerID, and the price will drop from $11.99 to just $1.99 per month.
Aside from the free trial, the only way you can get Hulu for free in 2026 is through T-Mobile's Go5G Next and Experience Beyond plans (you'll also get Netflix and Apple TV+ for free). If you're already on one of these plans, head over to the T-Mobile promo page and choose "redeem now" to claim the offer. You'll just have to enter your T-Mobile number and account details to sign up for Hulu. If you're not on the Go5G Next plan or Experience Beyond plan, make the switch to start taking advantage of the best free streaming lineup around.
Tesla Robotaxis now drive without safety monitors in Austin. Or do they?Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Robotaxi rides without safety monitors in Austin, but the truth is more complicated than that.
Tesla now operates Robotaxis in Austin, Texas without human safety monitors in the driver's seat.
While the above sentence is technically correct, the company may have just moved the safety monitors to another car that follows the first one.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the news on X on Thursday. "Just started Tesla Robotaxi drives in Austin with no safety monitor in the car," he wrote. The official Tesla account on X went a step further, calling the ride "full unsupervised."
One "unsupervised" Robotaxi ride in a Tesla Model Y is detailed in a video by Joe Tegtmeyer, retweeted by Musk and Tesla. At one point, we see that a black Tesla Model Y is following the Robotaxi. "You'll also notice behind the Model Y is a chase car, I think they're using that for validation," Tegtmeyer says. The black car keeps following the Robotaxi throughout the ride.
Neither Musk nor Tesla have explained what the second car is for, so it's hard to make any definitive statement about it. It is, however, very possible that the car carries humans who are ready to intervene if something goes wrong with the Robotaxi ride, which sounds a lot like safety monitors.
We'll see whether Robotaxis in Austin will start making autonomous rides without another Tesla following them. For now, this could just be a cool trick that allows Musk to brag about Robotaxis making autonomous rides with "no safety monitor in the car."
Meanwhile, Tesla's chief competitor Waymo is carrying out fully autonomous rides in six major cities in the U.S., having added Miami to the list just days ago.
SAVE $50: As of Jan. 23, the Apple AirPods Pro 3 have dropped to $199.99 at Best Buy as part of the retailer's Deal of the Day. This is $50 off their list price of $249.99.
Best Buy's Deal of the Day page has quite a nice surprise for Apple fans today. For those who have had their eye on the AirPods Pro 3 — which earned spots on both our lists of the best earbuds and best headphones — the retailer has marked them down to $199.99 on Jan. 23.
This deal saves you $50 off their standard list price of $249.99, but again, it only lasts through the rest of the day. If you've been hoping to pick up these earbuds for a discounted price, now is a great time to do it.
The AirPods Pro 3 are an upgrade well worth considering. Our review from writer Adam Doud called them "a remarkable upgrade in functionality over their predecessors, with better battery life and ANC, as well as a new heart rate sensor." Compared to the Pro 2s, these cancel up to twice as much outside noise, so you can feel fully focused on what you're listening to.
Along with great sound quality, they also boast a battery life that lasts up to eight hours on a single charge with Active Noise Cancellation turned on, or up to 10 hours if you're in Transparency mode or using the Hearing Aid feature. If they tick all the boxes for what you've been looking for in new earbuds, now is your chance to grab the AirPods Pro 3 for $50 off at Best Buy.
If you're curious which other earbuds are worth checking out right now, our roundup of the best earbuds can point you in the direction of some more of our favorite picks.
The Magic: The Gathering Edge of Eternities Play Booster Box has dropped below market price on AmazonThe Magic: The Gathering Edge of Eternities Play Booster Box is down to $139.99 at Amazon, beating TCGplayer prices and market value.
TL;DR: The Magic: The Gathering Edge of Eternities Play Booster Box has dropped to just $139.99 at Amazon, nearly matching its lowest-ever price and undercutting its usual price by $25.
Amazon has cut this in-demand booster box to close to its best-ever price. As of Jan. 23, the Magic: The Gathering Edge of Eternities Play Booster Box is available for $139.99. That's $25 off its $164.70 list price, and is just $1.01 away from its historical low on the platform — according to price tracker camelcamelcamel.
For anyone who skipped this space-themed expansion at launch, this is an especially tempting moment to jump in. Edge of Eternities is Magic’s first full-on space opera set, sending players to distant planets and collapsing star systems with brand-new mechanics like Station, Warp, Landers, and Void. The Play Booster Box includes 30 Play Boosters, each containing 14 cards and a token, with 1-4 rares or better per pack and a guaranteed Traditional Foil in every booster. There’s even a very slim chance of pulling a borderless foil mythic, making the box appealing to both trading card collectors and players.
What really makes this deal stand out is how it compares to the wider market. Over on TCGplayer, Edge of Eternities Play Booster Boxes are currently listed as low as $159.69, with shipping costs adding to this figure. The platform’s market price sits around $151.85, meaning Amazon’s current offer undercuts both typical listings and overall market value by a noticeable margin.
If you’re excited for Magic: The Gathering’s newly launched Lorwyn Eclipsed expansion, you can still grab the Play Booster Box on sale for around $14 off. For beginners or Avatar fans, the MTG Avatar: The Last Airbender Beginner Box is also down to its best-ever price on Amazon.
Dreame doesnt just want to be a top vacuum brand. It wants to be a top everything brand.You've probably heard of a Dreame robot vacuum or Dyson Supersonic dupe. CES 2026 showed that Dreame is eyeing kitchen tech and AI wearables, too.
Dreame (pronounced like "dreamy") is not letting your favorite brands rest. And it's not just Roborock that should be worrying.
After promising growth in 2025 and a monumental showing at CES 2026, it's clear that we're going to be seeing the Dreame name pop up a lot in 2026. So, who is this robot vacuum company looking to master the rest of the home tech industry?
Dreame is a Chinese brand making headway in various product markets in the U.S. It was founded in 2015 and is a member of the Xiaomi Ecological Chain, which also has ties with Roborock. Though Xiaomi is one of Dreame's investors, Xioami is not considered to be the parent brand of Dreame. Dreame also owns robot vacuum brand Mova.
If you've heard of Dreame before, it probably stemmed from a hunt for the best robot vacuums or a good Dyson Supersonic dupe. Despite the upcoming expansion of its product line, Dreame certainly hasn't taken its foot off the gas of these established categories — the new vacuums and hair stylers coming in 2026 are the picture of ingenuity, as we've learned to expect from Dreame.
The part that wasn't expected? Dreame put down roots in a ton of new product categories at CES 2026. Dreame showcased kitchen appliances (from countertop gadgets to full dishwashers, ovens, and refrigerators), a smart air conditioner, smart rings and a health-monitoring watch, a series of mini LED TVs, AI glasses and an AI action camera, a red light therapy mask, and a pet-specific air purifier. Dreame also showcased a range of smart home devices under the name Navo Home, including smart locks and a smart security camera. The Dreame robotic lawnmower and robotic pool cleaner lines also received upgrades.
It's like a mashup of Samsung and Dyson with a pinch of Oura, Meta, and a few more. There's something for every room in the home (plus the yard) in the eclectic range, which Dreame is calling a "whole-home smart ecosystem."
Mashable Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth, who was on the floor at CES, was "shocked by how many things they had on display." According to reactions across the internet, most everyone who stopped by Dreame's booth was just as perplexed. That includes various CES judges and panelists who crowned Dreame with more than 50 awards over CES weekend.
Not all of the products that debuted are actually set to be released in 2026, of course, nor will all of them be available to buy in the U.S. As of January 2026, the new cordless Dreame vacuum mop, stick vacuums, robot vacuums, hair tools, air purifiers, pool cleaners, and lawnmowers are solidified in the North America market, and the Dreame TVs are supposedly launching globally sometime this year.
At this point at least, Dreame's pièce de résistance is still the robot vacuum.
As Mashable's resident vacuum expert, I've found Dreame robot vacuums to be consistently reliable across the board. Most recently, I tested the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller that just came out in August, naming it the best robot vacuum right now. Its 30,000 Pa of suction power was a new high for the market at the time, beating the Roborock Saros models that were previously on top.
Hot take: Roborock vs. Dreame is the new Shark vs. Roomba. Dreame's flagship robot vacuums have been going spec for spec with Roborock since CES 2025. Dreame hit the 30,000 Pa milestone with the Aqua10 Ultra Roller months before Roborock did. The existence of the upcoming Dreame Cyber 10 Ultra means that the Roborock Saros Z70 will no longer be the only robot vacuum with a folding mechanical arm, and Dreame's sounds like it'll be the better option.
Most intriguing to me personally, the 3.1-inch tall Dreame X60 Max Ultra isn't letting the new and improved Roborock Saros vacuums be the lone title holders of strongest robot vacuums of 2026. It's going to be a battle of the 35,000 Pa robot vacuum mop combos with two different takes on heated scrubbing — and I can't wait for it all to go down in my apartment. The X60 Max Ultra is also equipped with a proactive light that senses the debris ahead and adjusts the cleaning strategy accordingly. It sounds similar to the Dyson laser, which I've been waiting forever to see on a Dyson robot vacuum.
All of that incredible innovation aside, what's so endearing about the Dreame vacuum lineup is that there's something for everyone. The high-end Dreames aren't ridiculously expensive given their top-of-the-line specs. Mid-range Dreame options are also incredibly powerful for the $500 to $700 spectrum, like the Dreame L40 Ultra: Its 25,000 Pa of suction power is more than twice as strong as the most powerful Roomba's 13,000 Pa, and the Roomba Max 705 Combo costs more. It's a similar story with the most budget-friendly options like the Dreame D10 Plus, which offers 6,000 Pa of suction power, automatic emptying, mopping, and smart mapping for less than $200 on sale.
With iRobot going bankrupt and Shark taking forever between robot vacuum releases, Dreame is inarguably a frontrunner in the conversation about the best robot vacuum brands.
Dreame hair care really keeps Dyson and Shark on their toes. My colleague, lead shopping reporter and resident hair tool expert, Bethany Allard, gives frequent props to Dreame devices for combining the best elements from other popular hair tools.
In August, Dreame announced the $229.99 Miracle Pro hair dryer, an affordable Dyson Supersonic alternative that meshes the T3 Aire IQ's smart digital display and the Supersonic Nural's scalp-sensing heat protection, plus red light therapy. The summer 2025 drop also included the $299.99 (or $179.99 on sale) Dreame Dazzle, a Shark FlexStyle dupe that adds smart nozzle recognition and a digital display.
At CES, Dreame debuted the AirStyle Pro HI, an elevated version of its Dyson Airwrap dupe that recognizes your hair type, and the Aero Straight Pro, an air straightener that uses AI to detect your hair type and level of moisture to minimize heat damage in a whole new way.
Like Shark, the hair tool to skincare device pipeline was imminent for Dreame. One of the lesser talked-about beauty products at Dreame's CES booth was the wireless Dreame Chrona face mask, which will allegedly have 280 LEDs and four modes. It's quietly mentioned near the bottom of Dreame's beauty-specific CES page, but we don't know much more past that.
It doesn't seem that many customers have complaints about the quality of Dreame products. Looking at vacuums in particular, Dreame is relatively transparent about its approach to quality assurance. Dreame's official blog posted a pretty thorough breakdown of its vacuum testing process in December 2025. In a virtual media briefing I attended ahead of CES, Dreame showed some clips of the rigorous testing process for its Cyber 10 Ultra — further confirmation that such fancy new vacuums aren't released until Dreame is confident that they'll hold up in any household.
But it seems like far less effort is going into the quality assurance behind Dreame's customer support, and that's obviously a big red flag to potential future buyers.
The vibes are bad in discussions about it online. Upon Googling "Dreame customer service Reddit" (the only place to look if you want the real honest tea), three different users described their experience as "a nightmare," "pure horror," and "pure hell." People cited long wait times to get a response and dead-end conversations when a response does finally come through. One anecdote encapsulates the unanimous takeaway well: "I love their products, but their service is absolutely horrible for the price we pay."
One glaring theme I noticed was how impossible it feels to talk to a real person. Countless Reddit users wondered if Dreame has actual human customer service reps at all. It's a position most of us are all too familiar with: Arguing with an incoherent customer support chatbot, Tim Robinson in The Chair Company-style. That part just feels scammy to folks, even if the company itself is completely legitimate.
It's not uncommon for customer service to be at its best in the company's base country. But customers care about feeling distant from the company they're buying from — not geographically, but in terms of a customer relationship.
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The longevity of the company is comforting here, as Dreame has been around for more than a decade. But it'd be a shame if bad customer service was scaring U.S. buyers away from Dreame when the products themselves are so solid.
Granted, even entrenched mega brands like Samsung have their fair share of poor customer service reviews — that clearly hasn't hindered Samsung's success. If Dreame wants to be taken as seriously as Samsung is in such a wide array of categories, prioritizing trust from customers could be a real secret weapon.
Dreame does seem to be making an effort to concretize itself to U.S. customers, beyond being just another brand on the internet. Dreame has opened a handful of brick-and-mortar stores in California and one in New Jersey. You can also check out Dreame vacuums in person at more than 175 Target stores in various states across the U.S.
Online, you can buy Dreame products at Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Walmart, and dreametech.com.
The lukewarm rivalry between Shark and iRobot heated up for a second in March 2025, when iRobot went rogue and overhauled the entire Roomba lineup outside of its usual release schedule. But the last ditch effort to get people excited about Roombas again didn't work. Once iRobot's lack of acquisition interest dwindled down to zero potential buyers, iRobot filed for bankruptcy in December 2025. Ownership of the brand was surrendered to its manufacturer Picea.
Let's break down why Roombas were considered the best for so long, and where iRobot went wrong.
iRobot simply has more robot vacuums than Shark, and that variety alone will make it a more palatable brand to more people. The variety in the Roomba lineup offers flexibility for mixing and matching staple features like smart mapping, mopping pads that automatically avoid carpet, self-empty docks that also wash and dry the mopping pads, and small obstacle avoidance technology.
There are more Roombas to choose from because iRobot releases new robot vacuums more frequently than Shark — for the past few years prior to bankruptcy, at least. The Roomba range seriously widened when iRobot randomly overhauled the Roomba lineup with eight new models in March 2025. That was certainly an interesting move, considering new Roombas had typically been announced in August in years past.
iRobot released a bleak financial report that same week, and I couldn't help but feel like the surprise spring drop was tainted with a sense of urgency. Still, at the time, I thought it'd be interesting to see if these new Roombas could make iRobot a competitive brand again.
Yes, you can still buy a Roomba online despite the bankruptcy filing. Here's a quick look at the main new models that were all introduced last March:
Roomba 105 for as low as $149 on sale (standalone model with smart mapping)
Roomba 205 Combo for as low as $269.99 on sale (space-saving dust-compacting model with smart mapping)
Roomba Plus 405 Combo for as low as $399.99 on sale (self-washing and -drying mopping pads, no small obstacle avoidance)
Roomba Plus 505 Combo for as low as $599 on sale (self-washing and -drying mopping pads, small obstacle avoidance)
Roomba Combo 10 Max for as low as $599.99 on sale (stronger suction power, self-washing and -drying mopping pads, and small obstacle avoidance)
Roomba Max 705 Combo for $1,299.99 (self-washing roller mop, stronger suction power, and small obstacle avoidance)
iRobot thankfully diverted from the traditional flat mopping pad with its 2025 overhaul. Now, the Roomba Plus 405 and 505 Combo use dual spinning mopping pads — a design that the majority of iRobot customers prefer, iRobot told me in a press briefing. The Roomba Max 705 Combo was actually one of the first mainstream roller mop robot vacuums, which debuted months before that became a major trend of the best robot vacuum and mop combos out of CES 2026.
Not for nothing, iRobot heard the cries of the anti-mop crowd on Reddit and released a vacuum-only version of one of its more powerful models, the Roomba Max 705 Vac. A lot of people simply don't want to deal with tanks or anything soggy at all, but finding a vac-only robot vacuum typically means settling for a super basic model — all of the most advanced robot vacuums are automatically hybrids nowadays.
iRobot's mastery of small obstacle avoidance gives it serious leverage over Shark — it's some of the best small obstacle avoidance I've experienced from any brand I've tested at home. The Roomba Combo 10 Max, the Roomba Plus 505 Combo, and both 705 models have the special small obstacle detection camera system, which helps to avoid small obstacles that less-advanced robot vacuums would typically eat, like a phone charger, extension cord, rogue sock, or pet waste. In short, it solves the main gripe that many robot vacuum non-believers have: robot vacuums get stuck so often that they're more trouble than they're worth. I first experienced it when reviewing the Roomba j7+ and Combo j7+ and could never go back to the habit of pre-tidying.
iRobot isn't the pioneer it once was.
The self-emptying, smart mapping Roomba S9+ was a huge deal when it came out in 2019, and the Roomba j7+'s small obstacle avoidance set a new standard for robot vacuum navigation in 2021. Its star power was so influential that "Roomba" became the colloquial generic term for any robot vacuum.
But somewhere down the line, iRobot stopped innovating in the ways that justified its steep price points. Roombas started costing way too much for the brainpower or cleaning performance they offered. I saw the Roomba flop era coming from a mile away. iRobot tried to rectify its overpriced tendencies with the eight new Roombas in March, but even those didn't sell well enough to save iRobot from bankruptcy.
So while I'll give credit to Roomba for getting more practical with its prices, Shark still does budget-friendly better. For instance, I think that the perfect starter robot vacuum is one with smart mapping and self-emptying, with suction power being less of a priority as long as it's sufficient for light daily upkeep. In Roomba world, the cheapest option for this is the Roomba 105 + AutoEmpty Dock, going for $449.99 at full price or around $299.99 on sale. In Shark world, the same capabilities can be secured for as low as $199.99 on sale with the Shark IQ RV2302AE.
Either way, there are definitely more powerful cheap robot vacuums than both of those out there. It's the same story on the premium end of the spectrum: The fanciest Roombas still cost way too much given their skills. The Roomba Plus 505 Combo that I tested comes to mind, which retails for $999.99 but goes on sale for $849.99. While it didn't have any glaring drawbacks, it also doesn't exist in a vacuum — $849.99 could get you significantly stronger suction power with Roborock or Dreame, plus extras like a livestream pet camera in some cases.
Even the most powerful Roomba doesn't stand a chance against the most powerful contenders from other brands. On its face, the Roomba Max 705 Combo sounds like a beast: It has "175 times the suction power of a 600 Series Roomba" and is coined as the most powerful 2-in-1 Roomba. But iRobot, who is quietly revealing Pa suction power measurements for the first time, has confirmed that the Roomba Max 705 Combo has 13,000 Pa suction power.
That means that even the best Roomba for pet hair or carpet is significantly weaker than the other flagship robot vacuums out there — still a relevant point, even if it's not a direct comparison to Shark. The 2025 Roborock Saros line had 22,000 Pa, while the 2026 Roborock and Dreame flagship vacuums both hit a new record of 35,000 Pa. It's not hard to find a robot vacuum with 15,000+ Pa with self-washing and drying mopping pads for less than $700. As a refresher, the Roomba Max 705 Combo costs $1,299.99.
iRobot does not expect the company's restructuring to disrupt app functionality, customer programs, or ongoing product support. That's comforting news to people who already have a Roomba. But for those still deciding if they should buy a Roomba, that's not a worthwhile option right now.
Shark has historically been in tune with what the average person is willing to spend on a robot vacuum. The brand consistently offers core capabilities like smart mapping and mopping at affordable price points, topped with a straightforward user experience that doesn't involve a million high-level app functions. It's a particularly enticing brand for first-time robot vacuum owners.
Shark's more approachable price points don't necessarily mean it skimps on cleaning performance, though. Shark Matrix vacuums clean in a grid pattern, approaching the area several times from multiple angles to grab anything it may have missed in the first pass or two. According to Shark, Matrix mode dishes out 30 percent better carpet cleaning than the older RV Shark models. For Shark 2-in-1 robot vacuums, a mop in Matrix mode vibrates 100 times per minute to scrub at stains that likely wouldn't budge from a single pass of a cheaper robot mop or a paper towel. Matrix mopping always comes in clutch for keeping up with the constant layer of shoe prints by my front door.
Shark even extends the Matrix cleaning mechanism to most of its super-affordable models, making any of the RV2310 or RV2300 models a solid choice for a budget robot vacuum. Shark's spot cleaning has been such a streamlined, reliable feature in every Shark robot vacuum I tried. My ultimate spot cleaning test is the area outside either of my cats' litter boxes — even the cheap Shark robot vacuums always got to the right spot and cleared the kitty litter before I walked in there with bare feet.
In September 2024, Shark finally caught on to the whole "self-sustaining mopping pads" thing with the release of the Shark PowerDetect robot vacuums. They originally cost between $999.99 and $1,199.99, which seemed quite reasonable (at the time) compared to the models that cost $1,599.99. They can often be found on sale between $499.99 and $699.99.
For good measure, the PowerDetect models are also equipped with large wheels that hoist the vac over carpet to keep it dry during mopping mode. Those hydraulics also helped the PowerDetect to be one of the only robot vacs I've tested that's never gotten stuck on a rug corner or scrambled up my bath mats.
Shark's biggest shortcoming is that it takes forever to release new robot vacuums, and that staggered schedule often leaves it playing catch-up with other brands. Brands like Roborock and Dreame seem to drop new crops of robot vacuums twice in the time period that Shark introduces a single new model. Overall, Shark's entire lineup feels a little basic compared to its competitors.
The PowerDetect line was in desperate need of a successor for a while. When Shark did finally "revamp" the series in fall 2025, the upgrades were criminally underwhelming. The major difference is heated mop washing and drying for improved sanitation between mopping sessions, hence "ThermaCharged" in the title. That's not exactly a front-page headline when the vacuum is still so far behind other brands' models in the same price range.
Another lesser-known late 2025 model, the Shark Stratos NeverTouch robot vacuum, is similarly bland. Its description mentions "ultra-powerful suction" and states that the Stratos delivers twice the suction power of the Roomba i5 Combo. A $799.99 robot vacuum is more powerful than an entry-level Roomba that came out in 2023? Yeah, I would hope so.
Shark is the lone major robot vacuum brand that hasn't really invested in small obstacle avoidance, and that seriously cramps the "premium" feel. This is such a staple feature in my life, as I'm sure it is for anyone whose floor might be cluttered lived in from time to time. In my testing, the Shark ThermaCharged was so inept at diverting obstacles (even large ones) that it gave up on cleaning missions instead of simply driving around a tote bag of groceries or a cordless Dyson vacuum attachment laying on the ground.
In the same vein of too-basic navigation, only the most premium Shark robot vacuums automatically stop mopping when carpet is sensed. This means vacuum and mop mode aren't possible at the same time with any of the 2-in-1 Shark Matrix models, and a person needs to manually attach the water tank to switch to mopping mode. That's enough of a pain to make someone want to skip mopping altogether. Even the cheap Roomba 105 Combo can detect carpet — the first time in recent memory where a base-tier Roomba outshines a base-tier Shark.
Shark also has yet to grow out of the D-shaped mopping pad while every other major brand has graduated to dual rotating mops or roller mops. The sonic vibrations of the PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro and PowerDetect ThermaCharged did a solid job of wiping up small spills and shoe stains on my apartment's hardwood, but they weren't able to scrub in corners and along edges like the Roomba 405 or 505 Combo's flexible spinning mops can.
If Shark doubles down on the D-shaped pad design in its next release, it should at least give the pad more mobility to scoot out past the circular body of the vacuum — similar to what Roborock did with the Saros 20 Sonic that it announced at CES 2026.
Shark doesn't do itself any favors by refusing to list its vacuums' suction power in Pascals (Pa). Almost every other major robot vacuum brand measures suction power in Pa (even iRobot now), which makes comparing options easy. Shark still insists on keeping an air of mystery by solely comparing suction power to other vacuums in its own family tree, or by making vague claims like "50% better suction than the best-selling iRobot."
Ironically, two of the most longstanding names in the robot vacuum game have the two most outdated-feeling apps. The bare bones home maps in both the Roomba Home and Shark Clean apps are far less intricate than the color-coded maps that Roborock or Eufy offer. Pausing a clean or adding an extra room to the queue is similarly clunky on both.
Still not sure which side to take in this debate? Here's my take as a professional robot vacuum reviewer: Neither iRobot nor Shark is the best robot vacuum brand. Dreame vs. Roborock is the new Shark vs. Roomba, and I highly recommend taking a look at all of the Dreame robot vacuums and Roborock robot vacuums within your budget. You're probably going to find an option that's smarter and more powerful than the Roomba and Shark vacuum cleaners in your cart.
Before I knew just how bleak things were looking for iRobot, I crowned iRobot as the better robot vacuum brand for most people. Shark takes forever to release new robot vacuums, so there are simply more Roombas to choose from. Those Roombas offer more meticulous mopping and accurate obstacle avoidance than Shark's array, making Roombas the more capable robot vacuums from a technical standpoint. Plus, even Shark's most premium robot vacuum feels basic compared to flagship vacuums from most other brands.
But Shark recently earned an inherent leg up on iRobot: Shark isn't bankrupt. In fact, SharkNinja is a brand is flourishing. It just needs to divert some attention from cordless vacuums, beauty tech, kitchen tech back to its robot vacuum line. While the premise of new Roombas under Picea ownership hasn't been ruled out, Shark is clearly in a more cushioned financial position to keep putting out new products. If the next new Shark robot vacuum masters small obstacle avoidance and corner mopping, it'll have officially regained the traction lost to the Roomba 405, 505, and 705 Combos.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 just ended, but star Walker Scobell is already eager for the future of the show.
In a Say More interview with Mashable Entertainment Reporter Belen Edwards, Scobell revealed that Season 3, which is currently shooting and set to release this year, is "even better than I imagined."
As a massive fan of Rick Riordan's original book series, Scobell's appreciation for Season 3 stems from his deep fandom of the source material — especially The Titan's Curse, which Season 3 will adapt.
"Listen, I love Season 2, and I love Season 1. Perfect, I love them so much," Scobell told Mashable. "But there's something about The Titan's Curse to The Last Olympian that's just a completely new level, and it's just so different."
From The Titan's Curse onwards, Riordan's books get considerably darker, a challenge that Scobell relishes as he and his castmates grow up alongside Percy and his crew of heroes.
"They're getting older, and things are getting pretty serious with this Great Prophecy," Scobell explained. "It think it gets really difficult for them, because now things are real. They're not invincible — not like they weren't before, but they've seen how they're not invincible."
Thankfully, amid Season 3's emotional damage (and book fans know there's a lot of that to go around), audiences will also be getting some levity. That includes one iconic scene from The Titan's Curse: all those Hoover Dam puns.
"We're gonna be getting a lot of good dam jokes," Scobell revealed. "That's the only thing I'm gonna confirm. As a fan, before we got episode 5, Aryan [Simhadri] and I were like, 'There's no way they take that out.' Because it's my favorite part of that book. There's no reason for them to laugh at that point. But I love how they're just sitting there, laughing about these dam jokes."
Sounds like we're in for a dam good time, right?
"It's gonna be a dam great season," Scobell said.
For more of Mashable's interview with Scobell, including a deep dive into finale fight scenes, changes between Riordan's book and the show, and what's next for Percy and Thalia (Tamara Smart), check out the full video on YouTube.
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NASA’s Artemis 2 astronauts could head to the moon in a matter of weeksNASA's Artemis II is a crucial trial that turns the success of the uncrewed Artemis I flight into a human mission around the moon.
More than three years since the Orion capsule's inaugural voyage, NASA is about to shoot the capsule into space again — but this time four astronauts will ride it to the moon.
Artemis II — which mission leaders say could happen as early as two weeks from now in February — is a crucial practice run for NASA's hardware that turns Artemis I's uncrewed success into a fully human mission.
"While Artemis I was a great success, there are new systems and new capabilities that we will be demonstrating on Artemis II, including the life support systems, the display capabilities, software, and et cetera," said Lakiesha Hawkins, NASA's acting deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development. "This is a stepped approach, and all that we learned from Artemis II, we will build upon that to prepare us for our first crewed landing on the surface of the moon for Artemis III."
Though the crew won't ever leave the confines of the spaceship during their 10-day mission, the four members will hold a place in history as the first space travelers of Artemis, the new exploration program named after Apollo's goddess twin. It's the beginning of NASA's ambitious plan to send astronauts to Mars by the late 2030s, preparing for a world far less hospitable than Earth.
This second Artemis mission — the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years — raises the stakes. Instead of just proving that the Space Launch System rocket and capsule can survive, NASA must show that the vehicles can keep people alive on a 10‑day trip around the moon and back. The mission will test crew controls and emergency options that future astronauts will rely on when NASA tries to land on the lunar surface and eventually push on toward Mars.
Artemis II will carry Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Hammock Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, will be the first international crewmate on a lunar mission.
The astronauts will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, atop the 322-foot mega moon rocket, loop around the moon on a roughly four‑day outbound trip, fly about 4,600 miles beyond it, and return to a splashdown off the coast of California.
That distance could set a new human spaceflight record, exceeding the one set by Apollo 13, which traveled 248,655 miles from Earth in 1970. Whether Artemis II reaches its planned 257,000 miles depends on when exactly the mission launches.
Koch said she had recently met Fred Haise, now in his 90s and the last surviving Apollo 13 crew member.
"He said, 'I heard you're going to beat our record,' and it made me realize maybe he's paying attention to it more than we are. I think that sometimes when we talk about superlatives, we may inadvertently ignore the real story of what's going on in our mission," she said. "It's not about farthest, first, fastest, longest. It's about the teamwork."
A major change from the 25-day Artemis I mission in 2022 is the path the crew will take. Artemis II will use what NASA calls a "free return trajectory," which means once Orion heads toward the moon, gravity from Earth and the moon will naturally bend the spaceship's course back home, even if later engine burns fail.
Another big difference comes right after launch. Before committing the astronauts to deep space, NASA will park Orion in a high Earth orbit that takes about a day to complete. That gives the team time to thoroughly check the spacecraft while it remains relatively close to home.
"When we get off the planet, we might come right back home, we might spend three or four days around Earth, we might go to the moon," Wiseman said. "That's where we want to go, but it is a test mission, and we are ready for every scenario."
During this phase, the crew will perform a test of how Orion handles when astronauts steer it — practice for later missions that must dock with a lunar lander. Once the ship separates from the upper stage, they'll turn Orion around and manually fly near the spent propulsion section, using cameras and windows to approach and back away.
For the return home, NASA has tweaked its original re-entry plan after discovering damage to Orion's heatshield following Artemis I. Engineers have since adjusted the flight path so the capsule doesn’t plow through the atmosphere as hard or as long. By aiming closer to San Diego, California, versus Baja California, Mexico, they can shorten the hottest part of the ride.
While the agency has committed to launching Artemis II no later than April 2026 and is working toward a possible February window, which opens Feb. 6, mission leaders stressed that schedule will never outrun safety.
"I've got a good eye for launch fever," said John Honeycutt, head of the mission management team. "I'm not going to tell the agency that I'm ready to go fly until I think we're ready to go fly."
Why the algorithm serves you wedding content when you just got divorcedSocial media algorithms, like those on TikTok, may contradict the reality you're living in. Experts tell Mashable why.
Long before social media feeds or targeted ads, my mother used to say that life tends to show you the thing you're looking for. Or the thing you're afraid of. Or the thing you keep insisting you don't want.
If you were trying to get pregnant, suddenly everyone around you was pregnant. If you wanted out of your relationship, magazines on the grocery store rack were filled with tips on "spicing up your marriage." If you were single, you noticed couples everywhere.
At the time, it felt like a kind of folk psychology, an observation about attention, projection, and the stories we tell ourselves during moments of transition. Nothing mystical. Just the mind's tendency to organize the world around its current preoccupations.
But today, that feeling is no longer just in our heads — it's computational, built into the systems we use every day. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Google don't just reflect what we notice; they actively infer who we are and what comes next, based on demographics such as age and gender, as well as behavioral patterns. And once they decide what life stage you're in, they keep showing it to you, whether it fits or not.
Across social platforms, users describe being quietly ushered through a narrow, linear life script, one that often resembles something like dating → engagement → wedding → pregnancy → parenting. These systems assume users are progressing along an expected trajectory. When lives diverge from that path, for instance, after a breakup, during infertility, following divorce, or by choice, the algorithm often fails to recalibrate.
What looks like a coincidence or annoyance is something more structural: platforms building a version of identity that won't update, even as a person's life changes.
On social platforms, users may still encounter content they don't want, despite repeatedly muting keywords or clicking "not interested." Research shows that recommendation algorithms often rely far more on implicit engagement, such as watch time and clicks, than on explicit feedback signals, like hiding or muting, meaning the system can continue serving the life someone once searched for — or was assumed to want.
Elizabeth Losh, a media theorist, digital rhetoric scholar, and professor of English and American Studies at the College of William and Mary, said this persistence is rooted in how recommendation systems are built.
"Sites like TikTok and Instagram depend on targeted advertising and data harvesting models that emphasize demographic segmentation," said Losh, who is also the author of Selfie Democracy: The New Digital Politics of Disruption and Insurrection. "[They] slice and dice audiences by gender, age, political loyalties, and other categories, manufacturing needs and desires for each stage of life."
Those stages often reflect cultural expectations rather than real user diversity. Advertisers treat transitions like marriage, fertility, and parenting as high-value consumption moments, incentivizing platforms to sort users into life-phase categories that are difficult to exit once assigned.
"You can see how those assumptions get locked in," Losh said. "The persuasive power of the recommendation algorithms themselves continues to reinforce standardized life trajectories."
Platforms rarely explain how they infer a user's "life phase," but scrolling itself is data.
TikTok has acknowledged that time spent watching a video is weighted more heavily than most other signals in its recommendation system. Even a pause due to curiosity, confusion, or discomfort can be interpreted as interest. Once a system associates a user with a category, similar content can quickly snowball.
Lauren Klein, professor of Data & Decision Sciences and English at Emory University and co-author of Data Feminism, says these inferences reflect historic gender norms far more than neutral "user data."
"In many cases, age and gender are the only data points companies know about their users," Klein said. "In the absence of [a] meaningful signal, designers default to what they assume someone of a particular age and gender would want to see."
Those assumptions are shaped by long-standing cultural expectations about users' lives, including those around beauty, partnership, reproduction, and caregiving.
Because recommendation and ad systems are profit-driven, Klein added, there is little incentive to challenge defaults that appear to perform well.
"These companies are motivated by their own bottom line," she said. "If default life-phase content seems to generate engagement or purchases, there's no obligation to consider other desires or preferences."
Emerging research suggests that algorithmic systems do more than match users with content; they're also shaping people's identities.
Researchers describe this phenomenon as "algorithmic persistence," in which systems continue to serve content tied to a presumed identity long after it is no longer applicable. Klein notes that because recommender systems are optimized for engagement rather than accuracy, they have little incentive to recalibrate unless user behavior changes significantly, something many people don't know how to do, or even realize is necessary.
"There's an added social reinforcement mechanism," Klein said, adding that users already receive constant messages about what they should care about. "The algorithm amplifies that pressure."
Over time, this creates a kind of ambient discipline, technology nudging users toward a version of adulthood they might not want, can't access, or have already outgrown.
"The isolation of personal scrolling is a kind of 'technology of the self,'" Losh said. "It subtly encourages people to regulate themselves according to dominant social scripts."
If algorithmic persistence explains why users get "stuck" seeing irrelevant content, performance helps explain why pushing back doesn't necessarily free them.
Short-form video platforms are built around visibility and play. Users duet, stitch, parody, and perform alternative selves. Queer creators experiment with gender; others engage in what Losh calls "generation-swapping," performing exaggerated versions of parents or elders. Comedy and remix culture offer highly legible ways to critique dominant life scripts.
That visibility is not meaningless. Losh notes that these platforms have created space for experiences once considered rare or invisible: intersex parents documenting their lives, people speaking openly about ectopic pregnancy or asexuality, sex workers sharing the unglamorous realities of their labor. Other forms of relational storytelling — like content about lavender marriages or the rise of "guncles" — quietly challenge heteronormative family scripts through humor and affection rather than argument.
But visibility, Losh cautions, is not the same as structural change. Even as platforms become increasingly adept at identifying and amplifying counter-narratives, they continue to circulate within algorithms optimized to sort users into marketable categories. That means wedding content becomes queer wedding content, or family content becomes nontraditional family content. The identity may shift, but the life-phase logic remains intact. In that sense, personalization doesn't eliminate the script so much as adapt it.
Within recommendation systems, critique does not reliably trigger corrections. Because engagement itself is the primary signal — watch time, interaction, repetition — even content meant to challenge a life-cycle narrative can be absorbed as evidence of interest in it. A parody of wedding culture may still be logged as engagement with wedding content; a rebuttal to parenting norms may circulate alongside the very material it critiques.
Algorithmic identity is not something users can update with a single click. Training data reflects the past. Profit incentives favor broad categories. And recommender systems are built to optimize engagement loops, not to reflect the complex, nonlinear lives of their users.
Designing for people who don't want children, who co-parent, who are queer or polyamorous, or who move in and out of relationships requires time, care, and a willingness to challenge default assumptions.
"It takes more work to design for users at the margins," Klein said. "But those users often reveal where systems break down."
When asked what a more feminist or equitable recommender system might look like, Klein was skeptical.
"I'm not sure there's such a thing as a feminist advertising mechanism," she said. "But one feminist principle we can take seriously is refusal."
For platforms, that would mean letting users opt out of targeted ads, allowing them to withhold their age or gender without penalty, avoiding punitive privacy defaults, and giving users ways to signal life changes without automatically triggering new assumptions.
For now, most platforms offer limited transparency and little meaningful control.
The algorithm lags behind real life. It clings to who someone was — or who it decided they were — because updating that identity is less profitable than nudging it forward.
For users, that lag often mirrors the same narrow life script society has long imposed. What's new isn't the pressure, it's the infrastructure delivering it.
The feed doesn't reflect reality. It reinforces a familiar script — whether it fits or not.
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This week's NBA action includes a replay of the 2025 NBA Finals as the Indiana Pacers go on the road to face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oklahoma won those games but the more interesting story was Indiana's incredible playoffs run, which defied the odds. But the Eastern Conference champions have had a tough 2025-26 season so far — they're currently sat at the bottom of the conference, while Thunder are at the top of the Western Conference with the best record in the league. Can the Pacers pull off another improbable result? Or is their season a write-off?
If you want to watch Pacers vs. Thunder in the NBA for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA starts at 7 p.m. ET on Jan. 23. This game takes place at the Paycom Center.
Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA is available to live stream for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.
This free live stream is geo-restricted to the U.S. and UK, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the U.S. or UK, meaning you can access free live streams of the NBA from anywhere in the world.
Stream the NBA for free by following these simple steps:
Sign up for a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime (if you're not already a member)
Subscribe to a VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in the U.S. or UK
Watch the NBA from anywhere in the world on Prime Video
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer money-back guarantees or free trials. By leveraging these offers, you can watch NBA live streams without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does mean you can watch select games from the NBA before recovering your investment.
ExpressVPN is the best service for accessing free live streams on platforms like Prime Video, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also 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 $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream the NBA for free with ExpressVPN.
How to watch Rockets vs. Pistons online for freeHow to watch NBA for free. Watch Houston Rockets vs. Detroit Pistons in the NBA for free from anywhere in the world.
TL;DR: Live stream Houston Rockets vs. Detroit Pistons in the NBA for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
This week's must-watch NBA action sees the Houston Rockets visit Eastern Conference leaders the Detroit Pistons. The Rockets will have their work cut out — the Pistons have an excellent win-loss record and have impressed b-ball fans with their robust defense. That said, Houston are considered an on-the-up franchise and a playoffs contender.
The game is also featured as part of Rivals Week, a recent NBA concept that highlights key rivalries across the conferences. This one's particularly interesting because it features a brotherly rivalry, with twins Ausar and Amen Thompson playing on opposite teams — Ausar for the Pistons, Amen for the Rockets.
If you want to watch Rockets vs. Pistons in the NBA for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
Houston Rockets vs. Detroit Pistons in the NBA starts at 7 p.m. ET on Jan. 23. This game takes place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI.
Houston Rockets vs. Detroit Pistons in the NBA is available to live stream for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.
This free live stream is geo-restricted to the U.S. and UK, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the U.S. or UK, meaning you can access free live streams of the NBA from anywhere in the world.
Stream the NBA for free by following these simple steps:
Sign up for a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime (if you're not already a member)
Subscribe to a VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in the U.S. or UK
Watch the NBA from anywhere in the world on Prime Video
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer money-back guarantees or free trials. By leveraging these offers, you can watch NBA live streams without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does mean you can watch select games from the NBA before recovering your investment.
ExpressVPN is the best service for accessing free live streams on platforms like Prime Video, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
Fast connection speeds free from throttling
Up to 10 simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also 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 $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream the NBA for free with ExpressVPN.
Arco review: If you love animation, you need to see this gorgeous climate change fableUgo Bienvenu's "Arco," about a lost time traveler, is one of the best animated films of the year.
I fell in love with Arco from its very first frames.
In these opening moments, a flock of birds soars towards a cluster of towers jutting into the clouds, each holding up platforms covered in greenery and wind turbines. The image is utopian, yet there's a slightly foreboding to it. What led humanity to move to the sky? What lies below the clouds? The answer, unsurprisingly, is ecological disaster of our own making.
That tension between beauty and hard truths fuels the entirety of Arco, as French director Ugo Bienvenu pairs a charming tale of friendship with a sobering look at the realities of climate change. It's a glorious sci-fi journey, one told through the most remarkable animation you'll see this year.
The people who live on the platforms from Arco's opening scene are able to time travel. They fly to the past with the help of colorful cloaks and light-refracting crystals, bringing rainstorms and rainbows as they go.
Kids under the age of 12 are not allowed to use this technology, which doesn't sit right with 10-year-old Arco (voiced by Juliano Valdi in the English-language dub). So what does this aspiring adventurer do? He steals his sister's cloak and jets off to 2075, only to find himself stuck there. Thankfully, he has a newfound friend in Iris (voiced by Romy Fay), who is determined to help him get back to his own time.
While Arco's future is an idyllic one, fueled by renewable energy and a deep connection to nature, Iris' version is far more troubling — and hits closer to home.
Iris lives in a suburb that would seem right at home in our current moment, apart from a few changes. Her robot caretaker Mikki (voiced by Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo), as well as her town's hordes of robot laborers, speaks to significant technological advancements. So, too, do the holograms her workaholic parents (also voiced by Portman and Ruffalo) use to communicate while they're away at work.
But the most telling difference between our present and Iris' future is that of the protective bubbles that pop up around people's houses during ever-frequent destructive weather events. The threat of severe storms looms over the town, while kids talk casually about their families preparing for disaster in the face of encroaching wildfires. Clearly, this is a society that lives with the impacts of climate change, yet makes no large-scale attempts to mitigate its effects for future generations. (Sound familiar?)
Arco knows that climate change — and humans' acceleration of it — is what led his ancestors to make their way above the clouds. Through his eyes, everyday elements of Iris' world become accelerants of oncoming ecological collapse, such as the town's cars, or the excess of grocery stores, as opposed to his family's homegrown approach.
Bienvenu is never too heavy-handed in his messaging around climate change. Still, each of these world-building details combine to build a growing background sense of dread, one that only makes Iris and Arco's friendship all the sweeter by comparison. They offer up hope in a rapidly deteriorating world.
Arco's treatment of climate change recalls two of 2024's most outstanding films, Flow and The Wild Robot. Like Arco, each present worlds impacted by ecological calamities. However, these are not grand, sweeping stories of saving the world, but rather stories of the innocents — like Flow and The Wild Robot's animals, or Arco's young Iris and Arco — who have no choice but to endure these storms. In addition to Flow and The Wild Robot, Arco is further proof of animation's ability to communicate the realities of climate change to younger and older audiences alike.
And what animation is on display in Arco! A comic book artist himself, Bienvenu translates his 2D illustrative style to the big screen. The effect is glorious, reminiscent of the fantastical works of Jean Giraud (aka Mœbius) and the films of Studio Ghibli.
In addition to the rainbows and solarpunk sky towers of Arco's future, Bienvenu finds wonder in the 2075 timeline. The forests of Iris' town are lush wonderlands, while her school provides unexpected opportunities for escapism. Each classroom can transform into a variety of environments, from galaxies to underwater landscapes, offering Bienvenu and his team opportunities to flex their animation muscles and take Iris and Arco's adventure to new heights.
Another highlight of the animation is the mysterious trio of men (voiced by Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Flea) who are tracking Arco down. They each rock colorful suits, bowl cuts, and rainbow glasses, and their bumbling attempts to find Arco are among the funniest and most visually distinct moments of the film.
In a mainstream animation landscape dominated by 3D-animated films, Arco's visuals are a testament to the enduring power of 2D work, as well as French filmmakers' commitment to the medium. If you love animation, run, don’t walk — or better yet, fly by rainbow — to catch it.
UPDATE: Jan. 22, 2026, 12:04 p.m. This review was first published on Nov. 14, 2025. It has been updated to reflect theatrical availability.
The Testament of Ann Lee review: Amanda Seyfried astounds in stirring, religious biopicFrom the creators behind "The Brutalist" comes the moving musical epic "The Testament of Ann Lee," starring Amanda Seyfried. Review.
From the first musical moments of The Testament of Ann Lee, I was enraptured. Admittedly, I went in knowing nothing of its subject, an 18th-century religious figure who led the Shakers, a sect also known as the "Shaking Quakers" because of the physicality of their worship. However, the opening thrums of music and the graceful yet powerful thrust of bodies in an inexplicable dance number in a dark forest entranced me and made me eager to know more.
From this intriguing opening, The Testament to Ann Lee stretches beyond the bounds of historical drama by embracing the music and movements that define the Shaker religious practice. In that, wonder is born onscreen, reflecting their faith in a God that honors such performance as exaltation.
Written by The Brutalist's screenwriters Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet, this is a sweeping American tale of love, faith, community, and creativity that is challenging, enchanting, and awe-inspiring.
Helmed by Fastvold, The Testament of Ann Lee charts the life of the eponymous religious leader, not only through dramatic scenes of hardship and joy but also through musical numbers that reflect the Shakers' culture.
As a young girl in England, Ann is horrified by her vicious father, in both his prohibiting the speech of his many children, but also in his dominion over his wife's body for his own sexual desires. Still, as a young maiden, Ann (Seyfried) strives to be a good wife to her rugged husband (Christopher Abbott), giving in to his demand for sex despite her own lack of interest. That is, until a series of miscarriages convinces her that chastity, hard work, and song is a better way for her to serve God.
This belief will earn her devoted followers, including her brother William (Thunderbolt*'s Lewis Pullman), the resolute Mary (Thomasin McKenzie), and an American preacher (Tim Blake Nelson). However, as this boundary-pushing woman preaches of God and these tenets from England to New York, she will earn her the ire of her lusty husband and the violent rejection of those unmoved by the Shakers' song.
Seyfried is no stranger to musicals, but this one is very different from the Broadway adaptations she's starred in before. Forget the bouncy glee of Mamma Mia! or the resounding theatricality of Les Misérables. The motions here feel more akin to modern dance, the song more mantra then belted or cheered.
Limbs of conservatively dressed Shakers shoot forth sharply, pausing in the air as if awaiting a signal or a sign, then plunging in a new direction. Their bodies rise and fall in a rhythm they create through their shared song. In the film's opening, they move through a forest, dancing in unison, throbbing together like one living organism. Through this connection in movement, Fastvold instantly and effectively communicates that this is a community that lives, loves, and suffers together.
This sentiment of union through hardship is bolstered with every successive song-and-dance number. For instance, when Ann endures a series of miscarriages, a song, deep-throated and aching, pulls her through one to the next, the motions of sex, birth, and loss connecting across scenes to create a sense of flow and growing agony. For it's not just her loss. Others' arms embrace her across scenes of conception and birth, expressing a physical connection, but also ones that scar her. Thus, Seyfried is not just the film's center, but the core of its company.
As Ann is resolute in her faith, Seyfried carries a certainty, whether working to construct a colony, the sect's signature chairs, or a better bond with her "children" — meaning her followers, who call her "Mother." Yet certainty doesn't make for stoicism. Seyfried's portrait is awash in jubilation, agony, and earnestness. Her eyes echo this fervor, even in climactic moments of violence. But it's in the song and dance that this role becomes extraordinary. In every motion and note, Seyfried leads the cast as Ann leads her people in the film, resolute and radiant.
Like The Brutalist, The Testament of Ann Lee tackles decades of an immigrant's life in an America that welcomes their labor and violently rejects their culture and autonomy. Set in different eras, the films work together as a timeless and dynamic diptych of this country's melting pot, sometimes warm, often scorching. But beyond America, Fastvold's film sings the song of a woman who fought without raising a fist for the sanctity of community and glory of art.
Choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall creates movements that feel modern yet don't clash with the period piece's production design. Her dances evoke passion but not sexuality, reflecting Lee's tenets of faith. Alone, one dancer might seem strange — creating some understanding of the suspicion of the neighboring New Yorkers. But joined by the company, they become glorious, a reflection of what wonders our simple mortal figures can manifest, through work and the embrace of our souls.
The music by composer Daniel Blumberg was inspired by Shaker hymns. Their lyrics, deceptively simple and repetitive, draw us in through the rounds. The music around them strange, experimental, yet inviting. Thus, we are welcomed in — not only to their story but to the feeling of their exuberance.
Told in movements, broken up by title cards quoting Bible verses like "The Woman Clothed by the Sun With the Moon Under Her Feet," The Testament of Ann Lee swells and swoons like an orchestra playing an epic opera. Less an investigation into her testament and more a reveling in its passion and resilience, this drama is dynamic and dreamy. It may not make you a believer, but it may well leave you awestruck.
The Testament of Ann Lee opens in wide release Jan. 23.
UPDATE: Jan. 22, 2026, 1:46 p.m. This review was first published on Sept. 21, 2025, as part of Mashable's coverage of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It has been updated in anticipation of its wide release.
The Smashing Machine review: Dwayne Johnson delivers a career-changing performance, but theres one big problemDwayne Johnson delivers a career-changing performance in "The Smashing Machine," but there's one big problem. Review.
American cinema has long been fascinated by professional fighters. Rocky, Raging Bull, The Fighter, The Wrestler, Cinderella Man, Creed, Million Dollar Baby, Girlfight, Ali, The Hurricane, Warrior — the list goes on and on. Within this sports subgenre, actors like Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Hilary Swank, Michael B. Jordan, and many more have made their mark, with rave reviews, big box office, award nominations, and big wins. So, it's a shrewd move for Dwayne Johnson to prove he's ready to leap from smoldering action-comedy star to dramatic heavyweight with The Smashing Machine.
The pro wrestler formerly known as The Rock has spent decades building broad appeal as a movie star, ranging from the lip-curling machismo in the Fast and Furious franchise to the bouncy bravado of his voicework as Maui in Moana to a swath of half-baked action movies that coast on his broad shoulders and signature smile. But with The Smashing Machine, Johnson sheds his larger-than-life persona to disappear into the role of UFC fighter Mark Kerr.
The ways he does this are laudable, but the results are mixed because of writer/director Benny Safdie's challenging choices in constructing this narrative and reconstructing his leading man's face.
Picking up in 1997, the Safdie-scripted drama follows the beginning of Kerr's MMA (mixed martial arts) career within the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Set across several years, The Smashing Machine ushers audiences to Japan, where Kerr would compete in Pride FC, then back to the U.S., where he trained while carrying on a tumultuous romantic relationship with Dawn Staples (played here by Johnson's Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt).
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Rather than centering his narrative around a particular goal — like winning a belt or defeating a particular nemesis — Safdie chooses a more scattershot approach. A smattering of scenes across Kerr's highs and lows aim to capture the contrast of "The Smashing Machine" in the ring, where he was mighty and intimidating, to the man behind the persona, who was gentle, even when battling his own demons. However, without a driving narrative, the film feels meandering, lacking momentum.
Elements of Kerr's story are pretty common within the pro fighting industry. Take a look at Dark Side of the Ring for many examples. The incredible demand put on a fighter's body and the ruthless training regimen can encourage abuse of painkillers and other drugs to cope with the physical strain. However, Safdie's so matter-of-fact about Kerr's intravenous drug use that it almost seems harmless. There's a casualness to how Mark is shown readying an injection, doing so while getting dressed and carrying on a conversation, that almost suggests his drug use is not a problem, but part of a routine. But a vague but vicious argument with Dawn shortly after suggests Kerr's losing his grip.
It might be lauded that Safdie and Johnson (who is also a producer on The Smashing Machine) aren't interested in making Kerr's real-life low points into a gaudy spectacle. But little is given to otherwise illustrate his battle here. Safdie's script reveals a near-fatal overdose through a phone call between Dawn and Mark's friend/colleague Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader). His time in rehab happens entirely offscreen. Thus, much of his struggle with addiction is limited to strained jokes about doctors who offer him over-the-counter painkillers and his passive-aggressive comments to Dawn, when she returns from a boozy meal with friends. Essentially, the punches feel pulled, outside the ring and inside too.
Safdie rejects the standard of Hollywood boxing movies by keeping his cameras firmly outside of the ring. A cavalcade of other directors have used close-ups to give audiences an unblinking look at everything from the fear or confidence flashing on the fighter's face to the sweat and blood streaming down their muscles. But Safdie won't let us any closer than the fans in the film, stuck behind the ropes. It's a choice that echoes his aim of authenticity over Hollywood razzle-dazzle. But it literally and emotionally keeps us at a distance.
Other forms of authenticity work better. Handheld camera lends energy and a hazy excitement to everything from Mark striding to the arena to his grappling with a hysterical Dawn. A soundtrack of late '90s/early '00s songs (like Sublime's "Santeria" and Sugar Ray's "Every Morning") played in the background help audiences time-travel back to his heyday. But most impactful is Safdie's unconventional casting choices.
As he's done in past films like Uncut Gems, he peoples The Smashing Machine with nonactors. In this case, to play Mark's friends and rivals, the director brought in fighters Ryan Bader, Oleksandr Usyk, Satoshi Ishii, James Moontasril, Cyborg Abreu, and Marcus Aurélio, many making their acting debuts. They bring an earthiness and earnestness to the film, with Bader being a terrific standout, seemingly effortless in scenes of professional drama and domestic bliss.
In terms of Johnson's performance, authenticity meant asking the actor to bulk up and to wear facial prosthetics and meticulously detailed wigs to resemble Kerr. And here's where Safdie's choices hurt Johnson most.
Props to the make-up team — the prosthetics are seamless and do the job of erasing the familiar face of The Rock. This transformation gives Johnson the space to create a performance that is distinctly separate from his own personas in pro-wrestling and as the leading man of many an action franchise. Do they make him look like Mark Kerr? I'm less convinced. But we've seen plenty of thespians get Oscar gold for hiding their famous features to better inhabit a character. (That includes Charlize Theron in Monster, Brendan Fraser in The Whale, and Nicole Kidman in The Hours, just to name a few.)
The problem is that while these prosthetics erase The Rock, they also inhibit Johnson's face. Sure, his performance here is more nuanced than in his splashy blockbusters. An early scene where Kerr, bruised and battered, gently explains his work to a little boy and a judgmental grandmother is gracefully done. The softness in his tone is reflected in a gentle physicality as he insists there's camaraderie outside the ring. Later, this gentleness reemerges as he talks to his fellow fighters and as he pleads with a spiraling Dawn. (Blunt gives her best to a role that is achingly archetypal, painting Dawn as a volatile drunk with a Jersey Shore thirst for fashion and fighting). However, this performance is often cut off by the brow bone of the prosthetic.
Creating a ledge that throws a dark shadow, the make-up too often makes it hard to see Johnson's eyes. So, much like being pushed out of the ring in the fight scenes, we're pushed out of Mark's experience by not being able to see how he's feeling. In a showier Johnson performance, this might not be an issue, as he can ooze emotion out of big gestures and bellowing line delivery. But here, nearly every aspect of the film is aiming for subtlety, to better explore the shades of gray of Kerr. And without seeing his eyes, we're too often left in the dark.
In the end, Johnson gives a career-defining performance that should well prove he can handle meatier, even artier fare. Blunt gives her all in a thankless role, and Safdie, in his feature-length directorial debut without his brother/Uncut Gems co-helmer Josh Safdie, takes some big swings. It's a shame he didn't have a sharper eye on what was hitting, and what was leaving his audience needing more.
The Smashing Machine is now streaming on HBO Max.
UPDATE: Jan. 22, 2026, 2:41 p.m. EST "The Smashing Machine" was reviewed out of its North American Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in this article, originally published on Sept. 20, 2025. It has been updated to include the latest streaming information.
The Pokémon TCG Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection is $25 off at AmazonThe Pokémon TCG Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection is now $25 off at Amazon, with 12 boosters and five promo cards.
TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG: Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection is on sale for $134.87 at Amazon. That's $25 off its usual $159.99 list price.
Premium Pokémon TCG collections rarely see meaningful discounts around their launch window, but we’re starting to see discounts on the Black Bolt and White Flare expansions more regularly. As of Jan. 23, the Pokémon TCG: Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection is available for $134.87, making it one of the better-value large-format Pokémon releases you can pick up right now.
The last expansions of the Scarlet and Violet set, this Generation Five Unova-based collection gives you a generous amount for just under $135. If you’re an avid trading card collector who missed out when both these expansions launched in July 2025, it’s a perfect set to help you catch up.
Inside the Pokémon TCG’s Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection, you’ll get 12 boosters total — six Black Bolt packs and White Flare packs, a code card for Pokémon TCG Live, four foil promo cards — Zekrom ex, Reshiram ex, Victini, and Zoroark — and an oversized Kyurem ex foil promo card designed for display.
In terms of raw value, that pack count alone makes this deal more than worth your money. On Amazon right now, individual packs of both White Flare and Bolt Bolt are being sold for around $15. Based on the Heavy Hitters Collection’s 12 packs alone, this deal is saving you $45 compared to buying them separately. The added promo cards essentially feel like a great bonus prize on top.
For more multi-pack bargains, you can still buy an eight-pack lot of the Pokémon TCG’s Journey Together expansion at $16 off. For another high-end collection, the Pokémon TCG: Mega Charizard X ex Ultra-Premium Collection is still $100 off at Amazon.
The Apple Pencil Pro is back on sale at Amazon — save over $30 right nowFind the perfect deal on an iPad accessory. Save 26% on the Apple Pencil Pro at Amazon.
SAVE $34: As of Jan. 23, the Apple Pencil Pro is on sale for $94.99 at Amazon. That's a 26% saving on the list price.
The Apple Pencil Pro is back on sale at Amazon and if you use your iPad for anything more than casual scrolling, this is a solid time to grab one. The Pro is the most advanced in the range, designed for people who regularly write, draw, or do anything creative on their iPad. So if that's you, you'll love this deal. As of Jan. 23, the Apple Pencil Pro is down to $94.99, a saving of $34 on list price.
This Apple stylus is designed for iPads, giving a low-latency performance with tilt and pressure sensitivity for more accurate drawing, writing, and navigation. It even has gesture controls such as squeeze and barrel roll for switching tools or adjusting settings, along with haptic feedback.
There's no cables involved or complicated pairing either, the pencil just attaches magnetically to the iPad for wireless pairing and charging. It also supports Apple Pencil hover on compatible models, a feature that lets you preview marks before actually placing them. And if you're worried about losing it, not to worry, it is compatible with Find My so you can track its location.
Get this Apple Pencil deal at Amazon and save over $30.
Stuff Your Kindle Day is live — download free sports fiction ebooks until Jan. 24Don’t miss the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day. Download free sports fiction ebooks for your Kindle before the giveaway ends on Jan. 24.
FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Jan. 21-24. Play Game, hosted by Indie Author Collective, is offering free sports fiction books for Kindle e-readers.
Welcome back, Stuff Your Kindle Day. We missed you over the festive period.
Play Game, hosted by Indie Author Collective, is offering readers the chance to download heavily discounted or free sport fiction ebooks. And the books that you download are yours to keep forever. So stop what you're doing and take this opportunity to stock up. The Stuff Your Kindle Day schedule is pretty busy in 2026, but we don't see a lot of sports fiction in these giveaways.
Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.
Play Game takes place on Jan. 21-24. Stuff Your Kindle Days often take place over 24 hours, this event runs for four days. That gives you time to check out everything on offer, assess how much you can actually read, and then download a sensible number of ebooks. OK, there's no need to be sensible here.
One of the great things about Stuff Your Kindle Day is that everyone can participate. Kindle, Kobo, and Nook readers can download these books for free. You can even download these books on your preferred app and read them straight from your phone.
Indie Author Collective is running the show, and has a helpful hub page for Play Game. This has a bunch of filters for major tropes, spice level, content level, and representation. By utilizing these filters, you camn head directly to what you want to read most.
Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time, so there's no need to hold back. This is the time to be greedy.
These popular e-readers help you take your entire library on the go. With weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display, you can read anywhere and anytime with the Kindle. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase.
The Jackery HomePower 3000 and charger combo is down to its lowest-ever price at Amazon — save over $1,000Get the best power station deal at Amazon. Save 47% on the Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable with DC-DC Alternator Charger at Amazon.
SAVE $1,320: As of Jan. 23, the Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable with DC-DC Alternator Charger is on sale for $1,499 at Amazon. That's a 47% discount on the list price.
There are some great deals on portable power stations at Amazon right now, and if you're looking for a whole home power unit, the Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable with DC-DC Alternator Charge is nearly half off.
As of Jan. 23, this stacked model is down by 47%, now priced at $1,499. That's a saving of $1,320 on list price. And this isn't just for the power station unit on its own. No, this includes an alternator charger, a high-power car charger designed to rapidly recharge compatible Jackery power stations while you’re driving.
The unit itself is designed to power your whole home when required. It has a 3,600W output (7,200W surge) and a large 3,072Wh capacity that can keep all your essentials running during an outage. It can power a home setup for up to 15 hours, or keep a refrigerator running for one to two days. It has a range of outlets too, including AC, USB-C, USB-A and DC ports, as well as dual 100W PD ports for fast charging.
Charging is flexible too, and you won't need days of notice to prepare it. In fact, it can fully recharge in around 1.7 hours using the hybrid AC and DC, 2.2 hours via AC alone.
Get this Jackery deal from Amazon now.
TikTok deal adds new U.S. owners. Heres what this means for users.TikTok in the U.S. will now be run by a majority U.S.-owned company established for this purpose, which will make changes to the app's content algorithm.
TikTok will officially remain in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. A new, majority U.S.-owned company had been established to continue running the popular video-sharing app in the country, and has announced some very U.S.-centric changes coming to your For You feed.
U.S. politicians pushed for TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell to American owners for years. These lawmakers claim that the Chinese government spies on American users via the app (though there is no evidence that this is actually happening), and accuse TikTok of manipulating its algorithm to present content that is sympathetic to Palestine and China.
Now it seems these politicians have gotten their way. Called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, the new company will take over ownership of TikTok in the U.S., as well as the American operations of other ByteDance apps such as CapCut and Lemon8.
"TikTok USDS Joint Venture's mandate is to secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm through comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity measures," read TikTok USDS Joint Venture's announcement.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is owned by a plethora of different investors, most of which are American. While TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance retains 19.9 percent of the U.S. joint venture, 45 percent is evenly split among three managing investors: U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake, U.S. IT company Oracle, and UAE investment firm MGX.
A string of predominantly American investors own smaller chunks of the remaining 35.1 percent, including investment firm Dell Family Office and Susquehanna International Group affiliate Vastmere Strategic Investments.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture stated that U.S. user data will be held in Oracle's U.S. cloud servers, indicating that this will ensure it is secure. TikTok previously did the same, investing $1.5 billion to quarantine U.S. users' data with Oracle in an initiative dubbed Project Texas. Even so, this wasn't enough to reassure U.S. lawmakers and stave off the sale.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture will also use U.S. user data to retrain and update the app's famous content recommendation algorithm, also keeping this new version in Oracle's cloud. Other countries will presumably continue to use the TikTok algorithm without these U.S.-centric updates.
It seems fair to assume that this retraining may attempt to address politicians' aforementioned concerns regarding the type and tenor of content that people in the U.S. see on TikTok. The company further noted that it will "safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem" by taking control of TikTok's U.S. content moderation and trust and safety policies.
Fortunately, these changes don't mean that TikTok users in the U.S. will be completely cut off from the rest of the world. TikTok USDS Joint Venture states that content from U.S. creators will still be shown to users in other countries. However, it remained silent on whether U.S. creators would similarly continue to see content from the rest of the world.
As such, it wouldn't be surprising if U.S. users saw fewer pro-Palestinian TikToks on their For You feeds in the future.
TikTok U.S.' new owner is led by CEO Adam Presser and CSO Will Farrell (not to be confused with actor Will Ferrell), both of whom previously worked at TikTok. The company will also have a seven-member, majority-American board of directors, including TPG Global senior advisor Timothy Dattels, Susquehanna International Group managing director Mark Dooley, Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban, Oracle executive vice president Kenneth Glueck, and MGX chief strategy and safety officer David Scott. Famously Singaporean TikTok CEO Shou Chew will also serve as a director at TikTok USDS Joint Venture.
See Samsung Galaxy S26s Privacy Display feature in actionSamsung Galaxy S26 and One UI 8.5 are coming soon, and new leaks show a cool new feature called Privacy Display, plus a Liquid Glass-like UI.
We've previously learned that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 smartphones would feature an innovative Privacy Display, and now that seems to have been confirmed — by Samsung itself.
Sammy Guru grabbed an animation showing Privacy Display earlier this month. And this week, in an official update on the One UI 8.5 arriving with the new S26 phones, Samsung included a screenshot that clearly shows a Privacy Display mode in the settings menu, all but confirming its official existence.
Mobile insiders have also spotted references to Privacy Display in the code of early versions of One UI 8.5.
Privacy Display is something like a frosted screen protector, blocking other people from seeing what's on your phone's screen. By activating Privacy Display, the Galaxy S26 phones will be able to do this natively, which is a neat trick. iPhones definitely can't do it (yet).
Veteran Samsung leaker Ice Universe posted a video showing privacy screen technology in action. Filmed at Mobile World Congress in 2024, the video shows a device called the Flex Magic Pixel with the technology. See it for yourself on X.
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In addition, the animation first spotted by Sammy Guru has also started making the rounds on X and Reddit.
"Prevent others from seeing what's on your screen," reads a description of the feature. "Privacy display makes the screen less visible when viewed from a side angle. You can turn it on when you need it or set conditions for turning it on automatically."
With the next Galaxy Unpacked event rumored to take place in late February, we're in the midst of a wave of pre-launch leaks — many of which confirm long-rumored new features such as Privacy Display. The rumor mill also suggested that One UI 8.5, and by extension the whole S26 lineup, will also adopt a more Liquid Glass-like aesthetic.
Liquid Glass is Apple's new design language, and debuted with iOS 26. It features translucent elements, more customization, and animations that bend and refract light. So far, iOS 26 and Liquid Glass have been controversial, with many design nerds criticizing the new look. Nevertheless, it appears Samsung is set to follow suit.
One UI 8 has already features some translucent elements — and a new preview of One UI 8.5 posted to the Samsung-affiliated Good Lock website shows even more Liquid Glass-style features. The widgets screen in particular looks very similar to the widgets screen in iOS 26.
TL;DR: Live stream Tiafoe vs. de Minaur in the 2026 Australian Open for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Alex de Minaur is one of the names to watch 2026 Australian Open. The Australian tennis star is looking to claim his first Gland Slam title on home soil. As the No. 6 seed, he's looked sharp so far and only dropped a single set in the first two rounds.
But a tougher challenge awaits in the third round in the form of American No. 29 seed Francis Tiafoe. Can de Minaur get one step closer to his first Grand Slam? Or will Tiafoe take the tennis glory for himself?
If you want to watch Tiafoe vs. de Minaur in the 2026 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
Tiafoe vs. de Minaur in the 2026 Australian Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now.
9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock 9Now from anywhere in the world.
Access free live streams of the 2026 Australian Open by following these simple steps:
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia
Visit 9Now
Watch the 2026 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading services do tend to offer deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you can live stream Tiafoe vs. de Minaur without actually spending anything. This isn't a long-term solution, but it gives you enough time to watch the Australian Open before recovering your investment.
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live tennis on 9Now, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Australia
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 one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $59.88 and includes an extra three months for free — 69% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream Tiafoe vs. de Minaur in the 2026 Australian Open for free with ExpressVPN.
The Pitt Season 2, episode 3: Dr. Robby lied. What does it mean?Unpacking Dr. Robby's lie in "The Pitt" Season 2.
Look, we love Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle), even with his flaws. But this latest episode of The Pitt has us urgently worried about our favorite ER doc, all because of a few little words that call back to some fan theories out of episode 1.
The hit show's complicated attending physician kicked the second season off with a controversial move that had tongues wagging. Now, with Season 2, episode 3, titled "9 A.M.," he's lying about it. What does this mean for Dr. Robby's Season 2 arc and beyond?
Let's dive into it.
He lied about his motorcycling habits. Here's how it went down:
In this episode, along with a grief-stricken burn victim, a kiddo with a "zebra" of a medical condition, and a mercurial patient with a mind-bending diagnosis, The Pitt also featured a squabbling married couple whose petty argument was interrupted by a motorcyclist colliding into their car.
While the episode followed the husband and wife through treatment and regrets over their fight, the motorcyclist was basically dead on arrival, with a shocking amount of his brain's gray matter on display. Usually stoic medical student Joy Kwon (Irene Choi) reacted in shock, asking, "No helmet?"
To this, the police officer in the room says, "Nope." While looking at the patient's ID, he notes, "He took the PennDOT motorcycle safety course." (PennDOT is short for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.)
Dr. Garcia (Alexandra Metz) quips, "Isn't that what you took, Robby?"
Dr. Robby responds sharply, saying, "Yes, but I still wear a helmet."
There's the lie.
The Season 2 opening sequence echoed the start of Season 1, following Dr. Robby into the emergency room of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. But where in the first season he was on foot, in the second, he's riding a motorcycle across one of Pittsburgh's signature yellow bridges. And he's — say it with me — NOT WEARING A HELMET.
When fans of The Pitt first saw Dr. Robby riding without a helmet in the Season 2 sneak peak, many called this behavior out on social media. Some declared it "unrealistic" for an ER doctor to behave this way, while others suggested such recklessness is a sign of Robby having a death wish.
Season 1, we saw him going to the edge of the hospital's rooftop, potentially considering jumping. Now he's riding without a motorcycle helmet on July 4, a holiday notorious for a spike in Emergency Room visits.
However, Robby will tell anyone who listens — even his loathed, returning colleague Langdon (Patrick Ball) — how he's going on a three-month sabbatical to motorcycle his way to an aboriginal UNESCO World Heritage Site in Alberta. So maybe he's taking the advice of night shift attending physician Dr. Abbot (Shawn Hatosy) and finding a hobby to help him relieve the stress of working at "The Pitt." But there are some worrying signs about his trip already.
Consider all this: He's riding without a helmet on busy city streets, an act some fans have called "passively suicidal." Of all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world, he's headed to one with the name "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump." Then there's a motorcyclist with his head smashed in right before Dr. Robby's very eyes. And instead of considering how he opened himself up to such an injury just two hours before, Robby lies to assuage the concerns of his co-workers.
Are all these clues suggesting that Robby going on this particular sabbatical could mean we won't see him in Season 3? Could that planned long ride be his last?
On the one hand, with a third season of The Pitt confirmed, it's unlikely that Wyle, who is also a writer, director, and producer on the series, will be written off. But remember, Wyle did come up on ER, which saw popular leads like George Clooney and Julianna Margulies leave long before the show wrapped. So we're not feeling totally confident about Dr. Robby's fate.
Asked about this on the Golden Globes red carpet, Wyle told the AP, "There's nothing arbitrary about the way we do the show. Everything is pretty specific. And that was a very specific decision that we made to have him riding with the helmet on his backpack but not on his head — telling everybody he wears one, but we all know he isn't."
On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Wyle spoke about the decision to have Robby ride without his helmet. Turns out it wasn't in the script, and it was his idea.
He told Kimmel, "The night before [we shot the scene], I had dinner with John Wells, who directed the [first] episode [of Season 2]...And I said, 'I don't know that Robby wears a helmet. I think he tells people he wears a helmet.'"
He then compared the motorcycle season opener to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's iconic introduction to Willy Wonka. The Pitt star explained how the film's leading man, Gene Wilder, agreed to play Wonka "if he could make his character introduction, where he comes out with a cane and a limp and then he walks up to the gate and then he falls forward and comes up into this very elegant sort of bow. And they asked him why he wanted to do that, and he said, 'Because from that point forward they won't know if I'm telling the truth or not.'"
For Wyle, Wonka and Dr. Robby have this uneasy allure in common. He continued to Kimmel, "We're talking about a guy who's on a mental health journey, who's resistant to getting the help he probably should get. What better clue can we give the audience that he's playing a little fast and loose with his life than to let them in on this detail that he's not telling the people that he works with, that love him."
So, yeah. We've been worried since that no helmet scene first hit, and our concern is only growing.
If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For international resources, this list is a good place to start.
The Pitt: Whats a code black?Noah Wyle's ER hit "The Pitt" just dealt a dizzying cliffhanger. Let's look at the trailers HBO released for clues to what could happen next.
Brace yourselves, Pitt Fiends! (Is that what we're calling ourselves?) Because episode 3 of Season 2 just dropped a major cliffhanger. As if Dr. Robby's lie doesn't have us stressed enough, now we've got a code black to deal with!?
Spoilers and speculation below for Season 2 of The Pitt.
For those unfamiliar with hospital terminology, a "code black" in this case means the nearby hospital will be diverting all its emergency room patients to Dr. Robby's trauma center until further notice. In Season 1, the day shift had to deal with the PittFest massacre. So, what calamity are they going to be grappling with now?
Well, while episode 3, titled "9 A.M.," drew to a close with only possibilities of what could cause the code black, The Pitt's Season 2 trailers gave us hints of what's ahead.
Poor Dr. Robby. It's his last day at work before a hard-earned sabbatical. And just as he looks at the computer board to see that there's relative calm in his ER, charge nurse Dana (Katherine LaNasa) gets a call that changes her gruffly cheery demeanor (it's a yinzer thing) to all business as she asks of the caller, "Is this a drill? Is this a joke? It's the fourth of fucking July!"
With Dr. Robby and his eager replacement Dr. Al (Sepideh Moafi) alert for news, Dana explains that "Westbridge has a code black and is closing to internal disaster. Central's diverting all their ambulance traffic to us."
This means a problem has hit a neighboring hospital. But how serious is it? Robby and Al quickly offer several possibilities:
Flooded toilet
Power outage
"A couple of doctors probably got the holiday flu, and they're understaffed."
Immediately, security guard Ahmad Zidan (Johnath Davis) starts a new betting grid on a white board, asking would-be gamblers to guess why the code black was called, how long the code will last, and how many patients will be diverted their way.
So, are you ready to place your bet? Before you do, let's look back at the trailers HBO Max has already released for Season 2.
On Dec. 16, 2025, the above trailer set up the returns of Langdon and Dana, as well as Dr. Robby's impending time off. Then, we see Dana on that red phone, asking, "Is this a drill?"
From there, an unknown voice says, "Westbridge has shut down all their computer systems." Dr. Mel King (Taylor Dearden) asks, "Are we next?" And then Dr. Robby warns, "We're about to go analog," as the computer screens switch to offline.
Now, at a glance, it might seem Robby was right with his power outage guess. But notably, the unidentified voice said Westbridge "shut down all their computer systems," not lost power to them. So, this could suggest a cyberattack.
What will going analog mean for The Pitt crew? Well, for one, they'll be doing things more like doctors and nurses did in the '90s, aka Noah Wyle's ER era.
In the trailer released earlier this month, we got a better sense of Dr. Robby and company in disaster mode.
In the start of this trailer, you can see the doctors and nurses gathering around a large white board, which seems to be used to track patients without computers. But nothing about the source of the code black is revealed.
So, what's your bet for Ahmad's grid?
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for January 23, 2026Connections is a New York Times word game that's all about finding the "common threads between words." How to solve the puzzle.
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you're good with measurements.
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.
The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Yellow: Distinguishable characteristics
Green: Car placements
Blue: Measurements
Purple: Illumination
Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:
Yellow: Facial features
Green: Kinds of parking
Blue: Imperial units
Purple: Words before "Light"
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 #957 is...
Facial features: CHEEK, EYE, LIP, STONE
Kinds of parking: GARAGE, METER, STREET, VALET
Imperial units: ACRE, BUSHEL, FOOT, STONE
Words before "Light": FLOOD, LIME, PILOT, TRAFFIC
Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.
NYT Strands hints, answers for January 23, 2026The NYT Strands hints and answers you need to make the most of your puzzling experience.
Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're unknowing.
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.
The words are related to innocence.
These words describe being inexperienced.
Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
Today's spangram is Born Yesterday.
Credulous
Artless
Born Yesterday
Naive
Callow
Gullible
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Strands.
How to watch Zverev vs. Norrie online for freeWatch Australian Open for free. Live stream Zverev vs. Norrie in the 2026 Australian Open online for free from anywhere in the world.
TL;DR: Live stream Zverev vs. Norrie in the 2026 Australian Open for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The 2026 Australian Open continues to serve up big action from the world's top tennis stars — names such as Alexander Zverev, who entered the Melbourne-hosted tournament as the No. 3 seed and now faces British hopeful Cameron Norrie.
Zverez reached the final last year and is now laser focused of winning his first ever Grand Slam title. But Norrie, the No. 26 seed, won't be an easy opponent. His best ever performance in the Australian Open is the fourth round, so you can be sure he'll want to match — or better still, beat — that personal record.
If you want to watch Zverev vs. Norrie in the 2026 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
Zverev vs. Norrie in the 2026 Australian Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now.
9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock 9Now from anywhere in the world.
Access free live streams of the 2026 Australian Open by following these simple steps:
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia
Visit 9Now
Watch the 2026 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading services do tend to offer deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you can live stream Zverev vs. Norrie without actually spending anything. This isn't a long-term solution, but it gives you enough time to watch the Australian Open before recovering your investment.
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live tennis on 9Now, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Australia
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 one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $59.88 and includes an extra three months for free — 69% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream Zverev vs. Norrie in the 2026 Australian Open for free with ExpressVPN.
NYT Pips hints, answers for January 23, 2026The New York Times' latest game, Pips, brings domino fun to your desktop. How to play Pips as well as hints in case you get stuck.
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, the 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 onto 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.
If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity for 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.
Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 5-0, placed vertically.
Equal (0): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 0. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically; 3-0, placed vertically.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically; 3-6, placed horizontally.
Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 3-6, placed horizontally; 5-3, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically.
Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally.
Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 2-0, placed vertically; 1-5, placed horizontally.
Less Than (1): Everything in this space must be less than 1. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed horizontally.
Equal (5): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 5. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed vertically.
Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally; 2-2, placed horizontally.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed horizontally.
Number (7): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 7. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically.
Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 6-1, placed horizontally.
Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 6-1, placed horizontally.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Wordle today: Answer, hints for January 23, 2026Here's the answer for "Wordle" #1679 on January 23 as well as a few hints, tips, and clues to help you solve it yourself.
Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're familiar with British order.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A noble.
There are no recurring letters.
Today's Wordle starts with the letter B.
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...
BARON
Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.
Does AI save time? Executives say yes, employees say no.A new report found that company executives and employees have very different viewpoints on AI and productivity.
Is your boss preaching the virtues of AI at work, while you don't actually find AI helps anywhere in your role? Turns out you are not alone.
A new study from AI consulting firm Section surveyed 5,000 white collar employees, and found a major disparity between workers and their managers when it came to AI and productivity.
In the study, 33 percent of company executives said using AI saved them 4 to 8 hours a week. Another 19 percent claimed that they saved more than 12 hours each week thanks to AI. Only 2 percent of executives said AI didn't save them any time at all.
But when it came to non-managerial employees, the sentiment around AI completely flipped.
A whopping 40 percent of workers said using AI in the workplace did not save them any time at all. Another 27 percent of workers said that AI usage saved them less than 2 hours per week, and only 2 percent of employees said AI saved them more than 12 hours each week.
Meanwhile another damning AI report, from software company Workday, suggests even those estimates are overblown. In Workday's survey, 85 percent of employees who said AI saved them time actually wasted that saved time correcting errors made by AI, notes the Wall Street Journal.
AI can certainly be a productivity tool for certain industries. The technology sector has most embraced AI, according to the study. Some software developers have been able to utilize AI to help speed up monotonous coding tasks, even at the risk of making vibe coding mistakes.
Other industries have not seen the same benefits, however. Retail was at the bottom of the list in Section's study. But overall, 85 percent of respondents had either no work-related AI use cases or beginner-level use cases.
Section's report also found that 40 percent of workers would be fine with never using AI again.
This echoes a warning on AI this week at Davos from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who urged the industry to look at whether the benefits of the technology are filtering down to average users.
"We will quickly lose even the social permission to actually take something like energy, which is a scarce resource," Nadella said, if AI systems "are not improving health outcomes, education outcomes, public sector efficiency, private sector competitiveness across all sectors, small and large."
Now these reports from Section and Workday suggest that social permission is rapidly fading, if AI even ever had it in the first place. And that should certainly be concerning to the companies betting big on AI.
White House adds AI-produced tears to image of arrested protestorThe White House X account shared an AI-altered image of Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly led an anti-ICE church protest in Minnesota.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that several organizers of a recent anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church had been arrested. Soon after, The White House X account shared an image of one of the protesters, attorney and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, being led away by law enforcement officers with tears streaming down her face.
The post quickly received a Community Notes fact-check on X, which stated: "Digitally altered image. See original arrest photo here." The Community Note also included a link to the New York Post, which shows the real version of the image, in which Armstrong is clearly not crying.
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The White House’s X post includes the all-caps caption, “ARRESTED. FAR-LEFT AGITATOR NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG FOR ORCHESTRATING CHURCH RIOTS IN MINNESOTA.”
Meanwhile, the X account of FBI Director Kash Patel released images of Armstrong and other arrested activists; none of them appear to be crying, though. Crooked Media journalist Matt Berg posted on X that he asked White House officials if the crying images were altered and was reportedly told, "the memes will continue."
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The memeification of serious news events is par for the course on the Trump administration's social media accounts. As Mashable has reported previously, the Trump administration uses X and social media to dehumanize and insult its perceived enemies, often using 4chan-style memes and artificial intelligence in the process.
Bondi also posted about the arrests on X, and the Post reported the protesters have been charged with "conspiracy against rights," which is a federal charge for preventing someone from exercising their constitutional rights. Right-wing commentators have also argued that the protesters violated the FACE Act. Ironically, the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act) is a law signed by President Bill Clinton to stop protesters from blocking the entrance to abortion clinics, but it also protects protesters from blocking the entrances of houses of worship.
The First Amendment does give Americans the right to peacefully protest; however, it does not give protesters the right to enter a church without permission and shut down a religious service. In fact, this type of behavior violates other people's First Amendment right to practice their free religion freely.
Videos of the anti-ICE protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul quickly went viral, with many viewers split between supporting the protesters and attacking them for going too far. Now, videos and photos of the protesters' arrests are going viral in turn.
As more Americans get their news from social media, the Trump administration has grown skilled at turning news into reality TV-style entertainment, with Trump as the star.
Microsoft 365 Outlook down: Microsoft breaks silence on outageMicrosoft is sharing updates on the Microsoft 365 outage that took down Outlook and other services on Thursday, Jan. 22.
Updated at 6:15 p.m. ET on Jan. 22: Microsoft shared a new update on its recovery efforts Thursday evening.
On the Microsoft 365 status page, the company wrote: "We're carefully rebalancing traffic across all affected infrastructure in the region, while monitoring the corresponding health telemetry, to ensure the environment enters into a balanced state as our remediation efforts continue. We’re proceeding as quickly as possible and this incremental approach will also help us identify whether any additional actions may be required to ensure longstanding recovery."
As of this writing, there is still an active alert for Microsoft 365: "Users may be seeing degraded service functionality or be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services."
Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, are experiencing heavy downtime today. Users have been reporting outages since the afternoon on social media and on Downdetector.
"Users may be seeing degraded service functionality or be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services," an update on Microsoft's status page reads.
Microsoft has now released a more detailed statement on the issue, letting users know that they are working on fixing the problem and acknowledging which services are facing outages.
"We're investigating a potential issue impacting multiple Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview," reads a Microsoft statement posted on X.
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"We've identified a portion of service infrastructure in North America that is not processing traffic as expected," the company said in a follow-up statement. "We're working to restore the infrastructure to a healthy state to achieve recovery."
Microsoft's ongoing updates continued to detail that the company was working on mitigating the issues in order to restore the affected services.
"We're continuing to review what actions are required to restore the affected infrastructure to a healthy state and rebalance the service traffic to achieve recovery," Microsoft posted on the official @MSFT365Status X account.
Microsoft's final update seemed to suggest that the underlying issue was fixed, but problems stemming from the outage are currently persisting.
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"While we've restored the affected infrastructure to a healthy state, further load balancing is required to mitigate impact," Microsoft said. "We're directing traffic to alternate infrastructure to achieve recovery."
Mashable will continue following the Microsoft 365 outage and provide more detailed updates on what happened as we find out.
Stop paying subscriptions and get Microsoft Office staples for life for less than $3 eachRefresh your PC with a Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows license, on sale now for just $19.97 (reg. $229).
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Microsoft 365 outage: Outlook is down. What we know.Microsoft 365 appeared to have an outage on Thursday, Jan. 22, with Outlook, Teams, and Defender reportedly affected.
Updated on Jan. 22 at 5:31 p.m. ET: Microsoft said it was working toward fixing a 365 outage on Thursday, though noted users may still be experiencing issues.
"We're carefully rebalancing traffic across all affected infrastructure in the region," read a statement on its 365 status page. "We’re proceeding as quickly as possible and this incremental approach will also help us identify whether any additional actions may be required to ensure longstanding recovery."
Microsoft 365 suffered an outage on Thursday, affecting U.S. users going about their workday.
"Users may be seeing degraded service functionality or be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services," the company wrote on its 365 status page.
Microsoft users reported being unable to send or receive email through Outlook, and services such as Teams and Defender may also be affected. Ironically, even the Microsoft 365 status page is having trouble loading for some users.
"Users may be receiving a '451 4.3.2 temporary server issue' error message when attempting to send or receive email through Outlook," read the Microsoft status page.
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User-reported issues for Microsoft 365 spiked on Downdetector on Thursday afternoon. The reports appeared to be going down as evening, Eastern time, approached. (Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by Ziff Davis, the same parent company as Mashable.)
Microsoft noted it was working toward restoring services.
"While we've restored the affected infrastructure to a heathy state, further load balancing is required to mitigate persistent impact," read its 365 status page. "We've identified and are implementing additional actions to direct requests and traffic to additional healthy sections of infrastructure to achieve withstanding recovery."
Not being able to send or receive emails is, obviously, a major pain for workers. Lots of folks took to social media to voice their frustrations and, of course, make jokes.
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Microsoft has been no stranger to outages lately. It saw two major outages in October alone, with both 365 and Azure crashing that month. There was also the infamous, massive outage in 2024, ultimately caused by an issue with the cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike.
This story is developing and will be updated as necessary...
The best new floral Lego sets to brighten up your homeLego's new floral sets are great for brightening up your home during the winter months. Here's what's available as of January 2026.
For Lego fans, winter is a great time to focus on building new sets. While you wait for spring weather and returning outside, Lego is a nice way to keep busy from the comfort of your home. And Lego has recently revealed a whole new batch of builds for January, so there's plenty of options to check out right now. Among them are a variety of new floral sets, which are perfect for adding a bit of color to your home ahead of spring.
There's a nice assortment of new arrangements available right now, including a delightfully colorful Tulip Bouquet and a lovely Peace Lily, but there's also some sweet smaller builds. If you're not looking to piece together a big bouquet, there are options with lower piece counts to look through, including Sunflowers, Cherry Blossoms, Roses, and more.
No matter which Lego flower set catches your eye, it's sure to be a bright addition to your home as you wait for spring to roll around. Check out Lego's latest floral sets below.
Lego's Tulip Bouquet is bursting with bright colors. It's a set that's recommended for adult builders and comes with 576 pieces that create five varieties of tulips in different colors and stages of bloom. There's vibrant red, yellow, and pink opened tulips in the arrangement, alongside purple closed tulips and green buds with green leaves. Put it in a vase once completed and it'll be an instant reminder that spring isn't too far away.
The Lego Peace Lily is a wonderful set for a shelf or cabinet. Again, it's one that's recommended for adults, with a piece count of 474. These bricks combine to produce a variety of lilies in three stages — there's two furled buds in the arrangement, plus two partially open flowers, and two in full bloom — alongside green leaves and a little plant pot. Whether it's on a desk, shelf, or table, it's sure to be a standout display in any room.
Lego's Flowering Cactus is a set recommended for younger builders than the two above (those who are aged nine and up can jump into it), though it still comes with a fairly high piece count of 482. Situated in a blue plant pot, this set builds two cacti: one is larger and in full bloom with a pink flower at the top, while the other is smaller and has little pink buds. If you're looking for something a little different to the flower sets above, this is a fun option to have on display.
If you're not interested in one of those bigger sets with a lot of pieces, Lego's Daisies set comes with just 133 pieces and sets you up with a sweet little flower arrangement to put in a small vase. It's another build that's recommended for those aged nine and above, and comes with a nice variety of flowers, including three large daisies, two stems of smaller daisies, and three lavenders, all of which are on green stems. There's even a little ladybug piece.
Sunflowers are always a nice reminder of sunshine and warmer weather, which is what makes the Lego Sunflowers set such a great build to work on during the winter. Recommended for builders aged eight and up, it comes with 191 pieces that create two sunflowers with adjustable stems and leaves. While they're nice to have on their own, these sunflowers are worth combining with some of the other floral sets for a big vibrant bouquet of colorful flowers.
The Lego Cherry Blossoms set is another that's recommended for builders aged eight and up, but it comes with many more pieces in comparison to the Sunflowers, with a total count of 430. These create two cherry blossom twigs that are filled with a variety of white and pink buds. This set is another that could be displayed either on its own or combined with other floral sets, if you're curious to create your own arrangement.
Similar to the Sunflowers and Cherry Blossoms sets, the Lego Roses set is one that can be displayed either on its own or combined with other floral arrangements. Plus, with Valentine's Day right around the corner, there's no better time to grab this classic romantic offering. Again, it's recommended for those aged eight and up, and comes with just 120 pieces to create two red roses with adjustable leaves and stems.
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How ChatGPT ends up in childrens toysA ChatGPT-enabled teddy bear got spicy. Then U.S. senators started paying attention.
The fallout over Kumma the bear, a stuffed toy initially powered by ChatGPT and designed to interact with children, began in November.
A researcher for U.S. PIRG Education Fund tested the product, alongside other AI toys, and published the alarming findings. Sweet, soft Kumma would happily tell its conversation partner how to light a match as well as discuss sexual kink.
The bear's maker, FoloToy, had licensed OpenAI's technology to program Kumma's responses. FoloToy temporarily stopped Kumma sales to conduct a safety audit. The revelations prompted OpenAI to indefinitely suspend FoloToy's developer access — even though the toy may still be relying on ChatGPT to produce the stuffed bear’s responses.
Meanwhile, ahead of the holiday shopping season, child advocacy groups expressed urgent concern over AI toys. In December, two U.S. senators sent letters to companies inquiring about their designing and manufacturing of AI toys. In January, a California state senator introduced legislation that would put a four-year moratorium on the sale of AI chatbot toys for anyone under 18. On Thursday, Common Sense Media declared AI toys unsafe for children 5 and younger.
As for Kumma, the bear's fate is a complicated tale about what can happen when an AI toy hits the market before families, companies, and regulators have fully considered the ramifications. Legal experts interviewed by Mashable say AI toys exist in unclear and unfamiliar legal territory.
There is no obvious answer — yet — to the question: Who exactly is responsible if a child is harmed when engaging with an AI toy?
Of course, that assumes toymakers can and will be transparent about the technology their product relies on. OpenAI no longer permits its licensees to publicly disclose that their product uses the company's technology, including ChatGPT, unless they've received "express prior written permission in each instance."
This concerns R.J. Cross, director of the Our Online Life program for U.S. PIRG Education Fund. Cross was the researcher who discovered Kumma's "failure points."
"When you have OpenAI specifically saying you can't publicly disclose this without our permission, that's just going to make it harder for everyone — parents, caretakers, regulators – to know what's really happening, and that's not a good thing," said Cross.
Consumers who saw the headlines about Kumma might have wondered how ChatGPT, an AI chatbot with more than 800 million weekly users, ended up in a stuffed bear sold online by a company without household-name recognition.
The explanation might surprise consumers unfamiliar with the licensing agreements that OpenAI makes with developers to access and integrate its large language models into their own products. Such agreements are standard and strategic in the technology industry, particularly for companies looking to scale their business quickly.
In 2025, OpenAI inked a deal with Mattel, but the toymaker didn't launch an AI product by year's end. The AI companies Perplexity and Anthropic have been previously linked to children's toys designed and manufactured by a third party, according to Cross' research.
Yet OpenAI's commitment to youth safety is under tremendous scrutiny. The company faces multiple wrongful death lawsuits related to ChatGPT use. Some of the plaintiffs are parents of teens who allege that ChatGPT coached their children to conceal mental health problems and take their own lives in moments of extreme distress.
"We now know — and we think the lawsuit puts a pretty fine point on the fact — that ChatGPT is not a safe product," said Eli Wade-Scott, a partner at Edelson PC and a lawyer representing parents suing OpenAI for the suicide death of their son, Adam Raine. The company had denied the allegations in that case.
Cross has struggled to understand why OpenAI licenses ChatGPT to developers who use it in children's products, given that the company's own terms of service prohibit chatbot use by minors under 13.
OpenAI told Mashable that any developer that deploys one of the company's large language models in products for younger users must obtain parental consent and comply with child safety and privacy law. (Cross said FoloToy now asks for parental consent to collect a child's data via its web portal settings.)
Developers are also required to follow OpenAI's universal usage policies, which include the prohibition of exposing minors to sexual and violent content. OpenAI does run algorithms to help ensure its services are not used by licensees to harm minors, and gives developers free access to its proprietary moderation tools.
OpenAI told Mashable that its "managed customers" work with the company's sales team on deployment strategies and safety. When OpenAI becomes aware of a user who's developed a toy or product designed for a minor that violates its usage policies, the company either warns or suspends them.
"You can put into a contract how serious you are about them using it in an ethical and safe way."
Colleen Chien, a professor of law at U.C. Berkeley School of Law, told Mashable that companies can be more careful when licensing their technology by creating a "vetted partner" program that places key restrictions on the licensee. This process could include requiring licensees to complete certification or training to ensure they're using the technology safely and appropriately.
"You can put into a contract how serious you are about them using it in an ethical and safe way," said Chien, who is also co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. "Or you can be much more loose about it."
With the latter approach, the company might suspend a licensee if it discovers violations of the contract or receives allegations of improper use.
"At that point, the damage has already been done, and you're not really taking responsibility ex ante for what might happen downstream," Chien said.
If a child has a harmful or dangerous experience with an AI toy powered by ChatGPT, OpenAI is very clear about who's to blame. The company told Mashable that its licensees are solely responsible for their product's outputs.
In addition, OpenAI's services agreement appears to absolve the company and its licensees against liabilities, damages, and costs related to a third-party claim. The agreement also prohibits class action lawsuits to resolve disputes, which could include claims related to an AI toy.
Chien notes that consumer safety law doesn't require companies to sell a "perfectly safe" product. Instead, a company must take reasonable precautions and not subject its customers to outsized risk. Laws requiring a perfect safety record, she said, could stifle innovation, particularly in technology.
Still, Chien said some liability should probably remain with OpenAI, because its size and resources give the company a clear advantage in detecting and avoiding risks to downstream users, like families who purchase AI toys powered by their technology.
Either way, she acknowledges that the rapid adoption of large language models in consumer products raise novel issues about who's liable when things go wrong. Product safety laws, for example, currently emphasize physical harm, but what if a child's stuffed AI toy tells her how to lie to her parents or subjects her to conversational sexual abuse?
Aaron P. Davis, co-managing partner of the commercial complex business and personal injury firm Davis Goldman, said he doesn't believe OpenAI should be responsible for every incident that might have involved consultation with ChatGPT. Yet he does think extra caution regarding AI toys is warranted, given their unique ability to earn the trust of vulnerable users, like a therapist, doctor, or teacher might.
"This is going to be taken on a case by case basis, and I think that it's sort of a dangerous avenue that we're going down," he said of the product's potential risks.
Davis, who reviewed OpenAI's services agreement for Mashable, said he wasn't sure whether key clauses related to publicity and liability would be enforceable.
Prohibiting licensees from sharing that their product incorporates ChatGPT could impinge on fair use law, he noted. Davis was also skeptical of OpenAI's motivation for including this clause.
"The reason [OpenAI] is doing this is because they don't want people to be able to figure out who made the AI so they get sued," Davis said.
Confusingly, OpenAI does permit licensees to reference a specific model if their product leverages the company's developer platform.
"I think the conflicting policies underlie the platform's intention to insulate itself from liability while maintaining the utility of the product," he said.
The agreement's clause related to class actions also gave Davis pause. He argued that it effectively prevents a customer who's discovered a product defect from publicizing it widely.
In general, Davis found the language favorable to OpenAI in ways that could significantly shield it from consumer transparency and accountability.
Kumma is available for sale online again, but its return to the market comes with yet more questions.
Larry Wang, FoloToy's founder and CEO, told Mashable that the company's internal safety review led to strengthened age-appropriate content rules and tightened topic constraints, among other safety measures.
Indeed, when R.J. Cross tested Kumma again in December, it deflected the same questions she originally asked about kink and how to light a match.
"We're glad to see that," Cross said. "It's kind of the bare minimum."
Yet Cross also noticed something inexplicable: Despite FoloToy's indefinite suspension from OpenAI's developer API, users could still select ChatGPT-5.1 and 5.1 Chat from a dropdown menu of large language models to program Kumma's responses.
Wang did not respond to Mashable's questions about whether the company continued to use ChatGPT for Kumma. OpenAI told Mashable it had not reversed FoloToy's suspension, but didn't provide further details about why or how ChatGPT could appear functional for Kumma.
As a researcher, Cross is dependent on transparency from manufacturers. Without it, she can't as easily connect problems with AI toys that rely on the same large language model. But consumers need it too, she argues.
If a toy uses the model xAI's Grok to respond, for example, a consumer might make a different choice upon learning that the product created sexual abuse imagery using pictures of real women and children.
"[T]hey deserve to have information available if they do want to look into things more carefully," she said.
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.
Ubisoft shares nosedive 40 percent after Prince of Persia cancelation and restructureUbisoft shared a bunch of bad news on Wednesday, and the markets responded in kind on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Ubisoft canceled several games and shut down multiple studios in a major company restructure. At the same time, the studio pledged to double down on generative AI in game development moving forward. On Thursday, the stock market treated the company accordingly.
Specifically, Ubisoft shares tumbled by 34 percent on Thursday morning, per CNBC. As of this writing, Ubisoft shares are now down 39.83 percent.
The company has been struggling financially for some time now, with flagship franchises like Assassin's Creed demanding huge budgets and prolonged development cycles, and other titles not necessarily making the kind of sales impact Ubisoft hoped for. Given that Ubisoft recently had to shutter studios in places like Halifax (a Canadian union argued this move was a case of union-busting) and Stockholm, on top of the litany of game cancelations announced on Wednesday, it's no surprise that the market is losing faith in the longtime games publisher.
Most of the canned projects were unannounced titles with no real information to speak of yet. However, the cancelation of the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake dominated headlines, and justifiably so.
The project was announced in 2020 with a 2021 release date, then went radio silent for several years before being unceremoniously killed six years later. It's not clear from the outside looking in how a remake of a PlayStation 2-era game could miss its due date by five years, but it feels emblematic of everything going wrong with Ubisoft and big-budget game development writ large right now.
In any case, hopefully those affected by these cancelations and studio closures can land on their feet.
Grok is producing millions of sexualized images of adults and childrenA new report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate and an investigation by the New York Times lays out the sheer scale of Grok's undressing problem.
The true scale of Grok's deepfake problem is becoming clearer as the social media platform and its AI startup xAI face ongoing investigations into the chatbot's safety guardrails.
According to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and a joint investigation by the New York Times, Grok was able to produce an estimated 3 million sexualized images, including 23,000 that appear to depict children over a 11-day period between Dec. 29 to Jan. 8, amid xAI's supposed crackdown on deepfake "undressing." The CCDH tested a sample of responses from Grok's one-click editing tool, still available to X users, and calculated that more than half of the chatbot's responses included sexualized content.
The New York Times report found that an estimated 1.8 million of 4.4 million Grok images were sexual in nature, with some depicting well-known influencers and celebrities. The publication also linked a sharp increase in Grok usage following public posts by CEO Elon Musk depicting himself in a bikini, generated by Grok.
"This is industrial-scale abuse of women and girls," chief executive of the CCDH Imran Ahmed told the publication. "There have been nudifying tools, but they have never had the distribution, ease of use or the integration into a large platform that Elon Musk did with Grok."
Grok has come under fire for generating child sexual abuse material (CSAM), following reports that the X chatbot produced images of minors in scantily clad outfits. The platform acknowledged the issue and said it was urgently fixing "lapses in safeguards."
Grok parent company xAI is being investigated by multiple foreign governments and the state of California for its role in generating sexualized or "undressed" deepfakes of people and minors. A handful of countries have even temporarily banned the platform as investigations continue.
On Jan. 14, xAI said it was blocking Grok from editing user uploaded photos of real people to feature revealing clothing, the original issues flagged by users earlier this month. However, recent reporting from the Guardian found that Grok app users were still able to produce AI-edited images of real women edited into bikinis and then upload them onto the site.
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In reporting from August, Mashable editor Timothy Beck Werth noted problems with Grok's reported safety guardrails, including the fact that Grok Imagine readily produced sexually suggestive images and videos of real people. Grok Imagine includes moderation settings and safeguards intended to block certain prompts and responses, but Musk also advertised Grok as one of the only mainstream chatbots that included a "Spicy" setting for sexual content. OpenAI also teased an NSFW setting, amid lawsuits claiming its ChatGPT product is unsafe for users.
Online safety watchdogs have long warned the public about generative AI's role in increased numbers of synthetically generated CSAM, as well as non consensual intimate imagery (NCII), addressed in 2025's Take It Down Act. Under the new U.S. law, online publishers are required to comply with takedown requests of nonconsensual deepfakes or face penalties.
A 2024 report from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found that generative AI tools were directly linked to increased numbers of CSAM on the dark web, predominately depicting young girls in sexual scenarios or digitally altering real pornography to include the likenesses of children. AI tools and "nudify" apps have been linked to rises in cyberbullying and AI-enabled sexual abuse.
UPDATE: Jan. 22, 2026, 3:33 p.m. This story was updated to include more details on the report's timeline and testing dates.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 is leaking like a faucet now: Possible specs, colors, and release dateWhat do we know about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26? A lot, actually, including the potential colors, specs, camera, price, and release date.
Samsung usually launches its next wave of flagship devices over the winter, and all signs point to an early-ish 2026 launch for the Samsung Galaxy S26 — and hopefully the Galaxy Z TriFold. The Galaxy S25 was released in early February, and the Galaxy S24 before it came in late January. Thus, it stands to reason that the Galaxy S26 will come around the same time in 2026.
While Samsung hasn't announced any upcoming Galaxy Unpacked events, we fully expect the new generation of Samsung phones to make their debut soon (leakers say you should mark Feb. 25 on your calendar). As per usual, ahead of the official launch, we're getting a steady drip of leaks on the new Samsung phones.
So, what do we know so far? A lot, actually. Catch up on the Samsung Galaxy S26's possible specifications, colors, pricing, and release date.
Recently, leaker @onleaks posted a gallery and video on X that claims to show dummy units of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. We can't verify the authenticity of the video, but it looks plausible, at least.
Overall, it looks very similar to the S25 Ultra, as expected, with one notable change — it has a camera bump similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. As 9to5Google points out, because this bump is on the left side of the phone, it will make the phone wobble when placed down on a table or desk. (The TriFold has the same problem.) In comparison, the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max has a more symmetrical shape and thus no wobble.
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However, we would be a little skeptical of this leak. Android Police recently posted its own alleged S26 Ultra leaks, only without the camera bump.
As for colors, leaker Evan Blass posted what could be the full list of color options on X. The colors are:
Black
White
Silver Shadow
Sky Blue
Cobalt Violet
Pink Gold
Those all sound pretty standard for a Samsung phone, so it doesn't seem like the company is doing anything wildly bold this year in terms of colors. That's either a relief or a disappointment to you, depending on how you felt about the controversial cosmic orange iPhone last year.
We're expecting three phones at the next Galaxy Unpacked event:
Samsung Galaxy S26
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Just a few months ago, rumors and leaks pointed to a significant shakeup in the Galaxy S26 line. It was said that Samsung would rename the base model to S26 Pro, drop the Plus model that sat in the middle of the annual lineup for years, and replace that with a new Edge phone modeled after last year's S25 Edge (which was something of a flop). However, that's apparently no longer happening, and you can thank Apple for that, per Korean outlet NewsPim (via 9to5google).
Due to Apple's success in offering significant year-over-year upgrades to the base iPhone 17 (such as a 120Hz display) without raising the price, Samsung has reportedly dropped the Pro branding for the base model and reverted it back to just the Galaxy S26, which was corroborated by a separate report from SamMobile. According to that report, you can expect a retread of the usual S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra lineup in 2026. That may be disappointing to anyone who was expecting a big shakeup based on previous reporting, but if nothing else, it makes it easier to keep track of what's going on.
As for the previously rumored S26 Edge, it's unclear what's going to happen with that. It might be dead, or it might come out later in the year as a separate release like the S25 Edge did. Given that phone's relative lack of success, it might be smart to assume there won't be an S26 Edge at this point.
For specs, the rumors aren't particularly surprising. The Galaxy S26 series is currently rumored to have the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chip, which Qualcomm rebranded to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. There is also a rumor that Samsung will equip some S26 models with an Exynos chip, which Samsung fans hope is the Exynos 2600, which has also been making some noise in the rumor mill lately.
In terms of the small stuff, like storage and RAM, there have been some small rumblings. One rumor says that the Galaxy S26 (all models) will feature 16GB of RAM, a 4GB increase from the last few years, and the most a Galaxy phone has had since the Galaxy S21 Ultra. In terms of storage capacity, there are no rumors that anything will change, so the 128GB base (256GB on the Ultra) is likely to remain in place for now, with upgraded storage available as an option.
We're in the midst of a major global memory shortage, and this has been very bad news for smartphone and laptop shoppers (you can blame the AI industry for hogging all the RAM). And according to leaker @kro_roe, this could not only lead to an S26 price hike, but also the end of a popular launch offer.
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Typically, when Samsung launches a new phone, customers who pre-order or purchase at launch can claim double the storage at no extra cost. But with RAM in short supply, that may no longer be the case. The most recent rumors suggest that Samsung hasn't landed on a final price for the S26 phones, however.
That last part is important because it's very possible that the prices won't change after all. At least one new report suggests Samsung is trying to make sure the prices don't increase from last year, even if that means the company has to eat some of the cost of each unit sold.
Based on early rumors, this may be one of the most interesting changes coming to the S26 lineup. Samsung has been working on a stacked battery design that would allow for more dense batteries in the same physical space. This could bring a long-awaited bump to battery size. According to early rumors, the S26 Ultra is slated to come with a 5,500 mAh stacked battery, a 10 percent increase from the S25 Ultra.
Samsung reportedly experimented with removing a camera to add even more battery capacity, but that doesn't mean it's certain to happen in the mass-produced model. While the S26 Pro was rumored to have a bigger 4,900mAh battery compared to previous base model Galaxy phones, NewsPim's report claimed that the base S26 (now that it's no longer a Pro device) has been adjusted down to a more modest 4,300mAh cell.
For charging, it’s unlikely that the Galaxy S26 series will get a serious upgrade. Samsung is definitely working on 60W wired charging, but so far, it seems that Samsung will wait for the Galaxy S27 series (or later) to implement it. This could change as we get closer to launch for the S26 series, but for now, it seems that 45W will be around for at least one more year. There are also rumors that wireless charging may see a bump to the Qi2 standard
The camera system in the Galaxy S26 series may change quite a bit, and there are a few different rumors that say different things. Jumping right in, one older rumor says that the S26 series will have the same megapixel count but will feature a new, as-of-yet unannounced sensor from the same ISOCELL GN series as prior Samsung models. On the Galaxy S26 Ultra, a 200MP camera is rumored, as is a 324MP lens with a 50MP, 3x telephoto lens. It’s more likely that Samsung will do the 200MP with a new sensor, but all leaks are being considered right now.
In addition, there are rumors that Samsung will bring back its variable aperture on the main shooter, which Samsung hasn’t included on its camera system since the Galaxy S10 series back in 2019. As previously mentioned, Samsung may be considering dropping the number of cameras to three instead of four, like on prior models, to make space for a larger battery. Other rumors about the camera include a dual periscope design that’ll magnify to 8x, but that is just speculation at this time.
However, many of these rumors come from the time when we thought Samsung was significantly altering the S26 lineup. Newer reports indicate that, at least for the base S26 and S26 Plus, things won't change that much from previous years. According to Korean outlet The Elec, those two phones will have the exact same megapixel count on the triple-lens rear array as previous Galaxy models: a 50MP wide lens, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens. Those have been the specs going all the way back to the Galaxy S22. If you were hoping for big changes in the cheaper S26 models this year, you have our condolences.
Android Police recently alerted us to a very interesting feature that could make its debut with the S26: A new mode called Privacy Display. This rumored feature would make the display resemble a frosted screen protector, except it would be built into the UI. This leak comes from Samsung itself, so it's all but confirmed.
Other details on the Galaxy S26 lineup are pretty predictable. It’ll come with the latest One UI out of the gate with the latest version of Android. That is no surprise, and we don’t need rumors to predict that one. The S26 series will likely get One UI 8.5, which is slated for a rather large redesign along with a host of new features, including the aforementioned privacy screen feature. According to rumor, the redesign emulates Apple’s Liquid Glass in some ways with transparent UI elements.
The only other piece of hardware we haven’t talked about is the S-Pen. Samsung appears to be set to do something big with the S-Pen. The rumors speculate that the S-Pen is sticking around and will come with some upgrades. The new functionality may have something to do with how magnetic accessories work, and this seems to be linked to the aforementioned Qi2 wireless charging upgrade.
We'll find out how much (if any) of this is true in just a matter of weeks, going by previous Samsung announcement timelines.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked rumors: When it is, what devices well seeSamsung has to show off its next batch of Galaxy phones soon, but when exactly will that be?
Samsung has some new phones to show off, and by all accounts, we'll see them pretty soon.
The Korean tech giant just got done showing off its vision for an AI-powered future at CES 2026, but it isn't done. Rumors are swirling around about an upcoming Unpacked showcase that will theoretically focus on at least the new Galaxy S26 phones. However, two big questions remain: When exactly is the Samsung Unpacked showcase for early 2026? And will we get a confirmed U.S. release date for the long-awaited Galaxy TriFold?
Let's dig in and find out.
This question is (seemingly) pretty easy to answer. We don't have a confirmed date yet, but some of the more reliable tipsters in the mobile world have already nailed down a supposed date for Samsung Unpacked. One of them is Evan Blass, who has a pretty sterling record of being right on the money with this stuff. On X, Blass corroborated some Korean media reports that the next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place on Feb. 25, saying that date is "100 percent correct."
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Another extremely reliable Samsung leaker, Ice Universe, also took to X in late January to offer a more comprehensive product launch timeline. According to Ice Universe, Unpacked will take place on Feb. 25 (just as Blass said). Beyond that, the pre-order and pre-sale periods will reportedly last between Feb. 26 and March 10, with the device hitting store shelves on March 11. That would be pretty late by Samsung standards, but given that it's late January and Samsung still hasn't said a word about Unpacked, it also feels like it could be true. The ongoing global memory shortage could also be a factor here.
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Samsung typically does its early-year Unpacked events in January or early February, but if it were happening in January this year, we would've heard something official by now. For the time being, Feb. 25 is a safe bet.
The question of what will be shown at this Unpacked event is also fairly easy to answer based on precedent from previous years. In short, expect a lot of information about the Galaxy S26 phones. Just like in previous years, early leaks suggest there will be three new S26 smartphones:
A base Galaxy S26
A middle-ground Galaxy S26 Plus
A premium Galaxy S26 Ultra
Recent reports point to a pretty incremental refresh of the Galaxy S line this year, which is interesting because there were rumblings several months ago that Samsung would shake things up in 2026. The company was allegedly going to replace the Plus model with a new ultra-thin Edge phone, but Apple's success with the iPhone 17 — putting pro-level features in the base phone without raising the price — reportedly caused Samsung to pull back and stick to what worked in previous years.
We also have a list of potential color options courtesy of Blass. The leaker said the colors will be Black, White, Silver Shadow, Sky Blue, Cobalt Violet, and Pink Gold. At least two or three of those might be online exclusives, which is what Samsung has done in the past. Finally, some early reports indicate that Samsung is going to try to keep the prices of the phones the same as they were last year, even amidst the ongoing RAM shortage that is threatening to increase tech prices, or in some cases already actively doing so.
Unfortunately, we've also heard that Samsung will no longer offer its usual pre-order offer, which lets early shoppers get double the storage at no extra price.
Last year's early Unpacked event was almost entirely focused on Galaxy phones and AI features for said phones, with a very brief surprise appearance by Samsung's XR headset at the end. I would expect this year's showcase to be similarly focused on Galaxy S26 phones, but the fact that the Galaxy TriFold is also set to launch in early 2026 in the United States could justify some time being given to that phone, as well. Samsung has already shown off that device in Korea and at CES, though, so maybe it gets a quicker mention with a price and release date instead of a full, blown-out debut.
At any rate, we've apparently got several weeks to sit and think about it.
After settling lawsuit, Snapchat adds new parental controls for teensSnap adds new monitoring tools for parents to its Family Center, including ways to monitor a teen's app use and contacts.
New ways to monitor your teen's phone use are coming to Snapchat, as the app adds new screen time and contact monitoring tools for parents.
Starting today, parents and guardians linked to teen accounts will be able to see a weekly breakdown of the average amount of time users spent on the app, as well as the types of activity the teen engages in on the app, including chatting, taking pictures, or scrolling through their Snap Map. Parents will also be able to view additional details about their teen's new contacts, such as mutual friends lists and the Snap communities they've joined.
Snap launched its Family Center parental monitoring hub in 2022, and has debuted additional safeguards for users, including content and AI restrictions, friends list visibility, and location alerts as it cracks down on inappropriate content and predatory behavior by adult users.
"Family Center is designed to reflect the dynamics of real-world relationships by providing visibility into what teens are doing and allowing parents to adjust key settings, without showing the content of their private conversations," wrote Snap in a press release regarding the new parental controls. "We work diligently to protect teens on our platform while giving parents and caregivers the tools to play an active role in their teen’s experience on Snapchat."
Just yesterday (Jan. 21), the social media giant avoided a trial by jury and settled a lawsuit brought forth by a 19-year-old user who alleged the platform's algorithm — and those of its competitors, including Meta, YouTube, and TikTok — is dangerously designed to foster addictive behavior and mental health issues. Snapchat employees had previously warned of mental health risks to young users, court documents revealed. The case follows a similar pattern found among social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, which have faced an onslaught of lawsuits accusing the companies of not doing enough to protect young users, even when flagged by internal leadership.
Last year, the platform joined other companies, including the embattled Roblox, backing the 2025 Take It Down Act, aimed at providing legal recourse for victims of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) and deepfakes. The company has previously partnered with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Shop the best Samsung deals this week: monitors, smartphones, and moreAs of Jan. 22, shop discounted Samsung monitors, smartphones, and more for the week.
It's officially over halfway through January 2026, and most of the biggest savings events of the year are still months away. But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of deals to be found in the interim, especially on some of your favorite Samsung tech.
This early in the year, we're still seeing significant price cuts on some of Samsung's biggest tech, like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra smartphone if you're looking to upgrade, or the massive 49-inch Samsung Odyssey G9 gaming monitor for some serious desk candy.
Whether you're looking to go on a new tech shopping spree or you just want to splurge on some great discounts, we've rounded up some of the best you'll find this week on Samsung tech. Check out some of our favorite picks below and happy shopping!
This massive monitor sits at a huge 49 inches. It's a 32:9 curved display that's about the size fo two 27-inch monitors, meaning it gives you some serious desk real estate to work with. It has a Dual QHD resolution of 5120 x 1440 and a 1,000R curve, so when you're working or gaming, you feel the immersion, like you're right in the middle of the action. With a 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro as well as VESA DisplayHDR 600, it's perfect for all your favorite games and then some. This is the wraparound monitor experience you've been waiting for.
Samsung 32-inch Odyssey G55C Series QHD Monitor — $273.83 $329.99 (save $180)
Samsung 32-inch Odyssey G50D Series QHD Monitor — $249.99 $429.99 (save $180)
Samsung 32-inch Flat Computer Monitor — $199 $149 (save $50)
Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G5 G53F Gaming Monitor — $159.99 $249.99 (save $90)
Samsung 27-inch Essential Monitor — $119.99 $149.99 (save $30)
One of Mashable's favorite smartphones from 2025, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is still very much a fantastic option if you're looking to lock in a new smartphone. In addition to having crystal clear call quality, it's absolutely loaded with fantastic features, all colored by AI. That includes camera options that'll blow you away, with actions powered by the most powerful processor Samsung has added to a phone yet: the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Plus, it's a good-looking phone, if that matters to you.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE — $509.99 $709.99 (save $200)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G — $375 $399.99 (save $24.99)
Samsung Galaxy S21 (Renewed) — $166.10 $267.72 (save $101/62)
This is a zippy little laptop you'll absolutely love using. It comes packed with a 15.6-inch Full HD display, an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. It offers a 19-hour battery life on a single charge, and when you do deplete the battery, you can use fast charging to get you up to 30 to 35% battery again in under an hour. It can connect to all your other Samsung devices as well, much like Apple products do across the Apple ecosystem.
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360— $1,299.99 $1,699.99 (save $200)
Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 — $269.08 $298.98 (save $200)
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go — $251.99 $288.98 (save $37.99)
SAVE $200: The Shark PowerPro Flex Pet Plus Cordless Vacuum is on sale at Amazon for $199.99, down from the list price of $399.99. That's a 50% discount and the best price we've ever seen at Amazon.
Some people hate vacuuming. If that's you, have you tried vacuuming with an effortless stick vacuum? These excel in being lightweight, easy to maneuver, and simple to empty debris. As a special mid-January doldrums treat, Amazon just put a premium model on a major discount.
As of Jan. 22, the Shark PowerPro Flex Pet Plus Cordless Vacuum is on sale at Amazon for $199.99, marked down from the standard price of $399.99. That's a 50% discount that shaves $200 off the price. If you love to score a good deal, this is the best price we've ever seen at Amazon.
If you have pets at home, you know the struggle of trying to remove pet hair from the carpet. Shark takes aim at those stubborn stuck-in hairs with the PowerPro Flex Pet Plus which comes with up to 50 minutes of runtime.
This Shark stick vacuum has tons of features that you won't be able to live without once you've experienced the convenience. For one, the LED headlight will illuminate dust and debris in a way that will make you want to vacuum everyday just for the satisfaction. It can also easily convert into a handheld vacuum. Plus, the wand feature's Shark's MultiFlex technology which allows it to bend in half, reaching under the couch or the bed with ease.
Shark also equipped the PowerPro Flex Pet Plus with the brand's floor detect technology. This automatically senses the floor type and adjusts the speed of the brush roll to get the best clean. There's also the extra large dust cup capacity so you won't need to empty it out as often.
Before this low sale price disappears, gift yourself the convenience of a powerful stick vacuum with the Shark PowerPro Flex Pet Plus Cordless Vacuum. It's on sale for under $200 at Amazon, which is the lowest price we've ever seen.
Move over, Elden Ring. Clair Obscur just broke the all-time game awards record.'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' has been racking up game of the year awards, and it just secured an all-time record.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been on a tear lately. The French RPG, known for its gorgeous visuals, turn-based gameplay, and compelling narrative, swept the Game of the Year Awards, with a record eight wins and 12 nominations.
Now, Clair Obscur has set yet another record: It's surpassed Elden Ring as the most award-winning video game of all time.
There's no official body that tracks total wins in game awards, nor an official list of what counts toward the totals. (For instance, do you count Mashable's guide to the best video games of 2025? Spoiler alert: Clair Obscur only earned an honorable mention from our team.) However, fans have been closely tracking wins and losses at the ResetEra forum, and the evidence is clear: Clair Obscur now has more game of the year wins than any other game, topping previous record holders like Elden Ring.
In years past, Elden Ring collected 435 GOTY wins; The Last of Us Part II earned 326; and Baldur's Gate III got 288. When Wccftech released its list of the best games of the year this week, Clair Obscur surpassed Elden Ring's total with 436 wins and counting.
That's right — there are still plenty of game awards yet to be announced. Per our colleagues at IGN, Clair Obscur can still pick up even more awards at the BAFTAs, DICE, and GDC Awards.
Clair Obscur likely would have reached this record sooner had it not been for a controversial snub at the Indie Game Awards, which takes a hard line against the use of generative AI. French studio Sandfall Entertainment was accused of using generative AI to create background textures, such as posters that appeared on a street lamp, claims that Sandfall Interactive denied.
Considering that generative AI is now a standard tool used by the vast majority of computer programmers, it seems extremely unlikely that no AI was used in the development of other popular video games. However, the Indie Game Awards stripped Sandfall Interactive and Clair Obscur of their Game of the Year and Debut Game awards.
While some video game players have also taken a hard line against the use of generative AI in game development, it's not clear that the average gamer cares. For instance, Arc Raiders faced fierce criticism for its use of generative AI back in November, and yet by January, it had become a hugely successful best-seller.
Controversies aside, Clair Obscur seems poised to pick up even more GOTY wins in the months ahead, setting a new high bar for critically acclaimed video games.
Score this 100-inch Hisense U7 Mini LED 4K TV for over $1,000 off — its best price everJust in time for the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, the Hisense 100-inch U7 Mini LED 4K TV is on sale for 37% off at Amazon.
SAVE $1,300: As of Jan. 22, the Hisense 100-inch U7 Mini LED ULED 4K TV is on sale for $2,197.99 at Amazon. That's a 37% price drop — its biggest discount ever.
It's a big season for sports. Not only is it playoffs for the NFL, with the Big Game a few weeks away, but it's also the second half of the NBA and NHL seasons (where things really start to get interesting), and almost time for the Winter Olympics. If you haven't already replaced your dull TV, it also happens to be one of the best times to upgrade your TV for less.
As of Jan. 22, you can get a massive Hisense 100-inch U7 Mini LED ULED 4K TV on sale for $2,197.99 at Amazon. That's a 37% drop from its list price of $3,497.99 — its biggest discount on record, matching its all-time low from Black Friday.
The U7 Mini LED is Hisense's "ultimate mid-premium" model from 2025, combining Mini LED technology with a 165Hz refresh rate for a smooth, brilliant picture quality. It also features an AGLR-Antiglare low-reflection panel, up to 3,000 nits of brightness, and HDR10, HDR10+ Adaptive, HLG, Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos. For those who don't speak TV, those specs all help ensure that the massive 100-inch screen looks vibrant, with deep shadows and contrast in any lighting scenario.
Besides the 165Hz refresh rate, gamers will also appreciate the U7's Game Mode Ultra, as well as AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Auto Low Latency Mode and Low Latency MEMC to minimize tearing and lag.
If you want to catch every single play in all its glory, a massive TV is the ticket. Get the 100-inch Hisense U7 TV for its best price ever just in time for this heavy sports season.
Oscars 2026: The biggest surprises out of the nominations listWhat surprise Oscar 2026 nomination has you cheering?
The 2026 Oscar nominations have arrived! Sinners, One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, and Hamnet have plenty to celebrate. Casting made its debut as the Academy's brand-new category. And incredibly some much-raved about films got nothing at all.
We've shown you the nominees. We've bemoaned the snubs. Now, let's look at the pleasant surprises that came out of the 98th annual Academy Awards nomination announcements.
Some Oscar prognosticators have been saying for months that Best Picture is a lock for One Battle After Another. However, Ryan Coogler's Sinners scored more nominations that the Paul Thomas Anderson thriller, and set a new record for Oscar nominations with a whopping 16 nods! As someone who's been rooting for Sinners since I first saw that barnburner of "I Lied to You" last spring, I was cheering at these nominations like I did when Sammie escaped Remmick's clutches! Sure, some nominations at this point seemed a guarantee, including Best Picture and Best Song. But seeing so much of the cast get recognized along with Coogler as writer, director, and producer? I'm ecstastic.
Some might not be surprised that Delroy Lindo was among Sinners nominations. But unlike Michael B. Jordan and Wunmi Mosaku, who both got Critics Choice nominations and various guild awards, Lindo has been largely overlooked. And not just this past year! Lindo has been a mesmerizing actor for decades, working with Spike Lee (Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Da 5 Bloods), Danny Boyle (A Life Less Ordinary), and Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty). So, you better believe we whooped with excitement when Lindo finally scored his first Academy Award nomination at 73 years old for our favorite movie of 2025.
Makeup and Hairstyling is often a curious pocket of Oscar nominations, where movies that are weirder and wilder get a chance to shine. So when I heard The Ugly Stepsister called out among Frankenstein, The Smashing Machine, and Sinners, I cheered in excitement. This twisted fairytale made Mashable's list of the best horror movies of 2025, because of its stomach-churning and thought-provoking reimagining of Cinderella. And as this nomination suggests, what this step-sibling goes through in pursuit of beauty is grisly business. Beauty hurts, or so I've been told.
F1 landing a Best Picture nomination is the kind of curveball that immediately lights up the group chat. On paper, it's a sleek, star-driven racing film anchored by Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, the kind of polished spectacle that can feel more surface than story — not the most obvious Academy pick. Still, I'll happily accept any Oscars scenario that includes Lewis Hamilton, seven-time F1 champion and producer, getting his moment on Hollywood’s biggest stage. — Crystal Bell, Culture Editor
Admittedly, this one isn't the most stunning surprise. Kate Hudson is riveting in Song Sung Blue, a moving biopic about a Neil Diamond tribute band called Lightning and Thunder, who gets through their darkest moments through the power of song. Her portrait of Claire "Thunder" Sardina has been critically acclaimed — in part for her masterful delivery of a Milwaukee accent — and scored a Golden Globe nod for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. However, Hudson has been falling behind in the Best Actress conversation, as awards prognosticators focused on Hamnet's Jessie Buckley and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You's Rose Byrne. So, she must be singing a happy tune this morning.
Iranian writer/director Jafar Panahi's latest It Was Just An Accident has been collecting accolades and awards since it took home the Palme D'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. So, we weren't remotely surprised to see this compelling revenge drama score a nomination for Best International Feature Film, alongside The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sirāt, and The Voice of Hind Rajab. However, in this American awards show, it's rare to see a screenwriting nomination for a screenplay that's not in English. Yet Panahi, alongside script collaborators Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, and Mehdi Mahmoudian, achieved this! Previous foreign language screenplays to earn this nomination include Anatomy of a Fall, Parasite, and A Separation.
However, some film fans online have suggested that It Was Just An Accident deserved more, declaring it was snubbed in Best Director and Best Picture.
How to watch: The 98th Oscars airs live on March 15 on ABC and Hulu.
Scarlett Johansson, REM, and other artists call for an end to AI slop and theftA group of hundreds of artists have signed on to a new campaign railing against AI slop and theft.
A group of hundreds of artists — including big names like Scarlett Johansson, the band R.E.M, and Cate Blanchett — endorsed a campaign against AI slop, railing against "theft at a grand scale" from the major artificial intelligence companies.
The campaign, dubbed Stealing Isn't Innovation, is backed by the Human Artistry Campaign, an advocacy group that works with artists and performers. You can see the full list of signees at the movement's website — but it's an impressive collection of more than 800 folks. Johansson was involved in a famous, public spat with OpenAI over accusations that it improperly used her voice. And funnily enough, rapper/actor Common is on the list after starring in memorable AI commercials for years.
"Driven by fierce competition for leadership in the new GenAI technology, profit-hungry technology companies, including those among the richest in the world as well as private equity-backed ventures, have copied a massive amount of creative content online without authorization or payment to those who created it," a press release reads, via The Verge. "This illegal intellectual property grab fosters an information ecosystem dominated by misinformation, deepfakes, and a vapid artificial avalanche of low-quality materials ['AI slop'], risking AI model collapse and directly threatening America’s AI superiority and international competitiveness."
As we've covered at Mashable, low-quality AI materials — aka slop — have spread widely on social media feeds. And AI companies have used the work of artists to train AI models. The Stealing Isn't Innovation campaign calls for licensing agreements, better enforcement, and the right for artists to opt out of their work being used to train generative AI. The Verge reported the campaign will run ads in news outlets and on social media in an effort to spread its message.
Publishers and content owners have agreed to a number of licensing deals — Disney, for instance, inked a $1 billion deal with OpenAI — but artists still take issue with models training on vast amounts of content online. The AI companies have argued that they're protected by fair use, while artists have said the companies should be required to get permission and pay for using works.
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.
This weeks best portable power station deals take over half off Jackery, Bluetti, and Anker Solix modelsPortable power stations from Jackery, Solix, and Bluetti are over 50% off at Amazon this week.
If you live in an area that's prone to winter storms, you understand the inconvenience of dealing with power outages. The most traditional solution is to grab a generator to keep your house going. But those pose some problems like being noisy and smelly. Instead, we have the awesome tech of portable power stations.
They're excellent for keeping your gadgets powered up during an outage or for taking along on summer camping trips. Some are large enough to power your refrigerator for days or allow you to run the washing machine. Plus, you can recharge them with solar panels.
In the depths of winter, we're seeing some excellent discounts on portable power stations to keep you online during the next storm. Snag one to keep your food cold, power up the WiFi router, and keep a light on in the bathroom. Here are this week's best deals on portable power stations.
Coming with a hefty 3,072Wh of battery capacity, the Jackery HomePower 3000 is a great backup option for when the power cuts out. The brand mentions this power can keep your refrigerator cooling for up to two days or keep the WiFi router online for almost three days. Today's deal on the Jackery HomePower 3000 includes two 200W SolarSaga solar panels to help with recharging the power station. With 400W of solar input, the power station can recharge to 80% in nine hours. If you take the station camping this summer, that means you could be in line for infinite power.
Jackery Explorer 300 — $199 $259 (save $60)
Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra — $898.99 $1,399 (save $500.01)
Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus — $1,598.99 $2,799 (save $1,200.01 with on-page coupon)
If you tend to head out on camping and hiking adventures but like to stay powered up, the Anker Solix C800X is a stellar model. It comes with 768Wh, a built-in lightbar, and a three-mode camping light that neatly nests into the top of the power station. As if we needed more reason to love this model for camping, today's deal at Amazon includes a 100W solar panel that folds up into the size of a standard sheet of printer paper.
On its own, the Solix C800X is on sale for $399 at Amazon. Today's deal that bundles with C800W with the super portable 100W solar panel comes in at $449.98, which means the solar panel costs just $50 more, which is an incredible deal.
Anker Solix C300 — $179.99 $249.99 (save $70)
Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 — $449.99 $799 (save $349.01)
Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 — $799 $1,499 (save $700)
Anker Solix F2000 — $849 $1,999 (save $1,150)
If you're looking for an ultra portable power station to keep your phone charged up during outages or at the campground, the Bluetti Elite 10 is your best friend. It's affordable, lightweight, can recharge via solar, and it comes in a lovely green colorway.
You'll be able to recharge your phone about six times with the 128Wh packed into the Bluetti Elite 10, which weighs just four pounds. Connect it to a 100W solar panel, and you can get a full recharge in just 90 minutes.
Bluetti X30 CPAP Battery Backup — $279 $399 (save $120)
Bluetti Elite 100 V2 — $399 $799 (save $400)
Bluetti AC200L — $749 $1,599 (save $850)
Bluetti Elite 200 V2 — $899 $1,299 (save $400)
SAVE $70: As of Jan. 22, get the DJI Mic 2 for just $199. That saves you $70 off its list price for 26% in savings. Shop this deal at Amazon now.
Whether you're a professional behind the camera or an amateur looking to improve your content, there's one device that can set you apart: an incredible microphone. Good quality audio is essential no matter what you're filming on, whether it's a smart phone or camera. If you're looking to make the upgrade, now is the right time as DJI's Mic 2 just dropped back down to its lowest price ever.
As of Jan. 22, the DJI Mic 2 is down to $199. That's $70 off its $269 list price for 26% off. Historically, that's the device's lowest price ever, according to Camelcamelcamel.
The DJI Mic 2 captures sound wirelessly and is perfect for even beginners. DJI's transmitters and receivers are pre-linked so you don't have to worry about getting things paired when you need to film quickly. Plus, don't fear for lost audio as the microphone lavalier serves as a standalone recorder, too. With a charging case, these microphones will go for hours at a time—up to 18 hours in fact!
Shop the DJI Mic 2 for $199 at Amazon and save $70.
Waymo launches robotaxi service in MiamiWaymo has launched its robotaxi service in Miami, conquering another major U.S. city and extending its lead over competitors.
If you ask Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Waymo "never really had a chance" in the robotaxi race.
However, in reality, Waymo is extending its lead over Tesla. The company just launched its autonomous taxi service in Miami, bringing the number of U.S. cities where it operates to six.
Initially, the company will cover a 60-square-mile area of Miami, and Waymo says it plans to expand to Miami International Airport "soon."
Waymo says the service is fully autonomous, and that 10,000 residents have already signed up, with new riders being invited on a "rolling basis."
The company currently operates its robotaxi service in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area. There is, however, a pretty long list of cities which are getting Waymo next, including Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, and Washington DC in the U.S., as well as London in the UK.
The company also offers a "driving experience" program in a number of other cities, including Boston, New York, and Seattle in the U.S., and Tokyo in Japan.
Meanwhile, Tesla only offers autonomous Robotaxi rides in Austin; in the San Francisco Bay Area, the rides are only available with human "safety monitors" in driver's seats.
While Waymo is ahead, its autonomous ride-hailing service isn't entirely without issues. Most recently, Waymo cars stalled and caused traffic jams amidst a San Francisco blackout.
Google is bringing Personal Intelligence to AI Mode in Google SearchGoogle's Personal Intelligence feature can check your Gmail and Google Photos to help provide personalized recommendations in AI Mode.
Just last week, Google launched a new test feature in its Gemini AI assistant called Personal Intelligence. The feature allowed users to connect four Google apps — Gmail, YouTube, Google Search, and Google Photos — to Gemini so that the AI assistant can pull user data from those services in order to personalize responses.
Now, Google is rolling out a version of that Personal Intelligence feature directly to AI Mode in Google Search. Users will be able to connect their Gmail and Google Photos accounts to AI Mode, and AI Mode, powered by Google's new Gemini 3 model, will use personal context from those apps in order to provide personalized answers and search results.
In its announcement, Google provided some practical use cases where Personal Intelligence would come in handy for searchers. For example, VP of Product at Google Search, Robby Stein, shared that when shopping for new sneakers, AI Mode was able to use Personal Intelligence to see that he had just made a purchase from a particular brand, and it recommended he check out a new style of sneakers from that same brand.
In another example, Google highlighted how Personal Intelligence in AI Mode could utilize a user's Google Photos account to find vacation photos. Then, it could analyze the photos to recommend an itinerary for the user's next vacation.
Google stressed that none of a user's personal data is used for AI training, and that its usage is limited strictly to answering the specific prompts. The feature is also strictly opt-in.
Over the next few days, users in the U.S. will be able to try out the feature under the Google Labs program, Google's hub for experimental AI features. Much like Personal Intelligence in the Gemini AI assistant, the AI mode version of the feature will be limited to paying Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers.
Furthermore, for now, Personal Intelligence is only available for personal Google accounts and not those using Workspace for business, enterprise, or education accounts.
This Dreame vacuum is nearly 50% off — shop at Amazon and save $450As of Jan. 22, get the Dreame L40s Ultra robot vacuum for 45% off at Amazon, saving you over $450.
SAVE $450.51: As of Jan. 22, get the Dreame L40s Ultra robot vacuum for just $549.98. That saves you $450.51 off its $999.99 list price for 45% savings at Amazon
Robot vacuums are sneaky little tools, moving around the home and sweeping up messes. But not all robot vacuums are created equal, some are far better than others. Luckily, we've tested our way through robot vacuums to find the best one. Currently, the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller tops our list of the best robot vacuums. Unfortunately, that model is out of stock, but there's another great Dreame model on sale to shop now.
The Dreame L40s Ultra robot vacuum debuted in summer 2025, and even though it's one of the brand's newest models, it's already on sale. As of Jan. 22, get the Dreame L40s robot vacuum for just $549.98. That saves you $450.01 off its $999.99 price tag. That's nearly 50% off.
No matter what type of floors you need cleaned, the Dreame L40s Ultra keeps your floors clean. This dual robot vacuum and mop has removable and liftable mop pads so you can navigate over carpets. With Vormax suction, it's a powerful cleaner sweeping up even large debris.
Shop the Dreame L40s Ultra robot vacuum at Amazon for just $549.98 and save $450.01.
Wicked: For Good receives exactly zero Oscar noms'Wicked' sequel was completely snubbed from the 2026 Academy Awards.
The 2026 Oscar nominations are out, and movie watchers are noticing a considerable absence: Wicked: For Good, the sequel to 2024's Wicked.
Sequels usually don't receive the love their predecessors did, but given the noms For Good received for other accolades, it's surprising it was completely shut out of the Academy Awards.
For Good racked up five nominations for this year's Golden Globes, including for the two stars (Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Cynthia Erivo and Best Supporting Actress for Ariana Grande), Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, and two for Best Original Song. But For Good did go home empty-handed at the end of the night.
Also consider that Part One received a whopping 10 Oscar nominations last year across different categories, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, and won two trophies: Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
And sequels are sometimes given their flowers at the Academy Awards — think of Toy Story 3, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Dune: Part Two, to name some recent examples.
So Wicked: For Good's total snub defies something, if not gravity. See the full list of movies that are nominated here.
Want cleaner floors? Grab the Ecovacs Deebot T50 Pro Omni for $300 off.Amazon has the Ecovacs T50 Pro Omni robot vacuum and mop on sale for just $399. That's 43% off and its best price ever.
SAVE $300.99: As of Jan. 22, the Ecovacs Deebot T50 Pro Omni robot vacuum and mop is down to just $399 at Amazon. That's 43% off its list price of $699.99 and its best price on record.
Tons of new robot vacuums were released at CES earlier this month, which means it's high time to sell the "old" but still great models from last year to make way for the new. In other words, it's a great time for bargain shoppers to score a robot vacuum at an epic price.
For instance, the Ecovacs Deebot T50 Pro Omni robot vacuum and mop is on sale at Amazon for just $399 as of Jan. 22. That's 43% or over $300 off its list price of $699.99. That's also its lowest price on record.
This 2025 model not only vacuums your floors with 15,000 Pa suction power, but also auto-lifts to scrub them clean as a mop. Not all mopping robot vacuums can wash and dry their own mop pads — which is a total dealbreaker in our eyes — but luckily, the T50 Pro Omni does everything for you. The 10-in-1 Omni station takes care of all the annoying maintenance, thanks to 167°F hot water mop washing, 113°F hot air drying, auto dustbin emptying, water refilling, dirt detection, and cleaning solution auto-dispensing.
Other must-have features are smart mapping and small obstacle avoidance and the T50 Pro Omni packs both. AIVI 3D 3.0 smart navigation can detect and avoid obstacles with 1mm precision, so it can cruise around your charging cables, dog toys, and furniture with ease. It can even recognize over 100 different household objects to make fewer stops without intervention.
If you're having a hard time deciding which robot vacuum to buy, the Deebot T50 Pro Omni makes a great case for itself — especially when it's 43% off.
