Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that's before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each streamer! SEE ALSO: The 10 best TV shows of 2025 (so far), and where to stream them Don't be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We've got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, and animation, among others. But if you're seeking something brand-new (or just new to streaming), we've got you covered there, too.Mashable's entertainment team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of the week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Whether you're hankering to go back to school with Abbott Elementary, experience one of the most intense horror releases of the year, or dig into a fresh and scandalous new comedy, we've got something just for you.15. Monster: The Ed Gein Story In the latest of Ryan Murphy’s Monster series based on real murderers, Charlie Hunnam takes on 1950s Wisconsin serial killer and grave robber Ed Gein. Watching the trailer for this Netflix project seems like enough, as Hunnam promises to deliver an unsettling performance among Murphy’s characteristically shocking horror elements (based on Gein’s own). It's worth noting previous instalments of the Monster series have faced criticism for factual inaccuracy, especially the release on serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer. — Shannon Connellan, UK EditorStarring: Charlie Hunnam, Suzanna Son, Tom Hollander, Laurie Metcalf, Vicky Krieps, Olivia Williams, Joey Pollari, Tyler Jacob Moore, Charlie Hall, Will Brill, Mimi Kennedy, Robin Weigert, Lesley Manville, Addison RaeHow to watch: Monster: The Ed Gein Story premieres on Netflix Oct. 3.14. Love Is Blind, Season 9 Love Is Blind has so many international iterations by this point, but the original U.S. series is back with a ninth season. The concept remains the same: Strangers looking for love enter an experiment in which they date in pods without seeing each other. If they want to meet IRL, they must propose, committing to further stages of the experiment like a holiday "pre-honeymoon period," moving in together, meeting the family, and getting hitched in the space of about six weeks. You'll start off vaguely interested and end up hooked — just like the experiment.* — S.C.How to watch: Love Is Blind Season 9 premieres on Netflix Oct. 1.13. The Lost Bus Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera lead The Lost Bus, a disaster film that delves into real events among the terror of the 2018 Camp Fire, California's deadliest wildfire. Directed by Paul Greengrass (the Bourne series, Captain Phillips, United 93), the Apple TV+ film follows the true story of school bus driver Kevin McKay (McConaughey), teacher Mary Ludwig (Ferrera), and a class of 22 children, caught amid the deadly flames.But is the film itself worth the watch? As Mashable entertainment editor Kristy Puchko writes in her review, "What might have been a spectacle, channeling real-world heroism into the dynamic derring-do of an American action hero, instead becomes a rocky ride, taking turns into the maudlin one moment and the theatrically threatening the next. The result is a movie that is gripping, but only in gasps."* — S.C.Starring: Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera, Ashlie Atkinson, Yul Vazquez, and Spencer WatsonHow to watch: The Lost Bus premieres on Apple TV+ Oct. 3.12. The Murky Stream Disney+'s Korean historical drama The Murky Stream transports you to Joseon, the 500-year-spanning dynasty which ran from the 14th to the 20th century and features in many a K-drama. The series premiered at this year's Busan International Film Festival in September and will (murkily) hit streaming this week.Former SF9 member and K-drama star Rowoon (The King's Affection, Extraordinary You) leads the series as Si-yul, a young man trying to scrape together a living in the lawless ports along the murky Gyeonggang River. Also striving to make their mark are savvy and ambitious merchant Choi Eun (The Glory star Shin Ye-eun), and aspiring government official Jung Chun (former KNK member and Semantic Error star Park Seo-Ham). — S.C.Starring: Rowoon, Shin Ye-eun, Park Seo-ham, Park Ji-hwan, Choi Gwi-hwa, and Jeon Bae-sooHow to watch: The Murky Stream is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.11. Fight or Flight We're absolutely loving Josh Hartnett's repossession of his thriller faculties, with unsettling runs in Black Mirror, M. Night Shyamalan's Trap, and now, in lighter thrills mode, James Madigan's Fight or Flight. In the action film penned by Brooks McLaren and D. J. Cotrona, a bleach-blonde Hartnett plays Lucas Reyes, a man on a mission to track down a black hat hacker known as "The Ghost." Problem is, the target has a worldwide bounty on their head, and the plane they're suspected of being on is now full of contract killers eager for the gold — including Lucas. So, amid the plane bathroom punch-ups, he might need a little help from Bridgerton's Charithra Chandran as flight attendant Isha.* — S.C.Starring: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Marko Zaror, and Katee SackhoffHow to watch: Fight or Flight is now streaming on Paramount+.10. Hard Hat Riot On May 8, 1970, while the war in Vietnam raged overseas, America was divided. Student protests broke out at college campuses across the nation, pleading for peace. In one such event at Kent State, the National Guard fatally shot four young people, spurring further activism. The student protesters outrage over the war irritated not only President Nixon but also the working class of New York City, whose resentments bubbled over into a violent clash called "the Hard Hat Riot." Documentarian Marc Levin takes audiences back to this tumultuous time through archival footage and interviews with the "hardhats" (construction workers), students, and cops who were there. It's heartbreaking and infuriating to see how they reflect and regret, or just don't. Not only does this short and intense doc illustrate the class divide and political strategy that turned the tide for a Republican president facing growing protests, but it serves as a harrowing reminder of the lingering impact of this era. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment EditorHow to watch: Hard Hat Riot premiered on PBS on Sept. 30.9. The Toxic Avenger Get ready to enjoy the goriest, gloppiest superhero movie of the year from the comfort of your own home. A remake of Troma Entertainment's 1984 cult classic of the same name, The Toxic Avenger introduces down-on-his-luck janitor Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), who finds himself with super strength (and an unfortunate toxic makeover) following a chemical accident. Said accident leads Winston on a bloody rampage for justice and vengeance against the evil bigwigs running his town, played to exquisite evil perfection by the likes of Kevin Bacon and Elijah Wood. What follows is a madcap antidote to superhero fatigue, even if The Toxic Avenger still plays it safer than its predecessor.As I wrote in my review out of 2023's Fantastic Fest, "Once The Toxic Avenger truly gets the ball rolling, you're in for the kind of sheer, stupid insanity you won't find in other major superhero IP. Let the blood and guts rain down — here, there's no such thing as overkill."* — Belen Edwards, Entertainment ReporterStarring: Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood.How to watch: The Toxic Avenger is now available for rental or purchase on Prime Video.8. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's journey as New Zealand's 40th prime minister saw many landmark moments: youngest female government leader at 37, second elected government leader to give birth while in office, first New Zealand PM to march in a Pride parade, the move to ban all new offshore oil and gas exploration and plastic bags — the list goes on. But there's plenty between the major milestones, all of which directors Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe look into in their documentary Prime Minister.Documenting Ardern's five-year tenure as prime minister, the film examines the public and private life of the world leader, including major events such as the 2019 Christchurch massacre, up until her resignation in 2023. — S.C.How to watch: Prime Minister is streaming on HBO Max.7. Tempest A former diplomat plunges into the heart of an international conspiracy in Tempest, Disney+'s new K-drama that blends espionage, thrills, and romance. Korean star Jun Ji-hyun leads as ex-U.N. official Seo Munju, who discovers that a presidential candidate targeted with assassination has been accused of espionage associated with North Korea, among other state secrets. Getting dangerously close to the truth, she finds protection with mysterious mercenary Paik San-ho (Gang Dong-won). But this diplomatic storm goes all the way to the White House, people.Tempest has some huge talent behind it; it's co-directed by Kim Hee-won (Vincenzo, Queen of Tears) and iconic martial arts director Heo Myeong-haeng, and written by Decision to Leave's Chung Seo-kyung. — S.C.Starring: Jun Ji-hyun, Gang Dong-won, John Cho, Lee Mi-sook, Park Hae-joon, Christopher Gorham, Michael Gaston, and Spencer GarrettHow to watch: Tempest is streaming on Hulu.6. The Naked Gun One of the funniest movies of the year is now on streaming. The Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer directs a star-studded cast led by Liam Neeson for a reboot that pays proper tribute to the comedy classic that came before.Playing Frank Drebin Jr. (the son of Leslie Nielsen's iconic cop), Neeson brings his tough-guy grumpiness to outrageously silly punchlines, hilarious slapstick, and a sexy and strange romance with Pamela Anderson, who holds her own with a scat solo that is next-level loony. In my review for Mashable, I cheered, "The Naked Gun is back and as silly and stupid as ever. And I can’t think of higher praise than that."* — K.P.Starring: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand, Danny Huston, Dave Bautista, and Cody RhodesHow to watch: The Naked Gun is now streaming on Paramount+.5. Steve Max Porter's novella Shy is adapted into a movie ensemble drama with Steve. Cillian Murphy stars as the eponymous teacher who's on a first-name basis with his students, rowdy teen boys who are seeking a second chance at a remote reform school in rural England. As I wrote in my review out of TIFF, "Steve offers complicated portraits of the troubled youth in a reform school, and the grown-ups assigned to their care. The resulting film is an emotional roller coaster and a call to action, demanding its audience rethink their views of such schools and those within them." It's a heartwarming film overall. But for potential trigger warnings on sensitive topics, please check out our full review. — K.P. Starring: Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman, Jay Lycurgo, Simbi Ajikawo (Little Simz), and Emily WatsonHow to watch: Steve debuts on Netflix on Oct. 3. 4. Honey Don't! From Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, the dynamic duo that brought us Drive-Away Dolls, comes Honey Don't!, a crackling crime comedy about a small-town detective on a curious case involving a mysterious church. The Substance star Margaret Qualley headlines as private eye Honey O’Donahue.In my review for Mashable, I cheered Coen and Cooke's sexy and silly crime comedy, writing, "Honey Don't! pulls from film noir inspirations, as do several previous Coen Bros movies… and hundreds of other movies before that. But this crusty California setting gives fresh air to tropes like the femme fatale or the double cross. Where Drive-Away Dolls dug into the rich Americana and queer culture to be found in road trip attractions and lesbian bars, Honey Don't! embraces a less-familiar clutch of gnarly characters, sunbaked and deranged." — K.P.Starring: Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, and Chris Evans How to watch: Honey Don't premieres on Peacock on Oct. 3. 3. Chad Powers Glen Powell stars in Hulu's sports comedy Chad Powers, about disgraced college quarterback Russ Holliday who makes one last-ditch effort to play football again. He dons a face full of prosthetic makeup (and a bad wig) and takes the field as "Chad Powers," a goofy, folksy football prodigy. Chaos ensues as Russ attempts to juggle his dual identities… and maybe learns to be a better person along the way.Despite its sporty premise and a healthy dose of jock bro humor, Chad Powers also proves a stealthy love letter to Hollywood prosthetics, adding surprising layers to the football-centric show. Powell shines in his dual role, cementing himself as not just a reliable leading man, but as a comedy star, too. As I wrote in my review, "It's a high-wire performance of duality, but Powell makes it look effortless."Starring: Glen Powell, Steve Zahn, Toby Huss, Perry Mattfeld, Clayne Crawford, Wynn Everett, Frankie A. Rodriguez, Colton Ryan, Keese Wilson, Xavier Mills, and Quentin PlairHow to watch: Chad Powers is now streaming on Hulu.2. Bring Her Back In 2023, filmmaking duo Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou awed critics and horror fans with their haunted hand hit Talk to Me. Now, they return with a gnarly psycho-biddy horror offering starring two-time Academy Award–nominee Sally Hawkins. The result is a nail-biting film that might have you gagging, covering your eyes, or experiencing some hard-won catharsis. Featured Video For You Say More: Danny and Michael Philippou on 'Bring Her Back' The Philippou brothers probe into grief once again, exploring how this unmooring feeling can make the world around us feel unreal, hostile, and strange. In Bring Her Back, Hawkins stars as a foster mom named Laura, who takes in young orphans like Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), and siblings Piper (Sora Wong) and Andy (Billy Barratt). But despite Laura's chipper demeanor, 17-year-old Andy realizes something is off in her remote forest home. But can he stop the hell that's coming?In my review for Mashable, I wrote, "Bring Her Back is extraordinary. For those who found Talk to Me sensationally scary, this follow-up will thrill with its deeply deranged tale of heartache and body horror. But the Philippous went deeper, presenting a character-driven drama with flares of psycho-biddy and religious horror. That heady combination not only makes for a satisfyingly scary as hell movie, but also a profound one." — K.P.Starring: Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips, and Sally-Anne UptonHow to watch: Bring Her Back debuts on HBO Max Oct. 3.1. Abbott Elementary, Season 5 School is back in session at Abbott Elementary, the beloved sitcom from Emmy winner Quinta Brunson. Season 4 brought in a lot of change, further exploring the relationship between Janine (Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams), and also firing (and rehiring) Ava (Janelle James). What could possibly be in store for the staff at Abbott this season? Apparently a lot, as the description for the Season 5 premiere promises "new faces and big changes on the horizon." We can't wait to get back in the classroom to figure out what that could mean. — B.E.Starring: Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and William Stanford DavisHow to watch: Abbott Elementary Season 5 airs on ABC Oct. 1 before streaming on Hulu and Disney+ Oct. 2.(*) denotes a blurb has come from a prior list.

Something odd has happened to Apple’s iPhone lineup. For years, the company’s “Pro” iPhones were not only the most capable phones bearing an Apple logo, but also the most desirable. Now, with the introduction of iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 Pro Max feels different. It’s still the best phone Apple sells, and possibly the best phone you can buy, period. But the iPhone Air’s slim profile and feather-light weight have, in a way, exposed the iPhone 17 Pro Max as the pickup truck you use for work, rather than the sports car Apple wants it to be. (And like your work truck, it's also prone to scratching.)I’ve spent about a week with the new iPhone 17 Pro Max (Apple also sent me the iPhone 17 Pro, but I'm still fully testing that one), and I was thrilled with the phone’s long battery life, excellent cameras, and, simply, the fact that this is the iPhone that has it all. It’s the right phone for me, the tech nerd. But I can’t escape the fact that the iPhone Air is, well, prettier. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: Price and specs Is it me, or should the Apple logo be a little higher? Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable The new Apple iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max have a new chip, larger battery, improved cameras, and more storage — a pretty thorough set of improvements across the board. The difference between the two phones are only in size, weight, and battery life, which is rated as lasting roughly 20% longer on the Pro Max. Oh, and you can only get the iPhone 17 Pro Max with 2TB of storage space; the iPhone 17 Pro only goes up to 1TB. Here are the key specs for the iPhone 17 Pro Max:Display: 6.9-inch, Super Retina XDR display with 120Hz refresh rateDesign: Aluminum unibody with Ceramic Shield on front and backRear cameras: 48 megapixel triple rear camera array with 8x optical-quality zoomFront camera: 18-megapixel selfie cameraProcessor: Apple A19 Pro chip with a 6-core CPU, 6-core GPU, and 16-core Neural EngineStorage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TBBattery life: Up to 39 hours of video playback (33 hours for the iPhone 17 Pro)Fast charging: Up to 50 percent of charge in 20 minutes with a 40W adapter or higherSoftware: iOS 26Special features: 3,000 nit brightness, vapor chamber cooling systemAs for the price, I don't have a lot of good news. The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199, both a hundred bucks more than last year's Pro models. At least the Pro now starts with 256GB of storage instead of only 128GB. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: Design and display Apple's wallpapers game hasn't been great lately, but iOS 26 offers deep customization options, so you can create your own perfect look. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable The new Pro models have an entirely new design compared to the previous models. The body is made of aluminum instead of titanium, forgoing some glamour but shedding weight and improving thermal conductivity. The edges of the phone are now pleasantly soft to the touch, and the side buttons are all in the right place, except for the Camera Control button, which I kept pressing by accident until I fully disabled it from the Settings (the Camera Control button was introduced with the previous model; I didn’t like it then, either). The three-piece camera system is now placed on an elongated plateau on the back, with a rectangular surface area below, which has a slightly lighter color than the rest of the phone. The TechWoven case has a techy look that fits the new Pro models well. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable The way this all ties together depends a lot on the color. The funky orange is an eye-catcher, and it fits the new design well, even giving it a sort of a heavy machinery feel. Apple sent me a Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the Pro in Silver, and I’m not crazy about either. The Silver accentuates the lighter surface area on the back too much, and it looks like something should be there but isn’t. Deep Blue is more subdued and quite nice in itself, but I still didn’t mind placing it in the new TechWoven case which covers the odd rectangle on the back. A quick word on TechWoven: I like it. It feels like a more robust take on FineWoven and that’s exactly what was required, given FineWoven’s propensity to wear down rapidly after a few months of use. The aesthetic fits the Pro models, though it’s not ideal for the gentle figure of the iPhone Air. There’s a reason why a lot of people choose the green TechWoven case with the orange iPhone 17 Pro; it looks like something that came out of a video game. A word of warning: As many users have noticed, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro max are prone to scratching, so don't forget to invest in an iPhone 17 Pro Max case. I'm not crazy about the Camera Control button, but I dig the smooth edges and overall feel of the aluminum body. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable The 6.9-inch display hasn’t changed much from the previous generation, but it’s now more resistant to cracks and scratches, thanks to the new Ceramic Shield 2. It also has higher peak brightness (3,000 vs. 2,000 nits on the previous model) and anti-reflective coating, which do make a noticeable difference in sunlight. No matter what you think of the design, there’s no question that the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a big, heavy phone (this is particularly apparent if you’ve ever held the iPhone Air). With the TechWoven case on and my Apple Wallet magnetically attached to the back, this thing is a unit. While I do think a case is a good idea, I’ll probably ditch it try my luck without it, because the added heft was just too much for me. The iPhone 17 Pro phones look like brutes next to the elegant iPhone Air. Credit: CNET Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: Performance and AIMy daily driver prior to switching to the 17 Pro Max was Apple’s “affordable” model, the iPhone 16e. Even though these phones are separated by just one generation of Apple silicon, the iPhone 17 Pro Max felt a lot faster and a lot smoother, thanks to the new, A19 chip inside, and the 120Hz ProMotion display. The battery lasted longer, the cameras were vastly better; frankly, it was night and day. Don’t let anyone tell you that phones don’t improve much these days; it’s not true. You can spec the Pro with up to 2TB of storage, which I think makes sense exclusively for video creators. I’ve tested the variant with 1TB, but I could easily make do with half as much. Unsurprisingly, GeekBench results place this phone at the top of the heap. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable When Apple introduced iOS 26 and its new Liquid Glass user interface, I installed the first developer beta and was instantly worried that this new look slows down the phone too much. I’m happy to say that Apple managed to polish this to the point that I’ve experienced no obvious slowdowns with the latest version of iOS 26 installed on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. I love the look, and I love the fact that you can customize it to be as “liquidy” as you prefer. Even when I turned on all of the visual pizzaz, the phone was still very fast. Everyday tasks such as texting, browsing, and watching videos won’t really push this phone to the limit. But playing a game for several hours will run the chips inside hot. This is why Apple added a vapor chamber cooling system to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max which - combined with the aluminum case - should make the phone a lot cooler while gaming. My game of choice on a phone is PUBG, and after an hour of (very smooth) gaming, the iPhone did get slightly hot, but never to the point that it became a problem. I've liquified the UI to the max and the phone was still very fast. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Apple's take on AI is still not the best. Siri is supposed to be smarter (mostly through integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT), but ask about something more complex than the weather and you'll often get the old "I didn't get that, could you try again" response. Other features such as Image Playground are neat, but a far cry from the stuff you can do with freely (or cheaply) available tools online. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: The cameras are amazingThe triple 48-megapixel camera system on this phone is the best I’ve ever tried. The main sensor captures rich and detailed photos. Low light photography is so good that you can snap a shot in near-total darkness and get a photo that looks like it was taken during the day. Colors are accurate, the photo is sharp and detailed. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Zoom is particularly good, and it’s not just a parlor trick. If you snap a photo at 1x and zoom in digitally, you won’t be nowhere near the amount of detail that you can get with 2x, 4x, or 8x zoom. On the flip side, the photo quality is quite consistent up to 4x zoom, and even at 8x zoom (which lowers the photo resolution to 12 megapixels) the quality is pretty great. This means that you should use the zoom feature on this phone, and use it often. Left: Incredibly sharp and detailed at 2x magnification. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Right: At 8x zoom, the photo is a little blurrier and the pixel count is lower. But it's still pretty amazing given how far I was from the subject. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable But perhaps the best thing about this camera system is how seamlessly it all ties together. Most new Android phones have all these capabilities (and more) on paper, but you’ll get mixed results from photo to photo. On the iPhone 17 Pro Max, most of the time you can just snap photos and not worry about time of day or the zoom level you’re using, it all ends up looking great. This photo was taken right after sundown, but it looks a lot brighter than that. The blurriness in the details and some noise when zoomed in reveals that the sensor was scrambling to get more light. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable The only slightly disappointing element of the rear camera is the ultra-wide sensor, despite the fact that it also has a 48-megapixel resolution. If you go wide, the image will flatten, you’ll lose focus and a considerable amount of detail. It’s still a decent ultra-wide photo, but you should use the main sensor whenever possible. Left: At 1x, you can zoom in and read the sign on the building. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Right: At 0.5x, the ultra-wide image is a lot blurrier, and lots of details are lost. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Videos are equally great. Online, you’ll find videos showcasing the power of the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s camera by zooming in at musicians from far away until you almost get a decent first-row view. The fact that you can get a steady video like this the low-light environment of a concert is incredibly impressive. I've done a similar demonstration in daylight, going from max zoom to 1x magnification; check it out below. Via Giphy Selfies are pretty great, with Apple adding a new, very cool trick of being able to switch from portrait to landscape. Very useful when taking selfies of a group. Look, a landscape selfie! Pity I have no friends to take selfies with :(. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: Battery lifeBattery life was hard to test because it lasted way longer than I expected. In my first couple of days of usage, I kept forgetting about charging, simply because the phone always had enough battery life left. Then I started logging the data, and the phone regularly had about 50% charge after a full day’s use. Coming up from iPhone 16e, which already has excellent battery life, this is a big improvement. It’s a phone that I can forget to charge twice and still have some juice left on the third day. In fact, I don’t think I need more battery life than what the iPhone 17 Pro Max offers. Sure, more is always better, but this is finally a phone that will last you through that three-leg, two-continent flight you take once in a lifetime. It also charges fast. Apple says you can get a 50% charge in about 20 minutes with a fast charger. I’ve charged it using my MacBook’s charger and got from 10 to 60% in 25 minutes. Is the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max worth it? The new iPhone 17 Pro Max is great, but it's big and heavy. Perhaps the smaller Pro model is a better choice for most people. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable The 17 Pro Max is the best iPhone, period. It has a large, beautiful display, excellent cameras, and long battery life. If you can afford it, buy it. The only potential drawbacks worth considering are the size and the weight. It’s a big, heavy phone, and if you slap on a case (which, again, you probably should), it’s going to be even heavier. The iPhone 17 Pro has almost exactly the same specs, but it’s smaller and lighter, making it a better fit for some people. As for the iPhone Air, it’s the slimmest, nicest-looking, sexiest phone in the new lineup, but its camera system is leagues behind the one on the Pro models. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max $1,199.99 at T-Mobile See It

Richard Linklater is having a very busy 2025.The Boyhood and Before Sunrise director has not one but two projects on the film festival circuit. Both are playing the New York Film Festival, and both pay tribute to real-life artists of song and screen.Blue Moon, the first of the pair to hit theaters, is a biopic of American lyricist Lorenz Hart, the former creative partner of Richard Rodgers. Linklater's second film of the year, Nouvelle Vague, follows suit, paying loving tribute to the French New Wave movement and to Jean-Luc Godard's debut feature, Breathless (À bout de souffle). Linklater's reverence for Breathless and the entire French New Wave are evident in each frame. But can that love sometimes get in Nouvelle Vague's own way?What is Nouvelle Vague about? Guillaume Marbeck and Aubry Dullin in "Nouvelle Vague." Credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez / Courtesy of Netflix The year is 1959, the place is Paris, and the French New Wave movement is in full swing. Cahiers du Cinéma film critics like François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard) and Claude Chabrol (Antoine Besson) have made their directorial debuts, focusing on auteur-driven movies above all else. One of their fellow critics, Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck), is champing at the bit to make his first feature film. After all, in his own words, the only way to critique a movie is to make one yourself.Godard finally gets the chance with Breathless, the story of criminal Michel Poiccard and Patricia, the American woman he loves. While the film became one of the French New Wave's most influential works, its production was fairly chaotic. Working on a low budget, and filming over just 23 days (Nouvelle Vague cuts that number to 20), Godard basically improvised the film as he went, much to the consternation of producer Georges de Beauregard (Bruno Dreyfürst) and American star Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch). Linklater reimagines that chaos in its entirety, charting the film's journey from development to post-production.Nouvelle Vague formally pays tribute to the French New Wave, but isn't an outright copy. Matthieu Penchinat, Guillaume Marbeck, Aubry Dullin, and Zoey Deutch in "Nouvelle Vague." Credit: Courtesy of Netflix In order to submerge audiences in the world of the French New Wave, Linklater adopts some elements of its style. Told almost entirely in French, Nouvelle Vague is shot in black and white with a 4:3 ratio, complete with film grain to give it an older feel.However, Linklater doesn't totally ape the filmmaking techniques Godard pioneered during the making of Breathless, such as jump cuts. Instead, he focuses more on clueing the audience into how Godard came to these techniques. For the guerilla-style shooting on the streets of Paris, Linklater introduces the false mail cart that hid Breathless' handheld camera, along with cinematographer Raoul Coutard (Matthieu Penchinat). For Breathless' long walk-and-talk sequences, Linklater dutifully follows stars Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) as they stroll the Champs-Élysées. His prime focus here isn't Godard's filming, but rather his plan to dub over whatever Seberg and Belmondo are saying in post. Instead of speaking in character, the two actors wonder aloud just what the rest of the shoot has in store for them. SEE ALSO: 'Blue Moon' review: Andrew Scott burns, Ethan Hawke clowns in grating biopic The focus on process propels Nouvelle Vague, offering up a loving look at the ups and downs of the film's production. But the film's true strengths lie not in Linklater's take on Godard's style, but rather in Linklater's own strength as the master of the hangout movie. Yes, watching Godard choreograph a scene in real time is compelling. But if you've seen Breathless, you've already seen these scenes. You know how they play out!Instead, what's more compelling is the downtime between filming: the crew hanging out in a café, Seberg teaching Belmondo American dance moves, Godard playing pinball. These scenes allow us to understand the characters better as people, as opposed to the pillars of the French New Wave they'd become. Marbeck's Godard is the standout here. Eyes perpetually hidden behind sunglasses and a lit cigarette always at his lips, Marbeck plays Godard as part genius, part petulant child. As a result, Nouvelle Vague seems both reverent of and humored by Godard's many, many, many philosophical tirades on the subject of filmmaking. The mix lets Linklater bring a lightness to Nouvelle Vague's numerous production scenes, while also paying respect to the man who made Breathless possible.At times, Linklater's reverence can overpower Nouvelle Vague. Aubry Dullin and Zoey Deutch in "Nouvelle Vague." Credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez / Courtesy of Netflix Occasionally, though, the reverence for Breathless can take over Nouvelle Vague, for the worse. Linklater and screenwriters Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo, whose script Michèle Halberstadt and Laetitia Masson adapted into French, dutifully catalog the entire 20-day Breathless shoot. They hit major beats quickly. Here's how Godard filmed Michel's shootout with a policeman! Here's how he got the shot of the Paris streetlamps turning on behind Michel!Yet after a while, these brief vignettes can begin to seem like Nouvelle Vague going through the motions, as if Linklater has a checklist of every piece of Breathless behind-the-scenes trivia he needs to account for. At these points, Nouvelle Vague loses the improvisational sense of play that its own muse strove so hard for while shooting Breathless.Overall, though, Nouvelle Vague proves a sweet tribute to an influential film movement, one that doesn't take itself too seriously. If you're a French New Wave fan, come for the Breathless tributes, but stay for the hangout vibes.Nouvelle Vague was reviewed out of the New York Film Festival. Nouvelle Vague hits select theaters Oct. 31 before coming to Netflix Nov. 14.

TL;DR: Stop fumbling with cables — this wireless adapter adds CarPlay, Android Auto, YouTube, and Netflix to your car for $79.97.If your daily drive feels a little too routine, this gadget might be the upgrade you’ve been waiting for. The Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Wireless Adapter takes your in-car experience to the next level. No wires, no fuss — just smooth connections and built-in entertainment options to keep you (and your passengers) happy.It runs on Qualcomm’s QCM2290 chipset with Android 11.0 for fast, reliable performance. Translation: whether you’re running CarPlay, Android Auto, or kicking back with apps like YouTube and Netflix, everything feels seamless. And with 16GB of built-in storage, plus TF card support (card not included), you can even keep offline videos ready for the road.Why it’s a smart buy:Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto – Ditch the cable and enjoy hands-free navigation, calls, and apps.Streaming support – Watch YouTube, Netflix, and more (ideal for passengers, not while driving).Rock-solid connectivity – Dual Bluetooth and 2.4G/5G Wi-Fi for fast, stable performance.Broad compatibility – Works with 800+ car models from 2016 and up.Convenience built in – Includes a USB-A to USB-A Tee cable for flexible setup.So, whether you’re tackling the morning commute or gearing up for a road trip, this adapter makes sure your car feels as connected and entertaining as your phone.Get this Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Wireless Adapter while it’s on sale for $79.97 (MSRP $149.99) with free shipping through Oct. 12.StackSocial prices subject to change. Opens in a new window Credit: StackCommerce Apple CarPlay & Android Auto Wireless Adapter with Streaming Service Support (2024 Edition) $79.97 $149.99 Save $70.02 Get Deal

TL;DR: AdGuard blocks ads, trackers, and unsafe sites on up to nine devices for life — get the Family Plan for just $15.97 (MSRP $169.99) with code FAMPLAN until October 12.The internet can be a noisy, cluttered place — full of flashing banners, autoplay videos, and data-hungry trackers. The AdGuard Family Plan makes that chaos disappear. With lifetime access for up to nine devices, you can block intrusive ads, protect your privacy, and keep your kids safe online, all for just $15.97 when you use promo code FAMPLAN until October 12.AdGuard does more than your average ad blocker. Its advanced filtering wipes out pop-ups, banners, and video ads, giving you faster, cleaner browsing across apps and websites. Behind the scenes, it shields your data from trackers and phishing attempts, so you’re not being watched or profiled while you scroll, shop, or stream. For families, AdGuard adds another layer of peace of mind — parental controls let you restrict adult or unsafe content, creating a safer digital space for kids to learn and play.This subscription covers both desktop and mobile, with support for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, so everyone in the household can enjoy the benefits. And because it’s a lifetime license, you’ll get continuous updates and improvements without ever paying again. It’s not a VPN — it’s a powerful tool designed specifically for ad blocking, privacy, and security.With strong reviews from Trustpilot, G2, and Capterra, AdGuard has proven itself as one of the most reliable ad-blocking and privacy tools on the market. It’s a simple, affordable way to take back control of your browsing experience and keep your family’s devices safe.Get this lifetime subscription to an AdGuard Family Plan today for only $15.97 with code FAMPLAN through October 12.StackSocial prices subject to change. Opens in a new window Credit: AdGuard AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime Subscription $15.97 $169.99 Save $154.02 Get Deal

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. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT game Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025:AcrossWhoopi in "Sister Act," either way you look at itThe answer is Nun.Resting onThe answer is ATop.Nancy Pelosi's title from 2019 to ’23, either way you look at itThe answer is Madam.Science fiction award won by N.K. Jemisin three years in a rowThe answer is Hugo. Tailor's edgeThe answer is Hem.DownSetting for the war novels "The Sympathizer" and "The Women," informallyThe answer is Nam.Six-sided stateThe answer is Utah."Obviously!"The answer is No Duh.Website partThe answer is Page.Lorelai Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls," either way you look at itThe answer is Mom.If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more. Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games 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 yesterday's Mini Crossword.

Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, prominent primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian, has died. Announced by the Jane Goodall Institute on Wednesday, Goodall passed in her sleep at 91. Tributes have poured in on social media, with many remembering the activist for her pioneering research, unwavering compassion, and tireless efforts to protect our planet. SEE ALSO: Jane Goodall’s golden rule about how to change the world Born 1934 in London, England, Goodall's love of animals was initially sparked by Dr. Dolittle and Tarzan novels in her childhood. She began studying primates in her early 20s, travelling to Africa in pursuit of her passion for animals, and was taken under the wing of palaeontologist Dr. Louis Leakey. She thus became the first of the "Trimates," a group of three women who studied primates under Leakey's mentorship.It was in 1960 that Goodall made a groundbreaking discovery, observing a chimpanzee use long blades of grass to collect and eat insects out of a mound. Until then, it had been widely accepted that the creation and use of tools was solely a human trait. "I had been told from school onwards that the best definition of a human being was man the tool-maker — yet I had just watched a chimp tool-maker in action," Goodall said 50 years later. "I remember that day as vividly as if it was yesterday."Goodall's revelation famously led Leakey to declare, "Now we must redefine 'tool,' redefine 'man,' or accept chimpanzees as human." Credit: CBS via Getty Images In addition to tool use, Goodall also observed chimpanzees displaying personalities and emotions, traits which were also previously seen as exclusive to humans. This included behaviour such as hugging, kissing, fighting, and even using weapons. She further discovered that chimpanzees are omnivorous rather than vegetarian as was once believed. Goodall's discoveries had major repercussions, upending the scientific consensus at the time and eventually revolutionising the way the world understands both primates and humanity itself.Though Goodall had not yet gotten a bachelor's degree, Leakey arranged for her to pursue a PhD in ethnology, earning her legitimacy in academic circles and helping further her research. Continuing her work, Goodall eventually established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977. This non-profit organisation takes a holistic approach to conservation, not only protecting animals and their habitats, but educating people and supporting local communities.Goodall received numerous honours and awards for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Templeton Prize, and Kyoto Prize. She was also appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, as well as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.Continuing her decades of work even up until her death, Goodall had been scheduled to speak in Los Angeles this Friday, still encouraging and inspiring others to care for the planet.Goodall is survived by her sister Judy Waters, son Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick, and three grandchildren Merlin, Angel, and Nick."What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make," Goodall once said. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Happy Tuesday and welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.Today's games feature difficulty levels that dial up the challenge quickly, but we have all the tips you need to navigate them. 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.How to play PipsIf 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. SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for October 1, 2025 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. SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for October 1, 2025 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 2 PipsLess Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 0-2, placed horizontally.Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 0-2, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed vertically.Number (1): Everything in this space must add to 1. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically.Equal (3): Everything in this green space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally.Number (2): Everything in this space must add to 1. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically.Number (12): Everything in this space must add to 12. The answer is 1-6, placed horizontally.Medium difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 2 PipsGreater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally.Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally; 0-2, placed vertically; 4-1, placed horizontally.Number (1): Everything in this space must add to 1. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally.Number (2): Everything in this space must add to 2. The answer is 0-2, placed vertically; 0-1, placed vertically.Number (4): Everything in this space must add to 4. The answer is 0-1, placed vertically; 3-1, placed vertically.Hard difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 2 PipsNumber (4): Everything in this space must add to 4. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally.Number (3): Everything in this orange space must add to 3. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically; 5-2, placed vertically.Number (3): Everything in this green space must add to 3. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically; 1-0, placed vertically.Number (3): Everything in this light blue space must add to 3. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally; 1-0, placed vertically.Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally.Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically.Equal (5): Everything in this red space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 4-5, placed vertically; 5-5, placed vertically.Number (4): Everything in this orange space must add to 4. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically.Less Than (3): Everything in this purple space must be less than 3. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically.Equal (3): Everything in this red space must be equal to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed vertically; 3-1, placed horizontally.Number (0): Everything in this space must add to 0. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically.Number (1): Everything in this dark blue space must add to 1. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically; 1-1, placed vertically.Number (1): Everything in this purple space must add to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.Number (12): Everything in this space must add to 12. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 6-1, placed horizontally.Less Than (2): Everything in this purple space must be less than 2. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally.Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 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.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition requires knowledge of the defending World Series champs.As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans. Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media. SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categoriesWant a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:Yellow: Seeing ghostsGreen: Needs these for a new contractBlue: BallparksPurple: Could be a QB Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categoriesNeed a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:Yellow: Game wearGreen: Said during curlingBlue: Boys of summerPurple: New shoes/placesLooking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.Drumroll, please!The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #374 is...What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?Game wear - JERSEY, KIT, SWEATER, UNIFORMSaid during curling - BONSPIEL, BROOM, SHEET, STONEBoys of summer - BETTS, FREEMAN, PAGES, SNELLNew shoes/places - BALANCE, ENGLAND, ORLEANS, YORKDon't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

The NYT Connections puzzle today shouldn't be hard to solve if you're a pet owner.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. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media. SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for September 2, 2025 Here's a hint for today's Connections categoriesWant a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:Yellow: Said to a petGreen: EquitableBlue: PositionedPurple: Popular kids' movies Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categoriesNeed a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:Yellow: Dog commandsGreen: DeservedBlue: SituatedPurple: Best animated feature Oscar winnersLooking 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 #844 is...What is the answer to Connections todayDog commands: COME, DOWN, HEEL, STAYDeserved: DUE, FAIR, JUST, RIGHTSituated: LEFT, PLACED, PUT, SETBest animated feature Oscar winners: BRAVE, FLOW, FROZEN, UPDon'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. SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for September 29, 2025 Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints will help you understand the flavor of today's puzzle.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. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable 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.Today's NYT Strands puzzle should be easy to solve, provided that you're extremely careful. SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for September 29, 2025 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 29, 2025 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: The slightest touch...The words are related to airiness. Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explainedThese words describe flimsy things.NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.NYT Strands spangram answer todayToday's spangram is Handle With Care. Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for October 2FragileDelicateDaintyHandle With CareGossamerWispyLooking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer features a couple things that might trip people up regardless of their favorite starting word.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.Today's NYT Wordle puzzle shouldn't be difficult to solve if you're good with measurements. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 29, 2025 Where did Wordle come from?Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.What's the best Wordle starting word?The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N. What happened to the Wordle archive?The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers. Is Wordle getting harder?It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though. SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for September 29, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:An object's thickness.Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?There are no recurring letters.Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...Today's Wordle starts with the letter W. SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.Drumroll please!The solution to today's Wordle is...WIDTHDon'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. SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for September 2, 2025 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.

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. SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hintA dulled color. SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answerMATTEHurdle Word 2 hintAn idiot. SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for August 4, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 AnswerMORON Hurdle Word 3 hintTo inflict. SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for August 4 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for August 4, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answerWREAKHurdle Word 4 hintSpit, grit and determination SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for August 4 Hurdle Word 4 answerMOXIEFinal Hurdle hintA dance club. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answerDISCOIf you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Never mind the debate over whether OpenAI's GPT-5 release is disappointing, or whether it can revitalize the failing world of AI Agents. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has already moved on — to releasing Sora 2, the next generation of its text-to-video engine. And to Sora by OpenAI, a new iPhone app that shot to #1 in the App Store Wednesday. Not too shabby, especially considering access to the Sora app is still invite only. "Explore, play, and share your imagination in a community built for experimentation," the App Store description for Sora by OpenAI says. Essentially, OpenAI is about to enter the social media business the same way Facebook did — with a velvet rope around the service, and a cutting-edge feed within. OpenAI also highlighted how easy it is to insert yourself, your friends, and, well, deepfakes of just about anyone you want (including Altman, it turns out) in Sora's shortform videos. But OpenAI is a little late to the social AI video feed app game. Since Character.AI launched Feed, which it called "the world's first AI-native social feed" in August, AI makers have begun what you might call the new pivot to video. Meta's Vibes arrived on the Meta AI app in September: Like Feed, like Sora, it's an endless scroll of shortform videos, under 10 seconds, from a creator community. (Midjourney has a similar AI video web feed, though no Midjourney smartphone app has dropped yet.) In all cases you're invited to remix these videos and add your own. You're not invited to ask how sustainable these endless-scroll services are, given the still untold amounts of energy that every AI video creation eats. SEE ALSO: How much is AI hurting the planet? Big tech won't tell us. Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand put a spin on Feed worthy of Altman's brightest predictions: "The boundary between creator and consumer is disappearing," he wrote. Come for a traditional social media "lean-back experience," stay to create a "new epic adventure," Anand added. "Doomscrolling is dead. We're ushering in the future of AI-powered entertainment." That's one way of putting it. Another is to say these companies are competing to build the most popular "infinite slop machine," to use one description of Meta Vibes. It isn't enough that social media services like Facebook are filled with AI-generated art of dubious quality; now we're about to be inundated with so much AI video slop they'll need apps of their own to contain the flow. Which is the one AI video feed to rule them all?Oceans of AI slop, ironically, could help our real-world oceans to rise. Video feeds like Feed, Sora, Vibes, and Midjourney require more than their fair share of data center usage — and for many data centers around the world, that means burning carbon in one form or another. That's why once-green tech giants like Google and Microsoft are quietly walking back their commitments to renewable energy. Are we doomed to a different kind of doomscrolling, then? One where multiple endless-scroll feeds are lighting up our brains and stroking our egos by sticking virtual versions of us in them?There is hope, however, that we're simply going through the part of the tech product cycle known as the Cambrian Explosion. The original Cambrian Explosion, half a billion years ago, was a relatively tiny million-year chunk of evolutionary time. During that period, most of the major forms of life on Earth that we know today emerged — in large part because they had eyes to see. It was followed by an extinction event — a crash in the levels of atmospheric oxygen that ended many species. Likewise, we've seen this movie before in the tech world, where one product sucks all the oxygen out of the room. There was a Cambrian Explosion of personal computer operating systems in the early 1980s. Microsoft Windows won in the early 1990s. Apple's MacOS barely survived, even though it was widely judged to be better-designed software. Users simply wanted what everyone else was using. (Even now, MacOS barely has a 15 percent market share; Apple got where it is now by dominating the smartphone market instead.) The proliferation of search engines in the 1990s — remember Alta Vista and Ask Jeeves? — very quickly gave way to Google standing alone in the 2000s. Why? Because users simply wanted the search engine with the best secret sauce, which turned out to be PageRank.We've also seen this movie in the social media world itself. Friendster and MySpace were part of the Cambrian Explosion of the 2000s; when the smoke cleared in 2010, Facebook was on top. The network effect kicked in. You were on Facebook because everyone else was on Facebook. It's way too soon to judge which AI video feed will win the coming war, and not just because barely anyone can use the Sora app yet. OpenAI, Character.AI, Meta, or Midjourney are all taking slightly different approaches to video presentation and remixing, with different LLMs underpinning them. The one with the better technology may not be the same one that wins all the users. You can have the best AI video in the world on Sora, for example, but if the world is flocking to Vibes, no one's going to see it. But tech history — not to mention the financial cost of data center usage, which is why OpenAI has burned through more than $250 million in operating costs this year already — tells us this Cambrian Explosion won't last long. Collectively, eventually, users will choose one Infinite Slop Machine to rule them all. And for the sake of the planet, and our survival on it, we'd better choose sooner rather than later.

Oh hi! Welcome to another Taylor Swift album cycle. The singer is set to drop her highly anticipated twelfth studio project, The Life of a Showgirl, this Friday, Oct. 3 at 12 a.m. ET.As promo for TS12 reaches a fever pitch, being a card-carrying Swiftie entails nonstop sleuthing for teasers about her unreleased songs, per tradition. I personally won't pretend to know what's going on with all of the Easter eggs and lyric puzzles trickling out this week. (That's a job for someone with triple my daily screen time.) But allow me to clue you in on all of the limited-time TLOAS merch drops, shimmery orange product releases, exclusive deals, and launch events tied to Showgirl's debut — official and otherwise — that you might have missed.Wait, why orange?Whoever said orange is the new pink had the gift of foresight. Swift assigns a specific color theme to represent each of her albums' eras as a means of vibe-setting and savvy marketing. For TLOAS, she picked a peppy shade of glittery tangerine with mint-green accents.Swift explained her choice of hue on the Aug. 13 episode of her fiancé Travis Kelce's podcast, New Heights, when she announced TLOAS and revealed its main vinyl variant — a Portofino Orange Glitter pressing. “[Orange] feels like kind of energetically how my life has felt," she said. "And this album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this [Eras] Tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant.” SEE ALSO: Did Taylor Swift influence the new iPhone color? Fans seem to think so. Swift first referenced her orange era on the very last stop of her record-breaking Eras Tour in December 2024, when she exited the stage through a pumpkin-colored door instead of descending on an elevator lift like usual. That just shows the level of forethought Swift puts into every single marketing decision.All the TLOAS vinyl and CD variants you can still buy Credit: Taylor Nation LLC / Target Speaking of vinyl: The life of a physical media collector is not a frugal or stressless one. Swift has released 23 different hard copies of TLOAS so far, including eight vinyl variants, 14 CDs (counting box sets and signed copies), and one cassette tape. Many were available in limited quantities and sold out quickly.At the time of writing, the primary Portofino Orange Glitter vinyl, a CD/poster bundle, a CD box set with a crewneck sweatshirt, and the cassette tape were still up for preorder through Swift's official online store. The orange vinyl and CD/poster bundle are also available through Amazon and Target at slight markups.Target is carrying a couple of exclusive versions of TLOAS, including three CD/poster bundles with alternate covers and a "The Crowd is Your King" edition vinyl variant pressed in Summertime Spritz Pink Shimmer. The CDs were still in stock online when I last checked, but preorders of the vinyl are sold out. You might be able to snag it in person on Friday: About 500 Target stores across the country will sell it at midnight release parties (while supplies last). Visit Target's website to find a participating store near you. Shop "The Life of a Showgirl" on vinyl, CD, and cassette: "The Life of a Showgirl" Sweat and Vanilla Perfume Portofino Orange Glitter Vinyl $29.99 Pre-Order Here "The Life of a Showgirl" Sweat and Vanilla Perfume CD with Poster $12.99 Pre-Order Here "The Life of a Showgirl" Crewneck Sweatshirt Box Set $65 Pre-Order Here "The Life of a Showgirl" Sweat and Vanilla Perfume Cassette $19.99 Pre-Order Here "The Life of a Showgirl" The Crowd is Your King Summertime Spritz Pink Shimmer Vinyl $34.99 Learn More "The Life of a Showgirl" It's Beautiful CD with Poster $14.99 Pre-Order Here "The Life of a Showgirl" It's Frightening CD with Poster $19.99 Pre-Order Here "The Life of a Showgirl" It's Rapturous CD with Poster $19.99 Pre-Order Here Stay tuned for more merchThe only official TLOAS merch you can currently buy is a crewneck sweatshirt featuring its cover art, which comes as part of the aforementioned CD box set. Swift's online store sold another box set with a sparkly orange cardigan for $70 in mid-September, but it's no longer available.Swift's past merch collections have included apparel, jewelry, drinkware, blankets, pins, guitars, guitar picks, candles, stickers, phone cases, and journals, so a much larger TLOAS drop is virtually inevitable. Some fans are convinced that Spotify's TLOAS pop-up event in New York City this week teased some upcoming items: A TS-branded vinyl case, robe, duffle bag, slippers, and megaphone ornament were spotted inside the activation. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. If you're looking for more TLOAS apparel and gifts in the meantime, you'll find tons of unsanctioned options on Etsy — and on several brands' social media feeds.Brands are in their Showgirl eraBrands have "trendjacked" Swift's TLOAS rollout with orange-drenched memes, orange-themed deals, and limited-edition releases of orange products over the past month. (Trendjacking is a marketing term that effectively means "interpolating a viral trend.") None of the drops I've spotted are licensed collabs, but they wink-wink at a Showgirl connection in their titles and product descriptions.KitchenAid's Tangerine Twinkle Stand MixerKitchenAid shared a mockup of a glittery orange stand mixer on its Instagram page the day of the TLOAS announcement. The post was such a hit with fans that the company decided to make it real. Only 12 of them up for grabs, and you can win one by entering KitchenAid's "Showbiz Sweepstakes" at some point before Oct. 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Opens in a new window Credit: KitchenAid Limited-Edition KitchenAid Tangerine Twinkle Stand Mixer Enter to win through Oct. 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET Learn More OtterBox's Encore phone caseOtterBox calls the Symmetry Series Encore "the case of the year to match the album of the year" — subtle! It features a shimmering orange design that's drop-tested and scratch-resistant. It's priced at $59.99 and available for newer Apple iPhones as well as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Opens in a new window Credit: OtterBox OtterBox Symmetry Series Clear Encore Collection $59.99 at OtterBox.com Shop Now Apple's Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 ProShowgirl's branding is so potent that some Swifties credited it as the inspiration for Apple's new cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro. It's not, but the timing of the phone's release a couple weeks after Swift's TLOAS announcement was serendipitous. Other Apple gadgets that come in Showgirl-coded shades of orange include the AirPods Max headphones, the Beats PowerBeats Pro 2 earbuds, and the M4 iMac. Shop Apple's orange products: Apple iPhone 17 Pro (256GB) — cosmic orange $1,099 Shop Now Apple iPhone 17 Pro Silicone Case with MagSafe — orange $49 Shop Now Apple iPhone FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe — fox orange ​​​​​​​ $59 Shop Now Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) — orange $549 Shop Now Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 — electric orange $249 Shop Now Apple iMac (M4 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — orange $1,499 Shop Now Uber's 'orange era' dealsUber is running a few promos tied to TLOAS (informally, of course). For starters, Uber Eats users can save 12% on select orange snacks, apparel, pet accessories, and beauty items through Sunday, Oct. 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Items available near me included Harvest Cheddar Sunchips, orange Spindrifts, literal oranges, mango-flavored lip balm, orange Nike running shoes, orange dog collars, and orange crafting beads, for reference. Those attending a release-night party at a local record store, bar, or friend's house can save $12 on an Uber Comfort ride using the code SHOWBIZ. It's valid from Thursday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. through Oct. 5, so fret not if you have your festivities planned for later in the weekend. Opens in a new window Credit: Uber Save 12% on select orange items in the Uber Eats app Get Deal Get tickets for The Official Release Party of a ShowgirlIf you don't have any release weekend plans yet, throw on your finest orange garb and head to your local movie theater: Blondie returns to the big screen for The Official Release Party of a Showgirl from Oct. 3 to 5. The 89-minute event will feature the music video premiere for "The Fate of Ophelia," TS12's first single, plus behind-the-scenes footage of its shoot, lyric videos for the other 11 tracks on the album, and Swift's explanations of each song's meaning."Dancing is optional but very much encouraged 💃," the singer wrote on Instagram. Tickets are available at releasepartyofashowgirl.com. Opens in a new window Credit: Taylor Nation LLC "The Official Release Party of a Showgirl" In theaters Oct. 3 to 5 Learn More

Over the last couple of weeks, the internet has been enjoying what is arguably the most wholesome week on the Internet — Fat Bear Week. After a record-breaking week of votes, this year’s winner has been crowned, and the king of Fat Bear Week 2025 is 32 Chunk.For the uninitiated, Fat Bear Week is an annual event held by Explore.org and Katmai National Park in Alaska. Since the inaugural Fat Bear Week in 2014, voters have tuned in and watched as the Alaska brown bears (also called grizzly bears) gorge themselves on salmon and pack on the pounds in preparation for the long winter hibernation. Bears are photographed at the beginning of the season and again at the end, and people vote on their favorite fat bear transformation. This year, 32 Chunk had the votes on his side. The mammoth male bear survived a broken jaw, which he nursed throughout the season, as the wild bears at Katmai don’t receive veterinary care. Despite this, 32 Chunk found his inner Payton Manning, Tiger Woods, and Adrian Peterson, came back from his debilitating injury, and ended up being one of the chonkiest boys on the lot when it came time for voting.  32 Chunk (left) and the runner-up Bear 856 (right) Credit: Explore.org and Katmai National Park The vote, which took place between Sept. 23-30, was a bracket-style competition between eight bears. Included in the bracket was 128 Grazer, a female bear who was on a two-year win streak. Much like the Kansas City Chiefs, she was unable to lock in the three-peat and was knocked out in the semi-final round against 856, whose own transformation this year was simply sensational. 128 Grazer’s child, 128 Jr, also made it out of the first round before losing in the quarterfinal. Chunk’s win marks his first, allowing him to join the pantheon of Fat Bear Week winners. He has a long way to go to catch up with hall of fame talent like 480 Otis, who’s won the competition four times in the last decade, and 409 Breadnose, 747, and 128 Grazer, who have two wins each. In fact, 32 Chunk joins 435 Holly as the only two bears to win the title only once.  This year's final bracket. Credit: Explore.org and Katmai National Park It was also the most successful Fat Bear Week yet, as voters poured in to show their support for 32 Chunk and the other bears. Per Explore.org, this year’s event drew 1.7 million total votes over the course of seven days, beating out the prior record of 1.3 million, which was set in 2023.The bears all still have work to do. Generally speaking, brown bears continue to hunt for food and get fatter until their food sources become naturally scarce due to the changing of the seasons. Most bears go into hibernation sometime between October and December. Since Alaska gets colder faster, bears at Katmai tend to land on the October and November side of that timeline. For 32 Chunk, he has no earthly idea that he’s heading into hibernation as a champion. His fans are hoping that come next spring, the king will awaken, lose up to 33 percent of his body mass, and start competing for next year’s belt.Godspeed, 32 Chunk.

Yesterday, rumors started to spread in the tech world that a gamer had accidentally received the upcoming Xbox ROG Ally X gaming handheld weeks before its official launch. The gamer even took to Reddit to post an early review of the device, in a now-deleted thread.If you hang around the tech space long enough, you'll eventually hear stories of unsuspecting customers getting new devices ahead of schedule. Case in point: Earlier this year, some folks who pre-ordered the Samsung Galaxy S25 received their units a few days before launch thanks to expedited shipping error. Usually, these surprises happen a few days early at the most, which makes it very interesting that someone is claiming they received the Xbox ROG Ally X more than two weeks early.The story started to spread thanks to the deleted Reddit post titled "WTFF ALMOST 3 WEEK BEFORE!" from a user named Technical_Fun77. The Redditor expressed their very great surprise that they received the unit so early, an apparent mistake on the part of Amazon France, they said. The post, which was saved in a screenshot by Windows Central, shows that the user did a quick review of the alleged ROG Ally X, praising its lightweight design and the Xbox Full Screen Experience. The post garnered hundreds of responses that were a mixture of congratulations and jealousy. However, because we can't independently verify these reports, some skepticism is also in order. So, what's really going on with the case of the early Xbox ROG Ally X?The early release was traced to an Amazon France listing. A screenshot circulating online shows that the device would be delivered as early as Oct. 1, a full 15 days before the official release date of Oct. 16. We checked the listing, which you can view online, shows no available delivery options or dates, as of this writing. A Wayback Machine screenshot of that listing from September does show an early delivery time, but the product is listed for sale from a dubious-looking third-party seller, and pre-orders weren't even available at that time. (You can pre-order the Xbox ROG Ally now, however.) That means the users may have unknowingly purchased a counterfeit unit from a third-party seller on Amazon.And there's yet another reason to be skeptical: the original Reddit post didn’t contain any image. So, would Amazon France have really shipped the long-awaited handheld gaming console more than two weeks early? While it seems very unlikely, after the news initially popped, other Redditors have come forward with their own early deliver stories, this time with pictures As of this writing, there are now a couple of additional user posts in the ROG Ally X subreddit from gamers claiming that Amazon France also sent them units by mistake. These newer posts all have pictures as well, with users showing the alleged units in and out of the packaging. Mashable reached out to these users and Amazon for more information, and we'll update this post if we learn anything new. Reddit Reddit We should note that thanks to generative AI image makers, it's now trivially easy to create fake images and screenshots. However, based on these reports, it seems there's a non-zero chance that someone at Amazon France royally flubbed something.You can pre-order the new console for yourself; it's scheduled to launch on Oct. 16. Opens in a new window Credit: ASUS ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X $999 at Best Buy Pre-order Here Opens in a new window Credit: ASUS ASUS ROG Xbox Ally $599 at Best Buy Get Deal

The critically acclaimed animated series Long Story Short has been resonating with me ever since Netflix dropped all 10 episodes of its first season in late August. Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg (BoJack Horseman), the show takes the familiar growing pains and family matters of a sitcom and reshapes them through an inventive, time-jumping format. It’s been tugging at my heartstrings and grief journey while making me laugh in between moments of poignant relatability.The show follows the Schwoopers, a Jewish family in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their surname is a portmanteau of matriarch Naomi Cooper (voiced by Lisa Edelstein) and patriarch Elliot Schwartz (Paul Reiser), passed down to their three children: Avi (Ben Feldman), Shira (Abbi Jacobson), and Yoshi (Max Greenfield).Unlike other animated series about families, Long Story Short shows these characters at different ages, jumping across time to capture snapshots of parenting, loss, religion, rites of passage, and shifting dynamics. Even the opening titles, set to Jesse Novak’s plucky theme song, feature different photos of the Schwoopers in each episode. (Resist that “skip intro” button!)Watching those sequences feels a lot like what I've been experiencing on my grief journey after losing both my parents within three years. I’ve been rewatching old home videos and flipping through family photos I haven’t seen in decades, time-traveling from the comforts of my couch, reliving holidays, birthdays, and vacations, reuniting with long-lost loved ones and faces I haven’t thought about in years. Credit: Hiko Mitsuzuka Credit: Hiko Mitsuzuka  Long Story Short beautifully — and quite literally — illustrates the passage of time and the complicated emotions that come with it. The show feels like an exercise in wish fulfillment, tapping into the desire to see my family from an almost omniscient point of view: to rewind and fast-forward through moments, drawing parallels between past and present and seeing how they shape each other.  Memories, meatloaf, and Michael BoltonIn Episode 4, “Shira Can’t Cook,” Shira struggles to perfect her mother's knish recipe for a school potluck. She wants to make Naomi proud, and in one scene, Shira tears up while reviewing her mom’s handwritten instructions, realizing how much love went into Naomi’s cooking when she was younger. Every once in a while, I try to recreate my late mother’s signature meatloaf, a dish she served every Monday for our extended family. She loved hosting meals, especially during the holidays, in our apartment in New Rochelle, New York. I’ve carried on the tradition in my own way, with an annual holiday cocktail party in my L.A. apartment. I even dug up her handwritten anisette cookie recipe — her favorite Christmas treat — and keep it posted to my refrigerator as a reminder of her love. These stirred-up memories don't feel that far away, but time marches on because that’s what it does. Opening the nostalgia floodgates has brought me face-to-face with the fragility of life, reminding me of a song lyric from Michael Bolton, one of my mom’s favorite artists: “Nothing heals a broken heart like time, love, and tenderness.”Reuniting with my younger self to heal myselfLong Story Short also touches upon the aftereffects of the pandemic through passing references (see: “Wolves” and “Uncle Barry”), which made me reflect on the time with my parents that felt stolen from me back then. While I eventually tried to make up for that lost time, it never felt like enough, because I soon lost my father in 2021 and then my mother in 2024. It's an emotional struggle similar to what the older Schwooper siblings wrestle with as they reflect on their own losses. However, watching my family’s old home videos has shown me that I got to spend a lot of wonderful moments with my parents. Even though my awkward, pre-pubescent self tried to avoid the camera at all costs (I never liked the sound of my own voice), I can now sit back and appreciate the memories that were captured. I can be grateful for what I had with them. And if I could, I’d give my younger self a big hug, letting him know he’ll eventually find his voice, his confidence, and more reasons to feel secure in himself. Watching Long Story Short while revisiting these memories has ultimately helped me develop more compassion for myself, for what I went through, and for where I was at certain points in my life. That compassion remains, especially while I continue to grieve my parents. Confronting so many “if only I had knowns”In Episode 2 of LSS, “Hannah’s Dance Recital,” Avi and Shira realize they remember a family trip to the Jersey Shore very differently. For Avi, what seemed like an innocent decision to leave his sister and play with some kids on the beach turns out to be a hurtful act of abandonment for Shira when she’s left alone and nearly drowns in the harsh ocean waves, becoming a traumatic moment she carries into adulthood. While I thankfully never had a near-death experience like Shira’s, my younger cousin  (who’s always been like the kid sister I never had) once revealed how scarred she was from a haunted house ride my very persuasive mother and I had dragged her onto while visiting the pier at Seaside Heights, NJ. What my Mom and I thought was a fun, innocent family outing turned into a horrible night for an 8-year-old who’s terrified of haunted houses to this day. In hindsight, she’s grateful that my mom pushed her to face her fears and try something new because that’s just how my mom operated. One piece of advice she left me with remains: “Keep broadening your horizons.” These four simple words have shaped how I approach the rest of my life. They help me look forward to new opportunities, new experiences, and, of course, new memories.And in the meantime, I can look forward to more hilarious and human stories from the Schwoopers; Long Short Short has been renewed for a second season. Season 1 of Long Story Short is now streaming on Netflix.

AI giant OpenAI debuted Sora 2 this week, its "flagship video and audio generation model." Sora 2 is OpenAI's answer to Google Veo 3, which is widely considered the most advanced generative AI video model to date. With the launch of Sora 2 has come lots of strange videos, which you can see for yourself in the new Sora app. There's one reason, in particular, that the videos are getting weird. That would be the "Cameo" feature, which allows you to insert yourself or friends into AI-generated videos. For just one moment, let's forget all the ways this could be used for ill-conceived or nefarious purposed — OK, phew, that is a lot to forget — it's also just tremendously weird to insert a real person into uncanny valley, AI-generated situations. But people are certainly doing it. Here's a viral video of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman rapping from a toilet, referencing skibidi toilet, because sure. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Naturally somebody responded with the poster of that post...also in a toilet. And they said creativity was dead and AI is eroding our ability to think. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Or here's AI Bob Ross painting a gorilla fighting 100 men (get it, like the meme). This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Or there's this AI video of Altman stealing GPUs purportedly generated by an OpenAI employee. Again...no way this could be sued for nefarious purposes, right? This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Or here's Altman awkwardly dancing. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. And here's a video playing on the fact that people are eating up AI slop. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Or a video of a guy sloppily eating via AI. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. So, as you might've expected, the videos from Sora 2 are immediately getting pretty weird — and, in some cases, scarily realistic looking.Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

In a time when everything is getting more expensive, it should come as no surprise when subscription services raise their prices. And yet, we're shocked and dismayed every time. The latest to join in on the price hike craze is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Microsoft made the announcement in an Oct. 1 press release, just two days before Xbox consoles are set to increase in price as well. It's a tough time to be a gamer.New Xbox Game Pass tiers and pricing Xbox Game Pass is getting a full facelift, which includes some new benefits as well as, of course, price changes. Game Pass Core and Game Pass Standard are now becoming Game Pass Essential and Game Pass Premium. These tiers will cost the same — $9.99 for Essential and $14.99 for Premium — and include 50+ and 200+ curated Xbox, PC, and cloud games, respectively. The biggest change is reflected in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, once known as the best deal in gaming. Effective immediately for new subscribers and as of Nov. 4 for current subscribers, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will now cost $29.99 per month. That's a 50% price jump from its former monthly price of $19.99, ultimately adding up to an extra $120 every year. If you prepaid for months of Ultimate already, you won't see the new price reflected until the end of your prepaid time.It's not all bad, though. In an attempt to justify the price increase, Microsoft is giving Ultimate subscribers more perks. These include 75 day-one releases per year (about 50 percent more than last year), access to Ubisoft Plus Classics (reg. ~$16 per month) and Fortnite Crew (reg. $11.99 per month), and unlimited access to cloud gaming and Stream Your Own Game. The new Xbox Game Pass tiers. Credit: Microsoft How to avoid the Game Pass Ultimate price hikeSet on keeping Game Pass Ultimate, but want to save some money? Here's a pro tip: stock up on digital codes at Amazon. As of Oct. 1, the price for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate digital codes has not changed at Amazon. You can get a one-month code for just $19.99 still — now basically like getting a $10 discount — or secure three months for $59.99. You'll only be able to add 12 codes to your account total, but that could effectively get you 36 months of Game Pass Ultimate at the former price if you opt for 12 three-month digital codes.I'm not telling you to go drop $719.88 on a three-year gaming subscription, but if you plan on subscribing long term, stacking these codes is your best bet for saving money. You don't have to commit to 36 months. You can opt for just four three-month codes and lock in a full year of Ultimate for $239.96, compared to the $359.88 you'll pay otherwise post-price hike. Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 1-month subscription $19.99 at Amazon $29.99 Save $10 Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3-month subscription $59.99 at Amazon $89.97 Save $29.98 Get Deal How to cancel Xbox Game Pass UltimateIf the latest price hike has simply pushed you over the edge, we don't blame you. All good things must come to an end. If you want to cancel your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you can do so on the web or on a console. You certainly won't be the only one to take this route. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. To cancel on a web browser:Go to Subscriptions and sign in with the Microsoft account you used to purchase your subscription.Find your subscription and select Manage. (If you find Turn on recurring billing instead of a link that says Manage, your subscription is already set to expire on the date shown and you won’t be charged after this date. You can continue to use the subscription’s benefits until it expires.)Select Cancel subscription and follow the instructions. If eligible, you may be prompted to initiate a refund for your subscription.To cancel on a console:Press the Xbox button to open the guide.Go to Profile & system > Settings > Account > Subscriptions.Choose the subscription that you want to manage, click on Cancel subscription, and then follow the steps to cancel. If eligible, you may be prompted to initiate a refund for your subscription.