IT General

Andrew Scott is a marvel of a modern actor. From Sherlock to Fleabag to All of Us Strangers and Ripley, he burns onscreen. His dark eyes can reflect a murderous intensity or an unholy longing, or — in the case of Ripley — both. It's little wonder that Scott's performance in Blue Moon earned him the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. It's just a shame it's for the supporting role in Richard Linklater's latest. 

The star of this insufferable biopic about American lyricist Lorenz Hart is Ethan Hawke, who's previously won praise from critics for his work in Linklater movies like the Before trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight) and Boyhood. Perhaps Hawke deserves props for taking on the role of Hart, as this depiction is not just miles away from the cool but flawed men Hawke tends toward, but light-years from them. Written by Robert Kaplow, the novelist behind Me and Orson Welles, which Linklater adapted in 2008, Blue Moon oozes with maudlin sentimentality over this lost artist, but lacks depth.

Where Scott's performance as Hart's creative partner, composer Richard Rodgers, is riveting in its intensity and authenticity, Hawke's performance is a clown show, making a mockery of a musical genius who was tragically overwhelmed by his worst impulses. 

Blue Moon feels like a clumsy adaptation of a one-man off-off-off Broadway show. 

Most of this movie is set on March 31, 1943, the opening night of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! on Broadway. Sulking in box seats as cowboys and farm gals sing joyfully is Hart, a middle-aged mope with a comb-over that's long lost the war. As the packed house applauds, he exits early, eager to get to Sardi's, the iconic bar where the afterparty will be held.

There, Larry (as he's generally addressed) hopes to reconnect with Rodgers, with whom he worked for 25 years, creating such beloved songs as "The Lady Is a Tramp," "My Funny Valentine," and of course, "Blue Moon." But Hart can see from the audience's rapture that Oklahoma! ("with an exclamation point," he laments) could be the end of his partnership with Rodgers, as Hammerstein's lyrics are getting a lot of love.

However, before that setup, Kaplow begins the movie with Hart's end. Drunk, drenched, and dying in a dark, rainy alley in New York City, Hart crumbles next to a dumpster, pathetic and alone. This image hangs over the entirety of the film like a storm cloud, making it difficult to find the humor in Hart's desperate attempts at charm and conversation.

For an insufferable first act, he blathers resolutely to a beleaguered bartender (Bobby Cannavale), an eager pianist (Jonah Lees), and a patient patron (Patrick Kennedy). Kaplow dumps biographical backstory into these exchanges, so not knowing much about Hart isn't a hindrance. But for all those details, Blue Moon is most interested in three things: Hart was drunk, gay, and short. 

Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater make a queer clown of Lorenz Hart. 

While historians today regard Hart as queer, he wasn't public about his sexual orientation in life. Yet Kaplow writes him slinging gay jokes that employ slurs and gleefully calling himself a "cocksucker" to the dismayed straight bartender. When pressed on whether he likes boys or girls, Larry expresses that as a lyricist, he's "omnisexual," finding beauty in men, women, and horses because it helps his art. So here we are in 2025, conflating homosexuality and bestiality in a film meant to resurrect a tortured artist, displaying his agony and genius. 

As Linklater did with Jack Black in Bernie, he casts a straight American movie star to play a gay antihero, and the result is a caricature less subtle than anything hanging on the walls of Sardi's. Even before Larry starts drinking, Hawke commits to a bounciness that's buffoonish. His performance is playing the cheap seats, with arched eyebrows and an endlessly winking attitude that's better suited to Hollywood Squares. Making this more ridiculous are the lengths to which Linklater goes to get across that Hart was short, 5 feet tall at most. 

The Sardi's set is built so that Cannavale absolutely towers over Hawke, who, at 5 feet 10 inches tall, is himself dwarfed by the furniture around him. Seated at the bar, he strains to reach the ledge for a shot glass. Wide shots get even sillier, recalling the extent to which Peter Jackson went to make hobbits believably wee next to Gandalf. Perhaps this visual effect was meant to reflect how Hart's physical stature may have fed into his feeling small before others he admired. But it looks ludicrous.

Margaret Qualley exudes old-school elegance in Blue Moon. 

Thankfully, after an aching stretch of Larry clowning around to a nearly empty bar, other characters show up who refuse to be "extras" — as Larry snidely writes off the bartender. Among them is Margaret Qualley, playing a Yale art student named Elizabeth Weiland, who is as free-spirited as she is glamorous. She is Larry's protégé and current fixation. Before her arrival, he rants about her beauty and brilliance as if she not only hung the moon, but created it whole cloth. But this too feeds into a tedious trope, in which a gay man idolizes a gorgeous, bold woman in a way that is objectifying, even if not sexual. 

Despite his loud, earnest pining for Elizabeth, no one — not even she — believes him. Instead, it seems he envies her as he envies Richard — as someone beautiful and talented who is easy to love.

Blue Moon is so steeped in Larry's self-loathing that he denounces its title song, even as others praise it. He lies, sneaks, and steals to achieve even the slightest adoration from others, be they a flower delivery boy or the idolized Elizabeth. And in this desperation, Hawke's performance might evoke Jon Lovitz's dated Harvey Fierstein impersonation, with the screeching catchphrase, "I just wanna be loved, is that so wrong!?"

To Qualley's credit, she shoulders the role of this dream girl well, bringing a deeper inner life to Elizabeth through a cringe-inducing monologue about a sexual exploit gone comically wrong. In this scene, at least, Linklater and Kaplow make Elizabeth more than an ideal for their needy hero to fawn over. As she enters Sardi's, with her comes a different tone, a more grounded performance style that makes Hawke's over-the-top capering all the more jarring.

Andrew Scott is the best part of Blue Moon. 

Finally, at long last, the Oklahoma! contingent arrives, and with their glitz and excitement, they sweep away the maudlin clouds of Larry's monologuing. Sardi's is swinging. Rodgers (Scott) and Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney) are the toast of New York! And Larry is trying and failing to be a good sport.

Sure, when he first arrived at the bar he was spitting bile about how lame this Broadway musical is, but now he's all praise. Yet from the moment Richard locks eyes on Larry, something tender and genuinely tragic takes root in Blue Moon. 

Richard is polite but guarded as Larry begins to chatter at him, speaking of how they ought to do a show together about comedic cannibals. While Larry is essentially hustling for his very livelihood, well-meaning glad-handers interject to shower praise on Richard. To them, Larry is practically invisible.

Scott switches focus from the drowning man to the smiling fans repeatedly with a striking eloquence that suggests Richard has done this dance with Larry many, many times before. Even now, as their partnership seems at its end, he's shielding him from embarrassment, protective and pained by the need to. 

As the afterparty drags on, Larry pushes Richard more and more, provoking him into a confrontation about who they were together as a creative partnership, how far they've come, and what could be next. But where Larry is lost in the past, Richard sees a future that moves beyond him. Amid the frustration and patience Scott brings into these achingly public heart-to-hearts, which grow messier with each reconnection, he also brings in heartbreak. As he's publicly drinking himself to death, Larry might joke that everyone acts like they're eulogizing him prematurely. But Scott plays Richard as if he can see it's not so premature, because the only person who could stop this downward spiral has been sneaking shots of whiskey all night long.

Scenes where Larry's loves — be they platonic or romantic — challenge him are when Blue Moon works. The capering of this clown collides with characters aching and elegant who don't buy his act, and in that Linklater scratches at the profound. All Larry wants is to be seen and loved, not as he is but as he wishes he could be. He spends enormous, exhausting energy trying to convince handsome young men, gorgeous young women, and his closest friend of this facade, and that is perhaps his greatest flaw. There is a bittersweet and beautiful tragedy in that, but with all the buffoonery, Blue Moon won't let this heartbreaking thread shine. 

Blue Moon was reviewed out of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It opens in limited release on Oct. 17, before going wide Oct. 24.

Scarlett Johansson gives audiences a terrific gift with Eleanor the Great by offering June Squibb a role worthy of her talents.

The 95-year-old Academy Award–nominated actress who thrilled this critic last year with the pitch-perfect action-comedy Thelma brings her wonderful moxie to the title role, delivering a performance that is side-splittingly funny and tear-jerkingly poignant. 

While the premise of this movie will raise eyebrows, Squibb's approach to the material is flawless. Her comedic timing is deliciously sharp, whether dressing down a rude grocery store employee or backhand complimenting her onscreen daughter (Jessica Hecht). It's the kind of shrewd humor mastered by tough-as-nails grannies, and memorialized in The Golden Girls. 

SEE ALSO: 'The Thursday Murder Club' review: 'Only Murders' fans, brace for your new cozy crime fixation

Yet beyond these biting barbs, Eleanor is also thrilling for how she refuses to be ignored. She'll push back against those condescending strangers — always younger — who write her off as some dotty ol' biddy. And she won't flinch to make others uncomfortable when it comes to expressing herself, even in grief. 

Now, how she goes about that is certainly the film's most challenging element. But through Eleanor's misadventures, Eleanor the Great becomes a beautiful — albeit bumpy — comedy about the agony and ecstasy of love and grief. 

What's Eleanor the Great about? 

After a social mishap, 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein (Squibb) lies about being a Holocaust survivor. But in the screenplay by Tory Kamen, the how and why of this shocking act are pretty compelling. For one thing, she's not doing it to gain anything — except a way to remember her late best friend. 

You see, Eleanor the Great begins with Eleanor and Bessie (Rita Zohar), besties for decades who have supported each other through marriage, children, grandchildren, and widowhood, eventually moving to an apartment in Florida where they were roomies for 11 years. And then, Bessie died.

Alone and yearning for connection, Eleanor moves back to New York City, where her daughter Lisa and grandson Max (Will Price) live. But their bustling schedules mean she's still alone. In search of community, she stumbles upon a support group of Holocaust survivors at the Manhattan Jewish Community Center. Eleanor wasn't one, but Bessie was. To share Bessie's stories as if they were her own with the group allows Eleanor a space to remember the friend she misses. But this deception grows deeper when a journalism student named Nina (Erin Kellyman) asks to profile Eleanor. As the two women grow close, it's harder and harder to admit their bond began over a lie — especially when Nina's dad, a newscaster named Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor), gets involved. 

Eleanor the Great revels in the beauty of friendship and the value in grieving. 

Missing Bessie, Eleanor makes some shocking choices to forge a new friendship with Nina. But by Eleanor's sharing her grief — even masked as it is through Bessie's stories — she gives Nina a space to speak about her own, as Nina lost her mother just six months earlier. Obviously, they're going through different kinds of mourning, but just having someone who will let you talk and cry makes a big difference.

Even with our best friends, grief can be hard to talk about, which Eleanor the Great recognizes. Sure, friends want to be supportive. But grief is big and scary and reminds us of death. So, we push it away as best we can, even when it means pushing away those we love. 

But grief is an ocean, and we're all flowing toward it. We cannot escape it. Staying afloat in it is exhausting, and it can feel at times as if you'll drown in it.

The Greatest Generation, of which Squibb, Eleanor, and Bessie, are a part, lived through the horrors of World War II. Then they were basically encouraged to buck up and carry on. I saw this in my own grandparents, some who fought in the war, some who faced world-rattling deaths at home. They put a wall around the pain of these times, and even as I became an adult, I only got brief glimpses into their experiences with such grief. I saw them tremble, swallow it, and barrel on, over and over. And now they're gone, and I contain an ocean for all of them.

Eleanor, however, rejects this attitude of silence, and so becomes the ear Nina needs, and vice versa. The tears they spill remembering those they loved and lost are hard. But within this crying, they also revel in those people, those personalities, and those quirks. There's a deep joy in that, and that would be lost if we didn't brave the tears. 

Eleanor the Great is a solid New York City story with a wobble at the end.

Like Mikey Madison in Anora, Eleanor the Great is a character-centered comedy in New York City that depends intently on the resilient lead shouldering the world around them. And Squibb does this with seeming effortlessness. (Also, both movies have pivotal scenes in Coney Island.) In this portrayal, she not only gives another entertaining and deeply funny turn, but also commits to cinema another aspirational take-no-shit granny. She reminded me of my own, and that too made me cry, because I miss her. But like the women in this movie, it's a pain and a pleasure to remember the incredible lady I lost. 

To Johansson's credit, the movie — while leaping locations, delving into flashbacks, and handling several sensitive topics — flows well, carried by the screen presence of Squibb and her terrific grandma-granddaughter chemistry with Kellyman. They share a love and respect that never fumbles into the pitfalls of ageist assumptions of either the elderly or the young. 

However, the final act gets away from Johansson, as it veers from a fairly grounded film into the treacly sentimentality of a Hallmark movie. A climactic news report feels convenient and unconvincing, considering how everything that's come before felt more or less feasible. It feels like Johansson and/or Kamen felt that after such a shocking lie, scads of sugar needed to be poured on the ending to help the movie's medicinal message go down. It's not enough to ruin the experience, but it undercuts Eleanor to make so much of the conclusion about someone else's idea of her. 

This qualm aside, I loved Eleanor the Great. As someone grappling with grief, I could relate to the heroines' yearning to discuss it and fear doing so would isolate them. I cried with them and laughed with them. In the end, I was a mess. But my heart was also full, thanks to Eleanor, which was pretty great. 

Eleanor the Great was reviewed out of the Toronto International Film Festival; the movie will open in theaters in the U.S. on Sept. 26. 

Signal has managed to position itself as a strong competitor to WhatsApp and similar apps, but it lacks one very important thing—cloud backups. Now, we have them, though they work a bit differently from how backups work in other apps.

The PlayStation Store is full of games, and a surprising number of them are free to play. Not all are worth your time, however, so we’ve taken the liberty of rounding up a few of our favorites.

SAVE $700.03: The 85-inch Samsung Class QLED QF8 4K TV is on sale for $1,597.96 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $2,297.99. That's a 30% discount and the best price we've ever seen at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Class QLED QF8 4K TV (85 inch) $1,597.96 at Amazon
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We have a lot to look forward to in the way of fresh entertainment. For starters, football season is finally here and we have tons of new shows dropping soon, including Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building. If your current TV is not deserving of these shows because it's laggy or just doesn't look crisp anymore, it's time for an upgrade. Thanks to Amazon, your new shows can shine on an 85-inch TV that's on a huge discount today.

As of Sept. 8, the stunning 85-inch Samsung Class QLED QF8 4K TV is on sale at Amazon for $1,597.96, marked down from the normal price of $2,297.99. That works out to a savings of $700.03 from a 30% discount. That's the best price we've ever seen at Amazon.

An 85-inch TV is a guaranteed game-changer when it comes to watching literally anything on TV. Sports, old Netflix shows you've seen 12 times, and new fall hits will all get a major facelift thanks to the Samsung QLED QF8. This model uses Samsung's AirSlim design which means it's super thin and will look great on its included stand or mounted to your wall.

SEE ALSO: Get $700 off a 65-inch Samsung The Frame TV from Best Buy

Since this is a QLED model, it'll stand up to bright rooms or daylight should you be tuning in mid-day. Maximum brightness top out at 1,000 Nits. Samsung also equipped this model with Adaptive Sound and Active Voice Amplifier which can help when watching in noisy environments since it boosts dialogue sound.

You can also use this as a gaming TV since it gets a respectable 120Hz refresh rate. Gaming through the winter on an 85-inch TV could be a pretty awesome hobby.

While it's on sale for a record-low price, upgrade you home, your viewing experience, and maybe even your life by going with the 85-inch Samsung Class QLED Q8F 4K TV.

Save $110: As of Sept. 8, you can grab the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones for $289.99 at Amazon, saving you 28% on their $399.99 list price.

Sony WH-1000XM5 $398 at Amazon
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As someone who tests headphones for a living, I'm lucky enough to have first-hand knowledge of how my own personal headphones match up to what's on the market, and as an owner of the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, I'm pretty satisfied.

While most back to school headphones sales have come and gone, you can still grab the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones for $289.99 at Amazon, saving you $110 off their list price. Though it's not their best price ever or their best recent price — within the past week they dropped to $264.99 — it is better than the $299 price point they've been hovering around.

This sale price is also much more affordable than the $450 Sony WH-1000XM6 that released earlier this year. Sure, those headphones come with improved ANC and sound quality, plus folding ear cups, but in my head to head comparison of the XM5 and XM6s, I didn't find a huge difference in performance. While I could see the XM6s being better for anyone who wants the best possible sound quality, or for someone who travels frequently (the folding ear cups do really make a difference), the difference in noise cancellation and sound quality was relatively minimal, making the two headphones pretty comparable for using while working, studying, or commuting.

With the same 30 hour battery life and relative comfort level, the choice between these two headphones rests heavily on price. If you're okay with an older gen, the $160 difference here is well worth it in my opinion.

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Opens in a new window Credit: MSI MSI Vector 16 HX AI (Intel Core Ultra 9-275HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) $1,839.99 at Amazon
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Trying to find the right gaming laptop can feel like a level-up in difficulty. If you're not closely following hardware releases, it’s difficult to know whether you're getting a good value or just overpaying for components. That’s what makes this deal worth considering: It features high-end, current-generation hardware at a much lower price point.

SEE ALSO: The 3 best gaming laptops with Nvidia GPUs in 2025, so far

As of Sept. 8, you can get the MSI Vector 16 HX AI (Intel Core Ultra 9-275HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) for $1,839.99, down from $2,099.99, at Amazon. That's a 12% discount and a $260 savings.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI is an AI-powered gaming laptop that features the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processor. The company advertises it as having “desktop-level performance.” With a 16-inch screen, a 240Hz refresh rate, and built-in Windows 11 Home, this laptop is designed to handle intense gaming sessions and long nights of work or study.

At six pounds, it’s a little heavier than most laptops, so if you plan on carrying it around a lot, you might want to invest in a sturdy backpack.

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Opens in a new window Credit: Sellful Sellful White Label Website Builder and Software: ERP Agency Plan (Lifetime) $349.97
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Whether you’re starting a side hustle or moving your existing company online, there are numerous moving parts when it comes to building and running an online business. Sellful White Label Website Builder and Software is designed to help with that, and uses AI to help you tackle them — from web development to e-commerce marketing and even handling HR tasks for your human employees.

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SEE ALSO: Samsung's new Galaxy Tab S11 and S11 Ultra bring AI to the forefront

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Apple’s ‘Awe Dropping’ event is less than a day away, and while the big stars of the show are mostly set in stone with the iPhone 17 (including the iPhone 17 Air), Apple Watch Series 11, and the AirPods Pro 3, the rumor mill is still abound about what else we might see Apple announce. 

Based on the rumors we’ve seen, it won’t be anything major like a Mac release or new iPads. Those are generally reserved for later in the autumn or in the spring. However, there are quite a few products that surround the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods that are likely to make an appearance that we had only heard a little bit about before this week.

Here are some last-second rumors about other things that may come from the Apple event. 

iPhone 17 battery capacity (and the iPhone 17 Air)

A Chinese regulatory filing may have outed the battery capacity of the iPhone 17 lineup. These numbers mostly line up with what we knew already, such as the iPhone 17 Pro Max crossing the 5,000 mAh boundary for the first time in iPhone history, finally joining competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. 

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The listing also shows the iPhone 17 Air. In case you're curious, the filing says that the iPhone 17 Air will sport a 3,149 mAh battery, which will be the smallest battery in the iPhone 17 lineup.

A magnetic Crossbody Strap and more iPhone 17 accessories

Rumors started circulating over the weekend of some new iPhone 17 accessories that may make their debut at Apple’s ‘Awe Dropping’ event. One such accessory is the Crossbody Strap, which is designed to work with Apple’s TechWoven cases, which are set to replace the brand’s FineWoven cases.

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The idea here is pretty simple: there’s a loop on the TechWoven case that lets you attach the magnetic Crossbody Strap, which may also be compatible with AirPods. The rumor also says that the strap is magnetic across its entire length. This would allow you to carry your iPhone somewhere other than your pocket, which may be good if you’re wearing something without pockets. 

Apple Watch SE 3 details

The Apple Watch SE hasn’t been updated since 2022, and the tech world fully expects to see the SE 3 debut tomorrow.

According to rumors, the updated watch will sport the same S11 chip that’s being used in the Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3, which would give it a similar set of features like on-device Siri processing that was missing from the SE 2. Other than that, rumors have been sparse. There was one that the SE 3 would get a plastic case instead of aluminum but Apple reportedly scrapped that one. It’ll also have fewer health features than the main watches to help reduce cost. 

The M5-powered iPad Pro

Apple usually saves its iPad announcements for different events, but a noted leaker on X said that there was a chance that the M5-powered iPad Pro could make a guest appearance during the iPhone announcement. Usually, Apple saves the iPad announcements for springtime, so this would be highly unusual. Thus, take this rumor with a giant grain of salt. 

However, there is something to this rumor. Apple announced the original iPad Pro on Sept. 9, 2015. That means the product is turning 10 years old, so Apple may use that as a reason to announce the latest iPad Pro earlier than normal. It also helps that iPadOS 26 is also slated to come out soon. This one is among the least believable rumors, but it’s still possible. 

The AirPods Pro 4

That's not a typo — we have a new last-minute rumor regarding the AirPods Pro 4.

Yes, as we've said before, we fully expect Apple to reveal the AirPods Pro 3 alongside the iPhone 17. However, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo posted a tweet on Sept. 6 that suggested the new AirPods Pro will get a fast sequel. Ming-Chi said the AirPods Pro 4 could arrive in 2026, way ahead of schedule.

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The AirPods Pro 3 are expected to arrive with a bunch of improvements, including Apple’s new H3 chip, which should bring better sound quality and improved active noise cancelling. In addition, they’re slated for a new design, heart rate monitoring, temperature monitoring, and more.

Apple has a habit of announcing all sorts of stuff at these events, and there is always a chance that Apple pulls a fast one and surprises everyone. According to Bloomberg, there’s a chance the new AirTag 2 makes an appearance along with the rumored Vision Pro hardware refresh and potentially even a new Apple TV device, along with a HomePod mini. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

For more Apple event coverage, follow Mashable's live blog and get real-time updates on the iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11, and AirPods Pro 3 launch.

We all need charging cables, and the costs can add up quickly. So it's tempting to simply order the cheapest cables you can find and call it a day. However, saving a few dollars on charging cables can end up costing you much more than it saves you in the short term.

We are hours away from Apple’s big ‘Awe Dropping’ event, which promises several big announcements like the iPhone 17, the Apple Watch Series 11, and the AirPods Pro 3. The whole presentation will be streamed live, like most of Apple’s events, and those events tend to be pretty entertaining to watch (for tech nerds like us, at least). It’s also widely accessible, so you won’t have to try too hard. 

The event is slated to start at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) and should last around an hour to an hour and a half. On top of the above products, Apple is also expected to launch the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, and potentially the long-awaited second generation of the AirTag. There are some things we’re all but certain Apple won’t announce, but for the most part, these September iPhone launch events are pretty set in stone. 

In any case, here are all the livestreaming options to bookmark. Oh, and don’t forget to stop by our live blog where we’ll be recapping it blow by blow.

Apple’s website

Officially, Apple is streaming the event directly from its events website. Simply show up there at the appointed time, and a live stream option will appear. Apple does this with all of its events, and the streams generally have good quality, so it’s a good place to start. Apple even has a handy “Add to calendar” function so you can get a reminder when it starts. 

Apple TV

Apple is also streaming the event on its Apple TV app. Simply launch the app at the appointed hour, and there will be an option to stream the Apple Event 2025 live. 

YouTube

There will be several publications live-streaming the event on YouTube, including our sister site CNET. These live streams will be mirrors of the actual event and may have some additional commentary from reporters at the event. In addition, these live streams usually have an active comment section so you can chit-chat about the event while you watch it if you prefer, which is the primary benefit of watching it this way. 

Apple’s official YouTube channel will also live-stream the event. Follow the link to head straight to the video. This will be the same stream as you’ll find on Apple’s website and Apple TV, but with the convenience of being on YouTube, which has a lot more options for watching, especially for folks without an iPhone. 

The CNET and Mashable live show

While we can't stream the Apple event directly, Mashable's Tech Editor will be joining tech editors from our sister sites CNET, Lifehacker, and PCMag for a live pre- and post-show event. You can tune into our coverage on YouTube.

What to expect

For the most part, Apple is expected to launch the devices listed above, including its iPhone 17 Air, a competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge. However, aside from the new iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods, there is a small, non-zero chance that Apple may sneak in some other fun stuff as well, such as a revamped Apple TV 4K.

For more Apple event coverage, follow Mashable's live blog and get real-time updates on the iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11, and AirPods Pro 3 launch.

Move over, Google Search. AI Mode is here, and it isn't going anywhere.

Rumors are currently swirling around when exactly Google's AI Mode will become the default search tool on Google's homepage, replacing the classic Google Search. As we move deeper into the AI search era, many search experts believe that AI mode will inevitably replace the list of links searchers are used to seeing.

Now, a Google leader has said that this shift could be coming sooner than expected.

On Friday, Logal Kilpatrick, the lead product manager for Google AI Studio, shared that Google was making AI Mode easily accessible at a new "google.com/AI" URL.

In response to Kilpatrick's X post, a user suggested that AI Mode should be the default search experience, to which Kilpatrick responded, "soon."

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Google has gone all-in on AI over the past few years with Gemini and an assortment of other AI products. When it comes to search, Google has already shifted focus to its AI Overviews feature, the AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of many Google query results pages.

AI Mode is a new Google AI search tool that launched over the summer. It combines a classic AI chatbot experience with Google's search tools to provide real-time AI-generated answers instead of the traditional list of links.

During its Q2 earnings call in late July, Google reported that AI Mode has received "very positive feedback" and "already has over 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. and India.” Since then, AI Mode has expanded its rollout into more than 180 additional countries and territories

When and if AI Mode really does replace traditional Google Search, the results could be catastrophic for the web economy. Many publishers depend on traffic from Google search results, and this traffic has declined sharply as Google embraces AI search results that often result in zero clicks.

Major publishers like The New York Times have seen significant drops in traffic from organic search traffic. The Columbia Journalism Review referred to this widespread phenomenon as the "traffic apocalypse"; the Wall Street Journal called it "AI armageddon"; and The Economist recently wrote that "AI is killing the web".

Is AI mode replacing Google Search?

The truth is that we don't know yet, and Google executives are sending mixed messages.

As Kilpatrick's response started to spread, the company's VP of Product at Google Search, Robby Stein, attempted to downplay Kilpatrick's post.

"wouldn’t read too much into this," Stein wrote on X. "we’re focusing on making it easy to access AI Mode for those who want it."

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But just as Stein said that we shouldn't read too much into what Kilpatrick wrote, we might not want to read too much into what Stein himself wrote either.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said previously that the "10 blue links" era of search is antiquated, and that AI Mode is "a total reimagining" of search for the future. In addition, the fact that Google is embracing AI search is self-evident. Google has already made its AI Overviews feature the default on its search results pages, and the quality of traditional Google Search has degraded significantly in recent years as the company focuses on AI search tools. 

Why does it matter?

Google replacing its classic Google Search tool with AI Mode would cause massive changes to the internet as we know it. Billions of Google searches are made every single day, and studies have found that Google's AI Overviews have already had significant negative impacts on publishers' web traffic. Google has consistently disputed that AI Overviews results in reduced traffic to publishers, but the company has also failed to produce any data that would make this denial convincing.

And it just doesn't seem like Google's AI tools are fit to take over. A Mashable investigation recently found that AI Overviews routinely makes errors and suffers from hallucinations.

For example, Mashable's Chris Taylor has put AI Overviews through extensive testing and was concerned with not just how wrong it could be, but how confidently wrong it could be. Oddly enough, Taylor found that in situations where AI Mode answered a query correctly, AI Overviews would get it wrong. Perhaps that's a point in AI Mode's favor, but it's still an issue overall for Google's AI products.

If you need a new work computer and have a tight budget of only $400, it might seem like an impossible task. However, if you know where and how to spend your money, you can build a surprisingly capable workstation setup. Here’s what I’d do with that budget.

Ever wondered what the Linux ip command might be able to do for you? Maybe you're just getting into Linux terminal work or network management. Let me walk you through some basic examples of the ip command at work.

I'm not much of an online multiplayer gamer, preferring to play single-player games, or sticking to local multiplayer with people I know.

Protests erupted in Nepal on Monday after a controversial social media ban blocked people in the country from accessing most forms of social media. The youth-led "Gen Z" protests over the social media ban and government corruption triggered a violent reaction, and the BBC reported that 19 protesters have been killed. The New York Times also cited local media reports that said 400 people have been injured in the ongoing protests.

Amid the protests, a popular VPN provider reported an 8,000 percent spike in signups, ostensibly so Nepali users could get back online and use social media. 

The trouble began when Nepal passed a ban that removed access to 26 social media platforms, including legacy platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit, along with newer platforms like Threads, Discord, and Mastodon. Authorities in Nepal told the New York Times these platforms have not registered with the Nepali government. 

TikTok was able to circumvent the ban by registering back in 2024, and Telegram is reportedly in the process of registering right now. In addition to official registration, each social media company has to have a local point of contact to help battle misinformation and abuse. Nepal’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology posted a notice that companies can get off the ban list by registering. 

While the ban has been enacted in full, many people are angry because the bill hasn’t passed the country’s parliament, sparking charges of government censorship. The social media ban reportedly caused lingering anger over government corruption and economic inequality to boil over, leading to the explosive Gen Z protests that occurred Monday, as the Times reported. Meanwhile, many Nepali people are finding other ways to get online.

As the ban went into effect on Sept. 4, Proton VPN recorded an 8,000 percent increase in new users for its VPN services, which can be used to circumvent georestrictions on specific websites or apps. Proton VPN posted a graph showing new users in Nepal joining en masse starting on Sept. 3, with the numbers skyrocketing after Sept. 4 when the ban went into full effect. Proton VPN is one of the most popular VPN services, with a reputation for having some of the best privacy features of any VPN.

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The company has reported similar spikes in signups following high-profile bans in other countries. For instance, after PornHub was recently blocked in France, Proton VPN signups surged 1,000 percent.

Per a Reuters report, police responded to the civil unrest with tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. The day turned violent after protesters forced their way into the parliament complex in Kathmandu.

This year marked the first-ever international sporting event to feature humanoid robots as athletes. These robots, with some help from the humans behind their creation, competed against each other in the World Humanoid Robot Games to showcase the athletic and practical abilities these machines possess.

As screens get bigger, using a phone one-handed has become challenging over the years. However, if you use an iPhone, you can take advantage of some built-in iOS features to make the experience more comfortable.

Given tariffs in the U.S. coupled with the increasing cost of living here and abroad, existing is becoming more and more expensive. And while love is free, dating isn't immune to price hikes.

Some singles have to make tough financial decisions about dates between paying for drinks, outfits, and commuting. Recently, 28 percent of men even reported that they'd date an AI over staying single because they cannot afford dating. Thankfully, it's not all or nothing. It is possible to use some popular dating apps for free.

What dating apps are free?

Major dating apps, such as Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge, have free tiers, as do Grindr and OkCupid.

SEE ALSO: From Grindr to Scruff: The best dating apps for gay, bi, and queer men

Some users have recently complained that apps have placed various features behind paywalls. Mashable has reported that Grindr users are one such consumer base. In recent years, Grindr has limited the visibility of "taps" (which indicate interest without a direct message), and the "explore" page (that allows users to see others not in their location) only unlocks one new profile a day, whereas it used to unlock three.

There could be several reasons for this. Many mainstream apps are owned by public companies. Grindr, for example, is public, as is Match Group, the parent company behind Tinder and Hinge (and many other apps). When a company is beholden to shareholders, it has pressure to make more money and thus monetize features.

Another reason is that companies aren't immune to inflation, either. It might cost more to operate now than in years past, and they want to make up for that increased cost somehow.

Despite the complaints and potential increased paywalls (and ads), these apps do function for free. But it might be like paying for the lower tier of a streaming service: You won't have all the bells and whistles.  

More robust dating apps (that started as dating sites) like eharmony and Match require you to pay in order to match or chat with other users. Even in 2025, though, there are a good number of dating apps you can use for free. We rounded up apps where you can find your forever partner, a casual encounter, or something in between — without paying a dime.

Featured Video For You These dating sites and apps are perfect for people on a budget

Google's Gemini has finally added the ability to upload and analyze audio files. This new feature takes your audio files, including common formats like MP3, M4A, and WAV, and can transcribe, summarize, and extract key details from the content.