IT General

Xbox is planning to add a free, ad-supported tier to its cloud gaming service. That means you should be able to stream certain games without paying.

The Verge broke the news, citing sources familiar with Microsoft's plans. The tech site reported that Microsoft was getting ready to announce the news and had been testing ad-supported gaming internally. The ads would reportedly take the form of a two-minute pre-roll before playing, and there may be limits on how long games could stream.

Wrote The Verge:

"I understand that the free ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming will include the ability to stream some games you own, as well as eligible Free Play Days titles, which let Xbox players try games over a weekend. You’ll also be able to stream Xbox Retro Classics games."

SEE ALSO: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is about to cost more — here's how to lock in a better price

Xbox Cloud Gaming is a key offering from Microsoft and allows gamers to stream with certain Game Pass subscriptions. The company recently instituted a price hike — like everything else these days, it seems — pushing Xbox GamePass Ultimate up 50 percent to $29.99 per month.

Whether you're building your own PC or just trying to save as many cents as possible on your power bill each month, there are many areas in which your computer may be unnecessarily drawing power. Follow these tips, and you can tone that power draw back as much as possible.

Samsung makes incredible phones I've enjoyed for years, but I recently switched from my Samsung Galaxy S25+ to the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL. And while I'm currently loving this phone and being on team Pixel, there are several aspects I miss about my Samsung Galaxy and One UI.

Desktop upgrades are usually either expensive, underwhelming, or both. It’s easy to spend a fortune on some piece of equipment, only to realize later that it’s completely useless. However, with this particular gadget, the opposite is true—it’s both cheap and incredibly effective.

The vi editor is confusing if you're not used to it. It takes a secret handshake to escape this application if you've stumbled into it. Here's how to quit vi or vim on Linux, macOS, or any other Unix-like system.

Remakes tend to get a bad rap for being seen as lazy and/or safe retreads of the familiar. If you’ve already seen a story, what’s the point of seeing it again with different forces trying to make the same movie? While plenty of remakes undoubtedly fit that description, there are just as many that offer a refreshing revision instead of a reprisal.

This was another busy week in tech, with Google and Amazon revealing new smart home devices, the arrival of Windows 11 25H2, a big update for Raspberry Pi computers, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

Sometimes you want to get more out of streaming television than an enthralling story and a mindless time-waster of game shows and reality competition. Sometimes you want to learn something to understand the world better. We have a wealth of media at our fingertips, and we should be getting more out of it besides a few gasps and laughs.

The seq command is far more than a simple number printer. It's a fundamental building block you can use for creating test files, controlling loops, performing network scans, and running mathematical calculations. Here are some common ways to use the seq command.

Whether you're trying to cut back on subscription fees, avoid auto-renewal after a free 30-day trial, or align your spending more closely with your values, there are tons of reasons you may want to cancel Amazon Prime. We totally get it and make no judgments.

Of course, you might want to keep your Prime membership for October Prime Day (aka Prime Big Deal Days), since Prime members have exclusive access to most of the deals during the shopping event. The fall shopping event falls on Oct. 7 and 8 and promises millions of deals across categories, giving customers a head start on holiday shopping.

Nevertheless, here's a step-by-step guide on how to bid Bezos goodbye if and when the time comes to cut ties with the mega retailer. Trust us; it's not as straightforward as it should be.

How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership in the Amazon app

The process for canceling your Prime subscription via the Amazon app is the same on both iOS and Android.

Total Time

• 2 min

What You Need

• Smartphone
• Amazon mobile app

Step 1: Open the app and tap the middle button at the bottom (it should look like a person).

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 2: Tap "Your Account."

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 3: Scroll down through the list of options to "Manage Prime Membership" (under "Account Settings").

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 4: Hit "Manage membership" at the top of the page.

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 5: Tap "Manage Membership (Update, cancel and more)."

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 6: Tap "End membership."

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 7: Review how many days are left in your current Prime billing cycle. Scroll all the way down to "Continue to cancel."

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 8: Confirm your cancellation by clicking the yellow button that says "End on [date]."

Your membership will officially end once your current billing cycle is over.

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership on desktop Total Time

• 2 min

What You Need

• Laptop or desktop

Step 1: Log in to your Amazon account on your browser. Hover over "Accounts & Lists" in the upper right hand corner. In the menu of options, click "Prime Membership."

You'll pull up your personal Prime membership page with a collection of plan benefits and options.

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 2: Click "Manage Membership" in the top right-hand corner. Click "End Membership."

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 3: Review how many days are left in your current Prime billing cycle. Click the yellow button on the lower-right side of the page that says "Continue to cancel."

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Step 4: Confirm your cancellation by clicking the yellow button that says "End on [date]."

Your membership will officially end once your current billing cycle is over.

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

I’ve been collecting digital media for decades, be it movies, TV shows, MP3s ripped from a few hundred of my old CDs, and more videos and pictures than I care to acknowledge. Between my wife and I, we’ve gone through nearly twenty phones over the years, and each one has left a trail of videos, photos and clips that I would prefer not to lose. All of this has left me with messy, undocumented archives scattered across PCs and hard drives. What I really want is one clean, intuitive hub I can share with family, something that feels like Netflix, not a jumble of random folders. That’s where Plex comes in.

This week, OpenAI finally released Sora 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to its generative AI video model. OpenAI launched Sora 2 in a standalone iOS app (sorry, Android users), which is currently available for free on an invite-only basis. Because we didn't have enough slop machines.

I managed to get a Sora 2 invite code, and I've been scrolling through the app and making videos ever since (and getting paid to do it).

My first impressions are a bit complicated. The technology is impressive, certainly. And I had some fun scrolling through the app, but just as often, I found content that left me feeling uneasy.

What is Sora 2?

Sora 2 is a new video generation model and app from OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Sora 2 can make videos (with corresponding dialogue and audio) based on natural language prompts. It's the first true rival to Google's Veo 3 AI video maker, which has been in a league of its own since its launch earlier this year. I don't even want to mention Meta's lackluster Llama or Grok Imagine video tools in the same sentence as these apps, though Meta should get a boost now that it's licensing Midjourney technology.

The invite-only screen... Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora ...and what awaits you on the other side. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora

Using Veo 3 for the first time was one of those crossing-the-rubicon moments for me. The level of realism was equally impressive and horrifying. Sora 2 feels the same way. Like Veo 3, it's mostly being used to make viral meme content and short-form videos like you'd see on TikTok. Videos of a Golden Retriever being arrested for shoplifting steaks at the grocery store, or an emotional support kangaroo being stopped at the airport, seem cute, not sinister.

But Sora 2's potential for harm has a 1:1 relationship with its quality. The better and more realistic the videos are (and some of them are very good, and often realistic), the more I worry about deepfakes and misinformation.

Sora 2 has much better safeguarding than Grok Sora will reject prompts for overtly sexual videos. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora Sora makes it easy to report offensive content. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora

When xAI and Elon Musk launched Grok Imagine, a generative AI image and video generator, I was, frankly, horrified by the lack of safeguarding. Musk has pitched xAI and Grok as the politically incorrect alternative to artificial intelligence apps that are, he says, bogged down with liberal bias. Grok also has a much more laissez-faire approach to content moderation and safety, resulting in sexual deepfakes on Grok Imagine.

On the other hand, OpenAI has implemented much saner safeguards for Sora 2. If you upload an image to serve as the inspiration for a video, the app will reject your image if it detects a face — any face.

A screenshot of the Sora app showing a rejected photo, partially censored by Mashable. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora

If you want to create a video featuring a real person, you have to use the Cameos feature. This feature lets you create videos with the likeness of specific people — as long as they've agreed to participate in the feature.

When I tried to create videos of public figures like, say, Taylor Swift, using common jailbreaking techniques, the app refused to make the video. Needless to say, this is not the blonde showgirl I had in mind.

Cameos tool is cool and unnerving

Cameos are the most famous feature of the new Sora app so far. When you get access to the app, the first thing you have to do is opt in or out of the Cameos tool, which allows your likeness to be used in videos on the app. You can give yourself the ability to make videos of yourself, but also grant access to contacts, specific users, or the public.

The Cameos tool in Sora. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora

Cameos has resulted in a flood of videos featuring the likeness of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Cameos is a clever way to circumvent the deepfake problem by letting users essentially opt in to deepfakes.

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I created a video of myself, and it was weird. Sora didn't get my voice right, but my face, body, hair, and general likeness were spot on. Seeing yourself say and do things you've never said or done is a very strange feeling.

Unfortunately, you may need to get used to that feeling — as AI enthusiasts are fond of saying, it's a new era.

Sora 2 and Veo 3 are in a league of two

A lot of generative AI tools can animate photographs, but few can make realistic videos with corresponding dialogue and sound effects. Sora 2 does this easily, like Veo 3 before it. We'll have a more in-depth comparison of Sora 2 and Veo 3 coming soon. In the meantime, I'll just say Sora 2 lives up to the hype in ways that GPT-5 did not.

The Sora app can make videos in a variety of styles — fake police body-cam videos, '90s TV commercials, music videos, sports broadcasts — that don't immediately look like AI videos at all.

SEE ALSO: Sora 2 app: 7 weird AI videos people have already made with the new OpenAI tool Sora 2 seems to play fast and loose with intellectual property

Mashable has written extensively about the fight between artists and IP holders and the AI industry. AI companies like Meta have won some early victories in these fights, and President Donald Trump's executive orders and comments on the topic have favored the AI industry.

"You can't be expected to have a successful AI program when every single article, book, or anything else that you've read or studied, you're supposed to pay for," Trump said when announcing The White House's AI Action Plan this summer, per Politico. "We appreciate that, but just can't do it — because it's not doable."

Pokemon in the style of 'The Breath of the Wild'. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora SpongeBob and Patrick in 'Midsommar' by A24. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora

Obviously, many artists and rights holders strongly disagree. Disney lawyers famously called Midjourney a "bottomless pit of plagiarism" in its lawsuit against the AI company. But, for now, the federal government seems to be clearing the way for companies like OpenAI to use IP with impunity, lest China gain the edge in the AI arms race.

So, unless Disney or Warner Bros. suddenly scores a surprise legal victory, I'd expect the SpongeBob Squarepants, Star Wars, and Rick & Morty AI videos to keep spreading like meme-fueled wildfire. Mashable asked OpenAI if the company had a licensing agreement with Warner Bros., which owns the rights to Rick & Morty, but the company declined to answer.

Deepfakes and memes as far as the eye can scroll

There are some recurring themes in the Sora app. Users seem to be turning Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" and JFK's "Ask not what your country" speeches into video memes. A representative example: "I have a dream that Xbox Game Pass will not raise prices." Did I laugh the first time I heard Martin Luther King Jr. say, "I have a dream that I'm never going to give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you"? I may have chuckled. But I wish I hadn't.

I also saw a lot of SpongeBob memes in particular, and to a lesser extent, various riffs on Rick & Morty and Pokémon. That could be because a lot of millennials are using Sora, and millennials hold SpongeBob Squarepants and Pokémon in a special place in their hearts.

Screenshot of Sora app with user details blurred out. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora Screenshot of Sora app with user details blurred out. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora

Public figures and beloved TV characters have always been fodder for memes. What's novel here is the ability to easily create videos featuring these figures saying whatever you want. In my experience, Google Veo 3 is more sensitive to prompts involving IP.

How could this be problematic? With Elon Musk currently leading a Netflix boycott over transgender characters in children's TV shows, now anyone can make a realistic video featuring characters saying whatever they want. It could be a powerful tool for outrage farmers.

So, it's once again time to practice media literacy and hone your ability to identify viral AI videos.

I reached out to OpenAI for comment, and a company representative said that Sora was built to provide users with as much creative freedom as it could. The rep also said that IP holders can submit takedown requests through the company's Copyright Disputes form; however, there is not a blanket opt out for IP holders.

SEE ALSO: How to identify AI-generated videos online "We're under heavy load, please try again later."

For early users, expect to see this message a lot. As when OpenAI first integrated image generation into ChatGPT, the company is facing extremely high demand for Sora. I don't expect that to change any time soon. I repeatedly received this error message while testing the app. In fact, it was hard to use up all my credits due to this frequent error.

Sora app with error message: 'We're under heavy load, please try again later' Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora My favorite feature so far

In the Sora feed, you can scroll up or down to find new videos, which is typical. However, on some videos, you can also scroll sideways to see alternative versions of the users' posts. This video album feature lets you see how the video turned out with slight tweaks to the prompt, which is pretty darn cool.

Body cam-style AI video of dogs shoplifting. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora "Make it a pitbull cops treat him a lot worse because of his breed" Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Sora It's a little addicting

Finally, I have to admit that Sora 2 is a little addicting, but only in the same way that all short-form video apps are addicting. Just like it's easy to fall into a TikTok hole, it's easy to fall into a Sora hole, and I suspect many early adopters are wasting a lot of time on the app.

As I said, the tech is certainly impressive. But, better slop is still slop, no matter how many likes it gets.

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.

Astronomers are marveling at a distant galaxy surrounded by two giant, intersecting rings of radio light in space, each about 300,000 light-years wide.

The discovery, made by volunteers in the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory citizen-science program in Mumbai, is what's known as — and we're not kidding — an "Odd Radio Circle." The rings both sit within an even bigger radio cloud that stretches nearly 3 million light-years.

These circles, sometimes called ORCs for short, were only found six years ago, and their origin is still a mystery. They may be shockwaves from merging black holes or galaxies. Most are 10 to 20 times larger than the Milky Way, but only a handful are known so far. 

The newly reported ORC, named RAD J131346.9+500320, is the most distant and powerful ever found. It sits so far away in space that astronomers see it as it was when the universe was just half its current age of 13.8 billion years, because light has taken so long to reach Earth. What makes it even more extraordinary is that it's composed of two overlapping circles — a double-ring phenomenon seen only once before. 

"ORCs are among the most bizarre and beautiful cosmic structures we've ever seen," said Ananda Hota, founder of the program, in a statement, "and they may hold vital clues about how galaxies and black holes co-evolve, hand-in-hand."

SEE ALSO: A Saturn moon's ocean may have the chemistry to start life This composite image shows a distant galaxy in optical light with a rare phenomenon called an "Odd Radio Circle," RAD J131346.9+500320, overlaid on top in red. Credit: RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory (India)

This is the first ORC discovered through citizen-assisted science and the first identified using LOFAR, a network of antennas spread across the Netherlands and other European countries. ORCs can only be detected by radio telescopes. 

The discovery came from volunteers using their own eyes to scan deep space maps, searching for unusual patterns that computers may have missed. The findings were published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Don’t miss out on our latest stories: Add Mashable as a trusted news source in Google.

The authors suggest that these rings might be created by powerful winds blowing out of certain galaxies, which toss material out into distant space and shape it into these structures. An animation created by the program, shown below, depicts the rare double-ring ORC expanding after an explosive event in the central galaxy.

In addition to the double ring, the program found two other examples. In RAD J122622.6+640622, astronomers saw a galaxy nearly 3 million light-years across. One of the jets shooting out of its core formed a sudden curve, blowing a ring of radio light about 100,000 light-years wide. 

In the third, RAD J142004.0+621715, the galaxy stretched 1.4 million light-years and showed a similar ring at the tip of one of its jets, with another narrow jet displayed on the other side of the host galaxy.

Scientists say these strange cosmic objects demonstrate that galaxies can shape their surroundings in more ways than expected.

"ORCs and radio rings are not isolated curiosities," said Pratik Dabhade, a coauthor from the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Poland, in a statement. "They are part of a broader family of exotic plasma structures shaped by black hole jets, winds, and their environments."

Who doesn’t mutter “Phone, keys, wallet” and pat their pockets or check their bag when they’re trying to get out of the house? If you’re always in a hurry and fumbling with all the things you need to bring, you might love making the switch to a wallet case for your iPhone. The following are some of the best MagSafe wallet cases for the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air. Being able to slide your cards and ID into your phone case can definitely lighten the load you carry in your pockets. 

Another reason to pick up a wallet case for your iPhone is the opportunity to match the case to your outfits. On this list, there are a few options that come in genuine leather, and they look pretty sleek. Some of the other cases also offer phone stands for watching videos, taking selfies, or just overall convenience. Other finds in this list include a camera cover for those who want an added level of protection, and even a detachable feature if you want to go back and forth between wallet case life. 

Vinich Opens in a new window Credit: Vinich Vinich iPhone 17 Wallet Case $17.99 at Amazon
$19.99 Save $2 Shop Now

This Wallet case from Vinich comes in fun shades like plum, teal, pink, and black. The wallet rests on the back below the camera and swings out from the case. The RFID-blocking wallet case also features luxe stitching along the edges of the case. The case’s wallet can also swing around and act as a kickstand for your iPhone.

Hiwe   Opens in a new window Credit: Hiwe Hiwe Strong MagSafe Magnetic Wallet for iPhone  $14.99 at Amazon
$19.98 Save $4.99 Shop Now

This case from Hiwe is a MagSafe wallet attachment for iPhones 12 through 17. The wallet attaches to the back of the phone via a magnet and sits there securely. It holds seven cards and is made of black vegan leather.

Antsturdy Opens in a new window Credit: Antsturdy Antsturdy iPhone Wallet Case $22.99 at Amazon
Shop Now

This wallet case offers a wrist strap and a full wallet compartment. The left side of the wallet holds your cards, and then the zippered pouch opens up for more storage. The case can also fold up and act as a phone stand.

Smartish Opens in a new window Credit: Smartish Smartish iPhone 17 Wallet Case $29.99 at Amazon
$34.99 Save $5.00 Shop Now

This sleek black wallet case from Smartish is perfect for those wanting a subtle wallet case for their iPhone. It comes in numerous colors and patterns, but the simple black is one of the most popular models. Raised edges on the case act as a screen and a camera guard. It can secure up to four cards plus cash, but it is not MagSafe.

BoxCastle  Opens in a new window Credit: BoxCastle iPhone 17 Genuine Leather Case Wallet with Card Holder $30.99 at Amazon
Shop Now

Super sleek, this genuine leather, folio-style wallet case has a magnetic tab that keeps the folio closed over your phone case. The credit card slots are on the left side when you open the case.

Acandya Opens in a new window Credit: Acandya Acandya iPhone 17 Clear Protective Wallet Phone Case $12.99 at Amazon
Shop Now

This clear case is made from anti-yellowing plastic, with heavy-duty shockproof protection. The wallet is on the back of the case, but buyer beware, this case is clear. If you want to protect your privacy, this might not be the best fit for you, but you could always put a fun sticker on the bottom of the wallet portion to protect your cards from being visible.

Vena  Opens in a new window Credit: Vena Vena iPhone 17 Wallet Case Flip Cover $39.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $10 Shop Now

This case from Vena is super cool. The wallet in this case also folds out to be your phone stand, and the cards stay secure and protected even when the wallet wall is open to support your fun. It also comes in fun two-tone colors like white and pastel blue or blue and black.

OCASE Opens in a new window Credit: OCASE OCASE iPhone 17 Detachable Wallet Case with Card Holder $29.99 at Amazon
Shop Now

This 2-in-1 wallet case from OCASE is awesome because you can switch between a regular case and a wallet case whenever you want. The OCASE provides a regular phone case that fits inside a larger folio-style RFID-blocking wallet case. Despite all of this, it isn’t bulky, and the design is very sleek. The cherry on top is that it comes in 20 different colors.

Atatoo Opens in a new window Credit: Atatoo iPhone 17 Case Wallet with Built-in Card Holder  $19.99 at Amazon
Shop Now

For folks who don’t mind a bit of bulk, this case is super sturdy and designed for protection. The case has a wallet on the back and a sliding camera cover to protect your camera from getting scuffed.

Benbenjaytek Opens in a new window Credit: Benbenjaytek Benbenjaytek iPhone 17 Wallet Case with Card Holder $15.95 at Amazon
Get Deal

For someone looking for a wallet case that is more subtle and does not announce that it also holds all of your cards and ID, this is a great option. This iPhone wallet case is so sleek — aside from the subtle line where the wallet compartment opens up, you can barely tell that this is a wallet case at all. The hidden card slot holds up to two cards, and it comes with a screen protector. 

Defencase  Opens in a new window Credit: Defencase Defencase Compatible with iPhone 17 Case Wallet  $26.99 at Amazon
Shop Now

Last but not least, this wallet case from Defencase is for the maximalists out there. This case offers so much — if you don’t mind your phone and its wallet case becoming basically a wristlet. The folio case has a zipper pouch, card slots on the outside of that pouch, another whole middle section with more card slots, and then, finally, the spot for your phone. Thankfully, this wallet case also comes with a wrist strap for smooth carrying. 

A laptop doesn't make a great impulse buy, like a pack of gum in the checkout line or a weird thingamajig you saw in a TikTok livestream.

Of course, if the computer you depend on for work, school, or entertainment randomly decides to kick the bucket, the best time to replace it is immediately (after recycling or repurposing it). But most people can and should strategize before investing in a new machine they hope to use for years to come.

First, decide what's most important to you: a laptop with minty-fresh specs, or a laptop that costs less than usual? From there, I can point you toward several key times to buy based on my historical knowledge of past laptop launches and deals. As we head into the holiday shopping season, I'll tell you upfront that now is the absolute best time to buy a laptop if you just want a really good deal.

If you want the latest specs

For future-proofers and shoppers with cash to spare, splurging on the laptop of the moment can be more appealing than buying an older model at a discount.

Best time to buy: At launch

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), a tech industry trade show that happens every year in January, is basically ground zero for next-generation Windows laptops. Major manufacturers like Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, MSI, and Razer treat their booths as runways for new computers with the latest processors, graphics cards, and/or cutting-edge features. Think rollable displays, weird lid attachments, and touchpads with built-in media controls.

While some of the laptops showcased at CES are just prototypes, many are fully fleshed-out devices, and a batch of them are available for preorder or purchase shortly after the event wraps. The rest typically hit the market by March or April.

Billed as "the world's first rollable display AI PC," Lenovo's ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 made a splash at CES 2025. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

There are two lone alpha wolves who don't make appearances at CES, one being Apple, which is known to take a couple different approaches to new laptop launches. Apple usually hosts formal keynote events to mark an upgrade, which the public can watch via livestream. Sometimes it just drops an unceremonious press release. That said, the company is pretty consistent about updating its MacBook Air and Pro lines annually. You can usually count on seeing new MacBook Airs in the spring (March or June) and new MacBook Pros in the fall (October or November).

SEE ALSO: Laptop specs explained: A jargon-free guide to what's inside your computer

Microsoft also opts out of CES in favor of holding its own Surface laptop launch events, which typically happen in the spring (March or May) or fall (September or October). It's been operating on a two-year release cycle lately.

If you want a good deal

Any opportunity to save money is ultimately a win, but certain times of the year feature more (and steeper) laptop discounts that can justify a postponed purchase for those in search of a stellar value.

Best time to buy: On or around Black Friday

The fourth Friday in November isn't treated with the same sort of reverence it once was: Ever since Amazon started hosting Prime savings events in the fall, prompting other retailers to jumpstart their own year-end sales, "Black Friday" has become an informal season that lasts from early October into late November. Still, it remains the best time of year to grab a laptop on sale at a steal — and it's not just because stores like to take advantage of the holiday shopping surge.

Laptops get extra cheap around Black Friday (to the tune of 20 to 50% off) because it syncs up with when retailers and manufacturers are trying to offload their inventories ahead of next-gen refreshes at CES. For laptops that debuted at the beginning of the year, which are about to age out of their "current-gen" moniker, this often translates to year-round lows that knock hundreds of dollars off their normal sticker prices. Older laptops that are at least one generation removed, meanwhile, can plummet to the lowest prices of their entire lifespan as they're priced to move. (I've encountered some ancient Chromebooks on sale for less than $100 on Black Fridays past.)

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 was $200 off a month after launch as part of Amazon's 2023 Black Friday sale. Credit: Microsoft

While Apple and Microsoft don't operate on the same product cycles as everyone else, they both still have a strong presence on Black Friday at third-party retailers. Amazon and Best Buy are really good about putting older MacBooks and Surface laptops on sale at rock-bottom prices while also offering some initial deals on newer models that have only just launched. On Black Friday 2023, for example, they took $200 off the Surface Laptop Go 3 and $150 off the M3 MacBook Pro, respectively; both laptops had debuted a month prior.

Apple and Microsoft technically host their own Black Friday sales, too, but they usually aren't much to write home about. The famously stingy Apple Store only doles out free gift cards or accessories with the purchase of older MacBooks, and the Microsoft Store's prices are often trounced by its third-party peers.

SEE ALSO: Now is one of the best times to buy a MacBook

The real debate concerning Black Friday laptop deals revolves around whether consumers should shop early or hold off on buying until Black Friday proper, in case prices get even cheaper, and the answer boils down to whether you're eyeing specific models or specs. Retailers still reserve some deals for the actual holiday (always the Friday after Thanksgiving) even if their sales are weeks or months long, so it can be worth waiting to see which laptops get featured in that primetime slot. The trouble is that we rarely know what those featured laptops are ahead of time — and by the time they're live, the model you really wanted may be backordered or back to full price.

If you're married to a certain spec sheet and don't just want a good deal, period, I generally recommend buying a laptop as soon as it gets added to a Black Friday sale's roster. In the off-chance its deal improves, you can always tap the retailer's holiday price-match guarantee and/or return policy as a fallback plan.

Second-best time to buy: During back-to-school season

Whether it's a multitasking MacBook for a college freshman or a basic Chromebook for a fifth-grader, a laptop is a given on most school supply shopping lists. As such, laptop prices dependably tank in the summer to tempt students, their parents, and teachers preparing for the upcoming semester — typically from mid-June to early September.

The back-to-school season is so major for laptop purchases that it's the only time outside of Black Friday when the Apple Store runs one of its "sales," throwing in free gift cards with MacBook purchases from early June through early October. That's in addition to its usual education pricing, which saves students, parents, and faculty $100 on select MacBooks year-round.

Apple runs one of its rare gift card promos during the back-to-school season; the other happens during Black Friday. Credit: Apple

It's worth mentioning that Amazon's flagship Prime Day sale falls smack-dab in the middle of back-to-school season in mid-July, and it's one of the only times when shoppers can source a slew of legitimately good laptop deals there besides Black Friday. (More on that later.) For instance, Prime Day 2023 featured a special invite-only deal that dropped the price of an Acer Swift X by over 40%.

Crucially, Prime Day can also be lucrative for laptop shoppers because it goads other retailers into running competing sales, which often match or beat Amazon's prices. (Best Buy's Prime Day counter-programming tends to be Amazon's toughest rival when it comes to tech deals.) Prices aren't quite as low as they are on Black Friday, but it's still enough to make Prime Day worth marking on your calendar.

Third-best time to buy: Over holiday weekends

Retailers are partial to offering deals on big-ticket tech purchases like laptops over federal holiday weekends, the big ones being Presidents' Day weekend (in mid-February), Memorial Day weekend (in late May), the Fourth of July, and Labor Day (in early September, coinciding with the end of back-to-school season). You won't find extreme discounts like you do in the thick of back-to-school season or Black Friday, but they're above average for the "off-season."

Honorable mention: Buy right after new models are announced

Pay attention to new laptop launches even if you don't want the latest tech, as they often trigger quiet sales or price drops on the older models they're replacing. For most laptop brands, this usually means deals start trickling out after the CES dust settles in late January and into February.

Apple's 13-inch M2 Apple MacBook Air got two permanent price drops during its lifespan. Credit: Molly Flores / Mashable

Apple and Microsoft refreshes are, again, a little less predictable timing-wise, but they're just as reliable when it comes to previous-gen discounts. You might recall the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air getting a permanent $100 price cut when its 15-inch counterpart debuted, then another $100 chop once the latest M3 version materialized. And the original Surface Laptop Studio went on sale for $500 off the week after its successor was announced.

Not all retailers are created equal

Shopping for a new laptop is as much a game of "when" as it is "where."

Between major online retailers, I typically find the most laptop configurations (and the best laptop deals) at Best Buy. That includes current- and previous-gen MacBooks, plus a broad range of Windows laptops, Chromebooks, and gaming laptops across all major brands; it's the exclusive retail partner for a slew of current-gen Copilot+ PCs.

SEE ALSO: The 3 best laptops of 2025 (so far)

Amazon comes next. It consistently stocks and discounts recent MacBooks as well as a more random selection of Copilot+ PCs, Chromebooks, and entry-level to mid-range gaming laptops. Walmart has the most limited inventory out of the three and mainly dabbles in older Windows laptops, gaming laptops, low-end Chromebooks, and the M1 MacBook Air. (It's Apple's exclusive retailer partner for the original M-series notebook.)

With that in mind, I want to flag some quirks about these retailers that can complicate shoppers' buying experience in some way or another. One is that Amazon and Best Buy intermittently inflate laptops' original sticker prices, which can make discounts look better than they actually are. This also sometimes happens in the reverse, where a deflated MSRP is concealing better-than-advertised savings. But getting duped into a lousy deal is a less happy surprise.

Amazon listed this Acer gaming laptop on sale for $769.99, down from $844.99. Credit: Screenshot: Amazon The exact same model had an original price of $779.99 on Acer's website. You're actually saving $10, not $65. Credit: Screenshot: Acer.com Best Buy listed this Acer gaming laptop on sale for $1,099.99, down from $1,499.99. Credit: Screenshot: Best Buy The exact same model had an original price of $1,449.99 on Acer's website. You're actually saving $350, not $400. Credit: Screenshot: Acer.com

Furthermore, Amazon and Walmart are teeming with laptop listings from third-party merchants that shoppers should approach with caution. (Best Buy also hosts third-party sellers as of mid-2025, though I haven't encountered any selling laptops yet. I'll update this story if that changes.)

Amazon's third-party sellers may use different customer service policies than their hosts, while Walmart's MarketPlace Sellers may have different return policies or warranty terms. And let's not forget that counterfeit products are an ongoing issue for both retailers.

This isn't to say that all third-party sellers are evil scammers. (You can usually tell based on their reviews.) It's also important to note that Amazon and Walmart both have guarantees in place to offer recourse if shoppers have problems with third-party sellers, provided they're eligible. Still, I don't think it's worth the risk or the hassle when it comes to a big-ticket purchase — a cheap shirt or dinky knick-knack, maybe, but certainly not a laptop. Reddit is filled with enough horror stories to reinforce this caginess.

In March 2025, you could buy a configuration of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 from a third-party Amazon seller for $1,349.99 (and get a free stylus)... Credit: Screenshot: Amazon ...Or you could buy the same laptop directly from Amazon for $40 more. Go with Amazon for peace of mind. Credit: Screenshot: Amazon A third-party Walmart seller was selling this Asus Vivobook S 16 Flip for a hair less than Walmart itself in March 2025. Credit: Screenshot: Walmart Just get it from Walmart. You're not technically getting the lowest price, but you know exactly who you're buying from. (The difference is negligible, anyway). Credit: Screenshot: Walmart

I'll give the big A and W some credit, though: They usually clean up their acts for Prime Day and Black Friday. I see lots more retailer-direct laptop listings on both sites during those major sales. Look for "Ships from/Sold by Amazon.com" and "Sold and shipped by Walmart.com" labels below the "Add to cart" buttons on their product pages. You can also filter your Walmart searches by seller.

It's important to remember that you can avoid these issues entirely by buying from laptop manufacturers themselves, which maintain their own online storefronts offer their own discounts year-round. At the very least, these are extremely useful for price checks against Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart listings to make sure their discounts are worthwhile.

How to tell if you're getting a good laptop deal

Being wary of third-party sellers and cross-checking listings between laptop retailers and manufacturers are two of the best ways to ensure you're making a smart purchase. I also recommend appraising discounts using price-tracking tools like CamelCamelCamel and Google's Shopping Insights feature. They can tell you whether a laptop you're considering has ever gone on sale for cheaper, if at all.

Finally, consider bookmarking Mashable's shopping experts' deals coverage. In recommending laptop deals, we personally vet every single discount and stick with trusted sellers. Whether the computer you wind up buying is brand new or just new to you, we strive to make sure you can confidently say that your money was well spent.

John Anderton, the chief of a futuristic police force known as PreCrime, stands before a large translucent screen. He is waiting for a ball, which indicates a future crime, to drop. Anderton, a character played by Tom Cruise in the 2002 film Minority Report, represents a world where all premeditated crime has been eradicated, aided by a hybrid system of tech and meta-humans that can predict and spot ne'er-do-wells. 

The concept feels both futuristic and familiar. The original source material might have been published in 1956, but two decades after Minority Report was released, and a little more than two decades before the events of the film will take place, we're actually closer to that world than ever before — and we can thank AI. 

SEE ALSO: Open AI, Google, and Anthropic all offer AI tutors for students. Do they work? A crime-fighting AI assistant?

Herman DeBoard is the founder and CEO of Airez, a small AI start-up pitching a revolutionary real-time security system that uses AI neural networks to spot potential crime. 

I posed the Minority Report comparison to DeBoard. "That's pretty close to what we've created here," he said, although they normally get compared to Skynet, the malevolent superintelligence system from the Terminator series. He said PreCrime's human overseers in Minority Report, who have to vote on whether or not to act on a crime ball, mirror the agentic system they've set up. 

Here's how it actually works: A client, say a Vegas casino or an NFL stadium, reaches out to Airez about streamlining their security systems. The Airez team runs a non-invasive pilot, which involves the client sending over facility sensor data (mainly video footage, but eventually audio recordings, security systems, environmental or biometric information, you name it), which is then run through the Airez model. Airez scans through the information, flagging any pieces of data that stand out as anomalous. 

"We give you contextual stories of what's happening. Everything from an emotional evaluation of the people involved, how tall they are, what their cultural makeup is, what they're wearing, to what direction they're walking and what they actually did." They're looking at how the environment around them changed too, DeBoard explains. "We paint these pictures in little 60-second clips, and then we send them to a security operations center or someone who's monitoring this."

To paraphrase DeBoard: Airez is merely looking for things that are out of place. 

If the facility likes what Airez finds and signs on, the company launches a full integration, connecting the Airez software and dashboard to the facility's existing security system. The company can provide additional sensors, like infrared cameras or Airez's multi-patented FoRi (Fiber Optic Ring Interferometer) system, which captures vibrations or audio signals and determines precise geographic locations. It was designed by a former lead scientist at Halliburton and expands on existing fiber optic tech for listening to oil leaks in the ocean — it's mainly deployed in parking garage pilots, for now. Airez is ready to start monitoring right away, no acclimation period needed.

She's merely looking for things that are out of place.

The AI is a "true agentic AI system," DeBoard says, utilizing real machine learning built on multiple Large Language Models (LLMs) and Vision Language Models (VLMs). He explains it as a proprietary blend of in-house and external models that form a super-powered GPT with contextual intelligence, fusing data from cameras, sensors, and external feeds. The company is currently running active pilot programs with three transportation networks — an interstate public transit provider and two inner-city public transit systems — and an international oil and gas company.

He speaks of "her" — DeBoard describes the AI as female — with a sense of awe. 

"This is going to sound a little creepy. It does to me, and I'm the creator, but she's currently cognitive," DeBoard says, insisting he's not delusional. "She has the five senses. She even can smell. We do gas sensors and ammonia sensors. And then she makes sense of it in a way that she can then speak to you."

DeBoard wants Airez to talk to clients like the semi-sentient AIs that proliferate popular culture; a "living, breathing creature" birthed from a simple structure. She can text her clients or send them video run-downs of what's going on at their facilities. Eventually he wants her to be able to act autonomously based on the sensor data, like deploying drones that can investigate anomalies. 

"She would see where the emergency exits are, and she could start to calmly talk to people with a voice. She could start to change screens. She could lower the temperature a little bit to get people more calm." 

I can't help but recall the AI-computer-turned-antagonist VIKI, also a hyper intelligent algorithm in the casing of a human woman, from I, Robot, starring Will Smith. I tell DeBoard (somewhat jokingly) that the only difference between Airez and Minority Report's process is that Airez doesn't have the psychic, future-telling abilities of PreCrime. Not yet, he says, but maybe soon.

DeBoard believes the vast trove of information held in LLMs and VLMs is not being used to its full potential. Airez, instead, sees a vision of the future, DeBoard says. The AI could be deployed to any industry, any venue, any client, seamlessly, as an all-purpose security system, he claims, adding it could one day monitor operational efficiency or consumer trends for marketing.

"We want to use AI to make humanity's situation better, not worse," says DeBoard. 

An artificial Big Brother?

Darrell West, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and co-editor-in-chief of TechTank, tells Mashable that AI is being integrated across firms in the security sector. "AI is very good at pinpointing anomalies and then referring those situations to a human who can then assess if it is really a problem," he explained. "This has been happening for a while, but the tools are getting more powerful and there is more information available. Just on the video side, there's been a tremendous proliferation of cameras in public places."

Privacy watchdogs have kept their eyes trained on AI's integration into mass surveillance systems, including the use of algorithms to scour and flag "dissenting" opinions or improper behavior on social media and in workplaces. 

"AI can’t understand human behavior — it’s a pattern-recognition machine trained on data that’s rife with society’s biases, and so its output reflects those biases too. If paired with invasive technologies such as face recognition, which itself reflects biases and makes errors that have led to false arrests, the potential harm is exponential," says Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). 

West also says that the advancement of AI stokes greater privacy fears, especially in a country with no national privacy laws. Companies in the space should have short data storage times and publicly disclose the use of surveillance tools, he says. Americans may want crime tools to fight crime, but they value freedom even more, he adds.

DeBoard has heard the concerns before, and explained that Airez doesn't focus on facial or license plate recognition tech — two hot button topics among watchdogs — because of their inherent privacy risks. That being said, Airez can help clients add the additional features if they want them. Airez is also instructed not to build personal profiles of people caught on camera in their client's venues, which would pose a potential nightmare in places under specific privacy laws, like hospitals.

"I agree that we shouldn’t normalize unnecessary surveillance. That’s not what Airez is about," says DeBoard. "Our focus is on event detection, not personal profiling. We’re not interested in who someone is — we’re interested in whether an unsafe event is occurring, like a weapon being brought into a school, a patient collapsing in a hallway, or a worker entering a restricted substation without PPE."

"But you can't walk down the city street these days without being on camera," he adds. "Whether you want to be or not, you're on the camera. There's cameras at every retail establishment. There's cameras at restaurants. There's street cameras. If you have a phone, you're being listened to right now. So all we're doing, essentially, is being a real time data analyst."

Parents were wary of piloting Airez in a school transportation system, DeBoard notes. Specifically, they didn't like the idea of more cameras on their kids. "Their kids are already on video. Their kids are everywhere on social media, most of them anyway, and we don't transmit that data. All of that data stays with the school system, and once we show them that path, they're usually fine."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and other entities have been resolutely against government and private industries using AI to make decisions that impact quality of life, like mortgage approvals, job hiring, federal benefits, and, in the case of Airez's real-time security tools, any sort of crime prediction. "The underlying idea that employees and/or the public should be in a constant fishbowl of all-seeing, all-hearing surveillance is terrifying, especially at a time when civil liberties are threatened by creeping authoritarianism," Guariglia says. 

But Airez doesn't decide to act on a potential crime, it just notes when something weird is going on. DeBoard himself says concerns about AI are warranted, but should be directed toward the tech's creators and industry power holders. The public should interrogate their motives. He evoked the recent public killing of Charlie Kirk and the fatal crowd crush incident at Travis Scott's 2021 Astroworld festival as examples of where Airez could have intervened. "For us, it’s not about normalizing surveillance — it’s about making the data that’s already there work smarter to protect people’s lives."

And what about this growing anxiety around safety in public spaces? Could artificial intelligence allay such worries? "There's not a strong correlation between fear and actual crime. The fear almost always outruns actual crime statistics," says West. "And I don't think an AI tool is going to reduce people's fears." 

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When NASA announced its 10 newest astronaut trainees during a recent ceremony, the women on stage outnumbered the men for the first time in the space agency's history: Six of the recruits who will train for future missions to the moon — and potentially Mars — are female. 

But with that milestone apparently came another: the first astronaut class in 40 years without any Black candidates. The most recent class to not include any Black men or women was group 11 in 1985, NASA's history office confirmed for Mashable. 

Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has ended federal diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives by executive order, including at the U.S. space agency, calling them "illegal and immoral discrimination programs." Within weeks, NASA had closed some offices and removed some content from its website about minorities. 

At the livestreamed ceremony in Houston on Sept. 22, officials emphasized that the latest inductees into astronaut training represented the "best and brightest" among 8,000 applicants. 

"We know that you represent your families. You represent your communities. You represent NASA, which is the most respected and revered agency in the whole wide world — no pressure," said Acting Administrator Sean Duffy, who is also transportation secretary. "But most importantly, you represent America — the greatest, most innovative, creative country that's ever existed on the face of the Earth." 

Whether the White House's DEI order had any effect on the astronaut selection process is unclear. It's also not known whether the agency remains committed to the goal of including a person of color in its upcoming Artemis III moon-landing crew. NASA spokespeople did not respond directly to written questions from Mashable for this story. Instead, NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens provided a statement that only addressed the 2025 astronaut class, suggesting that race and gender were not considerations.

SEE ALSO: Webb captured this stunning nursery of baby stars. It's massive. Black Americans at NASA

NASA, like most parts of the federal government in the mid-20th century, was slow to include Black people in roles both inside and outside the spaceship. In the 1950s and '60s, all astronauts were white men. 

The shift occurred in 1978, when the agency selected 35 pilots and mission specialists for the space shuttle program, according to a NASA feature no longer available on its website which can be accessed through internet archives. That class, known as group eight, included three Black recruits, one of whom, Guion Bluford, became the first Black American in space during Challenger's STS-8 mission in 1983. 

NASA astronaut Guion Bluford exercises on a treadmill during the STS-8 spaceflight in 1983. Credit: NASA

By the mid-1980s, NASA had become more focused on racial and ethnic diversity. It consistently selected at least one Black recruit per astronaut class starting in 1987 with Mae Jemison, who became the first Black woman in space five years later. Hiring of more underrepresented minorities extended to other NASA jobs as well, including research and engineering roles. 

Up until this year, NASA has emphasized its commitment to putting a woman and person of color on the moon during its Artemis III moon-landing mission, which could happen as early as 2027 following Artemis II next year.

"Representing the diversity of the American public is critical to the future of NASA’s human exploration missions," the agency said in a news release in 2021.

In a statement to Mashable, NASA Press Secretary Stevens did not address whether NASA still intends to include a person of color in the Artemis III crew or sentiments concerning the agency's overall views on diversity in the astronaut corps. She spoke only to the latest astronaut class' selection process.

"NASA astronauts are chosen through a rigorous process overseen by an objective selection board, based on education, physical fitness, applicable experience, and more. Each astronaut candidate is selected because they are the most qualified and capable to advance NASA’s mission: exploring for the benefit of America, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and inspiring the world."

"NASA astronauts are chosen through a rigorous process overseen by an objective selection board, based on education, physical fitness, applicable experience, and more," Stevens said. "Each astronaut candidate is selected because they are the most qualified and capable to advance NASA’s mission: exploring for the benefit of America, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and inspiring the world."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Diversity in astronomy and aerospace

General efforts to increase the representation of people of color in astronomy have existed for many years. The American Astronomical Society released a decadal position paper on the state of the profession in 2010, finding that "African American, Hispanic, and Native American" individuals remained markedly underrepresented in the field. Without a five- to tenfold increase in doctoral degrees awarded to these racial and ethnic minorities each year, parity would be decades away, according to the paper. 

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"There is demonstrated evidence that STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] fields benefit from diverse perspectives on problems that require more complex thought processes," the authors wrote. "This is especially relevant to a field like astronomy where more and more work is being done collaboratively."

In the 2022 NASA documentary, The Color of Space, retired astronaut Joan Higginbotham, who is Black, said it's important for people of color to see professionals who look like them in various fields.

"It shows you right there, the people that are there, that you can touch, that you can feel, that you can reach out to, that you can talk to," said Higginbotham, who became an astronaut in 1996 after nine years as a NASA electrical engineer. "If they can do it, then there's a chance for me to do it, too."

NASA astronaut class 2025

The 2025 astronaut candidates include Ben Bailey, Lauren Edgar, Adam Fuhrmann, Cameron Jones, Yuri Kubo, Rebecca Lawler, Anna Menon, Imelda Muller, Erin Overcash, and Katherine Spies, who are all between the ages of 34 and 43, according to NASA. The new class includes a U.S. Army chief warrant officer, a geologist, and six test pilots. Most of the test pilots come from the U.S. Air Force and Navy, with one serving as a test pilot for United Airlines. 

A NASA spokesperson told the New York Times that Kubo's father was of Japanese heritage but that she did not know the racial identities of the other astronaut trainees, according to a recent report. Apart from photos, NASA has not released information on the new recruits' racial and ethnic backgrounds in their bios or related materials.

Among the new recruits is Edgar, 40, who spent more than 17 years supporting NASA's Mars rovers as a geologist, and Menon, 39, who has already traveled to space on SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission in 2024. Serving as that commercial mission's medical director, Menon beat her husband, NASA astronaut Anil Menon, to spaceflight. Anil Menon entered astronaut training in 2021 and recently received his first crew assignment for work at the International Space Station in June 2026. 

The 2025 astronaut class will train for two years at NASA's Johnson Space Center before becoming eligible to fly in space. Their education will involve lessons in Russian, geology, survival, and space medicine. The trainees also will perform exercises in high-performance jets and underwater simulations. 

NASA astronaut Victor Glover participates in an Artemis II training exercise at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 20, 2023. Credit: Frank Michaux / NASA Artemis crew selections

NASA is gearing up for its second Artemis mission next year — the first with passengers — which will send a crew on a 10-day journey into deep space, flying by the moon without ever landing on it. Astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Hammock Koch, assigned to this mission in 2023, will be the first person of color and woman, respectively, to fly on a lunar mission. The crew will also include an international colleague, Jeremy Hansen, who is a Canadian astronaut. Their spaceflight will set the stage for Artemis III, the first human moon landing since Apollo 17 more than 50 years ago.

In a 2023 interview with Mashable, Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman said the most exciting aspect of the mission is the people with whom he's going. 

"Look at my crewmates, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy," Wiseman said. "We're a slice of North America, and we're a slice of our planet right now. That is awesome, and I'm incredibly excited to go fly with these heroes."

Though diversity was never explicitly mentioned at the September ceremony, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, congratulated the six female recruits who will join the astronaut corps. NASA currently has just 41 active astronauts eligible for spaceflight. Since the original Mercury Seven in 1959, the agency has only selected 370 people to become astronauts. The majority have been white men.

"I have to admit," Cruz said, "as a 'girl dad' with two teenage girls, ages 14 and 17, I'm particularly proud of all the women here, and the fact that with Artemis, America is going to put the first woman on the surface of the moon in the history of mankind."