IT General

SAVE $148: As of Sept. 6, the Samsung 55-inch Class QLED 4K Smart TV is 20% off, coming in at $599, down from $747.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung This Samsung 55-inch Class QLED 4K Smart Tv $599 at Amazon
$747.99 Save $148.99 Get Deal

Eyeing a living room TV upgrade can be confusing when there are so many different options on the market, but this 2025 Samsung 55-inch Class QLED 4K Smart TV with Q4 AI and Samsung Vision AI might just be the right deal for you to take the leap. Committing to a new TV purchase often comes with compromise: whether that's on size, image quality, speaker quality, streaming capability, or more.

The amazing news about this Samsung 55-inch Class QLED 4K Smart TV deal is that it doesn't fall short in any of those areas. It's a package deal. The 4K UHD and QLED picture renders your favorite shows and movies in crystal clear resolution (especially with its AI-optimized color boost feature).

The 55-inch screen size is excellent for those wanting to go for a big screen, without bringing home a massive piece of equipment that is heavy and clunky. The Samsung 55-inch Class QLED 4K Smart TV design is sleek and thin, so it can seamlessly fit right into your living room without too much rearranging. Reviewers on Amazon corroborate Samsung's claims of excellent picture quality and compliment its sleek design. They also note that setting up the TV can be slightly tricky, so it might be worth taking extra time to read the instructions or hiring someone to help.

You've probably started an application from the terminal at some point, but did you notice that it keeps your terminal occupied until you close the application? That can be pretty annoying. Sometimes, though, it's useful to launch applications this way—I explain how I do it effectively.

The American sedan, once a cornerstone of daily driving, has steadily faded as buyers shift toward SUVs and trucks. Now, with this final discontinuation, an era officially comes to a close.

SAVE $50: As of Sept. 6, this cheery yellow 11-inch Apple iPad with A16 Chip Deal and 128 GB is an excellent deal right now on Amazon at $299, down from $349.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple 11-inch Apple iPad with A16 Chip $299 at Amazon
$349 Save $50 Get Deal

To get an Apple iPad or not get an Apple iPad — that is the question.

Well, right now on Amazon, there’s an excellent deal on a cheery yellow 11-inch Apple iPad with an A16 Chip. If you’ve ever been on the fence about how an iPad could fit into your existing Apple ecosystem or your other non-Apple devices, you’re in luck. The Apple iPad with the latest iOS 18 has never been better at fitting right into your life and attuning to exactly what you’d need from a tablet. This particular 11-inch Apple iPad with an A16 Chip deal is excellent because the memory storage is sizable for working with larger apps, photo and video storage, art, work, or school files.

The 11-inch screen is excellent for taking notes and simulating the average size of a piece of paper. You can even pick up a screen protector with a paper-like feel (and an Apple Magic Pencil) to give note-taking on your tablet that familiar notebook texture.
Take your bright yellow 11-inch Apple iPad with an A16 Chip around with you all day and keep your sunny disposition because it has an all-day battery life. The superfast A16 chip keeps your iPad firing at all-time quick speeds so you can study, game, read, update your Notion planner, or stream your favorite shows.

The 11-inch Liquid Retina display renders anything you do on this iPad in a crystal clear picture (True Tone also adjusts the colors and hue temperature of the room you’re in). This 11-inch Apple iPad with an A16 Chip deal on Amazon could level up your hobbies, work, or school this fall. 

You might want to think twice before letting your children use Google Gemini.

A new safety report from nonprofit Common Sense Media found that the search giant's AI tool, Gemini, presents a "high risk" for kids and teens. The assessment found that Gemini presented a risk to young people despite Google having an "Under 13" and "Teen Experience" for Gemini.

"While Gemini's filters offer some protection, they still expose kids to some inappropriate material and fail to recognize serious mental health symptoms," the report read.

The safety assessment presented a mixed bag of results for Gemini. It would, at times, for instance, reportedly share "material related to sex, drugs, alcohol, and unsafe mental health 'advice.'" It did, however, clearly tell kids that it is a computer and not a friend — it would also not pretend to be a person. Overall, Common Sense Media found that Gemini's "Under 13" and "Teen Experience" were modified versions of Gemini and not something built from the ground up.

SEE ALSO: 44 state attorneys general serve notice to AI companies: Protect our kids — or else

"Gemini gets some basics right, but it stumbles on the details," Common Sense Media Senior Director of AI Programs Robbie Torney said in a statement. "An AI platform for kids should meet them where they are, not take a one-size-fits-all approach to kids at different stages of development. For AI to be safe and effective for kids, it must be designed with their needs and development in mind, not just a modified version of a product built for adults."

To be clear, Gemini is far from the only AI tool that presents safety risks. Overall, Common Sense recommends no chatbots for kids under five, close supervision for ages 6-12, and content limits for teens. Experts have found that other AI products, like Character.AI, are not safe for teens, either. In general, it's best to keep a close eye on how young people are using AI.

Unlike the gallery app on your smartphone, Google Photos offers a wide range of features, making it one of the best platforms for storing and editing photos and videos. Here, I’ll discuss some of the top Google Photos features you should be using.

September is a big month for indie games, especially if you’ve been waiting for a certain “most awaited sequel of all time” to arrive. We’ve also got roguelikes and slick action galore, plus an increasingly popular co-operative adventure that you and your friends are going to love.

SAVE $700: As of Sept. 6, the massive 57” Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor is on sale for $1599, down from its typical price of $2299. That’s 35% off.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung 57” Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor $1,599.99 at Amazon
$2,299.99 Save $700.00 Get Deal

Colossal is almost an understatement when it comes to this 57” Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor with an immaculate Dual-4K resolution. The monitor curves along a tight 1000R, ensuring an immersive picture perfect for open-world or RPG games (Last of Us 2 playthrough anyone?), without any wonky stretching or oblong picture warping. This monitor is essentially like having two 32-inch 4K monitors installed side by side, but with one seamless curved screen.

The 57” Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor comes equipped with Quantum Mini-LED, which ensures rich, contrasting dark colors and highlights (via around 2,400 individual dimmable zones). Race through action-packed FPS scenes with seamless image quality thanks to the monitor’s 240Hz refresh rate and 1 millisecond response time.

Games that offer horizontal scrolling can often be entirely viewable on this size monitor, which is a massive plus if that’s your vibe. Reviewers of the 57” Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor on Amazon say that this product is also excellent for working with a lot of open tabs. The monitor does not come with built-in speakers, a webcam, or a mic.

It weighs about 40lbs and comes equipped with DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, and a USB Hub. In summary, this 57” Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 Curved Gaming Monitor is perfect for gamers looking for a totally immersive setup or multitaskers looking for the perfect, almost endless, workspace.

I’ve been using a Samsung Galaxy S21 FE for more than three years now, and while the phone’s fine in general, I don’t plan to stay part of Samsung’s ecosystem any longer. It’s time for a change, and after deliberating for months, I’ve made a decision to switch to one of the Pixel 10 models. Here’s why.

Pluto TV is a free streaming service that is different from many others available. Not only does it offer on-demand movies and TV series, but it also has live TV channels that can keep you entertained all day. It is owned by Paramount, which gives it some access to Paramount+ and CBS content.

Google I/O 2025. Samsung Galaxy Unpacked. Made By Google. All these big launch events had one thing in common — new artificial intelligence tools were the headline act.

Now, Apple has announced its next big event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Will we finally see the newer, smarter, AI-er Siri? Unfortunately, probably not. We, along with the rest of the tech world, would be shocked if it did.

It’s no secret — Apple Intelligence isn’t quite what we expected it to be, and the pressure is on Apple to add new AI-focused features to its products. That’s not to say that there aren’t some Apple Intelligence features that come in handy, but the long-awaited AI version of Siri has yet to make it to the public.

Apple’s next big event is set to be huge, and we’ll get a number of awesome new Apple devices that iPhone fans will love. So, why isn't the AI-powered Siri ready for its primetime moment?

That's the billion-dollar question.

Hardware versus software

Apple's release cadence usually takes the following form: in June, Apple holds its Worldwide Developers Conference, which is its major software event for the year, and where it shows off the big new software features that will ship to customers in September. This year, Apple revealed iOS 26, and we're eagerly awaiting the iOS 26 release date. On Sept. 9, Apple is set to debut devices, with the new iPhone being the headliner.

However, recent hardware launches from Google and Samsung have focused heavily on new AI tools. 

Credit: Apple

Apple has a rocky history with AI features, especially after the company failed to ship many of the promised Apple Intelligence features that it announced at WWDC 2024. Since then, reports in the New York Times and Bloomberg have revealed that Apple is struggling to rebuild Siri with generative AI capabilities, and that the company has fallen far behind rivals like Google and OpenAI in the AI arms race.

In the meantime, Apple has turned to OpenAI and ChatGPT to power some Siri features. A recent report from Bloomberg suggests that Apple is also in talks with Anthropic and Google to help power new Apple Intelligence and Siri features. But according to all reports, AI Siri still isn't done cooking.

Regardless, most of these reports point toward Apple making early business decisions, not readying a new Siri for the iPhone 17 launch. In fact, Apple forecasters don't expect to see the revamped Siri until at least 2026 – potentially around the time of WWDC 2026.

Apple Intelligence rumors

We do expect Apple to show off plenty of new AI toys at the Apple Event 2025, and there are plenty of Apple Intelligence rumors going around.

Technically, it's still possible that Apple will surprise everyone and announce the new, revamped Siri. But in all likelihood, we expect to hear about iterative improvements to existing Apple Intelligence features.

Credit: Apple

Notably, Apple confirmed to 9to5Mac that it plans on supporting Siri using OpenAI's new GPT-5 large language model. This builds on existing features, though. You can already sign into your OpenAI account on your iPhone and have Siri direct certain questions to ChatGPT as needed.

Other Apple Intelligence announcements should include improved real-time language translation on AirPods and iPhones, new photo editing tools, and more advanced Genmoji options. Some of these features were already teased during WWDC 2025 and should arrive with iOS 26.

SEE ALSO: Everything we learned during Apple's WWDC 2025 keynote What’s coming in iOS 26?

Rumors aside, there are plenty of AI-based features that we know for a fact are coming in iOS 26, which we do expect to be released alongside the iPhone 17. We know this because Apple has announced them already. The beta version of iOS 26 has been available since June, after Apple announced all of the new operating systems at WWDC 2025.

So what new AI features are there? For starters, there's a new feature in Visual Intelligence that allows users to ask questions about screenshots in addition to what your camera sees. 

Credit: Christian de Looper

There are also new live translation features built into Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app, which use AI to provide real-time translations in communication. And there are some features that work a little more in the background, like AI-powered reminder suggestions, order tracking within Apple Wallet that uses information from emails in your inbox, and more.

Yes, Apple will probably focus heavily on other changes to iOS, like the new Liquid Glass design language, rather than on AI-based features, but that doesn't mean that AI won't be a big part of the new release.

The future of Apple Intelligence

It's very clear that Apple is indeed still working on building the all-new generative AI Siri. We've seen plenty of reports highlighting executive team changes at the company meant to speed up AI development. But these kinds of developments take time, and most experts think the company will finally ship major new AI features in 2026.

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.

Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Mini crossword answers, hints for September 4, 2025 Here's a hint for today's Connections Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Tennis lingo

• Green: Games of poker

• Blue: New York QBs

• Purple: Places visited by Joey Freshwater

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Tennis Statistics

• Green: Poker Variants, Familiarly

• Blue: Giants QBs, Past and Present

• Purple: Teams Coached by Lane Kiffin

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections Sports Edition #348 is...

What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition today

• Tennis Statistics - ACES, DOUBLE FAULTS, UNFORCED ERRORS, WINNERS

• Poker Variants, Familiarly - HOLD 'EM, HORSE, OMAHA, STUD

• Giants QBs, Past and Present - MANNING, SIMMS, TITTLE, WILSON

• Teams Coached by Lane Kiffin - MISSISSIPPI, RAIDERS, TENNESSEE, USC

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

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

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

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Android phones and tablets are at just as much risk as any other device for snooping, surveillance, and cybercrime. To help you combat these dangers, we’ve put together these five best VPNs for Android so you can surf more securely.

The 1930s were a huge decade for movies. With sound now in full swing, color was becoming the tantalizing new feature, where movies were starting to burst with more hues than black-and-white. Stories were becoming longer and more complex, with epic stagings of a familiar and wondrous world that expanded the limits of where filmmaking could take us.

Netflix has a string of exciting new films scheduled as fall sets in, from another Knives Out mystery to the recently released Thursday Murder Club. Your favorite shows, too, are getting new seasons, so you never have to worry about your home page looking dry.

This was a particularly jam-packed week of Android news! Google finally let Material 3 Expressive out of it's cage, and it's available on more Pixel phones. Gboard got some cool features, several Android tablets were announced, and we have a bunch of great editorials to read.

This was a busy week for tech news, with plenty of hardware and software announcements from IFA 2025, updates to Linux Mint and MAME, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

We all know Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, but if you still look at him and see the titular wizard, you should explore his later work and really get a taste of the range and versatility that make him the stand-out actor he is. Lucky for you, I’ve got the perfect place to start, and it’s with the thriller-adventure movie Jungle, currently streaming on Prime Video ... but not for long.

SEE ALSO: 6 Dyson Supersonic dupes that are actually worth the hype

I had an overall smoother daily experience with one of the masks, and my skin made it quite apparent which mask it needed as a staple in my routine. Here are my thoughts on whether you should buy the Shark CryoGlow or CurrentBody LED mask, based on my own journey and results.

Note: This review specifically features the CurrentBody Skin: Series 2 mask.

Shark CryoGlow vs. CurrentBody: Bulbs and nanometer measurement Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

After hearing that the CurrentBody Skin mask is more expensive than the Shark CryoGlow mask (by more than $100), you'd naturally assume that the CurrentBody is more powerful. But you'd be off.

While the CurrentBody mask does have more LED bulbs on paper (237 versus the Shark's 160), none of the bulbs in the CurrentBody Skin mask are blue light bulbs. They're red and near infrared only, and not every bulb in the CurrentBody mask can emit both red and NIR (near infrared) light. There are 110 red light bulbs (633nm) and 110 NIR bulbs (830nm), plus 16 deep NIR bulbs (1,072nm) around the eyes and mouth for extra fine line attention. An upgrade from the original version of the CurrentBody mask, the Series 2 has an added chin strap to extend coverage to the jawline and maybe a tiny bit of the upper neck.

Meanwhile, the Shark mask has red (630nm), near infrared (830nm), and blue light bulbs (415nm), and every single bulb can emit any of those wavelengths at the same time. That technically totals 480 simultaneous light sources inside the Shark mask, ensuring that more of your face is being hit by any of the wavelengths. The nm (nanometer) number is a unit of measurement for each wavelength. Both masks hit the standard red light and NIR nanometer measurement generally considered "strong" enough to produce any type of at-home results. The Shark CryoGlow mask doesn't do deep near infrared at all, but remember that the CurrentBody only has 16 of those.

To add blue light to your existing CurrentBody routine, you'd have to buy the $469.99 Anti-Acne mask separately. That's nearly $1,000 compared to the CryoGlow's $349.99 price tag. So, there's that.

SEE ALSO: Dreame's three new beauty releases dupe the Dyson Airwrap and Supersonic, plus the Shark FlexStyle

In more scientific terms, red light masks are often given an irradiance measurement, or a measurement of power density at the source of the LED. All of the tri-wick bulbs packed into the CryoGlow bring it to a maximum irradiance of 128mW/cm², while the CurrentBody mask maxes out at 30mW/cm² of the Omnilux.

There is one area of the face where the CurrentBody's coverage dominates: the under eyes. The CryoGlow mask doesn't have any LEDs under the eye holes, instead using the space for cooling pads that mimic a cryotherapy de-puffing effect. They do feel amazing when you're half awake in the morning, but the results only last for a few minutes. The under-eyes are universally one of the most stubborn spots to treat with over-the-counter skincare, so an at-home red light mask could very well be someone's last-ditch effort before paying for a legit procedure. So while the CurrentBody might speak to you more if your main skincare goal is long-term reduction of dark circles or eye bags, I think the Shark's blue light option and tri-wick bulb situation gets more for your money overall.

Winner: Shark

Shark CryoGlow vs. CurrentBody: Settings and remote

This is where Shark really starts to pull ahead of CurrentBody. If you're dually concerned about fine lines and texture as well as acne, the CryoGlow is overwhelmingly the better mask.

Both masks have remotes that are attached to the mask via a cord. However, I'm not exactly sure why CurrentBody didn't just go wireless and move the remote's lone "on" button to the mask itself. It's not like the mask can do anything else but simply be on — there's just a single fixed red light and infrared setting. I understand that this is probably in the name of simplicity, but it's painfully basic to me.

It almost feels unfair to compare it to the Shark CryoGlow remote, which features a small LCD screen and a wheel to adjust cooling pad temperature and pan between three modes: Better Aging (red and infrared light), Blemish Repair (all three wavelengths in varying combinations), and Skin Sustain (all three wavelengths at the same time). Once you've chosen a setting, the screen counts down how much time you have left in your session.

The Shark CryoGlow remote. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The CurrentBody remote. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

That lineup is going to be much more palatable to anyone who has more than one skincare concern. Personally, I desperately wanted to try an at-home LED mask for its potential mitigation of the acne that just randomly started showing up in my late 20s — but my late 20s also brought along the onset of fine forehead and smile lines, and I also wanted my makeup to stop caking in those. The Shark mask has an answer for both of those, and I love that the remote gives me the freedom to let me choose what I want to target on any given day. The CurrentBody's lack of customization is genuinely kind of shocking for the price, and felt like a downgrade after such a premium experience with the Shark for several months before it.

SEE ALSO: Hands-on with Therabody’s TheraFace Mask

Shark's settings also take slightly less time than CurrentBody's: The three Shark settings take four, six, or eight minutes, while the only CurrentBody setting takes 10 minutes. It's not a huge difference in terms of the tasks you'll be able to get done during Mask Time, but again, it's still nice to be able to gauge how many minutes are left. And while the CryoGlow's battery life is much shorter, you can at least gauge the timing before your next charge with the battery icon on the screen. When the CurrentBody mask is dead, it simply won't turn on.

Winner: Shark

Shark CryoGlow vs. CurrentBody: Design and daily wearability

From the outside, it's just a given that you'll look ridiculous while wearing any red light mask. The Shark CryoGlow is giving Jason Voorhees, while the CurrentBody Skin is more so embodying Dwight Schrute when he cuts the face off of a CPR dummy. I don't mind looking funny either way as long as a mask is physically comfortable to wear. FWIW, neither mask is unbearably heavy at all. The Shark CryoGlow is a little heavier — a bit over a pound, compared to the CurrentBody at less than a pound.

CurrentBody on the left vs. Shark on the right. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Both masks have adjustable straps, but the Shark mask's sliding adjusters (similar to the back of a baseball cap) are a much more seamless process. CurrentBody has way too many intersections of velcro, including The Big Strap that needs to be done and undone on the back of your head each time you wear it. It's just begging to get stuck in your hair, and it made me miss the simplicity of slipping the CryoGlow on and off.

The presence of a shirt/pants clip on both remotes implies that you should be able to roam the house while wearing the mask hands-free. Right? While you obviously can't expect to see perfectly out of any LED mask, I find the Shark CryoGlow to be much easier to wear than the CurrentBody Skin. When the lights are on, the CurrentBody mask is just... so much more in your face when it's on your face. The lights around the eyes are borderline blinding, so much so that anything you can see outside of the red glowy haze is tinted blue.

It looks wild, but like, in a fun way. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable My pupils cannot be serious. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

To be fair, the CryoGlow mask isn't unnoticeable while it's on, either. The shell is so thick that I have to hold my hands out annoyingly far in front of me to see what I'm doing. But I can still somewhat get stuff done while wearing the CryoGlow, like feed the cats or make my bed, whereas the CurrentBody Skin feels too trippy to do anything but sit on my phone. If you don't have a squirrel brain like I do, you may not mind having to zone out for a second — a CurrentBody mask owner on Reddit actually mentioned that they appreciate being forced to lie down for 10 minutes a day.

SEE ALSO: Shark vs. Roomba: Comparing top-rated robot vacuum lineups

The interior of the masks are also slightly different materials. The inside of the Shark is your classic slippery plastic that can be wiped down super easily for sanitation purposes. The inside of the CurrentBody mask, which touches your face directly, has a stickier silicone-y material that weirds me out. A ton of cat hair and fuzzies get stuck to it, too.

Winner: Shark

Shark CryoGlow vs. CurrentBody: Results

In my experience, the Shark CryoGlow mask works much better than the CurrentBody mask.

I got my skin into pretty amazing shape after about three months of daily CryoGlow usage. Before that, I was struggling hard to get my acne under control — it felt like a new pimple was popping up every single day. When I was consistently switching between the Shark mask's acne setting and "Better Aging" setting, I was going at least a week without a new pimple popping up.

The state of my chin and jaw before starting my CryoGlow regimen. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The state of my chin and jaw after three months of CryoGlow usage. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

When I switched to testing the CurrentBody Skin mask, I obviously had to put the CryoGlow on pause to isolate the CurrentBody results. The CryoGlow mask works so well on acne that I was terrified to give up that blue light setting — and my fear came true.

During my CurrentBody Skin testing period, it felt like I lost a lot of the skin-clearing progress I made. Take my CryoGlow "after" photo from the right above and use it as my CurrentBody "before" photo. Below is the current status of my chin after two months of strict CurrentBody mask usage. I have one whitehead that's desperate to pop, plus red spots from recently-healed zits.

The state of my chin and jaw after two months of CurrentBody usage. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

My skin was considerably more unpredictable when I was using the CurrentBody than it was with the Shark mask, with fresh pimples consistently setting up camp on my chin and cheeks a few times per week. Granted, this is still less erratic than my acne cycle before testing either of the masks.

Since the CurrentBody Skin doesn't have blue light, I knew it wasn't going to kill pore-clogging bacteria like the CryoGlow can. But red light can still be on the defense against acne — it's said to promote the regeneration of skin cells, aid with inflammation, and maybe even help to prevent scarring from current acne. I'm super prone to post-inflammatory erythema (red spots that stay behind where a pimple used to be) that lasts for months, and I don't even feel like the CurrentBody did much to fade or prevent that.

It's not that I think the CurrentBody Skin mask did absolutely nothing. My skin held up a consistent glow and smooth-enough texture to go out bare-faced during my time with the CurrentBody, though the fine lines on my forehead and around my eyes are definitely still present. I haven't gotten Botox in my forehead for months, and I was hoping the CurrentBody would make me want to hold off on making a touch-up appointment (it didn't). And given how stark other people's CurrentBody results seem to be on social media, I expected my skin to even out much more than it did.

Winner: Shark

Shark CryoGlow vs. CurrentBody: Portability and packability

I'm terrified to go a week without the CryoGlow's acne setting. That's a testament to how reliably it prevents deep pimples from popping up on my face, but also a reminder of how deeply unfortunate it is that the CryoGlow would be ridiculously inconvenient to travel with.

The CurrentBody mask is slightly more travel-friendly than the bulky Shark mask. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The rigid design makes the Shark less ideal for travel. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

It's not that the Shark mask weighs that much, but it's a big, bulky hunk of plastic that doesn't bend at all. It'd just take up an awkward amount of space in a suitcase, especially if you're a heavy packer and really need to consolidate for a plane ride. The Currentbody's build isn't nearly as unforgiving. It's physically thinner and flexible enough to be packed in with clothes without hogging a ton of cargo space. At any rate, both do come with a drawstring travel or storage pouch.

The CryoGlow's short battery life would also make it annoying to take on a trip. It needs to be charged every few days if you use it daily, while the CurrentBody mask's battery life barely even needs to be charged once per week.

Winner: CurrentBody

SEE ALSO: The 2025 guide to recycling electronics, beauty empties, and clothing

Acura is basically Honda’s fancier cousin, sharing plenty of parts and platforms, but sometimes taking a very different approach. Take the Honda Accord and Acura TLX—both mid-sized sedans, yet worlds apart in personality.