IT General

Performance sedans are increasingly becoming faster, more digital, and arguably less engaging, making this discontinued Italian model feel even more special in hindsight. With more than 500 horsepower, rear-wheel drive, razor-sharp handling, and a Ferrari-derived twin-turbocharged V-6, it offered a driving experience that few rivals could match. It wasn't the quickest car in its class on paper, but behind the wheel, its character and communicative steering gave it an edge that spec sheets couldn't capture.

Samsung's mid-range Galaxy phone is back.

The Korean tech giant announced on Thursday that the Galaxy S26 FE will launch on Sept. 3 for a starting price of $699. That's $50 more than the Galaxy S25 FE was priced at a year ago, but such is the way of things these days. More importantly, it costs a lot less than the $1,099 base-model Galaxy S26 that launched earlier this year, despite coming with many of the same AI features.

I got to demo the new phone at a recent impressions, and my first impression is this: it's fine! The new phone feels solid in the hands and not like a cheap, budget phone. The display seems equally solid, but a lower peak brightness could be a problem, especially in sunlight. Finally, the colors are pretty boring to me.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 review: The perfect phone for cool teens — with generous parents The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE: By the numbers

Here are the basic specs for the Galaxy S26 FE:

• Display: 6.7-inch display with 120Hz refresh rate and 1,900 nits peak brightness

• Processor: Exynos 2500

• RAM: 8GB

• Storage: 128/256GB

• Battery: 4,900mAh

• Rear cameras: 50MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide, 8MP telephoto

• Front camera: 12MP

Three cameras. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Samsung obviously had to make a lot of compromises on the hardware front compared to the regular S26 to get the price down as low as it is. Peak brightness is one of them, as the S26's is 2,600 nits and the S26 FE's is only 1,900 nits. The S26 also had 12GB of RAM, compared to 8GB on the FE. Similarly, Samsung isn't offering a 512GB storage variant for the FE, even though it did on the regular S26.

The telephoto lens on the back has also been downgraded from 10MP to 8MP, though interestingly, the 4,900mAh battery cell in the FE is bigger than the 4,300mAh cell in the S26. The inferior Exynos 2500 chip in the FE might give it worse battery efficiency, though. We'll have to wait until it's in our hands to find that out for sure.

Despite all of the hardware downgrades, Samsung tells me that you can expect parity in terms of AI features, like Samsung's AI photo editing software or its suite of AI time-saving features. (The jury is out on whether the Exynos can handle these processes on device as well as the S26's Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. If you can live without the brightest display, the most storage, or the best cameras, the S26 FE might be a good option for anyone in need of a new Android phone.

If you've been using a computer for a decade or more, you've probably settled into a set of default apps. At some point, you weighed your options, picked what seemed best, and never looked back. In the meantime, the software landscape has evolved quite a bit while you weren't looking. There's a decent chance you're paying for software—or putting up with limited free versions—while completely overlooking equally capable, if not more capable, open-source tools. Here are three such FOSS apps worth switching to.

Kareem Rahma's Subway Takes keeps our feeds aflame with scorching perspectives, and the latest episode of his popular web series asks straight-up questions of people making influencers and social media stars of their children.

In a video posted Wednesday, far from the New York Subway, the host took the London Tube with British content creator, podcaster, and presenter Shelen, who had strong words about parents who constantly feature their kids in TikTok videos.

SEE ALSO: Lucy Dacus' 'Subway Takes' episode has me staring at birds

"Forcing your child to do a TikTok is child labor," she said. "I'm not talking to parents who have a child and the child pops up in a vlog every now and again. I'm not talking to people who capture an organically, genuinely hilarious moment, post it on the internet, and we all laugh. I'm talking about the parents that make their child clock in, like they need to earn their keep."

"Content work is real work," agrees Rahma. "I do it. It's hard. It's hard work."

In a precise, no-nonsense argument, Shelen comprehensively unpacks the legal and ethical problems with parents making money from online videos featuring their kids, including the profits involved, risks of online child sexual exploitation, parents giving away the rights to their children's images, and the possibility of their likeness being manipulated by AI, which is a growing issue.

"People are thinking, Shelen, you know what? Posting my child is easy money. Yes, that tends to be the law behind child labor. Do you know what I'm saying? It doesn't make it OK," Shelen added.

Currently, there are no specific UK child labour laws regulating child influencers or creators. Children under 14 can work part-time in entertainment industries including TV and theatre, though they'll need a performance licence and parental consent and supervision, and they won't qualify for the National Minimum Wage until they're 16. Kids can only start full-time work, for up to 40 hours a week, after 16. None of this applies to influencers or content creators. The existing child labour laws weren't designed with influencers or content creation in mind, leaving a potential regulatory gap that could be exploited.

Featured Video For You Is ChatGPT Changing the Way We Write?

In the U.S., the law varies by state. In 2023, Illinois become the first state in America to pass a law protecting child influencers, allowing kids under 16 "in an artistic or creative service" to sue if they're not paid for featuring in their parent or guardians' online content. California, Minnesota, and Utah have since followed suit with similar laws.

"I feel like one day laws will change, society will change, these kids will grow up, and they will sue their asses," said Shelen in her Subway Takes episode. "And I can't wait to watch."

Read more of Mashable's creator coverage, sign up for our Trending Now and Top Stories newsletters or get Mashable push alerts.

TL;DR: Home Depot's 2026 holiday collection launches online Aug. 27, featuring a 10-foot polar bear, an 8-foot nutcracker with LCD "LifeEyes," an app-controlled Santa, and animated characters from Disney and Marvel, with apartment-friendly decor for smaller spaces.

The holidays might still be months away, but Home Depot isn't waiting around. Fresh off Home Depot's own Christmas in July sale, which brought back the viral 9-foot Grand Duchess tree and an even bigger version of the fan-favorite 8.5-foot Towering Santa, the retailer is following up with its full 2026 holiday collection.

It launches online Aug. 27, with new decor and a handful of tech upgrades to help shoppers turn their homes into a winter wonderland well before Thanksgiving even hits.

From giant animatronic Santas to nostalgic Disney and Marvel characters, this year's lineup is stacked with statement pieces. Home Depot says the collection has something for every space and budget, whether you've got a sprawling yard, a front porch, or a cozy apartment.

Credit: Home Depot

Here's what's landing:

• 8-foot Gold Nutcracker with LCD LifeEyes — a giant gold nutcracker with animated LCD eyes that actually move

• App-controlled Towering Santa — a towering, animated Santa you can control right from your phone

• 10-foot Giant Polar Bear — the collection's biggest showstopper

• 9-foot Santa's Sleigh with Reindeer and the 8-foot Vintage Nutcracker — two of the collection's holiday classics, supersized for maximum impact

• Disney's 3.5-foot Animated Pluto, 4-foot Interactive Mickey, and Minnie Mouse — fan-favorite characters, now animated and interactive

• Marvel's 3-foot Animated Groot — for anyone who wants a little Guardians of the Galaxy under the tree

Credit: Home Depot

With the giant showstoppers, there's plenty for smaller spaces too, like animated character sets sized for tight spots, LED reindeer, and jumbo ornaments to make it easy to bring some holiday cheer home, no matter your space or budget.

Shop the full 2026 holiday collection at Home Depot, launching Aug. 27.

On top of being a budget-friendly choice, Ryobi has a dizzying array of battery-powered gadgets. While most of these are power tools, a huge number fall into other categories.

SAVE $76: As of Aug. 26, the DJI Mini 5 Pro drone is on sale for $683 at Amazon. That's a 10% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Mini 5 Pro $683 at Amazon
$759 Save $76   Get Deal

If you're in the market for a new drone, some of the latest changes around laws on foreign-made drones might have you confused. While there is a ban on future imports, products that have already made it through the supply chain and are sitting on shelves can still be bought and used as normal.

The DJI Mini 5 Pro hasn't suddenly disappeared from the market. In fact, this drone is on sale right now. And according to camelcamelcamel, it's at its lowest-ever price.

SEE ALSO: Capture action-packed aerial footage with 15% off the HOVERAir X1 PROMAX Drone

The DJI Mini 5 Pro is a compact, foldable drone with a palm-sized design that slips easily into a pocket. Despite its size, it still offers 42GB of internal storage.

It has a 1-inch CMOS sensor that captures 4K/60 fps HDR video and a gimbal that supports true vertical filming and 225° roll rotation for more creative angles. The Intelligent Flight Battery also provides up to 36 minutes of flight time, with fast charging that allows three batteries to be charged in around 115 minutes.

With the drone, you'll also get a DJI RC-N3 remote controller, one battery, spare propellers, and more essentials needed to fly. Get this record-low deal from Amazon now.

SAVE $602: As of Aug. 27, the TCL 65-inch QM7L Mini-LED Smart TV is down to $897.99 at Amazon. That's a 40% discount off its usual $1,499.99 — the lowest price we've ever seen for this TV.

Opens in a new window Credit: TCL TCL 65-inch QM7L Mini-LED Smart TV $897.99 at Amazon
$1,499.99 Save $602   Get Deal

Amazon just dropped the 65-inch TCL QM7L Mini-LED QLED Smart TV to $897.99, down from its usual $1,499.99. That's a 40% discount — $600 off — and the best price we've seen for this TV.

TCL's Mini-LED tech is the standout feature here, using thousands of tiny LEDs across over 2,100 independently controlled dimming zones — instead of one big backlight — to deliver deep, true blacks right next to bright highlights without either washing out the other. The color comes from a finer color filter than TCL typically uses, resulting in more accurate, true-to-life color rather than the oversaturated look you've probably seen before. Pair that with an anti-reflective panel, and you get a picture that still looks good even if your living room isn't pitch black.

SEE ALSO: What's new to streaming this week? (Aug. 28, 2026)

There's an AI chip running in the background, constantly adjusting picture clarity, contrast, color, and motion based on whatever you're watching, so you're not manually tweaking settings for every movie or show. It also runs Google's Gemini AI, which makes voice commands and recommendations feel a lot more natural.

For gaming, you're getting smoother motion and lower input lag thanks to TCL's Game Accelerator and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro — useful if you're playing fast-paced games and don't want the screen lagging behind your controller. And for sound, this TV's built-in speakers are tuned by Bang & Olufsen, with the option to add a wireless subwoofer and satellite speakers later if you want a fuller home theater setup.

Grab the 65-inch TCL QM7L Mini-LED Smart TV at Amazon while it's at its best-ever price.

Linus Torvalds created the Linux kernel and gave it away for free. Anyone can take it, change it, and do whatever they like with it, as long as the changes they make are also available for free to everyone else.

It turns out, drinking water is one of the best things we can do when it comes to health. That's good news considering water is one of the most affordable beverages out there. But when we think about the invisible things in our tap water that might not be so great to drink, we run into problems.

Instead of buying endless plastic bottles of water, Ninja has a solution. The new Ninja HydraSense is a sleek and slim countertop water purification system that's a great addition to the lineup of Ninja kitchen appliances we've come to love.

Features of the Ninja HydraSense

The Ninja HydraSense sits on your countertop, plugged in to wall for access to filtered water on-demand. The reservoir can hold 96 ounces of water for less frequent refills, and the touchscreen gives you access to metrics like remaining filter life.

SEE ALSO: Owala Tattoos add a new layer of customization to our favorite emotional support FreeSip bottle

From the touchscreen, you can select your desired ounces, which will send water through the Ninja purifier that'll rid it of up to 99% of contaminates like chlorine, heavy metals, microplastics, and pharmaceuticals. However, Ninja says the filter leaves natural minerals and electrolytes. If you're curious, Ninja has a performance data sheet available to show filtration results from third-party testing.

Each Ninja HydraSense comes with one filter, which is designed to clean 120 gallons of water. Ninja says this can last for up to six months of use. Replacement filers come with a price of $39.99 for a single or $69.99 for a two-pack.

How to buy the Ninja HydraSense

The Ninja HydraSense is already available to buy at both Amazon and Ninja's online storefront. If you like the look of the white or blue, Amazon is a good bet. If you'd prefer the Rosewater Pink or Black HydraSense, they're available at Ninja. If you like freebies, Ninja is tossing in a free 24-ounce Ninja Thirsti Travel Bottle with purchase of HydraSense.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja HydraSense (Dove White or Midnight Blue) $199.99 at Amazon
  Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja HydraSense + free Ninja Thirsti 24-ounce Travel Bottle $199.99 at Ninja
  Get Deal

SAVE $130: As of Aug. 27, the Dyson Airwrap i.d. is on sale for $519.99 at Amazon. That's a 20% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson Airwrap i.d. $519.99 at Amazon
$649.99 Save $130   Get Deal

The Dyson Airwrap i.d. has genuinely achieved cult status as a styling product. Famed for its ability to style your hair without damaging it, it's the perfect tool for salon-worthy blowouts at home. If you've been tempted to see what all the fuss is about but are hesitant about the price, it's currently on sale at Amazon.

As of Aug. 27, the styling tool is reduced by $130, taking the price down from $649.99 to $519.99.

SEE ALSO: I found 4 Dyson Supersonic dupes that are almost as good as the real thing

This tool is designed for both straight and wavy hair, giving you six-in-one styling to dry, curl, wave, shape, and smooth without heat damage. It's powered by the Dyson digital motor V9, with its 13-blade impeller spinning at up to 110,000rpm to generate the air pressure that creates the Coanda effect.

It's seriously advanced, with Bluetooth connectivity that lets you pair it with the MyDyson app. In the app, you'll be prompted to answer six questions about your hair type and length, which will help it create a personalized styling profile for your hair. Once paired, your profile tailors the Airwrap i.d.'s styling settings, and the device stores your wrap, style, and cold shot settings for more consistent use.

Find this Dyson deal at Amazon right now.

Only Lego Star Wars fans know the excitement of the latest reveals — that lightsaber-like buzz about which corner of a galaxy far, far away will get the plastic brick treatment next. Well, set the excitement levels to Class 0.5 hyperdrive because Lego has really brought out the big guns for its next Star Wars-themed build. And we do mean big. 

Due for release on Oct. 4, the Executor Super Star Destroyer is the longest Lego ever made — a 53.5 inches (136 cm) recreation of Darth Vader’s flagship star destroyer, constructed with no fewer than 6,130 pieces.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Executor Super Star Destroyer (75457) $799.99 at Lego
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The build is so massive that it required the design team to engineer a new Lego System core that uses Technic outriggers for extra strength to anchor the exterior panels. It also features all-new tile decorations to recreate hull lighting.

Credit: Lego

The Executor Super Star Destroyer was first seen in The Empire Strikes Back, replacing the mighty Death Star as Vader’s base of operations. It’s also where Vader summons six of the galaxy’s toughest bounty hunters. And they’re all included as minifigures in this set — Boba Fett, Dengar, Ig-88, Bossk, 4-LOM, and Zuckuss — along with a Darth Vader minifigure.

This is the first time all six of the bounty hunters have appeared in a single set together. It even comes with a mini-build of the ship’s bridge, allowing you to recreate the scene — Vader lining up the bounty hunters and charging them with the task of finding the Millennium Falcon — plus a to-scale version of the regular Star Destroyer.

Credit: Lego

Eagle-eyed Star Wars fans will appreciate a single round tile of the Millennium Falcon, recreating the moment Han Solo’s ship hides on the regular Star Destroyer — all to give some perspective of just how enormous the Executor is.

This is part of Lego’s Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) — in other words, seriously big and highly detailed — and is priced at $799.99. It's available to purchase from Lego.com and Lego stores from Oct. 1.

It's been nearly four years since Bambu Lab did a refresh of its X series of 3D printers, and the X2D definitely lives up to the hype. It improves on the X1 Carbon in every way, except for the one area where it lowers the bar—price. Here's why the X2D just became my go-to recommendation for anyone wanting to get into 3D printing.

In 2025, Google packed the Pixel 10 full of upgrades over its predecessor. New features like a telephoto lens, a brighter display, and improved battery life made it feel like a real upgrade over the previous base-model Pixel. That is, unfortunately, not really the case with Pixel 11.

That's not to say the Pixel 11 is bad in any way, really. This is a perfect respectable Android phone, but a lack of standout new features (aside from a slimmer camera bar) make it feel significantly more incremental than the Pixel 10 did. It doesn't even have HiLight, the lone hardware "improvement" that graces the Pixel 11 Pro devices. Between that and specs that mostly line up with last year's model, the Pixel 11 sorta feels like a phone that only exists because Google makes a new base model every year and skipping a year would cause business problems.

It also doesn't help that 2026 is a great year to not buy a phone, thanks to RAMageddon price increases.

Google Pixel 11: Design, specs, and price It really is a much smaller camera bar. Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

With an $899 starting price, the Pixel 11 does unfortunately separate itself from the Pixel 10 by being $100 more expensive than its predecessor. There is some important context to note with that, though: Google has excised the 128GB storage option this year. That means this isn't technically a price increase because the 256GB Pixel 11 costs the same as the 256GB Pixel 10 did. However, not giving consumers a 128GB option (even if that's a pretty small amount of storage in 2026) means the starting price is higher than last year's model, and that's not great!

The new Pixel 11 comes in four colors: Frost, Hibiscus, Pistachio, and Obsidian. I'm pretty partial to the Frost variant, but the rest of them are pretty plain, as far as I'm concerned.

Here are the rest of the basic specs for Pixel 11:

• Display: 6.3-inch display with 1080x2424 resolution, 60-120Hz refresh rate, and 3,000 nits peak brightness

• Processor: Google Tensor G6

• RAM: 12GB

• Storage: 256/512GB

• Battery: 4,985mAh

• Rear cameras: 48MP wide, 13MP ultra-wide, 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom

• Selfie camera: 10.5MP

As far as tech specs are concerned, the Pixel 11 is barely any different from a Pixel 10. I could've copied and pasted most of those specs from last year's review. The Tensor G6 processor is new, but basically everything else is the same. Display size, resolution, and brightness are all identical, which is a mild bummer because the Pro devices this year all got their peak brightness numbered bump up to 3,600 nits. Perhaps Google didn't see fit to improve the base model's brightness two years in a row, but that is one area where the Pro is more enticing, as it should be, I suppose.

Another color for you. Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

One thing Google did change is that the camera bar is now a good deal thinner than it was on the Pixel 10. The phone is almost able to lie completely flat on a table, and would definitely do that if you put the right case on it. It's also 0.3 oz lighter than the Pixel 10, so overall, this is a more comfortable phone to hold, and one that will be slightly less awkward in taking up space in general. That's probably the best aspect of the Pixel 11, and the main reason why I would recommend it over the 10.

Speaking of the camera bar, it's worth mentioning that the regular Pixel 11 does not have HiLight, which is the only substantial hardware change made on the Pro-level Pixel 11 phones. It's a little light that lives in the camera bar and illuminates in different colors to do things like notify you of an incoming phone call, but for whatever reason, Google did not see fit to include it in the base model Pixel 11.

That's disappointing considering the starting price increase, but for what it's worth, HiLight is not exactly a show-stopping feature on the phones that do have it. Frankly, you're not missing much if you opt for a Pixel 11 over a Pro, at least in that regard.

Google Pixel 11: Performance

On the Geekbench 7 benchmarking app, the Pixel 11 recorded a single-core CPU score of 2,337 and a multi-core CPU score of 7,085. For reference, that's a few thousand points below something like a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Google's Tensor-powered phones have always come up short in these benchmarking apps, but luckily, that doesn't affect the user experience that much.

I can personally vouch for the Pixel 11's performance profile being totally fine. Apps load quickly and smoothly, on-device AI processing happens in a fairly snappy fashion, and the phone doesn't run all that hot, even without a case. The only minor (and I mean minor) qualm I have is that Google is promising faster Night Sight processing on Pixel 11, but in my testing, it didn't feel noticeably faster than in previous years. It's also not slower, though, so it's no big deal.

Google Pixel 11: AI features

Absent any major hardware upgrades, Google did include some new AI trickery in the Pixel 11's software.

First and foremost is Magic Capture, a new image capture method available in the Camera app. Magic Capture works the same as recording a video, except when you're done recording, the device takes a few seconds to select a few choice stills from the video, complete with optional auto-cropping and unblurring. The idea is to get multiple usable stills of something that's moving or otherwise dynamic and difficult to photograph, like a subway train, small children, or animals.

I used Magic Capture to get these stills of a train and some relatively fast-moving street traffic. The vehicles in these photos are, indeed, moving, but it's hard to tell thanks to whatever software magic is powering Magic Capture. It's honestly a pretty neat and useful feature.

Zooming by. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable This truck was moving pretty fast. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Google has also built on its contextual AI suggestions feature from previous years, so you'll get proactive suggestions about what's happening on-screen. If someone texts you asking about a flight reservation, you'll get flight info right in the text chat. Similarly, visual cards with information about a recommended restaurant can also show up if someone asks about the restaurant. You can also make Google Calendar entries straight from texts using this feature, too.

Again, that's all building upon things Google was already doing, but those features might still be nice for saving a little bit of time here and there. I'm more partial to Rambler, a new speech-to-text feature built right into Gboard. If you want to dictate a text or email to someone, Rambler will remove "ums" and "ahs" and other speech errors to produce a more sterile, normal-sounding sentence. I'd argue this strips some personality out of what you're saying, but it does work as advertised. It was able to turn a mush-mouthed sentence I made up on the spot into something readable.

Of all of these, I would say Rambler and Magic Capture are the real highlights. Magic Capture, in particular, is one of the only reasons I would say someone looking to upgrade from an older Pixel should opt for the 11 rather than try to find a deal on the Pixel 10.

Google Pixel 11: Battery life Nice profile. Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

Google rates the Pixel 11's battery for 30 hours of life on a single charge, which is the same as what the Pixel 10 was rated for. The battery cell in this device is a little larger than the Pixel 10's, but not enough for Google to alter its official prognostication.

At any rate, using our testing method of playing an HD video on the display until the phone dies, I was able to get a little less than 30 hours of use out of the Pixel 11. For a base-model flagship, that's totally fine, even if it's not all that different from last year.

Google Pixel 11: Cameras

Speaking of things that aren't all that different from last year, the Pixel 11's rear camera array has the exact same megapixel count as the Pixel 10's. One great thing about the Pixel 10 was that it added a telephoto lens to the proceedings, something you don't normally get on base-level phones. The Pixel 11 kept that, which is nice, but nothing here feels as innovative as that did.

Still, the cameras get the job done, thanks in part to Google's classic software processing that makes everything look super nice.

Your friendly neighborhood such-and-such. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

While Night Sight is not quite as instant as Google's marketing would have you believe, the effect is still pretty great. This plant on our windowsill has literally almost no light exposure at night, but the photo came out crystal clear.

No Night Sight. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable Yes Night Sight. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

The telephoto lens is only good for 5x optical zoom, but the 30x digital zoom is really no slouch here. I was able to get a clear photo of some graffiti on the top of a building that was pretty far away, and it didn't have that typical smeary look that you get when using digital zoom on other devices.

You can barely see the graffiti here. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable Pretty good for digital zoom. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

And, as always, I'm a fan of using the macro lens to get in real close on things like flowers.

Macro photography rocks. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Between the quality of the cameras themselves and the addition of Magic Capture, this is a pretty good phone for taking photos, even if it's not going to give you the same kind of output as a Pro device.

Google Pixel 11: The final verdict

I'm a little torn because the biggest problem with the Pixel 11 is that it's just not a very interesting year-over-year upgrade. Aside from slimming down the camera bar and adding a couple of (admittedly neat) AI doohickeys, you could spend less money to get a Pixel 10 and still largely have the same experience if you're upgrading from something significantly older.

As I said, the Pixel 11 feels like it exists out of an obligation to always provide a base-level phone in every annual upgrade cycle. But that doesn't make it a bad device at all. It's comfortable in the hands, the battery lasts a pretty long time, and it takes nice photos. If you get a good enough trade-in deal or something, you'll probably be happy with what you get. But make sure to do your research and check on deals for a Pixel 10, too, because you won't really miss that much if you opt for that route.

Pixel 11, 256 GB, Unlocked $899 at Amazon
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In the age of on-demand everything, it’s no surprise that we can get "dates" (and I use that term loosely) with the tap of a button. Thanks to classic hookup apps like Tinder and newcomers like Pure, finding a sexy new friend can be as straightforward as ordering a pizza. As for the quality? That’s about the same as your pizza — hit or miss, depending on the time of day, where you're located, and how hungry you are.

SEE ALSO: Is AdultFriendFinder the best dating site for Gen Z?

Fortunately, you’ve got me, your resident dating app expert (though I prefer modern-day Carrie Bradshaw), to guide you to the promised land, aka the best hookup apps.

I’ve spent the past three years (yes, years) researching, downloading, and testing dozens of the top dating apps to find the best ones for all kinds of daters, including the one-night-stand crowd. From discreet sexting apps to dating sites for serious relationships, I've swiped through them all. I also consulted a helpful panel of sex and relationship experts to make sure my picks are solid.

How to get the most out of hookup apps

My number one rule is to be brutally honest about what you want. Are you here for a good time? Own it. That means staying in your lane; don't go looking for a one-night stand on an app like eharmony. I mean, just read through Reddit. Women are on these apps (despite what all the dudes think/say) and are looking for FWBs, but they ignore 99 percent of messages because guys either send weird openers or pretend to want a relationship just to get a hookup.

"Hookup apps help prevent situations where people are on mainstream dating sites with the intention of having a casual hookup but are unclear about these intentions," Suzannah Weiss, resident sexologist for Biird and author of Subjectified: Becoming a Sexual Subject, tells Mashable. "They also give women a space to be openly sexual creatures without judgment."

And here's a little secret I picked up from Alexander Liebisch, the CEO and founder of TinderProfile.ai: Timing is everything. He found that people messaging on Tinder's "Free Tonight" feature after 10 p.m. on a weekend had a 45 percent higher chance of hooking up.

So, whether you're looking for a one-night stand, a regular FWB situation, or just a space to explore your sexuality, I've got you covered. Based on all my hands-on testing and expert consultations, I’ve broken down the best hookup app for every type of person and mood.

Recent updates to this guide

• Hinge: Hinge just keeps getting better, so I’ve bumped it up higher on my list as of October 2025. In our most recent update in August 2026, it still earns the top spot. Its user base is growing, and my own recent tests on the app have been surprisingly positive.

• Sniffies (added September 2025): I've added Sniffies, the map-based app for queer men, because it's been gaining a lot of traction. (It got a little too spicy for Apple and was pulled from the App Store, so it's now technically a dating site.) Don't say I didn't warn you about the NSFW content.

• FetLife (added September 2025): FetLife is my new favorite "Honorable Mention." It's not your typical hookup app; it's more of a social network for the kink community (and, oddly enough, the best hookup app for gamers). Just remember: it's a community, so don't treat it like Tinder.

• Plenty of Fish (removed January 2025): POF went through a rebrand recently, and honestly, I'm not impressed. My latest tests showed they removed key features like free messaging with non-matches, and I kept running into the same old profiles.

• Match (removed August 2025): I know some people say they've found casual hookups on Match, but that's not what it's for. Match is where you go to find a serious, long-term relationship, and I still recommend it for that. But for a hookup? You're just fishing in the wrong pond.

Why some popular hookup apps didn't make the cut

You might notice a few apps that pop up in ads or other lists are missing here. That’s intentional. I swipe through the good, the bad, and the downright sketchy so you don’t have to. For an app to make my list, it has to be effective, safe, and worth your time.

Here's a shortlist of apps that didn't make the cut this year:

• Wild: You’ve probably seen ads for this one. On paper, Wild sounds like the perfect casual dating app. In practice, the paywalls are aggressive, the distance filter doesn't work, and you have to pay for anything that's even remotely useful. Unless you're willing to spend serious cash upfront (and hope for the best), the experience feels more limited than with more open apps like Tinder.

• DOWN: This app (formerly "Bang With Friends") is known for its simple "Get Down" vs. "Get Date" feature. It sounds clever, but in reality, the experience is messy at best. Many users report feeling scammed by subscriptions that don't deliver matches, or finding that the few real people on there are... let's say "odd." It’s hard to recommend an app when the main user complaint is "Is anyone real?" Hard pass.

• Facebook Dating: Yes, Facebook has a dating section, and it’s surprisingly massive (and completely free, which is huge). While it's a decent option for casual dating, the vibe tends to be a bit more "friends of friends" and "relationship-focused" than the anonymous, no-strings energy you get from apps like Pure or Feeld. (For Mashable's Chance Townsend, signing up was "the most uneventful dating experience" of his life.) It's worth a shot if you're already on Facebook, but it didn't quite crack my top tier for hookups specifically.

The first guest in Las Culturistas' new podcast studio? Troye Sivan. As one YouTube commenter called it, "My gay Mount Rushmore."

Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang showed off their newly fitted out space while chatting to the Grammy-nominated artist, and the interview careens from giving "Tro" a new nickname to volume loss and not loving musicals and how the iconic "Troye baby" voice note from "What's the Time Where You Are?" happened.

In a delightful moment, the three also silently watch the video for the unreleased second single from Sivan's upcoming fourth studio album, She's the Best. Essentially, you should always get Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang to watch your unreleased music videos.

As to Sivan's hot take for Las Culturistas' all-important segment "I Don't Think So, Honey!": "Singing."

"I am not fishing for compliments. I'm not that good at it and I'm OK with that. But I think sometimes I will be in the car and I'll sing (and it's just me) and something so diabolical will come out of my mouth that I'm like, I truly scammed the world. And the fact that I have the same job as Beyoncé is just an insane thought," he says.

"But now I will say I care a lot about tone and storytelling, so I understand, I get it. The real magic though is when somebody has tone, storytelling, and they can sing sing, like Ariana Grande, Whitney Houston, Sade," Sivan adds. "But I'm just saying the idea of me doing karaoke, or singing at any point where I don't absolutely have to, I will not do it and it's not that fun. It's fun at my shows, because I'm in control. But any other time, absolutely not, no thank you."

From YouTubers and TikTok stars to streamers and podcasters, Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage, sign up for our Trending Now and Top Stories newsletters or get Mashable push alerts to discover the internet's most exciting voices.

SAVE $300: As of Aug. 27, the Bluetti AC200L portable power station is down to $798.99 at Amazon. That's a 27% discount off its $1,099 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bluetti Bluetti AC200L $798.99 at Amazon
$1,099 Save $300.01   Get Deal

Keeping your home powered through a blackout usually means dropping serious cash, but this Bluetti deal just made it a lot more doable.

The Bluetti AC200L portable power station — a 2048Wh LiFePO4 battery that can push out 3,600W with power lifting — is on sale for $798.99, down from its usual $1,099. That's a 27% discount, or $300 off on whole-home backup power without the whole-home price tag.

The AC200L is the upgraded version of Bluetti's popular AC200MAX, and the biggest change is power — it puts out 2,400 watts continuously, 200 more than the older model, so it can run more devices at once without straining.

Add on extra battery packs, and the total capacity of the AC200L climbs to 8,192Wh, so it can go from powering your phone and WiFi router to backing up a good chunk of your home.

Charging is quick, too. Plug it into a wall outlet, and it reaches 80% in about 45 minutes. If you'd rather charge with solar panels, a full charge takes roughly two hours under the right conditions — useful if you're off-grid or don't have an outlet nearby. It also comes with 11 ports total, including a dedicated 30A port built for RVs, so this isn't just for camping trips or power outages.

$300 in savings, zero regrets when the power goes out. Grab the Bluetti AC200L portable power station at Amazon.

SAVE $400: As of Aug. 27, the Eufy E25 robot vacuum is on sale for $599.99 at Amazon. That's a 40% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: eufy Eufy E25 Robot Vacuum $599.99 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $400   Get Deal

Robot vacuum deals are a great excuse to finally check vacuuming off your chores list once and for all. And as of Aug. 27, we've found the perfect Amazon deal to sway you. Right now, the Eufy E25 robot vacuum has dropped in price by a huge $400, bringing the cost down from just under $1,000 to $599.99.

It's a powerful vacuum, combining 20,000 Pa suction with an always-clean HydroJet mopping system that refreshes the roller mop with clean water twice per second to help prevent cross-contamination while scrubbing stains. It also has DuoSpiral anti-tangle brushes to prevent hair tangles, and a CornerRover arm that extends to clean along baseboards and other tight corners.

SEE ALSO: The best budget robot vacuums to buy in 2026, expert tested at home

For maintenance, it has an all-in-one docking station where it auto-empties dust into a 3-liter bag that lasts around 75 days, self-washes the roller mops, dries them with 50°C hot air, and automatically refills the water. Plus, it comes with laser-guided navigation, so it can self-navigate around your home and remember up to five floor plans.

This eufy deal is available at Amazon right now.

TL;DR: Chipotle and top-ranked U.S. tennis player Taylor Fritz are teaming up for "Every Win Tastes Better," a promotion that unlocks BOGO entrée codes on his Instagram Story after every singles win at the U.S. Open.

Win a match, win a burrito — that's the deal.

Chipotle's iconic foil wrap just got a courtside upgrade. The chain announced it's teaming up with top-ranked U.S. men's tennis player and superfan Taylor Fritz on "Every Win Tastes Better," a promotion that turns his tournament run into free food for fans.

As Fritz chases becoming the first American in 23 years to win the men's singles title at New York's premier tennis tournament, Chipotle is giving away buy-one-get-one (BOGO) entrée codes after every one of his singles wins.

How to claim this free giveaway

After each Fritz victory, he'll drop a unique text-to-win code on his Instagram Story (@taylor_fritz). Text it to 888-222, and if you're fast enough, you'll get a BOGO entrée offer redeemable on the Chipotle app or Chipotle online.

The number of codes up for grabs grows the further Fritz advances:

• Round 1 — 2,500 BOGO offers

• Round 2 — 3,000 BOGO offers

• Round 3 — 3,500 BOGO offers

• Round of 16 — 4,000 BOGO offers

• Quarter-final — 4,500 BOGO offers

• Semi-final — 5,000 BOGO offers

• Final — 10,000 BOGO offers

The promo runs until all the codes for a given round are claimed, whichever comes first. It's open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. who are 13 or older, and you're limited to one code per person per round that Fritz advances. Chipotle will notify winners by text (standard text and data rates apply).

Fritz has been a Team Chipotle athlete for three seasons, wears the logo on his sleeve during tournaments, and holds a Chipotle Celebrity Card that gets him free food for life. He's also said he ate Chipotle on every off day and before every night match during his title run in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Credit: Chipotle

"Anyone who follows me knows I eat a lot of Chipotle when I'm playing tournaments," Fritz said. "I love that every time I win a singles match in New York, fans have another chance to score a BOGO. I'm trying to make them give away as much as possible."

The codes drop fast and disappear faster, so @taylor_fritz is officially a must-follow through the tournament.

TL;DR: Secretlab and Marvel just launched the Titan Evo Marvel Spider-Man Edition, a red-and-black gaming chair featuring a web-patterned back and Venom-inspired tendril details. This limited-edition chair is now available in the U.S., Canada, and the EU.

Secretlab just teamed up with Marvel for the first time, and the result is a gaming chair built entirely around Spider-Man. The Secretlab Titan Evo Marvel Spider-Man Edition features a red-and-black color scheme, riding the wave of Spider-Man: Brand New Day hype. It's available now in the U.S., Canada, and the EU.

If you're in the market for Spider-Man merch that doubles as functional furniture, this chair checks that box. The red-and-black palette is meant to channel the character's classic look, and there's a Spider-Man emblem stitched into the backrest.

Credit: Marvel / Secretlab Credit: Marvel / Secretlab

The back is upholstered in Secretlab's SoftWeave Plus fabric, woven into a web-like pattern of thin lines, made possible through what Secretlab describes as an advanced knitting process. As a nod to Venom, dark tendril patterns creep along the side wings and seat base, too.

Underneath the Spider-Man theming, this is still a Titan Evo, so it comes with the same comfort features as the standard chair. That includes cold-cure foam designed for long sitting sessions, a sculpted "pebble" seat base to distribute pressure more evenly (and leave room for sitting cross-legged), and four-way L-ADAPT lumbar support that adjusts to the curve of your lower back as you shift positions.

SEE ALSO: Umbro’s new Spider-Man streetwear collab just dropped: Shop jackets, backpacks, shorts, and more Spidey gear

This is easily one of Secretlab's best collabs yet, Spider-Man fan or not.