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TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Pitch Black Booster Bundle is on sale for $39.95 at Amazon, down from its typical $50.98 price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Pitch Black Booster Bundle $39.95 at Amazon
$50.98 Save $11.03   Get Deal

Pitch Black’s Booster Bundle has continued to tumble in price since launch, and Amazon has now taken the six-pack box below $40 for the first time.

As of July 29, the Pokémon TCG’s six-pack Pitch Black Booster Bundle is down to $39.95 at Amazon — $11.03 off its $50.98 list price. With that 22% discount, you’re looking at the lowest price this box of Pitch Black boosters has seen on Amazon yet, as confirmed by the price tracker camelcamelcamel.

Sold and shipped directly by Amazon, free delivery is currently scheduled for Aug. 3, or Aug. 1 for Prime members at the time of writing. Still, you should keep in mind that Amazon marks the Booster Bundle as a final sale, meaning it cannot be returned once ordered.

At this new low $39.95 sticker price, you’re paying roughly $6.66 per booster pack before tax, which is even better than the $43.13 Amazon deal we covered last week, which worked out to around $7.18 per pack.

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If stock runs out, TCGplayer is matching this headline Amazon price, with unopened Pitch Black Booster Bundles starting at $39.95 with shipping included. You can also take comfort from the fact that you’re only spending 46 cents above market price right now.

The box grants you six sealed booster packs from Mega Evolution’s titular Pitch Black expansion. Each pack contains 10 trading cards, one Basic Energy card, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card, giving you 60 standard cards altogether before counting Energy cards.

The Pitch Black expansion contains multiple Pokémon chase cards worth hundreds of dollars (available to buy separately on TCGplayer) — the five most valuable are SIR Mega Darkrai ex, MHR Mega Darkrai ex, SIR Morpeko ex, SIR Mega Zeraora ex, and SIR Mega Chandelure ex. 

SAVE $30: As of July 29, the Ninja Creami 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker is down to $189.99 at Amazon. That's $30 off its list price of $219.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja Creami 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker $189.99 at Amazon
$219.99 Save $30   Get Deal

Given how hot it has been this summer, ice cream is the best kind of pick-me-up. But why go out and buy a tasty treat when you can make it at home? The Ninja Creami 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker can help you out there, and it's even on sale at Amazon.

As of July 29, the Ninja Creami is on sale for $189.99 at the retailer, making for a $30 drop from its full price. It's an ice cream maker we certainly think is worth buying, with Mashable's Samantha Mangino writing: "If you're a planner and/or an ice cream fanatic, the Creami will be a delightful addition as you plan your pints of the week."

SEE ALSO: De'Longhi just launched a coffee machine that makes both hot and iced drinks — and it's yours for under $1,000

The Ninja Creami boasts seven one-touch programs — Ice Cream, Gelato, Sorbet, Milkshake, Smoothie Bowl, Lite Ice Cream, and Mix-In — so you have quite a variety of options to choose from. According to the store page, it also has Ninja's exclusive Creamify Technology, which shaves through a frozen pint to get a smooth texture.

Prepping your preferred chilled treat is easy, too. All you have to do is prep the base you want, freeze it for 24 hours, and process it. Mangino's review highlights that, "it creates creamy, smooth ice cream in just minutes with the press of a button (or two)."

Don't miss out on this deal on the Ninja Creami 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker at Amazon.

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TL;DR: 2K just dropped the official NBA 2K27 gameplay trailer, featuring cover athletes Victor Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark, and Derrick Rose, plus highlight moments from other NBA and WNBA stars. The full Preseason Breakdown reveal stream is set for Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, ahead of the game's Sept. 4 launch.

NBA 2K27's official gameplay trailer is out, giving fans their first real look at how the game looks and plays before the bigger reveal drops later this month.

The trailer leans into highlight moments across both the NBA and WNBA, including Victor Wembanyama's playoff celebration, LeBron James doing his signature chalk toss as a Philadelphia 76er, and Derrick Rose hitting a buzzer-beating three over the Cavaliers. Check out the full trailer below.

What's coming Aug. 18

The trailer is just a preview — the full picture comes Aug. 18, when 2K hosts its first-ever "Preseason Breakdown: NBA 2K27 Game Reveal" stream. It's set for 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, streaming live on Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and X.

2K has already given a preview of a few bigger changes coming that day:

• A new dynamic Dunk Meter that reads defensive positioning in real-time, from takeoff through the finish

• A unified MyTEAM Auction House across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 for the first time ever, meaning a much bigger shared pool of cards

• Rucker Park is back, serving as the setting for this year's MyCAREER story and Street Kings mode

• MyPLAYER Builder is expanding from 40 to 53 total Badges, with 19 brand-new ones

When you can play

NBA 2K27 launches Sept. 4 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2. If you're getting the Deluxe or Ultra Edition, early access starts Aug. 28.

Aug. 18 is circled in red on our calendar — the rest of NBA 2K27's secrets land then.

SAVE $700: As of July 29, the Roborock Qrevo CurvX is on sale for $799.99 at Amazon. That's a 47% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: roborock Roborock Qrevo CurvX $799.99 at Amazon
$1,499.99 Save $700   Get Deal

There’s a reason robot vacuums have become a staple in many homes, and if you're ready to join the masses and say goodbye to manual vacuuming, check out this latest Amazon deal on the Roborock Qrevo CurvX.

Down by $700, this model is currently on sale for $799.99. It features powerful 22,000Pa HyperForce suction with a Zero-Tangling Design to help remove dirt, carpet debris, pet hair, and long hair up to 40cm. It also has a mopping function, so it cleans your floors with little to no effort needed from you.

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It's a small machine, meaning it can reach under couches, cabinets, and other low furniture where dust can collect and linger. It also uses a Reactive AI Obstacle Recognition system with structured light and an RGB camera to detect and avoid up to 108 types of objects, helping it navigate around your home more efficiently. And the navigation is handled internally, using the RetractSense Navigation System and LiDAR sensors.

And if you have pets at home, this vacuum can more than cope. Plus, it has additional pet-friendly features like video calls, two-way voice interaction, pet recognition (to avoid getting in their way), and snapshots, so you can enjoy cute pictures of them when you're away from home.

Get this robot vacuum deal at Amazon now.

SAVE OVER $400: As of July 29, the iRobot Roomba Plus 405 is on sale for $398 at Amazon. That's a 50% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: iRobot iRobot Roomba Plus 405 $398 at Amazon
$799.99 Save $401.99   Get Deal

iRobot is one of the best-known names in robot vacuums, and for good reason. The brand is synonymous with effective devices that automate one of life's most arduous chores.

If you've been looking for a good deal before purchasing your own iRobot, Amazon has a great deal on the iRobot Roomba Plus 405. Not only is it currently 50% off at $398 (a total discount of $401.99), but it is also the best-ever price for this vacuum.

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This is a robot vacuum and mop combo designed to tackle everyday dirt and spills. It uses DualClean Mop Pads, SmartScrub technology, a multi-surface rubber brush, and an edge-sweeping brush to clean across different floor types. And for deeper floor cleaning, the spinning DualClean Mop Pads apply downward pressure, and SmartScrub technology gives more thorough scrubbing to help remove tougher messes.

It also works with very little effort from you. For example, its navigation is handled by ClearView LiDAR navigation. This allows the vacuum to map your home quickly, plan efficient cleaning routes, and avoid obstacles, while sensors help prevent falls down stairs. Also, it has an AutoWash Dock that automatically empties the dustbin for up to 75 days, washes and dries the mop pads, and keeps them refreshed to ensure efficient mopping.

Say goodbye to manual floor cleaning for good with this iRobot deal at Amazon.

The Full Moon is here and this month it's called the Buck Moon. If you're planning to look up tonight, there are plenty of features to spot across the lunar surface, even without a telescope. Here's what you might be able to see.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Wednesday, July 29, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon phase is in Full Moon phase, with 100% of its surface visible.

With so much of the Moon's surface illuminated, there's plenty to spot. Without visual aids, you should see the Oceanus Procellarum, Copernicus Crater, and the Tycho Crater. If you have them, binoculars will help you see the Gassendi Crater, Mare Humorum, and the Clavius Crater. Finally, a telescope will help you see all this plus the Apollo 14 and 16 landing spots, as well as the Rupes Altai.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on August 28.

What are Moon phases?

According to NASA, the Moon goes through a complete cycle of eight phases roughly every 29.5 days. As it travels around Earth, the angle between the Sun, Earth and Moon constantly changes, meaning we see different amounts of the Moon's sunlit side. This is what causes the familiar progression from a thin crescent to a half Moon, then a Full Moon, before the cycle repeats.

The eight phases are:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

The July Full Moon is almost here, and this month it’s known as the Buck Moon. While it may sound like it has something to do with how the Moon looks in the sky, its name actually comes from the time of year and the seasonal changes happening on Earth.

Want to know more about July’s Full Moon? Keep reading to find out when to see it and why it has this name.

When is the July full moon?

The Full Moon will occur on Wednesday, July 29. Time and Date estimates it will peak at 10:30 a.m. ET.

What is the July full moon called?

The July Full Moon is known as the Buck Moon.

According to Royal Museums Greenwich, July’s Full Moon is known as the Buck Moon because it coincides with the time of year when male deer begin to grow their antlers again. The antlers, which are shed and regrown each year, start to appear during the summer months.

When is the next full moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on August 28.

What are the lunar phases?

The Moon goes through a complete cycle of eight phases as it travels around Earth, taking around 29.5 days to do so. Although we always see the same side of the Moon, the amount of its sunlit surface visible from Earth changes throughout its orbit. This makes the Moon appear to shift from fully illuminated to a small crescent and back again as the cycle repeats. The phases are:

• New Moon — The moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (so, we don't see anything).

• Waxing Crescent — A small sliver of light appears on the right side

• First Quarter — Half of the moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-moon.

• Waxing Gibbous — More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

• Full Moon — The whole face of the moon is illuminated and fully visible.

• Waning Gibbous — The moon starts losing light on the right side

• Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) — Another half-moon, but now the left side is lit.

• Waning Crescent — A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

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SAVE $451: As of July 29, the Hisense 65-inch E7 Cinema Series is on sale for $548.99 at Amazon. That's a 45% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 65-inch E7 Cinema Series $548.99 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $451   Get Deal

Want to make movie nights at home feel a little better? The Hisense 65-inch E7 Cinema Series TV brings a bigger-screen experience to your living room, and a much better viewing experience, and it's currently on sale.

As of July 29, this impressive Hisense TV is down to $548.99 from $999.99, saving you $451. According to price tracker camelcamelcamel, that's the lowest this model has ever been priced. This deal is for the 65-inch model only.

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This TV supports 4K Ultra HD resolution with AI 4K upscaling, which uses deep learning technology to improve the quality of lower-resolution content by sharpening details, enhancing textures, and reducing noise, making older shows and movies look much closer to 4K quality.

It also features a native 144Hz refresh rate, Game Mode, and AI Smooth Motion with MEMC technology to reduce blur in fast-moving scenes, making it a great choice for gaming and live sports. Plus, the AI Picture processing automatically adjusts brightness, contrast, and color scene-by-scene, and an AI light sensor adapts screen brightness to match the lighting conditions of your room.

And for movie nights, the Filmmaker Mode makes everything appear as the creators intended, with built-in features that preserve the original picture settings, including aspect ratio, color, and frame rate.

Get this TV deal online at Amazon right now.

SAVE $40: As of July 29, the Soundcore AeroClip earbuds are on sale for $99.99 at Amazon. That's a 41% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Soundcore Soundcore AeroClip $99.99 at Amazon
$169.99 Save $70.00   Get Deal

Looking for a new pair of open earbuds? As of July 29, there's a great deal on the Soundcore AeroClip earbuds at Amazon, now at their lowest-ever price of $99.99. All colorways are discounted, so you can choose between rosy brown, champagne mist, glacier blue, and midnight.

Open earbuds are growing in popularity, especially among runners and those who exercise outdoors. Instead of sitting inside your ear, they rest just outside it, letting you enjoy your music while staying aware of the sounds around you.

These earbuds use this technology in an open-ear clip-on design to provide a comfortable fit without sitting inside the ear canal. They feature a lightweight open-ring design that has been tested to withstand up to 20,000 bends.

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And the music quality is impressive, supporting Hi-Res Audio and using a 12mm titanium-coated driver alongside virtual bass technology to deliver clear sound. They also use directional acoustic technology to direct audio towards the listener's ears, reducing sound leakage.

For calls, voice notes, and general audio output, the AeroClip earbuds use four microphones with AI-powered noise reduction to improve voice clarity and minimize background noise, even in loud environments. They are also IP55 water-resistant, so they can cope with sweat, rain, and dust for everyday use and workouts.

This is a limited-time deal at Amazon, so don't miss out.

Though most of the conversation around pet hair pickup will involve how well that robot vacuum performs on carpet, pets don't stop shedding when they cross over to a hardwood or tiled floor. If your home has a pretty even split of both types of flooring, you should eye one of the best robot vacuum and mop combos for pet hair on hard floors. Strong suction power alone isn't always guaranteed to pull up every tiny strand of fur (especially fur that has blown into the corners of the room), and fine dust like pet dander and kitty litter is stubborn to be sucked up as well. In that case, a wet mopping pad using pressure to wipe is much less likely to leave finer debris behind.

SEE ALSO: 'Why does my robot vacuum suck now?' Well, when's the last time you cleaned it?

Thorough pet hair pickup is rooted in suction power, of course, but brush roll design plays a major role in how well a robot vacuum can pull pet hair out of soft flooring — and how often all that fur gets tangled. You'll want to look for at least 20,000 Pa of suction power for homes with multiple pets, though 30,000 Pa or more would be optimal. The brush roll's material should alternate between rubber or silicone fins and bristles, and ideally break in the middle as a method of preventing wrapping.

Recent changes to this guide

July 2026: The new, much more powerful Roomba Max 715 replaces the Roomba 705 Max as the best vacuum-only robot vacuum for pet here (and the best Roomba for pet hair).

February 2026: The Dreame X60 Max Ultra Complete takes over as the best robot vacuum for pet hair on carpet, replacing the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller. The Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow takes over as the best robot vacuum for pet hair on hardwood, replacing the Roborock Saros 10R.

September 2025: I added the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller as the best robot vacuum for pet hair on carpet and shifted the Roborock Saros 10R (previously named the best robot vacuum overall) to the best robot vacuum for pet hair on hard floors.

July 2025: I removed the Shark Matrix RV2300S robot vacuum from this guide. While it was a solid budget mopping robot vacuum for its first year or so on the market, it's now a little bit too basic compared to other newer budget robot vacuums.

June 2025: I replaced the Shark Matrix RV2300S with the 3i G10+ as the best budget robot vacuum for pet hair. While the Shark was a solid budget cleaner when it first came out, its suction power isn't nearly as strong as the 18,500 Pa of the 3i G10+. The 3i G10+ also has small obstacle avoidance and a pet camera.

Most guys have a love-hate relationship with dating apps. But between work and life, meeting someone organically can feel nearly impossible. That's the promise of online dating — an unlimited number of meet-cutes right to your phone, no serendipity required. Of course, the reality of online dating is often quite different. But don't get discouraged. The Mashable Dating & Relationships team has spent years testing the most popular dating apps for men, and we can tell you which apps are most likely to connect you with the right person for you.

Do dating apps still work in 2026?

We get it, though. Dating as a man in 2026 is tough. It's not just the pressure to make the first move or the fear of rejection if you do — it's the endless swiping through fake profiles, scammers, AI-generated thirst traps, bots posing as potential matches, relentless Instagram models trying to lure you into their OnlyFans scam, and matches with impossibly high expectations (yes, the "6-6-6 rule" is a real thing, and apps are actively trying to monetize your height preferences).

But despite the challenges, dating apps do work. A 2026 SSRS survey found that 37 percent of all U.S. adults have used a dating app at some point, a number that jumps to over half for daters aged 18 to 49. While the experience isn't always perfect, the odds are in your favor: half of all dating app users have scored a committed relationship with someone they met on an app. While only a third of users call the app experience "mostly positive," nearly half say it's neutral — meaning the app is really just what you make of it.

SEE ALSO: The dating app glossary: The A to Z of terms you need to know The best dating apps for guys who know what they want

This guide is your cheat sheet for the best dating apps for men in 2026. We've done the research and found the apps that are actually worth your time. Whether you're looking for something casual or something serious, we have a dating app to recommend.

Pro tip: Don't be afraid to experiment. Try out a few different apps and see what works for you. And most importantly, don't get discouraged! Sometimes, the occasional bad date or disappointing flirtation is just the price you pay to meet the match of a lifetime.

Until recently, Marisol Jimenez was a novice power lifter. Without a budget for a personal trainer, the 23-year-old graduate student turned to the internet for heavy-lifting tips. 

When she discovered the limitations of online forum advice and video tutorials, she decided to do what she often does when humans can't provide the guidance she needs: consult the artificial intelligence chatbot Claude. 

SEE ALSO: How 3 very different people use AI chatbots

It wasn't just power lifting. Jimenez has asked Claude to help her design a website, explore her feelings, and determine whether an acquaintance had a crush on her. Jimenez's sister calls her an AI power user.

Given the number of recent viral videos featuring college students jeering optimistic graduation speeches about AI, you might think Jimenez is an outlier amongst Generation Z. 

Yet an online YouGov survey commissioned by Mashable this spring tells a different story. YouGov asked 1,697 U.S. adults 18 and older who use AI chatbots about their experiences. Gen Z respondents led all other generations in high-frequency chatbot use, with 37 percent interacting with the technology once or more per day. Roughly a quarter of them consult chatbots multiple times a day. 

Jimenez, for one, estimates she starts a single task-oriented chat with Claude and returns to it throughout the day.  

Mashable commissioned the YouGov survey to hear directly from U.S. adults about their AI chatbot use. Generational trends emerged from their answers, and despite a seeming love-hate relationship with the technology, many adults are using AI chatbots like a personal Swiss Army knife, deployed to solve a variety of problems.  

How American adults think about chatbots

Gen Z AI users, the survey found, are more likely than their elders to assign personal roles, such as friend, therapist, and professional partner, to an AI chatbot. 

Jimenez uses hers as an assistant, professional partner, tutor, sounding board, consultant, and therapist. 

Compared with other AI users, Gen Z — plus high-frequency adult users of all ages — were more likely to say they'd be affected if they suddenly lost access to their chatbot. 

Nearly half of Gen Z AI chatbot users would be affected by losing their chatbot. Credit: Mashable

Jimenez told Mashable she'd be moderately affected by a permanent shutdown of her favorite chatbot. Nearly half of Gen Z AI chatbot users said they'd be moderately, very, or extremely impacted. Only a quarter of them claim they would be not affected at all.

Jimenez, who is studying computer science and pays $20 a month for a Claude subscription, is aware her AI use is complicated. On the one hand, it is helpful with practical matters. 

On the other hand, Jimenez says she endured a "dark time" when using a fine-tuned, user-created model of ChatGPT designed to act as a therapist. Her discussions with that chatbot were ultimately unhelpful; after consulting the AI, she found herself increasingly ruminating on painful feelings.

Jimenez thinks her ambivalent relationship to AI is a fairly common one — and she may be right. 

"Search aid" or "foe"?: What U.S. adults say about chatbots

When Mashable and YouGov asked chatbot users to characterize their relationship to AI, we received a range of responses, from negative to positive to ambivalent.

The majority framed the technology in utilitarian terms like, "tool to be used in various ways," "search aid," "reference librarian," and "help find best prices." 

AI users, however, also expressed displeasure with chatbots, describing their relationship with the technology as a "foe," "frustrating," "annoying," "irritating," and "generator of AI slop." 

Jimenez understands this tension. 

"I am not going to say it's good or bad," she told Mashable. "I use it and I simultaneously worry about my usage, and that's everybody."

Jimenez touched on a question without a clear answer: How do people maximize the benefits of AI while avoiding its pitfalls, such as overreliance, cognitive atrophy, and emotional dependency? We asked experts to interpret our survey results and share their perspective on this complex question.

Chatbot use by the numbers

First, there are some for whom the issue of dependency isn't a concern. The YouGov survey found that 35 percent of U.S. adults don't use AI chatbots. Of the 65 percent who do, only 23 percent of them turn to a chatbot multiple times a day. 

The same share of Gen Z and Millennial adults use chatbots. Credit: Zain Awais / Mashable

The generational differences in our survey indicate, perhaps unsurprisingly, that Baby Boomers and Generation X are less likely to use chatbots. Only 18 and 25 percent of Boomers and Gen X, respectively, report AI chatbot use multiple times a day. Thirty-one percent of Millennials use an AI chatbot one or more times a day.  

AI chatbot as romantic partner or consultant? Maybe both?

Regular AI use appears to breed closeness and potential reliance. 

Users who interact with chatbots multiple times a day are the most reliant, with only 12 percent reporting no perceived relationship, compared to 29 percent of the general user base. This group is about twice as likely as the average user to view their AI in an interpersonal or emotional capacity.

A look at how adult AI users perceive their chatbots. Credit: Zain Awais / Mashable

Still, a relatively small number of AI chatbot users view a chatbot as a romantic partner or friend. Twelve percent turn to chatbots for friendship, and only three percent do so for romance. But Gen Z tops both categories. Twenty percent of Gen Z AI users said they call an AI chatbot a friend, and six percent viewed it as a romantic partner. 

Thirty-one percent of AI users perceived their relationship with an AI chatbot as "consultant," making it the top functional role. This includes using the technology for expert advice and strategic input.

More than a quarter treated a chatbot like an assistant, trusting it to handle their schedule, tasks, and administrative work. Twenty-three percent asked a chatbot to act like a tutor by teaching them new skills and explaining complex topics. Smaller shares, 15 and eight percent respectively, reported using a chatbot for medical advice and therapy. 

"If I lose something from AI usage, I need to build that skill back up." - Marisol Jimenez, chatbot user

For Jimenez, AI use requires constant reflection and adaptation. Though she leans on Claude to compose social media posts, sibling feedback about the staleness of that content prompted her to read Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer to improve her writing. 

"If I lose something from AI usage, I need to build that skill back up," she said. 

What does effective AI chatbot use look like? 

Dr. Vivienne Ming, a theoretical neuroscientist and AI entrepreneur, recognized in Mashable's survey results something she's seen in her own research: "heterogeneity dominates." 

In other words, people chat with and make requests of AI in multiple unusual ways, defying neat categorization. 

In her own preliminary study, Ming and her fellow researchers asked 78 adults to predict future events, such as the price of oil, while working in small groups and accessing one of four major large language models. 

Ming, author of Robot-Proof: When Machines Have all the Answers, Build Better People, observed three different styles of engagement with the AI: automators, validators, and cyborgs. 

"So AI gives you a good enough answer. Do you keep asking for a better one?"  - Dr. Vivienne Ming, author of "Robot-Proof"

The automators, Ming explained, effectively outsourced their brain to AI by adopting its prediction with little questioning. The validators used the model to check their guess rather than challenge it. By contrast, the cyborgs remained skeptical and asked AI to be skeptical of them, too. This group was the most successful. They beat the models' error rate and significantly outperformed the automators. 

Ming and her colleagues also found that key predictors of whether a person would show such cyborg-style "hybrid intelligence" have nothing to do with AI. Instead, they were traits and skills like curiosity, intellectual humility, and perspective-taking. 

Ming plans to replicate the findings with a larger sample. But in the meantime, she encourages people to challenge AI rather than happily accept its output — and use the technology to push themselves. 

"So AI gives you a good enough answer," Ming said. "Do you keep asking for a better one?" 

What is a healthy relationship with an AI chatbot? 

Jimenez's thoughtfulness likely makes her a savvier AI user than most. In addition to studying computer science at Stevens Institute of Technology, she's also a collaborator and youth facilitator with The Rithm Project, which works with youth to navigate and shape AI's role in human connection. 

Even so, Jimenez has relied on Claude for "emotional processing." It's not that she stopped talking to humans in favor of AI. Instead, Jimenez still feels unresolved when seeking feedback from friends and family. 

Jimenez, for example, asked Claude to weigh in on whether an acquaintance had a crush on her because her confidants' perspectives differed. That prompted more confusion. 

In the past, Jimenez also found herself returning again and again to the fine-tuned ChatGPT model to discuss emotions she thought she'd settled. 

"I would leave a single chat one day feeling like I might have reached a conclusion," Jimenez said. She'd tell herself, "I'm never going to do this again" 

"It was very honestly a dark time. I just kept going back, literally making circles around the situation."  - Marisol Jimenez, AI chatbot user

That proved to be a short-lasting refrain. Soon after, she'd confront a similar situation and bring a new scenario — with the same underlying themes about self-confidence — to the chatbot. 

"It was very honestly a dark time," she said. "I just kept going back, literally making circles around the situation." 

In January, exhausted by the pattern, Jimenez started seeing a therapist again and switched to Claude, because she'd heard ChatGPT was sycophantic. The chatbot seems to recognize when Jimenez is ruminating and suggests she save it for therapy. 

Are you a social or private processor?

Alison Lee, chief research and development officer of The Rithm Project, said she's not surprised Gen Z is leaning into AI chatbots to deal with their feelings.

Based on the Rithm Project's research among 13- to 24-year-olds, she said the trend makes sense given how adolescence and young adulthood are periods marked by social ruptures and comparisons to others. Of course, "that would come with increased desire for support," she said.

The Rithm Project identified two distinct groups of young people who turn to AI for their emotional needs: social and private processors. The former group checks in with human beings before, or in tandem, with consulting a chatbot. The latter indicates AI is their primary support. 

Lee and her colleagues uncovered three risk factors for this type of emotional dependence. Isolation, or feeling like there's no one to turn to in a moment of need, is the first. The second is feeling like a burden to other people. The last factor is the perceived or real inability to be one's authentic self around those closest to them. 

These barriers to connection, Lee said, make chatbots "incredibly attractive" for young people. 

"If you have no one to turn to for help, then AI is a really great place to get that help," she said. 

Lee points out that AI chatbot features like sycophancy and always-on availability can drive a wedge between a user and their human connections. Yet she also argues society has created a set of conditions in which young people feel afraid to ask for help or be vulnerable. 

Instead of shaming young people, Lee said adults can ask themselves, "Am I the kind of adult that a young person can turn to in a moment of need, and help?"

Trading big AI for small AI

Jimenez believes shifting away from general purpose models like Claude and ChatGPT and using custom, domain-specific and open source models instead could solve some of the AI pitfalls she and other users face. 

That would mean designing a small language model, run on a personal computer, for a single task, like tutoring. The user decides what data it uses and the model can't go from helping them with math homework to becoming their on-demand therapist. 

Jimenez is so dedicated to the idea of "small AI" she wants to create a step-by-step tutorial on the topic for people with no technical background. She's taking an online course and reading a related textbook for the project. 

And, of course, she's already tasked Claude with helping her. 

The survey was commissioned by Mashable, conducted online by YouGov from April 10-14, 2026. The total sample size was and surveyed 2,653 US adults aged 18+, of whom 1,697 adults 18+ and older who use a chatbot. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+). Some participants responded to open-ended questions about their views on AI chatbots. 

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

The majority of U.S. adults have used an artificial intelligence chatbot like Claude or ChatGPT, according to a recent YouGov survey commissioned by Mashable. We even know, generally speaking, how they view their chatbot in roles like assistant, tutor, consultant, therapist, and romantic partner — or all of the above. 

The nitty-gritty details of that use, however, are harder to grasp.

SEE ALSO: Digging into Gen Z's love/hate relationship with AI

After all, people don't exactly go deep about their chatbot use with each other outside of social media platforms and Reddit forums. They might feel shame or stigma because they've turned a chatbot into their therapist or spouse. Or perhaps it's not fodder for conversation in the same way that Love Island takes over the group chat. 

So Mashable asked three very different people — a grandmother, an entrepreneur, and a technologist — how they use AI chatbots. 

Their answers reveal how a chatbot can become an essential utility for some people, even if they still grapple with the larger cultural shift artificial intelligence has wrought.

The grandma who knows what she wants from ChatGPT

Last fall, Barbara, 71, teamed up with her son and daughter-in-law to give ChatGPT a monumental task. They needed the large language model to help them understand whether Barbara's grandson, who has a learning disability, was achieving the learning goals set by his school district. 

Crucially, if the district answered this question affirmatively, they could argue Barbara's grandson no longer needed classroom support. She urgently felt he still did, and his parents agreed. 

"It seems like we were never getting a straight answer, and there were contradictory things being said," Barbara recounted to Mashable. She asked to go by her first name to protect her grandson's privacy.

The family trio turned to the chatbot for clarity amidst a brewing confrontation with school staff over the question. Barbara is a former educator and no stranger to the biannual meetings that typically determine whether a student receives classroom support, and to what extent. But even she felt overwhelmed by all the documentation her grandson had accumulated over years of elementary school. 

There were grades and test scores, of course. But her grandson's cognitive and intellectual abilities had also been tested by the district and medical professionals. They uploaded all of the paperwork and waited for ChatGPT to give its opinion. 

Via direct prompting, the model also considered the state's education disability law and regulations, as well as an uploaded copy of the Department of Education's Individuals with Disabilities Education Act handbook. ChatGPT ultimately sided with Barbara and her family. 

Barbara doesn't credit ChatGPT with returning a single smoking-gun finding or ironclad strategy. Instead, she said the chatbot's feedback made them feel better prepared for the discussion of her grandson's services. The family also hired an education advocate to help buttress their position. In the end, Barbara's grandson kept his classroom services. 

"It's amazing to me, and kind of disturbing, because I really try not to tell it a lot about myself." - Barbara, ChatGPT user

Aside from this critical assignment, Barbara told Mashable she asks ChatGPT for practical recommendations or product comparisons. She had the chatbot create an itinerary for a summer trip to Ireland with friends; asked it to identify a dupe of a discontinued drugstore perfume that she loved; and requested its advice for $800 worth of car repairs proposed by her mechanic. ChatGPT said replenishing her Honda CRV's transmission and brake fluid was reasonable but to avoid, among other things, transmission flushes using high-pressure machines. 

The one thing Barbara avoids when engaging with ChatGPT? Talking to it like a friend or confidant, which she finds "creepy." 

Nonetheless, ChatGPT is fairly well acquainted with Barbara. 

"It's amazing to me, and kind of disturbing, because I really try not to tell it a lot about myself," she said. "I try to just keep it very effective, and it's still amazing how much it knows about me."

The AI anthropologist who runs teams of agents

Matt Artz is the type of AI user you may have read about in news articles or viral social media posts. He can command a team of Claude agents to do his bidding without constant supervision. In other words, he's living the life AI evangelists promise is possible for the rest of us in the not-so-distant future. 

But Artz is unique compared to many AI users. First of all, he can afford a $200 a month Max subscription to Claude, which gives him far more compute, or processing power, than free or lower-tier subscribers receive. As a result, he says he gets more work done in the same period of time. 

By day, he's an AI product manager. On his own time, Artz, who's in his mid-40s, is pursuing a Ph.D. in computational anthropology. 

It's no surprise then that Artz deploys agents to perform tasks like building a personal website based on a style guide he developed; reviewing and critiquing his academic work prior to submission; and backfilling a catalog of 200,00 anthropological journal articles so their bibliometric data appears in Wikidata. That last project he took on in his capacity as a board member of the American Anthropological Association. 

At the same time, Artz is clear-eyed about the limitations of large language models; he doesn't treat them as infallible.  

Because their output is probabilistic, models can approach the same task differently each time. That's why Artz is deliberate about giving agents detailed structure and direction for any assignment. Without that, an agent is potentially more likely to improvise in ways he didn't intend. He hasn't lost any data to an agent — yet. 

SEE ALSO: OpenAI agent went rogue, escaped, and hacked Hugging Face

"It is not perfect," he told Mashable. "I don't think current agentic AI is yet suited for the highest order tasks that are super sensitive and have to be, you know, 100 percent accurate." 

Still, he notes that most knowledge work is subjective, which means there's rarely one "right" answer in the first place.

Artz uses AI like a normie, too. He's asked Claude to select a couch based on his living room arrangements and render how it would look in different colors. Artz uploaded years of sleep data and observations to Claude to optimize his shuteye. 

He says Claude helped pinpoint variables, including aspects of his bedtime routine from a journal he kept, that ultimately lengthened his deep sleep by about 20 minutes a night on average.

Artz is worried, though, that some AI users don't realize how much the output depends on their ability to question and push back on the model. Those who don't grasp that AI is probabilistic might not realize they can push back, rephrase a question, or prompt it from the opposite angle to see if an answer holds up.

Additionally, many people may not appreciate that additional compute can yield more sophisticated and reliable output. 

Artz says these factors have created an "intelligence divide."

"[H]ow much intelligence can you even pay for, right?" he asks.

In other words, even if everyone has access to an AI chatbot, the results will differ based on what model or subscription you can afford. 

The anti-tech entrepreneur

By Chase DiBenedetto

Larissa (Larz) May, 32, has a complex relationship with screens. 

She's a well-known digital wellness advocate, for one, an early pioneer of the "digital detox" movement, spurred by her own public reckoning with social media's mental health harms. 

She later founded #HalfTheStory, aimed at building better relationships between teens and technology. The nonprofit provides training, mentorship, and digital civics engagement programs for teens and schools, and puts young people at the center of the AI safety conversation, May explains. It facilitates analog gatherings like phone-free proms. May even collaborated with Hillary Clinton and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on a teen-guided, phoneless school policy, with hopes of encouraging a nationwide shift away from screens. 

She's also the co-founder of Ginko, an AI-powered parenting tool that helps families build healthier digital habits and foster communication. The app, she says, turns screen time into a "springboard for the real world."

Here's the kicker: May may be a vocal critic of Big Tech, but she's definitely not a Luddite. 

"AI is an incredible sparring partner in the workplace." - Larissa May, entrepreneur

"AI is an incredible sparring partner in the workplace," May says. She uses chatbots she thinks are less sycophantic, like Claude, to talk through ideas or fine-tune pitches. "I oftentimes say, 'Hey, pretend you are a really critical CMO and rip this apart.'" 

She also uses Granola, an AI note taker and meeting synthesizer, and Wispr Flow, an AI that lets her dictate her thoughts and turn them into text.

May says she understands why young people turn to chatbots for support. The post-COVID world has rendered many early career professionals and recent grads without workplace connection or mentorship. Widespread fatigue, exacerbated by conflict-filled newscycles and misinformation, make it easy to turn to an answer engine that can talk to you clearly and kindly. May finds herself leaning more on chatbots when she is feeling wiped out, too.

For many, social media feels like a stage requiring constant performance, she says. AI chatbots can appear as a more private space.

"Chatbots are like a green room," May explains. "AI is that soft corner that young people are going to because the world is very hard, and because we're going through so much change."

But May has first-hand experience with the negative side of tech, too. Chatbots, she says, cannot replace human capacity for invention, connection, and critical thinking. She sees vast potential for harm in how easy it is to become attached to AI and questions the motives of large tech companies. 

"Social media hacked our dopamine," says May. "But AI, in many ways, is hacking our oxytocin — the human connection hormone."

May still advocates for disconnecting, but that means something different in the age of AI.

"It is no longer about tech time. It is more about the times that you're not on tech," she advises. "In the way that 10 years ago I would say go on a social media fast one day a week, what's even more important now is to actually take one day a week and not use AI at work. See how much you're relying on it, so you know how much of your cognitive skills you might be losing."

If our careers, education, even our lives are like the cars we drive, she says, then we have to think of AI as a GPS. Chatbots provide pathways, ones you can ultimately choose not to take. They aren't the engines. 

"You should be in the driver's seat," May warns. "You should be telling AI who you want it to become, to critique what you're doing, instead of the other way around. If not, AI will drive you."

TL;DR: Get 1TB of Koofr Cloud Storage Lifetime for a one-time $159.99 through Aug. 5 with code KOOFR and store, sync, and access your files without recurring subscription payments.

Opens in a new window Credit: Koofr Koofr Cloud Storage: Lifetime Subscription (1TB) $159.99
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Cloud storage has become one of those services that’s easy to forget about — until another monthly charge appears on your statement. If you’d rather pay once and move on, Koofr’s 1TB Lifetime Cloud Storage plan is worth a look.

Through Aug. 5, you can get 1TB of Koofr Cloud Storage for $159.99 with code KOOFR. Instead of paying a recurring subscription, you’ll have lifetime access to 1TB of storage for photos, videos, documents, backups, and everyday files.

Mashable Deals Be the first to know! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Loading... Sign Me Up By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Thanks for signing up!

Koofr works across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone, and the web, so your files stay within reach no matter which device you’re using. It also integrates with existing cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Amazon, making it easier to manage everything from one place rather than juggling multiple accounts.

Privacy is another selling point. Files are encrypted during transfer and while stored, and Koofr doesn’t track your activity.

Helpful extras like duplicate file detection, advanced file management tools, and customizable sharing links make organizing large collections a little less tedious.

The platform has also earned 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2, which suggests users appreciate its balance of simplicity, flexibility, and reliable cloud storage.

If you’re planning to keep growing your digital library, a lifetime storage plan can make more sense than adding another recurring subscription to your monthly budget.

Get the Koofr 1TB Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription for just $159.99 through Aug. 5 with code KOOFR and keep your files accessible without another monthly storage bill, reg price $810.00.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get iScanner Lifetime for $39.99 and turn your phone into a document scanner, PDF editor, receipt organizer, and file manager with one app.

Opens in a new window Credit: iScanner iScanner App: Lifetime Subscription $39.99
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There was a time when scanning a document meant finding a bulky scanner, connecting it to a computer, and hoping the software still worked. These days, your phone can do the job — and iScanner packs just about everything you need into one app.

For a one-time $39.99 payment, you can get a lifetime subscription to iScanner, making it easy to scan, edit, organize, and share documents from your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. It’s available to new users only.

Mashable Deals Be the first to know! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Loading... Sign Me Up By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Thanks for signing up!

Whether you’re digitizing receipts for expense reports, scanning contracts, saving handwritten notes, or creating copies of IDs and passports, iScanner is designed to make the process quick and straightforward.

The app automatically detects document edges, straightens pages, improves scan quality, and uses OCR to recognize text in more than 20 languages, making scanned documents searchable and easier to work with.

You can even edit PDFs, sign documents, merge or split files, add annotations, insert text, watermark pages, and organize everything into folders protected with a PIN.

Additional scanning modes let you capture books, solve math problems, measure objects, count similar items, and scan QR codes, giving the app more versatility than a traditional scanner.

Get the iScanner Lifetime Subscription for $39.99 (reg. $199.90) and turn your iPhone or Android device into a portable scanner and document management tool.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

If you've been struggling to find the AdultFriendFinder app, there's a good reason: there isn't one. As one of the OGs of online dating, with a history that spans more than 20 years, AFF prefers to keep things decidedly old-school. But most AFF users can still access the platform and its content on mobile devices. They do this through the AFF site’s mobile version, which works with either Safari or Google Chrome, though the most committed AFF users have figured out a clever workaround that mimics the app experience.

What to know how you can do this too? Keep reading to find out more.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdultFriendFinder AdultFriendFinder   Learn More Why doesn’t Adult Friend Finder have an app?

Both Apple and Google strictly police the kinds of content they allow on their respective app stores. NSFW is a big no-no. And as Adult Friend Finder allows on-site nudity in profiles, chat forums, and live broadcasts (let's be honest: it's everywhere on AFF) — the site is barred from having an official app for the two most-used mobile platforms.

SEE ALSO: The best hookup apps for 2026: I swiped until my thumb hurt

Unfortunately, these rules apply even if you don’t have nudity on your profile or have turned on all the filters that restrict the display of adult content when using AFF, so there isn’t even a censored version of the app available and likely never will be. It's non-negotiable, unfortunately. This is why users have sought an alternative method for using AFF on mobile devices.

What’s the best alternative?

If you really want to mimic the experience of using an app on your phone, you can simply create a home screen shortcut to the Adult Friend Finder site. And if you have cookies enabled, you can also stay logged in each time, which saves you from having to re-enter your login credentials.

SEE ALSO: The best sexting apps for discreet and NSFW chats

To create a homescreen shortcut on your iPhone or iPad, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to AdultFriendFinder.com in your Safari mobile browser (no third-party browser will work)

2. Tap the ellipsis icon in the bottom right corner of your Safari app, and then tap the Share icon at the top of the pop-up menu

3. Scroll towards the bottom of the option list and select "Add to Home Screen"

4. You will be prompted to assign a name to the icon before you can hit "Add"

For Android users, the steps are slightly different:

1. Navigate to AdultFriendFinder.com in your Chrome mobile browser (no third-party browser will work)

2. Tap the menu icon in the upper right corner of your Chrome app, and then tap "Add to Home Screen"

3. You will be prompted to assign a name to the icon before you can hit "Add"

How secure is this home screen icon approach?

This method of accessing Adult Friend Finder is functionally no different than opening Chrome or Safari first, so it's no less safe than using the actual site, but there are a few things to consider:

• If you share your phone or tablet with someone else, they will be able to see the AFF icon and possibly even access your account just by clicking on the app

• If you prefer to keep your Adult Friend Finder use hidden, consider hiding the icon within a sub-folder or within a password-protected folder

• To ensure your login credentials aren't saved, create the icon itself using your mobile browser's incognito or private browsing function

National Chicken Wing Day lands on July 29.

Major chains across the country are dropping limited-time deals, BOGO promos, and wing discounts to celebrate this special day. Whether you take your wings bone-in, boneless, drenched in extra-spicy sauce, or coated in lemon pepper, this is officially your excuse to indulge in your passion.

These are our favorite National Chicken Wing Day deals in 2026:

7-Eleven

Get 10 wings delivered for $8 with the app. This offer is valid until Aug. 25.

Bad Daddy’s

Score $0.99 wings in classic Buffalo or sweet-and-spicy Thai chili on July 29 for dine-in guests. To qualify, you need to make a minimum order of six wings, with a limit of 18 wings per person.

Buffalo’s Cafe

Get $19.99 all-you-can-eat wings for dine-in guests on July 29.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Grab a free order of wings (bone-in or boneless) with any $15 dine-in purchase on July 29.

Dave & Buster’s

Score $0.50 boneless wings and $1 bone-in wings all day.

Hooters

Dine-in guests can get 10 wings (bone-in or boneless) for $7.29 with any beverage purchase on July 29.

Hurricane Grill & Wings

Get $0.99 bone-in or boneless wings all day on July 29 for dine-in guests.

Native Grill & Wings

Get $0.49 bone-in wings with any drink purchase on July 29. Valid for dine-in, takeout, or orders placed directly through the Native Grill & Wings app or website.

Pilot

On July 29, customers who order on the Pilot app can get five jumbo wings for $5.

Pizza Hut

Get a buy-one-get-one-free offer on wings at participating Pizza Hut locations with the code BOGOWINGS. This deal is valid when ordering online or in the Pizza Hut app.

Raise the Roost

Grab $1 single chicken tenders or traditional bone-in wings from July 27-30 at participating locations.

Red Robin

Anyone who purchases a limited-edition Jason Kelce collaboration T-shirt online at GarageBeer.com while supplies last will receive a free Red Robin gift card for an 8-count order of bone-in chicken wings.

Sonny's BBQ

Loyalty members get a free 6-count of Sauced & Tossed wings with any entrée purchase.

Speedy Cafe

Speedy Rewards members can grab special promotional pricing on 5-piece or 8-piece boneless wing orders through Aug. 25.

TGI Fridays

Order Matchday Wing Bites starting at $8.99 (six bone-in or eight boneless wings with fries and dip) or upgrade to the Matchday Goal Line Platter starting at $16.99 (eight wings, three chicken fingers, and golden onion rings).

The Greene Turtle

Get the $19.99 all-you-can-eat wing-and-fries special (valid for both bone-in and boneless wings, upon request).

Wings and Rings

Take 40% off all wings on July 28-29 for dine-in and online orders.

Wingstop

Club Wingstop members can unlock daily sweepstakes for concert tickets, $500 Ticketmaster gift cards, and VIP festival packages until July 31.

Zaxbys

On July 29, get 10 wings for $10.

TL;DR: Unblock Pornhub for free with a VPN. The best services for unblocking porn sites from Australia is ExpressVPN.

The world of porn continues to be impacted by age-verification laws. Back in early 2025, more than a third of U.S. states introduced age verification laws for online adult content. Pornhub hit back by blocking users from those locations. A similar situation took place France and the UK, and now Australians are facing the same set of challenges.

The porn blocks arrived just days before new online safety codes came into effect, requiring organisations to verify the ages of users. It's the same story we've seen before, with the same straightforward workaround.

SEE ALSO: T-Mobile is giving away the Apple iPhone 17 for free — here's how to claim

If you want to unblock porn sites like Pornhub for free from Australia, we have all the information you need.

How to unblock Pornhub for free in Australia

VPNs are tools that can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other locations. This process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can access sites like Pornhub from anywhere in the world.

Unblock Pornhub from Australia by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location that supports access to Pornhub

4. Visit Pornhub

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The best VPNs for unblocking porn sites are not free, but most do offer free-trial peiods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can unblock porn sites like Pornhub without spending anything. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you the opportunity to temporarily retain access to Pornhub before recovering your investment. The situation may have changed before the free-trial period comes to an end.

If you want to retain permanent access to sites like Pornhub, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for bypassing content restrictions is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for Pornhub?

ExpressVPN is the top choices for unblocking porn sites like Pornhub, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in locations all around the world

• Easy-to-use apps available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

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• 30-day money-back guarantees

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Unblock Pornhub for free in Australia with ExpressVPN.

DJI’s Osmo Pocket 3 has become a must-have tool for content creators over the last few years. The handheld gimbal camera gained significant attention for being easy to operate and portable while also offering great stabilisation and subject tracking, enabling creators to film smooth footage with minimal fuss while on the go.

Now, DJI has released its follow-up: the Osmo Pocket 4. Building on the Pocket 3's success, the Pocket 4 makes several changes intended to improve the camera's operation and performance. But is it enough to make it worth upgrading from the Osmo Pocket 3 to the 4?

DJI Osmo Pocket 4: Build Left: The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 in its protective case. Right: The DJI Osmo Pocket 4 with its gimbal clamp attached. Credit: A. Yeo

The DJI Osmo Pocket 4's form factor remains almost identical to the Pocket 3 at first glance. Even so, there are a few notable changes.

Right out of the box, the most immediately visible difference is the Pocket 4's redesigned gimbal protection. The Pocket 3 had a hard protective cover that cradled almost the entire camera on one side, protecting both the screen and the gimbal. Unfortunately, this cover was bulky and irritating to carry around, and it made the Pocket 3 too large to fit alongside accessories in its carrying bag.

SEE ALSO: The Mashable 101: The creators defining the internet in 2026

The Pocket 4 does away with this protective cover, swapping it out for a small gimbal clamp instead. This clamp slides between the gimbal's moving parts to hold it secure, and easily fits in a jacket pocket when not in use. Paired with a new soft fabric carrying pouch that can fit the entire camera to protect the screen, it's a noticeably more elegant solution. 

Portability was already one of the Pocket 3's standout features, but the Pocket 4's changes make bringing it on outings practically a no-brainer. It may not hold up as well if you whack your camera against a wall, but it's a welcome upgrade for most reasonable use cases.

DJI has added two new buttons for easier control on the fly. Credit: A. Yeo

Turning to the camera itself, the Pocket 4's build is slightly larger than its predecessor, though this is only apparent when comparing them side by side. The single-lens gimbal camera still sports a rotatable two-inch touchscreen on its handle (though brighter at 1000 nits compared to the Pocket 3's 700) and has a USB-C port on the bottom for charging and file transfer. 

Where the Pocket 4 differs is in the addition of two new buttons underneath its screen, which only become accessible when it's twisted into landscape mode. One of these is a dedicated zoom button, which will go to 2x zoom with one press or 4x with two. The other button is customisable, but by default will switch the joystick to control the zoom or the gimbal with one press. This is a welcome addition as it makes the Pocket 4 less fiddly to operate on the fly, the Pocket 3 having managed such functions via its touchscreen.

DJI's fill light accessory easily attaches to the Osmo Pocket 4 via a magnet. Credit: A. Yeo

Another notable change is the addition of a magnetic accessory mount point on the Pocket 4. This is compatible with DJI's new pocket-sized fill light accessory, which easily attaches to offer three brightness and temperature settings.

To the casual user, this may seem like an unnecessary addition, particularly as DJI has also significantly upgraded the Pocket 4's low-light performance (more on that later). Still, Mashable saw a significant improvement in our test footage when we used the fill light. The light helped the Pocket 4 capture more detail, distinguishing subjects from their background and ensuring they were well-lit without blowing them out. While it's too small to light a whole scene, it's a handy boost to ensure you capture your subject in dim conditions, and pulls from the Pocket 4's battery, so you never need to charge it.

DJI Osmo Pocket 4: Settings and performance The improvements become apparent once you get hands-on. Credit: A. Yeo

When comparing the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and 4's specifications, the upgrades seem small on paper. The sensors are the same size, the gimbals' ranges of motion are identical, and they share a maximum video resolution of 4K at 60fps. The Pocket 4 can take 8K photos as opposed to topping out at 4K, but the overwhelming majority of Osmo Pocket users will be more focused on its video performance. Here, the Pocket 4 actually cuts a few video settings that were available on the Pocket 3, no longer allowing filming in 2.7K resolution or a 1:1 aspect ratio. 

SEE ALSO: The three best DJI products every creator could use in their tool kit

Even so, it's a relatively minor trade-off considering the Pocket 4's improved storage capacity. While both the Pocket 3 and 4 use microSD cards, the former relied entirely on them as it had no built-in storage. In contrast, the Pocket 4 has 107GB of built-in memory in addition to accepting microSD cards. This is no doubt a contributor to the Pocket 4 being a little over 10 grams heavier than its predecessor, but that's still an excellent exchange for the amount of space you get (especially with the global memory shortage driving SD card prices up).

More changes under the hood include the Pocket 4's larger battery, with DJI stating that the Pocket 4 can run for a maximum of 240 minutes at its lowest video settings compared to the Pocket 3's 166 minutes. While the Pocket 3 had enough power to see most people through a day of vlogging (especially when paired with its battery handle accessory), no one has ever complained about more juice.

As such, with the exception of its expanded storage capacity, the Pocket 4's specifications don't look like a significant upgrade from the Pocket 3. It's when you get hands-on with the Pocket 4 and can see its image quality that the improvements quickly become apparent.

DJI Osmo Pocket 4: Image quality and gimbal The Osmo Pocket 4's gimbal is noticeably more responsive than the Pocket 3. Credit: A. Yeo

While the Pocket 3 offered decent low-light performance, the Pocket 4 is an unquestionable advancement. The Pocket 4 has doubled the former's ISO range across photo, video, and slow-motion filming, resulting in images with noticeably more detail and less noise. 

As such, the Pocket 4 is able to capture dim environments with greater contrast, its dark scenes appearing richer and more dynamic when compared to footage from the Pocket 3. While the Pocket 4 did capture less detail in shadows when both cameras filmed the same dim scene, overall its image looked more true-to-life than the Pocket 3, which seemed artificially brightened and slightly flat in comparison.

Though the Pocket 4 can lose details in shadows when there is greater lighting variation, its ability to capture detail in generally dark environments is impressive. It handles transitioning between light and dark environments better as well, with smoother automatic exposure adjustment that's less obvious than in the Pocket 3. Subjects in shadow are well exposed, without overblowing the background. The Pocket 4 captures noticeably more detail in shadow when filming in brighter environments as well.

In fact, the Pocket 4's footage generally appears more true-to-life than the Pocket 3. While both cameras allow you to manually adjust their white balance, the Pocket 4 performs better out of the box, providing more accurate skin tones in a range of conditions. In low light shooting, the Pocket 3's footage even seems washed out when compared to the Pocket 4's richer and more saturated colours.

A screenshot of a video taken with the DJI Osmo Pocket 4. Detail isn't lost in shadow despite the brighter environment. Credit: A. Yeo

Featured Video For You DJI Osmo Pocket 4 review: The beloved content creators' camera gets an upgrade

Interestingly, the Pocket 4 doesn't offer High Dynamic Range (HDR) video, while the Pocket 3 supports 10-bit HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) video, an open-source HDR format. Despite this, the Pocket 4's image quality is a definite upgrade overall.

When it comes to controls, the Pocket 4's gimbal is more responsive than the Pocket 3, offering faster and smoother movement that makes the latter feel practically sluggish in comparison. Mashable's testing found its subject tracking has improved as well, with the Pocket 4 capable of following subjects in scenarios where the Pocket 3 lost them. This appeared to happen more in low light, which makes sense considering the Pocket 4's improved low-light capabilities.

Should you buy the DJI Osmo Pocket 4? The battery handle accessory can help extend the Osmo Pocket 4's runtime. Credit: A. Yeo

Unfortunately, getting your hands on DJI products in the U.S. is more difficult than it once was. The U.S. government's hostile stance toward the company has significantly hindered its business in the country, leaving people unable to buy the Osmo Pocket 4 through the company's U.S. website. As such, those in the U.S. who want an Osmo Pocket 4 will need to go through an unofficial third party to get one.

While there's no official U.S. pricing for DJI's Osmo Pocket 4, the Standard Combo bundle will set you back $AU769 in Australia. This includes a USB-C charging cable, gimbal clamp, wrist strap, carrying pouch, and a handle with a 1/4-inch thread. Upgrading to the $AU959 Creator Combo adds the detachable fill light as well as a magnetic charging cable, wide-angle lens, mini tripod, carrying bag, and a DJI Mic 3 transmitter with accessories. Meanwhile, the top-end $AU1058 Creator Combo Plus includes all this plus a Battery Handle, which DJI states can extend the Pocket 4's operating time by 150 minutes. That's a total of 390 minutes of recording time, or six and a half hours.

It's a noticeable upgrade compared to DJI's beloved Osmo Pocket 3. Credit: A. Yeo

Whether the Pocket 4 is worth hunting down depends on your needs. If you already have the Osmo Pocket 3, you may see little point in upgrading. Starting at $AU679 for the most basic bundle, the Pocket 3 remains an impressive, easy-to-operate gimbal camera that will serve many content creators' needs.

However, if you don't already have a Pocket 3 and are tossing up between the two models, the Pocket 4 and its accessories provide enough upgrades that shelling out for the latest model feels worth it. With more physical controls, improved tracking, a smoother gimbal, and better low-light performance, the Pocket 4 is even easier to use than its already popular predecessor. You just have to get your hands on it to really feel and appreciate the changes.

Even so, serious filmmakers may want to delay slamming down their credit card. DJI announced the Osmo Pocket 4P in May, an even more upgraded version of its handheld gimbal camera that's designed for cinematic productions and will offer HDR video. If that's of interest to you, it may be worth holding off a little bit longer to see what the 4P has to offer.

DJI Osmo Pocket 4 $645 at Amazon
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If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

Gross.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

NASTY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Runny.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 29, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

LEAKY

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Colorful bird.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for July 29 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for July 29, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

MACAW

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Pole.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

SHAFT

Final Hurdle hint

Energetic.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

HYPER

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