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The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you love gambling.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

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

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

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for January 6, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Living space

• Green: A nice voice

• Blue: Card game terms

• Purple: Creature

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Apartment

• Green: Sonorous

• Blue: Poker hands, familiarly

• Purple: ___ animal

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

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

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #940 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Apartment: DIGS, FLAT, PAD, QUARTERS

• Sonorous: CLEAR, DEEP, FLAT, RICH

• Poker hands, familiarly: BOAT, FLUSH, QUADS, STRAIGHT

• ___ animal: BALLOON, PACK, PARTY, STUFFED

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for January 6, 2026

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

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

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

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're not afraid of heights.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for January 6, 2026 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for January 6, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Look up!

The words are related to flight.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe things that fly.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Defying Gravity.

NYT Strands word list for January 6

• Balloon

• Drone

• Defying Gravity

• Kite

• Bird

• Airplane

• Rocket

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

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

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're full of energy.

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

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for January 6, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for January 6, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Pizzazz.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter O appears twice.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter O.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

OOMPH

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for January 6, 2026

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

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

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

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier if you know baseball.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Adjust course

• Green: Hoops

• Blue: Current hurlers

• Purple: Words all begin the same way

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Change direction

• Green: Basketball shot types

• Blue: Active MLB pitchers

• Purple: Back____

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

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

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #470 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Change direction - PIVOT, TURN, VEER, ZIG

• Basketball shot types - ALLEY-OOP, FADEAWAY, FLOATER, LAYUP

• Active MLB pitchers - CEASE, CROCHET, WHEELER, WOO

• BACK____ - BOARD, FIELD, STOP, STRETCH

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

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

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

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

SAVE OVER $50: As of Jan. 6, Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are on sale for $199.95 at Amazon. This is 20% off their list price of $249.99.

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If you're starting the new year off with new workout goals, a solid pair of earbuds is help keep you entertained when you're sweating. The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are our favorite earbuds for working out, and they're currently on sale for under $200 at Amazon.

For a limited time, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 have been marked down to $199.95 at Amazon. This is 20% off their retail price of $249.99, saving you just over $50. Every color is on sale as well, so you can have your pick of the hyper purple, electric orange, quick sand, or jet black earbuds.

SEE ALSO: The top 6 CES 2026 trends I expect to see at tech's biggest show

There are a few reasons why the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 have landed on both our lists of the best workout earbuds and the best earbuds overall. Their secure-fit earhooks make sure they stay in place as you power through workouts, and they even offer up to 45 hours of battery life (with the charging case), so you don't have to think about frequent recharges. Pair that with great sound quality, noise-canceling features such as Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency mode, and Heart Rate Monitoring sensors, and they're ready to help you tackle the day.

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Our review from writer Alex Bracetti had plenty of praise for these earbuds, noting that "the secure fit, heart-rate monitoring, and stellar battery life are unbeatable." However, he does mention that the noise-cancellation features leave something to be desired, saying "they lack the AirPods Pro 2’s prime listening modes and resilient ANC."

Don't miss out on the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 for under $200 at Amazon.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT game

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026:

AcrossWhen pigs fly

• The answer is Never.

Courtroom excuse

• The answer is Alibi.

"That's a ___!" ("Seems unlikely!")

• The answer is Big if.

Cash register compartment

• The answer is Till.

She, in French

• The answer is Elle.

DownCatch, as a crook

• The answer is Nab.

Designation for prolific Yelp reviewers

• The answer is Elite.

Candlelight ___ (solemn observance)

• The answer is Vigil.

Online invoice

• The answer is Ebill.

Piece of equipment in a Winter Olympics biathlon

• The answer is Rifle.

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

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

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

SAVE $60: As of Jan. 6, the Fitbit Charge 6 is on sale for $99.95 at Amazon. That's a 38% discount on the list price.

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Sticking to your fitness goals is a lot easier when you can actually see your progress. That’s where a fitness tracker comes in. These handy devices turn your hard work into readable stats, and what could be more motivating than that? And if you’re looking for a model that can give you this, but for under $100, check out this new Amazon deal on the Fitbit Charge 6.

As of Jan. 6, this fitness tracker is down to $99.95, giving you a saving of $60. According to camelcamelcamel, it’s never been cheaper than this. 

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Despite the low price, you’re still getting an impressive amount of stats that are bound to keep you motivated all year. It has over 40 exercise modes, including running, swimming, and yoga. You’ll also get a range of workout-related stats (heart rate, Active Zone Minutes, and daily activity).

It has built-in GPS, so your outdoor runs will be mapped and your pace tracked more accurately. You can even leave your phone at home if you want to enjoy a switched-off run. You’ll also be able to track lifestyle metrics like your sleep and stress, and you’ll get personalized insights into what your sleep actually looks like.  

On top of fitness, it functions as a smartwatch, letting you receive calls, messages, and notifications, make contactless payments, use voice assistants, and enjoy a battery life that lasts up to seven days.

Find this great Fitbit deal at Amazon now.

SAVE $80: As of Jan. 6, the Fitbit Versa 4 is on sale for $119.95 at Amazon. That's a 40% discount on the list price.

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Nothing helps you hit your fitness goals quite like a fancy new gadget to keep you motivated. And if you’re trying to be a bit more consistent this year, having a fitness tracker on your wrist that nudges you along can make a real difference. It doesn’t need to be a super advanced, overly expensive model either, if you just want something affordable to keep you accountable, check out this latest deal on the Fitbit Versa 4.

As of Jan. 6, this smartwatch is on sale for $80 off. That brings the price down to $119.95, its best-ever price. You can choose from all color options too, giving you the choice of pink sand, black, and waterfall blue. 

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And it has plenty of features to keep you motivated, including built-in GPS, all-day activity tracking, 40+ exercise modes, and 24/7 heart rate monitoring. It also tracks lifestyle and health metrics, with detailed sleep stats (including sleep stages, scores, and smart wake) as well as tools for managing stress, SpO2 tracking, and even more. 

It’s not all work and no play with the Versa 4, as you’ll also get social features that support calls, texts, notifications, contactless payments, and voice assistants. And all this comes with a battery life of over six days. 

Kick the new year off with a bang and grab this Fitbit deal from Amazon now.

SAVE $140: As of Jan. 6, the Kindle Scribe is on sale for $309.99 at Amazon. That's a discount of 31% on the list price.

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If reading more is one of your New Year’s resolutions, this might help: the Kindle Scribe is currently on sale. Not only that, but it's down to its lowest-ever price at Amazon. As of Jan. 6, this popular Kindle model is down to $309.99, saving you $140. This price is for the 64GB model in the colors metallic jade or tungsten.

This Kindle is a popular one, designed not just for reading, but writing too. This e-reader lets you read, write, and annotate documents on a large, paper-like display. It even includes built-in AI tools that can tidy up your notes, summarize them, or adjust the length and tone.

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It also comes with the Premium Pen, a stylus designed to feel like writing on paper. It doesn’t need charging either, it uses electromagnetic technology to connect to the device. With this, you can import and mark up documents and PDFs, and write directly on book pages with expandable margins.

Battery life is designed to last for months, too. So you'll get long periods of reading and weeks of writing on just a single charge.

Find this great Kindle deal at Amazon now.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for January 6, 2026

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for January 6, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 6 Pips

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed vertically; 6-3, placed horizontally.

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 6 Pips

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed vertically; 2-6, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed vertically; 2-5, placed horizontally.

Less Than (6): Everything in this space must be less than 6. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 3-1, placed horizontally; 1-2, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 6 Pips

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 3-5, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this yellow space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally; 4-5, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally; 4-6, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed vertically; 3-5, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 3-0, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this red space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 3-6, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 3-0, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically.

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 4-6, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 2-1, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed horizontally.

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

SAVE $80: As of Jan. 6, the Jackery Explorer 300 is on sale for $178.99 at Amazon. That's a 31% savings on the list price.

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Jackery is one of the most recognizable names when it comes to portable power stations. The brand offers everything from power banks ideal for charging your phone to powerhouse units that can power your whole house for days. But if you're looking for something in between, you'll love this new Amazon deal on the Jackery Explorer 300.

This model is a compact portable power station with a 293Wh battery, designed for light home backup and outdoor use. It's ideal for keeping electronics powered during a camping trip, for example. It can recharge up to 80% in around two hours using a wall outlet and USB-C at the same time, or be topped up via a car outlet.

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You'll get up to 300W through two pure sine wave AC outlets, and you'll be able to charge up to six devices at once, including USB-C, USB-A, and a car port. It weighs just over 7 pounds, so it's compact and easy to carry around too, ideal if you're camping off-grid.

And as of Jan. 6, it's on sale. Right now you can take home this model for $178.99, a saving of over $80 on list price. According to camelcamelcamel, this is also the lowest-ever price for this model.

Pick up this portable power station deal from Amazon.

Juggling my jam-packed schedule of briefings, pre-briefings, demos, and media events ahead of CES 2026 this week has been a feat of organization and sustained caffeine intake. My kingdom for a Calendar 2, the updated version of Skylight's popular digital wall calendar.

The device made its debut at CES' Pepcom showcase Tuesday night and fully launches in a matter of weeks.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Skylight Calendar is a WiFi-connected calendar that can keep track of multiple family members' schedules, to-do lists, and chores. Our reviewer tried and loved the larger Calendar Max model, which measures 27 inches across and features rounded corners. It even nabbed one of our coveted Mashable Choice Awards. "Once I got the Skylight Calendar, my life instantly felt more organized," wrote Jae Thomas for Mashable.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: See the latest news, surprises, and strange tech from LG, Samsung, Lego, and new startups

A Skylight rep told me that the company decided to update the device based on a recurring tidbit of customer feedback: the calendar's design should be more customizable because everybody's home decor is different. The new 15-inch Calendar 2 has interchangeable magnetic frames and an adjustable tabletop stand that can tilt 180 degrees. It also sports the same rounded corners as the Calendar Max, whereas its 15-inch predecessor had squared-off corners. It's 20 percent thinner, too.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

This redesign also appears to address our reviewer's biggest issue with the original Skylight Calendar, which was that its plastic frame didn't fit on its screen when they were assembling it; they wound using it unframed. When I played around with the Calendar 2 at Pepcom, I was able to snap its frame on and off easily.

Skylight also gave the Calendar 2 a new processor that makes it three times faster than the older version. Additionally, its touchscreen is sharper, brighter, and more color-accurate.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

A limited-edition Calendar 2 with a brass frame and six exclusive screensavers launched in December at Target as part of a collaboration with Joanna Gaines' Hearth and Hand with Magnolia brand. It costs $339.99, but the standard version will retail for $299.99, the same price as the first-gen model. It's set for an official release in February.

Opens in a new window Credit: Target Skylight Calendar 2 Antique Brass - Hearth & Hand with Magnolia $339.99 at Target
  Shop Now

Head to the Mashable CES 2026 hub for the latest news and live updates from the biggest show in tech, where Mashable journalists are reporting live.

Featured Video For You Samsung First Look: Go up close with Galaxy Z TriFold, the futuristic foldable only available in Korea

Making AI companions and assistants feel more real, more physically present, has become one of the defining themes of CES this year. Razer is leaning into the moment by showcasing a more tangible version of Project Ava at CES 2026.

For those who need a refresher, Project Ava is Razer’s real-time gaming co-pilot: an AI assistant that essentially acts as a backseat gamer for you. While you’re playing, Ava — represented here by a character named Kira — offers live advice, tips, and commentary, overlaid directly on your screen as the game unfolds. It’s coaching, but with a personality and a face.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: See the latest news, surprises, and strange tech from LG, Samsung, Lego, and new startups

Razer technically showed off Project Ava at last year's CES, but that early demo was almost aggressively abstract. Instead of a character, it was mostly lines of code and system diagrams, with Razer walking through how the AI processed gameplay data and generated commands in real-time. Useful, sure, but not exactly something you could imagine sitting next to you during a late-night gaming session.

This year's version is clearly about making the concept feel less like a backend experiment and more like a presence. Whether that makes having an AI critique your gameplay more helpful or more annoying is another question entirely.

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The new Project Ava hardware is a cylindrical desktop device with a transparent outer shell that displays a full-body, animated character inside. A camera is mounted at the top of the unit, facing outward, while the base features a perforated, patterned platform that gives the character a sense of depth. The bottom ring glows in Razer’s signature green and is branded with the company logo. Designed to sit next to a laptop or monitor, the device functions as a dedicated display for the AI assistant, keeping it separate from the game screen rather than overlaying it on gameplay.

Credit: Chance Townsend / Mashable

The character Razer demoed is called Kira, though she's far from the only option. Other presets include Zane, a sharply dressed, extremely large man with a massive snake tattoo running down his arm. Very much the kind of character that feels ripped straight from something you’d find on BookTok. According to Razer, these avatars will be customizable, including the ability to create your own from scratch. The company has also partnered with influencers to offer character likenesses, including esports pro Faker, signaling that Project Ava is as much about personality and fandom as it is about utility.

As with most CES demos, the room was aggressively loud, which made it hard for the AI to consistently pick up voice commands. We spent most of the demo parked in the Battlefield 6 loadout customization screen, asking Kira for advice on which guns and gadgets would make the most sense for the next round. Given the circumstances, it worked well enough, and the recommendations were solid for what they were (and yes, running frag grenades over stuns for the assault class is the correct call).

Outside of gaming, Razer says it has expanded Project Ava's capabilities beyond just backseat coaching. The company claims the AI can now offer advice on non-gaming tasks as well, with Ava still appearing as an on-screen overlay while you work. In practice, that means Project Ava is inching closer to the same general-purpose assistance other AI tools promise, but with gamer branding now.

There's still no release date for Project Ava, though Razer says it's targeting sometime this year.

Head to the Mashable CES 2026 hub for the latest news and live updates from the biggest show in tech, where Mashable journalists are reporting live.

I love a free drink. I also love the premise of asking an AI to invent a cocktail based on a vague flavor profile and a dream. For the truly rudderless among us, the kind of people who walk up to a bar and say "surprise me" with full confidence, the AI Barmen might be your new best friend.

The AI-powered bartender is being showcased at CES 2026, and at first glance, it appears to be yet another piece of liquor-filled kitchen technology. But the pitch is a little more ambitious than that. According to its founders, the AI Barmen is meant to behave like an actual bartender that sees you, talks to you, remembers you, and adjusts accordingly.

That starts before you even order a drink.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: See the latest news, surprises, and strange tech from LG, Samsung, Lego, and new startups

As demonstrated on the CES show floor, the "ritual" for getting served begins with the machine scanning your face and attempting to estimate your age. You don't hand over an ID at first. You just…stare into the camera. The system estimates your age within a broad range, and if it believes you're under 21, it automatically switches into a non-alcoholic mode, offering zero-proof cocktails and juices.

For the record, it guessed I was 30. I'm 27. Talking to other attendees, early-to-mid-30s seemed to be the most common range it landed on.

Once you pass that check, you're prompted to either talk to the AI directly or select from a list of pre-made cocktails. The company says AI Barmen can theoretically generate thousands of drink combinations based on mood, taste preferences, and conversation, but for CES, the menu was limited to tequila- and whiskey-based drinks only.

Voila! This is the Peach Boom. Credit: Mark Stetson / Mashable

This is where the concept is supposed to shine. AI Barmen is designed for "convo bartending," meaning you can tell it how you're feeling, what kind of night you're having, or what flavors you want, and it will craft a drink while explaining its choices in real-time. It also claims to recognize returning guests, remember preferences, and even slow things down if it thinks you're ordering too quickly, with a built-in sobriety check that will cut you off.

In theory, it's thoughtful. In practice, CES is very loud.

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A recurring theme at tech events like this is that the environments are almost hostile to anything involving voice recognition, and AI Barmen was no exception. Not realizing there was no gin in the machine (rookie mistake), I asked for "a gin base that's sweet but not too sweet." Somewhere, my coworkers at the bar I work at are absolutely laughing at me — and that's why I'm just a barback.

The machine couldn’t hear me properly, got confused, reset the flow, and asked for age authentication again. Moments later, a staff member politely asked to see my ID because the system now thought I might be underage.

Honestly? Thank you. I'll take the compliment.

Despite the hiccups, the AI Barmen did make me a drink — a Peach Boom, a sweet peachy cocktail with Jack Daniels and grenadine. It was served quickly and tasted good, although a bit diluted for my liking. The company envisions it handling up to 180 drinks a night while also remembering guests across locations. I'm curious to know how the machine will function in environments where it will be loud.

But as someone who loves a free drink, vague instructions, and the chaos of a CES demo barely holding together, I have to admit: I was intrigued.

Head to the Mashable CES 2026 hub for the latest news and live updates from the biggest show in tech, where Mashable journalists are reporting live.

The day before CES officially starts, Mashable got the chance to preview a trio of new products from Jackery, including two surprising firsts for the brand — a solar-powered gazebo for the home and an autonomous robot that harvests solar power. Jackery helped popularize portable power stations, and the brand is also celebrating its 10-year anniversary at CES.

Jackery is showing three new products at CES 2026, the annual tech conference in Las Vegas. The first is an ultra-rugged version of the brand's flagship power station, dubbed the Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra. The company is also introducing the Jackery Solar Gazebo and the Solar Mars Bot.

Mashable got the chance to demo the new products ahead of their official launch at CES.

The Jackery Solar Mars Bot

The Solar Mars Bot is Jackery's first robot, and it's essentially a power station on wheels. The autonomous rover will move around your home or campground to seek out optimal sunlight, and the upper body houses retractable 300W solar panels that can tilt to follow the sun. In a demo at CES, the bot sought out a UV light and angled its panels directly in the beam of light.

The Solar Mars Bot also has a follow-me mode, and it successfully followed me around the CES showroom floor. A Jackery representative said that you could bring the bot camping, and it could follow you around to provide instant power wherever and whenever you need it. At home, the bot can periodically roam your yard to recharge, so it's always ready to provide power.

I don't know that it's the most practical product, but the idea of owning my own rover is appealing, I have to admit. A Jackery rep said the Solar Mars Bot will be available later this year, with pricing to be announced later.

The Jackery Solar Gazebo Credit: Jackery

The upcoming Solar Gazebo features a solar roof that harvests power that can be stored in a Jackery power station or home battery. It's meant to be a permanent outdoor structure for the home, not a portable camping gazebo. It features retractable screens to provide some protection from the elements, and Jackery says one of the screens can function as a projector screen.

"The Jackery Solar Gazebo reengineers what an outdoor living structure can be," states a Jackery press release.

"Equipped with industrial-grade, high-efficiency solar panels delivering 2,000 watts of capacity and generating up to 10 kilowatt-hours per day, the Jackery Solar Gazebo supports a wide range of lifestyles, from those seeking fresh air to self-professed homebodies who want comfort without compromise. Its ultra-durable 6063 T5 aluminum frame and louvered roof provide long-lasting shade and comfort that can transform the space into a multi-purpose outdoor hub. Use it as a space for relaxation and entertainment with its pull-down projector screen and built-in IP5-rated dual-AC solar power outlet, or even repurpose it as a sheltered storage space for hobbies, like keeping and charging a golf cart, while protecting your gear from the sun."

The Solar Gazebo passes what I call the Malibu Dreamhouse test. As a New Yorker who lives in a 1-bedroom apartment, a lot of the gadgets at CES 2026 would never fit inside my home — or my budget. But if I owned a Malibu beachhouse, would I consider buying this product? Absolutely.

Now, is it a problem that a lot of CES products seem designed for the One Percent? Yes, but that's another story entirely.

The Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra Credit: Jackery

Finally, Jackery is also introducing a more traditional product for CES. The Explorer 1500 Ultra is a more rugged, heavy-duty version of the popular Explorer 1500 V2 power station. A company spokesperson told Mashable that it's designed for serious camping environments, and it's the most rugged power station the brand has ever made. Jackery says it's the "lightest and most compact IP65 all-weather power station in its class," and it's capable of operating in a wide temperature range.

Additionally, Jackery is releasing a limited-edition orange collection to commemorate its 10-year anniversary. These new power stations come in a high-visibility orange.

The new Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable The new Orange Collection from Jackery Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable

Jackery says that all of the new CES 2026 products will be available in 2026, and we'll update this post as soon as we know more about pricing and availability.

Head to the Mashable CES 2026 hub for the latest news and live updates from the biggest show in tech, where Mashable journalists are reporting live.

No matter what I do, I always seem to find myself in a peculiar situation at CES. That’s how I ended up at Lepro's booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center this year, staring at Lepro Ami, a device the Chinese company openly markets not just as an AI companion, but an AI soulmate. There was no live demo as the show floor was too loud, according to staff, which felt oddly fitting for a product meant to simulate emotional intimacy. Even silent, Ami drew a crowd.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: See the latest news, surprises, and strange tech from LG, Samsung, Lego, and new startups

Unlike the flood of AI companion apps already on the market, Lepro Ami is a physical device: a small, curved OLED screen meant to sit on your desk, track your eyes, and simulate the feeling that something is actually there with you. Lepro says users often describe it as feeling "in the room," not tucked away behind a phone screen or buried in a chat interface.

Personally, I remain deeply unconvinced that anyone needs an AI friend or, worse yet, a soulmate. The entire category still feels, at best, awkward and, at worst, like a shortcut around real human connection. But standing there at CES 2026, watching people linger longer than expected in front of a device that wasn’t even fully operational, I understood the hook.

In a sense, this was AI, right in front of me, not a chatbot.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026: Do AI companions need jobs? Ludens AI's Cocomo and INU don't think so.

AI companionship isn’t new, and it's certainly no longer niche. According to a report from Mashable's Rebecca Ruiz, companion apps have been downloaded more than 220 million times globally as of mid-2025, with teens and young adults leading the adoption. Platforms like Character.AI, Replika, Nomi, and Kindroid are explicitly designed for emotional intimacy, not productivity. Experts interviewed by Mashable describe AI companions as "always-on relationships," which is both the appeal and the risk.

Critics worry about dependency, social atrophy, and what happens when people choose an endlessly agreeable machine over the messy complexities of human relationships. All valid concerns — and ones that feel especially relevant as loneliness continues to shape how people interact with technology.

Which is why I didn’t expect Lepro Ami to land differently. To be fair, Ami isn't trying to live inside your phone. The company describes Ami as empathetic, emotionally aware, and capable of forming lasting connections with its users.

Lepro says Ami will one day be fully customizable. Credit: Chance Townsend / Mashable

The hardware handles a significant amount of that work. Ami uses a curved 8-inch OLED display, dual front-facing cameras for eye tracking, and a rear camera to visually anchor its avatar within your real environment. The result is designed to create depth without the need for VR headsets or glasses, giving the illusion that the character occupies physical space.

There are also visible privacy controls — physical shutters for cameras and microphones — which feel like a quiet acknowledgment of how uneasy people are about emotionally intimate tech that's always watching. It should be noted that one of the spokespersons for Lepro told us that all data collected from your interactions with Ami is stored locally on the device.

Is it still strange? Absolutely. But it’s a different kind of strange.

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Most AI companions today live where everything else already lives: your phone, your browser, your notifications. They blur into the same infinite scroll that's already exhausting us. Lepro Ami, by contrast, asks for a dedicated spot on your desk. It doesn’t follow you everywhere. You have to choose to keep it around.

If AI soulmates are slowly growing mainstream, the least deceptive version might be the one that doesn't hide what it is.

Head to the Mashable CES 2026 hub for the latest news and live updates from the biggest show in tech, where Mashable journalists are reporting live.

Most gadgets we've encountered so far at CES 2026 aim to excite and dazzle, but Ambient's Dreamie succeeds if it helps you snooze.

Not to be confused with the robot vacuum brand Dreame, the Dreamie is a sunrise alarm clock that can serve as a flashlight and play music, podcasts, or ambient sounds. It aims to replace your phone at your bedside, eliminating the temptation to doomscroll while you're trying to wind down. It doesn't even require an app for setup.

It kind of reminds me of a chic electric pencil sharpener. Anyone else? Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Dreamie made an appearance at the Pepcom media showcase Monday, where I checked it out and chatted with Ambient CEO and co-founder Adrian Canoso. He told me that he came up with the idea for the Dreamie during a particularly stressful point in his life a couple years ago. He was suffering from insomnia while working an intense robotics job amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and he happened to become a dad around the same time.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: See the latest news, surprises, and strange tech from LG, Samsung, Lego, and new startups

While researching sleep tech for his son, Canso thought some of the devices he encountered might help him deal with his own sleep problems. His idea for the Dreamie arose out of a particular desire for one that kept him off his phone while he was trying to get his brain to settle down for a good night's rest.

The Dreamie has a circular touchscreen on one end of it where you can schedule alarms and play your choice of calming audio. It comes with its own sleep content library that includes environmental noises and guided relaxation — no subscription required. It has a built-in speaker, but it also works with Bluetooth headphones. That way, you're not disturbing anyone you're sharing a room or bed with.

The colorful LED light surrounding the Dreamie's screen can brighten gradually in warm tones to simulate sunrises for gentle wake-ups. You can adjust it via touch controls. And if you need a more intense glow to find something in the dark, you can concentrate its illumination to one side of the device.

The Dreamie's built-in speaker gives it a little bit of heft. Credit: Haley Henschel

Canso said the Dreamie will add support for contactless sleep tracking at the end of Q1 2026. Its data will stay encrypted right on the device, not in the cloud.

The Dreamie is now available for purchase following a successful Kickstarter campaign that wrapped up in November. It retails for $249.99 on helloambient.com.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ambient Dreamie $249.99 at helloambient.com
  Shop Now

Head to the Mashable CES 2026 hub for the latest news and live updates from the biggest show in tech, where Mashable journalists are reporting live.

In the beginning, not all amateur galaxies were winners. Scientists have now found one of the duds that just couldn't hack it in the wild early days of the universe. 

Near the spindly spiral galaxy Messier-94, about 14 million light-years away in space, astronomers have found a small, spherical ghost town. For years, scientists have looked for evidence of such a phantom, proposed by theory. It wasn’t until they pointed NASA's Hubble Space Telescope at the cloud that they discovered the first example of a primitive galaxy that never had the gumption to form stars. 

Radio telescopes first picked up its faint signal of neutral hydrogen in 2023. Scientists gave it a name, Cloud-9 — and it was indeed the ninth cloud detected around M94 — then wondered what exactly held this thing together.

Before Hubble, researchers could rationalize that the object was merely a tiny dim galaxy whose stars were just too faint to see through the eyes of ground-based telescopes, said Gagandeep Anand, a staff scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. 

"But with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, we're able to nail down that there's nothing there," he said in a statement.

SEE ALSO: A planet as hefty as Saturn wanders the galaxy in exile

Neutral hydrogen — that's ordinary hydrogen whose electrons haven't been stripped away — could not hold Cloud-9 together. The mysterious object, about 4,900 light-years wide, contains about 1 million suns' worth of hydrogen — not nearly enough to keep the cloud from scattering. 

That means something unseen must provide the weight. The simplest answer, according to the research team, is dark matter, the invisible scaffolding thought to manage nearly all cosmic construction. Their findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Left: Swipe the slider bar to the left to reveal Cloud-9 amid this blank field of space. Credit: NASA / ESA / VLA / Gagandeep Anand / Alejandro Benitez-Llambay / Joseph DePasquale Right: The Very Large Array telescope detected radio emissions from Cloud-9, indicated here in magenta. The circled area, where scientists found peak radio data, contained no stars. The specks of light in this image come from background galaxies. Credit: NASA / ESA / VLA / Gagandeep Anand / Alejandro Benitez-Llambay / Joseph DePasquale

Because studies strongly indicate that Cloud-9 is a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter halo, it provides precious insight into the mysterious-yet-pervasive substance in the universe, said Andrew Fox, a co-author affiliated with the European Space Agency. 

"This cloud is a window into the dark universe," Fox said in a statement. "We know from theory that most of the mass in the universe is expected to be dark matter, but it’s difficult to detect this dark material because it doesn’t emit light."

Scientists have theorized that dark matter clumps exist in staggering numbers, far more than the galaxies we see. Only clumps that exceed a certain threshold in mass should hold onto gas and ignite stars. Below it, gravity loses its tug-of-war with heat and radiation, and star formation can't occur. 

Based on this prediction, many galaxy failures — gassy spheres devoid of stars — should exist. Astronomers have hunted for proof for years. Most candidates reveal themselves, sooner or later, as ordinary gas clouds in the Milky Way or as faint galaxies hiding their stars. 

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But Cloud-9 is different. Its gas moves serenely through space. It shows no sign of spinning into a disk, which usually means stars are around. Its mass places it close to that theoretical boundary where a galaxy should either eke out — or not form at all.

The team did not stop at Hubble. They ran many computer simulations, planting fictitious galaxies of varying sizes into the data to test whether the observatory could have detected them. If Cloud-9 contained even a paucity of stars, the telescope would have seen it, according to the study.

No glittering swarm. No smear of light. Researchers calculated that Cloud-9’s dark matter must be equal to about 5 billion suns in mass. It appears to stand at the very precipice of galaxyhood, said Alejandro Benitez-Llambay, the study's principal investigator. 

"In science, we usually learn more from the failures than from the successes," said Benitez-Llambay, a scientist at Milano-Bicocca University in Italy, in a statement. "In this case, seeing no stars is what proves the theory right." 

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