Technology

Previously, How-To Geek reported that Amazon’s ambitions in low-Earth orbit extended beyond traditional home broadband toward direct-to-device satellite connectivity. While satellite phone connectivity is still far away, Amazon is getting ready to launch its satellite internet service later this year.

Netflix has an extensive collection of award-winning movies, and some of its best picks are also great for a relaxed weekend watch. From a sweeping wartime romance to a hip-hop underdog story, these films offer very different reasons to settle in for your movie night.

Building a comprehensive Obsidian Knowledge Base has become a discipline for me lately. I already use several different methods to build it. Some of them are pretty standard, like using the web importer plugin. Others are a bit more unexpected. And I do a great deal of it without touching the editor for the most part. But I wanted to go further. So I found a few rather unconventional sources to use to continue building my "second brain".

If you’re running out of storage on your Android, there's a good chance Chrome might be the silent culprit. While the app’s base size is roughly 150MB to 275MB, its storage footprint can grow significantly as your browser accumulates Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), offline media caches, and persistent web data over time. In my case, this was the reason for my browser having around 6GB of storage on my phone.

The PC market was already rough, but it just got worse. IDC estimates that PC shipments plunged 20.1% year-over-year in the summer (third quarter) this year, and that the situation isn't likely to get better any time soon.

It's easy to forget that Sony launched a fancy, expensive VR headset for PlayStation 5 just a few years ago. It's seemingly only going to get easier going forward.

That's because Sony just sold 419 VR-and-XR-related patents to Meta, per a report from ZDNet Korea. 43 of those were filed in the United States alone, and they include patents for things like head-mounted displays.

It's unclear what exactly this means for Sony's future VR efforts, but doing this just three and a half years after the launch of PlayStation VR 2 (amidst product shortages, per GamesRadar) suggests that the company isn't especially interested in making another headset anytime soon. It should be noted that PSVR2 has not been officially discontinued, even if it has been difficult to find in stock recently.

SEE ALSO: Meta brings Muse to iPad with new tools for small businesses

This isn't terribly surprising, even if it is a bit of a bummer for those who value high-end console VR experiences. The PSVR2 headset was hailed as an excellent piece of hardware by Mashable and other outlets when it launched in 2023, but a critical lack of software support over the years has made it feel like a dead platform, even if it technically isn't one at the time of publication.

On Meta's side of things, acquiring several hundred VR patents is interesting given the company's recent up-and-down relationship with the technology. Earlier this year, Meta laid off more than 1,000 employees from its Reality Labs division and shut down the VR portion of its Horizon Worlds app. However, the company also just announced VR glasses, a new product category, so it seems like Mark Zuckerberg's VR ambitions haven't died just yet. This latest development is another point of evidence in that direction.

Hurricane Isaias is making its way toward landfall on the Gulf Coast late tonight or early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm strengthened to Category 3 on Friday morning as it continued to push its way toward shore, the National Hurricane Center confirmed.

Spaghetti models predict the storm to make landfall somewhere between Gulf Shores, Alabama and Fort Walton Beach, Florida, according to storm tracking site Cyclocane. Spaghetti models are collections of storm-tracking forecasts that plot the storm's path and are overlaid on a map to provide a rough consensus on its track. It's important to realize that, regardless of where the storm makes landfall, Hurricane Isaias is a large storm with hurricane-force winds extending up to 30 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 185 miles, according to the 8 a.m. ET NHC forecast.

As the storm pushes in toward land, Hurricane Isaias' arrival can be watched in real-time via cams along the Gulf Coast. We've gathered a collection of webcams that are livestreaming now.

Pensacola, Florida webcams

The YouTube channel Florida Traffic, which sources its camera feeds from the Florida Department of Transportation, has a livestream showing road conditions in Pensacola as Hurricane Isaias approaches.

Another YouTube channel, the Santa Rosa Island Authority, has three cameras pointed along the beach in Santa Rosa Island, located between Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach.

Fort Walton Beach webcams

The Wyndham Garden Fort Walton Beach hotel's YouTube channel features a view of Okaloosa Island in the Pensacola area as the storm rolls in.

Gulf Shores, Alabama beach webcams

The Beach Club Resort & Spa's YouTube channel offers an elevated live view of Gulf Shores.

Biloxi, Mississippi beach webcams

The City of Biloxi YouTube channel features a webcam from the top of the city's lighthouse. It provides a view of the beach and the road that runs along it.

This story will be updated as more livestreams become available.

You can never have enough storage space on your desktop, and adding an SSD like Lexar's NQ780 can help back up your movie and music collection, as well as important documents like your ID or birth certificate. It can also be a fast, reliable replacement if your current drive starts having issues.

The appeal of Arch is obvious: you get the latest and greatest within days of their release. However, Arch also has a reputation for being difficult to install and requiring constant upkeep.

Other Mommy crept into the public consciousness over the summer with a scary trailer playing ahead of The Odyssey in theaters nationwide.

From the title and the bit of body horror teased in that clip alone, many grown-ups saw similarities to Coraline, in which a little girl battles with a deformed doppelgänger of her own mother. But before you think this means Other Mommy would be a good pick for a spooky season night out with your scary-story-loving kid, let's break down what you might want to know first. 

Light spoilers ahead for Other Mommy. 

What's Other Mommy about?  Credit: Universal Pictures

Based on Josh Malerman's New York Times best-selling novel Incidents Around the House, Other Mommy centers on Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), a 7-year-old girl who has been talking to an entity she calls "other mommy." As you might guess, Other Mommy (Jessica Chastain) looks a lot like Bela's real mommy, Ursula (also Jessica Chastain). This makes for several troubling sequences where Bela isn't sure if she's talking to her mom or the entity. 

When Ursula and Bela's dad, Russ (Jay Duplass), become aware of Other Mommy and her magical ability to kidnap their daughter to far-off locations in the blink of an eye, they try desperately to stop it. But along the way, there will be casualties and lots of jump scares. 

A special warning to families of divorce:  Credit: Universal Pictures

Other Mommy might be especially troubling to your children. Part of the power Other Mommy has in the film comes from Bela's fear that her parents' might split up.

While she's very close with her stay-at-home father, Daddo (as she calls Russ), Bela views her mother with a suspicion that Ursula would rather be anywhere else than in their home. This divide between daughter and mother is how Other Mother becomes such a compelling temptation. She's never too tired to play. She always smiles. She gives Bela whatever she asks for. Of course, what she wants in exchange is a hefty price to pay, as teased in the trailer. 

How scary is Other Mommy?  Credit: Universal Pictures

Fairly scary! For one thing, the jump scare that had Odyssey audiences gagged happens before the film's opening title card!

Director Rob Savage has made a name in horror with two terrific movies (Host, The Boogeyman) that make great use of jump scares. (He also made the abysmal and totally-worth-skipping Dashcam. So, don't let a spooky season marathon lead you there.)

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Savage estimated Other Mommy has "oh, like 50" jump scares in its 93-minute runtime. By my count, that's an exaggeration. However, I am a full-grown adult who did jump and scream loudly multiple times in this movie. It's fun and frightening, no doubt.

Much of the scares are centered around the eponymous entity, who, beyond being able to look like a creepshow version of Jessica Chastain, can shape-shift into other freaky forms too. And when Other Mommy gets mad, the violence she enacts involves some brutal violence, blood, and guts glitter. 

What rating is Other Mommy?

This movie is rated R for cursing (yes, the f-word included), violence, and gore. 

There are also sequences where young Bela is confronted with some hard truths about her parents. 

How does Other Mommy compare to Coraline?  Credit: Universal Pictures

Both focus on a little girl with a sharp bob who develops a relationship with an otherworldly double of her own mother. Each film is grounded in that girl's perspective, regarding the doppelgänger with a mix of awe and terror. In both, doorways possess magic to hide and connect the child and the other maternal figure. Both movies have scary bits where the young heroine is put at risk. Both are pretty scary for adults, and for kids more so. 

For what it's worth, I once asked Coraline director Henry Selick how old he thought someone should be before watching his adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book. He said, "At least 12." 

So, here's what I'll say: If your kid isn't ready for Coraline, they're not ready for Other Mommy.

Even if the swearing doesn't bother you and blood doesn't tend to spook your spawn, Other Mommy takes these scares to a more intense level. Being live-action, there's a greater horror in seeing the grown-ups around Bela be unraveled by Other Mommy, in very graphically violent ways. And beyond that, the idea that an evil entity can look like a parent might well leave your kid spooked by you after the credits roll. 

How old should a kid be to see Other Mommy?  Credit: Universal Pictures

Generally, I'd say in their teens, but with the caveat that you know your kid better than I do.

I will warn, when I was 11 or 12, I would have done whatever I needed to do to see a movie like Other Mommy — and I did. I watched slashers and Tim Curry's IT, and every Child's Play movie I could find when my parents weren't looking. And I suspect curious kids who love horror will make Other Mommy a sleepover staple before long. So, even if you don't choose to take your kid to see this, maybe this article will help you understand why they're so spooked if they found it on their own.

The Other Mother is now in theaters. 

A fourth Avatar animated series is on the way, Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko revealed at New York Comic Con.

The announcement came as part of NYCC's Avatar: Seven Havens panel. The third series in the animated Avatar franchise, Seven Havens follows the adventures of Korra's earthbending successor and has just been renewed for Seasons 3 and 4.

SEE ALSO: 'Avatar: Seven Havens' review: The Avatar apocalypse is a bold, brilliant addition to the franchise

The next Avatar series is titled Avatar Kuruk: Wave of Chaos. Instead of continuing the Avatar cycle after Seven Havens' Pavi (voiced by Saheli Khan), it will head back in time to the waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe who preceded Kyoshi, Roku, and Aang.

Kuruk has previously appeared in prior Avatar series, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Plus, novels about avatars Kysohi and Yangchen reveal details about his life. He's most well-known for clashing with face-stealing spirit Koh, who stole away Kuruk's fiancée, Ummi. However, the series won't follow that story.

Instead, it introduces a rebellious 14-year-old Kuruk. According to the series logline, Kuruk "bucks thousands of years of tradition by choosing to learn the four elements through globetrotting adventures, staying one step ahead of his angry teacher, rowdy pirates, and chaotic spirits — all while helping the world in his own unique ways."

Konietzko serves as showrunner, and Janet Varney, the original voice of Korra, will be the show's voice director.

According Konietzko, the series is "not tragic and violent and dark" as leaks have suggested. Instead, he described it as "our first action comedy."

Check out first looks at art from Avatar Kuruk: Wave of Chaos below, including Kuruk waterbending and surfing, as well as his adorable koalaotter, Nikik.

Credit: Paramount+ Credit: Paramount+ Credit: Paramount+ Credit: Paramount+ Credit: Paramount+ Credit: Paramount+

Rounding out the Avatar: Seven Havens panel were announcements about Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game and podcast Avatar: Braving the Elements. The former will soon incorporate Seven Havens colorways and a stage based on Sonam's temple from Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. Episodes of the latter will soon feature interviews with the cast and creators of Seven Havens.

Avatar: Seven Havens is now streaming on Paramount+. Avatar Kuruk: Wave of Chaos will premiere at a later date.

UPDATE: Oct. 9, 2026, 12:31 p.m. EDT This story has been updated to include further news out of NYCC.

Today is a big day for Avatar: Seven Havens.

SEE ALSO: 'Avatar: Seven Havens' review: The Avatar apocalypse is a bold, brilliant addition to the franchise

The latest Avatar series just premiered on Paramount+, and it's already been renewed for Seasons 3 and 4. The announcement came at Avatar: Seven Havens' New York Comic Con panel, which featured appearances from Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, executive producer Ethan Spaulding and co-executive producer Sehaj Sethi, and voice actors Saheli Khan, Aishu Devan and Major Curda. Janet Varney, the original voice of Korra, moderated.

Avatar: Seven Havens originally received a 26 episode order that would be split up into two 13-episode seasons, titled "Books" in the style of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Book 1 of Seven Havens is titled "Survival."

More Seven Havens goodness followed the renewal announcement, as the panel showed off a clip from the end of the first episode that highlighted the show's journey from script to screen. Watch it below, but be warned: Major spoilers await.

The two-season renewal wasn't the only major Avatar announcement to come out of the NYCC panel.

Panelists revealed that an entirely new Avatar series is on the way. Titled Avatar Kuruk: Wave of Chaos, it travels back in time to the waterbending Avatar who preceded Kyoshi in the Avatar cycle.

The panel also told audience members that Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game would soon feature Seven Havens colorways and a stage based on Sonam's temple from Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. Plus, future installments of podcast Avatar: Braving the Elements would feature Seven Havens cast and creator interviews.

Avatar: Seven Havens is now streaming on Paramount+.

With a fresh batch of iPhones out of the way, and new smart home devices seemingly waiting in the wings, new MacBooks are almost certainly next on Apple's docket.

An updated MacBook Pro with the M6 chip is expected to arrive sometime this fall, based on its usual upgrade cycle. But rumor has it that another mysterious new Mac is also in the pipeline — the first with an OLED touchscreen.

Here's a running list of everything we know about the so-called "MacBook Ultra."

When will Apple release the OLED MacBook?

Bloomberg managing editor Mark Gurman — a fount of Apple scoops —  originally reported that the OLED touchscreen MacBook would arrive between the end of 2026 and early 2027. This spring, he was leaning towards the latter half of that timeframe because of the memory crisis. But these days, he's banking on an imminent release. (So are 55 percent of Mashable readers, according to the results of our Big Guessing Game: Apple Edition.)

The touchscreen MacBook launch "is scheduled on or around Tuesday, Oct. 27," Gurman reported recently, adding that its release will involve "an online video presentation and in-person component for the press."

Gurman thinks the touchscreen MacBook will be joined by an M6 MacBook Pro, M6 iMac, and an updated iPad mini with OLED. All of the new devices "will be geared toward creative professionals who work in video production, photo editing and music production," he said.

The OLED touchscreen MacBook would mark Apple's second all-new laptop of 2026 after the outrageously popular budget MacBook Neo.

How much will the OLED MacBook cost? The Dell XPS 14, one of the best MacBook Pro alternatives for Windows users, starts at $2,299.99 with an OLED touchscreen. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The OLED touchscreen MacBook will most likely be Apple's priciest laptop, given its upper-end processors and fancy display. For reference, the existing MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip starts at $2,499 in the 14-inch size and $2,999 in the 16-inch size.

Knowing that the iPad Pros got about 20 percent more expensive as part of their OLED upgrade, it's possible that a 14-inch OLED touchscreen MacBook will start around $2,999. Of course, that's assuming the global memory crisis doesn't wreak any more havoc on component costs before its launch, which may be overly optimistic. (Apple already had to raise its MacBook prices once this year amid "RAMageddon.")

Why an OLED touchscreen MacBook is a big deal

Touch-enabled OLED displays are readily available on most high-end Windows laptops, but Apple has never equipped its MacBooks with OLED panels or touch capabilities before. (The iPad Pro does have an OLED display, however.) In fact, company executives have long derided the latter. In 2010, late Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs called touchscreen laptops "ergonomically terrible." In 2018, software head Craig Federighi told Wired that he's "not into touchscreens" on laptops.

The MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar (RIP) was the closest thing we've had to a touch-enabled MacBook. Credit: Brenda Stolyar / Mashable

Then-hardware chief John Ternus, who recently ascended to the role of Apple's CEO, was still dismissing the idea of a touchscreen MacBook in 2021. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he said Apple had already made "the world’s best touch computer on an iPad...And the Mac is totally optimized for indirect input."

"We haven’t really felt a reason to change that,” Ternus added. For whatever reason, that longtime strategy may have changed.

Apple experimented with an OLED "Touch Bar" on MacBook Pros from 2016 to 2021, replacing their physical function row with a customizable touchscreen strip. It was either cool or useless, depending on who you asked.

At present, the only Apple products with OLED touchscreens are the iPad Pros and iPhones. (The former specifically have tandem OLED displays, which are brighter.) The existing 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros have static mini-LED displays. They're "beautifully crisp," to quote Mashable's tech editor, but a touch-supported OLED model would be a more interactive laptop with better contrast, wider viewing angles, and zero blooming to boot.

How do we know Apple is working on an OLED MacBook?

A slate of well-known Apple insiders have all separately claimed to have intel that the company is preparing an OLED touchscreen MacBook for release in 2026.

Gurman — the source of so many Apple scoops — first broke the news in early 2023, calling it "a move that would defy long-held company orthodoxy" (see: that Jobs quote). Gurman has continued to report on the device's supposed development over the years.

In fall 2025, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote on X that an upcoming "OLED MacBook Pro...will incorporate a touch panel using on-cell touch technology." Kuo has foretold the arrival of Apple's foldable iPhone Duo, Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, and USB-C iPads.

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This June, a reliable leaker known as Instant Digital added more fuel to the fire with a short post on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. "It's 100% confirmed that the MacBook screen will be touch-enabled," he wrote.

Just days later, Gurman reported that the developer beta for macOS 27 contained "the first tangible evidence from Apple itself" of the OLED touchscreen MacBook: newly added support for touch-responsive software features like a pull-to-refresh action. At this point, the device is all but confirmed.

What will the OLED MacBook be called? Existing MacBook Pros have had the same design since 2021. Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

According to Gurman, the OLED touchscreen Mac is internally code-named K114 and K116. (That probably means it will also come in 14- and 16-inch sizes.) Both he and Kuo have referred to it as a high-end variant of the MacBook Pro, though Gurman's theorized that it could have a different name: MacBook Ultra, maybe?

"A 'MacBook Ultra' label would more clearly signal their [the OLED touchscreen Macs'] position at the top of the lineup," Gurman wrote in a March edition of his weekly "Power On" newsletter. Apple already calls its most advanced smartwatch and silicon chip the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and M5 Ultra, respectively.

But don't put too much stock in that just yet. We thought the foldable iPhone would be called the iPhone Ultra for a while, and it wound up getting the Duo identifier.

OLED MacBook rumored features

Gurman said the OLED touchscreen MacBook has a new interface that makes it easy to switch between touch and traditional point-and-click controls. Updates in the macOS 27 beta clue us in to three software features that will likely show up on it:

• The iPhones' Dynamic Island, a pill-shaped notification area with a hole-punch camera cutout (no more notch!)

• A pull-to-refresh action, similar to how you'd reload a website or social media feed on an iPhone or iPad

• The ability to interact with an extended or mirrored iPad screen via touch inputs

Gurman has also stated that the new MacBook will have a full keyboard and trackpad, so using its touchscreen will be "completely optional." In other words, this is not going to be some sort of MacBook-iPad love child.

Looks-wise, Gurman thinks the OLED touchscreen MacBook will be "significantly lighter" than existing Pro models, which have had the same form factor since 2021. Apple's iPad Pros got up to 15 percent lighter when they gained OLED displays.

Apple's iPad Pro has had an OLED touchscreen since 2024. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

"Apple has reengineered the machine’s interior, miniaturizing parts and rearranging components to make the computer much easier to carry," Gurman wrote.

Bloomberg's Apple guru previously reported that the OLED touchscreen MacBook would also be much thinner than standard MacBook Pros, but he walked that back this month.

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In 2024, Gurman reported that Apple was "investigating the idea of bringing cellular connectivity to the Mac for the first time," but didn't specify whether that feature was intended for the OLED touchscreen MacBook or another future model. He hasn't mentioned it since, so Apple might've left that one on the back burner.

What chip will the OLED MacBook have?

The OLED touchscreen MacBook will reportedly run on Apple's M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, not brand-new silicon. That's according to Gurman again, who credited his sources as "people with knowledge of the matter ... who asked not to be identified because the plans are private."

Launched in March of this year, the M5 Pro and M5 Max fuel Apple's current top-end MacBook Pros. They're designed to handle the intensive computing workloads of power users like professional creatives, developers, and AI researchers. With that in mind, the OLED touchscreen MacBook will not be a laptop for the average person.

The community often recommends self-hosted apps like Pi-hole, Vaultwarden, Audiobookshelf, and more. These aren't the only options; plenty of other self-hosted tools can do truly ingenious things. Many of them are lightweight enough to run on that old Raspberry Pi you should still have in your drawer.

There are two big players in the home networking space—eero and UniFi. They both target different audiences, and I have extensive experience with both. I've chosen UniFi to run my homelab because, at this point, it's the only good option out there for my needs. Here's why I use UniFi and why I left eero in the dust.

Actors Mikey Madison (Frances Haugen) and Jeremy Allen White (Jeff Horwitz) sit down with Mashable's Executive Producer, Mark Stetson, to discuss their roles in Aaron Sorkin's, The Social Reckoning, a companion piece to the 2010 film, The Social Network. They dive deep into their preparation process for portraying real-life figures involved in exposing Facebook's internal secrets, working with Aaron Sorkin's distinct writing style, and their personal reasons for staying off social media platforms.

The Social Reckoning focuses on how one brave whistleblower revealed some of the sinister decisions Zuckerberg made to favor his finances over the well-being of Facebook users.

The Social Reckoning is now in theaters.

The best Ninja appliance deals to shop this weekend: best air fryer deal Ninja Crispi Glass Air Fryer (4-in-1) 152.95 (save $27.04) Get Deal best frozen treat maker deal Ninja SLUSHi Professional Drink Maker $229 (save $120.99) Get Deal Best multicooker deal Ninja Everyday PossibleCooker Pro $99.95 (save $30.04) Get Deal best blender deal Ninja Blast Max Portable Blender $69.95 (save $30.04) Get Deal best coffee maker deal Ninja Luxe Café Premier 3-in-1 Espresso Machine $499.99 (save $100) Get Deal

We're Ninja appliance mega fans here at Mashable. Not only do they deliver stellar performance with beginner-friendly designs, but they're also reasonably priced (for the most part). But we'll also be the first ones to recommend not paying full price — especially in this economy. In the aftermath of Amazon's October Prime Day, several standout Ninja appliance deals are still live. And yes, the mega popular Creami, Slushi, and Crispi are all on sale.

If you missed out on Prime Big Deal Days, no sweat. Here are the best Ninja appliance deals we think are worth grabbing this weekend.

Best Ninja deal this weekend Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja Slushi Professional Drink Maker $229 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $120.99   Get Deal Why we like it

The Ninja Slushi is definitely not a necessary appliance, but as Mashable's Leah Stodart noted in her review, it's "a serotonin booster worth trying." If the thought of frosé, frozen margs, frappés, or piña coladas at home sounds like a dream, this is the appliance for you. It freezes drinks right in the machine, then churns them until it has the perfect slushy consistency. Sure, you could use a blender, but the Slushi requires no ice and actually keeps drinks frozen. It doesn't work with diet soda or anything sugar-free, but practically anything else you can think of can be slushified with this niche appliance. It's often hard to find on sale, let alone at a discount this steep.

Check out our full review of the Ninja Slushi.

Best Ninja air fryer deal Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja Crispi Glass Air Fryer (4-in-1) $152.95 at Amazon
$179.99 Save $27.04   Get Deal Why we like it

Mashable Shopping Reporter Sam Mangino was skeptical of this TikTok-hyped air fryer initially because of its design, which includes a glass basket with an air-frying lid. But as it turns out, it does what it says it will: deliver food that's crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Not only does the Crispi feature a plastic-free design, but the glass baskets also double as food storage, making this a particularly convenient pick for meal preppers. The Crispi is a good buy at its usual price of $179.99, but post-Prime Big Deal Days, it's still on sale for a rare low of $152.95 in select colors.

More Ninja appliance deals

Ninja air fryer and multicooker deals

• Ninja Everyday PossibleCooker Pro — $99.95 $129.99 (save $30.04)

• Ninja HyperHeat 9-in-1 Pressure Cooker — $139.99 $169.99 (save $30)

• Ninja PossibleCooker PRO Plus — $139.99 $179.99 (save $40)

• Ninja Prestige Smart XL Countertop Oven — $219.99 $399.99 (save $180)

• Ninja DZ550 Foodi 6-in-1 DualZone Air Fryer — $159.99 $249.99 (save $40)

• Ninja Crispi Pro Glass Air Fryer (6-in-1) — $249.90 $299.99 (save $50.09)

• Ninja Double Oven Pro Smart XL — $299.99 $399.99 (save $100)

Ninja blender deals

• Ninja Blast Portable Blender— $49.99 $69.99 (save $15.05)

• Ninja Nutri-Blender Plus Personal Blender — $67.99 $89.99 (save $20.31)

• Ninja Blast Max Portable Blender $69.95 $99.99 (Save $30.04)

• Ninja UltraCrush Professional Blender — $79.96 $109.99 (save $30.03)

• Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System — $179.99 $259.99 (save $80)

Ninja coffee maker deals

• Ninja PB051ST Single Serve Coffee Maker — $99.98 $129.99 (save $30.01)

• Ninja DualBrew Pro Specialty Coffee System — $169.99 $239.99 (save $70)

• Ninja Luxe Café Premier 3-in-1 Espresso Machine — $499.99 $599.99 (save $100)

Other Ninja deals

• Ninja Belgian Waffle Maker — $69.95 $99.99 (save $30.04)

• Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker — $269.99 $349.99 (save $80)

• Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl Ice Cream Maker — $279.95 $349.99 (save $70.04)

• Ninja Woodfire ProConnect Premium XL BBQ Grill — $399.99 $499.99 (save $100)

• Ninja Fireside360 Fire Pit & Heater — $449.99 $499.99 (save $50

TL;DR: You can play ARC Raiders, Core Keeper, and Squad 44 for free on Steam this weekend, plus claim Pony Island to keep forever before Oct. 12 at 10 a.m. PT.

Steam is back with another stacked free weekend event, giving PC gamers a chance to dive into four different titles without spending a single dime.

The catch? First off, these offers are split into two categories: temporary free-to-play trials that require a purchase once the clock runs out, and a permanent free giveaway that you get to keep in your library forever. Second, the deadlines aren't identical across the board.

If you're trying to figure out what's worth your hard drive space this weekend, here is everything you need to know about the games, when the free periods end, and how long those purchase discounts stick around.

ARC Raiders Opens in a new window Credit: Steam ARC Raiders $19.99 at Steam
$39.99 Save $20.00 Free to play through Oct. 12 at 1 a.m. PT, then 50% off through Oct. 15. Learn More

If you've been sitting on the fence about Embark Studios’ high-stakes extraction shooter, now is your chance to play the full base game for free. ARC Raiders drops you into a hostile surface world — either solo or with up to two teammates — where you scavenge for vital tech while dodging killer machines and rival raiders.

This free trial lands alongside the major Frozen Trail update. While the new Pendola Pass map normally requires progression to unlock, free-trial players can jump straight into the new snowy region as long as they team up with someone who already has access.

Core Keeper Opens in a new window Credit: Steam Core Keeper $11.99 at Steam
$19.99 Save $8.00 Free to play through Oct. 12 at 10 a.m. PT, then 40% off through Oct. 22. Get Deal

For gamers who prefer cozy subterranean survival over stressful extraction runs, Core Keeper offers a massive pixel-art sandbox designed for 1 to 8 players. You wake up as an explorer trapped in an ancient cavern, tasked with mining resources, building custom bases, farming crops, and battling giant subterranean bosses.

The free trial grants full access to the base game and online multiplayer, plus all post-launch content updates — including the newly dropped Riders of the Underground expansion featuring rideable mounts and a hookshot.

Squad 44 Opens in a new window Credit: Steam Squad 44 $5.99 at Steam
$19.99 Save $14.00 Free to play through Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. PT, then 70% off through Oct. 15. Get Deal

Formerly known as Post Scriptum, Squad 44 is a hardcore, tactical World War II shooter where mindless run-and-gunning will get you killed instantly. Built around massive 50v50 combined-arms battles, success here requires real-time squad communication, tactical positioning, and coordinated logistics.

It offers the longest free-play window in the weekend lineup, making it a great option if you need extra time to get used to its steep learning curve.

Pony Island Opens in a new window Credit: Steam Pony Island $0 at Steam
$4.99 Save $4.99 Free to keep forever if claimed before Oct. 12 at 10 a.m. PT. Get Deal

Don't let the sugary name fool you — Pony Island is a deeply unsettling psychological puzzle game created by Daniel Mullins (the mastermind behind Inscryption). You play as a trapped soul trying to escape a possessed arcade machine by hacking into the software's internal code and fixing intentionally broken game mechanics.

Unlike the other three titles on this list, this isn't a temporary trial. As long as you claim it before the promotion expires, it stays in your Steam library forever.

Do you get to keep the free weekend games?

To clear up the common confusion: No, free weekend trials do not give you permanent ownership.

When you download ARC Raiders, Core Keeper, or Squad 44 during this event, access will automatically shut off on their respective deadline dates unless you purchase the full game. However, your save files, achievements, and unlocked items are tied to your Steam account, so you won't lose your progress if you decide to buy them later.

Pony Island is the sole exception here — because it is listed as a free giveaway rather than a trial, claiming it before Oct. 12 means you own it permanently.

Make sure to hit "Add to Account" on Pony Island first, then jump into whichever free trial fits your gaming mood before Monday.

Netflix's prestige scripted hits like Florence Pugh's chart-topping East of Eden might get the lion's share of the hype, but documentaries and docuseries reliably rank as some of the streamer's most-watched programming. It turns out that even the greatest writers can't script some of the head-shaking storylines that only real life can conjure.