Technology

DJI launched its latest smartphone gimbal, the Osmo Mobile 8, in November, in markets across (most of) the globe. It's a decent option for budding content creators on a budget, offering straightforward controls and smooth performance that can also help jazz up home movies.

The DJI Osmo Mobile 8 is a solidly built phone gimbal Credit: A. Yeo

DJI's Osmo Mobile 8 has solid build quality, largely made of a sturdy-feeling black plastic — but it also comes with a slightly textured rubberised grip on the handle's rear. This addition seems unnecessary, as the material feels barely different to the rest of the handle and adds little in terms of grip.

The seams interrupt the smooth, ergonomic feel of it in the hand. Making the handle's body a single piece may have been preferable; the micro-channel around the grip seems likely to collect dead skin and grime. Still, the Osmo Mobile 8 feels good overall.

The Osmo Mobile 8 comes with its multifunctional module, a clamp to hold your phone, and a fabric storage pouch. The phone clamp connects to the gimbal arm via a magnet, which is reassuringly strong enough to give users peace of mind. There are also two USB-C cables: A longer one for charging the Mobile 8, and a shorter one which connects the module to your phone when using a mic. 

Credit: A. Yeo

In addition to these accessories, the Osmo Mobile 8 has an inbuilt telescopic extension rod and a tripod, both of which are solidly built. Though the extension rod only adds around 8.5 inches, it's enough to get crowd shots or a decent selfie, and packs away so well that you're likely to forget it's there. You can fully extend it while using the tripod as well, though it feels just precarious enough that you wouldn't want to if there's much of a breeze.

Tripod legs stow away in the Osmo Mobile 8's handle, making for a very compact and elegant design solution. These legs pull out from the bottom and then fold out, attached with metal hardware that feels durable.

There is a nice amount of flex when you apply downward pressure to the Osmo Mobile 8, while the tripod is set up. It has the kind of bounce that makes it feel it's unlikely to break.

The bottoms of the tripod prongs end in relatively sizable rubber feet, which provide a good amount of stability and grip, as well as scratch protection for the surface you place it on. It does a decent job of standing on uneven surfaces, though isn't designed for anything extreme.

DJI recommends picking up its separately sold Grip Tripod accessory if you want to set up your Osmo Mobile 8 in less even, more windy conditions.

Travelling with the Osmo Mobile 8 isn't smooth Credit: A. Yeo

Unfortunately, even with its smart tripod storage, the Osmo Mobile 8 is bulky enough that carrying it around to shoot on the go feels like a hassle. The gimbal is over twice as heavy as DJI's popular Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera, weighing in at around 370g, and while the mobile phone arm folds down, it still leaves the Mobile 8 an awkward shape for transport.

The Osmo Mobile 8's included fabric storage bag offers little protection, alas, and doesn't feel sufficient for carrying it around. Realistically, many users are likely to leave the Osmo Mobile 8's magnetic phone clamp attached to the gimbal when not in use. (While DJI does have a flat quick-release mount accessory for MagSafe compatible iPhones, it's sold separately and isn't compatible with the multifunction module.)

The clamp can still be rotated even while the Osmo Mobile 8 is powered off, which can cause it to get caught in the storage bag's opening when being taken out or stowed. This part doesn't spin freely either, as the gimbal's mechanical range doesn't have a 360-degree roll. You wouldn't want to force it too far, which doesn't feel like an impossible mishap that might occur in the bottom of your bag.

The DJI Osmo Mobile 8 is best when used hands-free Credit: A. Yeo

While the DJI Osmo Mobile 8's build is a bit clunky, it makes up for it with impressive performance. In addition to offering a fill light with eight levels of brightness and color temperature settings, the Osmo Mobile 8's incredibly handy multifunction module acts as a microphone receiver for compatible DJI transmitters as well as enables tracking of people or animals.

Subject tracking is smooth, easy to operate, and works well. When using the DJI Mimo app, users choose a subject to lock on to simply by tapping them while they're in frame. (Subjects are automatically tracked instead when using AppleDockKit in the iPhone camera app — more on that later.)

The gimbal will then follow the selected subject as long as they move at a moderate, reasonable speed, making it suitable for vlogging. We did successfully dodge it when attempting to do so, meaning people can duck out of frame when needed.

The Osmo Mobile 8 is great if you want to set up your gimbal for hands-free filming. Aside from the built-in tripod and heavier weight helping to keep it sturdy, the large phone screen enables you to check your framing from a further distance (provided you're using your phone's front camera).

Unfortunately, its weight acts against it when used as a handheld device. DJI's smaller and lighter Osmo Pocket 3 is a far superior handheld gimbal experience, though it's also three times the price and has a comparatively tiny inbuilt screen which makes filming from a distance trickier.

Credit: A. Yeo

When you've finished filming, turning the Osmo Mobile 8 off feels a bit like putting it in a sleeper hold. Powering it off involves folding down the gimbal arm and rotating it so that it locks in place, aligning the small, subtle indicators to guide you. At first it feels as though you're doing something you aren't supposed to, as the unit will struggle against you, twitching and turning as you force it into position.

When using the Osmo Mobile 8, the camera quality depends on the phone you use. The DJI Mimo app supplements this by offering a few basic beauty filter options. All of these work quite well, and can be adjusted in strength if you prefer more subtle touchups.

However, the iOS app applies face slimming by default, even if you move its slider down to zero. You'll have to completely turn off all beauty filters to disable it, meaning you can't just smooth your skin or get rid of your dark circles. In contrast, Android offers more beauty filter options, and doesn't apply face slimming automatically.

DJI Osmo Mobile 8 vs 7P: What are the differences? Credit: A. Yeo

The Osmo Mobile 8 is the same size and roughly the same weight as its predecessor, the Osmo Mobile 7P. DJI also states that both models have 10-hour run times and charge in about 2.5 hours. The primary upgrades between the DJI Osmo Mobile 8 and Osmo Mobile 7P are the mechanical range of the gimbal and AppleDockKit support. 

While the Osmo Mobile 7P's mechanical range limited it to -109 to 222 degrees of panning, the Osmo Mobile 8 allows for full 360-degree pan rotation. This means that you can set it to track you via DJI's Mimo app, then walk in circles around the gimbal and have the camera follow you. Such a wide range of motion makes the Osmo Mobile 8 much easier to set and forget, for when you want to catch moments like running around with the kids at a family picnic.

The Osmo Mobile 8 also introduces AppleDockKit support, enabling iPhone users to track subjects in the native iPhone camera app. Pairing is easy, simply requiring you to tap your phone to the NFC tag on the side of the gimbal's handle. Even so, you can't directly choose what AppleDockKit tracks, making it most suitable for less busy shots where there's a higher chance it will lock on to your desired subject.

AppleDockKit tracking works with the Osmo Mobile 8's phone clamp, but won't activate if you have the multifunction module attached. It's far more practical to use the gimbal's quick-release mount instead if you have it, as its AppleDockKit tracking doesn't use the multifunction module anyway. 

Native iPhone camera tracking isn't necessarily a groundbreaking new addition to the Osmo Mobile 8, as tracking in the DJI Mimo app works well. However, it may improve workflow for people who prefer to film footage directly to their camera roll instead of via the app.

Should you buy the DJI Osmo Mobile 8? Credit: A. Yeo

With compact gimbal cameras such as DJI's Osmo Pocket 3 available, comparatively bulky gadgets like the Osmo Mobile 8 can be a harder sell even for those willing to pay a premium. The Osmo Pocket 3 is notably more compact and lightweight, and doesn't require you to relinquish your phone to use it.

Even so, the Osmo Mobile 8's significantly lower price makes it a much more attractive option for those who dabble in content creation, primarily film at home, and are curious to find out how a gimbal might upgrade their setup.

If you're after smooth subject tracking on a budget, the DJI Osmo Mobile 8 is a versatile, well-built gimbal that will likely suit your needs.

Unfortunately, while the Osmo Mobile 8 is currently available in many markets, the U.S. remains a notable exception. DJI continues to deal with notable obstacles from the U.S. federal government, which have hindered its business stateside. For now, getting your hands on DJI's Osmo Mobile 8 in the U.S. may require going through third parties.

Apple, Samsung, Google, and OnePlus brought their A-games with new phone releases in 2025.

Not every aspect of every new device that those companies released was great. Some of the devices themselves were disappointing. Still, whether you want a mid-range powerhouse or a fabulous foldable, or anything in between, you have plenty of great options in 2025.

Here are the best smartphones that launched in the past 12 months.

SEE ALSO: The 11 best video games of 2025 OnePlus 15 It's a little generic-looking, but who cares? Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

For the past few years, Chinese firm OnePlus has offered pretty excellent flagship phones at competitive prices. If you want to escape the Apple/Google/Samsung ecosystem and go with something a little different (but arguably just as good, if not better), the OnePlus 15 is a great way to go.

There's nothing especially distinctive or gimmicky about the OnePlus 15 — just a reliable, solid Android handset. For $899, you get three good rear cameras, a huge display with a staggering 165Hz refresh rate, and a gargantuan 7,300mAh battery that holds up for exceptionally long stretches of time.

The OnePlus 15 is the most recently released phone on the list, and absolutely stands its ground against the rest.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 It's simply absurd how thin this phone is. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

One of the big problems with tablet-style foldables (which I personally prefer to clamshell-type phones) is this: most feel bulky when folded up. You can use the outer display like a normal phone — but on almost all of these devices, the form factor doesn't make that a super fun thing to do.

That's what makes the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 so remarkable: Samsung fixed that problem entirely. The solution, it turned out, was just to make the phone extraordinarily thin.

The Fold 7 has the most impressive physical design of any device on this list; it really needs to be seen to be believed. It's a great phone in many respects, but the fact that it actually feels like a regular phone when you fold it up is a true game-changer. This is easily the best foldable I've ever used.

Motorola Razr Ultra

Samsung's Z Flip 7 has gotten the most attention among foldable fans, but don't count out the premium Razr Ultra.

This smartphone has an incredible battery life, and it lasted over 24 hours in our rundown tests. On top of that, it starts with 512GB of storage and comes with a Snapdragon processor, unlike the Z Flip 7.

In short, the Razr Ultra feels more like a flagship phone, whereas Samsung's flip phone is a clear step down from the flagship Z Fold 7. The early versions of the foldable Razr had some problems, which we've covered in depth. But the 2025 version fixes these bugs, and it's a satisfying flip-style phone that actually fits in your pocket.

This phone went a long way in convincing our tech editor that foldables are finally ready for the mainstream market; he called it the "unsung hero" of the year.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Not the most exciting color options, sadly. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

I'm an iPhone guy and probably will be for the rest of time — but if I ever had to move to Android, Google's Pixel line is where I'd go.

The Pixel software is always clean and intuitive, and Google tends to favor Pixel phones when it comes to releasing new Android software features first. Then there's the fact that they have some of the best cameras in the business.

Most of that remained true with the Pixel 10 Pro this year. It delivered amazing photos (at least during the daytime) and some of its new AI features, like Daily Hub, can be useful. Google didn't do much tweaking to Pixel this year, but it didn't need much.

iPhone 16e It's a blend of old and new. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

For years, Apple's mid-range iPhone was the iPhone SE. These were generally pretty good devices, and in particular, they appeased folks who yearned for the physical home button.

Unfortunately, Apple never got into the habit of releasing new SE models annually, and the line was sent out to pasture.

The good news is that Apple didn't give up on mid-range iPhones entirely. The iPhone 16e is the first in what we expect to be an annual line of cheap-ish iPhones, and while its $599 starting price is a bit on the high end for a mid-range device, the phone itself is great.

For far less than the price of a flagship iPhone, you get a nice A18 chip for quality performance, outstanding battery life, and all of the current Apple Intelligence features you could ask for. Hopefully Apple keeps up the momentum and eventually gets the iPhone e-series up to par with the next phone on this list.

Google Pixel 9a Nice color. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Google's Pixel A-series has been its budget-friendly standard bearer for years, and the Pixel 9a was no different. Aside from a somewhat dull redesign, this $499 handset is almost as good as the regular Pixel 9.

All the AI features are here, the cameras aren't bad, the battery lasts a long time, and you can get it in pink. As a budget phone, it doesn't bring any new features to the table, but the fact that you don't really miss out on much from the regular Pixel 9 is a great selling point in itself.

iPhone 17 Pro Max Sadly, we didn't get the orange one. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

No, we were not going to end this list without talking about 2025's new flagship iPhone. You can breathe easy.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is a powerhouse. You can get up to 2TB of onboard storage, it has some of the best smartphone cameras money can buy, and you will never have any concerns about performance thanks to powerful internal hardware.

Oh, and the battery is pretty great too; we noted as much as 39 hours of battery life when it comes to video playback. It's not a cheap phone, but if you can afford it, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is worth the investment.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are some of the best features in newer cars, but if you've ever wanted to upgrade from a wired system to a wireless one, the options were somewhat limited—until now. Don't waste your money on a no-name adapter from Amazon, and buy this one instead.

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.

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

A load.

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

CARGO

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Open land.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 13, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

GLADE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A slant.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 13 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 13, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

SLOPE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

To delay.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for December 13 Hurdle Word 4 answer

STAVE

Final Hurdle hint

Clearheaded.

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

SOBER

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

The moon is returning to its crescent shape as we head towards the New Moon. We're still a few days away from total darkness, so for now there's still a few features to be spotted on the surface. Read on to find out what you can see.

What is today’s moon phase?

As of Saturday, Dec. 13, the moon phase is Waning Crescent. This means 34% of the moon is lit up tonight, according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation.

Tonight, without any visual aids, you'll be able to see Kepler Crater and the Oceanus Procellarum. If you have binoculars, you'll also be able to see the Grimaldi Basin, Clavius Crater, and the Mare Humorum. With a telescope, Reiner Gamma, Schiller Crater, and Fra Mauro Highlands will also become visible.

When is the next full moon?

The next full moon will be on Jan. 3.

What are moon phases?

NASA says the Moon goes through a cycle of about 29.5 days, and during that time we see its different phases. Even though we always see the same side of the Moon, the sunlight hitting it changes as it orbits Earth. That’s what makes it look full, half-lit, or sometimes completely hidden. The cycle has eight main phases:

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.

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 December 13, 2025

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 December 13, 2025 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 13 Pips

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically.

Number (7): Everything in this red space must add up to 7. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 1-1, placed vertically.

Number (7): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 7. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically; 4-3, placed vertically; 5-2, placed horizontally.

Number (11): Everything in this orange space must add up to 11. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 13 Pips

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

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

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

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed horizontally.

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

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 6-0, placed vertically.

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 6-0, placed vertically; 2-3, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.

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

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 13 Pips

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

Less Than (6): Everything in this space must be less than 6. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally; 3-6, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 2. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 2-1, vertically.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this green space must be equal to 1. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically; 4-1, placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally.

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

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 4-6, 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.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you're stylish.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for December 13, 2025 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: Bottoms

• Green: Unspoken

• Blue: Baseball stars

• Purple: Ancient legends

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Wide-legged pant styles

• Green: Silent "T"

• Blue: New York Mets legends

• Purple: Greek mythology figures minus a letter

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 #916 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Wide-legged pant styles: CULOTTE, GAUCHO, HAREM, PALAZZO

• Silent "T": APOSTLE, DEPOT, MORTGAGE, POIROT

• New York Mets legends: GOODEN, PIAZZA, SEAVER, STRAWBERRY

• Greek mythology figures minus a letter: AJA, ARE, HER, HERCULE

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 December 13, 2025

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 love chaos.

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 December 13, 2025 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 13, 2025 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: All over the place

The words are related to structure.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe disorder.

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 Thats Wild.

NYT Strands word list for December 13

• Unruly

• Chaotic

• Thats Wild

• Disorderly

• Tumultuous

• Stormy

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 frugal.

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 December 13, 2025 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 December 13, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A penny-pincher.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter S appears twice.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter M.

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...

MISER

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 December 13, 2025

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.

Million-dollar diamonds, priests with neck tattoos, full-on resurrection... These are all elements of the narrative puzzle Rian Johnson pieces together in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

The latest Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) whodunnit transports audiences to the quiet town of Chimney Rock, where local church Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude has been rocked by a murder most foul, that of controversial Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Following a Good Friday mass, Wicks popped into a sealed room just off the altar, where he collapsed, stabbed by a dagger with a devil wolf head pommel.

SEE ALSO: 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' trailer sees Josh O'Connor accused of an impossible crime

The clearest suspect in this textbook locked-room mystery is Reverend Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor), a young priest who challenges Wicks' prejudiced teachings. He's also been caught on camera threatening to cut Wicks out of the church, so things don't look great for him.

But of course, as in any Knives Out mystery, things are rarely as they seem. Although there was animosity between Wicks and Jud, it wasn't Jud who killed him. Instead, the murder came from within Wicks' own flock of religious followers. Was it lawyer Vera Draven (Kerry Washington) or her adopted son and incendiary political hopeful Cy (Daryl McCormack)? Wicks' number-one devotee Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close) or sci-fi writer Lee Ross (Andrew Scott)? Doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner) or cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny)?

Let's break down the killer's twisted plot.

Who killed Jefferson Wicks in Wake Up Dead Man? The ensemble of "Wake Up Dead Man" lays eyes on a murder. Credit: John Wilson / Netflix

Not one, but two members of Wicks' flock were behind his murder. It was Nat who dealt the killing blow, but it was Martha who set the whole plan in motion.

Before we get into Martha's motive, let's get into her and Nat's methodology. It starts with the two devil wolf head lamp toppers from local bar Il Diavolo. Nat stole one, and Martha nabbed the other when Jud hurled it into the church in anger. She painted the heads red and sewed one into Wicks' Good Friday vestments, which explains the red thread the police found by Wicks' body. That head was also attached to a remote control device. When Wicks went into the side room to drink from his flask, Nat set off the device, which popped a squib of blood onto the robes. Martha and Nat also laced the flask with medical-grade tranquilizer, causing Wicks to fall unconscious.

That means Wicks wasn't dead when Jud initially found him. His actual death came when Nat entered the room in order to investigate. Using Martha's horrified reaction as a distraction, Nat stabbed Wicks with the devil wolf knife and got rid of the device. That's how you pull off a locked-room murder in a church, folks!

Wait, why did Martha want to kill Wicks in the first place?

But hold on, why did Martha, Wicks' ride-or-die disciple, want him dead? You think he'd be the last person she'd wish death on, right?

The answer is a tale 60 years in the making, and it all starts with Wicks' mother Grace (Annie Hamilton), also known as "the harlot whore." Grace remained under her father Reverend Prentice Wicks' (James Faulkner) roof until his death, hoping to gain access to his hidden fortune — and a ticket out of her miserable existence in Chimney Rock. However, Prentice didn't want Grace to succumb to the temptation of Eve's apple, and so he passed away without telling her where he'd hidden it.

Turns out, Eve's apple wasn't just a metaphor for temptation. It was Prentice's fortune: a literal diamond, worth millions, that Prentice swallowed as his final communion. He invited Martha to witness it, telling her that with the fortune gone, it would no longer be a corrupting force within his family.

Martha harbored this secret for 60 years, never once giving it up. (Although she certainly goaded a distraught Grace about it.) But when Jud questioned whether she or anyone in Wicks' flock could actually confess their deepest sins at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, she decided to take him up on that challenge. She revealed the location of Eve's Apple to the priest hearing her confession. The big problem? She thought she was talking to Jud, when in reality, she was talking to Wicks.

Knowing his grandfather's fortune lay close at hand changed Wicks. He ordered a construction company to open his grandfather's mausoleum so he could remove Eve's Apple from his skeleton. After that, he planned to fly the coop and burn his flock in his wake, including busting Nat for treating patients while under the influence of alcohol. Following his grand exit, he would embrace the grander political aspirations of Cy, who is actually his son. For Martha, these were all signs of the corruption of temptation. Wicks' covetous sin would bring the downfall of the church she'd worked to uphold for decades, and she couldn't fail her duty to the church. Sure, she can excuse the bigoted rhetoric, but this is where she draws the line.

So how could Martha preserve both the church and Wicks' image? By killing him, obviously. Oh, and then reviving him.

How did Martha "revive" Wicks? Kerry Washington and Glenn Close in "Wake Up Dead Man." Credit: Netflix

In waking up dead man Wicks, Martha hoped to stage "a holy mystery, unsolvable and divine." Of course, she couldn't really resurrect Wicks. But she could enlist the help of a surprisingly accurate Wicks body double: her husband Samson (Thomas Haden Church).

A very alive Samson was entombed in the mausoleum, not Wicks' corpse. When Nat sent him the signal, Samson burst out of the purposefully shoddy coffin he'd built himself, went digging in Prentice's rib cage for Eve's Apple, then opened the mausoleum's Lazarus door from the inside. Anyone watching the security footage of Samson emerging into the night would see what looked like a newly revived Wicks reuniting with Samson. The reality of the scene was that Samson, dressed as Wicks, was reuniting with Nat, dressed as Samson.

From there, Nat, Samson, and Martha were supposed to dispose of Eve's Apple. Samson would then tell the world his story of meeting the resurrected Wicks, who gave him his blessing before ascending to heaven. It would be Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude's own miracle, one in the vein of the resurrection of Lazarus, or even Jesus Christ himself.

But Martha didn't count on Jud stumbling onto the scene, or Samson knocking him out. Nor did she factor Nat's greed into the equation. When he lays eyes on Eve's Apple, it's like Gollum catching sight of the One Ring for the first time. And just like Gollum, he jumps straight to murder. He takes out Samson, then stages the scene to look like Jud did it.

Nat attempts to continue his murder spree by poisoning Martha with a lethal dose of pentobarbital. Unluckily for him, she already knew about Samson's death, so she pulled a Reverse Uno straight out of the Sicilian's challenge in The Princess Bride, switching their tea cups so he drinks the poison instead. From there, all Martha had to do was stage Nat's corpse to look like he was drowning Wicks in a vat of acid. Talk about improvise, adapt, overcome.

What happens to Martha in the end? Josh O'Connor and Glenn Close in "Wake Up Dead Man." Credit: Netflix

Martha winds up confessing all of her sins of her own free will to Jud. She does so after taking pentobarbital herself, passing away in the church. Before she does, though, she finds forgiveness for those she harbored hate for in life, including Grace. Jud recites the Sacrament of Reconciliation and gives her the grace of forgiveness. I'm not sure I could look past the full-on murder or hero worship of a monstrous man in order to forgive someone, but then again, I'm not a priest, and Jud is just better than me.

As for Eve's Apple, it officially "disappeared." However, Jud cheekily hid it within the new crucifix he made for Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. With that, the ugly legacy of the Wicks family, including Wicks' nasty teachings and rants against his own mother, fades away, leaving the church in a better place. Yes, there are unfortunately still Wicks truthers out there who believe in the miracle, all based on Cy's inflammatory videos. But in Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude itself, the future looks bright for Jud, who prepares to welcome everyone who steps through his doors.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming on Netflix.

It's hard to imagine a company appearing to put its thumb on the scale for another company more than Bob Iger's Disney just did for Sam Altman's OpenAI.

The very day Disney took legal action against Google for what it says is unlicensed use of its intellectual property, it also licensed some of that property for use in Sora, the video generator made by Google's main rival, OpenAI. Just to make it clear which side of the AI feud the Mouse House was on, Iger also invested in Altman's company to the tune of $1 billion.

But coincidence of the timing aside, it's also hard to imagine the deal doing more good for Altman than it does for Iger.

OpenAI is spending so freely at the moment that $1 billion will cover 3-4 weeks of its estimated losses (see below for the math) or one-thousandth of its spending commitments.

Based on those numbers, OpenAI needs more than 1,001 Disney deals just to keep going. (Could be there's a movie in that!) And now, on top of that, OpenAI will pay the world's largest media company so its users can make a video using one of Disney's approved characters.

Disney, meanwhile, gets a chunk of the company, the glory of being a player in AI, and a carefully curated, user-created stream of new content for Disney+. It's lose-win!

SEE ALSO: Everything is fine: Disney CEO Bob Iger says OpenAI deal isn't a threat to creatives.

Why would Altman accept a deal like that? Perhaps because of the sheer scale of the hole OpenAI is in. That scale may become clearer this month, in a flurry of investigations and estimates. OpenAI is in trouble, declared the Atlantic — and in one of the publication's sickest burns ever, dubbed the ChatGPT maker the "Netscape of AI."

(Netscape was also a pioneer of the web browser, but couldn't compete when tech giants like Microsoft built their own models; in the end, AOL bought Netscape).

How much money is OpenAI really losing?

That takedown looked mild next to a typical tech journalist's summary: "You have no idea how screwed OpenAI actually is." (And that was written before the "Code Red" Altman declared last month, when Google Gemini was launched and OpenAI started hemorrhaging users.)

How screwed, exactly, is a moving target. Just ask Deutsche Bank, which also started hammering nails in OpenAI's coffin this month. Deutsche analyst Jim Reid has estimated the company's losses going forward at a staggering $140 billion, between 2024 and 2029 alone.

Given the commitments OpenAI has made to spending on new infrastructure — more than $1 trillion, or 1,000 Disney deals — Reid may be optimistic in suggesting the company will be around that long.

We can't examine the books, given that OpenAI is also the world's largest private company, but it seems Altman has fully embraced a burn rate of spending that makes the dotcom bubble era look sensible.

In the first half of 2025 alone, according to The Information, revenue at OpenAI was $4.3 billion; total expenditure was $17.8 billion.

"No start-up in history has operated with expected losses on anything approaching this scale," Reid wrote.

No kidding. When you make a billion-dollar deal with Disney, and that deal covers less than one month of your losses, then ... well, you too might have panic sweats. And you too might be looking for as many deals with as many more Disneys as possible.

Disney now joins the ranks of Softbank, Microsoft (which made its first $1 billion investment in OpenAI in 2019), or NVIDIA (which made a $100 billion deal with OpenAI that ties them into using NVIDIA chips). These are the companies you need in your corner if your cash is going to run out at any time.

Maybe you'd be looking for a bailout from one of these deep pockets, or all of them, down the line. Maybe you'd even be looking for a U.S. government bailout, as some sources suggest.

And maybe, if all is lost and OpenAI's valuation heads south, you'd be hoping for someone like Iger to do for OpenAI what AOL did for Netscape.

Apple released new updates to its core operating systems today, with the 26.2 versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS available now.

As expected, the iPhone update iOS 26.2 is getting the most attention. Apple's official description of the update says it offers "enhancements to Apple Music, Podcasts, and Games, as well as other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone."

How to update to iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, macOS 26.2, watchOS 26.2, and visionOS 26.2

Apple makes this process pretty simple; if you have automatic updates enabled, your device may already be updated to the new OS.

To manually update, go to your device's settings, tap or click on "General," and then "Software Update." From there, you'll see options to update immediately or later in the evening while you're asleep.

What's new with iOS 26.2?

The beta of this update has been available since November, so there may not be surprises if you follow all of the latest beta developments and bug fixes. But if you don't (and why would you?), here are the key updates:

• Your "Favorite Songs" playlist will appear in "Top Picks" on the Apple Music home tab

• Offline lyrics will be available for downloaded songs in Apple Music

• Automatically generated chapters make it easier to navigate episodes in Podcasts

• New filters in the Games library

• Improved support for third-party mobile controllers

• New Lock Screen customization options, including more or less opacity for Liquid Glass

• Enhanced safety alerts

• AirDrop verification codes when connecting with unknown contacts

• New navigation options in Apple News

• A new accessibility setting that makes the screen flash when you receive a notification

What's new with iPadOS 26.2?

The release notes for iPadOS 26.2 highlight 17 changes and bug fixes. The update "enhances the new windowing system introduced in iPadOS 26 with familiar drag and drop gestures for tiling app windows and creating a Slide Over window," as well as enhancements to Apple Music, Podcasts, and Games, and essential security updates.

Most of the key changes are the same as with iOS:

• Multitasking gestures to quickly tile windows or place an app in Slide Over by dragging app icons from the Dock

• New drag and drop gestures for the iPad windowing system

• Your "Favorite Songs" playlist will appear in "Top Picks" on the Apple Music home tab

• Offline lyrics will be available for downloaded songs in Apple Music

• Automatically generated chapters make it easier to navigate episodes in Podcasts

• New filters in the Games library

• Improved support for third-party mobile controllers

• New Lock Screen customization options, including more or less opacity for Liquid Glass

What's new with macOS 26.2? The new Edge Light feature in macOS 26.2. Credit: Apple

MacOS introduces one of the most notable changes with this round of updates — a new video calling feature called Edge Light.

"Edge Light simulates a ring light by illuminating the borders of your screen, providing a pleasing fill light when you make a video call in low light. And to ensure that you always have access to your content, the effect automatically recedes from the area around your mouse pointer...Edge Light works best in low-light conditions, such as dim indoor lighting at night. You can combine it with any of the other effects."

Google is always introducing new experimental AI tools, like that time it tried out AI-generated podcasts in Google Search results. Another such AI-powered experiment has hit the proverbial airwaves. This time, it’s a Gemini-powered tool that it’s calling "Disco," which can take a web browser tab and turn it into an interactive web app. 

The process is fairly simple. You take a browser tab and ask Disco to make it a web app with its GenTab function. The AI then creates a simple web app that houses all of the information from the browser window. This includes interactive elements that can help visually explain information from the browser window. The presentation is controllable based on how you prompt the AI. 

In one example that Google used, it created a Disco web app from a webpage about entropy and showed an example of what entropy might look like. There is also a tool that helps you take that information and summarize it for use in writing.

Another example Google used was planning a winter trip. In the GenApp that Disco generated, it included information about the location, a Google Maps map of the surrounding area, integration with the user’s calendar, and an itinerary builder that used Google Maps map pins to show where everything would be. It showed all of this and more in an interactive user interface. 

Google also showed off the ability to make an interactive meal planner and a vegetable garden planner. In short, if you want to plan something, this might actually be a useful tool.

The general idea appears to be combining web browsing for the purposes of research, and combining it with the ability to plan or research things more deeply. Instead of just reading 15 webpages about a certain topic, you can generate a web app that will guide you through the material. Similarly, instead of opening tabs for your calendar, Google Maps, and other tools to plan a trip, you can have Disco’s GenTabs make a web app that houses all of those tools in one spot. 

It’s an interesting pivot for Google. Most AI companies are currently investing in web browsing via the AI browser idea, which includes Perplexity’s Comet and Copilot Mode in Microsoft Edge. Google has the Chrome browser with Gemini baked in already, so this is a different way to explore the notion of web browsing with AI.

Google says that Disco will eventually be a platform that will house multiple features. GenTabs, the functionality described above, is the first such feature for that platform. Currently, users will have to sign up for a waitlist if they want to try it out, but the waitlist does say that approved testers will likely be chosen for future Disco features as well.

TL;DR: Refresh an Apple computer with this Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 for Mac license for only $39.97 (reg. $229).

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac $39.97
$229 Save $189.03   Get Deal

Gone are the days when Microsoft Office was only for the PC crowd. You can now take advantage of all the perks of these essential tools on your Mac. And right now, if you act fast, you can do it for just $39.97 (reg. $229) with this Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 for Mac license.

Ready to give your Mac a leg up? This Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 for Mac license gives your device six powerful apps to help you tackle both personal and professional tasks.

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!

From drafting an important document with Word to creating an eye-catching presentation with PowerPoint, most of these apps are tools you have known and loved for decades. Finalize your budget in Excel, tackle your emails in Outlook, and then hop on a Teams call with a coworker. When you’re done, you can cross it off your digital list in OneNote.

This edition may have 2019 attached, but don’t worry. The apps all include new features and updates. They’ve also been completely redesigned to take advantage of Mac features like the Retina display, full-screen view support, and scroll bounce.

There are no subscription fees. After purchase, you’ll get instant delivery and download, so the apps are ready to use on your device. You’ll also have access to free customer service if needed. Just make sure your device is running macOS 13 or newer before purchasing.

Get this Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 for Mac license for only $39.97 (reg. $229).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to Sterling Stock Picker is now only $69.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sterling Stock Picker Sterling Stock Picker: Lifetime Subscription $68.99
$486 Save $417.01   Get Deal

It’s a tough time for anyone who wants to get into investing. The stock market is volatile and can feel like a high-stakes guessing game, but it’s actually a lot simpler than it looks. If you want to get into investing, all it takes are the right tools to help you along. Sterling Stock Picker gives new investors a clearer way to understand what they’re looking at, and a lifetime subscription is currently on sale for $68.99 (reg. $486).

Sterling Stock Picker starts you off with a short risk-tolerance quiz that maps your comfort level, then highlights stocks that match your profile. Instead of burying you in indicators, each ticker gets a plain-language callout that tells you whether it looks like a buy, hold, avoid, or watch.

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!

If something doesn’t make sense, Finley, the built-in AI coach, can answer questions in real time, explain terminology, and point you toward the numbers that matter.

If you want more structure from the beginning, the Done-For-You portfolio builder assembles a diversified mix suited to your goals and risk level. It keeps an eye on your holdings and sends alerts when something might need attention. A Stock Rockets section highlights fast-growing companies with strong fundamentals, and sector snapshots offer extra context so you understand why a pick stands out instead of feeling like you’re guessing.

You can browse beginner-friendly explanations of market concepts, check out community discussions, and see testimonials from real users who have reported solid returns. Sterling Stock Picker has also been recognized by the SaaS Awards for performance that has outpaced market averages.

The platform works on desktop and mobile, and the lifetime plan has ongoing updates with no recurring fees.

If you’re new to investing and want a simple way to learn, choose, and track without getting overwhelmed, this toolkit makes the whole process easier to navigate. Get a Sterling Stock Picker lifetime subscription while they’re still on sale for $68.99.

Sale ends soon.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Give yourself a productivity boost with this lifetime license to Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac or PC for only $159.97 (reg. $249.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business for Mac or PC Lifetime License $159.97
$249.99 Save $90.02   Get Deal

Want to get ahead on your 2026 goals? If you want to organize your digital life and really streamline your workflow, Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business can help. It works for both Mac and PC, so everyone can take advantage of this suite that gives your device five essential apps.

Right now, you can get a lifetime license to Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac or PC for just $159.97 (reg. $249.99).

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!

Now is the perfect time to get prepared before the new year sneaks up on us. Take the first step to make things a little easier on yourself with this Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business license. It gives you five tools to tackle personal and professional projects, and it’s available for both Mac and PC.

Want to get your inbox nice and organized for the new year? Outlook can help you do that. If you want to make sure you’re sticking to your budget and keep your finances in order, Excel is there for you. And if you’re looking to really wow at the first meeting of 2026, create a stunning presentation with PowerPoint.

If you need to draft a document, you can always turn to Word. This license also includes OneNote, an easier way to keep your digital notes organized.

Unlike subscription-based plans that charge monthly fees, this license lets you own all five apps. You won’t need to rely on the cloud either because you can download the apps directly to your device and work offline.

This version also includes new features like presentation recording with voice narration and video in PowerPoint, an updated accessibility checker in Outlook, AI-powered writing suggestions in Word, and enhanced data analysis and visualization tools in Excel.

Take advantage of this deal on a lifetime license to Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac or PC for just $159.97 (reg. $249.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Yesterday, just as OpenAI celebrated its 10-year anniversary, the AI company launched GPT-5.2, its latest series of AI models to power ChatGPT. The latest release is allegedly in response to OpenAI’s rumored “code red” state, as the AI market share leader is reportedly bleeding users to Google's Gemini 3 and other AI chatbots. 

The main competition appears to be between Gemini 3 and GPT-5.2, as Google’s Gemini 3 has made pretty big waves since it launched in mid-November. Gemini 3 and GPT-5.2 appear to be neck and neck in most metrics, showing that OpenAI still has the chops to compete with the top dogs. However, Grok 4.1 is also a mainstay on leaderboards, and it's put up some pretty good scores of its own. 

So, if you’re curious how GPT-5.2 compares to Grok 4.1, we can offer an initial assessment. Keep in mind that GPT-5.2 is still fresh out of the box. This means that the benchmark scores will certainly change over time as more people get their hands on it to run it through its paces. 

GPT-5.2 vs. Grok 4.1: LMArena rankings

GPT-5.2 isn’t ranked on most of LMArena’s leaderboards at the time of this writing. Thus, it makes it difficult to compare the two directly from here. That doesn’t mean that we can’t try. According to OpenAI, GPT-5.2 is a few percentage points higher in almost every metric compared to GPT-5.1, which is ranked on LMArena. 

Assuming GPT-5.2 usurps GPT-5.1 in every category, we can conclude that GPT-5.2 will either be at or very close to the top of the leaderboards. In the one metric where GPT-5.2 exists on LMArena at this time — which is WebDev — OpenAI’s model is currently ranked second overall (above Grok). 

So, we can conclude that GPT-5.2 will probably rank higher than Grok in almost every category, although Grok may retain its second-place finish on the Text leaderboard, where it places just below Gemini 3.

GPT-5.2 vs. Grok 4.1: Benchmark tests

Since GPT-5.2 is so new, it hasn’t shown up on a lot of independent benchmark tests yet. For the time being, we have to rely on OpenAI's self-reported benchmark scores. Keep in mind that these scores are part of a press release and have not been independently verified. 

• Creative Writing v3 - GPT-5.2 vastly outperforms Grok 4.1 here, with an ELO Score of 1675.5 versus Grok 4.1’s 1268.6.

• GDPval-AA - GPT-5.2 also wins this one, scoring a 1474 versus Grok’s 1041.

• GPQA Diamond - GPT-5.2 pulls out another win here, but the gap is much lower, with GPT-5.2 scoring a 90.3% and Grok 4 scoring an 87.7%.

• AIME 2025 - GPT-5.1 beats Grok with a score of 95.7% to 92.7%. It stands to reason that GPT-5.2 will top the leaderboards here and beat Grok as well. 

• FrontierMath - Another big win for GPT-5.2 here, with a much higher accuracy than Grok 4.

The other benchmarks pretty much tell the same story. GPT-5.2 beats Grok 4.1 on benchmarks, and the margins aren’t typically very close. Real-world results may vary, though, as benchmarks only really tell part of the story. 

GPT-5.2 vs. Grok 4.1: Availability

Both AI models are generally available to the public via OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Grok’s chat platform, respectively. In terms of features, both have AI chatbot functionality and the ability to generate images directly from the AI chatbot. ChatGPT can make videos with the help of Sora 2, while Grok can generate videos and images from its Grok Imagine platform. Both Sora and Grok Imagine lag far behind rivals like Google's Veo 3 and LumaAI's Ray3, however.

Availability is largely the same, as most people interact with ChatGPT and Grok directly through their interfaces. However, ChatGPT is integrated into more products than Grok, giving it a leg up in terms of overall availability. 

GPT-5.2 vs. Grok 4.1: Pricing

For GPT-5.2, you have to get the pro version of ChatGPT, which starts at $20 per month or $200 per month, depending on what you want. Grok’s free version also limits you to Grok 4, and not Grok 4.1, so you also need a subscription for Grok 4.1. A SuperGrok subscription starts at $30 per month and goes up to $300 per month if you want more access. 

That gives GPT-5.2 the edge, as everyone who passed the first grade knows, $20 is less than $30. 

As for which one is worth it more, you’ll have to try out both AI platforms for yourself and see which one performs better for the kind of work you want them to do. Benchmarks and price tags don’t mean much if one of them simply doesn’t work as well as the other for your particular use case. 

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

In November, Amazon announced that it was launching AI video recaps for TV shows.

In theory, this could be useful, as now that fans often have to wait years in between seasons of a show, plot recaps are often very necessary before binge-watching a new season. In practice, however, viewers have spotted several errors in a video recap for the first season of the Fallout TV series, which is gearing up for Season 2.

GamesRadar pointed out that the show's AI video recap incorrectly identifies the time period of the show's flashbacks, telling viewers they take place about 120 years earlier than they actually take place in the show's chronology. On top of that, the recap mischaracterizes a pivotal plot point at the end of Season 1, completely botching the main character's primary motivation.

It's a real, "You had one job!" situation for Amazon's AI technology.

When the feature was announced in February, an Amazon blog post hailed the AI-powered recaps as "groundbreaking." Yet anyone familiar with the limitations of large-language models knows that they are famously prone to hallucinations and inaccuracies.

An AI video recap for the TV series 'Tom Clancy.' Credit: Amazon

“Video Recaps marks a groundbreaking application of generative AI for streaming,” Gérard Medioni, vice president of technology at Prime Video, said in a November press release. “This first-of-its-kind feature demonstrates Prime Video’s ongoing commitment to innovation and making the viewing experience more accessible and enjoyable for customers.”

And here's how Amazon says the AI recaps are created:

Creating each video recap is a multistep process. With the help of generative AI, the Video Recaps feature analyzes a season’s key plot points and character arcs to deeply understand the most pivotal moments that will resonate with viewers as they enter the next season.

Then, the AI finds the most compelling video clips and pairs them with audio effects, dialogue snippets, and music. These are all stitched together with an overarching AI-generated voiceover narration to deliver a theatrical-quality visual recap.

Unfortunately, fact-checking or human review doesn't seem to be one of the steps.

After gaming journalists started writing about the error-filled AI videos, which featured an AI voice-over and clips from the show, Amazon seemingly pulled the feature from Fallout and other Prime Video series, as The Verge reported.

For AI critics in gaming media, this was a prime opportunity to make puns about the "fallout" from another failed AI tool. Many creative professionals are extremely hostile to generative AI in all its forms, as Mashable has reported.

Yet Amazon has given no indication that the feature is gone for good, and it may yet return. Amazon is all-in on generative AI, after all, as are millions of AI users.

In the meantime, you can always rely on human-created season recaps from publications like, say, Mashable.

Let’s be honest, sending Christmas cards is not a fun holiday task. It’s time-consuming and can even be pretty expensive. Using AI to generate a Christmas card “from scratch” is tempting, but it’s a sure-fire way to end up in my trash bin.

While Waymo continues its expansion across America's roads (and highways), some concerns about the self-driving cars persist. The worries mostly concern autonomous vehicles hallucinating or disobeying traffic rules — such as driving past stopped school buses — but a new anxiety was unlocked this week in Los Angeles, when a female Waymo customer discovered a man hiding in the car's trunk.

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

As reported by the local Fox affiliate, the woman recorded the incident, confronting the man. "Why are you in it?" the unnamed woman asks. "They just put me in it," the man responds. "Who put you in it?" the female customer says. "The people," he says.

SEE ALSO: Can Waymo reduce America's shocking number of road deaths?

No arrests were made since no crime was technically committed, according to Fox11.

A Waymo spokesperson explained to Mashable that the man climbed into the trunk after a previous rider left it open. Waymo added that police helped remove the man after the female passenger alerted them, and Waymo's Rider Support team assisted the woman during the process. The spokesperson said that the support team already has protocols for addressing situations like these and is implementing changes to improve them.

"We're committed to keeping our riders safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate," a Waymo spokesperson tells Mashable. "This experience was unacceptable, and we are actively implementing changes to address this." 

One of the touted benefits of Waymo is the safety it offers lone passengers, especially women; hundreds of thousands of Uber and Lyft customers have allegedly been victims of sexual assault.

The Fox11 report also noted that a Waymo recently drove through an LAPD standoff, slowly cruising between a suspect on the ground and police officers with their guns drawn.