Technology

While UniFi used to be seen as an SMB or enterprise-only networking option, it has increasingly become a more consumer-friendly networking platform. Here are four features that make UniFi a real alternative to Amazon's eero platform.

Just because you're an A-list actor, doesn't mean you'll always get a response when you slide into someone's DMs.

That was apparently Tom Holland's experience when he DM'd Norweigan footballer Erling Haaland to ask if he wanted to go for dinner. In the Tonight Show clip above, Holland explains that he didn't even get a rejection — just a tumbleweed.

"I'll tell you what, that is exactly the type of humbling experience that is important for actors," says the Odyssey star, looking on the bright side. "You know, you'll be like, I'll text him, I'll take him to dinner. Not even a response. Not an excuse, not an 'Oh, I'm busy tonight, I'm playing football'...nada."

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Lightroom is still the go-to editor for many people who shoot RAW photos. But it comes with an expensive subscription and the desktop version feels increasingly neglected in favor of its cloud-based companion. If you’d rather keep your files on your own computer instead of syncing everything online, darktable is one of the best free alternatives.

ESP32 boards have become a popular choice for hobbyist projects and smart home sensors. For many projects, they can be a better choice than a Raspberry Pi, since they're cheaper, use less power, and are still very capable. For some things, however, the Raspberry Pi still wins.

Following the death of U.S. senator Lindsey Graham, Donald Trump called up Fox & Friends to talk about his friend — and it was quite the eulogy.

Like Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Ike Barinholtz, Seth Meyers reacted to Trump's comments about the South Carolina Republican, which included statements like, "He'd call me all the time, I'd say, 'Stop calling me, Lindsey.'"

"What a touching tribute," said Meyers. "Very rare for the person giving the eulogy to say, 'I wish I'd talked to him less.'"

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Ever since Linux distributions gained a cult following among computer users in the '90s, they dreamed of overtaking Windows as the most widely used desktop OS. One company tried to do it by creating a distro that was as Windows-like as possible. This effort, Lindows, attracted the ire of Microsoft, but a trademark lawsuit almost backfired on the software giant.

Sometimes so much news is happening that time itself becomes difficult to keep track of.

That's certainly the sense you get watching Seth Meyers' Late Night return monologue above, in which he rattles through the headlines for the past few weeks while becoming increasingly out of breath.

"Everyone thought Mitch McConnell was dead because he disappeared, and then Lindsey Graham said he was gonna go check on him when he was off, and then Graham died?" pants Meyers. "Trump intervened to get a red card in a World Cup match overturned while admitting he didn't know what a red card was, and then when Belgium beat the U.S. they made fun of Trump by doing his stupid dance?"

It goes on like that for five full minutes with barely any breaks, and Meyers struggling to finish a sentence before moving on to the next headline.

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TL;DR: The ASUS ROG Swift 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor (PG32UCDMR) is on sale for $899 at Amazon, down from its $1,299.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: ASUS ASUS ROG Strix 32-inch 4K OLED Gaming Monitor (PG32UCDMR) $899 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $400.99 Get Deal

Putting 4K, OLED, and a 240Hz refresh rate together usually sends a gaming monitor well past the $1,000 mark, but Amazon has now dragged one of ASUS’ premium ROG Swift displays below $900 for a limited time. 

As of July 14, the ASUS ROG Swift 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor (PG32UCDMR) is on sale at Amazon for $899. That cuts $400.99 from its $1,299.99 list price, taking 31% off the high-end display. It's also the monitor’s lowest-ever price on Amazon, as we confirmed when checking price tracker camelcamelcamel.

At the time of writing, this monitor — sold and shipped directly by Amazon — can be delivered to you for free as soon as Sunday, 19 July. You can get it even sooner if you're a Prime member.

The PG32UCDMR pairs a 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time. It is also G-SYNC Compatible, giving players another way to keep fast movement smooth when frame rates fluctuate, both in multiplayer hits like Fortnite and awesome single-player adventures like Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.

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For colour and HDR, the display covers 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut, supports true 10-bit colour, and carries VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification. That makes it not only useful for more vivid gaming, but also for creative work, like editing photos and video on the same setup. 

Alongside the usual reliable connectivity options (DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, and USB-C with 90W Power Delivery), ASUS has also included its OLED Care Pro features — including a Neo Proximity Sensor that detects when you step away and switches the panel to a black screen to help reduce burn-in risk.

For a final flourish for peace of mind, the monitor is covered by a three-year warranty with burn-in protection. The box includes DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, and USB 3.2 cables, a VESA mount kit, ROG pouch, and other setup essentials.

Following the death of U.S. senator Lindsey Graham, many public statements have been made about the South Carolina Republican and close Donald Trump ally.

Trump himself made a call to Fox & Friends to talk about Graham, and the comments were a mixed bag, from taking light jabs at the senator's golf skills to getting in a few comments about "rigged elections."

Like Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and Late Night's Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Ike Barinholtz examined Trump's wide-ranging eulogy.

"We all grieve in different ways," said The Studio star in his monologue. "There's stages to grief: it's denial, anger, spacing out, pissing yourself, forgetting what you were talking about, and then changing the subject completely."

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SAVE OVER $10: As of July 14, the Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’s Museum Collection has dropped to a new record-low price of $61.10 at Amazon. That's $18.89 off its full price of $79.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’s Museum Collection (77056) $61.10 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $18.89   Get Deal

If you're a fan of both Lego and Animal Crossing, Amazon has quite the treat for you right now. The delightful Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’s Museum Collection has officially hit a new low price at Amazon, though not for long.

As of July 14, this cute Lego set has dropped from its list price of $79.99 to $61.10, saving you just over $18. However, there's a bar in the top right corner that shows this build is quickly being claimed (89%, as of the time of this writing). So if you want to take advantage of this offer, you'll want to be quick to grab it before it's gone.

SEE ALSO: Lego's Olivia Rodrigo collab just dropped: Where to buy, preorder details, price

With 543 pieces, this Lego set of Blathers’s Museum Collection sees you creating the museum alongside some exhibits that are customizable. There's also fun extras like a fountain and the Roost café, alongside two minifigures of Lily the frog and Blathers the owl (the museum's curator).

Again, this deal is going quick. Act fast to save on the Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’s Museum Collection set at Amazon. Looking for more great Lego to work on this year? Check out our roundup of the 10 best Lego sets of 2026 so far to see some of our favorites.

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Beth, 27, had been on four dates with a man we’ll call Matt* when the pair passed a modern relationship milestone. 

Matt followed Beth on Instagram. She followed him back. They continued to chat over WhatsApp and planned their next date. 

But the next day, Beth spotted something alarming. On Matt’s Instagram stories, he had partaken in a trend to use generative AI to create a doll-like figure of himself, complete with themed accessories. Beth was immediately repulsed. 

“It was cringe on multiple levels,” Beth told me in aghast tones over spicy margaritas in cans. “Firstly that he took part in a lame social media trend – and late, might I add – secondly that he thought the result was interesting enough to share, but mostly that he used AI to do it, and had no hesitation in admitting that. Bring back shame.” 

“It was cringe on multiple levels."

Beth went sleuthing through Matt’s grid and found that some of the captions – not all – had a whiff of AI about them. She scrolled back through their initial chats on Hinge and suddenly, all his charming lines seemed suspicious. “There weren’t em dashes or anything like that, but his opener felt off; it didn’t sound like him.” 

She began to spiral. Just how much of their apparent connection had been forged by the likes of ChatGPT and Claude? Had he used AI to choose the specific pub they went to for date number two, which had been strangely central rather than in their respective locales of east and south London? Had he fed their conversations to a bot to craft a smooth response? 

SEE ALSO: Companion AI use is a dating dealbreaker, Match survey says

Along with that suspicion came another feeling, which Beth acknowledges could be seen as superficial: that AI is embarrassing, thus Matt was embarrassing, and she was significantly less attracted to him than she was before. She ghosted him. 

Beth is far from alone in experiencing the AI ick. Many daters have negative views of AI use, according to research by Match Group, which owns dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid. Fifty one percent of women aged 18 to 24 say they would refuse to date someone who uses an AI companion app, per the research. Generally, studies point to negative feelings about AI outweighing positive emotions, so it’s little surprise that these sentiments are carrying over into our romantic relationships. 

These negative views of AI are rubbing up against increased use of it for, well, everything, Ofcom research says more than half (54 percent) of UK adults use AI tools, and this jumps up to 79 percent among those aged 16-24 and 74 percent for 25-34s. The data suggests we’re using AI in increasingly personal areas of our lives.   The most common use of generative AI in both 2026 and 2025 was therapy and companionship, according to 2026’s AI In The Wild report. The 7th most common use (out of 100 on the list) was "relationship advice," per the findings.

AI isn’t only intruding in the early dating world. The AI ick is affecting long-term relationships, too –  Wired journalist Alessandra Ram coined “the sad wives of AI” to describe the many women disgruntled by their partner’s overreliance on the tech. Men are more likely to use generative AI than women, so it’s unsurprising that when I asked people for stories of the AI ick, only women in heterosexual relationships reported experiencing the issue. 

We haven’t yet seen a wave of AI-prompted divorces or ‘AI widows’, but couples’ therapists tell me they’ve heard clients mentioning AI’s impact, which can range from irritation to the consideration of a breakup. Amy*, 34, has been with her husband for eight years and doubts AI will result in their divorce, but she admits (anonymously) that she has concerns about her partner’s AI use. 

"I worry how it's impacting his critical thinking."

“He uses it to help him make decisions – where to buy a used car, how to write a sternly worded email to the council, what smart shoes to buy for a wedding,” she explains. “I'd say he uses it weekly, sometimes more. I try not to judge him for it because I know so many people are doing the same, and nowadays thanks to AI overview, it's not too dissimilar to plugging a question into Google. But I worry how it's impacting his critical thinking; if Chat is making every decision for him (sometimes incorrectly – AI is rife with misinformation). Not to mention the impact it's having on the job market and the environment.”

Amy has raised the topic with her husband, but says “he doesn’t see it as a problem”. It’s worth noting that Amy is not a total AI refusenik, having turned to it for advice with legal matters and tax, which does make her feel like “a bit of a hypocrite”. But even so, each time she learns her husband has used AI for something, the AI ick arrives – “to an extent you can get ‘the ick’ when you’re married!”

Similarly, Nara*’s boyfriend of three years, Sam*, has an “almost daily” AI habit that causes frustration, especially when he uses it to win arguments or prove her wrong. “I don’t like when he uses AI as a primary source of research on a topic,” says Nara. “It’s such a shallow way to understand something. What I find more frustrating is if I buy him a book on a topic, he won’t read the book but he’ll just use AI.” Asked what she would change in their relationship if he had a non-AI magic wand, Nara said: “Magically make him seek information from a variety of sources.” 

While the AI ick in casual dating tends to be more about simply our perception of the type of person who uses AI, in more serious relationships it can emerge from a deeper hurt – that caused by a partner turning away from you and towards a third party, in this case AI. “If AI is used as an ally or as a kind of ammunition in an argument, this could be quite inflammatory,” says Joanna Harrison, a couples' therapist and the author of Five Arguments All Couples (Need To) Have. “It leaves the other person feeling more defensive and less likely to engage. If AI is tending to be sycophantic, and making one person feel that their view is the ‘right’ one, then this is going to make them less curious in their partner’s point of view – and that’s what really matters, rather than who is right, that both people are interested in each other.” 

SEE ALSO: Why 'Love Island' feels like the most accurate show about dating today

AI can act as an unintentional wall in the middle of connection. People praise AI because it makes things easier and quicker, requiring less effort from the human. But in a relationship, effort goes a long way. We want our partners to try in order to show that they care. "Our intimate couple relationships are the place we long to be seen, to be understood, to be known in a special way," Harrison continues. "Intimacy builds when a partner shows that they have understood something of us, or shows that they are really trying to understand who we are, as well as at the same time being open themselves to being seen and trying to express themselves. When AI is the substitute for this, the sense of a special intimate connection can be broken," she adds. 

“Take a present or a date planned and chosen by a partner’s imagination. There’s a sense of effort going into it, thought going into it, a kind of love ‘work’ that has gone on to try to curate something bespoke. If AI has chosen the gift or planned the evening, does it feel so intimate?” 

Experts are united in their belief that the answer to the AI ick and the woes caused by it does not lie in pretending not to see the ghostly online presence in the room. Jane James, a couples' therapist of 18 years, says: “Ignoring it is the worst thing to do.” 

Instead, conversation is needed. And as soon as possible. “The more a habit, such as more tech use, becomes embedded, the harder it is to raise the subject and the more it feels like conflict or criticism,” James notes. “The topic needs to be identified and discussed early on. Talk about AI generally together. What are your opinions? Do you use it? What for? Do friends use it? Raise it as a subject like everything else.”

Agreeing on ground rules is wise, but these shouldn’t be a blanket ban on AI use. We’re aiming for compromise, not control. A boundary might be that AI shouldn’t be used during quality time together. Or conversely, you might agree that it can be used for relationship purposes as long as both partners are involved in the prompts. “Using AI together for planning, investigating, and research is an excellent idea,” suggests James. “Sharing what you find out and using the information for activities etc is positive and helpful.” 

AI isn’t doomed to have a negative impact on your relationship – it’s all about how you use it. Harrison says: “If it helps a couple turn towards each other, not away from each other, and supports them to listen to each other more, and see each other's perspective, then this could be a positive. If on the other hand it puts up a barrier between them or polarises them then I see it as something less helpful.” 

Finally, if you’re the partner who’s using AI more frequently, be conscious of how it might shape how your partner sees you. Carolina*, 45, says that her ex’s excessive use of AI “may have cost the relationship”. They’ve broken up now but his AI posts give her the retroactive ick. Over the course of our conversation, she uses the following words to describe how his AI use makes her view him: “narcissistic, wanky, embarrassing, so fake, and so desperate.” Her ending note is simply to describe him as “so cringe”. Unless these are words you would like a partner to use to describe you, perhaps proceed with caution. 

Critical thinking, an appreciation of human creativity, typos in place of perfection – these are things that have never been sexier.

*Names have been changed

SAVE $181: As of July 14, the MSI Katana 15 HX Gaming Laptop is down to $1,133.67 at Amazon. That saves you $181.33 on its typical $1,315 price.

Opens in a new window Credit: MSI MSI Katana 15 HX Gaming Laptop $1,133.67 at Amazon
$1,315 Save $181.33   Get Deal

Prime Day may be over, but one of its best gaming laptop prices is sticking around a little longer. The MSI Katana 15 HX has dropped back to its Prime Day record-low price of $1,133.67 at Amazon, saving you $181.33 off its typical price. If you've been waiting for an RTX 5060 gaming laptop to dip closer to the $1,100 mark, now's your chance to buy.

The MSI Katana 15 HX pairs an Intel Core i7 processor with Nvidia's new GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card, giving you plenty of power for modern games, multitasking, and demanding apps. It supports features like ray tracing and DLSS 4, which help compatible games look better and run more smoothly while putting less strain on the hardware.

SEE ALSO: I tested the Arc G3 Extreme inside MSI’s spendy Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld

There's a 15.6-inch QHD display with a 165Hz refresh rate, so games look sharper than they would on a standard Full HD screen, and fast-moving action feels much smoother. The display also covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, making colors look richer whether you're gaming, watching movies, or editing photos.

MSI also packs in a dual-fan cooling system to help maintain steady performance during longer gaming sessions, plus a four-zone RGB keyboard if you like a little customization. You also get WiFi 6E, USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet, so connecting extra monitors, accessories, or a wired internet connection is easy.

Grab the MSI Katana 15 HX on Amazon before this gaming deal respawns at full price.

SAVE OVER $30: As of July 14, the Fujifilm Instax Square Link Smartphone Printer is on sale for $129.95 at Amazon. That's $34 off its full price of $163.95.

Opens in a new window Credit: Fujifilm Fujifilm Instax Square Link Smartphone Printer $129.95 at Amazon
$163.95 Save $34   Get Deal

If your phone's camera roll is full of summer memories that you want to keep outside of a digital collection, it's always worth printing them out. That way, you can hang them up around your house or even add them to a photo album.

The Fujifilm Instax Square Link Smartphone Printer is one way to do it, allowing you to print film photos right from your phone, and it's even on sale right now at Amazon.

As of July 14, the Fujifilm Instax Square Link Smartphone Printer — both in midnight green and ash white — has dropped to $129.95 at Amazon. This is $34 off its full price of $163.95, though it may not stay on sale for long. Since it has a "limited time deal" tag, now is the time to make a move before its discount disappears.

SEE ALSO: Amazon is packed with outdoor deals for summer from Coleman

The Fujifilm Instax Square Link is a fun way to print out your favorite photos from your phone. They pop out on instant film, which is a great way to capture these memories without dropping money on an instant film camera. However, it is worth noting that the specific Instax Square instant film for this smartphone printer is sold separately.

It also has a small, lightweight build that makes it easy to take along in a bag. And connecting to your phone is done quickly via Bluetooth, then you'll just need the free Instax Square Link app to get started. From there, you'll be able to add stickers, frames, and more to your photos as well before printing them out.

This limited-time deal may not last long. Act fast to save on the Fujifilm Instax Square Link Smartphone Printer at Amazon.

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TL;DR: The Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Play Booster Box is available to pre-order for $154.99 at Amazon, down from its $164.70 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Magic: The Gathering Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Play Booster Box $154.99 at Amazon
$164.70 Save $9.71 Get Deal

Reality Fracture does not arrive in the world of Magic: The Gathering until October, but you can already save almost $10 on the set’s Play Booster Box, bringing the 30-pack display of trading cards below $155 before launch. 

As of July 14, the Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Play Booster Box is available to pre-order at Amazon for $154.99. That is $9.71 off its $164.70 list price, taking 6% off the sealed box altogether. 

This Play Booster Box is also covered by Amazon’s popular preorder price guarantee. Keep in mind that although Reality Fracture isn’t out until Oct. 2, your free delivery of this box won’t arrive until at least Oct. 5 at the time of writing. All sales are final and returns are not an option. 

At this price (its lowest ever, confirmed via camelcamelcamel), each of the 30 Play Boosters works out at roughly $5.17 before tax. That is not the cheapest preorder deal available, though. TCGplayer has unopened listings starting from a much cheaper $133.88 with shipping included, which is even lower than its current market price of $134.44.

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This expansion centres on Jace Beleren pushing reality to breaking point, with an alternate Multiverse of his own creation threatening to replace the existing one. In terms of lore, the set explores Jace’s Echoverse, including twisted reflections of familiar Magic legends and the dystopian school of Hexhaven.

Inside the box, you get 30 Reality Fracture Play Boosters, with 14 Magic cards in each pack. Every booster contains one to five cards of Rare rarity or higher and at least one Traditional Foil card, while a Traditional Foil Land appears in 20% of packs. Each pack also includes a Legendary card alongside its Echoverse alternate, giving you more than 60 Legendary cards across a full box.

For packs from other sets, you can also buy MTG’s 30-pack Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box at $80 off. Plus, you can score the Marvel Super Heroes Draft Night Box at a record-low price on Amazon. 

Following the death of Lindsey Graham, Donald Trump called in to Fox & Friends to share his thoughts on the senator's passing — and, unsurprisingly, it was a somewhat strange listening experience.

Jon Stewart certainly had some thoughts. During his Daily Show monologue above, the host breaks down some of the president's more unexpected comments — starting with Trump saying, "He'd call me all the time, I'd say, 'Stop calling me, Lindsey.'"

"I'll never forget the way that I always let him go to voicemail," says Stewart, in Trump impression mode. "It was our thing."

SEE ALSO: 'Kimmel' guest host Ike Barinholtz examines Trump's reaction to Lindsey Graham's death

Stewart goes on to play a clip of Trump saying Graham played golf but "wasn't a great striker of the ball" and was a "total workaholic politician" but "some people don't call that work, some people call that a lot of talking."

Stewart's response? "The president has zoomed through the first five stages of grief, and gone straight to number six: 'F*** that guy.'"

Elsewhere on late night, Late Night's Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Ike Barinholtz also reacted to Trump's comments.

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Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell have been buddies for an age, so the latest episode of Good Hang is exactly that.

The Saturday Night Live alums reconnected for Poehler's podcast, unpacking their 2017 comedy flop The House, Ferrell's new golf comedy The Hawk, being captain of his high school basketball team, and more.

Ferrell weaves a great tale of his first jobs, which included working for one day at Disneyland in the ticket kiosks, then leaving for a surf shop gig. Needing to provide a reason for quitting, Ferrell said he got creative:

"Somewhere there's a file at Disney corporate that says, 'Will Ferrell worked for one day. Reason for leaving: tryout with the Dallas Cowboys football team.'"

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I would've never guessed that a movie based on a viral YouTube found-footage series based on an unsettling old 4chan post would become the highest-grossing film in A24's history, but here we are. Backrooms took the box office by storm this summer, earning over $350 million worldwide on a $10 million budget.

The best ways to watch 'Backrooms' at home: Watch now Buy or rent 'Backrooms' on Prime Video $24.99 or $19.99 Shop Now Watch now Buy or rent 'Backrooms' on Apple TV $24.99 or $19.99 Get Deal Watch now Buy or rent 'Backrooms' on Fandango at Home $24.99 or $19.99 Get Deal Watch later HBO Max (With Ads) $109.99/year (save $21.89) Get Deal Watch later HBO Max Standard $184.99/year (save $36.89) Get Deal Watch later HBO Max Student $5.49 per month for 12 months (save 50%) Get Deal Watch later HBO Max Basic With Ads Free for Cricket customers on the $60/month unlimited plan (save $10.99/month) Get Deal Watch later Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max bundle $19.99 per month (with ads), $32.99 per month (no ads) (save up to 42%) Get Deal Watch later Netflix and HBO Max bundle (with ads) $10/month with Verizon myPlan (save $9.98/month) Get Deal Watch later Netflix, Peacock, and HBO Max (with ads) $22/month with Xfinity StreamSaver (save $8.97/month) Get Deal

Directed by 21-year-old rising filmmaker Kane Parsons, Backrooms stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell.

"Parsons has managed to prove himself as an incredibly talented emerging filmmaker while also establishing the first chapter in what will surely end up becoming a brand new horror franchise," Mashable's reviewer writes.

If you're intrigued by the liminal space internet lore and have yet to check out Backrooms, or if you can't wait to watch it again, it's now officially available to watch at home. Here's a breakdown of everything you need to know to watch it comfortably from your couch.

What is Backrooms about?

Set in the '90s in Santa Clara Valley, California, Backrooms follows aspiring architect turned furniture shop owner Clark (Ejiofor), who has been staying in the shop temporarily after his recent separation. One night, he discovers a hidden doorway in the basement of the store, leading to the titular Backrooms — an endless stretch of eerie liminal space. Naturally, he enters the portal and starts exploring.

Check out the official trailer for a taste of the Backrooms:

How to watch Backrooms at home Credit: A24

As of July 14, you can officially watch Backrooms at home. While we're still waiting on streaming details, you can buy it or rent it via digital-on-demand retailers. We've broken down the details below.

Buy or rent on digital

Backrooms makes its at-home debut via digital-on-demand retailers on July 14, 2026. You can either buy the film for your digital library for $24.99 or rent it for $5 less. Note: If you choose the rental option, you'll get access for 30 days, but only 48 hours once you start watching. Pro tip: If you wait a few weeks to buy or rent, these prices will drop significantly.

Quick links to buy/rent Backrooms on digital:

• Apple TV —  buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• Fandango at Home — buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

• Prime Video —  buy for $24.99, rent for $19.99

Stream it on HBO Max (at a later date)

A24 recently renewed its output deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, which means new A24 theatrical releases will exclusively stream on HBO Max before anywhere else. Following the same theater-to-streaming schedule as other recently released A24 movies (Marty Supreme, The Drama, and Bring Her Back), we can make an educated guess that Backrooms will make its streaming debut on HBO Max sometime in late September or early October (just in time for Halloween!). We'll update this story with the latest information when we know more.

HBO Max subscriptions start at $10.99 per month. However, there are some ways you can save money on your plan. Check out the best HBO Max streaming deals below.

SEE ALSO: HBO Max and Paramount+ are combining into one streaming service The best HBO Max streaming dealsBest for most people: Save 16% on HBO Max annual subscriptions Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Basic with ads annual subscription $109.99 per year (save $21.89) Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Standard annual subscription $184.99 per year (save $36.89) Get Deal

The best way to save money on HBO Max on any given day is with the annual plan. Yes, it costs more up front, but you'll save about 16% over the course of a year — up to $45.89 in savings.

A monthly plan with ads typically costs $10.99 per month, but a full year costs $109.99, which breaks down the monthly cost to only $9.17. Want to go ad-free? The annual HBO Max Standard or Premium plans will also save you about 16% over their monthly equivalents. Standard subscriptions cost either $18.49 per month or $184.99 per year (which breaks down to $15.42 per month). Premium subscriptions cost $22.99 per month or $229.99 per year (about $19.17 per month). While both are ad-free plans, only the Premium option will unlock 4K Ultra HD video quality, Dolby Atmos, and the ability to download more offline content.

Get HBO Max for free: Switch to Cricket's Supreme Unlimited plan Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max / Cricket HBO Max (with ads) Free for Cricket customers on the Supreme Unlimited plan Get Deal

It may not be the most convenient option, but switching your phone plan to Cricket's Supreme Unlimited plan for $60 per month will get you HBO Max with ads for free. Once you're a Cricket customer, you can use your provider credentials to log in via the HBO Max app or website.

Best HBO Max deal for students: Save 50% on HBO Max Basic with ads Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max Student $5.49 per month for 12 months Get Deal

College students can get an entire year of HBO Max with ads for 50% off. Just use UNiDAYS to prove your student status, and you'll receive a unique discount code that'll drop the cost per month down from $10.99 to $5.49. Once the initial 12 months are up, the price will jump back to the full cost unless you cancel.

Best bundle deal: Get HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu for up to 42% off Opens in a new window Credit: Disney / Hulu / HBO Max Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max $19.99 per month (with ads), $32.99 per month (no ads) Get Deal

The Disney+ bundle deal, which includes HBO Max and Hulu, is one of the best deals in streaming. For just $19.99 per month, you'll get all three streaming libraries with ads, which is about $15 cheaper than paying for each one separately. Want to go ad-free? It'll run you $32.99 per month as opposed to $56.47 for all three. That's up to 42% in savings.

Best for Verizon customers: Get Netflix and HBO Max for $13/month Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix / HBO Max HBO Max and Netflix (with ads) $13 per month for Verizon customers with myPlan (save $6.98 per month) Get Deal

If you're a Verizon customer on the Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Ultimate plan, you can add the Netflix and HBO Max bundle (with ads) to your plan for only $13 per month. A $19.98 per month value, that's about $7 in savings each month. Once you enroll in the promo, you'll have to complete the account setup separately for each service. Check out Verizon's support page for all the eligibility details, terms, and FAQs.

Best for Xfinity customers: Bundle HBO Max, Peacock, and Netflix and save $10/month Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix / Peacock / HBO Max Netflix Standard with ads, Peacock Premium, and HBO Max $22/month with Xfinity StreamSaver (save $8.97/month) Get Deal

Xfinity Internet and TV customers can also get in on the bundle action with Xfinity StreamSaver packages. The package with Netflix Standard with ads ($8.99 per month), Peacock Premium ($10.99 per month), and HBO Max Basic with Ads ($10.99 per month) can be added to your existing Xfinity service for only $22 per month. It typically costs $30.97 for all three, so that's about $9 in savings monthly.

I wouldn't believe the HP OmniBook 3 16's battery life test results if I hadn't witnessed them myself. This new 16-inch laptop with Qualcomm's starter Snapdragon X chip lasted 40 hours and 14 minutes before dying, effortlessly securing its place as our new battery life champ.

It dethrones last year's OmniBook 5 14, which also had a Snapdragon processor. (Déjà vu!) And it ran for nearly twice as long as the M5 Apple MacBook Pro, our longest-lasting MacBook. If you're looking for the best battery life laptop of 2026, your hunt ends here.

As a whole, the OmniBook 3 16 isn't quite worthy of our coveted Mashable Choice Award (though it's still good enough to earn a Mashable Selects badge). Similarly priced laptops like the Acer Swift 16 AI and Asus Zenbook A16 offer way more power with nicer build quality and above-average, if not record-breaking battery life. Still, its multi-day stamina makes the new Omnibook 3 16 a compelling candidate for on-the-go workers who hate fighting over outlets at cafés and airports.

Smart shoppers will hold out until it goes on sale, which luckily happens often. Good discounts turn it into a great big-screened budget option.

The HP OmniBook 3 16 at a glance Before I looked at its spec sheet, I really thought the HP OmniBook 3 16 had an OLED display. It's very colorful with deep blacks. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

What I liked: Its older entry-level processor holds its own in multi-core scenarios. It runs super cool and quiet. It has a huge, colorful display. It's pretty thin. Its keyboard is comfortable to type on. Its webcam and mic are above-average. It's frequently on sale. And that battery life, man. Ridiculous.

What I didn't like: Its design is boring. There's some give to its lid and keyboard deck. Its display is dim and glossy, so it's difficult to see its picture in bright light. There are some compatibility concerns with Snapdragon chips. Its wireless technology is outdated. For what you get, it's too expensive at its regular sticker price: This year, I've tried $1,700-ish laptops that are way faster, equipped with OLED touchscreens, and made with zero plastic.

HP OmniBook 3 16-bz000 $899 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Staples Shop Now at HP Key specs

• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon X

• Memory: 32GB RAM

• Storage: 1TB SSD

• Display: 16-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS panel with 60Hz refresh rate and 300 nits of brightness

• Webcam: 1080p with physical privacy shutter

• Ports: HDMI port, two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and a headphone jack

• Connectivity: WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3

• Dimensions: 14.12 x 9.91 x 0.58 inches

• Weight: 3.65 pounds

• Color: Glacier silver

Pricing and availability

The OmniBook 3 16 starts at $999.99 with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage on HP's website. The model I tested, with way more memory and storage, costs $1,629.99. That's not an awful deal in this day and age, but again, the competition gets much less intense when it's on sale. At the time of writing, it was 28% to 47% off, depending on the configuration, and the base model was going for just $529.99.

The HP OmniBook 3 16 comes in glacier silver by default (pictured here). You can change its color for a small fee. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

For $10 more, HP will let you change its color to warm gold, mica silver, or starlight blue. For $80 extra, you can add touchscreen capabilities.

Amazon and Staples both carry models that are better deals at full price versus buying direct, but they're not customizable.

HP OmniBook 3 16 performance

The OmniBook 3 16's Snapdragon X chip is an entry-level processor from 2025. Its single-core performance is, as expected, basic; it's much less snappy than the MacBook Neo's repurposed iPhone A18 Pro chip. But its multi-core performance is relatively impressive, rivaling that of last year's upper mid-range Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chip or a brand-new base Core Ultra 5 325 chip. It's well-suited for everyday productivity.

FYI: That Snapdragon chip is ARM-based, so it's not ideal for gaming or running specialty apps. Read my guide to the best Windows laptops to learn more about ARM compatibility issues.

On a more positive note, I couldn't get the OmniBook 3 16's fan to turn on during a stress test in which I opened tons of browser tabs and apps simultaneously. Most laptops get a little warm during this exercise, but it stayed completely, remarkably cool.

HP OmniBook 3 16 design and build quality The HP OmniBook 3 16's touchpad is slightly off-center to align with its keyboard, which might bug some folks. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

This is a plain-looking laptop with average build quality. Its aluminum top cover and plastic keyboard deck both have some flex in the middle. Its lid wiggles whenever you adjust its position, and its hinge is a little creaky. At least it's pretty slender for its size, if not particularly lightweight.

Most of the HP OmniBook 3 16's ports are located on its left-hand side. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The OmniBook 3 16's display is a highlight. Its colors are so vivid and its contrast so good that I wondered if it had an OLED panel at first — it's actually just a regular IPS screen. Note that it looks best indoors because it's dim and glossy.

The OmniBook 3 16 has a backlit keyboard with a pleasant snappy-squishy (but not mushy) feel and a numpad. Happily, its mechanical touchpad doesn't rattle with every finger tap like the one on last year's OmniBook 5 14.

Who should get the HP OmniBook 3 16? Big screen, bigger battery life. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The OmniBook 3 16 is a decent everyday laptop for remote workers, commuters, and travelers who want a big, entertainment-ready screen and freakishly good battery life. It's made for all-nighters and long-haul trips. Again, try to buy it on sale, when it's at its peak value.

Most of the black holes that make headlines are absolute space monsters.

They outweigh millions — or even billions — of suns, anchor entire galaxies, and reveal themselves by blasting out powerful jets or guzzling huge amounts of gas.

This one is different.

Astronomers say they've found a tiny black hole — just 4.5 times the mass of the sun — hidden inside Omega Centauri, a crowded cluster of millions of stars about 18,000 light-years away from Earth. 

The discovery, using observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble, doesn't merely add another black hole to the census. It's a demonstration of just how precise modern astronomy has become.

The black hole, dubbed oMEGACat BH-2, isn't in the middle of a feast. It isn't glowing or flashing. 

"The precision of these measurements is incredible, down to a fraction of a pixel on Hubble and Webb's detectors," said Matthew Whitaker, a University of Utah researcher who led the study, in a statement. "It would not have been possible to find this black hole without these two space telescopes."

SEE ALSO: Watch China catch its first rocket booster — in a net

Black holes like Sagittarius A*, the supermassive vortex defining the center of the Milky Way, are thought to lurk at the core of virtually all galaxies. Prior Hubble observations have bolstered the theory that these behemoths get their start in the dusty cores of starburst galaxies.

Only recently have scientists succeeded in photographing the gargantuan, along with another supermassive black hole known as M87*. The radio images reveal the invisible objects in silhouette: What we see in the pictures are the rings of bright gas and debris surrounding them; the "holes" in the center are the objects' shadows. 

But the most ubiquitous black holes, like the one just discovered, are not supermassive. They're known as stellar black holes, the aftermath of enormous stars dying in supernovas. During those explosions, a star's material collapses onto itself, getting crushed into a compact area. 

How scientists spotted oMEGACat BH-2 from 18,000 light-years away was not by a ring of light outlining it. They instead inferred the invisible object by sifting through 23 years of archival data and tracking one ordinary star's almost imperceptible wiggle. The star, about three-quarters the mass of the sun, has orbited the black hole from a great distance, taking nearly a century to make a loop. 

The only explanation that fit was that a stellar black hole's gravity was tugging on it, the authors said. The results are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 

This is the first time a black hole of such a small scale has been found using that technique, known as astrometry, according to NASA. Other past attempts involving other methods have been unsuccessful. 

Some scientists have long suspected many more black holes are hiding in Omega Centauri, but they have been difficult to detect. Computer models have estimated this star cluster should contain roughly 10,000 of them.   

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Whether it actually does remains unclear. Other simulations have predicted that rather than holding onto generations of black holes over billions of years, the congested environment of a globular cluster leads to little black holes getting kicked out into the galactic void. 

Now astronomers want to know whether finding a tiny black hole in a globular cluster is the exception or the rule. If it's the latter, do these dark objects have a meaningful impact on what's happening inside clusters? 

The black hole also carries a surprise: oMEGACat BH-2 is not as heavy as computer models predicted, based on how ancient the stars are in the cluster. 

Early stars, formed before the prevalence of much heavier elements in the universe, are thought to produce heavier stellar black holes. Though that might seem counterintuitive, the idea is that stars made from lighter elements retain more of their material over their life, leaving behind more mass to collapse into a black hole when they eventually die. 

"We now know that a metal-poor star is able to form a black hole like this," said Anil Seth, a coauthor of the paper, also based at the University of Utah, "and we need to figure out how that happens."

TL;DR: Send unlimited files of any size and track what happens after delivery with Transfr Pro for $29.97 (reg. $179).

Opens in a new window Credit: Drime Transfr Pro Fast & Secure File Transfer Subscriptions $29.97
$179 Save $149.03   Get Deal

Large video files, photo collections, and design projects are not built to send as an email attachment. Transfr Pro gives freelancers, creatives, agencies, and teams a browser-based way to send unlimited files of any size, with extra tools for tracking and presenting them professionally. You can get a 1-year subscription of TransfrPro at its best-of-web price of $29.97 (reg. $179) through July 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Transfr Pro uses global infrastructure to handle large media files, documents, creative projects, and other big uploads without restrictive transfer-size limits. Shared files can remain stored for up to 60 days, and recipients can preview documents, images, and videos before downloading them.

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This software also gives senders deeper insight into what happens after a transfer. Send & Track analytics show views, downloads, visitor locations, and transfer activity in real time. For someone sending work to a client or collaborating with a team, those details can make it easier to confirm delivery and keep tabs on shared files.

Custom branding and professional transfer pages help client deliverables look a more polished than a generic download link. An address book also stores frequently used contacts, which can save time if you regularly send files to the same people.

Security is built into the platform with end-to-end encryption and GDPR-compliant European infrastructure from the team behind cloud storage platform, Drime. Everything runs in a modern web browser, so you don’t have to install desktop software.

Transfr Pro is useful for those who regularly send videos, design assets, or other files that are too large for ordinary sharing methods. If you need more room to send them, the Transfr Pro subscription is price-dropped to for $29.97 (reg. $179) through July 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.