Mashable

NBA superstar LeBron James has become one of the first major celebrities to push back against the unauthorized use of his likeness in AI-generated content. James' legal team recently issued a cease-and-desist letter to FlickUp, the company behind the AI image-generation tool Interlink AI.

According to a report from 404 Media, FlickUp disclosed the legal action to members of its Discord community in late June. The Interlink AI tool, hosted on the server, allowed users to create AI-generated videos of high-profile NBA players, including James, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokić, and others. While many of the videos were harmless, some crossed the line into disturbing territory, like a prominent image of the Los Angeles Laker embracing his pregnant belly.

SEE ALSO: AI actors and deepfakes aren't coming to YouTube ads. They're already here.

One of the most widely viewed videos created with Interlink AI depicted an AI-generated Sean "Diddy" Combs sexually assaulting Curry in a prison setting, while James appears standing passively in the background. That video alone reportedly amassed over 6.2 million views on Instagram.

404 Media confirmed with FlickUp founder Jason Stacks that James' legal team was behind the cease-and-desist letter. Within 30 minutes of receiving it, Stacks said he decided to "remove all realistic people from Interlink AI’s software." Stacks also posted a video addressing the situation, captioned simply: "I’m so f**ked."

LeBron James is among a growing list of celebrities whose likenesses have been used without consent in disturbing AI-generated content. Pop star Taylor Swift has been repeatedly targeted with deepfake pornography, while Scarlett Johansson and Steve Harvey have both publicly condemned the misuse of their images and voiced support for legislation to curb it. However, James stands out as one of the first to take formal legal action against a company enabling this type of content through its AI tools.

Several bills are currently making their way through Congress to address the rise of nonconsensual AI-generated content. The recently passed Take It Down Act criminalizes the publication or threat to publish intimate imagery without consent, including deepfakes and AI-generated pornography. Two additional proposals — the NO FAKES Act of 2025 and the Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act of 2025 — have also been introduced.

The NO FAKES Act focuses on preventing unauthorized AI replication of a person’s voice, while the latter seeks to safeguard original works and enforce transparency around AI-generated media.

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

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

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

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

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Saturday, July 26, 2025:

AcrossDe bugs?

• The answer is Insects.

Make funnier, as jokes

• The answer is Punch up.

"Life is like a box of chocolates," for example

• The answer is Analogy.

Dot on a domino

• The answer is Pip.

In an upbeat mood

• The answer is Chipper.

Important topic in sex education

• The answer is Consent.

Leaves the Union

• The answer is Secedes.

DownHoppy order at a happy hour

• The answer is IPA.

Convent member

• The answer is Nun.

Tech company with a bright yellow color scheme and ghost logo

• The answer is Snap Inc.

Sun block?

• The answer is Eclipse.

Like many ingredients in a Cobb salad

• The answer is Chopped.

Pull sharply

• The answer is Tug.

One with a secret identity

• The answer is Spy.

Syringe amts.

• The answer is CCs.

Garden tool with a long handle

• The answer is Hoe.

Opposite of WSW

• The answer is Ene.

Certain football linemen: Abbr.

• The answer is RTs.

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

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

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

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

Apple's big new design language is almost here, and it's coming to all of Apple's major operating systems in the fall with the official launch of iOS 26. Liquid Glass is what Apple calls its newest design philosophy, and it promises to bring major changes to how all of its operating systems look and feel. That includes iOS, its most important operating system.

Indeed, Liquid Glass does bring somewhat of a major change to iOS 26, or what we would have called iOS 18 (Apple is switching iOS numbers to years, and iOS 26 will release in the fall). I've been using the developer beta of iOS 26 for some weeks now, but now that the public iOS 26 beta is open, I can finally share my thoughts.

The short version? Liquid Glass may not bring quite as big of a shift to iOS as Apple might have you believe, but that’s probably not a bad thing. And while I'm focusing on Liquid Glass, there are a ton more iOS 26 features to check out.

As always, remember that the iOS 26 beta is... a beta. So, back up your phone before making the switch. And as Apple says in its Beta Program FAQ, "Beta software may contain errors or inaccuracies and may not function as well as commercially released software. We encourage you to submit feedback when you encounter these issues.

The basics of Liquid Glass on iOS 26

The idea of Apple Liquid Glass is simple. Instead of a flat, minimalistic approach to software design, Apple is embracing layers. Software interface elements have always been stacked on top of each other, whether you could see that or not. With Liquid Glass, those layers come into focus. You can see what's behind things like buttons and controls, thanks to glass-like elements that are designed to look like real glass. These transparent touches also bend and refract light.

To be clear, this isn't necessarily a totally new approach for Apple. The company has always played with transparency a little — but with Liquid Glass, transparency is more involved than ever.

Credit: Christian de Looper / Apple

So, where do these glass-like elements show up? Well, pretty much everywhere.  Most of Apple's stock apps have had controls at the bottom of the screen. For example, in the Music app, you'll get controls for searching, accessing your library, and controlling currently playing media. In the News app, you get controls for today's news, sports news, and a search tool. With Liquid Glass, all of these controls are condensed into a pill-like shape that minimizes as you scroll to maximize what you can see on the screen.

The glass approach means that whether the controls are in full focus or minimized, what's behind them kind of bends and refracts like it would if real glass was placed on top of the screen. It's a cool, futuristic effect, and it certainly looks pretty natural in my initial testing.

There are other places that Liquid Glass shows up too. Perhaps the best example is the Control Center, which now shows your home screen behind all of the controls when you swipe down. This is true on all of Apple’s operating systems — though of course, the controls are different on iOS than they are on MacOS (and now MacOS Tahoe).

Credit: Christian de Looper / Apple

When the iOS 26 developer betas first started rolling out, not everyone liked the Liquid Glass-ified Control Center. There were issues with being able to see controls on the screen, depending on what was behind them. Apple fixed a lot of those issues ahead of the public iOS 26 beta, and it's now easier to see what's on the screen. Still, there are other places where I found some display issues. An example are app and app folder labels — if you have a particularly bright and busy wallpaper, these labels can get a little hard to read.

Fortunately, a big theme with iOS 26 is personalization, so if you want to reduce the transparency even more than Apple already has, you can do so in the Accessibility section of the Settings app.

Honestly, I quite like the visual aspect of Liquid Glass. I like the idea of returning to a more skeuomorphic design approach, and that doesn't necessarily mean that Apple should make the Notes app look like a notepad. It can instead mean that objects on the screen look like some kind of physical object, whether it be glass or something else. And Apple has done a good job at making Liquid Glass feel smooth and futuristic for this beta. It really does translate pretty well when you're scrolling.

A streamlined interface

The new aesthetic is about more than transparency. The approach is based around showing as much on the screen as you possibly can, and sometimes that means taking away controls, or at least streamlining them when they're not being used.

Credit: Christian de Looper / Apple

As you're scrolling, many of the controls in apps like News, Messages, and Music minimize into one icon that you can tap. I almost never have to actually tap on these icons, so I really don't mind that they're now tucked away.

I felt the streamlining went too far in other places. In the Camera app, for example, when you first open the app, you'll now only have two options: photo or video. In reality, there are other options that you can swipe through, they’re just hidden by default.  It is true that most users probably don't swipe between all these different modes anyway, and simply having photo and video modes makes things a lot simpler. But if you do use those extra modes, you'll have to remember that they're still available to you, and without any visual cues, you might forget.

Credit: Christian de Looper / Apple

I'm also hoping Apple keeps tweaking the appearance of the Messages app. Instead of a header with your contact’s profile picture and name, the back button, and the FaceTime button, there are floating bubbles at the top of the screen. Depending on what’s behind those floating bubbles, you’ll either see straight through to the messages behind, or the interface will kind of fade so that you can see the controls.

This might be a me problem, but as a journalist, I take a lot of screenshots. Apple, if you're listening, I don't like the extra clicks it takes to save a screenshot.

Credit: Christian de Looper / Apple You can customize Liquid Glass

If you ever feel like there's too much glass in your Liquid Glass, you can change that. In addition to reducing the transparency, you can also customize app icons. And while the ultra-clear look got a lot of attention after WWDC, you don't have to use Liquid Glass icons, and they're not enabled by default. I think that's a smart approach. Change is scary, and this makes it easier on users who aren't ready for the ultra clear, full Liquid Glass experience.

Credit: Christian de Looper / Apple

I think Liquid Glass is an interesting design evolution for Apple, and as mentioned, I like the idea of Apple moving towards software design that looks like real-life physical objects again. For now, you have to go into the Accessibility menu to tweak the visuals to your liking, but I expect Apple will iron out a lot of issues before the official iOS 26 launch. That's the whole point of a beta, after all.

If you're interested in trying Liquid Glass for yourself on iOS, macOS Tahoe, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS, you can sign up for the Apple Beta program.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 is a story of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. The blue part is easy — my review sample, provided by Samsung, is the Blue Shadow colorway. The highlight of the phone is definitely the "something new." Samsung massively updated its pocket-sized foldable phone with a huge cover screen. At 4.1 inches, it's the largest external display on a flip-style phone to date.

"Something borrowed" comes in the form of the Exynos processor that lives inside the phone. Past versions of Galaxy Z Flips in international markets have been powered by Exynos silicon in the past, but U.S. phones have typically had Snapdragon hardware from Qualcomm, which we strongly prefer. The "borrowed label" is my hope that Samsung will go back to Snapdragon hardware in the future — more on that later.

Finally, "Something old" — one of my biggest frustrations with the phone, which is a little bit better this year (but honestly not that much better than the Galaxy Z Flip6). It has to do with the way apps appear on the external display (what Samsung calls the Cover Screen) and Samsung's refusal to treat that beautiful canvas like a proper screen. It's a little maddening, though it didn't stop me from having fun with the phone.

Shortly after Samsung unveiled the Z Flip 7 (and its incredibly thin older sibling, the excellent Galaxy Z Fold 7) this July, I hit the road to sunny (and devastatingly hot) St. Louis, home of the Gateway Arch, Six Flags, and Meremec caverns. Over the course of five days, I put this "AI Flip Phone" through the ringer for my Galaxy Z Flip 7 review.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 (256GB, Unlocked) $1,099.99 at Amazon
Get Deal The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the Flex you think it is

Before I dive into the hardware, I need to discuss the highlight. Samsung — finally — responded to market pressure in the U.S. (and abroad) by bringing a large Cover Screen display to its flip phone, and thank goodness. The previous two generations also had larger screens, but they had odd notches in them to accommodate the camera modules, while everyone else was just cutting the display around the cameras.

One of the first things you should do when you get this phone is enable apps to run on this display. The problem is, it takes 13 steps to do it, and unless you're a geek (which, admittedly, if you're reading this review, you might be), most people won't bother. That's fair, but you'll be going into this fight with one hand tied behind your back.

The Z Flip 7 has a larger external display with ultra-thin bezels. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

The 4.1-inch AMOLED screen is large, gorgeous, and should absolutely be used to the fullest. Like the main display, it has 2,600 nits of peak brightness and a 120 Hz refresh rate. Not all apps can handle the Cover Screen (confusingly, Samsung also refers to this screen as the Flex display and/or FlexWindow), but many of them will. The good news: once you do those 13 steps, you're done fiddling with settings. You can simply add the apps that you want. The bad news: Samsung doesn't really want you to do it at all. You might be wondering what I mean by that.

A hobbled experience

If Samsung wanted you to run apps on your home screen, it wouldn't require you to go into the Labs section of your settings and install a separate app from the Galaxy store to do it. It wouldn't force you to use the Samsung keyboard on the Flex display, with its lack of voice typing, regardless of which keyboard is your default keyboard (Gboard FTW). Plus, if I had to see "open your phone to continue" one more time, I was ready to throw the phone out the window while riding in a car through central Illinois.

Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

Everything from adding apps to the launcher to setting up widgets, to reordering widgets, all has to be done with the phone open, for some reason. It makes me sad.

Once you work around those picadillos and get down to business, the cover screen itself is lovely. Most apps work well on there, including Gemini and Gemini Live, which is a fun way to work with Google's AI. The display also goes right up to the edge of the phone.

The rest of the hardware

Samsung built a really solid phone here, and it's great to use. The casing is armor aluminum, and the hinge has been redesigned this year, slimming down the phone just a bit. The hardware is more squared off than Motorola's Razr, which can make one-handed opening a little harder. But it's tight and functional. When you close the phone, you will do so with one of the most satisfying "Thwaps" you've ever heard. Speaking of which, it makes hanging up on people way more satisfying than it already was. 

While using the phone, you won't notice the hinge on the main display. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

The buttons on the side of the phone aren't raised by much, which can make it hard to locate them without looking. I often missed the fingerprint sensor in the power button because I had trouble finding it. But the rest of the hardware is absolutely solid. The 6.9-inch AMOLED main screen is also larger than previous generations at 6.9 inches. The screen has the same teardrop shape closing that minimizes the crease, which you can see but won't care about.

The phone is powered by a 4,300 mAh battery that's just 100 mAh smaller than its larger sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. As such, it can easily last all day, especially if you perform most tasks on the cover screen. I noticed the phone tended to run hot, but only when I was already outside baking in a water park or at the St. Louis Zoo, so I suspect the weather was just as likely at fault as the phone itself.

The software on the inside

Having talked about the software on the cover screen, the software when open is… basically the same as any other Samsung phone. OneUI 8.0 is built onto Android 16, making these phones the first to ship with Android's latest operating system. That's no surprise — Google and Samsung have been joined at the hip for a while now. OneUI 7 was a divisive operating system because a lot of Samsung users liked how their phones worked before it rolled out (my wife among them).

Personally, I loved OneUI 7.0 because it brought back the vertical scrolling app drawer and the Pill, which apes Apple's Dynamic Island in a lot of great ways. OneUI 8 adds all those benefits and takes things a step further, bringing 90:10 multitasking to the phones. What that means is you can run two apps, one on top and one underneath, but you can move the separator so you only see 10 percent of one of the apps. Tap that 10 percent and the app pops up to become the 90 percent, and vice versa. It works better on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but it's also quite nice on the Flip 7. 

Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

When you half-fold the Flip, you activate Flex Mode, which lets you make the most of the foldable design. In Flex Mode, the app lives in the top half of the screen, and the bottom half becomes a sort of control panel in supported apps. In YouTube, for example, the bottom half gets a play bar and play controls, which is pretty neat.

I also love that Dex is available on the Flip7. Samsung Dex basically turns your phone into a CPU when you connect a monitor, mouse, and keyboard to it. It gives you a windows interface similar to Windows. I spent some time with Dex on my trip to St Louis, but most of the time I'm using Dex is on long-haul flights, getting some work done with a set of Xreal One glasses. Now that is a rollicking good time and I'm happy Samsung's smaller foldable has that capability.

We have to talk about the AI Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

The Flip 7 has a lot of the same AI tricks as other Samsung phones, including camera tricks and AI photo editing, such as moving subjects around or using generative AI to fill in the background. Two notable improvements include Gemini on the Flex screen, including Gemini Live. That's a nice bonus. Gemini Live also works with the external camera (when the phone is open, to be clear) to become multimodal. At the St. Louis Zoo, I could point the camera at an animal and ask what I was looking at, and in every case, it was correct, which was surprising, to be perfectly honest.

What was a little annoying was how chatty Gemini Live would get. "That's an Asian Elephant! You can tell by the size of the ears. Would you like to know more about the Asian elephant? Do you have any questions about it? Please for the love of all things holy talk to me!" That's not an exact quote, but you get the point.

The other AI features, like Samsung's Now bar, also appear on the Flex screen, even if the Now Brief is still less than good. It still returns news stories that aren't relevant to me. It kept me up to date with the weather even as I traveled, so that was nice, but I still don't have much use for it.

Battery life and performance

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 comes with an Exynos 2500 processor built on a 3nm process, similar to flagship processors from Qualcomm and Mediatek. This is Samsung's homegrown silicon. What's odd this year is that all Flip 7s will be sporting the Exynos processor. In the past, Z Flip phones sold overseas had Exynos while the U.S. versions had Snapdragon processors. Because of this, we know that Snapdragon usually outperforms Exynos. This year, we can't make that comparison, but it's fair to say history is not on Samsung's side.

Geekbench is a benchmark tool you can use to get an idea of how a processor performs. Geekbench returns scores of 2,354/7,340 single/multi-core scores on the Flip 7. For context, the Snapdragon 8 Elite in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 returns a 2,430/8,823 score, so it doesn't exactly blow it out of the water. Day to day, the only real stutters I noted were in the camera software occasionally, and sometimes when running multiple windows in Dex. They were minor hiccups, but still noteworthy.

Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

As for battery life, despite spending all day, most days out and about, away from Wi-Fi and in hot temperatures besides, the phone never died before bedtime. I wouldn't call this a multi-day phone, but it's very not bad, and you'll get a lot more mileage out of it if you use the cover screen as often as possible.

Cameras are as good as your lighting

There are three cameras on this phone, but you'll only really ever need to use two of them.

• 50MP main camera with 2x zoom

• 10MP main screen camera

• 12MP ultra-wide camera

To be honest, I didn't find much use for the 10MP selfie camera.

One of the key benefits to using a flip-style foldable phone is the ability to turn the Cover Screen into a preview window for taking selfies. The hinge is very rigid, so you can even use the phone as its own tripod and use gesture controls to take photos and videos. I took a bunch of fun selfies at the St. Louis Arch, Meremec caverns, and all points in between using that flex hinge, and I got some great shots. You can also hold the camera half open at a 90-degree angle for a camcorder grip if you're nostalgic (a feature you'll also find in the Motorola Razr Ultra). 

Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

The results you get will be highly dependent on your lighting conditions. For example, at Six Flags during the day, my shots were brilliant. Meremec Caverns and the St. Louis aquarium were both a bit hit or miss. I would recommend that if you're in low-light conditions, take a lot of shots (to increase your odds of getting a good one) and make sure your subjects are as still as possible. Photos of stalactites are going to be very good. Photos of the people standing in front of them, not so much.

The camera software offers shots of up to 10x, but you will never want to go that high. In my experience, the 4x zoom is usable; at 10x you lose all depth and texture. The shots might be OK for social media, but in general, you'll want to avoid those. As often as not, they're not good.

Left: Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Left: Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

I also saw a surprising amount of grain in a lot of my lower-light shots. Samsung is usually pretty good at cleaning those things up in low light, but even some of the daytime shots, particularly ultrawide and macroshots, ended up grainy in darker areas.

Shooting video is much the same, though less forgiving. Low-light video is not terrible with the main camera, but don't move or walk while shooting. The judder gets pretty bad when you start walking. Good shots are possible in the dark, but that's more the exception than the rule.

Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

Overall, this is a pretty good camera setup that does very well in the day, and even when the sun is starting to go down. Find yourself in a cave — as one does — and your results will fall into the range of "mixed bag" down to "dumpster fire."

So, is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 worth it?

Flip phones are really fun. I love using them, especially when taking selfies with the main camera. You can do that with the Fold 7, but holding that phone open is awkward. Holding a tiny little pocket square in your hand is so much easier and a much better experience. For $1,099, I think you will like this phone, too. Plus, it's cheaper than its primary competition, the Motorola Razr Ultra, which has a comparable camera and a higher price tag.

There are some corners cut here. The Exynos processor is not bad (Motorola's flagship foldable has a Snapdragon processor), but not the best you can buy. I can't hate on Samsung's cover screen software too much because it's a curated experience that Samsung wants you to have, and it really only makes me sad because I'm a nerd. The cameras are very good for this category, though it wouldn't hurt Samsung to take some notes from overseas competitors.

So, should you buy the Z Flip 7? Again, if you're a fan of the form factor, this is the most compelling foldable on offer here in the United States. If you're already looking at something like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, this one folds in half for only $100 more. I like what Samsung has finally done here, catching up to its contemporaries and restarting a competition war in which the consumer will ultimately win.

Where to buy the Galaxy Z Flip 7

You can buy the Z Flip 7 at Samsung, Amazon, and Best Buy (or just about any place that sells phones) for $1,099.99. The base version only comes with 256GB of storage, but if you pick up this phone at Amazon, you can get a $200 gift card at no extra cost, which is hard to argue with.

At Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung also debuted a mid-range version of the F Flip 7, following Motorola's lead. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE offers most of the same features for $899.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 (256GB, Unlocked) + $200 Amazon Gift Card $1,099.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $200 Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 (256GB, Unlocked) $1,099.99 at Samsung
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It’s been a long eight years.

Since the Nintendo Switch launched in early 2017, we’ve collectively experienced the worst pandemic in a century. Presidents have come, gone, and come back again. In our personal lives, we've all experienced a tremendous amount of growth and change, whether we realize it or not. And through it all, we had the Switch, arguably the best Nintendo console ever made, and one of the best game consoles of all time. 

So, how do you follow that up? It turns out the answer is “make it again, but better.” The Nintendo Switch 2 launched on June 5, and it's already my new favorite Nintendo console, purely from a hardware perspective. The new console/handheld hybrid is a souped-up sequel with added horsepower to make games look and perform better than ever. But that’s only part of what makes it great. 

Put simply, the Switch 2 is full of so many thoughtful little considerations that I’ve frequently found myself amazed at how often it just works. For much of its recent history, Nintendo hardware has been an active impediment to enjoying Nintendo software because basic things like “playing video games on the internet with your friends” were often maddeningly arcane. That’s not the case anymore…for the most part.

While there are definitely quirks with the setup process, the new virtual game cards, and the $450 price tag (not counting games and peripherals), I’m confident these problems will soften in time. I believe that eight years from now, we’ll probably talk about the Switch 2 the same way we talk about its predecessor.

Update: I've decided to come back and update this review after spending almost two months with the console. The short version: while there are a couple of problems that have reared their heads since my original review, I'm still loving the Switch 2. Crucially, the Switch 2 has also become easier to find in stock online.

Nintendo Switch 2 review: The basics Birdo is the coolest. Credit: Nintendo

To start, I want to get something out of the way: I will not be analyzing the Switch 2’s lineup of launch games in this hands-on review. The way I feel about the launch titles now will be irrelevant in a month or two. I will say that Mario Kart World is a ton of fun, but if that’s not enough for you, you can wait a bit to get a Switch 2. That is all I will say on the matter.

Anyway, in case you’ve been living an ascetic off-the-grid existence for the last six months, the Switch 2 is a lot like the Switch 1. It’s a handheld game console with detachable controllers that can be placed into a dock, which then outputs the image to a television. It’s mostly compatible with Switch 1 games, and a decent number of them are actually better on Switch 2 thanks to paid upgrade packs, free patches, or, most surprisingly, the fact that the hardware inside the Switch 2 makes games better by itself, in some cases. 

In other words, if you’ve been a Switch devotee for the past several years, you can pick up right where you left off without even buying any new games. That’s rad, but it’s also just following the precedent set by the PS5 and Xbox Series X five years ago, so I don’t want to give Nintendo too much praise for this. This is the bare minimum we should expect from new gaming consoles.

Before I get into discussing each granular part of Switch 2, I’d like to say it feels great in the hands. I personally like that it’s bigger than the first Switch, which eventually started to feel a bit like a child’s toy after I got used to the Steam Deck. Nintendo made the vital decision to maintain the exact same level of thinness as the first Switch, so while it has a larger surface area, it’s not anywhere near as bulky as handheld gaming PC alternatives. At 1.18 pounds, it’s noticeably heavier than the first Switch, but I wouldn’t call it burdensome to hold at all. It just feels more substantial, which I like.

The display looks good, but not OLED good The display will be disappointing to some, but it's not terrible by any means. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

For some, the Switch never plugged into a TV at all. For others (like myself), it never left the dock. I largely fell out of love with handheld gaming as a teenager, as that was around the time TVs started to get really big and swanky. It didn’t help that I lived in a place with no public transit at the time, either. There just wasn’t much room for it in my life anymore. The Switch 2 display is changing that equation for me.

• 1080p resolution

• 120Hz refresh rate

• HDR support

• LCD panel

• 7.9 inches

For comparison's sake, this display is about an inch bigger than the first Switch’s LCD display, which also had no HDR support, topped out at 720p, and didn’t go beyond 60Hz. 

You may have noticed I didn’t say “OLED.” This is likely going to be one of the first sources of disappointment for people, especially those with a Switch OLED or Steam Deck OLED. While the Switch 2’s LCD is good, it definitely lacks the wider color range and more defined whites and blacks that an OLED offers. Games simply don’t look as vibrant as they could on the Switch 2’s display, especially if you frequently go between playing on a nice TV and playing in handheld mode. 

Brightness, too, is just OK. To be clear, the positives outweigh the negatives here; it’s still a better display in terms of resolution and refresh rate than any Steam Deck model. Having a 120Hz panel is especially vital because it enables developers to include 40Hz performance modes in their games, which is a way to compromise between visual fidelity and smoothness in more demanding AAA blockbuster titles. Switch 2 games such as Cyberpunk 2077 make especially good use of this feature in handheld play.

Still, I wouldn’t blame anyone who wanted to wait for the inevitable OLED model in a year or two. Especially because, now that the system is out in the wild and in the hands of millions, lots of people have noted that the console's display simply isn't bright enough to offer a real HDR experience like it is supposed to.

The controllers are a big upgrade Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Just like the Switch 1, there are multiple control options with Switch 2. 

The new Joy-Con 2 controllers attach and detach from the display using magnets, rather than a sliding rail mechanism, which is infinitely more satisfying. It’s also more secure thanks to a clever release lever you have to pull to detach each Joy-Con. The previous console’s Joy-Cons had a distinct little wiggle to them, even when attached, but the new ones feel locked in. 

As I said in my day one Switch 2 review, attaching and detaching the new magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers feels so good the first time you do it. Trust me.

The Switch 2 Joy Cons are also bigger, which is nice for people like me who have adult-sized hands. Admittedly, in handheld play, I still get a bit uncomfortable during long sessions. You don’t get much of a grip on either side by default, so I specifically felt my right hand cramp up to a small extent while playing in bed. I’ve heard other people complain about how the Joy-Cons feel when placed into the little grip accessory that turns them into more of a regular game controller, though I actually find that more comfortable than using them in handheld mode.

The new Pro Controller is great. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Minor cramping issues aside (I was able to alleviate a good deal of it by just adjusting my bodily position), the buttons are more satisfying to press, and the new analog sticks are notably more responsive. They’re very smooth in a way that’s hard to articulate without just telling you to try them. We will have to wait and see if stick drift becomes an issue over time. 

Like a lot of people, I have always preferred the Pro Controller, and the new Switch 2 Pro Controller is…basically the same as the first one. That’s not a bad thing! It’s a little more dense and heavy, presumably due to improved internal mechanisms, but that’s fine. Buttons and analog sticks feel great across the board on the Pro Controller, and it brings back gyro controls for games that benefit from those, so you aren’t missing out on anything by using it. I highly recommend picking one of these up, if you can.

Well, with one caveat: The new Pro Controller is apparently a disaster for self-repair aficionados. The repair experts at iFixit said as much in a scathing teardown video made a few weeks after launch; the short version is that it's an $85 controller that's almost guaranteed to break after enough use, and the best recourse at that point will just be to buy another one because you can't easily repair it yourself.

Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller $84 at Amazon
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Going back to my earlier point about how much of the Switch 2 “just works,” this can first be seen with controllers. You can actually pair your Switch 1 Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers with a Switch 2. According to Reddit, you can even use a Switch 1 Joy-Con and a Switch 2 Joy-Con together as a pair. You don’t really have to jump through any weird hoops to make any of this happen, either. I went to a friend’s place for a Mario Kart night, and using a Switch 1 Pro Controller worked seamlessly. It’s great that your old accessories aren’t immediately useless on the new console.

The dock The dock isn't a looker, but it doesn't need to be. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

There isn’t a ton to say about the Switch 2’s dock because, like before, it’s meant to sit underneath or next to a TV, where ideally you’ll barely ever think about it. It’s more bulky than its predecessor thanks to some additional processing power and more fans inside of it, but it’s still smaller than your average game console by a wide margin.

Unlike the original Switch dock (and like the Switch OLED dock), there’s an included Ethernet port now. Hell yes. I wired it up to my router right away and would have liked to have kept it that way forever. Unfortunately, just a few weeks after launch, my Switch 2's Ethernet port mysteriously stopped working. This has happened to some other people online, so it's not just a fluke on my end.

The software

From a system-level software standpoint, the Switch 2 is a lot like the Switch 1. The main menu looks more or less identical, save for some new icons on the bottom row. There are still only two themes, a light one and a dark one. Aside from a couple of amusing little sound effects here and there, it’s very sterile and lacks the pizzazz of previous Nintendo console operating systems. 

There’s definitely a part of me that resents this. The UI is quick and snappy, yes, but it’s possible to marry efficiency of use with fun aesthetics. Even some fun themes would help a lot, but alas, they aren’t here. 

I don’t want to paper over the “quick and snappy” part, though, especially as it relates to the new eShop. Nintendo’s digital storefronts have been nightmarishly sluggish to use for basically as long as they’ve existed, across various DS consoles, the Wii, the Wii U, and the first Switch. The new eShop isn’t flashy (or even very different at all) in appearance, but my God, does it work so much better than before. You can get in, purchase a game, and get out in less than a minute. Praise be.

The social features: GameChat is a godsend

Revisiting the theme of Switch 2’s thoughtfulness and elegance, let’s talk about its online features.

Yes, I can imagine you’re a little shocked to see the words “thoughtfulness” and “elegance” anywhere near “online features” as they relate to a Nintendo console. But nothing surprised me more about the Switch 2 than GameChat. This is a voice and video chat feature you can activate by pressing the “C” button, the only new button on every Switch 2 controller. Doing so prompts you to either start a room or join an existing one being hosted by one of your friends, and up to 12 people can be in a GameChat room at once.

Of course, this is similar to what has been on offer on Xbox and PlayStation consoles for nearly two decades. Nintendo didn’t reinvent the wheel here. What it did do, however, is create a voice chat service that moves beyond pure utility and into the realm of actively being enjoyable to use. Nintendo achieved this by placing a big priority on open-room microphone use, and everything that makes GameChat great starts from there.

There’s a mic built into the Switch 2 itself that is simply remarkable at picking up human voices and filtering out everything else. It feels like magic, especially considering a docked Switch’s microphone is usually closer to your TV speaker. I tested GameChat while sitting next to a loud window air conditioner unit, and the people on the other end swear they couldn't hear it. Likewise, I’ve never heard anything other than their voices, either.

This also opens up more possibilities for group play, as several people can physically be in a room together and talk into the same microphone. That’s the kind of thing that headset-centric voice chat can't do. 

The new headphone jack on the Switch 2 console. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

That said, you can also plug a headset into your Pro Controller’s new headphone jack, too. One of the most “oh my god I can’t believe that worked” moments for me was when I connected the official wireless PlayStation headset to my Switch 2, and it worked natively, with the console even correctly labeling it as a PlayStation headset. I wasn’t shocked that the audio would output to the headset (you can also do that on a Switch 1, funnily enough), but the fact that the microphone worked without any fuss whatsoever felt miraculous to me.

And if you're a parent who's worried about young children playing GameChat, check out the new parental controls for the Switch 2.

GameChat makes social livestreaming possible Credit: Nintendo

Unbelievably, there’s way more to GameChat than merely talking to people. Up to four people in one GameChat session can actually stream their gameplay feed to everyone else, and those feeds are arranged horizontally in a row along the bottom of the screen. You can blow up someone’s feed to full-screen to watch them play or turn off any individual user’s feed if it’s distracting to you.

Yes, of course, the feed is very choppy, running at what I estimate to be about 10 frames per second. However, the picture is clear enough to see what’s going on, at least. You don’t want to stare at one of these streams for very long, but it’s actually pretty handy (and more importantly, fun) to be able to see what your friends are doing. It even works across games. Over the weekend, my friend sold me on an indie game called Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo using game streaming, while I simultaneously showed them Vectorman for the Sega Genesis. We wound up spending about half an hour chatting about whatever while occasionally checking in on each other’s feeds, and it felt like I was in a Nintendo commercial.

GameChat offers webcam support The webcam is pretty plain to look at. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

For my Switch 2 review, I tested out webcam support using the official Nintendo camera. Don’t worry if you don’t want to spend $54.99 on that, though, because it sounds like basically any old USB-C camera will work. By default, the camera will try to cut out your face/body from the background of your little GameChat window, though it had a hard time doing that cleanly in my limited testing. To be honest, I don’t see myself using this very much, but it’s nice that it’s there, especially for folks who use online gaming as a way to spend time with loved ones whose faces they don’t get to see that often. 

Opens in a new window Credit: Ninten Nintendo Switch 2 Camera $54.99 at Target
Shop Now SEE ALSO: The best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories include an irresistible Piranha Plant webcam

Beyond that, GameChat has a fairly incredible speech-to-text window that's astoundingly fast and accurate. It even labels individual speakers! My favorite part is that it doesn’t censor curse words, either. Amusingly, it also properly capitalizes many brand names, even those from competing game publishers like “The Last of Us” and “Sega Dreamcast.” 

And that still isn’t everything! There’s a new feature called GameShare that you can use to, well, share a game digitally with friends who are in a GameChat session with you. I tested this out with a rather fun futuristic racing game called Fast Fusion. All I had to do was create a room, send an invite to my friend, and they were almost instantly playing with me. Remarkably, they didn’t have to download anything beforehand. I’m guessing this is using some newfangled streaming tech because my friend noted that their feed was a little blurry. That said, the frame rate was apparently smooth and the game was perfectly responsive. It should be noted that it’s up to developers to support GameShare, and you can’t just do it with any game. However, I can at least confirm that it works amazingly well where it’s supported.

I don’t want to say something I can’t take back like “Nintendo has finally figured out the internet,” but…maybe Nintendo has finally figured out the internet? I will say this: I love GameChat.

The hidden costs and headaches 95 whole dollars for a pair of these. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

I’ve been effusively praising the Switch 2 for most of this review, but because this is still a Nintendo console at the end of the day, there are a handful of very irritating things about it. 

Most unexpected of all is pricing. I maintain that $450 for the console, while not inexpensive, is reasonable given its technical specs. It’s the accessories and other accoutrements that get out of control, partially due to President Trump’s tariff policies, according to Nintendo.

The camera is $54.99. A pair of new Joy-Cons is $94.99. A Pro Controller is $84.99. And Mario Kart World, the console’s lone flagship launch title, is $79.99, which really stings, even if someone was going to do that eventually. There are plenty of reasons why video game prices have gotten so high, but all the context in the world doesn’t matter when that charge hits your bank account.

Switch 2’s internal storage capacity of 256GB is also problematic because the only way to expand the storage is to buy a microSD Express card. That’s a relatively new kind of external storage that most regular people probably don’t know about and isn’t always super clearly labeled when you go to buy a microSD card. For context, microSD Express has substantially faster data read speeds than the regular microSD card you used in your Switch 1, which I feel the need to emphasize will not work in your Switch 2.

Opens in a new window Credit: SanDisk SanDisk microSD Express Card, 256GB $71.99 at Amazon
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If Nintendo allowed the use of normal microSD cards, the Switch 2 would be a less capable machine. Unfortunately, given that we’re probably at least a year or two away from microSD Express cards being more affordable, we’re in this awkward period where the Switch 2 is future-proofed, but not necessarily present-proofed. It doesn’t help that a few launch games, namely Cyberpunk 2077 and Hitman approach 60GB install sizes.

Speaking of digital game installs, Nintendo has introduced a new “virtual game card” system for tying digital purchases to a user’s account. If you download a game from the store, it gets “loaded” onto your console, where it will live exclusively until you delete it, load it onto a different Switch console, or virtually loan it to a friend for up to two weeks. Just so I’m being perfectly clear: If you loan a virtual game card to someone, you can’t play that game you bought until it’s returned to you. 

There's a dedicated menu for virtual game cards and it looks like this. Credit: Screenshot: Nintendo

For childless people like me, this is an arcane nuisance that’s easy enough to overlook. For anyone who lives in a multi-Switch household (and there are a lot of those), this could be a logistical nightmare for competitive siblings. I shudder to think about the inevitable fights over who gets to have the Mario Kart virtual game card for the next two weeks. Godspeed, parents.

The last (and to be honest, least) of these problems regards the initial setup process for Switch 2. Most of it is standard stuff: connect to WiFi, log into your account, set the time zone, etc. On top of that, you’ll also be given the opportunity to transfer data from a Switch 1 to your new Switch 2, which, again, is normal and fine. What’s not normal and fine is that apparently you only get one shot to do this, so if you say no out of expediency, that’s it. 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Pokémon: Scarlet and Violet players need to take note of this because those are two of the only major Switch 1 games that don’t allow for the use of cloud saves. If you don’t transfer your save data from a Switch 1, you will have to start over. I really hope Nintendo fixes this and allows for post-setup data transfers soon.

The Switch 2 battery life

Oh yeah, the Switch 2 is a handheld console, so battery life is worth examining. Nintendo rates the console's battery life at two to 6.5 hours. In all my testing, I haven’t been able to get more than three or so hours out of a full charge. We knew ahead of time that it would have a worse battery life than Switch 1, so this isn’t some huge rug-pull or anything. 

Your mileage may vary depending on the games you play. An old Switch 1 game that doesn’t make use of any advanced Switch 2 hardware features will probably get more juice out of a full charge than Cyberpunk 2077, which just annihilates the battery in an almost impressive fashion. It definitely sucks for a product to have a worse battery life than its predecessor, but in fairness, it’s not very different from any other modern gaming handheld. They’ve all sacrificed longevity for power.

The verdict: I can't stop playing my Switch 2 The whole shebang. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

I’m going to keep this short because I just spent more than 3,500 words explaining my thoughts: The Nintendo Switch 2 is great. This is a fabulous console/handheld hybrid with hugely improved system software, much beefier horsepower for playing games, and a more premium form factor that doesn’t succumb to the same bulk as its handheld PC counterparts. 

Sure, the Switch 2 isn’t without some hangups. Pricing will continue to be a topic of conversation. I’m also nervous about future price hikes, in light of Xbox recently doing that in the middle of a console generation. The virtual game card system also feels like it will create more problems than it solves, and Switch 2 owners are going to have to get stingy with storage space until microSD Express cards become cheaper.

But all of that is lessened in my mind because I know Nintendo’s first-party games for the new Switch console will largely be excellent, and its capacity for third-party support is greatly expanded. Switch 2’s online social features could also be legitimately game-changing for Nintendo, a company that is finally willing to acknowledge that not everyone can or wants to play multiplayer games locally.

At any rate, I think the next seven or eight years of Nintendo will be just fine.

Nintendo Switch 2 $449.99 at Best Buy
Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle $499 at Walmart
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Updated on July 26: Our original Nintendo Switch 2 review was published on June 13. We've since updated the review after spending more time with the console.

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition (Gen 10) has arrived, and man, it’s a stunner. My daily driver laptop is the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 (Gen 7), so I already guessed I’d love a lot about this laptop. What I wasn’t expecting was to be absolutely flabbergasted by this laptop’s jaw-dropping battery life, despite boasting many of the same great features as its predecessor.

The Yoga 9i Aura Edition’s most striking features include a bright, colorful OLED display, an incredibly responsive, springy keyboard, and its beautiful, sleek cosmic blue chassis that stands out in a world full of gray and black laptops. It does have a slightly less powerful processor than its Gen 9 predecessor, but it still performs just as well and delivers over three times the battery life.

The days of Windows laptops offering laughable battery life as MacBooks reign supreme might be over. Yes, this laptop does have a few downsides, but when its battery lasts nearly 24 hours, who’s complaining about a couple of minor faults?

SEE ALSO: Best Windows laptops for 2025: Our top pick lasts longer than the M4 MacBook Pros Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition price and specs  This is a premium laptop. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition comes with a relatively high price tag, but in exchange, you get a laptop with premium features, excellent battery life, and well-rounded performance. Our review unit costs $1,749 and comes with the following specs: 

• Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU

• Integrated Intel Arc graphics

• 32GB of RAM

• 1TB of SSD storage

• 14-inch, 2880 x 1800-pixel, 120Hz, OLED display

The 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage that come with the configuration above allow for seamless tab-hoarding, multitasking, and file organizing. However, you can drop the price to a little under $1,500 via Lenovo’s website, where this laptop starts with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage and frequently gets discounted.

It’s a sleek and portable fingerprint magnet

Lenovo’s Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a travel-friendly laptop with convertible convenience. At just 2.9 pounds and 12.4 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches, it’s barely noticeable in a backpack, and the easy form factor flip between traditional laptop and tablet can’t be beat when you’re on the move.

The all-aluminum chassis is cool to the touch and pleasant to look at, but it does attract fingerprints easily, and this isn’t something the Yoga 9i used to do. I dragged my fingers across my Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Gen 7 daily driver, and my fingerprints disappeared almost instantly. Repeating this on this Gen 10 Yoga 9i results in streaky fingerprints that stay until they’re wiped away.

SEE ALSO: Laptop specs explained: A jargon-free guide to what's inside your computer

Our review unit is in the cosmic blue colorway, but there’s also a luna gray color option available, which is the colorway I chose for my Gen 7 daily driver. This difference in colorways could explain the difference in noticeable fingerprint smudges.

Other than it being prone to collecting unwanted fingerprints, the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a well-constructed, attractive laptop. The top lid sticks out slightly where the webcam is, making it easier to open the laptop, and the mirrored edges on the bottom are a unique design element. Perhaps most importantly, the hinges are sturdy (without being too strong) when flipping between laptop, tent, and tablet modes.

A gorgeous display that’s surprisingly efficient It's a smooth transition between laptop, tent, and tablet modes. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition features a 14-inch, 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED touch display with a smooth refresh rate of 120Hz, and it’s perhaps my favorite thing about this laptop.

This laptop’s OLED panel helps colors appear immensely vibrant without being oversaturated and blacks appear rich and deep. Then, 2.8K resolution is a step above the 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution found on many laptops, yet not as battery-draining as 4K. You can opt for a 4K display with this laptop instead, but you’ll have to downgrade to 60Hz as well.

With 500 nits max brightness (1,100 nits HDR), the display was sufficiently bright, even at only 50 percent brightness in the middle of the day. The display is glossy, so it’s quite reflective, but I didn’t run into any annoying issues while using it, even in direct sunlight.

Whether I was catching up on Bridgerton, organizing my weekly tasks in Trello, or streaming lo-fi music on YouTube while working, the colors popped off the screen and made my overall laptop experience better and brighter.

Although I didn’t use the touchscreen a lot to prevent greasy fingerprints from dirtying the display, it was smooth and responsive when I tested it to navigate Spotify and browse the web. You can either use your fingertip or the included Lenovo Yoga Pen with the display.

This thin design only accommodates a few ports

For most people, the minimal ports available on the Yoga 9i will suffice. However, if you’re looking for an HDMI port, an SD card reader, or more than one USB-A port, you’ll be out of luck.

On the left side, you’ll find: 

• USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port 

• Two USB-C (Thunderbolt 4) ports

And on the right: 

• Headset jack

• USB-C 4 Gen 2 port

While I’m not enamored with this laptop’s lack of port variety, I do love that there’s a USB-C port on each side because it makes charging more convenient.

The left side includes a USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port and two USB-C (Thunderbolt 4) ports. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable The right side includes a headset jack and a USB-C 4 Gen 2 port. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Plus, many modern wired peripherals now use USB-C cables or come with an adapter, or you can connect wireless peripherals via Bluetooth without needing to bother with a cable at all. If you absolutely need any of the ports the Yoga 9i is missing, you can always invest in a USB-C hub that has what you’re looking for.

An unexpected downgrade in sound quality

Usually, Lenovo’s Yoga 9i 2-in-1 lineup receives a boatload of praise when it comes to sound quality, but I can’t say the same for this Gen 10 model.

The previous Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Gen 9 model had excellent speakers, and the Yoga Book 9i has the best audio setup I’ve ever experienced in a laptop. Unfortunately, Lenovo ditches Bowers & Wilkins sound in this Gen 10 laptop, and I can tell.

The sound quality is lacking in the new generation of Yoga 9i. Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable

Playing Machine Gun Kelly’s new summer smash “Cliché” on this Yoga 9i Gen 10 laptop and then on my daily driver Yoga 9i Gen 7, which has a Bowers & Wilkins soundbar, I can hear the missing atmosphere in the song. MGK’s slightly gravelly vocals, the lightly plucked strings, and the snare drum come through beautifully, but that full-bodied, subtle bass that rounds out a song is absent in this set of speakers.

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition (Gen 10) still has better audio than most laptops I’ve tested, but if you’re seeking powerful bass like past editions with Bowers & Wilkins soundbars have had, you’ll be disappointed.

An incredibly satisfying keyboard and a silky trackpad

This laptop features an island-style, chiclet keyboard, and I adored typing on it. The keys are well-spaced, pleasantly bouncy, and responsive. It almost feels like I’m typing on a minimalist mechanical keyboard, like the Logitech Mechanical MX Mini with tactile switches, because of the slight travel and noticeable actuation.

There’s no 10-key number pad on this compact laptop, but you will find a full number row and function key row at the top. The fingerprint sensor is discreetly nestled into the bottom right corner, and there are helpful mode-switching buttons above it.

This keyboard is pleasntly bouncy and the touchpad is a dream. Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable

As with every Yoga 9i 2-in-1 I’ve reviewed, the buttonless, glass touchpad is a dream. It’s large and responsive, and my finger glides across like a warm knife through butter. Clicking with the trackpad is also nice, despite there being no haptics. 

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition benchmarks and performance

The Lenovo Yoga 9i performed beautifully during testing, with minimal fan noise and only slight heat buildup. 

To pressure the laptop, I simultaneously opened the Clock app and ran the stopwatch, pulled up Spotify and played music, and loaded 20 Google Chrome tabs, one of which was a live YouTube stream. The result? Seamless performance, with zero lag when loading a new page and no stuttering when typing in Google Docs.

I only noticed the fans kick on when the laptop was plugged in. Otherwise, it does a great job of regulating heat without fans when tackling daily tasks. The hottest spot on this Yoga 9i Gen 10 is on the chassis above the center of the keyboard.

This is a big improvement over its Yoga 9i Gen 9 predecessor, which got quite noisy and hot under pressure with typical productivity tasks. However, this Gen 10 model delivered a lower Geekbench 6 score than the Gen 9 model.

The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition features an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor and notched a score of 10,765 on the Geekbench 6 performance test. The Yoga 9i Gen 9 before it is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, which earned a score of 12,345 on the same benchmark.

A Geekbench 6 score like that tells me that the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition won’t be landing a spot as one of the best laptops for video editing or the best gaming laptops anytime soon. But if you only plan to use your laptop for browsing the web, watching content, listening to music, and working with low-intensity apps and programs, your experience will be smooth.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition battery life

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition may just earn a spot as one of the best laptops for battery life, and that genuinely surprises me.

In our battery test, which involves looping a 1080p version of Tears of Steel at 50 percent brightness, the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition held out for a staggering 23 hours and 34 minutes. Compared to its Gen 9 predecessor, this laptop more than tripled its battery life. 

Our Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Gen 9 review unit wasn’t equipped with any Aura Edition features like this laptop, and it had half the RAM (16GB), but it shares the same 14-inch, 2.8K OLED display that the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition (Gen 10) does. And yet, the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Gen 9 only lasted 7 hours and 21 minutes in the same video rundown test.

Historically, one of the biggest trade-offs for stellar premium features in the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 was battery life. With this new Gen 10 configuration, that’s no longer the case.

A disappointingly average webcam

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition features a 5-megapixel camera with infrared and a privacy shutter, just like its Gen 9 predecessor. However, compared to the webcam quality on the Yoga 9i Gen 9, this Gen 10 laptop’s webcam is a bit disappointing.

I expected more from this webcam. Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable

Granted, it’s still sharper and more accurate compared to most laptop webcams, but the picture it produces isn’t nearly as detailed or colorful as that of its predecessor. Considering Lenovo has upped its webcam game in recent years with out-of-this-world picture quality on the Yoga Book 9i, I expected more from the Yoga 9i Gen 10’s webcam.

Is the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition worth it?

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition (Gen 10) features a stunning 2.8K OLED display with rich blacks and vivid colors, a responsive keyboard that I didn’t want to stop typing on, and the best battery life I’ve ever seen from the Yoga lineup. Plus, it delivered admirable performance, tackling my typical daily workload with ease.

I’d say the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is definitely worth it for those looking for a sleek, well-rounded everyday laptop with the flexibility to switch to tent mode and tablet mode. It offers solid performance, nearly 24-hour battery life, great future-proof specs, and devoted attention to the little details that make using the laptop a more enjoyable experience overall. 

For me, this laptop’s minor negatives of minimal ports and a fingerprint-attracting colorway are quickly overshadowed by all of the positives it has to offer. At $1,749, this Yoga 9i 2-in-1 configuration is pricey, but it’s worth it if you want a premium, convertible Windows laptop to handle simple productivity tasks. If you’re not attached to Windows OS, you might want to consider Apple’s MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 as well.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition (Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) $1,749.99 at Best Buy
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Mashable's Senior Culture Reporter Christianna Silva walks you through three simple tips that can dramatically improve your ChatGPT results. The above video discusses the importance of reliable sources, why OpenAI's chatbot performs best when asked to impersonate, and whether or not saying 'please' and 'thank you' matters.

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.

On its long journey to the outer solar system, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft made a planned detour — and seized a striking photo opportunity. 

In a single frame, the uncrewed Europa Clipper caught Mars alongside both of its tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, as they waltzed through space, all glowing in infrared light. 

The image, presented below, is more than a pretty picture. It offers a rare look at a planetary trio not often seen together, and it provided mission engineers a crucial chance to fine-tune the spacecraft’s thermal camera as it zipped past the Red Planet.

SEE ALSO: A star may have survived partial black hole spaghettification

From about 560,000 miles away — more than twice the distance between Earth and the moon — Europa Clipper’s infrared camera snapped 200 individual frames over the course of 20 minutes on Feb. 28. The frames were later stitched together to reveal the glowing heat signatures of Mars, Phobos, and Deimos.

The result is a surreal view: Mars dominates the center, faintly surrounded by image-processing artifacts. At the upper left, Deimos appears as a tiny glowing dot. Closer in is Phobos, Mars’ larger and innermost moon. To make the dim moons visible — each about 250 times fainter than Mars — engineers brightened the image.

Left: From a half-million miles away, NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft captured Mars with its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, in space. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU / SwRI Right: To see a labeled view, swipe the slider above to the left. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU / SwRI

Visible on the planet itself is a dark patch near the top, marking the frigid northern polar cap, where temperatures dip to about -190 degrees Fahrenheit. A circular region shows Elysium Mons, one of Mars’ giant volcanoes.

The Martian moons are rarely seen together, let alone with their host planet. The first time Phobos and Deimos were both caught on camera was in November 2009, when the Mars Express orbiter snagged the unprecedented image, according to the European Space Agency. The portrait, which showcased the duo lined up, one behind the other, took years of planning, precise knowledge of their orbits, and some lucky viewing geometry.

Scientists know relatively little about Phobos and Deimos, two of the smallest known moons in the solar system. Both are "blacker than coal and look like battered potatoes," according to ESA. Phobos is the larger of the pair, about 14 miles wide, and circles Mars three times a day. Deimos, just seven or eight miles across, orbits Mars every 30 hours.

Right now researchers aren't sure where the moons came from, and it remains a source of mystery. Some believe they could have been asteroids captured in orbit around the Red Planet. Others think they could be chunks of Mars itself, blown out by a giant collision billions of years ago. 

The Mars Express orbiter caught Phobos, in the foreground, and Deimos on camera together for the first time in November 2009. The right side showcases the raw image; left, after processing. Credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

The new Europa Clipper image was taken using one of the spacecraft’s thermal sensors, designed to detect heat instead of visible light. This tool will later be used to explore Jupiter's moon Europa, a frozen world believed to harbor a salty ocean beneath its icy crust — and possibly the conditions to support life. The instrument — the Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System, or E-Themis — should help identify places where Europa’s inner ocean might be interacting with its frozen shell — a key clue in the search for alien life.

The spacecraft used Mars’ gravity in March to tweak its path, a maneuver known as a gravity assist, on its way to the outer solar system. That close encounter provided a convenient moment to test instruments — and admire Earth's ruddy neighbor. Just a few days later, on March 12, another spacecraft made a pop-in for a gravity assist and some photos. That robotic spacecraft is on the European Hera mission to study the asteroid NASA intentionally crashed into three years ago.

Europa Clipper launched from Florida in October 2024 and is scheduled to arrive at the Jupiter system in 2030. Once there, it will perform nearly 50 flybys of Europa, gathering detailed measurements of its surface, interior, and chemistry. If NASA finds that Europa is a habitable place, a second Europa mission could return to determine if there are indeed any inhabitants. 

SAVE $150: As of July 26, the 2025 Apple MacBook Air M4 is on sale for $849 at Amazon. That's a 15% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple 2025 Apple MacBook Air M4 $849 at Amazon
$999 Save $150 Get Deal

We have made a lot of noise about the fact that you can get the 2025 MacBook Air with the M4 chip for under $850 at Amazon. We've shouted it from the hilltops, because we really do consider it one of the best Apple deals of the year (if not the very best).

And somehow, this deal is still live. As of July 26, the 2025 Apple MacBook Air M4 is on sale for $849 at Amazon. That's a 15% saving on the list price. The deal applies to all colors, so you can choose between starlight, midnight, silver, and sky blue. This price is specific to the 16GB MacBook, but there's discounts on other models.

SEE ALSO: The 11-inch Apple iPad is still available for under $300 at Amazon

If this deal continues to stick around, we may just need to consider this the new list price. Is it a deal if the price doesn't bounce back up? That's up for debate.

This popular MacBook is powered by Apple's new M4 chip, meaning it's both fast and efficient. It can handle video editing, jumping between apps, and working through heavy multiple-tab workloads. It’s also created with Apple Intelligence, Apple's personal AI system that helps you get more work done in less time.

This model boasts a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display that supports 1 billion colors. Other standout features include a 12MP Center Stage camera, a three-mic setup, and a four-speaker system with Spatial Audio, so work calls will always help you look your best. And you get 18 hours of battery life, so you can work on the go without a worry.

Get this Apple deal over at Amazon this weekend.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps presents its titular super team with a nightmarish trolley problem.

Galactus (Ralph Ineson) promises to spare Earth from total annihilation, but only if Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) give up their newborn baby Franklin.

SEE ALSO: 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' game-changing mid-credits scene, explained

Of course, Reed, Sue, Ben Grimm/the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Johnny Storm/the Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) refuse these terms. They're not going to sacrifice a family member! Plus, they've got superpowers and brilliant minds. Surely they can find a way to save both the Earth and Franklin.

However, Reed and Sue's decision not to give up their baby goes over terribly with the denizens of Earth. They protest outside the Fantastic Four's headquarters in the Baxter Building, decrying their heroes as selfish.

Pedro Pascal, Ada Scott, and Vanessa Kirby in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." Credit: Marvel Studios

Oddly enough, that perception of the Fantastic Four as selfish seemed to spill over into the real world as I watched the movie. A few audience members at my screening let out exasperated sighs or threw their hands up in frustration every time Reed or Sue made the very understandable point that no, they weren't just going to hand their baby over to a cosmic entity whose whole job is eating planets. I guess that instead of wanting to see superheroes struggling with moral quandaries and finding a way to save everyone, they'd rather the Fantastic Four had taken the utilitarian way out, thus ending the movie 40 minutes in.

SEE ALSO: You can now pre-order the 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' Galactus LED popcorn bucket, which sold out in seconds

The "save Franklin or save Earth" dilemma is fascinating enough on its own, but it's crucially not the only instance of massive summer film and TV titles having life-or-death beef with babies.

In Superman, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) holds Metamorpho's (Anthony Carrigan) baby son Joey hostage, promising to kill him if Metamorpho doesn't comply with his demands. In 28 Years Later, Spike (Alfie Williams), his mother Isla (Jodie Comer), and Swedish soldier Erik (Edvin Ryding) witness a woman infected with the Rage Virus give birth to a seemingly uninfected baby girl. Terrified that the baby will become a monster like her parents, Erik threatens to kill her, along with Alfie and Isla if they stand in his way.

Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes in "28 Years Later." Credit: Miya Mizuno / Sony Pictures

But the award for Most Baby-Hating Characters of 2025 goes to the players in Squid Game Season 3. (The Fantastic Four: First Steps' protestors come in at a close second.) Halfway through the season, pregnant player Jun-hee (Jo Yuri) gives birth, only to die soon after. The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) and the VIPs, being the sick freaks they are, decide to keep Jun-hee's daughter in the game in her mother's place, making her the new Player 222.

SEE ALSO: Pedro Pascal is king of the trolley problem

Do the remaining players try to protect the baby from the hellhole of the games? No way! For them, that baby's death means they get an extra chunk of the prize pot, so they are champing at the bit to murder her. Only Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) tries to help baby 222, spending the season's final episodes swaddling her while fending off a crowd of players baying for her blood.

A baby competes in "Squid Game." Credit: Netflix

The Squid Game scenario is by far the darkest of all of 2025's "babies in peril" plotlines, but in essence, it's similar to both The Fantastic Four: First Steps and 28 Years Later's baby plots. People like the game players, the Fantastic Four protestors, and Erik envision the baby as an obstacle to the needs of a larger group. In Squid Game, that group is the players who want more money. Look, advocating for the death of a baby any time is inexcusable, but this is absolutely the most despicable — dare I say, evil — instance of it in film and TV this year.

SEE ALSO: How to stream all the Fantastic Four movies

Then we have 28 Years Later, where Erik speaks for survivors who don't want to deal with a growing population of infected. His fear of infection may be understandable, but the baby isn't infected at birth, suggesting that the same goes for all other infected offspring. Once again, trying to kill a baby? Bad!

Finally, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the anti-baby group is the entire population of Earth, who don't appreciate their collective lives being weighed against that of one child. Even Reed acknowledges that giving up Franklin would be an "ethical" solution. But that still doesn't make the possibility of sacrificing your child to a space god any less awful, nor does it rid Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny of the emotional baggage of that choice.

Thankfully, all these babies, including Superman's Joey, survive their dangerous circumstances, with 28 Years Later's baby and Squid Game's baby getting the last laugh and outliving their would-be killers.

Saving babies in film and TV is nothing new — remember when 2023's The Flash stuck a baby in a microwave to protect it? (I wish I could forget.) It's a surefire way to get audiences on a hero's side. After all, babies are the ultimate innocents, deserving of total protection. (In 2022, donkeys, of all things, occupied a similar role in three awards season contenders.)

But the focus of these scenes in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Squid Game Season 3, 28 Years Later, and, to a lesser extent, Superman isn't just on heroes saving babies. It's on people trying, horribly, to justify the theoretical deaths of these babies for the greater good, and the protagonists stepping in to prove their undeniable good and humanity.

In the case of characters like Galactus, Lex Luthor, and Squid Game's game heads, VIPs, and the more bloodthirsty players, audiences already know they're bad guys. Throw a baby in the equation, though, and you're drawing an even clearer line in the sand between heroes and villains. Sure, it's not subtle — in Squid Game in particular, it feels like you're being hit over the head with a hammer — but it immediately raises your hackles and makes every bone in your body think, "That's wrong, and I need to see someone put a stop to it." And guess what? Someone does exactly that in all four of these major summer titles. But next summer, I'm really going to need film and TV to cut these newborns some slack!

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in theaters.

TL;DR: Score a lifetime license to PDF Converter and Editor for just $23.99 with code SAVE20 — available for new users only.

Opens in a new window Credit: Acethinker PDF Converter & Editor: Lifetime License $23.99
$99.99 Save $76 with code SAVE20 Get Deal

If you work with PDFs regularly, you already know the pain points: bloated files, locked content, scanned docs you can’t edit, and expensive tools that charge you monthly just to rotate a page. This all-in-one PDF manager simplifies the entire process with no monthly fees required.

• Convert PDFs into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPG, and more without losing formatting

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A reliable solution for professionals, students, and anyone who’s tired of PDF limitations, lifetime access to PDF Converter and Editor is available for a limited time at just $23.99 when you enter promo code SAVE20 at checkout.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: No subscriptions, no internet required — just full-featured Microsoft Office apps for your Mac for only $42.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac $42.99
$229 Save $186.01 Get Deal

If you’re a Mac user who’s tired of juggling cloud logins or monthly fees just to open a spreadsheet, this one’s for you. Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac is now available for just $42.99 — and it’s a lifetime license.

That means you’ll get classic apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams Classic, all optimized to run beautifully on macOS. It supports full-screen views, Retina display, and smooth navigation — and best of all, it works offline. So whether you’re writing on a plane, budgeting in a coffee shop without WiFi, or presenting from a cabin in the woods (dreamy, right?), you’re good to go.

Unlike subscription-based versions, Office 2019 gives you complete control over updates and data storage. You won’t be nudged into cloud syncing or auto-saving unless you want to be. For anyone who prefers saving files locally or working in apps that don’t constantly change, this version is refreshingly stable. Plus, it’s compatible with the latest macOS features, so you still get a modern, polished experience — just without the pressure to stay permanently connected.

You pay once, install it on one Mac, and that’s it. No renewals. No “your subscription is about to expire” emails. Just solid, reliable Office tools whenever you need them — whether you’re managing your home budget, running a small business, or writing your next big idea.

Office 2019 may not have all the cloud bells and whistles of newer versions, but if you want a rock-solid, no-fuss suite that’s there when you need it, this is the one to get.

Pick up MS Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac for just $42.99 (reg. $229) for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Don’t miss this near-mint 2020 MacBook Pro with a Retina display, 1TB SSD, and 16GB RAM for just $474.97.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Refurbished Apple MacBook Pro (i5 2GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) $474.97
$1,999 Save $1,524.03 Get Deal

If you’ve been eyeing a powerful, portable MacBook Pro but couldn’t stomach the enormous price tag, today’s your lucky scroll. For a limited time, you can get a Grade A refurbished, 13-inch, 2020 MacBook Pro for just $474.97. That’s under 500 bucks for pro-level performance in near-mint condition.

This model packs a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a lightning-fast 1TB SSD — ideal for creatives, multitaskers, coders, or really just anyone tired of slow load times. The 13.3-inch Retina Display is sharp and vibrant, with True Tone for eye-friendly visuals. Add the Magic Keyboard, Touch Bar, and Touch ID, and you’ve got a laptop that feels modern, even in 2025.

It’s lightweight, stylish, and loaded with four Thunderbolt 3 ports, so whether you’re editing video, managing spreadsheets, or plugging into multiple monitors, you’re covered. And thanks to up to 10 hours of battery life, it keeps up with your workday (or your binge-watching).

The best part is that it’s Grade A refurbished, which means it looks nearly new and performs flawlessly — just without the new-price guilt. You can also feel good about yourself that you’re helping reduce e-waste.

Pro specs, premium condition, and under $500. Hard to beat.

Pick up the near-mint 2020 MacBook Pro with 1TB SSD for just $474.97 (MSRP $1,999) while stock is still available.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get a lifetime license to Windows 11 Pro for only $14.97 (reg. $199) and upgrade your PC with next-gen tools, AI features, and pro-level security.

Upgrading to Windows 11 Pro doesn’t have to mean replacing your laptop or spending a fortune. For just $14.97, you can grab a lifetime license and get access to everything the Pro edition offers: advanced security, better multitasking, and Microsoft’s built-in AI assistant, Copilot. It’s a powerful way to future-proof your computer — for less than the cost of lunch.

Windows 11 Pro was built with professionals and power users in mind. Features like BitLocker device encryption, Windows Sandbox, and Hyper-V virtualization give you more control over your system and your data. You also get access to Azure AD for easier network management, and Smart App Control to keep your machine secure from suspicious software.

The streamlined interface makes multitasking feel more natural with snap layouts, desktops, and seamless redocking when you plug back into your workspace. Voice typing and an improved search experience speed up your workflow, while DirectX 12 Ultimate support means your games and graphics-heavy apps run beautifully.

And now that Copilot is integrated directly into Windows, you can ask questions, generate content, adjust settings, or brainstorm ideas without leaving your desktop. Just hit the Windows key + C or use the Copilot key to get started.

This license includes all future updates and works on one device. You’ll need a compatible PC running at least Windows 10, with 4GB RAM, TPM 2.0, and UEFI firmware. If your current setup qualifies, this deal is one of the most affordable ways to give your computer a powerful, modern upgrade.

For a one-time payment of $14.97, get a lifetime license to Microsoft Windows 11 Pro while this deal lasts.

See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Windows 11 Pro $14.97
$199 Save $184.03 Get Deal

TL;DR: This bamboo blend twin sheet set is ultra-soft, breathable, and only $29.99 for all three pieces.

Buying sheets for a twin bed can feel like settling. Most are stiff, thin, or weirdly scratchy right out of the package. But this bamboo blend sheet set? It’s the kind of bedding you’ll actually look forward to crashing into — no matter what size your mattress is. This one also comes in other sizes and colors.

For just $29.99 (reg. 129.99), you’re getting one flat sheet, one fitted twin sheet (with a deep 16-inch pocket), and one standard pillowcase. The fitted sheet stays put — even on thicker mattresses — so you’re not waking up with elastic wrapped around your ankle.

What really makes this set worth grabbing is the feel. The bamboo and microfiber blend gives you that silky-smooth, cool-to-the-touch finish that’s usually reserved for luxury hotels or extremely online influencers. It’s soft like 1,800-thread-count cotton but way easier to care for, and way more breathable.

The bamboo fibers are naturally odor-resistant and help regulate temperature, which is ideal if you tend to run warm or just hate night sweats. And because they’re fade- and wrinkle-resistant, these sheets still look fresh even when laundry day is running late (again).

Black is always a solid move — it’s bold, goes with everything, and hides whatever you spilled while watching Netflix in bed. Plus, the slight silken sheen gives your setup an upgraded look without trying too hard.

This set works for dorm beds, guest rooms, daybeds, or just upgrading your own sleep setup without blowing your budget. Just one soft, cool, no-hassle sheet set that feels like it should cost twice as much.

Usually $129.99, you can grab this super soft bamboo blend twin-sized sheet set in black on sale for $29.99 for a limited time.

See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Luxury Home Bedding Super-Soft 1800 Series Bamboo Blend Sheet Set $29.99
$129.99 Save $100.00 Get Deal

From The Last of Us to The Mandalorian, Pedro Pascal has become Hollywood's go-to actor for playing father figures. Need a dad? Pascal's your guy!

Yet that privilege comes with a terrible burden, because everyone keeps asking Pascal's characters to make a nightmarish choice: Save your child, or save the world?

SEE ALSO: Babies can't catch a break in film and TV this summer

The first instance of a Pascal character facing this dilemma comes in the Season 1 finale of The Last of Us. Joel (Pascal) learns that the Fireflies can cure the Cordyceps fungus (yay!), but only if they kill Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to get access to her brain (boo!).

Then, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pascal) discovers that Galactus (Ralph Ineson) will spare Earth from total annihilation (yay!) on the condition that he and Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) give up their newborn son Franklin (boo!).

Each dilemma puts a twist on the trolley problem, an ethical thought experiment first posited by philosopher Philippa Foot. (The actual term "trolley problem" was later coined by philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson.) In the experiment, a runaway trolley is barreling towards five people, certain to kill them. If you pull a lever, you'll divert the trolley to a different track, killing one person instead. Do you do nothing and let five people die, or take action and doom one person yourself?

SEE ALSO: Does Pedro Pascal die in this? We'll tell you!

The Last of Us and The Fantastic Four: First Steps dial the stakes of the trolley problem way, way up, both in terms of scale and emotional involvement. After all, on one set of trolley tracks, we have the entire world. But on the other trolley tracks, we've got Ellie and Franklin, children who mean the world to Joel and Reed. Over the course of The Last of Us Season 1, Ellie becomes a daughter figure to Joel, an especially poignant connection after he lost his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) at the start of the series. Meanwhile, Franklin is Reed's only child. In the opening scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, he and Sue even discuss how they'd long given up hope of having a kid, making Franklin a miracle baby (even without the whole resurrection powers thing).

So, how do each of Pascal's characters face down these eerily similar conundrums? Extremely differently, to say the least, but totally in keeping with the theme and tone of their respective projects.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in "The Last of Us." Credit: Liane Hentscher / HBO

Take a look at The Last of Us. Between the game and the show, there's already been years' worth of discourse over Joel's choice to save Ellie and massacre the Fireflies. Should we condemn him for robbing the world of a cure, even if he saved someone he loved? Would a cure have been possible given the minimal resources the Fireflies have? And what would Ellie have wanted?

These are all external factors that could have influenced Joel's decision, but the truth of the matter is, it all boils down to him doing what he did throughout Season 1: fight to protect the person he cares most about in the world. There's not even a question of considering the millions of people who lay on the other trolley track, because there's no world in which Joel doesn't choose Ellie. Like the entirety of The Last of Us Season 1, his choice is pretty brutal, but it's rooted in the love and connection that managed to surface in a desolate apocalypse. Any parent would do the same. Still, the consequences are severe — and we've got a whole gut-wrenching Season 2 to prove it!

SEE ALSO: ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ review: One of the best MCU films in years

In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Pascal's Reed takes a wildly different approach to the trolley problem the film presents him with. Reed is adamant that he and Sue won't give Franklin to Galactus, but that doesn't mean he hasn't thought about it. He even declares sacrificing Franklin to be ethical and mathematical, which understandably upsets Sue. Way to put your foot in your mouth, Reed! (Although I'm sure that with your super-stretchy abilities, that's really not that hard to do.)

Pedro Pascal, Ada Scott, and Vanessa Kirby in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." Credit: Marvel Studios

Of course, it's in Reed's nature to overthink every possible scenario. That means an ethical conundrum like a trolley problem is, to borrow some lore from another summer superhero release, his Kryptonite.

But there are two things the trolley problem doesn't account for, and those are superpowers and super-advanced teleportation technology. That's right: Reed reasons that he, Sue, Ben Grimm/the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Johnny Storm/the Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) don't even have to choose between trolley tracks. Instead, with the combined help and resources of the whole world, they can just teleport those tracks (aka the Earth) to another part of the universe, leaving the Galactus-trolley to continue unimpeded. At least, until he finds another planet to add to his galactic buffet. Sure, why not?

If the track teleportation fails, there's always another option for solving the Franklin versus Earth trolley problem: Teleport the Galactus-trolley itself by luring it to a teleporter in Times Square! That's the kind of lateral thinking Foot and Thomson surely didn't anticipate when creating and naming the problem.

Reed and the rest of the Fantastic Four's approach of protecting everyone on Earth from Galactus — including would-be sacrificial lamb Franklin — is in keeping with The Fantastic Four: First Steps' overall feeling of optimistic heroism. Here, everyone deserves to be saved. (The same goes for Superman, which sees Clark Kent/Superman (David Corenswet) helping humans and squirrels alike.) It's not a matter of choosing which track the trolley should barrel down; it's a matter of moving the tracks entirely so no one get hurt.

As a lone wolf with no superpowers stuck in a post-apocalyptic world, The Last of Us' Joel simply doesn't have Reed's trolley-problem-altering resources. He still does the best he can, but no offense to him, I know which Pascal character I'd call to help me out if I'm ever faced with a trolley problem of my own. Reed had better keep those teleporter gates handy.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in theaters.

The Last of Us is now streaming on HBO Max.

Nothing has just dropped a new smartwatch, and it’s making us seriously question why we ever spent more than $100 on a running watch. The CMF Watch 3 Pro retails for just $99 (it's already on sale) and packs in features you’d normally expect from far more expensive models. The CMF Watch Pro 3 replaces last year’s CMF Watch Pro 2, and while that model was already impressive for its price, this new version seriously levels up.

With built-in dual-band GPS, AI-powered tracking, and over 130 sports modes, it’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting budget fitness trackers in years. As someone who loves any product that makes sport more accessible without skimping on performance, this one feels like a win.

But is it worth the upgrade?

What I love about the CMF Watch 3 Pro

Honestly, at this price, there's not much to complain about. But let's dig a little deeper.

The CMF Watch 3 Pro might just be one of the most advanced smartwatches I've seen at this price point. It's feature-rich and puts health and fitness tracking at the very center of everything it offers. When it comes to fitness tracking, users get over 130 workout modes with real-time insights powered by GOMORE, which tracks aerobic vs. anaerobic performance, training load, and recovery. It also automatically recognizes seven types of movement, so if you forget to press "start," you don't miss out on tracking your workout. L1+L5 Dual Band GPS also makes an appearance, giving you extra accuracy for outdoor workouts.

Is sure does look good on a bike, but won't someone think about the runners? Credit: Nothing

Further advanced tracking features include a four-channel heart rate sensor, 24/7 monitoring, and SpO₂ tracking — all things you'd expect in a much (much!) pricier watch. The sleep tracking is also at a level that you would expect from a premium model. It gives you insights into your sleep stages and also monitors your stress levels

Some standout features for me include the hydration and posture reminders, and women's health tools, including tracking of menstrual cycles — a feature that is very often locked behind premium subscriptions.

Beyond fitness, the CMF Watch 3 Pro has incredible lifestyle features that I honestly can't believe we're getting for $99. It has built-in bluetooth calling with AI noise reduction, and new gesture controls let you operate the watch with one hand. There’s even ChatGPT integration, voice notes with automatic transcription, and a surprisingly long list of smart features like morning briefings, music control, and personalized fitness coaching.

SEE ALSO: Oura Ring vs. Whoop: A fight of the best fitness trackers

The battery life won't let you down either. Users get up to 13 days on a single charge, which is pretty incredible for a smartwatch with an AMOLED display, built-in GPS, and 24/7 health tracking. Design-wise, I continue to be impressed. It is visually aesthetic, and benefits from that aforementioned AMOLED display, something you normally have to pay well over $100 for.

Seriously, how is this watch $99?

What the CMF Watch Pro 3 doesn't have

There's one thing the CMF Watch Pro 3 lacks that is usually commonplace in more advanced trackers: an altimeter. An altimeter is a sensor that measures elevation, essentially how high you are above sea level. In fitness trackers, it helps count how many floors you’ve climbed or tracks the elevation you've gained in hikes or runs. The altimeter is especially important for trail runners, where tracking elevation is important. GPS can monitor the elevation to an extent, but it's nowhere near as accurate. This is a desirable feature for a lot of runners, but for $99, it doesn't put me off this watch. Not by a long shot.

SEE ALSO: The internet's obsession with run clubs is ruining running

And if we're being nitpicky, there's some safety features missing that we'd like to see. Fall detection and emergency SOS features are pretty commonplace these days, and would have made it more appealing to safety-conscious runners. However, for $99, once again, we're willing to let this slide.

Should you upgrade?

The CMF Watch Pro 3 is unbelievably impressive for its price, even without an altimeter and some safety features that will be important to some runners out there. If your current watch is similar in spec to a Fitbit Charge 6, we think this one tops the scale ever so slightly. And who can say no to an upgrade when it's priced this low?

Where to buy the CMF Watch Pro 3

The CMF Watch 3 Pro is already on sale at Nothing and Amazon. Nothing lists the retail price at $99 and offers a $20 discount, and now Amazon has matched that price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nothing Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro $79 at Amazon
$99 Save $20 Shop Now

PRE-ORDER: On July 26, you can pre-order the Fantastic Four: First Steps Galactus LED popcorn bucket from AMC, Regal, and Cinemark for $79.95.

Opens in a new window Credit: AMC 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' Galactus LED Popcorn Bucket $79.95 at AMC
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Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in theaters, and that means there's a ridiculous new popcorn bucket in town. For this major Marvel release, it's shaped just like the head of the world-eater himself, Galactus. The buckets went on sale on July 25 at theater chains across the country as well as online, but they ended up disappearing in seconds like Thanos had snapped them due to incredible demand. Lucky for you, you've got another chance to secure one.

On July 26 at 10:00 a.m. ET, you can pre-order the Fantastic Four: First Steps Galactus LED popcorn bucket from AMC, Regal, and Cinemark for $79.95.

SEE ALSO: How to stream all the Fantastic Four movies

This will mark the final production run of the popcorn bucket, so it's your last chance to snap one up from the source instead of heading to third-party sellers. Shipments will begin in early December, so you can plan on giving a bucket as a gift to the superfan in your life.

This massive popcorn bucket is an incredibly detailed recreation of Galactus's head, complete with glowing LED eyes. It's a huge 20 inches wide (9.6 inches without horns), 17.5 inches tall, and 9.6 inches deep. It can hold 361 ounces, so if you want to share popcorn or snacks with the whole family, this enormous container totally makes it doable.

If you plan on getting one of your own, you're going to want to set your alarm and wake up. There's no way this second run won't sell out as well, so if you want to hoover up snacks like a world eater, this is your chance.

DJI drones in stock at Amazon In Stock Now DJI Neo Mini 4K $199 Get Deal In Stock Now DJI Mini 4K $299 Get Deal

DJI is one of the biggest names in the drone game. They can help create buttery-smooth aerial shots and work fantastically with must-have wireless mics, which makes the brand something of a go-to for TikTokers, YouTubers, and filmmakers alike.

That popularity has a downside, though. It's nearly impossible to find DJI products in stock, even at the official DJI online storefront. During Prime Day, two of the brand’s most in-demand drones, the DJI Neo Mini 4K and DJI Mini 4K, topped sales charts. Now, they’re barely available outside of third-party sellers. DJI’s own site lists most of its bestsellers as sold out, and even creator favorites like DJI wireless mics are backordered across major retailers.

It's also worth noting that President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders aimed at helping the U.S. drone industry and shoring up protections against malicious drone activity. The measures stop short of ordering a full ban on Chinese-made drones, but talk of a ban on DJI drones has been circulating for more than year. That uncertainty could well be further boosting sales.

Right now, you can still find these popular drones available at Amazon. So if you're looking to add them to your creative tool kit, now is the time to lock them in while you can.

Why are the DJI drones so popular?

There’s a key reason the DJI Mini 4K and DJI Mini 4K Neo were two of the most talked-about drones during Prime Day, and why they're still selling out just as fast: These compact drones offer crisp, stabilized 4K video in lightweight packages that are beginner friendly but powerful enough for serious creators. They're also very affordable when compared to other models in the space.

With foldable designs, intuitive controls, and features like QuickShots (automated flight paths that make your drone footage look cinematic with zero editing), they’re a good choice for just about anyone, even if you're just getting started out.

If you do spot them out there in the wild, it's a good idea to act fast and pick them up.

DJI Neo Mini 4K Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon DJI Neo Mini 4K $199 at Amazon
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We named the DJI Neo 4K one of the best drones for beginners, as it's the most affordable you can get from the best name in consumer drones. It's small, easy to maneuver, and it can be conrolled by way of app or controller. You can also opt to use voice controls to get it up into the air. And if you end up losing it, there's automatic return to home function to find its way back to you. It offers 4K video, QuickShot modes, subject tracking, and a variety of other features that make it great for drone photography. If you're looking for a good entry point when it comes to drones, this is a very safe (and our favorite) bet.

DJI Mini 4K Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon DJI Mini 4K $299 at Amazon
Get Deal Why we like it

An equally beginner-friendly drone, the DJI Mini 4K is full of features that can help you get into the air and stay there fast. It has one-tap takeoff options if that's the part of flight that's the shakiest for you, and a return to home function. But perhaps most importantly for content creators or anyone wanting to get into photography or drone footage, it offers a 3-axis gimbal and 4K quality as well as advanced wind resistance and extended battery life. It's a step up from the DJI Neo Mini 4K that we think is worth the extra cash.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe may have begun in 2008 with Iron Man, a billionaire playboy genius and philanthropist who fights injustice. But over the course of 17 years and 37 movies, the MCU has not only brought scads of comic book heroes and villains to theaters, it also changed the landscape of Hollywood releases as we know it.

Looking back, it's dizzying to recall all the details of the adventures and disasters of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, and their ever-expanding ensemble. But whenever you want to delve into a rewatch, we've got your back with this guide to the good, great, and the ugly.

With The Fantastic Four: First Steps now in theaters, we've updated our ranking of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, factoring in epic action, crackling comedy, wowing star power, and harrowing disappointments.

Here are the MCU movies ranked worst to best.

37. Iron Man 2 (2010) Credit: Marvel

A tepid followup to the sleek brilliance of Iron Man, the sequel gives us a sinister yet funny Mickey Rourke but does the franchise no favors with its creative decisions. We meet Black Widow, but not without some classic 2010 misogyny, which is the root problem with Iron Man 2. The first film was all about Tony's growth as a person, and the second doesn't let him mature nearly as much. There's still a long road before this is the Tony we see in Endgame, but it's too slow on that path. — Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter

36. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Sure, it's part of the MCU canon, but The Incredible Hulk was so aggressively meh that its title character got recast and was only made palatable by The Avengers. Since it's not an origin story, we don't get to watch Edward Norton as Bruce Banner becoming the Hulk; he already is. We don't watch him fall in love with Betty (Liv Tyler), because he already is. What we do get is a lot of the big green guy getting angry, which may have been cool in 2008 but pales compared to the visual effects that followed. — P.K.

SEE ALSO: How 'She-Hulk' beat its toxic haters by making them the villains 35. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Ultron has a lot of good moments but is not overall a good movie. It's sloppy and it drags, even with ambitious action sequences in Sokovia, and it struggles to build Ultron's disdain for humanity. The main Avengers have a fun dynamic — look no further than the party scene at Stark Tower — but the new characters don't fit in (especially since X-Men: Days of Future Past basically owns Quicksilver). Black Widow, at the time robbed of a solo movie, gets a disproportionate consolation prize of becoming Hulk's girlfriend and a woman defined by her biology. — P.K.

34. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

The Dark World brings back Natalie Portman as Jane, yet even as the physical host of a literal Infinity Stone, she's somehow underutilized. There's a lot of levity, particularly between Thor and Loki, and a surprising amount of gravity in Loki's "death" — which is once again undone before the movie ends. Oh, and some dude named Malekith is mad... Don't worry about it. — P.K.

33. Eternals (2021) Credit: Marvel Studios

With no familiar faces and little connection to the wider MCU, Eternals had a gargantuan task set forth from the start. Helmed by Oscar–winner Chloé Zhao, the film introduces no less than a dozen new characters, a rushed history of their cosmic presence on Earth, an apocalyptic threat in the form of Earth becoming a Celestial, and an explanation for how the entire Marvel Universe was created. It's sometimes slow, sometimes muddled, and a little too enthralled with its white male antihero — but it's also a visual feast, a huge victory for representation, and a banger of a soundtrack. — P.K.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know before watching Marvel's 'Eternals' 32. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Credit: Marvel Studios

The third installment of the Ant-Man movies committed the crime of forgetting to be funny. Instead, the wackiest Avenger (Paul Rudd) was wedged into a convoluted plot and pounded with eyesore CGI by Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), a MCU villain who fell far short of dazzling us with his dastardliness. Not even Michelle Pfeiffer as a badass superheroine could save this stinker. As I wrote in our review, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has big stars, quirky cameos, action sequences, world-building, and even — on rare occasions — punchlines. But it's barely a movie, pulling threads together for a grander scheme of merchandizing and cross-promotion over character-based storytelling." — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

31. Captain America: Brave New World (2025) Credit: Marvel Studios

Following the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) finally shoulders the mantle of Captain America on the big screen. But it was a big miss. Astonishingly, Marvel Studios built this political thriller on a foundation of forgotten characters and plot details from two of their least popular movies: The Incredible Hulk and Eternals. Making matters worse, director Julius Onah seemed to have no idea what to do with screen legend Harrison Ford, even in Hulk mode. Overall, the film felt like a collection of mismatched puzzle pieces with nothing to say. — K.P.

30. Doctor Strange (2016)

Iron Man minus the charisma, it took five years for Marvel to retread this territory and make Strange interesting in time for Phase 4. Benedict Cumberbatch is great, but he's always great, so let's not give out free brownie points. Strange received appropriate flack for whitewashing Asian characters and lore for the story, and tragically sidelines Rachel McAdams in every way. Visuals: Yes. Everything else: Meh. — P.K.

29. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)  Credit: Marvel Studios

Writer/director James Gunn returns to the helm of the spin-off film series he began with 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. But post-Snap, these rock-loving rascals who race through the universe on misadventures have become way less fun.

In Vol. 3, once-plucky Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is in mopey, drunken mourning. Wise-cracking Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is out of commission after an assault from newcomer baddie Adam Warlock (Will Poulter). Meanwhile, the rest of the crew must drag their captain around on a series of heists to save their ailing furry friend. Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) offer solid laughs, and big bad The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) brings a vivacious villain into play. However, Gunn has bogged down his plot with bummer elements, including eugenics, genocide, and a shocking amount of animal abuse and gore. If you're seeking humor and rollicking fun, keep looking. As I wrote in our full review of the film, "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 is a major disappointment." — K.P.

28. Thunderbolts* (2025) Credit: Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel 2025

Florence Pugh leads an antihero ensemble in Thunderbolts*, the MCU's answer to Suicide Squad. And the results were woefully underwhelming. Sure, a cast that includes David Harbour as Red Guardian, Sebastian Stan as Bucky "The Winter Soldier" Barnes, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the ever-scheming Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has some fun to it. But bizarrely, screenwriters Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo opted to turn Pugh's mischievous mercenary Yelena Belova into a brooding bore. That, plus a plotline that turns depression into a literal supervillain, makes for a grim outing that's never as thrilling as the premise had us anticipating. — K.P.

SEE ALSO: 'Thunderbolts*' review: Florence Pugh can't rescue this flop from MCU's worst impulses 27. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) 

Writer/director Taika Waititi and leading man Chris Hemsworth made magic with Thor: Ragnarok, leaning into the God of Thunder’s lovable himbo vibe to create a rock 'n' roll romp. But when they reteamed for this fourth installment of the Thor franchise, the fun was sacrificed to a grim plotline of kidnapping, god-killing, and cancer.

On the plus side, Thor: Love and Thunder brought Natalie Portman back to the MCU as a brawny female Thor, cast Christian Bale in a grizzly villain role that he giddily sunk his teeth into, and tossed in a rowdy Russell Crowe for good measure. But amid the screaming goats and rumbling action sequences, Love and Thunder had an overstuffed plot that undercut its emotional moments, some notable wasted opportunities, and a happy ending that was far more forced than feel-good. It’s not Dark World bad, but it sure ain’t good. — K.P.

26. The Marvels (2023)

Directed by Candyman helmer Nia DaCosta, this sequel to Captain Marvel brings together that eponymous heroine (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and WandaVision's Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) for a star-trekking quest to save the universe from yet another rampaging alien conqueror (Zawe Ashton). Worlds and tones collide, making for an uneven romp through action sequences, far-flung planets, and a winsome duet featuring K-drama star Park Seo-joon. Plus, there's a fleet of cuddly, creepy space cats. But for all the fun these treats and rising star Vellani brings, The Marvels feels too rushed, wonky, and fitfully brooding to be truly stellar. — K.P.

SEE ALSO: 'The Marvels' mid-credit scene features two extra special cameos 25. Thor (2011)

Thor isn't a top Marvel movie, but it's a classic fish-out-of-water story that teases how much fun this character will be in time. The film also gives us our first dose of Loki, one of Marvel's best villains to this day. It's easy to forget the magnetism and subtlety of Hiddleston's original performance, and Thor is one of Loki's best arcs: The sensitive sibling growing up in Thor's shadow and coming to terms with the truth about his past.

(Also, Chris Hemsworth's eyebrows are blonde, and it's terrible.) — P.K.

24. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) Credit: Ben Rothstein / Marvel Studios

In some ways, Ant-Man and the Wasp is more even-keeled and sure-footed than its predecessor. It delivers zippy action, tons of laughs, and the nicest cast of characters we've ever seen in the MCU. Mostly this movie is just so sweet, whether it's Scott bending over backwards to impress his darling daughter or Hope and Hank going to great lengths in memory of Janet. Oh, and speaking of Hope, she more than holds her own as the MCU movies' first true leading lady. — Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor

23. Iron Man 3 (2013)

Iron Man 3 lets Tony get vulnerable as he faces his post-Avengers PTSD. The film gives ample time to guest stars Rebecca Hall, Guy Pearce, and Ty Simpkins, all the while remaining true to Tony's internal struggle and getting in a few CGI battles. The Mandarin reveal is fun (more fun as of 2021), even if Killian is still a boring baddie. — P.K.

22. Captain Marvel (2019) Credit: Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel Studios

Even with the weight of Avengers: Endgame on its shoulders, Captain Marvel is primarily an origin story, and the MCU does those damn well, even if this isn't the best one. We meet the staggeringly powerful Carol Danvers, a Kree warrior with the ability to save the universe. Brie Larson and a fabulous cast make Marvel’s first solo female superhero outing one for the ages — a film that also doubles as the Nick Fury origin story we didn't know we needed, and a star-making debut for Goose the "cat." — P.K.

SEE ALSO: Why I love, love, love 'Captain Marvel' and everything it stands for 21. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) 

This sequel to the stupendous 2018 hit Black Panther had a massive challenge in that the untimely death of its would-be leading man, Chadwick Boseman, demanded a script overhaul. Set in a Wakanda still grieving the loss of King T'Challa, Black Panther 2 smartly wove the weight of grief into its story, exploring mourning and legacy while setting up a thrilling new foe and sea-salty adventure. Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, and Danai Gurira reprise their roles, while Dominique Thorne and Tenoch Huerta join the cast as kid genius Riri Williams and underwater overlord Namor.

By bringing in big emotions alongside big action, co-writer/director Ryan Coogler and company do right by the franchise Boseman once shouldered. So, while this MCU offering satisfies on stunts and spectacle, it'll also leave you teary-eyed. And we're not mad at that. — K.P.

SEE ALSO: #RecastTChalla campaign is not what you think 20. Black Widow (2021) Credit: Jay Maidment / Marvel Studios

Marvel's unexpected two-year movie draught ended with a long-overdue solo outing for Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) that takes place between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. After years of grand-scale alien battles and CGI battle set pieces, Black Widow was a welcome throwback to human beings just beating the heck out of each other, with nary an alien, wizard, or android in sight. Natasha's surrogate family (Rachel Weisz, David Harbour, and an utterly charming Florence Pugh) leave a lasting impression in a film worthy of the MCU's first heroine. — P.K.

19. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Credit: Jay Maidment / 20th Century Studios / MARVEL

The first Deadpool movie since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox — and with it, much more Marvel IP — Deadpool & Wolverine teased a showdown comic book fans have been craving for ages. (Or at least since X-Men: Origins: Wolverine shit the bed in a disastrous fashion.)

Directed by Shawn Levy (Free Guy), this sequel saw the worlds of Deadpool 2 and Logan collide, bringing in familiar faces and new additions, like the vicious Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) and the diabolical Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin). But best of all was the reunion of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as the titular twosome. While the movie wasn't as daring as we hoped for a Deadpool movie, this threequel was still undeniably a deranged blast, packed with bonkers action, wild jokes, and jaw-dropping surprises. — K.P.

18. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Credit: Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel Studios

For years, it all led up to this: Almost every Marvel hero you can think of joining forces against the biggest threat this universe has ever faced. Infinity War is enormous in scope and spirit, with the budget to match its astronomical ambitions. And in its final moments, it packs a punch worthy of Thanos' golden-gloved fist. If we have one complaint, it's that this feels like half a movie — and many of us had to wait a year until Endgame. — A.H.

17. Ant-Man (2015)

Kudos to this film for bringing us Paul Rudd in the MCU, the thing you didn't know you needed. Rudd lends dimension and heart to his performance as Scott Lang, a reformed criminal and father to an adorable little girl. His chemistry with Evangeline Lilly crackles (even if they saved her good stuff for the sequel), and Scott's everyman persona makes him an irresistible addition to the hero roster. Michael Peña shines as Scott's best friend, and Corey Stoll seems born to be a villain, even though it's Michael Douglas as Hank Pym who steals the show with his embittered quest for revenge. — P.K.

16. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) Credit: Marvel Studios / Sony

Far From Home officially ends the Infinity Saga with a smaller-scale story about Peter Parker finding his place in a post-Tony Stark world. Highlights include Tom Holland hitting yet another Spidey performance out of the park, Jake Gyllenhaal as a pitch-perfect Mysterio, and the best trippy CGI battle yet seen in the MCU (sorry, Doctor Strange). It’s not the best solo Marvel movie ever, but Far From Home does a lot of good work by closing one door and opening a new universe of possibilities. — P.K.

15. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

The most ambitious team-up since Avengers: Endgame sees Peter Parker tangling with space and time, only to have Doctor Strange unleash a spell that accidentally rips open the multiverse. Spider-Man fans received an unimaginable treat, with resurgent villains from Sam Raimi's early 2000s trilogy and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man movies — as well as previous incarnations of the heroes themselves reprising their web-slinging roles. It's not higher on this list because of some glaring plot holes, but it's where it is because everything else sticks the landing.

SEE ALSO: The best 'No Way Home' surprise had nothing to do with Spider-Man

Despite the spectacle of returns and reunions, No Way Home is an emotional powerhouse, its great responsibility resting on the shoulders of Tom Holland but shared with Zendaya’s MJ, Marisa Tomei's May, and both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as older, wiser Peters. Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin is a standout, and while the movie's stakes are a little questionable, the ending undoubtedly raises them for Peter Parker’s MCU future. — P.K.

14. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) Credit: Marvel Studios / Disney

Fans didn't have any exorbitant expectations of GotG Vol. 2, especially when low expectations yielded such joy for the first film. Here we get Peter meeting his biological father Ego, fighting with his friends over said father's intentions, and mocked by those same friends for his crush on Gamora, as exposed by Mantis. We also get loads of Baby Groot, who thawed many a stone-cold heart, and the surprise emotional gut-punch of Yondu at the end. — P.K.

13. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." Credit: Disney / Marvel

Fifth time's a charm? The MCU rebooted their first family with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, bringing the star power of Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, and the Internet's favorite person, Pedro Pascal. But this kitschy revamp from director Matt Shakman has more than just oodles of charm.

Set in an alternate timeline with a retro-futuristic aesthetic, The Fantastic Four: First Steps shakes off the trauma doldrums that's plagued the MCU since Thanos snapped out half of existence. This is a tale of a family coming together to save the day — and bringing the world in on the effort! Boasting a cutesy robot butler, a scene-stealing Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), and plenty of family shenanigans, this superhero movie brought plenty to the screen beyond loads of CGI, action, and Big Bad mayhem. While tonally, the film is a bit all over the place and arguably overearnest (YMMV), that's refreshing and fun compared to the achingly stern predecessors of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*. — K.P.

12. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)  Credit: Marvel Studios

Long before Iron Man hit, Sam Raimi was shaping the superhero genre with his wacky and wild Spider-Man trilogy. So, it was frightfully fitting that this pioneering helmer returned to take Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to bizarre new universes. Embracing the strange, this outrageous sequel offered goopy monsters, a bonkers buddy-cop vibe, kooky cameos, a fun eff-you to fan service, a vicious villain turn, and a magical cloak made of damned spirits, worn by an undead Doctor. This one polarized critics, with some celebrating Raimi bringing his weirdness to the MCU machine, while others fretted this massive franchise tamed the Evil Dead director’s aesthetic. But fans were freaking out over the devious delights of Raimi's brand of horror and havoc, like ripping a beloved character to ribbons and finally bestowing on Elizabeth Olsen the meaty Scarlet Witch twist she'd been begging for. The result may be chaotic, but amid all the mayhem, there's plenty of madcap fun. — K.P.

SEE ALSO: The maddest things in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,' ranked 11. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) Credit: Courtesy of Marvel Studios

Cynics expected Marvel’s first theater-exclusive film in over two years to fail. It introduced brand-new characters as well as a dense mythology and an unknown lead. Not to mention, a good chunk of it is in Mandarin. The movie ended up shattering box office records and being one of the best MCU stand-alones in a long time, with huge stakes, rich characters, and transfixing family drama. Its jaw-dropping action sequences flex some of the best fight choreography in the MCU and Hollywood at large (bus battle, anyone??). Simu Liu belongs in the MCU, and we can't wait to see more of him in future phases. Can we find a way to get more Tony Leung too? — P.K.

10. Captain America: Civil War (2016) Credit: Marvel Studios

Civil War could be a tighter movie, but it's doing a hell of a lot. Picking up with the fallout of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this movie thoroughly interrogates the toll of our heroes' adventures and divides them harshly on how to move forward. Black Panther and Spider-Man make epic MCU debuts, while secondary Avengers like Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Ant-Man still get their moments. The final fight is brutal as Cap and Tony come close to actually killing each other, and don't even reconcile before the credits roll. — P.K.

9. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

The final chapter of the Infinity Saga and of three phases, 22 movies, and 11 years of the MCU stuck the landing and made it look easy. We might spend years griping about time travel or lamenting the last moments between Steve and Bucky, but the simple facts are that Endgame hit an impressive number of emotional beats, including near-perfect conclusions for multiple O.G. Avengers. It's a heist, a love story, and everything magnificent about the MCU, and we love it 3000. — P.K.

SEE ALSO: A cheat sheet for Marvel newbies about to see 'Avengers: Endgame' 8. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

It's crazy to think that early trailers of Guardians looked silly when its rock 'n' roll comedy thrill ride model is now the template for action movie promos. We didn't expect much from Guardians in any capacity; we had our avengers, our non-MCU Spider-Man reboot, yet here was this group of ragtag space trash in a movie that was so much better than it had any right to be. Chris Pratt may have debuted his six-pack, but more importantly, he and the cast set a new standard for comedy and chemistry in the MCU and all superhero movies. — P.K.

7. Iron Man (2008)

As both the dawn of the MCU and the second coming of Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man shocked audiences who forgot superhero movies could be good (this was a year after Spider-Man 3). Downey is the perfect hubristic Tony Stark, an arrogant billionaire sobered by becoming a prisoner of war. It was a fun version of 2005's Batman Begins, with sex and expensive gadgetry to supplant the mask and the brooding, and it holds up. — P.K.

6. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Credit: Marvel / Paramount / Kobal / Shutterstock

The Star-Spangled man with a plan was once a scrappy kid from Brooklyn, until a biological experiment made him swole extremely strong. With the help of Peggy Carter, Abraham Erskine, Howard Stark, and his day-one pal Bucky Barnes, Steve becomes the kind of hero people remember for decades, even while he's off literally cooling his heels in the Arctic. From Red Skull to the Howling Commandos to Bucky's heartbreaking fall and that adrenaline-fueled first kiss, The First Avenger hits all the right marks. — P.K.

5. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Credit: Marvel Studios / Sony

After introducing Tom Holland as the MCU's Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, this Peter Parker got to standout in his first solo movie, and it was an absolute delight. Co-writer/director Jon Watts combined the low-stakes high school drama of crushes and crushing embarrassment with a high-stakes battle against Michael Keaton's blue-collared supervillain, the Vulture. Add in Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Donald Glover, and Zendaya in charismatic supporting turns, and you've got a coming-of-age movie that is as charming as it is pulse-pounding. — K.P.

4. Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Credit: Jasin Boland / Marvel

It took the better part of a decade (and the disaster that was Thor 2), but Marvel finally figured out who Thor was with Thor: Ragnarok. Director Taika Waititi puts Chris Hemsworth's considerable comedy chops to good use, resulting in a version of the character that feels fresher and looser than anything we've seen before.

Toss in some stellar work by Jeff Goldblum, Cate Blanchett, and Tessa Thompson, plus the return of Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, and you've got the most entertaining Thor movie yet. — P.K.

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Credit: Zade Rosenthal / Marvel

The MCU had S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrated by Hydra and completely changed the game for the Avengers' alliance. Winter Soldier sets the stage for Cap and Iron Man's feud in Civil War, and for Steve and Bucky's love affair renewed friendship. It charmingly and skillfully introduces Falcon and has no less than four fighting female characters, none of whom functions as a love interest. Winter Soldier isn't trapped in one genre; it's a spy thriller disguised as a superhero movie and all the better for it. — P.K.

2. The Avengers (2012)

With this team-up, the MCU cemented itself as a force to be reckoned with.

The combined star power of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Tom Hiddleston was dazzling. But this rousing narrative also showcased the complicated dynamics of the Avengers, their distinctive strengths and weaknesses, as well as the glory of Loki. The Marvel movies would go on to struggle to create a villain whose charms stood up to their dashing heroes, and the fan fervor for Hiddleston's spin on the god of mischief was so intense he'd not only be resurrected (repeatedly) but also would get his own spin-off series. From heroes to foes, The Avengers has been epic entertainment for over a decade and counting. — K.P.

1. Black Panther (2018) Credit: Film Frame Marvel Studios 2018

Even the worst MCU movies are kind of good, which means that the best ones are truly exceptional — none more than Black Panther.

Ryan Coogler, along with his talented cast and crew, crafted a film that has something to say, that feels distinctive in its style and point of view – while also delivering on the usual superhero movie goods, like lovable heroes, exciting action, and a compelling villain. Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa feels fittingly regal, surrounded by admirable supporting players like Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, and Danai Gurira. Though it took far too long for Marvel to bet on a Black superhero at the box office, it paved the way for the kind of representation we want and need in future phases. — P.K.

Angie Han, Alison Foreman, and Proma Khosla contributed to this article.

UPDATE: Jul. 25, 2025, 4:38 p.m. EDT Originally published Nov. 11, 2017, this list has been updated to include the latest MCU releases.