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Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 is setting course for the Sea of Monsters, and just like in Season 1, there are bound to be a few adaptation changes ahead.

SEE ALSO: 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' Season 2 review: Rough waters ahead for 'Sea of Monsters' adaptation

Whether it's adding new characters or tweaking major book events entirely, some of these changes from Rick Riordan's original books fall flat, while others enrich the world of the show. Here are all the biggest changes between Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 and The Sea of Monsters. We'll be updating every week, so be sure to come back for more adaptation breakdowns.

Episode 1: Grover meets new characters, like Alison Simms. Aryan Simhadri in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." Credit: Disney / David Bukach

Season 2 kicks off with Percy having a nightmare about Grover in danger, just like The Sea of Monsters does. However, there are some key differences: Grover isn't in Florida, meaning we don't get him running into St. Augustine Bridal Boutique. (Don't worry, though, the show doesn't abandon the wedding dress storyline.) Instead, he's in the jungle, where he meets a crew of demigods like Alison Simms (Beatrice Kitsos). They're new characters who have allied themselves with Luke (Charlie Bushnell) and Kronos, meaning Percy and his crew will have even more rogue demigods to contend with.

Episode 1: Basically everything about Tyson is different. Daniel Diemer in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." Credit: Disney

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 introduces Tyson (Daniel Diemer), Percy's Cyclops half-brother. In the books, he is unhoused, and while he attends Meriwether College Prep with Percy, no one gives him any extra support outside of school. That changes in the series, as Sally Jackson (Virginia Kull) meets him while volunteering at a shelter, takes him in, and gets him into Meriwether. That means she and Percy already know he's a Cyclops, as opposed to in the book, where the Mist disguises his true nature to Percy.

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SEE ALSO: Watch Phineas and Ferb recap 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' Season 1

I'm always happy to see Sally get to showcase her kindness and empathy, and I'm intrigued by whether she's aware of Tyson also being Poseidon's (Toby Stephens) son. Based on her telling Percy that they might have more in common than they think — hence the "two sides of the same coin" talk — it seems like she's got a pretty good idea, giving her more investment in Percy and Tyson's relationship.

Another big change with Tyson is how he speaks. In The Sea of Monsters, he has a more childlike speech pattern, as Cyclops age more slowly than humans. Here, though, he sounds like any of the other characters. Perhaps this was a case of the book dialogue simply not translating well to screen, for fear of infantilizing or stereotyping Tyson. Still, it seems like book Tyson's loyalty and enthusiasm carry over into show Tyson.

Episode 1: The Laistrygonian giant dodgeball scene gets a big change.

The Sea of Monsters opens with a monster attack in the form of a deadly gym class. Laistrygonian giants posing as visitors from Detroit sneak into Meriwether and wreak havoc during a dodgeball game, hurling fireballs at Percy, Tyson, and their classmates. Percy Jackson and the Olympians moves this fight scene from Meriwether to Camp Half-Blood, with the Laistrygonians ambushing Percy, Tyson, and Annabeth on their way to camp. In moving the scene, the attack winds up replacing the book's Colchis Bull fight.

SEE ALSO: 7 magic school series to buy young readers that aren't 'Harry Potter'

While there's still a fiery dodgeball element to the Laistrygonian sequence, it misses a lot of the charm from the book's version. Gone are the Laistrygonians' weak disguises, along with the name tags reading Joe Bob, Skull Eater, and Marrow Sucker. These disguises, along with the high school setting of the scene, are a huge part of the appeal of Riordan's series in the first place: seeing Greek mythology transposed into our day-to-day world. I understand wanting to fold two monster attacks into one due to time and budget constraints, but there's still a lot lost when you rip away one of the defining elements of the book series.

Episode 1: Chiron is fired for different reasons.

Rounding out the biggest changes from episode 1 is Chiron's (Glynn Turman) firing from Camp Half-Blood. In the show, he's fired because he's the son of Kronos, which makes the Greek gods wary about his allegiances. The book takes it a step farther: In The Sea of Monsters, Chiron's connection to Kronos makes him a prime suspect in the poisoning of Thalia's (Tamara Smart) tree. He's already fired by the time Luke poisons the tree in the show, though. Percy sees Luke attack the tree in person, furthering the animosity between the two.

Episode 2: Whoa, there's a lot of drama between Percy and Annabeth. Walker Scobell and Leah Sava Jeffries in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." Credit: Disney / David Bukach

Percabeth shippers, buckle up, because this episode delivers so much angst. Chiron reveals the Great Prophecy to Annabeth before telling her that she can't let Percy go on any quests. Cue Annabeth planning to sabotage Percy in the chariot race should it come down to the two of them. Later, she suggests she go on Clarisse's (Dior Goodjohn) quest for the Golden Fleece without Percy. All of this is new, and it's stressful, adding more distrust between the pair.

Despite all the new twists in how the quest comes together, the end result is the same: Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson set out for the Sea of Monsters. However, Percy and Annabeth are more at odds than ever before, setting a more adversarial tone for the quest ahead.

Episode 3: Percy Jackson and the Olympians shows off a different side of Clarisse. Dior Goodjohn in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." Credit: Disney / David Bukach

Episode 3 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 makes a few tweaks to Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson's encounter with Luke aboard the Princess Andromeda, getting new characters like Alison involved, and even having Tyson set off a bomb in totally badass fashion.

The biggest change in the episode, though, is that we get more of Clarisse's perspective as she sets out on her quest. We witness firsthand her trip to the Oracle, along with her father, Ares (Adam Copeland), gifting her a ship and a zombie crew. Unlike in the book, these are losing soldiers from a vast variety of wars, as opposed to simply Confederate soldiers. For a number of reasons... Good call, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

But Ares' gift is a double-edged sword. He immediately undermines her field experience to the soldiers and threatens Clarisse should she fail. Dad of the Year, he is not. That scene fuels Clarisse's insecurities heading into her mission, which only get worse as the soldiers repeatedly ignore her.

By the episode's end, though, she's won them over by promising them a place in Elysium once they die. Is this a check she can actually cash? I'm not sure yet. However, her rousing speech is proof of her burgeoning leadership skills. Plus, seeing Clarisse actually struggle with the beginning of her quest is something we don't get much of in The Sea of Monsters, beyond a tense conversation Percy overhears between her and Ares. That's one of the benefits of a TV adaptation that isn't a book narrated in first person: We get to take in other perspectives. As a result, Clarisse gets more layers this episode, and Goodjohn gets to truly shine as a more prominent member of Percy Jackson and the Olympians' ensemble.

Episode 4: Percy Jackson and the Olympians gives us flashbacks to Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia's journey to Camp Half-Blood. Tamara Smart in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." Credit: Disney / David Bukach

Following in the footsteps of episode 3's focus on Clarisse, episode 4 continues Percy Jackson and the Olympians' trend of showcasing new, non-Percy perspectives. This time, we get that in the form of flashbacks to Annabeth's time traveling with Luke and Thalia (Tamara Smart), daughter of Zeus (Courtney B. Vance), to Camp Half-Blood. A dangerous encounter between young Annabeth and a band of Cyclopes prompts Thalia's decision to find sanctuary at Camp Half-Blood, as opposed to continuing to live life on the road. In Annabeth's mind, this was the fatal decision that led to Thalia's death on the edges of camp. If she hadn't been captured by the Cyclopes in the first place, then Thalia would still be alive.

The actual Cyclopes encounter plays out differently in the show than in the books, which saw 7-year-old Annabeth saving a trapped Luke, Thalia, and Grover from a Brooklyn-based Cyclops' house of horrors. That fateful meeting led to Annabeth's deep hatred of all Cyclopes. However, in the show, Annabeth's ire is directed less at the Cyclopes, and more at herself for getting captured in the first place and slowing Thalia and Luke down. It's a poignant shift, one that emphasizes her survivor's guilt. It also gives us our first look at Smart in action as Thalia, getting us ready for Percy Jackson and the Olympians' Season 3 adaptation of The Titan's Curse.

Episode 4: The Scylla and Charybdis fight gives Clarisse a moral crisis.

Just like in the books, Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, and Clarisse face off with Scylla and Charybdis in order to enter the Sea of Monsters. But the show adds in a trolley problem-esque twist, courtesy of Annabeth's battle strategy. To get past Scylla, all Clarisse needs to do is sacrifice six of her men, one for each tentacle. Should she knowingly send these soldiers to their doom in order for guaranteed success? Or should she try her original plan of getting past Charybdis?

In the end, Clarisse follows Annabeth's plan. Yet the guilt of sacrificing her crew members overwhelms her, and she joins them on deck. Once again, the added depth to Clarisse works wonders here. It's great to see that as she's stepped up in terms of importance, the show has stepped up just as much in terms of letting audience members into her inner world.

Episode 5: Percy Jackson and the Olympians mashes up Circe and the Sirens.

Episode 5 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians mashes up two key encounters from The Sea of Monsters, those with sorceress Circe (Rosemarie DeWitt) and the Sirens. Here, instead of immediately turning Percy into a guinea pig the way she does in the books, Circe tries to keep Percy and Annabeth at her island resort with the promise that she can train them — and the other many demigods staying on her island — to get past the Sirens. Of course, she's lying and merely trying to keep people around to avoid the loneliness she's experienced for centuries.

The end result of the Circe encounter is the same: She turns Percy into a guinea pig, Annabeth saves him, and the two leave the island. But along the way, we get a new perspective on a legendary antagonist of Greek mythology, as well as some fascinating discussion of Percy and Annabeth's fatal flaws. As far as adaptation changes go, I'm not mad at it — especially since we still get to see Percy in guinea pig form.

Episode 5: That encounter with the Sirens looks way different.

Percy and Annabeth's meeting with the Sirens looks nowhere near how it looks in The Sea of Monsters. In the book, Percy plugs his ears with wax and ties Annabeth to the mast, as she wants to hear what the Sirens have to sing. In the show, after some drama about ear wax, Percy winds up on the mast, but Annabeth still falls under the Sirens' spell. 

Annabeth's vision differs between page and screen. In the book, she sees herself having a picnic with her father and Luke in a New York that she's designed. The show features a vision of Grover needing her to solve conflict between Luke and Percy, which then gives way to another vision of Annabeth slaying the Sirens and impressing her mother, Athena (Andra Day). 

As for Percy's vision? All he says he saw was Annabeth, which grounded him and led him to save her. But if his ears weren't blocked, and the Sirens' songs show you your greatest desire, and all he saw was Annabeth… Then that means for Percabeth fans, this sequence was a treat.

Episode 5: Clarisse and Grover team up against Polyphemus.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians introduces the unlikely team-up of Clarisse and Grover, who try to work together to escape Polyphemus' cave. While their partnership isn't something we get to see in the books due to Percy's first-person narration, it's fun to witness in the show. The real switch-up here, though, is the reveal that thanks to his sense of smell, Polyphemus has known who Grover is the whole time. Plus, he's been using him as bait to lure Percy Jackson to his island. That's new territory for the show to tread, so what's Polyphemus' endgame?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+, with a new episode every week.

It's the last Moon of the year, and it's putting on a show. It's so close to being full, so there's plenty you can see when you look up tonight.

What is today’s moon phase?

As of Wednesday, Dec. 31, the moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. According to NASA's Daily Moon Observation, 88% of the moon will be lit up tonight.

With just your naked eye, you'll be able to see the Mares Fecunditatis and Serenitatis, and Vaporum. If you add binoculars, you'll also see the Endymion Crater, the Mare Nectaris, and the Clavius Crater. With a telescope, you'll also see the Apollo 14 and 15 landing spots and the Rima Hyginus.

When is the next full moon?

The next full moon will be on Jan. 3. The last full moon was on Dec. 4.

What are moon phases?

According to NASA, it takes roughly 29.5 days for the Moon to complete a full cycle, known as the lunar cycle. During this period, the Moon moves through a series of phases as it orbits the Earth. While the same side of the Moon always faces our planet, the amount of sunlight illuminating its surface changes over time. This is why the Moon appears fully lit, partially illuminated, or not visible at all at different stages of the cycle. The lunar cycle is divided into eight main phases:

New Moon - The moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

TL;DR: Live stream Mozambique vs. Cameroon in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free on Channel 4 Sport YouTube. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations sees out the year with a final day of group games. It's already been a thrilling tournament in Morocco, and the final games come from Group F, including Mozambique vs. Cameroon.

Mozambique entered this group as underdogs, but while Cameroon are one of the best known African teams in world soccer, they're not what they once were. Could the last day of group action include an upset?

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If you want to watch Mozambique vs. Cameroon in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Mozambique vs. Cameroon?

Mozambique vs. Cameroon in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. This fixture takes place at Le Grand Stade Agadir.

How to watch Mozambique vs. Cameroon for free

Mozambique vs. Cameroon in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is available to live stream for free on Channel 4 Sport YouTube.

Channel 4 Sport YouTube is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock Channel 4 Sport YouTube to stream AFCON for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Mozambique vs. Cameroon for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit Channel 4 Sport YouTube

5. Watch Mozambique vs. Cameroon for free from anywhere in the world

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of AFCON without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Mozambique vs. Cameroon (plus more 2025 Africa Cup of Nations fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Channel 4 Sport YouTube?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Channel 4 Sport YouTube, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Mozambique vs. Cameroon in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Gabon vs. Ivory Coast in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free on Channel 4. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

It's the final day of group games in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and defending champions Ivory Coast are in action against Gabon. Ivory Coast are one of a handful of teams who could realistically win the whole tournament, along with the likes of Morocco and Senegal, and they have Manchester United's Amad Diallo in the squad.

Though Gabon aren't quite at that level there are a few players, such as Mario Lemina and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who can cause problems for any top team.

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If you want to watch Gabon vs. Ivory Coast in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Gabon vs. Ivory Coast?

Gabon vs. Ivory Coast in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. This fixture takes place at Stade de Marrakech.

How to watch Gabon vs. Ivory Coast for free

Gabon vs. Ivory Coast in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is available to live stream for free on Channel 4.

Channel 4 is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock Channel 4 to stream AFCON for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Gabon vs. Ivory Coast for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit Channel 4

5. Watch Gabon vs. Ivory Coast for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of AFCON without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Gabon vs. Ivory Coast (plus more 2025 Africa Cup of Nations fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Channel 4?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Channel 4, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Gabon vs. Ivory Coast in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free on Channel 4. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

As the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations wraps up the group stage, there are still a number of must-watch games to be played. Any game in the tournament with Algeria's Riyad Mahrez comes with a certain interest. The former AFCON winners came into the Morocco-hosted tournament as one of the favorites.

While Equatorial Guinea aren't a major name in world soccer, they reached the quarter finals and Round of 16 in previous tournaments and have a goal machine in captain Emilio Nsue.

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If you want to watch Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria?

Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off at 11 a.m. ET on Dec. 31. This fixture takes place at Stade Prince Moulay Al Hassan.

How to watch Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria for free

Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is available to live stream for free on Channel 4.

Channel 4 is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock Channel 4 to stream AFCON for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit Channel 4

5. Watch Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of AFCON without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria (plus more 2025 Africa Cup of Nations fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Channel 4?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Channel 4, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Equatorial Guinea vs. Algeria in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for free with ExpressVPN.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

Intertwined.

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

WOVEN

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A unit of energy.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 31, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

JOULE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

To mock.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 31 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 31, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

SCOFF

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A wire.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for December 31 Hurdle Word 4 answer

CABLE

Final Hurdle hint

To stow away.

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

STASH

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

By now, everyone knows that Elon Musk is very much an optimist when it comes to making predictions. 

That's the nice way to put it. To be blunt, Musk is a "bullshit artist." He makes promises he can't keep. For example, everyone now is likely very familiar with his infamous 2011 interview with the Wall Street Journal where he said he'd put a man on Mars in 10 years. That was 14 years ago now and we're nowhere near putting anyone on Mars. Years ago, Musk also touted his proposed Hyperloop train system as a way to quickly transport people between cities; that never came to fruition and was likely a ruse to stop other transit projects.

With 2025 nearly over, Mashable decided to revisit his predictions related to this year. Time has run out. What did Musk promise for this year that didn't come to fruition?

People on Mars by 2025

Yes, I just mentioned that 2011 Wall Street Journal interview where Musk promised to put a man on Mars in 10 years. However, this one is a completely separate promise from Musk regarding a man on Mars.

Back in 2016 — roughly four years after his 10-year WSJ claim — Musk made an appearance during Recode's Code 2016 conference. During a conversation with Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, Musk pushed back his previous Mars arrival prediction that placed humans on the red planet by 2021. According to Musk, SpaceX would start sending rockets to Mars by 2018, followed by a new Mars mission every 26 months, and then they'd start sending people.

"If things go according to plan, we should be able to launch people probably in 2024 with arrival in 2025," Musk said, referring to colonists arriving on the planet.

Nope — 2025 has come and gone and we're still not on Mars.

SEE ALSO: NASA Mars rover captures crackling lightning. Hear the 'thunder' yourself. Tesla robotaxis would cover half of the U.S. population

Take a walk outside. How many Tesla robotaxis do you see? None, you say? And you say you live in Austin, Texas – the only place in the U.S. where robotaxis are currently operating?

That's odd. Because in July, during Tesla's Q2 quarterly financial report, Musk told investors that Tesla's robotaxis would be serving half of the nation.

“I believe half of the population of the US will be covered by Tesla’s robotaxi by the end of the year," Musk said.

Obviously, that's not true. And a new report from the New York Times last week found that even Austin locals rarely, if ever, came across Tesla's robotaxis.

As the EV outlet Electrek pointed out at the time of his claim, it was preposterous for Musk to make. Yet, he made the claim with a straight face and investors believed him.

Fully driverless Tesla robotaxis

Speaking of Tesla's robotaxis, if you do come across one, did you know you'll actually find a human safety monitor riding inside? You will, despite what Musk previously promised.

"Teslas will be in the wild with no one in them, in June in Austin," Musk said last year in a 2024 Q4 earnings call. "This is not some far-off mythical situation, it's five, six months away."

While Tesla's robotaxi service did arrive in Austin during that timeline, they weren't "with no one in them." The level of autonomy that Tesla's performs at requires a human safety monitor to ride inside the vehicle, according to Texas regulations.

But, Musk promised multiple times over the past few months that those human safety monitors would be removed by the end of 2025.

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

Musk said so in a post in September on X.

"The safety driver is just there for the first few months to be extra safe," Musk said. "Should be no safety driver by end of year.”

Musk reiterated that schedule during an earnings call in October.

“We are expecting to have no safety drivers in at least large parts of Austin by the end of this year, so within a few months," Musk said.

And then Musk repeated that claim in early December during an xAI hackathon.

“Unsupervised is pretty much solved at this point," stated Musk. "So there will be Tesla robotaxis operating in Austin with no one in them. Not even anyone in the passenger seat in about three weeks.”

Last week, Musk posted that he had taken a ride in a fully driverless Tesla robotaxi in Austin. A Tesla employee shared a video from inside a driverless ride as well. However, these appear to be test runs as regular customers still report human safety monitors are still part of the ride, as least as of very late December.

xAI would achieve AGI

Artificial general intelligence or AGI is basically the holy grail for the current AI-obsessed tech industry. AGI can be defined as the type of artificial intelligence that we were promised in sci-fi movies. It's not a large language model that can sound human, like existing AI, but AI that can actually perform intellectual tasks just like a human. It can think, learn, reason, and take action.

In 2024, in a reply on his social media platform X, Musk said his AI company xAI would achieve AGI in 2025.

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"How long until AGI?" posted Logan Kilpatrick of Google AI Studio.

"Next year," Musk replied.

"Big if true," Kilpatrick responded.

Well, surprise. It wasn't true.

According to a new report from Business Insider, Musk has since moved the goalposts and says xAI could achieve AGI in the next few years and potentially even by next year! We'll report back at the end of 2026 unless Musk's version of Skynet has taken over.

A flying car / demo of the long-awaited Tesla Roadster

This is a combo of two potential promises, as it's still unclear what the heck Musk was actually referring to on Joe Rogan's podcast back in November.

During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Musk claimed that Tesla would drop a demo of the long-awaited Roadster, a vehicle which the company announced and started taking preorders for in 2017. The Tesla Roadster has still yet to be released eight years later.

"We're getting close to demonstrating the prototype," Musk said to Rogan during the show. "I think this will be...one thing I can guarantee is that this product demo will be unforgettable."

When pressed for a timeline from Rogan, Musk replied "hopefully before the end of the year."

However, Musk went further, recalling how his "friend" Peter Thiel would say that the future was supposed to have flying cars, yet we don't have flying cars. Rogan questioned Musk further but Musk just hinted that Thief should be able to buy a flying car and we'd all just have to wait to see the demo.

So, was Musk saying that the Roadster can fly? Was Musk even being serious about the flying car? Who knows. But, 2025 is now over and we don't have a demo of a flying car or a Roadster so Musk didn't deliver on either.

DOGE would cut $2 trillion in 'waste, fraud and abuse'

Following Donald Trump's reelection, Musk was given the chance to head up a new quasi-government agency called DOGE in which he pledged to cut $2 trillion in what he described as "waste, fraud and abuse."

DOGE quickly became quite controversial as Musk and his very young team struggled to find any real "waste, fraud, and abuse" in the federal government. Many of DOGE's claims of fraud were debunked and the group had a penchant for posting inaccurate data which put the group in a more favorable light.

Musk's promise of $2 trillion in cuts quickly became a promise of $1 trillion in cuts. That $1 trillion promise? That soon was rounded down further to the hundreds of billions.

SEE ALSO: DOGE is dead

Now, new analysis from the New York Times as well as the right-wing CATO Institute, found that DOGE actually didn't save anything. Many of the government contacts that DOGE claimed to cancel are still active. In fact, government spending actually went up on DOGE's watch.

“The federal government spent $7.6 trillion in the first 11 months of calendar year 2025, approximately $248 billion higher by November of 2025 compared to the same month in 2024,” the CATO Institute's analysis said.

While Musk failed to deliver on his DOGE promises, the cuts it did actually make to USAID and foreign aid programs have reportedly led to hundreds of thousands of deaths. Happy new year?

This article reflects the opinions of the author.

Samsung usually launches its next wave of flagship devices over the winter, and all signs point to an early 2026 launch for the Samsung Galaxy S26 — and the Galaxy Z TriFold. The Galaxy S25 was released in early February, and the Galaxy S24 before it came in late January. Thus, it stands to reason that the Galaxy S26 will come around the same time in 2026.

While Samsung hasn't announced any upcoming Galaxy Unpacked events, we fully expect the new generation of Samsung phones to make their debut in the months ahead. And if the volume of S26 leaks is any indication, it's sooner rather than later.

SEE ALSO: The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold is coming to America soon: Everything we know so far What will the Galaxy S26 phones look like?

Recently, leaker @onleaks posted a gallery and video on X that claims to show dummy units of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. We can't verify the authenticity of the video, but it looks plausible, at least.

Overall, it looks very similar to the S25 Ultra, as expected, with one notable change — it has a camera bump similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. As 9to5Google points out, because this bump is on the left side of the phone, it will make the phone wobble when placed down on a table or desk. In comparison, the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max has a more symmetrical shape and thus no wobble.

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However, we would be a little skeptical of this leak. Android Police recently posted its own alleged S26 Ultra leaks, only without the camera bump.

What models will be included in the S26 lineup?

Just a few months ago, rumors and leaks pointed to a significant shakeup in the Galaxy S26 line. It was said that Samsung would rename the base model to S26 Pro, drop the Plus model that sat in the middle of the annual lineup for years, and replace that with a new Edge phone modeled after last year's S25 Edge (which was something of a flop). However, that's apparently no longer happening, and you can thank Apple for that, per Korean outlet NewsPim (via 9to5google).

This is the S25 Ultra. Credit: James Martin / Mashable

Due to Apple's success in offering significant year-over-year upgrades to the base iPhone 17 (such as a 120Hz display) without raising the price, Samsung has reportedly dropped the Pro branding for the base model and reverted it back to just the Galaxy S26, which was corroborated by a separate report from SamMobile. According to that report, you can expect a retread of the usual S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra lineup in 2026. That may be disappointing to anyone who was expecting a big shakeup based on previous reporting, but if nothing else, it makes it easier to keep track of what's going on.

As for the previously rumored S26 Edge, it's unclear what's going to happen with that. It might be dead, or it might come out later in the year as a separate release like the S25 Edge did. Given that phone's relative lack of success, it might be smart to assume there won't be an S26 Edge at this point.

Galaxy S26 rumored specs

For specs, the rumors aren't particularly surprising. The Galaxy S26 series is currently rumored to have the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chip, which Qualcomm rebranded to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. There is also a rumor that Samsung will equip some S26 models with an Exynos chip, which Samsung fans hope is the Exynos 2600, which has also been making some noise in the rumor mill lately.

In terms of the small stuff, like storage and RAM, there have been some small rumblings. One rumor says that the Galaxy S26 (all models) will feature 16GB of RAM, a 4GB increase from the last few years, and the most a Galaxy phone has had since the Galaxy S21 Ultra. In terms of storage capacity, there are no rumors that anything will change, so the 128GB base (256GB on the Ultra) is likely to remain in place for now, with upgraded storage available as an option. 

Galaxy S26: Is a price hike coming?

We're in the midst of a major global memory shortage, and this could be very bad news for smartphone and laptop shoppers (you can blame the AI industry for hogging all the RAM). And according to leaker @kro_roe, this could not only lead to an S26 price hike, but also the end of a popular launch offer.

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Typically, when Samsung launches a new phone, customers who pre-order or purchase at launch can claim double the storage at no extra cost. But with RAM in short supply, that may no longer be the case. The most recent rumors suggest that Samsung hasn't landed on a final price for the S26 phones, however.

TL;DR: Not only could S26 phones cost more, but you may have to pay a premium for more storage as well.

Battery and charging

Based on early rumors, this may be one of the most interesting changes coming to the S26 lineup. Samsung has been working on a stacked battery design that would allow for more dense batteries in the same physical space. This could bring a long-awaited bump to battery size. According to early rumors, the S26 Ultra is slated to come with a 5,500 mAh stacked battery, a 10 percent increase from the S25 Ultra. Samsung reportedly experimented with removing a camera to add even more battery capacity, but that doesn't mean it's certain to happen in the mass-produced model. While the S26 Pro was rumored to have a bigger 4,900mAh battery compared to previous base model Galaxy phones, NewsPim's report claimed that the base S26 (now that it's no longer a Pro device) has been adjusted down to a more modest 4,300mAh cell.

For charging, it’s unlikely that the Galaxy S26 series will get a serious upgrade. Samsung is definitely working on 60W wired charging, but so far, it seems that Samsung will wait for the Galaxy S27 series (or later) to implement it. This could change as we get closer to launch for the S26 series, but for now, it seems that 45W will be around for at least one more year. There are also rumors that wireless charging may see a bump to the Qi2 standard

Galaxy S26: What about the cameras?

The camera system in the Galaxy S26 series may change quite a bit, and there are a few different rumors that say different things. Jumping right in, one older rumor says that the S26 series will have the same megapixel count but will feature a new, as-of-yet unannounced sensor from the same ISOCELL GN series as prior Samsung models. On the Galaxy S26 Ultra, a 200MP camera is rumored, as is a 324MP lens with a 50MP, 3x telephoto lens. It’s more likely that Samsung will do the 200MP with a new sensor, but all leaks are being considered right now. 

S25 Ultra with its five cameras. Credit: James Martin / Mashable

In addition, there are rumors that Samsung will bring back its variable aperture on the main shooter, which Samsung hasn’t included on its camera system since the Galaxy S10 series back in 2019. As previously mentioned, Samsung may be considering dropping the number of cameras to three instead of four, like on prior models, to make space for a larger battery. Other rumors about the camera include a dual periscope design that’ll magnify to 8x, but that is just speculation at this time.

However, many of these rumors come from the time when we thought Samsung was significantly altering the S26 lineup. Newer reports indicate that, at least for the base S26 and S26 Plus, things won't change that much from previous years. According to Korean outlet The Elec, those two phones will have the exact same megapixel count on the triple-lens rear array as previous Galaxy models: a 50MP wide lens, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens. Those have been the specs going all the way back to the Galaxy S22. If you were hoping for big changes in the cheaper S26 models this year, you have our condolences.

Other features and hardware

Much of the rest of the Galaxy S26 lineup is predictable. It’ll come with the latest One UI out of the gate with the latest version of Android. That is no surprise, and we don’t need rumors to predict that one. The S26 series will likely get One UI 8.5, which is slated for a rather large redesign along with a host of new features, including the aforementioned privacy screen feature. According to rumor, the redesign emulates Apple’s Liquid Glass in some ways with transparent UI elements. 

The only other piece of hardware we haven’t talked about is the S-Pen. Samsung appears to be set to do something big with the S-Pen. The rumors speculate that the S-Pen is sticking around and will come with some upgrades. The new functionality may have something to do with how magnetic accessories work, and this seems to be linked to the aforementioned Qi2 wireless charging upgrade. 

We'll find out how much (if any) of this is true in just a matter of weeks, going by previous Samsung announcement timelines.

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There was a time — years ago, mind you — that "Rickrolling" someone was the peak of internet humor.

If you don't know what this is, bless your either young or old heart. The nearly 20-year-old prank was simple: You'd get someone to unknowingly click the link to the cheesy music video for Rick Astley's '80s classic "Never Gonna Give You Up." Boom, you've just been Rickrolled.

SEE ALSO: Rian Johnson on 'Wake Up Dead Man,' Josh O'Connor's neck tattoo, and AI slop

Well, in a neat bit of synergy, the latest installment of the beloved-by-the-internet series Knives Out actually shared a location with the filming of "Never Gonna Give You Up." Director Rian Johnson confirmed on Bluesky that the gym scene in Wake Up Dead Man was shot where Astley filmed his classic music video. Surprisingly, not that much of anyone cared on set.

"This is true, and I was the only one on set excited about it (and playing the song on my phone to blank stares)," he wrote in response to a post that pointed out the fun fact.

This is true and I was the only one on set excited about it (and playing the song on my phone to blank stares)

[image or embed]

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson.bsky.social) December 29, 2025 at 11:21 PM

For the curious, it appears that the shared location is the Harrow Club in London, which was once a church. So, yes, Wake Up Dead Man and "Never Gonna Give You Up" share some creative DNA. What a world.

OpenAI has been swinging for the fences with recent updates like GPT-5.2 and ChatGPT Images. This week, the company rolled out an improvement to its ChatGPT Android app, and it's a change power users have been waiting for. ChatGPT’s official app now has a real Thinking mode, previously only available through a browser.

According to Bleeping Computer, the original Thinking toggle actually rerouted your responses through the Standard thinking time, which uses less compute power and doesn’t think for as long. The new toggle allows users to expressly choose between Auto, Instant, or Thinking modes to determine how long the AI will pontificate over a request before delivering an answer. 

This matches the functionality already available for desktop users who choose “Extended Thinking,” which gives the AI more time to work on complex queries to deliver better, more accurate answers. 

The rollout is happening now, so if you use ChatGPT on an Android device, make sure you’ve updated to the most recent version. Once done, the new Thinking mode will appear in your chat settings. From there, you’ll be able to choose between Standard and Extended thinking times, allowing you to get better answers on mobile. As of this writing, we have not been able to access the new thinking toggle in the ChatGPT iOS app.

This feature is only available for ChatGPT Plus users, so free users are still stuck with the old Thinking mode, which is really just Standard mode. 

Per Bleeping Computer, the feature rolled out alongside a new formatting block feature. Now, when you ask ChatGPT to type an email, it does so in a formatting block, and you can request changes or edit the document without having to regenerate the entire email. This feature started rolling out over Christmas and is available to all users. 

It’s a small but pleasant end to the year for ChatGPT users. OpenAI spent the latter half of 2025 allegedly in a “code red” state after losing a sizable number of users to Google’s Gemini 3 and Nano Banana, and has spent much of the rest of the year trying to recapture those people with GPT-5.2 and ChatGPT Images. It has mostly worked, as GPT-5.2 trades blows with Gemini 3 on most benchmark scores while soundly beating Grok 4 in most areas. 

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Can't wait for the release of the new PlayStation 6? Well, thanks to the computer memory shortages caused by the rise of AI, you may just be waiting even longer.

According to a new report from Insider Gaming, there is talk among the video gaming industries about delaying the release of the next generation of consoles, such as the PS6. Global RAM shortages have led companies like Sony to weigh the benefits of delaying the console instead of pushing for its currently planned release window.

According to previous leaks, Sony was targeting a November 2027 release for the PS6.

As Mashable has previously reported, laptop and smartphone manufacturers have been forced to institute price hikes on their products to make up for the shortages amid the demand. The AI boom has yet to lose steam within the tech industry and this means that global memory shortages will likely continue into the new year and for the foreseeable future. As a result, many computer manufacturers are warning their customers that additional price increases are on the way.

Next-gen video game console makers would be affected by these RAM price increases as well. Sony would likely have to wrestle with two choices if it wanted to maintain a 2027 release for the PS6: pass on the extra cost to customers, which could hurt sales numbers, or eat these costs themselves. 

The third option now being discussed, according to this new report, is to simply delay the release of the console in hopes that RAM supply increases over the next few years and prices drop.

By the time Quinn's newest audio erotica series starring Heated Rivalry fan favorites Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie finally dropped, the anticipation had already reached an actual breaking point. Within hours of the release of the first two episodes, the Quinn app went down, briefly buckling under the weight of fans who had been waiting mere days to hear the pair reunited.

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Ember & Ice marks Quinn's first-ever duet original, shifting the app's usual listener-centric intimacy into a fully dramatized MM romance. Dane (Storrie) and Finn (Williams) rival fae princes locked in a forbidden, years-long affair. A heart-pounding queer romantasy story narrated by a pairing that already carries deep emotional weight for fans was never going to arrive quietly.

The format change, combined with Williams and Storrie's established chemistry from Heated Rivalry, turned the release into a fandom event — one that spilled immediately onto social media as listeners reacted in real-time to every whimper and carefully placed inhale.

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What Ember & Ice ultimately highlights is the power of fandom continuity, how voices and chemistry can carry emotional meaning across projects and formats. Since premiering in late November, Heated Rivalry has rapidly evolved from a new release into an online obsession, effectively launching Williams and Storrie’s careers in real-time.

The appetite driving that momentum — especially among women eager for more erotic, chemistry-forward content — was strong enough to overwhelm Quinn's servers. With Ember & Ice's third and final episode set for Jan. 6, the question isn't whether fans will return, but whether the app is ready for them.

SAVE $40: Through Jan. 6, DirecTV's Signature Entertainment streaming package is only $49.99 for your first month (regularly $89.99/month). The package includes 90 channels plus Disney+ and Hulu (with ads), an extra savings of $19.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: DirecTV First month of DirecTV Signature Entertainment streaming package $49.99
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While the Sling TV day pass is a great hack for watching sports on ESPN, there's a major hole in coverage when it comes to the sports that are on broadcast channels like FOX and CBS — so, pretty much the entire NFL playoff schedule. In that case, the next hack up is DirecTV's rare holiday deal: Get your first month of DirecTV's Signature Entertainment Package with 90 channels for just $49.99 ($40 off its usual $89.99/month).

SEE ALSO: Best 65-inch+ TVs for watching in dark and bright rooms

The promo, which has been running since mid-December, is finally closing out on Jan. 6, so these are your last few days to lock down January NFL games without cable or committing to a live TV subscription.

Past the big broadcast networks that'll cover most of your football needs, other channels in the Entertainment streaming package include E!, FX, Disney Channel, Hallmark, Syfy, and Nickelodeon. With the included access to Hulu (as well as Disney+ and ESPN), you can catch the second season of A Thousand Blows when it drops on Jan. 9, see what all the Alien: Earth hype is about, or hate watch All's Fair.

Shop the best cooking-related deals at a glance: Best cookware deal Our Place Always Pan (10.5-inch) $99 (save $36) Get Deal Best air fryer deal Ninja Crispi 4-in-1- portable air fryer $139.99 (save $40) Get Deal Best multicooker deal CrockPot Multimeal multicooker $127.99 (save $52) Get Deal Best cookbook deal "Home Style Cookery" by Matty Matheson $22.42 (save $17.58) Get Deal

Another year is approaching, which means it's time to think about what you want to change or focus on in 2026. If you're simply aiming to stop spending so much money on takeout next year, we've rounded up some of the best kitchen deals to help you cook more at home.

The first step in any cooking journey is to make reasonable upgrades that actually encourage you to cook at home. It's a simple New Year's resolution with a simple solution. If your current tools aren't sparking inspiration in the kitchen, here are some essentials that might do the trick.

First and foremost: new cookware Opens in a new window Credit: Our Place Our pick: Our Place Always Pan (10.5-inch) $99 at Amazon
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Before you can really start your 2026 cooking journey, you need to upgrade your cookware. That old, rusty pan that everything sticks to isn't doing you any favors. The Always Pan from Our Place is a crowd favorite and it's on sale for over 25% off in several color options at Amazon — just $4 shy of its best-ever price. It's constructed from 100 percent post-consumer recycled aluminum, features a toxin-free nonstick coating, and is oven safe up to 450 degrees. Besides the pan itself, it also comes with a spatula, modular lid, and a stainless steel colander and steamer.

More cookware deals

• Our Place Mini Griddle Pan — $58 $69 (save $11)

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• Sur La Table Chef's Deck 10-piece stainless steel cookware set — $134.29 $169.99 (save $35.70)

An air fryer for healthy, but crispy meals Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Our pick: Ninja Crispi 4-in-1- portable air fryer — $139.99 $179.99 (save $40) $139.99 at Amazon
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The viral Ninja Crispi air fryer is a Mashable favorite — after testing a big batch of Ninja appliances, shopping reporter Sam Mangino crowned it one of the best. Unlike most air fryers, it features a portable design with glass containers that attach to an air-frying lid. Beyond heating and crisping food to perfection, it also doubles as storage for your leftovers. "The Ninja Crispi ... allows you to meal prep and store food directly into glass baskets, where you will then reheat it," Mangino writes. "The storage containers are all dishwasher safe, a rare trait in air fryer baskets." As of Dec. 30, it's also $40 off, which matches its Black Friday price.

More air fryer deals

• Ninja Air Fryer Pro 4-in-1 (5-quart) — $89.99 $129.99 (save $30)

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A multicooker to simplify dinner time Opens in a new window Credit: CrockPot Our pick: Crockpot Multimeal multicooker $127.99 at Amazon
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If you want to simplify mealtime, do yourself a favor and grab a multicooker. It's a more hands-off way to whip up delicious meals at home. CrockPot's Multimeal multicooker features a dual-pot design, so you can cook your main course and sides with the same appliance at the same time. It has separate temperature controls and cook functions, like slow cook, sear/sauté, bake, rice/steam, and keep warm. Plus, the removable cooking pots are oven safe up to 450 degrees.

More multicooker deals

• Instant Pot Rio 7-in-1 (6-quart) — $79.99 $109.99 (save $30)

• Ninja Foodi Everyday PossibleCooker Pro (6.5-quart) — $109.99 $129.99 (save $20)

• Our Place Dream Cooker (6-quart) — $169 $199 (save $30)

A cookbook for recipe ideas Opens in a new window Credit: Abrams Books Our pick: "Home Style Cookery" by Matty Matheson $22.42 at Amazon
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The executive producer and actor on the Emmy Award-winning Hulu show The Bear, Matty Matheson, offers a definitive guide to mastering your kitchen in Home Style Cookery. The recipe-packed cookbook covers everything from pantry staples to creative party treats to go-to weeknight dinners. The hardcover book is usually $40, but you can grab it on sale for only $22.42 at Amazon.

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The best deals to help cut down on screen time Best Productivity Deal The Brick $53.10 (Save $5.90) Get Deal Best Activity Book Deal Puzzle Mania! Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! $17.97 (Save $5.39) Get Deal Best Camera Deal Camp Snap Camera $59.95 (Save $10) Get Deal Best Puzzle Deal Bepuzzled Classic Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle $10.17 (Save $12.50) Get Deal Best Diamond Painting Kit PaintGem Butterfly Edition Diamond Painting Kit $29.90 (Save $10) Get Deal

New year, new you. If you're looking to make 2026 less about spending time on your phone and doom-scrolling, there are plenty of great ways to cut your screen time and do more productive things with your days. But even though that resolution may sound like a simple one, it's not always as easy as you might think to go cold turkey when it comes to spending time in front of a screen, whether that's the TV, a monitor, your phone, or a console.

Because it's something you really need to make a valiant effort to accomplish, we've got your back. We've put together a few of our favorite options that you can lean on to help you cut down your screen time, even if only by a few minutes a day. There are tons of great alternatives out there that you can choose from, but these should at least get you to unplug for a short time, even if it's temporary.

Below, find our favorite picks for the best deals to help you fulfill your New Year's resolution to cut down on screen time.

Best productivity deal Opens in a new window Credit: The Brick The Brick $53.10 at Brick
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This unassuming little gray block locks certain apps when you tap your phone to it. That means even if you feel like doom-scrolling, you won't be able to, which automatically keeps you out of the "using your phone too much" hot seat. It's quick and easy to use, Mashable Shopping Reporter Samantha Mangino tried out The Brick in a bid to cut down on screen time, and came away finding it was absolutely worth it, praising it as her "favorite option" and "recommending it to everyone I know".

Best activity book deal Opens in a new window Credit: Thrift Books Puzzle Mania! Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! $27.85 at Thrift Books
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Sharpen your brain with this collection of Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, and other puzzles taken straight from The New York Times. It's a hardcover book with a lay-flat format that lets you easily puzzle things out alone or share with others, giving you plenty of reasons to skip the screen for the day and work on your focus and concentration with high-quality puzzles and brain-teasers.

Best camera deal Opens in a new window Credit: Camp Snap Camp Snap Camera $59.95 at Camp Snap
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This screen-free digital camera can cut your screen time in a sneaky way: taking it away entirely. This is essentially a new-school point-and-shoot option that feels like taking pictures with a disposable camera. It's durable, supports storing up to 2,000 photos with its included SD memory card, and it's free of distractions so you can focus on what matters: being there and being present.

Best puzzle deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Bepuzzled Classic Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle $10.17 at Amazon
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This 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle is more than just a puzzle. It's also a murder mystery that you work out while putting the puzzle together as there are clues to find within. You can solve the mystery as you search for the right puzzle pieces, and by the end of the puzzle you should know exactly "whodunnit" -- making this a fun way to keep you engaged and excited about what you're working on.

Best diamond painting kit Opens in a new window Credit: PaintGem PaintGem Butterfly Edition Diamond Painting Kit $29.90 at PaintGem
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Getting into diamond painting is a good way to keep yourself from staring at a screen, because you'll be creating decor and images that you can keep whenever you finish. This kit comes with 16 canvases, with 11,788 gems in total in 38 colors to create some absolutely gorgeous butterflies to display or give as gifts.

More deals on products to help cut down on screen time

• Candle Making Kit — $52.99 $62.99 (save $10)

• Vellostar Sewing Kit for Adults & Beginners — $17.97 $23.36 (save $5.39)

• The Rider Tarot Deck — $19.99 $21.95 (save $1.96)

• Gerute Crochet Kit for Beginners — $16.99 $23.99 (save $7)

SAVE $34.43: The CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro (Ash Grey) is on sale at Amazon for $64.57, down from the normal price of $99. That's a 35% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: CMF by Nothing CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro (Ash Grey) $64.57 at Amazon
$99 Save $34.43   Get Deal

We're about to ring in 2026 and that means many of us are thinking about health and fitness goals. If your current fitness tracker is annoying or doesn't get the job done in the way you'd like, let me fill you in on a great upgrade that's on a major sale.

As of Dec. 30, the CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro (Ash Grey) is on sale at Amazon for $64.57, down from the normal price of $99. That's a 35% discount that saves you $34.43. If you're like me and smitten with the Light Green colorway, that's also on sale for $67.68. It's only a 32% discount but the beauty could be worth the extra few dollars.

When I first saw the CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro, I thought, "Damn, that looks sleek for coming in at under $100." After spending months testing it, I was left totally shocked that Nothing isn't trying to charge us way more for this smartwatch.

I have almost nothing negative to say about this smartwatch. I loved the numerous fitness tracking capabilities (over 130 sport modes) and that kite flying is listed. I also adored that I could quickly glance down at my wrist to see if I was in an aerobic workout or if I'd hit anaerobic. There's also an AI running coach if you're looking to get into a new routine in 2026.

SEE ALSO: Outdoor deals at Amazon include a 45% discount on the Garmin inReach Messenger

One of the standout highlights of the Nothing Watch 3 Pro is battery life. Apple Watch users are used to charging every other day, but those who go with the Watch 3 Pro as a fitness tracker could be in for weeks of life before you'll need to recharge. In testing, I got nearly two weeks of life. An astonishing feat for a smartwatch at this price.

I also found the sleep tracking features on the CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro to be impressive. I was also testing the Eight Sleep Pod 5 at the same time and came up with shockingly similar sleep metrics each morning. That means this smartwatch, which is on sale for under $65, tracks sleep almost as well as a bed system that costs at least $3,000.

The CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro is well worth its $99 standard price tag, but it's pretty common to find it on sale for $79. However, today's sale price of $64.57 makes this a seriously incredible deal. Snag one for yourself to help with 2026 fitness resolutions.

Tech outlet Wired is at the center of a potential data breach after a lone hacker claimed to have breached Condé Nast and is now threatening to leak the personal information of more than 2.3 million subscribers.

As first reported by Bleeping Computer, the alleged leaker, Lovely, posted on a hacking forum, accusing Condé Nast, the parent company of Wired, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and the New Yorker, of ignoring vulnerability reports and failing to take security concerns seriously. However, independent cybersecurity journalist Dissent Doe of DataBreaches.net alleges the hacker is simply a bad actor who can’t be trusted and is attempting to extract a payout from the media company rather than acting out of any legitimate security concern.

SEE ALSO: Ubisoft takes 'Rainbow Six Siege' offline after significant hack

According to independent verification by Bleeping Computer and Infostealer, the breach appears to be legitimate and includes email addresses, along with optional fields such as first and last name, phone number, physical address, gender, and date of birth — although many of these fields appear to be empty.

Beyond Wired’s subscriber database, the hacker claims to have access to as many as 40 million additional records across Condé Nast’s portfolio. Lovely's post was found on multiple hacking forums, giving users on those sites access to the database for $2.30.

Condé Nast has not yet issued a public statement confirming the breach. Mashable reached out for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

Per Bleeping Computer, only 1,529 of the more than 2.3 million records appear to be complete profiles, containing full names, birthdays, phone numbers, physical addresses, and gender information. The database has also been added to Have I Been Pwned, allowing affected subscribers to check whether their email address was included in the breach.

A former Coinbase customer service agent in India who allegedly helped hackers steal sensitive customer information from its database was arrested in India.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a post on X on Dec. 26 that more arrests are to come.

"We have zero tolerance for bad behavior and will continue to work with law enforcement to bring bad actors to justice," Armstrong posted. "Thanks to the Hyderabad Police in India, an ex-Coinbase customer service agent was just arrested. Another one down and more still to come."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. SEE ALSO: The 6 biggest cybersecurity breaches of 2025

These support agents allegedly gave access to hackers as part of a May 2025 incident in which hackers demanded a $20 million ransom in exchange for not publicly leaking stolen customer data, according to Bleeping Computer.

As Mashable reported at the time, Coinbase said the hackers obtained names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, masked bank account numbers, photos of government IDs, and the last four digits of customers' social security numbers. On top of that, the hackers also accessed account data, including balance snapshots and transaction history.

Despite this, Coinbase refused to pay the $20 million ransom, instead offering a $20 million reward fund for anyone providing information on the people responsible for the breach. At this time, it's not clear if the reward fund played a role in the recent arrest in India.

"At Coinbase, we work directly with law enforcement, using blockchain tracing and other tools to help identify offenders and support prosecutions and we will not stop," a Coinbase spokesperson told BleepingComputer.

If you spend a decent amount of time online, you've probably heard of brainrot. But you'd be forgiven if it's unclear, really, what that is.

The first thing to understand is that it's everywhere — and has been for a while — and that it's increasingly a central part of the internet, for better or worse. Let's dig into it.

What is brainrot content?

Brainrot, believe it or not, was Oxford's word of the year in 2024. The prestigious university defined it as "the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration."

Words change their meaning over time, and in the year that's passed since Oxford's honor, the internet has shifted more toward that second definition. In other words, brainrot is mostly used to describe something that will harm or damage your brain. It's meaningless drivel, often silly, that serves no purpose other than to cook your brain cells.

(Fun fact: Oxford noted the phrase "brain rot" first appeared in Henry David Thoreau's classic book Walden, in which he lamented the demise of complex thinking, writing society "will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot." Touch grass, etc.)

For another definition, the internet researchers at Know Your Meme wrote:

"Brainrot is a slang term used to describe content that has little to no artistic, educational or substantive value, painting it as having a negative impact on the viewer and thus leading to the degradation and 'rot' of their brain. In relation, the term is used to refer to pieces of 'brain rot content' that a person cannot stop thinking about, leading to further brain rot, such as regularly repeating the Skibidi Toilet song."

Over the last few years, brainrot has proliferated, and the Skibidi Toilet nonsense is a great example. So brainrot content might be a bodyless, disturbing head singing in a toilet. Or it could be kids screaming "6-7" all day long. Or it could be AI-generated, strange animals given nonsensical Italian-sounding names like Tralalero Tralala.

Watch the TikTok embedded below and you'll immediately understand brainrot.

Why is brainrot inescapable?

As with most things in 2025, part of the answer for brainrot's inescapability involves AI. Consider those ridiculous Italian animals — a few years ago, you'd need artistic or Photoshop skills to create that nonsense. Now you need only a few seconds to create that slop.

It's no shock that brainrot's rise has come in tandem with AI slop's popularity — one piece of content can be both, in fact. As I previously wrote for Mashable: "AI slop is everywhere because it's easy to create, and because 'slop' in this context describes content made fast, at scale, with little risk or care." A study by video-editing platform Kapwing found that about half of YouTube Shorts were slop or brainrot.

Brainrot doesn't necessarily always involve AI, but when it does, it's super easy to create. And kids really seem to find the whole idea funny, which probably helps account for brainrot's popularity. If young people find it funny to have their brains rotted — or at least act like it — then it's naturally going to become popular.

With the rise of TikTok, we've all gotten quite used to scrolling mindlessly — brainrot seems to be a natural extension of that inclination. It can be nice to check out and tune in to something entirely mindless.

Brainrot isn't going anywhere — and it's not the end of the world — but maybe mix in a book everywhere once in a while.