Mashable

This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.

We're gonna assume that you already own an electric toothbrush. It's pretty much the standard for dental care these days and a must-have bathroom accessory. If you don’t own an electric toothbrush, your toothy-pegs need to get with the times. Because seriously: We're way beyond doing the job of brushing ourselves. We're not cavemen anymore, guys. And there are huge dental health benefits to electric toothbrushes.

Recent studies confirm that electric toothbrushes users have healthier gums and less tooth decay. That's especially true with electric toothbrushes that have “oscillating” heads, which rotate in both directions and sweep away even more plaque.

In addition to all that, electric toothbrushes are seriously advanced in 2025. The best models have multiple cleaning modes, Bluetooth and app control, pressure sensors, and more. All of which makes it harder to upgrade. How can you possibly know which model is best for you and your teeth? To help you out, here’s some information to brush up on electric toothbrush tech, plus a selection of the very best models.

What makes a good electric toothbrush?

We can get really detailed but there are some very basic things to look out for:

• Action — There are different types of toothbrushes that provide different movements, such as oscillating (rotates in one direction and back again), pulsing (moving backwards and forwards against teeth), and rotating (bristles that actually turn).

• Battery life — Thankfully, most electric toothbrushes come with a charging base, though some are powered by regular batteries (that all depends on how fancy the toothbrush is). But still check battery times. A few weeks’ worth of power is good.

• Replacement heads — The head of your toothbrush will need replacing. That’s just a dentist-endorsed fact of life. Some toothbrushes come with a few heads, which is helpful. If not, look out for models that have readily available replacement heads.

Keep these things in mind when shopping around for a new model.

How often should you change your toothbrush head?

General advice is to change every three months, though the more specific rule says when the bristles are worn down. Some brush heads have bristles that change colour to let you know when it’s time to replace the head. While brands like Oral-B and Philips offer lots of different toothbrush models, the heads tend to be one-size-fits-all.

What are the best electric toothbrush features?

As well as the basics, there are lots of more specialised features to consider. Here are some key features that we think are are worth knowing about:

• App connectivity — The most advanced toothbrushes will connect to an app via your smartphone, giving real-time feedback and advice on your brushing. These toothbrushes may also have AI capabilities that adapt to your bushing style.

• Pressure sensor — Pressure sensors will alert you if you’re pressing too hard, which can lead to damage to your gums and tooth enamel. Oral-B includes this feature in its SmartRing, which lights up to warn you if you’re brushing too hard.

• Two-minute timer — Exactly as it sounds, this alerts you when you’ve cleaned for the recommended two minutes. Some timers also pause every 30 seconds, helping you clean each “quadrant” of your mouth equally.

What is the best electric toothbrush?

There's a wide range of quality electric toothbrushes on the market, with models from big names in smart tech and personal care. Everyone's dental needs are different, and everyone's toothbrush needs are different too. All we can do is point you in the direction, helping you to upgrade to a toothbrush that suits you.

These are the best electric toothbrushes for 2025.

SAVE $60: The Insignia 32-inch LED Smart Fire TV is once again marked down to $69.99 at Amazon, a steep 46% discount from its retail price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Insignia Insignia 32-inch LED Smart Fire TV $69.99 at Amazon
$129.99 Save $60.00 Get Deal

We're not sure if we should call this a back-to-school sale, a Labor Day sale, or a really convenient impulse buy for college students. Whatever you call it, this 32-inch Insignia TV with the Fire TV OS is ridiculously affordable right now.

We've seen this TV go on sale for events like Prime Day, and now it's back to its lowest-ever price for the tail-end of the back-to-school shopping season. So, if you still need to outfit your dorm (dorm decorating is so popular it was the subject of a recent thinkpiece in The Atlantic) for the 2025-2026 school year, finish it off with a TV.

Specifically, a smart mini TV. This 32-inch Insignia LED TV is appropriately dorm-sized, and at $69.99, it won't completely wreck your budget.

SEE ALSO: The ultimate back-to-college gear guide: 45+ picks for the new semester

This smart TV comes loaded with the Amazon Fire TV OS, which means you don't need a separate streaming stick to watch Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Max, and Prime Video. You can simply pop on the TV and start streaming the latest college football games, Love Island, or whatever TV shows will be trending a few months from now. With the included Alexa voice remote, you only need to press a single button.

And if you have a little more room in the budget (and a little more square footage), you can also grab a 40-inch Amazon Fire TV on sale for $179.99, or a Vizio 40-inch HD Smart TV for $138.

Last year, I thought Google’s Pixel 9 was a perfectly fine Android phone saddled with a bunch of AI features that ranged from “sorta neat to try once” to “actively pointless.” I had a similar experience with the Google Pixel 10.

The base model of Google’s latest flagship, to its credit, does offer a couple of much-needed hardware improvements, namely a larger battery and a telephoto zoom lens on the phone’s rear camera array. But for at least the second year in a row, Google has largely focused on AI features.

Google Pixel 10 will do just fine if you’re in need of a solid Android handset that takes nice photos and can give you a full day of use out of a single charge. And if you're excited about new AI smartphone features, this phone has a few notable ones. Beyond that, it's hard to get too excited about new phones in the era of incremental improvements.

Google Pixel 10: Price and specs The display is pretty nice. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

For starters, this is a $799 phone, just like the Pixel 9 was a year ago. In the tariffs era, that's a win in and of itself. Here’s what you get for that price, specs-wise:

• 6.3-inch display with 1080x2424 resolution and 60-120Hz adaptive refresh rate

• Up to 3,000 nits peak brightness

• 12GB RAM

• 128GB/256GB storage

• Google Tensor G5 chip

• 4,970mAh battery

While a proper 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate (which you can get on Pixel 10 Pro) would probably help with battery efficiency, the display on offer for Pixel 10 is more than good enough. Its peak brightness is 300 nits higher than last year’s model, and I never found myself wanting for more while using the Pixel 10 in broad daylight. Everything is vivid and clear, making it a good display for both everyday usage and previewing your photos before you take them.

Aside from that, the only other big difference from the Pixel 9 is the larger battery. Pixel 9’s cell was 4,700mAh, for context. More on this later.

Google Pixel 10: Design Google didn't reinvent the wheel this year. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Pixel 10 comes in four colors: Indigo, Frost, Lemongrass, and Obsidian. My review unit was the Indigo model, and I think it’s downright gorgeous. It’s no pink iPhone, but it’s closer than any phone in recent memory to looking as good as that, in my opinion. 

Otherwise, you’d be forgiven for looking at a Pixel 10 and thinking it’s just a Pixel 9. Google didn’t go back to the drawing board this year. Pixel 10 still uses the same Cyclops-style (X-Men, not Greek mythology) horizontal camera bar at the top of the phone’s backside. The only immediate visual tell that this phone is any different from the Pixel 9 is the presence of that third camera lens on the back.

I don’t mind this, but it does underscore my overall point that if you’re not really excited about AI features, there isn’t a ton to get hyped about this year.

Google Pixel 10: Performance The Pixel 10 comes in four colors, and I really like one of them. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

The Pixel 10 is powered by a new Tensor G5 chip. Spoiler alert: It's fine!

Performance on Pixel 10 is more than adequate. Apps work quickly and smoothly, and more intensive tasks like Gemini or other AI features operate efficiently. I did notice the phone getting a little warm after extended use, but that’s nothing that a good case can’t fix. Sadly, the benchmarking software we use (Geekbench 6) was not available on Pixel 10 at the time of writing, so I can’t offer precise metrics for this initial review.

Still, in my time with the phone, performance has been smooth.

Google Pixel 10: Battery life

Battery life is also solid. Impressive, even.

Google rates the Pixel 10 for more than 30 hours on a charge, which I was not quite able to achieve in my testing. Some important context is that I used the phone’s 120Hz mode in testing, which almost certainly reduced the battery life. Even so, I was still able to go roughly 26 or 27 hours between charges, not counting time spent sleeping. Not bad, Google.

Google Pixel 10: AI features It's all about AI this year. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Pixel 10 expands on the AI toolkit that Google has been building up for the past couple of years, sometimes in ways that feel genuinely useful and transformative, but often in ways that feel superfluous.

Let’s start with the good features. Pixel 10 offers live language translation during phone calls across a variety of commonly spoken global dialects. It happens on-device, and it enables levels of communication that may not have been feasible before. This is the kind of neat thing that AI can and should enable.

I was able to test this in a rudimentary fashion using whatever Spanish I could remember from high school and college. It was able to consistently pick up what I was saying. It does take a second to process what each speaker said, so conversations aren't seamless. Also, unlike other live translation features we've seen, it uses AI to translate what you said using your own voice. It's jarring to hear myself saying things in Spanish I didn't actually say.

I suspect this will be a love-it or hate-it feature. Personally, I would have preferred a generic voice instead, but it moves us closer to real-time universal translation.

Magic Cue in action. Credit: Screenshot: Alex Perry/Google

The other potentially interesting new AI feature is Magic Cue, which is admittedly hard to test because it’s entirely context-dependent. The basic idea here is that if you have personal information stored somewhere in your data, like in a text message, Gmail, or Calendar event, Magic Cue can pull up that information when you need it most. 

For instance, if I had information pertaining to an upcoming flight or hotel stay somewhere in my phone and someone texted me to ask about it, the Pixel 10 would bring up that information in the Messages app, without me needing to actively search for it. I tested this out by making a fake dinner reservation in my Calendar for Domino’s Pizza. When I texted the Pixel 10 from my everyday phone asking about the reservation, lo and behold, a little Calendar app icon appeared in the text window, taking me to that information.

Magic Cue is another example of an AI feature that will definitely save time for folks, even if it's not necessarily saving a ton of time.

My personalized Daily Hub. Credit: Screenshot: Alex Perry/Google

Unfortunately, the rest of the new AI features on Pixel 10 are mediocre, at best. There’s a new Daily Hub widget that collates things like the weather forecast, calendar events, YouTube videos, and news articles into one place. It’s a nice idea, in theory, but the most useful aspects of it (weather and events) have nothing to do with AI and take about 10 seconds to check outside of Daily Hub. I never wanted to tap on any of the news or YouTube recommendations, and the row of personalized Gemini prompts didn't tempt me at all.

For example, the Pixel 10 recommended that I ask Gemini about the Kansas City Royals pitching staff because it knows I’m a Royals fan. When I did, it spit out the same basic stats you'd find on the ESPN app, alongside some simplistic analysis like, “the Royals have a good pitching staff.” As a baseball fan, I don't really find that useful or compelling. If you're newer to the game, I could see it being useful for learning things like what the WHIP stat means (walks and hits per innings pitched, you're welcome), but I can't say it served me in any meaningful way.

Speaking of Gemini, Gemini Live and Circle to Search are back, integrating AI search with the Pixel 10’s camera. That means you can highlight an object in your field of view while talking to Gemini and ask the chatbot questions about said object. I was able to ask Gemini how many calories were in a can of Monster I was drinking, and it told me. That’s neat, I guess, but I could also just, you know, look at the can. That said, I can easily see this working out in certain circumstances, like when you want to identify a plant or a bug.

No edits here. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable You can tell it's edited. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Lastly, I’d say the biggest addition to the photo editing suite this year is the ability to generatively edit images with text prompts. I took a picture of a flag during the day and asked the phone to make it sunset instead. I also told it to add a “jolly old man” to a photo of some dogs I took. Did it work? Sure, though the final results were extremely fake-looking. 

I hate this. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

There are, of course, times when this might be useful. If you're inclined to sand out the imperfections in photos for social media, for instance, it's certainly easier to type "remove the pimple" than it is to do all of that yourself. Based on my experiences with this feature, I'd say it's best left to less-creative tasks like that.

Google Pixel 10: How are the cameras? Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Google made some fairly significant changes to the rear camera array this year. Here are the overall camera specs:

• Rear cameras: 48MP wide, 13MP ultrawide, 10.8MP telephoto

• Front camera: 10.5MP

For reference, the Pixel 9’s wide lens was 50MP and the ultrawide lens was 48MP. That feels like a big downgrade, at least numerically, but it’s not without good reason: There’s now a telephoto zoom lens with 5x optical zoom on the base Pixel model, after years of that being a Pixel Pro exclusive feature.

And wouldn’t you know it, the optical zoom looks pretty nice. 

No zoom. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable 5x zoom. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

I did not have as much luck with digital zoom. Once you get past 5x, the software starts to fill in blanks, leaving some photos looking smudgy and fake. I wasn’t even standing particularly far away from the dogs in the “jolly old man” photo from earlier, but the Dalmatian on the right looks downright grotesque. Even static buildings look a little weird if you go all the way up to 20x.

It looks a little weird, right? Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Aside from that, everything else is basically as it should be. Photos taken with the default lens settings can look pretty gorgeous, especially when you’re shooting the greatest city in the world in the middle of an unbelievably beautiful late-summer day. 

NYC rocks. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

Night Sight continues to be good at keeping the essence of nighttime intact while illuminating photos so they’re actually, you know, legible. 

This is without Night Sight. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable And with Night Sight turned on. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable

And portrait shots look as good as ever.

Not much to say here. Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable If you care about photography, upgrade to the 10 Pro

An important note here: Google's biggest upgrade with the new Pixel line is a Pixel 10 Pro exclusive. I'm talking about the main rear camera on the Pixel 10 Pro, which Google repeatedly called the world's best-ever phone camera during the Made by Google event.

In our testing, the Pixel 10 Pro and its 100x zoom beat out the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and it mostly lives up to the hype.

So, if you care about photography above all else, go with the Pixel 10 Pro this year, which starts at $999. The Pixel 10 Pro is a Mashable Choice product; the base Pixel 10 is not.

Is the Google Pixel 10 worth it?

It’s hard for me to recommend anyone sprint to their nearest smartphone distillery to get Pixel 10 because its non-AI changes are largely incremental, and the new AI toolkit failed to impress this AI-skeptical reporter.

But that’s not to say it’s a bad phone, at all. And if you're excited to use its AI features, the Pixel 10 offers good specs at a competitive price. The cameras work well, and having telephoto zoom on a base Pixel is really nice. Performance and battery life are also strong.

I just can’t sit here and tell you that you need this phone, unless you’re several generations behind and can get a nice discount through your carrier or something. That’s less of an indictment of Google than of the incremental upgrade era. These annual smartphone launches are becoming extremely iterative and reliant on features that feel less and less impressive over time.

Offers on the Pixel 10 smartphone Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Google Pixel 10 + $100 Amazon Gift Card $799 at Amazon
$899 Save $100 Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Google Google Pixel 10 $799 at Pixel store
Get $100 Google store credit Get Deal

SAVE $15: As of Aug. 27, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is just $34.99 at Amazon. That's down from its regular $49.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Roku Roku Streaming Stick 4K $34.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $15 Get Deal

If you’ve been thinking about cutting down on clutter or simply giving your old TV a modern refresh, this little stick might be all you need.

The Roku Streaming Stick 4K aims to take the fuss out of setting up your entertainment hub. As of Aug. 27, it’s sitting at $34.99 on Amazon — 30% off its usual $49.99 price.

SEE ALSO: Bring home this 77-inch LG C5 OLED TV for its lowest price yet

Just plug it in and you’re ready to dive into your favourite apps like Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+ with thousands of channels available — including a healthy mix of free shows, films, and even live TV.

Where it apparently really earns its keep is in picture performance. Supporting 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+, Roku says this handy stick will transform everyday viewing into something far sharper and more vibrant. Colours pop, contrast feels deeper, and fine details come through in a way that standard HD simply can’t match.

Streaming also feels smooth and consistent thanks to the long-range WiFi receiver, which keeps playback stable even if your router isn’t in the same room. The design looks compact enough to stay hidden neatly behind your TV, so you won’t lose any HDMI slots, and portability means you can even pack it with you when travelling.

Control-wise, everything appears simplified. The included voice remote handles your TV’s power and volume as well as the Roku itself, so no more juggling multiple remotes just to start a film. You can search, play, or skip ahead hands-free.

At just under $35, this deal makes upgrading your setup almost too easy. For reliable performance, effortless access to apps, and picture quality that feels far above its price tag, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is a smart buy while it’s still on sale.

For upgrading the best of your setup for less, also check out our roundup of the best budget TVs in 2025. If you’re after the chance to create a much larger entertainment display, we also have a selection of the best 65-inch+ TVs for watching in dark and bright rooms.

SAVE $55: As of Aug. 27, the Amazon Fire Max 11 is on sale for $224.99 at Amazon. That's a 20% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire Max 11 $224.99 at Amazon
$279.99 Save $55 Get Deal

For mornings with a coffee and evenings on the couch, a good tablet is the perfect partner. And the Amazon Fire Max 11 is about as good as it gets for most users. One of the most advanced in the range, this tablet is just right for both work and play.

And as of Aug. 27, it's discounted at Amazon for just $224.99, saving you $55 on list price. This deal is specific to the 128GB device without lockscreen ads.

SEE ALSO: Slash almost $1,500 off the Anker Solix F3000 portable power station with 400W solar panel at Amazon

The screen boasts an impressive 2000x1200 resolution and a vivid display with over 2.4 million pixels, so if you want a tablet where every game, movie, or design pops with color, you're covered with the Fire Max 11. It's also certified for low blue light, so it's easy on the eyes, especially if you're looking at the screen for long periods of time.

You can add optional accessories to this tablet so you can adapt it to what you need. Accessories like a keyboard case and stylus pen can be purchased separately, and you can even download Microsoft 365 for all your work or study needs. The battery lasts up to 14 hours, perfect for on the go streaming or browsing. And with storage expandable to 1TB, it’s got plenty of room for all your favorite apps, e-books, and photos.

This deal is stamped as limited-time only at Amazon, so don't miss out.

TL;DR: Kick it old school with the Kinhank Super Console, packed with retro games and on sale now for just $89.97 (reg. $159.99) with free shipping until Sept. 7.

Opens in a new window Credit: Kinhank Kinhank Super Console X2 Pro Retro Gaming Emulator and Streaming Console $89.97
$159.99 Save $70.02 Get Deal

Ready to take a trip down memory lane? Imagine playing the retro games you loved — without having to blow in a cartridge to get them to work. That’s what the Kinhank Super Console makes possible, combining games from vintage consoles like Atari, Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and PlayStation into one easy-to-use device.

Right now, you can bring the Kinhank Super Console home for just $89.97 (reg. $159.99), with free shipping through Sept. 7.

This multi-tasking console lets you game and stream for hours

For less than $100, you can turn your living room into your favorite arcade from yesteryear. Play some Pac-Man or show off your Street Fighter skills — this console is packed with thousands of games you know and love from Atari, PlayStation, Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and more. And the best part? You don’t have to keep up with a single cartridge or disc.

If you’re a serious gamer who gets through thousands of games, there are even more 3D games you can download for free. And once you’re done gaming, the Kinhank Super Console doubles as a streaming device, so you can switch gears and relax with shows on Netflix, Disney+, and more of your favorite services.

SEE ALSO: The 4 best premium gaming monitors instantly level up your desktop — for a price

Curious how it works? You can connect the Kinhank Super Console to your TV, computer, laptop, or even a projector. You’ll receive two controllers, with the option to add more of your own Bluetooth controllers, too. It also includes a 256GB game card, a 4GB TF card, a USB receiver, a power adapter, an HD cable, and a remote.

Get ready for game night with the Kinhank Super Console, now just $89.97 (reg. $159.99) until Sept. 7.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Learn something new in 15 minutes with nonfiction book summaries from this lifetime subscription to Headway Premium, now just $47.99 (reg. $299.95) — the best price online — with code READ20 through Sept. 7 during this limited-time price drop.

Opens in a new window Credit: Headway Headway Premium: Lifetime Subscription $47.99
$299.95 Save $251.96 Get Deal

Wish you could read that buzzy new book everyone’s talking about, but can’t find the time? That’s where Headway Premium comes in, offering an easy way to keep up with nonfiction best sellers with easily digestible 15-minute summaries that can fit into any busy schedule.

Right now, you can secure a lifetime subscription to Headway Premium for the best price online at just $47.99 (reg. $299.95) with code READ20 — but you need to act fast. This deal only runs through Sept. 7.

Get the key concepts from bestselling books in just 15 minutes

While we wish we had time to curl up with a good book, life can get pretty busy. Headway Premium gives you an excellent solution — serving up 15-minute summaries of some of the world’s best nonfiction books that you can devour in line at the grocery store, on your morning commute, or while you do the dishes.

Headway’s summaries fit your busy schedule. You can listen via the professionally narrated audio summaries or read the written summaries at your leisure. They also offer gamified learning that lets you track progress, earn achievements, and master new skills to keep you coming back to work on your self-growth.

SEE ALSO: Act fast! The Kindle has dropped to under $90 for a limited time — save $20 at Amazon.

There are over 1,500 summaries already available to dig into, and more are added every month. Learn more about personal development, health and wellness, or business strategies instead of playing games or wasting time on social media. There’s an offline option, too, if you want to master new concepts while traveling or going off the grid.

Though these summaries give you the key ideas, concepts, and principles from the book, they still can’t top reading the whole thing from front to back. Headway is a great way to find topics you want to dive deeper into, while fitting easily into your daily routine.

Get a lifetime subscription to Headway Premium for just $47.99 (reg. $299.95) with code READ20 now through Sept. 7.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Shop new PopSockets Kindle cases PopSockets PopSockets Kindle 12th Generation Case $40 Shop Now PopSockets PopSockets Kindle 11th Generation Case $40 Shop Now PopSockets PopSockets Bookish Besties MagSafe Grip $30 Shop Now

BookTok has undeniable power. It has sent books to the top of bestseller lists and even helped revive book sales. Now it's helped to create a popular Kindle and e-reader accessory. PopSockets just launched the brand's first-ever Kindle case that comes with a built-in MagSafe ring — finally answering TikTok's call.

In the marketing for PopSockets' new Kindle case, the brand states, "You asked, we answered," referring to the existing popularity of using a PopSockets grip with an e-reader. BookTok is flooded with users posting ideas on how to trick out your Kindle for a more practical hold while also making it a bit more stylish. In the past year, the Ganinno R MagSafe Stand has gone particularly viral for its ability to detach from the Kindle if you want it to be able to lie flat. But now PopSockets is taking matters into its own hands and coming out with its own flagship case.

The PopSockets grip is perfectly placed on the bottom for an ergonomic grip. Credit: PopSockets

The PopSockets Kindle case fits 11th and 12th-generation models of Amazon's e-readers. If you use a Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, or Kindle Colorsoft, you'll find a case to fit your e-reader. Unfortunately, PopSockets does not have a case available for the basic Kindle or Kindle Scribe.

The new PopSockets Kindle cases have built-in MagSafe rings. The cases are certified with a 10-foot drop protection and have raised edges to guard against screen damage. They come in several different colors and prints, including a fun gingham or bookshelf design. PopSockets also delivered a clear case, a favorite option among Kindle users who like to customize their e-reader with personalized stickers.

Opens in a new window Credit: PopSockets PopSockets Kindle 12th Generation Case $40 at PopSockets
Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: PopSockets PopSockets Kindle 11th Generation Case $40 at PopSockets
Shop Now

These Kindle cases are made to be compatible with PopSockets' MagSafe grips, and the brand released a line of bookish options to match the new line of cases. All cases and grips are now available for purchase on PopSockets' website. Plus, all MagSafe grips are 30% off with the purchase of a new Kindle Case.

Opens in a new window Credit: PopSockets PopSockets Bookish Besties MagSafe Grip $30 at PopSockets
Save 30% off when purchasing with a Kindle case. Shop Now

Google's annual refresh of its Pixel line is always a treat. The Pixel hardware is lovely, and the visor on the back is quickly becoming an iconic look. (For Star Trek fans, it's giving major Geordi LaForge vibes.) The software offers one of my favorite user interfaces in the Android world, and it comes with a ton of goodies to play with besides. Anecdotally, I have seen more and more Pixel phones out "in the wild" in 2025, and not just among my fellow tech-nerd friends. The market share isn't there yet, but it's certainly climbing.

This year's Pixel 10 Pro refresh doesn't have as much new as previous years, and not all of the new features are necessarily welcome. Google made some choices with this phone that aren't landing for me, and that is not a reference to having Jimmy Fallon host the Made by Google event.

Overall, this has been a really fun phone to play with, largely because of the aforementioned camera bump on the back. Google promised the new flagship Pixel would land with the world's best-ever phone camera, and so far, it's living up to the hype. I've been using the Pixel 10 Pro for just under a week, and these are my initial thoughts. There's a lot to love in this phone (and the closely related Pixel 10 Pro XL), so let's get to it.

Pixel 10 Pro specs and design: Same old, same old Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

First, let's take a peek under the hood:

• Processor: Google Tensor G5 chipset

• Rear cameras: 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto

• Front camera: 48MP

• Display: 6.3-inch Super Actua LTPO OLED display (1280x2856 resolution)

• Refresh rate: 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate

• Brightness: 3,300 nits peak brightness

• RAM: 16GB RAM

• Storage options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB storage

• Battery: 4,870mAh battery

In terms of its aesthetics, Google clearly didn't want to alter the instantly recognizable look of the Pixel line. The phone has the exact dimensions as its predecessor. On top of that, the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro are so similar looking that I accidentally grabbed the Pixel 10 on my way to do some camera testing, and didn't notice until I'd been driving for 30 minutes.

I get it — that's a me problem.

The Google-engineered Tensor G5 processor, built on a 3nm process, brings the Pixel in line with other modern flagships. The phone has a plentiful 16GB of RAM, but Google sent me the 128GB version, which is already 56 percent used up — not great! We're well past the time when 256GB should be the standard, especially on a flagship. At least Google makes it easy to upload to its cloud storage.

The battery is up just a hair over last year's Pro model by 3 percent. But the biggest upgrade to the battery has little to do with the actual battery. All phones in the Pixel 10 series now come with wireless Qi2 charging enabled — magnets and all. That's right, MagSafe Pixelsnap charging accessories are here. This is great news for me — I am a MagSafe addict. 

This is arguably the first mainstream phone with built-in magnet support. Frankly, it's about time.

I love Pixel software, but some AI features feel undercooked Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

For Android-heads, the Pixel software is among the best, if not the best. It's clean and has fun interactions throughout the operating system. Two new AI features that Google is touting are the Daily Hub and Magic Cue, though they represent both good news and bad news. Both are driven by Google's onboard AI.

The good news is the daily hub, which gives you a sort of summary of your upcoming day at the top of your Google Discover feed. Tap on it, and you get a summary of what's going on based on your calendar, email, and other tastes. The top gives you upcoming events and reminders, while the bottom feeds you YouTube recommendations, because of course it does. How good they'll be probably depends on how much you use the platform.

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

Meanwhile, on the other side, Magic Cue — in theory — can help you manage information from various sources, so when you need to recall that information, it'll serve it up to you. The most common way this can happen will be in the Messages app. Someone asks you for someone else's phone number, and Magic Cue will grab the contact information and feed you an autocompleted field with that info — at least, in theory.

Magic Cue is based on several apps all working together to give you this info, and on my review unit, I didn't have all the necessary software I needed. After working with Google for a bit, I got part of the way there.

In the scenario I described above — asking for someone's number — Magic Cue worked. It gave me an autocomplete suggestion with the person's phone number. Super! When I was asked what time my flight was, Magic Cue opened a button to jump to my calendar, which is also nice, but the whole point of Magic Cue was to give you the information without jumping between apps. Finally, I was asked what my Global Entry number is, which is a pinned note in Google Keep (which is supposed to be a supported app), and I wasn't given any information at all.

I also tried calling United Airlines, and I was served up a travel voucher that United Airlines sent me from my last flight. It's nice that it connected those dots, but honestly, if I'm calling United Airlines, and I'm flying tonight on United Airlines, wouldn't my itinerary be more helpful?

So, Magic Cue seems to be halfway there, which is arguably better than a certain other company's track record rolling out AI features, but that's a different matter entirely. It's also fair to mention that Magic Cue can take some time to curate the proper information, so I think the fairest criticism I can make is that it's not quite done cooking, but as with any software, that can change fast.

Performance and battery Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

Historically speaking, Google Tensor processors have not been the best on the market. Like Samsung Exynos processors (Google collaborated with Samsung on Tensor processors from the beginning), they suffered in comparison to Apple and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. I also noted the performance gap between Exynos and Snapdragon processors when I reviewed the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 a few weeks ago. That being said, while the processor isn't the fastest out there, it's plenty fast to open apps, switch between them, and power onboard AI features like live language translation.

I played a few games on the Pixel 10 Pro, the heaviest of which was Asphalt Legends. After a 20-minute gaming session, the phone showed no lag, nor did it heat up too much. That's an improvement over past Pixels I've reviewed, and I'm happy about it.

Anecdotally, I can say that the battery life seems to be fine. (As a smartphone reviewer, my usage isn't exactly typical.) Beyond the times when I was testing the cameras to their limits, I still had 30-40 percent left in the tank at the end of the day. Bottom line, unless you're a heavy gamer or taking high-def videos, you should be fine.

Pixel 10 Pro cameras: A case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

I already tested the camera set extensively when I compared it with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Here's the headline: The Pixel 10 Pro main camera lives up to the hype, and Google set the hype bar extra high this year. On balance, the Pixel 10 Pro beats out the S25 Ultra.

The 100x Super Res zoom in particular is eye-popping. Other aspects, like portrait mode, are a bit clunky, but overall, you'll struggle to take a bad photo during the day with this smartphone.

Left: The 100x zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro (left) Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: The 100x zoom on the Galaxy S25 Ultra (right) Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

At night, it's a different story. The main camera is OK, taking very acceptable photos at night with some amount of grain in the darker areas and blown-out highlights from light sources, but if you stray from that main camera to the ultrawide or telephoto lenses, or if your subjects are living (and therefore moving, even minimally), your photos fall apart quickly.

Video is a similar story, unfortunately. The exception to that rule comes from the Night Sight video mode. This is not a new concept this year — Night Sight Video Boost, which launched on the Pixel Pro 8, can do a lot of heavy lifting to clean things up in such a situation. There's still a good bit of grain, but the shudder and shake from footsteps is cleaned up considerably. I still wouldn't shoot — to imagine a completely random scenario not at all based on real events — a music video with it, but a fun night out with friends could work.

This is pretty disappointing, to be perfectly frank. Considering how good the cameras are during the day, to see this much drop off by night is surprising. Google has built its Pixel brand on being great at photos, and this isn't it.

The Pixel 10 Pro captures a lot of detail even in a busy, fast-moving scene. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashabl;e The ultra-wide lens compares favorably to other flagships. Faces blurred for privacy. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable The Pixel 10 Pro has a new AI photography tool called Camera Coach. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable The photo I took with Camera Coach's help. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable A photo taken with 5x zoom. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Pixel 10 Pro: My final verdict

Overall, this is an excellent phone with a few notable flaws. I haven't even addressed the fact that Pixels went to eSIM only in this review, which is at best inconvenient (as evidenced by the 30-minute hold required with T-Mobile's customer service to activate it), and at worst, consumer-hostile. eSIMs won't adversely affect the average consumer's life, but they're heckin' annoying for phone reviewers and anyone else who switches phones more than once per year.

Nighttime photography is also very disappointing, though daytime performance (and Super Res Zoom) almost entirely makes up for it. Beyond those two drawbacks, though, this phone is quite good and a worthy upgrade.

The hardware is on point, though the color selection could be better and brighter. The software is great as is, and if Magic Cue can start to deliver what it promises, that could range from neat to game-changing. Right now, it's more toward the "neat" side. The only thing stopping me from using this phone full-time is the fact that it doesn't fold, but that will change in October when the Pixel 10 Pro Fold lands, and I am here for it.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Google Pixel 10 Pro with $200 Amazon Gift Card $999 at Amazon
$1,199 Save $200 Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Google Google Pixel 10 Pro, Unlocked, 128GB $999 at Amazon
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TL;DR: Live stream Alcaraz vs. Bellucci in the 2025 US Open for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The fourth and final Grand Slam of the season presents an opportunity for superstar Carlos Alcaraz to end the year on a high. Alcaraz won this competition back in 2022, but has since failed to make it past the semi-final stage. Can he go all the way this year and forget all about his dramatic Wimbledon final defeat? Next up he faces Bellucci.

If you want to watch Alcaraz vs. Bellucci in the 2025 US Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Alcaraz vs. Bellucci for free

Alcaraz vs. Bellucci in the 2025 US Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now.

9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone from around the world can access this site with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in Australia, meaning you can unblock 9Now from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the 2025 US Open 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 Australia

4. Visit 9Now

5. Watch the 2025 US Open 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 leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the 2025 US Open before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for 9Now?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Australia

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• 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 also 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 $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Alcaraz vs. Bellucci for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Social Security Administration's Chief Data Officer is blowing the whistle on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE.

According to the Government Accountability Project, which is representing whistleblower Charles Borges, DOGE officials have risked the security of more than 300 million Americans by creating a "live copy of the country's Social Security information in a cloud environment that circumvents oversight."

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk's xAI sues Apple and OpenAI over App Store drama

Borges says that he became aware of "serious data security lapses, evidently orchestrated by DOGE officials, currently employed as SSA employees" in recent weeks, as the Social Security database was copied to an insecure live cloud system.

What did DOGE do with Social Security data?

The Government Accountability Project sent a letter detailing Borges' account of DOGE's actions to members of Congress and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel on Tuesday. The letter claims that DOGE "violated laws, rules, and regulations," as well as partook in "abuse of authority, gross mismanagement, and creation of a substantial and specific threat to public health and safety."

"This vulnerable cloud environment is effectively a live copy of the entire country's Social Security information from the Numerical Identification System (NUMIDENT) database, that apparently lacks any security oversight from SSA or tracking to determine who is accessing or has accessed the copy of this data," the letter says.

"NUMIDENT contains all data submitted in an application for a United States Social Security card — including the name of the applicant, place and date of birth, citizenship, race and ethnicity, parents' names and social security numbers, phone number, address, and other personal information. Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment, Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital healthcare and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for re-issuing every American a new Social Security Number at great cost."

The letter also includes an email from July 15 from the DOGE-embedded SSA Chief Information Officer (CIO) Aram Moghaddassi signing off on the project.

Moghaddassi is quoted in the email as saying, "I have determined the business need is higher than the security risk associated with this implementation and I accept all risks associated with this implementation and operation."

As Ars Technica points out, Moghaddassi previously worked at Elon Musk's social media platform X and Musk's brain chip company Neuralink. Moghaddassi was onboarded into a government role through DOGE, originally embedded at the Department of Labor before becoming the CIO and the SSA around two months ago.

The Trump Administration created DOGE along with Elon Musk after Trump won the 2024 presidential election in a stated effort to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the government.

However, DOGE quickly became embroiled in controversy. It accessed sensitive data without going through the proper security channels, cut lifesaving programs through the dismantling of USAID, and misinformed the public about its findings of so-called waste, fraud, and abuse.

DOGE's access to Social Security data has been known, and its handling of this data has been criticized. But this new revelation from whistleblower Borges that DOGE has created a live copy of the database has not been previously disclosed.

In their letter, Borges and the Government Accountability Project are urging Congress to investigate the matter.

Notorious and controversial imageboards 4chan and Kiwi Farms are taking the UK government to task in U.S. federal court, filing suit against the country’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) over the controversial Online Safety Act (OSA).

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, August 27, follows earlier threats made by the site’s legal counsel, Preston Byrne. Byrne warned that the platforms would challenge Ofcom’s attempts to levy fines and penalties under the OSA. Their goal is clear: to have U.S. courts recognize the UK’s sweeping internet law as unenforceable on American companies that operate entirely outside the UK.

SEE ALSO: YouTube will begin using AI for age verification next week

Since taking effect on July 25, the OSA has introduced broad age verification requirements that force UK citizens to provide proof of age to access even mainstream platforms like YouTube and Spotify. The law, billed as protecting children from "harmful" content like pornography, has instead drawn fire from critics who argue it undermines privacy, restricts access, and effectively walls off parts of the internet.

Noncompliant sites like 4chan and Kiwi Farms have faced threats of fines and outright blocking in the UK. Both platforms argue that Ofcom has no jurisdiction over them since their servers and operations are based in the United States. The lawsuit marks the most significant legal challenge yet to the OSA, which has already proven to be one of the most controversial internet laws in recent memory.

In a statement to Mashable, a spokesperson with Ofcom stated the following:

“We are aware of this lawsuit. Under the Online Safety Act, any service that has links with the UK now has duties to protect UK users, no matter where in the world it is based. The Act does not, however, require them to protect users based anywhere else in the world.”

According to the lawsuit, 4chan alleges that Ofcom has threatened to slap the site with an £18 million ($24 million) fine and warned that site operators could even face prison time if they refused to comply with the Online Safety Act.

"American citizens do not surrender our constitutional rights just because Ofcom sends us an e-mail," Byrne said in a statement on X. "If foreign countries feel like bullying Americans, that is their prerogative. The First Amendment bar is prepared to hale any foreign censor into federal court at any time to defend any American."

UPDATE: Aug. 27, 2025, 3:15 p.m. EDT This article was updated to add a statement posted on X from 4chan and Kiwi Farms' legal counsel.

TL;DR: Live stream Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United in the EFL Cup for free on ITVX. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The pick of the games in the second round of the EFL Cup has to be Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United.

The Mariners are unbeaten in the league this season, but they'll face their toughest test against Manchester United, still seeking their first win of the year. Rubem Amorim's side will obviously be favorites to progress, but you never know in the cup.

If you want to watch Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United in the EFL Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United?

Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United in the EFL Cup starts at 8 p.m. GMT on Aug. 27. This fixture takes place at Blundell Park.

How to watch Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United for free

Grimsby Town vs. Manchester Unitedl in the EFL Cup is available to live stream for free on ITVX.

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

Live stream Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United 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 ITVX

5. Live stream Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 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 watch Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream this game before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for ITVX?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ITVX, 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 also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Stream Grimsby Town vs. Manchester United in the EFL Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

2025 is the year AI is used for just about everything: making music, editing videos, doing classwork, booking reservations, coding, and even bringing people back from the dead. Well, their likeness, at least. These digital resurrections have been used to fight for tougher gun laws, address their own killers at court, and, eventually, to sell you stuff.

NPR reported on the rise of AI deadbots, which are AI avatars of deceased people. As Mashable wrote in May, digital resurrection projects have been in use for a few years, but it's advanced alongside generative AI.

Mashable reported in May on Stacey Wales, who used AI to create a video of her late brother to address the courtroom at the sentencing for the man who killed him in a road rage incident, leading the judge to hand down the maximum sentence. In February 2024, as Mashable also reported, March For Our Lives and Change the Ref created a new campaign called The Shotline that allows gun reform supporters to contact their representatives with automated voicemails featuring the reanimated voices of people killed by gun violence.

Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, a research fellow who studies how AI bots are reshaping our understanding of death, loss and grief at the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, told Scientific American in April that generative AI combines "huge amount of personal data and AI" to create what is essentially "digital immortality," or the ability to create a "virtual representation of yourself that can be used long after your biological death."

And this new technology is changing how we experience loss.

"Experts agree on that we need much more discussion on this and we need much more ethical guardrails and framework that will help us to make sense of this new phenomenon, that we need much more [well-thought-out] regulations and responsible design," Nowaczyk-Basińska told the outlet. And as the documentary Eternal You reveals, using people's grief for financial gain is something AI companies aren't shying away from.

Beyond the very real ethical questions that arise from this kind of work is an economic one: Someone, and likely many someones, are going to make a lot of money from this grief.

According to NPR, the "digital afterlife industry" is "expected to quadruple in size to nearly $80 billion over the next decade," including everything from the creation of AI deadbots to posthumous communication services like scheduled texts from deceased people. And as the industry grows, the technology could even be used for advertisements. Imagine a deceased celebrity whose likeness is repurposed to sell soda. One AI researcher, James Hutson from Lindenwood University, told NPR that "of course it will be monetized."

It's clear: AI deadbots aren't going away, and they represent one more ethical issue in the fast-growing generative AI field.

SAVE UP TO $100: Select yard decorations from the Home Depot's 2025 Halloween collection are up to half off during its Labor Day sale. That includes the new 15-foot Worricrow and Galli-Crow, now both $100 off.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Home Depot The Home Depot Labor Day sale Save up to 50% on select Halloween decorations Shop Now

Historically, the Home Depot's Halloween props have been scarily popular — so much so that finding them on sale means playing a game of chance. They're sometimes discounted in late October, right before Halloween, if (big if) they've stayed in stock for that long.

This year, it's a different story. A huge batch of animatronics and inflatables from the home improvement retailer's 2025 Halloween collection is already on sale online during its Labor Day savings event (live now through Sept. 3), with discounts as high as 50% off. Rejoice, early birds and planner-aheaders: You won't have to save your festive decorating until the very last minute.

Credit: The Home Depot

The sale's lineup sadly doesn't include "Skelly," the Home Depot's iconic 12-foot skeleton, nor its app-controlled cousin or any of its pets. (Skelly got a new five-foot cat and dog this year.) But it does cover some other giants, including the all-new "Worricrow" and "Galli-Crow," which both stand 15 feet tall, as well as last year's 12-foot animated Levitating Reaper. The 3.5-foot animated Chucky doll, another 2024 release that made a return appearance, is also much cheaper than usual.

Credit: The Home Depot Credit: The Home Depot

In total, there are nearly 20 Home Depot Halloween props up for grabs at a discount this Labor Day. Check out the full list below:

• 15 ft. Gruesome Grounds Giant-Sized Animated LED Worricrow — $299 $399 (save $100)

• 15 ft. Grave & Bones Giant-Sized Animated LED Gally-Crow — $299 $399 (save $100)

• 12 ft. Grave & Bones Giant-Sized Color Changing Animated LED Levitating Reaper — $249 $299 (save $50)

• 6 ft. Deluxe Life-Size Animated Sally — $199 $259 (save $60)

• 6.5 ft. Deluxe Life-Size Animated Jack Skellington — $199 $259 (save $60)

• 6.5 ft. Halloween Classics Animated LED Soul Slasher — $99 $129 (save $30)

• 5.5 ft. Halloween Classics Animated LED Sitter of Souls — $99 $129 (save $30)

• 7 ft. Gruesome Grounds Animated LED Spellcasting Witch — $99 $129 (save $30)

• 3.5 ft. Animated Chucky Doll — $179 $229 (save $50)

• 6.5 ft. Grave & Bones Animated LED Jack of Spades — $149 $199 (save $50)

• 18 in. Buggy the Animated Groundbreaker Clown — $29 $49 (save $20)

• 5 ft. Emma the Animated Zombie Housemaid Holding a Tray — $39 $79 (save $40)

• 10 ft. Tall Pre-Lit Inflatable Black Cat Arch — $69.99 $139.99 (save $70)

• 65 in. Battery Operated Poseable Standing Clown with Red LED Eyes — $45.99 $59.99 (save $14)

• 10 ft. Boo Sign Halloween Inflatable with Lights — $39.99 $59.99 (save $20)

• 65 in. Battery Operated Poseable Animatronic Skeleton Groom with Red LED Eyes — $38.99 $49.99 (save $11)

• 10.5 in. Touch Activated Animatronic Doll — $31.99 $49.99 (save $18)

• 8 ft. Pre-Lit Inflatable Grim Reaper Tombstone Arch — $49.99 $99.99 (save $50)

• 4.9 ft. Inflatable Pre-Lit Grim Reaper — $39.99 $59.99 (save $20)

If you needed yet another reminder that summer is basically over, I found a bittersweet notification in my inbox from Lovehoney announcing its 2025 lineup of advent calendars. And this year, the company has really gone for it by expanding its collection to include a range of options.

SEE ALSO: Tariffs are coming for your sex toys

From a beginner-friendly (and affordable!) set to a premium, 24-day calendar packed with luxe toys from brands like Womanizer and We-Vibe, I’m genuinely impressed. (Last year, the pickings were pretty slim.)

Sex toy advent calendars make great gifts, but most people I know buy them for themselves because the savings are just that good. Here’s a rundown of Lovehoney’s 2025 advent calendars so you can strategically plan your purchase.

Lovehoney Enjoy 24-Day Advent Calendar, $109 Opens in a new window Credit: Lovehoney Lovehoney Enjoy Advent Calendar 2025 (24 Days) $109 at Lovehoney
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First up is the Lovehoney Enjoy 24-Day Advent Calendar. It’s priced at $109 and includes $260.76 worth of pleasure products inside (that’s a savings of $151.76, according to the Lovehoney site). You’ll also get free shipping, which is nice.

This calendar is Lovehoney’s beginner-friendly option. Although I don’t know exactly what’s inside (where would the fun be in that?), the press rep says that it includes the Womanizer Mini 2 (worth $29.99 alone), a battery-replaceable bullet vibrator, and other mix-and-match play things for a total of 24 items. This is a pretty good deal for anyone who wants to try sex toys but isn’t sure where to start — you won’t be able to get 24 pleasure products for this price point anywhere else.

And, if you’re extra skeptical, you can check out the reviews (there are spoilers!). Some people have already purchased and enjoyed every box this advent calendar has to offer.

Lovehoney X We-Vibe Romance 12-Day Advent Calendar, $129 Opens in a new window Credit: Lovehoney Lovehoney X We-Vibe Romance 12-Day Advent Calendar $129 at Lovehoney
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If you’re shopping for you and your partner, the Lovehoney X We-Vibe Romance 12-Day Advent Calendar might be a better option. It’s $129 and contains 12 items worth a total of $321.88 (a savings of $192.88). Again, you’ll get free shipping or expedited shipping for just $5 more.

This collection is curated for couples. The front of the box reads “Discover Romance,” and from the product photo, it looks like the company had massage (of all kinds) in mind when they put this one together. While you’re only getting 12 items with this calendar, there are a few more “premium” products included, like the app-controlled We-Vibe Jive 2 (worth $129 alone), a rabbit vibrator, cock ring, and some bondage accessories.

There are a few reviews already up for this one, too. Just remember that reviews could ruin the “surprise,” but if you don’t care about that and just want to know what you’re getting, it’s worth a look.

SEE ALSO: Are vibrating sex toys on the way out? Lovehoney Indulge 12-Day Advent Calendar, $129 Opens in a new window Credit: Lovehoney Lovehoney Indulge 12-Day Advent Calendar $129 at Lovehoney
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The Lovehoney Indulge 12-Day Advent Calendar was created specifically for people with vulvas. It’s also $129, but contains items totaling $277.87 (saving you $148.87). Free shipping or expedited shipping for $5 more are a given.

This calendar already has 10 reviews, with almost everyone saying they were “impressed.” It includes 12 items designed for female pleasure, like the super-cute, clam-shaped Venus Glow clitoral stimulator ($59.99 alone), a G-spot dildo, and a rabbit vibrator.

Lovehoney X Womanizer X We-Vibe Couple's 24-Day Advent Calendar, $219 Opens in a new window Credit: Lovehoney Lovehoney X Womanizer X We-Vibe Couple's 24-Day Advent Calendar $219 at Lovehoney
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If you’re willing to spend a little more, the Lovehoney X Womanizer X We-Vibe Couple's 24-Day Advent Calendar is $219 — but it’s worth $617.77 (that’s $398.77 in savings!).

This premium advent calendar includes 24 high-end items, like the Womanizer Classic 2 ($129 on its own) and the We-Vibe Sync Lite ($99 on its own). You’ll also find a cock ring, rabbit vibrator, and more luxe goodies. So far, it’s racked up 11 reviews (in August; this still blows my mind). One of the best comments said that they were “thrilled and totally filled (in more ways than one)” after unboxing this monster of a calendar.

Womanizer X We-Vibe X Arcwave Luxury 24-Day Advent Calendar, $369 Opens in a new window Credit: Lovehoney Womanizer X We-Vibe X Arcwave Luxury 24-Day Advent Calendar $369 at Lovehoney
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I saved the most expensive for last. The Womanizer X We-Vibe X Arcwave Luxury 24-Day Advent Calendar is $396 (and “selling fast,” according to the Lovehoney site). This may seem like a lot, but the value is $911.75, saving you $542.75. If you buy sex toys a lot, this might be a worthwhile investment.

The Womanizer X We-Vibe X Arcwave Luxury 24-Day Advent Calendar is the most luxe of the advent calendars and features premium items from Womanizer, We-Vibe, and Arcwave, including the Womanizer Next, We-Vibe Sync 2, and the Arcwave Pow (together worth over $467).

Unsurprisingly, no one has left a review for this calendar just yet. Whether that’s because they can’t get away from the bedroom long enough to write one or because no one’s willing to shell out nearly $400 for a mystery box of sex toys is up for debate. Nevertheless, I think this box offers more than enough for its price (for couples), especially if you’re into BDSM.

At the recent Made by Google event, Google made a bold promise: the new flagship Pixel 10 Pro has the best phone camera in the world.

Now that the phone is in my hands, I wanted to put that "world's best" promise to the test by comparing it to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, the previous title holder. In terms of megapixels, Samsung's flagship has a giant head start with a 200MP main camera, while the Pixel 10 Pro has a 50MP main camera that's more in line with the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 48MP camera.

But camera quality isn't all about the megapixel count. Google said the Pixel 10 Pro would also have a 100x zoom, superior nighttime photography, and an AI "Camera Coach" feature, for training the boyfriends of the world to take a good couple's photo (Google's words, not mine).

I wanted to put the Pixel 10 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras head-to-head to see which one came out on top. You can judge the results for yourself with samples from the more than 500 photos and videos I shot with the two phones.

Don’t miss out on our latest stories: Add Mashable as a trusted news source in Google.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best phone cameras of 2025 — which took the best pictures? Pixel 10 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras: Comparing the hardware Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

Both phones bring similar hardware to the mix, but there are a few notable differences.

The Pixel 10 Pro has:

• 50MP main lens

• 48MP 5x telephoto lens

• 48MP ultrawide lens

• 42MP selfie camera

Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has:

• 200 MP main lens

• 10MP 3x telephoto lens

• 50MP 5x telephoto lens

• 50MP ultrawide lens

On paper, it would seem like the Samsung phone has the Pixel beaten hands down, but that's not what the results say. 

I need to mention one pretty huge caveat: a true comparison is only possible because I'm looking at the photos on a Monoprice 32-inch monitor at 100% zoom. On a phone screen or Instagram feed, the photos from both phones look amazing. It's only when you really dig in that you start to see little differences.

Comparing the main cameras

Both phones have really great main cameras with excellent color reproduction and clarity. I think the 200-megapixel lens on the Samsung S25 Ultra does a better job of capturing the whole scene with clarity in the foreground and the background. The Pixel 10 Pro captures the texture of the trees better but loses a bit of clarity on the roller coaster in the background. Meanwhile, the Pixel captures the stars on the flag more distinctly — they are stars, while the Samsung loses some detail and makes them look more like circles. However, overall, Samsung captured the waving flags just a bit sharper than Google's phone.

For all these comparisons, I've put the Pixel 10 Pro photos on the left and the S25 Ultra photos on the right.

Left: Pixel 10 Pro Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Galaxy S25 Ultra Credit: Adam Doud Left: Pixel 10 Pro Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Galaxy S25 Ultra Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Ultrawide cameras

The ultrawide cameras on both phones lose a lot of detail, but that's normal for an ultrawide camera. Textures get mutilated and grain starts to seep in. I've never seen an ultrawide camera that didn't do that. The ultrawide camera of the Pixel 10 Pro captures a bit more of the scene, which is what an ultrawide is supposed to do after all, so I have to give it the nod.

Left: Pixel 10 Pro / Faces blurred to protect privacy Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Galaxy S25 ultra / Faces blurred to protect privacy Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Left: Pixel 10 Pro Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Galaxy S25 Ultra Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Telephoto 5x

Both phones come equipped with a 5x periscope telephoto lens. Both of these cameras are excellent at capturing images at 5x optical zoom, which, as a father, I value far more than ultrawide. Overall, I think Samsung's photo was more color realistic, while Google's seemed to punch up the bright colors to make them pop more. It's a matter of taste, but given the two, I'd probably prefer the pop of the Pixel 10 Pro, and not just for the alliteration. Both lenses caught really great detail, as this floral background could be challenging for a lesser lens.

Left: Pixel 10 Pro Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Galaxy S25 Ultra Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Testing the 100x zoom

Now we get to the big kahuna. Samsung has been bragging about its 100x zoom for years now, while Google only recently got into that game.

Famously, Samsung Galaxy S Ultra phones are known for their photos of the moon. Unfortunately, during my testing period, the moon stayed below the horizon for the most part. So, I had to stick with terrestrial objects. First, I grabbed a photo from a sign for a ride from about 150 feet away.

You can see how far away I was in the first photo. Then just to be sure, I walked over and took a photo of the actual sign to show you what it should look like up close:

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

From there, I zoomed in and let the phones do their work. You can see the results for yourself:

Left: Pixel 10 Pro Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Galaxy S25 Ultra Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

It's widely known by now that super zoom smartphone photos depend on AI technology to enhance photos and fill in gaps. And neither of these photos is very good. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra's photo is very blurry and blotchy, while the Pixel photo looks more like a painting or crayon drawing. Neither captures the sign perfectly, but if you made me choose, I'd go with the Pixel 10 Pro's rendition over Samsung's, though Samsung got closer to the actual colors of the sign.

The next one I tried was of a pair of insects, let's say, hugging, on a flower about 10 feet away. In this case, the Pixel beat out the Samsung, and it's not even close. While the Samsung photo looks OK on the phone screen, it doesn't survive a closer inspection on a 32-inch screen. The Pixel's photo is a lot sharper with more detail.

Left: Pixel 10 Pro Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Galaxy S25 Ultra Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

In short, if you're looking for the smartphone with the best 100x zoom, it's now the Pixel 10 Pro.

What about portrait mode?

Portrait mode is especially tough on a phone because it tries to replicate a phenomenon that comes naturally to a larger lens — bokeh. It's the blurring of a background while the subject of a photo remains tack sharp and clear. For this one, I borrowed my wife because she's cute and I can afford her modeling rates. 

Left: Pixel 10 Pro Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable Right: Galaxy S25 Ultra Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

Portrait mode is especially tough when there are stray hairs around a subject's head, and while my wife's perfectly coiffed hairdo is beyond reproach, there are still a few hairs that escaped her attention. Samsung handled these with much more aplomb than the Pixel. The Pixel makes it look like my wife was photoshopped into the photo — it's good, but it's almost too good. There are a few identifiable stray hairs, but they are cropped and blurred with the background.

On a phone screen, it looks fine, but blow up the photo and you'll see the truth. The way Samsung worked with those hairs is much closer to the physics that guide a camera lens.

Camera coach

The Pixel 10 Pro has one last trick up its sleeve — a new AI tool called Camera Coach. This photography feature (which works in the cloud, not on device) can instruct you on how to take a great photo based on what your camera sees.

When you aim your camera, there's a camera with a star icon in the upper right corner. Tap that, and the camera will take in the scene. From there, it will suggest a few shots you can take. Once you select one, it will generate steps to help you capture the shot, such as "Step closer to the subject" or "Try increasing the exposure on the shot."

Here is a shot I took of a big checkerboard at a nearby restaurant (my wife's "fee" for helping). 

The image I took with Camera Coach. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

There are two things to know about this procedure. First, it takes a bit of time. It'll take about 15 seconds or so to generate the shot previews and then another few seconds to generate the steps. That's a long time to keep a living subject standing there and smiling, as my family will attest to.

The second caveat: the camera never actually tells you when you've completed a step. Intuitively, you would expect a camera to see that you've moved closer and then move to the next step. That's not what happens here. In fact, you can advance steps without following the directions. It's more like a camera suggestion-giver than a camera coach, but a software update could fix this.

Camera Coach's instructions. Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable

For now, the Pixel 10 Pro has the edge.

Overall, the Pixel 10 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra both have ridiculously impressive camera arrays. In general, I preferred the output of the Pixel 10 Pro, but most of what I preferred was software and post-processing-related, so it's subjective, and it's entirely fixable "in post," as the pros say.

Overall, I'm impressed with what's possible with 100x zoom, but you'll get mixed results. Fortunately, the hits are much more frequent than the misses, and that's exciting. I'm all about that zoom. I'm not saying this tech is ready to capture your kids' recitals from the back of the room — you still need to depend on a proper camera for that, but as they say, the best camera is the one you have on you, and these cameras impressed me in every way.

How I tested these phone cameras

Summer is lovely, and one of my favorite things to do during the summer (even its waning days) is to head to my local amusement park, Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Home to a number of huge and amazing roller coasters, it's a great place to just strap yourself to a chair and get thrown off a cliff.

It's also a great place to check out cameras. Great America is full of lovely scenery and bright colors, great for testing out all aspects of a great smartphone camera. But any camera can be great when the lighting is good, so after the sun went down, I typically test things out at Streamwood's village hall, which has a number of lovely low-light testing scenarios I can take advantage of.

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For most Taylor Swift fans, it's been a great 24 hours, with the pop megastar announcing Tuesday her engagement to Travis Kelce. It's been a strange 24 hours, however, for Gaylors.

If you're unfamiliar with the term "Gaylor," well, it's kind of what it sounds like. Typically speaking, Gaylors are fans of Swift who — through close readings of lyrics and carefully parsing through the singer's public life — believe her to be gay, bi, or, in some form, not straight. It's worth noting here, though, that Gaylor subreddits and pockets can also be spaces for LGBTQ fans to congregate and not necessarily speculate on Swift's sexuality. But, still, a central part of Gaylorism and an offhand reference to a Gaylor typically does reference the belief that Swift isn't straight.

One popular place for Gaylors to commune is the r/GaylorSwift subreddit, a community of over 50,000 Swifties. The forum is a major source for Gaylor content, describing itself as a "space for thoughtful discussion and examination of Taylor Swift, including queer readings, themes, and motifs in her work and public persona."

Given the purpose of r/GaylorSwift and similar spaces...you can see why yesterday was a strange day, considering Swift is now officially engaged to a man.

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The Gaylor community has always proved a bit controversial. Last year, for instance, a New York Times op-ed that claimed Swift isn't straight led to a slew of backlash.

Swift herself has felt the need to address the speculation. In the liner notes of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), released in 2023, she wrote that Gaylor theories centered on what were actually "female friendships" and that fans "sexualized" and "sensationalized" these relationships.

So when Swift got engaged, mocking of Gaylors was, well, swift. Folks rushed to see how Gaylors took the news, and screenshots of r/GaylorSwift quickly went viral online as people made jokes at Gaylors' expense.

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Less than 24 hours after the engagement announcement, r/GaylorSwift went private.

Credit: Screenshot: Reddit

Though I can't profess to be a regular visitor, the Wayback Machine suggests that the subreddit was previously public. The smaller subreddit r/Gaylor_Swift remains open, though, at least as of this publication.

The Alien franchise has terrified audiences for decades with the perfect monster: the Xenomorph. But FX’s Alien: Earth proves the series still has new nightmares to share. Now, the new T. Ocellus parasite brings a fresh spin on terror: not just invading your body, but hijacking your mind. Here’s how Alien: Earth evolves the nightmare.

Alien: Earth episodes land every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on Hulu and FX.

OpenAI reiterated existing mental health safeguards and announced future plans for its popular AI chatbot, addressing accusations that ChatGPT improperly responds to life-threatening discussions and facilitates user self-harm.

The company published a blog post detailing its model's layered safeguards just hours after it was reported that the AI giant was facing a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of California teenager Adam Raine. The lawsuit alleges that Raine, who died by suicide, was able to bypass the chatbot's guardrails and detail harmful and self-destructive thoughts, as well as suicidal ideation, which was periodically affirmed by ChatGPT.

SEE ALSO: Dead teen's family files wrongful death suit against OpenAI and ChatGPT

ChatGPT hit 700 million active weekly users earlier this month.

"At this scale, we sometimes encounter people in serious mental and emotional distress. We wrote about this a few weeks ago and had planned to share more after our next major update," the company said in a statement. "However, recent heartbreaking cases of people using ChatGPT in the midst of acute crises weigh heavily on us, and we believe it’s important to share more now."

Currently, ChatGPT's protocols include a series of stacked safeguards that seek to limit ChatGPT's outputs according to specific safety limitations. When they work appropriately, ChatGPT is instructed not to provide self-harm instructions or comply with continued prompts on that subject, instead escalating mentions of bodily harm to human moderators and directing users to the U.S.-based 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the UK Samaritans, or findahelpline.com. As a federally-funded service, 988 has recently ended its LGBTQ-specific services under a Trump administration mandate — even as chatbot use among vulnerable teens grows.

In light of other cases in which isolated users in severe mental distress confided in unqualified digital companions, as well as previous lawsuits against AI competitors like Character.AI, online safety advocates have called on AI companies to take a more active approach to detecting and preventing harmful behavior, including automatic alerts to emergency services.

OpenAI said future GPT-5 updates will include instructions for the chatbot to "de-escalate" users in mental distress by "grounding the person in reality," presumably a response to increased reports of the chatbot enabling states of delusion. OpenAI said it is exploring new ways to connect users directly to mental health professionals before users report what the company refers to as "acute self harm." Other safety protocols could include "one-click messages or calls to saved emergency contacts, friends, or family members," OpenAI writes, or an opt-in feature that lets ChatGPT reach out to emergency contacts automatically.

SEE ALSO: Explaining the phenomenon known as 'AI psychosis'

Earlier this month, OpenAI announced it was upgrading its latest model, GPT-5, with additional safeguards intended to foster healthier engagement with its AI helper. Noting criticisms that the chatbot's prior models were overly sycophantic — to the point of potentially deleterious mental health outcomes — the company said its new model was better at recognizing mental and emotional distress and would respond differently to "high stakes" questions moving forward. GPT-5 also includes gentle nudges to end sessions that have gone on for extended periods of time, as individuals form increasingly dependent relationships with their digital companions.

Widespread backlash ensued, with GPT-4o users demanding the company reinstate the former model after losing their personalized chatbots. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly conceded and brought back GPT-4o, despite previously acknowledging a growing problem of emotional dependency among ChatGPT users.

In the new blog post, OpenAI admitted that its safeguards degraded and performed less reliably in long interactions — the kinds that many emotionally dependent users engage in every day — and "even with these safeguards, there have been moments when our systems did not behave as intended in sensitive situations."

If you're feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can reach the Trans Lifeline by calling 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text "START" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. If you don't like the phone, consider using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Chat at crisischat.org. Here is a list of international resources.