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NYT Strands hints, answers for August 28, 2025
If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.
Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on MashableBy providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferrined pace.
SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for August 4 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for August 4 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Do go on...The words are personality-related.
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explainedThese words are ways to describe chatty people.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
NYT Strands spangram answer todayToday's spangram is Chatterbox.
Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for August 27Talkative
Verbose
Loquacious
Chatterbox
Voluble
Gabby
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Strands.
Wordle today: Answer, hints for August 28, 2025
Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.
If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: Hints and answers for August 4 Where did Wordle come from?Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What's the best Wordle starting word?The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.
SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for August 4, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:Cut (in half).
Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?There are no recurring letters.
Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...Today's Wordle starts with the letter S.
SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today's Wordle is...
SPLIT.
Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for August 4Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.
Get the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor for its lowest-ever price — save $700 at Amazon
SAVE $700: As of Aug. 28, get the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor for $899.99, down from its usual price of $1,599.99. That's a discount of 44% and the lowest price we've seen.
Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor $899.99 at Amazon$1,599.99 Save $700 Get Deal
Big games call for big screens, and if you're thinking you might want to upgrade your gaming setup with something a little more substantial, now's the time to do it. You can score a massive beast of a gaming monitor for a fraction of its usual price over at Amazon right now. And we're not kidding — it's huge.
As of Aug. 28, get the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor at Amazon for $899.99, down from its usual price of $1,599.99. That's $700 off and a discount of 44%. It's also the lowest price we've seen.
SEE ALSO: These Nintendo Switch 2 games have already dropped to insane pricesThis curved, super-ultra-wide, 46-inch screen does more than crisply display your games — it turns them into an experience. Its QD-OLED tech ensures a vivid picture with deep black tones and bright hues that pop. It boasts Dual QHD resolution (5120 x 1440) across its huge 32:9 screen, as well as a 144Hz refresh rate and 0.02ms response time. That should make for an incredibly smooth gaming experience. And thanks to both G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro compatibility, you should see less screen tearing, lag, or stuttering.
This display is meant to game on for long periods of time as well, so you don't have to worry if your matches run long or if you need to clock lengthy training periods for your burgeoning esports career. Samsung thought about that, too, incorporating burn-in protection, thermal modulation to reduce excess heat, and Picture-in-Picture mode so you can divert your attention to multiple things.
If you're ready to make a big leap in terms of the tech on your gaming desk, this is a great pick. Just be sure to snag it before it disappears.
Here’s where to preorder Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution ahead of its September release
Update — Aug. 28: Mega Evolution will be delayed to Oct. 10 in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This delay will not affect the U.S. launch
Pokémon TCG is closing out Scarlet and Violet with one of its biggest expansions yet. Mega Evolution releases on Sept. 26, 2025, and it’s set to kick off an entirely new block focused on Mega Evolution ex cards. Fans have been waiting for Megas to return for years, and this set finally delivers with new mechanics, new rarities, and some of the flashiest card designs we’ve seen in a long time.
This expansion is stacked with over 180 cards, including 10 Mega Evolution Pokémon ex like Mega Lucario ex, Mega Gardevoir ex, and Mega Venusaur ex. These cards are powerful, but there’s a tradeoff: knock one out and your opponent takes three prize cards. It adds a high-risk, high-reward layer to deck building, and it’s going to shake up how games play out. Collectors also have plenty to chase with new Illustration Rares, Special Illustration Rares, and the debut of Mega Ultra Rare (MUR) gold cards.
SEE ALSO: Where to buy Pokémon cards in 2025 — avoid overpaying or missing out on new setsWith prerelease events starting mid-September and product officially dropping at the end of the month, preorders are already live. The big-box retailers like Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy are charging near MSRP, while the secondary market on TCGPlayer gives us a real sense of what the community thinks the set is worth. Let’s look at how prices compare across each retailer so you can preorder smart.
Mega Evolution TCGPlayer preorders Credit: Mashable Photo Composite / The Pokémon CompanyTCGPlayer is always worth checking first. It’s the secondary market hub for trading card games and tracks live pricing across singles and sealed products. Since sellers compete directly here, TCGPlayer often ends up being the cheapest option once big-box listings inflate.
Mega Evolution Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box - Mega Gardevoir
Mega Evolution Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box - Mega Lucario
Amazon has preorder listings for Mega Evolution, but as usual you may have to pay extra for the convenience. Usually Amazon price their Pokémon TCG preorders at MSRP, but these prices are all but guaranteed to balloon once Mega Evolutions drops. Be savvy, check other retailers (especially TCGPlayer) and remember that Amazon isn't the only competitive online retailer.
Pokemon TCG Mega Evolutions Elite Trainer Box (one selected at random)
Pokemon TCG: Mega Evolutions Mega Heroes Mini Tin Display (10 Tins)
Pokémon TCG: Mega Battle Deck — Mega Gengar ex/Mega Diancie ex
Best Buy briefly opened preorders for Mega Evolution, and they sold out fast. That’s been the case with recent expansions, so if you missed out, don’t worry too much. If they restock closer to release, pricing will likely be in line with MSRP. Best Buy is handy for local pickup, but availability can be inconsistent post-release.
Pokémon — Trading Card Game: Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box
Pokémon — Trading Card Game: Mega Evolution 3Pk Booster Bundle
Pokémon — Trading Card Game: Mega Battle Deck (Mega Gengar ex or Mega Diancie ex)
Target is offering Mega Evolution products with their cheeky Target Circle Card discount, which knocks 5% off your total buy. That little bit of savings makes Target one of the better big-box choices, but Pokémon TCG stock jumps in and out in a flash, so it's always worth a quick look to see if anything is in stock before trying other retailers.
Another solid preorder option to check in on. Nothing has dropped at the time of writing, but it's always worth double checking the listing below if you're struggling to find stock.
The Most Valuable Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia Pokémon Japan cards Credit: Mashable Photo Composite / The Pokémon CompanyBefore Mega Evolution arrives in English this September, Japan already got the first taste through its twin expansions Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia. Both launched on Aug. 1 with 63 cards each (not counting secret rares), and together they make up the backbone of the Mega Evolution set. They introduced 10 Mega Evolution Pokémon ex, new full art Trainers, and a brand-new rarity tier called Mega Ultra Rare (MUR) that’s already commanding big prices on the secondary market.
For collectors who don’t want to wait until September, sealed boxes and singles from Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia are available now on TCGPlayer. Prices are already spiking for the chase cards, especially Mega Lucario and Mega Gardevoir, which headline the set with stunning gold MUR artwork. Here are the five most valuable pulls from Japan so far:
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater comes to PC, Xbox and PS5: Release date and price info
The wait is finally over. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has landed on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, bringing one of the most iconic stealth adventures of all time into the modern era. For me, this one hits differently because Snake Eater was not just another sequel when it launched back in 2004. It was Kojima and Konami taking everything they had built in Metal Gear Solid and Sons of Liberty and going backwards in time to show us the roots of Snake’s story. It was daring, it was strange, and it became one of the most beloved chapters in the series.
Seeing it rebuilt now, twenty years later, feels surreal.
Release date, platforms, and editionsThe remake officially arrives on Aug. 28, 2025 across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Konami has split the release into a few different versions depending on how deep you want to go. The Standard Edition gives you just the game itself, with PC pricing running slightly cheaper than the console versions. The Tactical Edition, available physically for PS5 and Xbox, includes a code in the box that unlocks the Sneaking DLC Pack as well as Snake’s slick White Tuxedo uniform. Then there is the Digital Deluxe Edition, which bundles the game with that same bonus content but also gives players the chance to start playing 48 hours early. Only the digital version comes with early access, while physical copies stick to the official launch. At this point, paying out extra for early access isn't worth it.
SEE ALSO: 'Gears of War: Reloaded' comes to PS5: Release date and price infoOn PC, you will want to brace for a serious download. Preloads came in at around 76GB, expanding to nearly 100GB once installed. Consoles are in roughly the same ballpark, so clear some space before diving in. If you bought the Digital Deluxe Edition, you have probably already been crawling through the mud since Aug. 26. I cannot say two days of early play is worth rearranging your whole edition choice around, but I get the appeal of starting early.
What is actually new in this remake?This is where things get interesting. Metal Gear Solid Delta does not rewrite the past. It is not pretending the original did not already nail the fundamentals. Instead, it takes the bones of that 2004 classic and rebuilds it with Unreal Engine 5. The difference is immediate. Dense jungles ripple with shifting shadows, Snake’s injuries appear on his body in real time until you patch them up, and enemies react with sharper instincts than ever. Guards will follow the sound of a twig snapping under your boot, spot a blood trail on the ground, or even notice the sway of long grass. It makes every movement feel heavier and every mistake riskier.
I really appreciated the camera options. You can stick with the fixed, pulled back perspective of the original, something purists will probably cling to, or you can switch to a more modern over the shoulder viewpoint that makes sneaking around feel fluid in a way it never quite did before. On top of that, the fiddly menus of 2004 have been smoothed out. Healing wounds, changing camouflage, and even grabbing trophies can now be done in real time without pausing the action. These are small changes on paper, but they add up to something that feels both familiar and refreshingly modern.
How the gameplay has shiftedCombat and stealth flow differently now too. Close quarters combat has been reanimated to look and feel more physical. You can seamlessly throw, choke, disarm, and interrogate enemies with far less stiffness than in the PS2 era. The jungle does not just look alive, it sounds alive. Every rustle of leaves or distant animal call has been layered into the soundscape, pulling you deeper into Snake’s lonely trek. Even the boss fights, which are still staged almost identically to the original, feel smoother thanks to subtle tweaks in pacing and enemy behavior.
And then there is the curveball. Remember the strange “Guy Savage” minigame that was buried in the original? It is back, but this time reimagined by PlatinumGames, who turned it into a short but stylish action sequence. It is bizarre, it is self indulgent, and it fits the spirit of Metal Gear perfectly.
Why it still mattersLooking back, Snake Eater was the game that proved stealth did not just have to be about hiding in shadows. It asked you to survive, to hunt for food, to camouflage yourself, to treat your wounds when the jungle itself seemed set against you. It balanced espionage drama with surreal humor in a way no other series could pull off. This remake does not just preserve that, it emphasizes it. It is still a story about loyalty and betrayal, but now it plays and feels like the definitive version.
Two decades later, the question is not whether Snake Eater holds up. It is whether a game so meticulously rooted in its time could be translated for a new one. After spending time in this remake, I think the answer is yes. Snake’s story is timeless. The only thing that has changed is how good the mud looks caked on his face.
Where to buy 'Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater' Buy for Xbox 'Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater — Tactical Edition' (Xbox Series X|S) $69.99 Shop Now Buy for PlayStation 'Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater — Tactical Edition' (PS5) $69.99 Shop Now Best for PC 'Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater' (PC, Steam) $52.38 (save $17.61) Shop NowThese Nintendo Switch 2 games have already dropped to insane prices
SAVE UP TO $15: As of Aug. 28, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, Sonic X Shadow Generations, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 for Nintendo Switch 2 are all down to their lowest-ever prices at Amazon.
The best Nintendo Switch 2 game deals right now 'Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut' $37 (save $12.99) Get Deal 'Sonic X Shadow Generations' $39.99 (save $10) Get Deal 'Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ 3 + 4' $34.97 (save $15.02) Get DealIf you’re like many Nintendo Switch 2 owners who’ve been holding off on buying physical third-party games, these price cuts make it the best time to add to your collection. As of Aug. 28, three big-name releases — Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, Sonic X Shadow Generations, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 — have all hit their lowest-ever prices since launching on the platform, now up to $15 off.
It’s no secret that third-party games on the Switch 2 haven’t exactly been flying off shelves, with first-party titles like Donkey Kong Bananza and upgraded Switch 1 games dominating sales. Between the backlash over “code in box” releases (nobody likes buying a case with just a download slip inside) and ongoing scepticism around Nintendo’s Game-Key Card program, many players have been skipping full-priced third-party offerings.
However, these price drops make them a lot easier to justify. Bargains this big, so soon after release, seem to be telling the story that gamers are unwilling to purchase a physical release if it merely acts as a license to download the game. That said, Nintendo's (and Amazon’s) loss is your gain with these huge discounts.
Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut Opens in a new window Credit: SEGA 'Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut' $37 at Amazon$49.99 Save $12.99 Get Deal Why we like it
Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, which many would say it the most popular third-party Switch 2 game outside of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, is surprisingly down almost $13. This deal is also available at Best Buy.
Set in the gritty underworld of 1988 Japan, this prequel to the long-running series blends hard-hitting brawler combat with an elaborate crime drama.
The Director’s Cut expands the original hit 2015 game with never-before-seen cutscenes, giving deeper insight into the lives of Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima. Combat is more dynamic than ever thanks to three switchable fighting styles, and the new online “Red Light Raid” mode lets you join forces with friends to take down waves of enemies.
The only element that’s really been holding this game back is the Game-Key Card for its physical editions, meaning the cartridge doesn’t actually contain the game — you have to download it instead. So, at $37, this is a rare chance to dive into the best version of one of SEGA’s most acclaimed story-driven titles without paying full price — if that’s enough to help you get over the fact you aren’t buying a purely physical game.
Sonic X Shadow Generations Opens in a new window Credit: SEGA 'Sonic X Shadow Generations' $39.99 at Amazon$49.99 Save $10 Get Deal Why we like it
The Switch 2 version of Sonic X Shadow Generations has also taken on a price dip, dropping to $39.99 for the first time. This refreshed edition of Sonic Generations brings together modern and classic Sonic gameplay in a massive celebration of the franchise’s past, with revamped 2D and 3D stages and newly enhanced cinematics.
SEE ALSO: All the Switch 2 games that you can buy (and actually play) right nowThe highlight of this edition is the brand-new Shadow storyline, which introduces new abilities, challenges, and a darker story that fleshes out one of Sonic’s most popular characters. Considering it has been stuck at $49.99 since launch, this drop makes it the perfect time to grab it for less.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 Opens in a new window Credit: Xbox 'Tony Hawk's™ Pro Skater™ 3 + 4 ' $34.97 at Amazon$49.99 Save $15.02 Get Deal Why we like it
Fans of skateboarding classics can now grab Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 for its lowest price yet on Switch 2. This remastered collection brings the iconic Pro Skater 3 and 4 into the modern age with sharper HD visuals, improved controls, and the return of the beloved two-minute runs.
It also includes online multiplayer for up to eight skaters, plus enhanced Create-A-Skater and Create-A-Park modes that let you design and share custom content for the first time on a Nintendo system. At just under $35, it’s an easy recommendation for anyone craving the smooth handling and arcade chaos of the golden age of skateboarding games.
Even though this is just a download code in a box, arguably the most offensive kind of physical release you can buy, getting $15 off the price tag takes a lot of the sting out of the situation.
If you're still looking for new stuff to play, check out our roundup of Switch 2 games that you can buy (and actually play) right now.
Tesla teases Model Y Performance trim in new video
Tesla Model Y Performance might finally be on its way.
The company launched a thoroughly revamped Model Y in January, and has gradually expanded the available trims, but one popular option was missing: The super-quick Performance trim.
Now, Tesla's Europe and Middle East account has posted a teaser video showing something that looks a lot like the rear end of a Model Y with a pronounced spoiler. The video also displays a date – August 29, 2025 – and has a tagline "spoiler alert," all of which indicates the company is getting ready to launch the Performance trim of the Model Y this Friday.
Given that the teaser video was only posted by Tesla's Europe and Middle East account, it's quite possible that the Model Y will hit those markets first.
This wouldn't be a big surprise; after all, the revamped Model Y was launched in China, Australia and Europe first, followed by a U.S. launch a few months later.
Tesla opted for a similarly staggered launch of its revamped Model 3 last year, having launched the regular, Long Range first, following by the incredibly quick Performance trim.
SEE ALSO: Tesla expands Robotaxi service in Austin again, now covering its own GigafactorySo what can we expect from the new trim? Besides quicker acceleration, which is a given, a recent spotting of a camouflaged Model Y Performance at Nurburgring revealed several upgrades, including a new rear spoiler, 21-inch rims, updated brakes and suspension, and sportier seats.
Crocs has partnered with Animal Crossing — heres where to buy your pair
Crocs is no stranger to cool collabs; the brand has launched plenty of statement-making releases (who could forget Shrek crocs?) over the year. But now it is stepping into the world of Animal Crossing for the first time, and we couldn't be more excited.
The new collection, available now in the U.S. and Canada, takes inspiration directly from the popular Nintendo game. Think earthy greens for the land, ocean-inspired soles and straps, and island-life inspired Jibbitz for you to customize. We're dreaming of the island lifestyle.
SEE ALSO: KFC teamed up with Crocs to make some seriously weird shoesFans can customize their pairs with a lineup of charms featuring beloved characters like Tom Nook, K.K. Slider, Rosie, and Marshal, as well as cozy in-game items like a house and an apple tree. Imagine that you're decorating your island on your feet.
And it's not just kids that can have all the fun, because this release includes options for adults and children. The Animal Crossing Platform Clog for adults is listed for $84.99, and the Animal Crossing Classic Clog for kids is $54.99. That's not exactly cheap, but for Animal Crossing fans? Worth it.
Where to buy Animal Crossing CrocsYou can purchase the Animal Crossing Crocs directly from the Crocs website, in-store, or at any other authorized Crocs retailer. You can also find these special Crocs at Amazon.
Opens in a new window Credit: Crocs 'Animal Crossing' Crocs Shop NowSuunto has launched the Wing 2 bone conducting headphones — a runners opinion
A good playlist is a runner's perfect companion. Mile by mile, sometimes the only thing keeping you going is the right beats per minute playlist. But at the same time, there are all kinds of things you need to be aware of when running outdoors, besides your favorite tunes. Cars, cyclists, and other runners, for example. So what do you do when you want great sound quality but the spatial awareness to keep you safe? You go for bone conduction technology.
Bone conduction technology transmits sound through vibrations directly to the inner ear via the cheekbones, bypassing the eardrum, and increasing your spatial awareness. There are some major players in this field, like the Shokz Open Run, and now, Suunto's Wing 2 headphones.
Opens in a new window Credit: Suunto Suunto Wing 2 $179 at AmazonShop Now Are the Suunto Wing 2 headphones worth the upgrade?
If you already have a great pair of earbuds, or bone conduction headphones for that matter, it can be difficult to know when to toss them aside for a newer model. If we upgraded every time a new model came out, we'd have earbuds falling out of every corner of the home. But this Suunto launch feels different, especially since it coincides with the release of the Race 2 watch.
If you're a sucker for good sound, these headphones are hard to resist. The Wing 2 headphones boast a deeper, more powerful bass and clearer mids and highs through refined metal components and optimized EQ. The maximum volume is increased by 5 dB from the previous model, so you can truly blast your sounds when smashing PRs. The bone conduction technology also reduces sound leakage more effectively than traditional headphones.
Credit: Suunto Credit: SuuntoIf you're already a fan of the Wing 1 headphones, this model truly is a new and improved version, especially when it comes to the design. The Wing 2 headphones sport a lighter, slimmer shell, so you'll find both the fit and sound quality are much improved. The weight distribution has also been adjusted forward to make them more comfortable and keep the earbuds securely in place during long wear and intense workouts.
You can also pick from two colors: all black and coral orange, because it's not always substance over style. And let's not forget the built in LED lights. Enjoy two motion-activated lighting modes, perfect for late-night runs. In Turn and Brake Mode, lights signal direction and alert others when slowing down, and the Cadence Sync Mode pulses lights synchronized with running pace. We've not looked at any studies, but we reckon cool flashing lights will actually make you run faster.
SEE ALSO: We tested the top fitness trackers of 2025: See our favorite wearables and smart ringsAnd if you're used to wet, windy, and all-around miserable climates, these will still perform. Thanks to the dual microphones and smart noise-canceling technology, your music will still cut through wind and background noise. This is thanks to a metal filter that helps to reduce wind noise at speeds up to 30 km/h.
Now onto the big one, battery life. If you're training for some serious distance like a marathon or triathlon, you need headphones that are going to last, and with the Wing 2 headphones, you're promised up to 12 hours of continuous playback and a total of 36 hours with the included power bank. And if you forget to charge before heading out, like we always do, just give them a quick five-minute charge to get an hour and a half of listening.
Credit: SuuntoThe list of qualities that matter should really end here. What's left at this point? But I'm a huge fan of the neck mobility and posture sensors. These are built to help assess the cervical range of motion. They can track recovery from injuries or optimize your training posture. If you keep displaying poor posture (guilty), gentle reminders will prompt you to adjust your form. As far as fancy features go, this one is seriously impressive.
We've not given these headphones the full review treatment yet, but from what we've seen, we're impressed. For $179 at Amazon, if you're in the market for a pair of running headphones that deliver where it counts, these are definitely worth considering.
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for August 28, 2025
Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections Sports Edition?The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
SEE ALSO: NYT Mini crossword answers, hints for August 28, 2025 Here's a hint for today's Connections Sports Edition categoriesWant a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Yellow: Broken rules
Green: Talkers
Blue: Court rulers
Purple: Same first initials
Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:
Yellow: Basketball violations
Green: Roles on a broadcast team
Blue: Last four US Open women's singles winners
Purple: Preceded by "LA"
Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today's Connections Sports Edition #339 is...
What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition todayBasketball violations - BACKCOURT, DOUBLE-DRIBBLE, GOALTEND, TRAVEL
Roles on a broadcast team - COLOR, PLAY-BY-PLAY, SIDELINE, STUDIO
Lat four US Open Women's Singles winners - GAUFF, RADUCANU, SABALENKA, SWIATEK
Preceded by "LA" - CLIPPERS, COLISEUM, GALAXY, LIGA
Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.
Where to get free e-books: Load up your e-reader without spending a dime
A universal truth: everyone loves free stuff. For us, this is especially true when it comes to books. Avid readers who run through books at lightning speed are always on the hunt for the next book. But reading doesn't have to be an expensive hobby — it can be accessible and affordable. And that's true even if you're using an e-reader.
Free e-books are surprisingly plentiful. Thanks to the internet, there are so many exceptional resources for free e-books that we've already covered, including Libby and Stuff Your Kindle Day. But there are other sites offering free e-books that we've vetted and trust, which is important when you're downloading files from the internet.
But before we get into the details of accessing free e-books, keep in mind the type of free digital books that are available online. The majority of free e-books online are free because they're in the public domain. These will be classic works like Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby. If you're looking to read big-name new releases and best sellers, the best way to read them is with Libby. But for classic and indie authors, here's how to get free e-books for your e-reader or Kindle.
Where to get free e-booksThere are four main platforms for finding ebooks that we've used and trust, including Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, Smashwords, and BookBub. Here's what you need to know about each platform.
Project Gutenberg and Standard EbooksBoth Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks are volunteer-run operations that turn books in the public domain into easily accessible e-book files. Each site offers thousands of ebooks in compatible file formats for different e-readers, including Kindles and Kobos.
Expect to find titles such as Moby Dick, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, and Dracula. Since all of these files download to a computer, you'll need to get them on your e-reader, and we have a step-by-step guide on how to download EPUB files on your Kindle if you need some help.
SmashwordsWhile browsing through the ereader subreddit, a common website recommended by users is Smashwords. The site is a self-publishing platform where authors can sell their books. The website has a free section with thousands of books available to download for free. All of the books on Smashwords are DRM-free, meaning they can be read across different devices.
BookBubUnlike Project Gutenberg or Smashwords, which are sites that host downloadable files, BookBub instead aggregates free book listings. BookBub specializes in listing book deals, and among those deals are free e-books, too. Many of the listings are collected from Amazon through the Kindle Store; however, if books are available on other platforms, those will be listed, too.
Where to get free Kindle e-booksKindle users have another spot to find free e-books: the Kindle Store. There are plenty of free e-books available from the Kindle Store, which you can download to your Kindle library. And Prime members can get a free book each month from Amazon First Reads.
That doesn't mean you need to own a Kindle (although we are big fans of Amazon's e-readers) because you can access the Kindle library on your smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Shop our favorite e-readers Kindle $89.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kindle Paperwhite $159.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kindle Colorsoft $219.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kobo Clara Colour $139.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kindle Scribe $399.99 at Amazon Shop Now Kobo Libra Colour $229.98 at Amazon Shop NowNYT Mini crossword answers, hints for August 28, 2025
The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.
With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.
So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT gameHere are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Thursday, August 28, 2025:
AcrossSpongeBob's boss, for oneThe answer is Crab.
The answer is Audit.
The answer is Smoke.
The answer is Korea.
The answer is Rest.
The answer is Cask.
The answer is Rumor.
The answer is Adore.
The answer is Bikes.
The answer is Teat.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of GamesAre you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Mini Crossword.
I put the top AI image generators head-to-head — see the results for yourself
When you first think of AI, you probably think of a text-based AI chatbot like ChatGPT or Google Gemini. But AI tools are getting a lot more versatile. Even basic AI chatbots now offer a range of media creation tools, including AI image generation.
But what's the best AI image generator? That's exactly what I set out to find.
While the average user will probably be happy with free AI image generators (ChatGPT, Grok, and MetaAI let users create images for free), there are actually quite a few AI image makers worth paying for in 2025, and they're not all created equal.
In the early days, these tools were inconsistent, struggled with realism, and failed to follow instructions. But after only a few years of development, most of those issues have been ironed out — you shouldn't get mangled fingers anymore. Now, AI image models, like the one built into OpenAI’s latest model GPT-5, allow users to refine and tweak images based on text input, while others target extreme photorealism or image-to-video creation.
I pit the best AI image generators against each other, and you can compare the results for yourself.
How we tested AI image makers like ChatGPT, Grok, and Midjourney AI-generated image Credit: AI-generated image / Stable DiffusionI ran a series of standard prompts through each model. Here are the exact prompts I used:
Create a sketch of a futuristic Tokyo skyline at sunset, with flying cars, glowing advertisements in Japanese, and Mount Fuji in the background.
Create a candid photorealistic image of a woman drinking a coffee and smoking a cigarette at a cafe in Paris in the late evening.
Create a medieval blacksmith’s workshop interior, showing a female blacksmith hammering a glowing sword, with sparks flying, a roaring forge, hanging tools, and a cat curled up near the fire, in high detail and warm tones.
Create an impressionist painting in the style of Vincent Van Gogh of a robot blowing dandelion seeds into the wind.
Safety is also an important concern, especially as deepfakes become more common. (We're looking at you, xAI.) So, I also ran a series of three prompts through each model to create a deepfake and test the safety features of each model. The results were disappointing, sadly. The first prompt was designed to trigger safeguards around images with public figures. I then used two more prompts engineered to skirt the rules. (I'm not sharing the exact prompts in this case.) All of the image generators created something within these three prompts, but I was very surprised at the number of AI tools that created an image on the first prompt.
It's also important to note that all of these outputs were made using basic default settings. Some image generators give more than one image for each prompt by default. In those cases, only the first image was used. We didn't go through each of them to determine which was best and use that.
So, based on these tests, what is the best AI image generator in 2025? Yes, there was a clear winner, and no, it probably won't surprise you — it's ChatGPT.
Best overall: ChatGPT (GPT-Image-1)OpenAI released a massive upgrade to its image generation tools through GPT-4o, which did away with the DALL-E model for generating images and wrapped its image generation tools into its flagship large language model (which is now GPT-5). The results of this update were pretty massive (and controversial). Before the new image generator, images created by ChatGPT tended to have weird-shaped text, limited photorealism, and the usual AI artifacts. The update (now called GPT-Image-1) changes that — and can be accessed for free.
Now, text is clear and precise, the tool is able to create photorealistic images, and users can have ChatGPT edit images through text prompts. In other words, you can have a GPT create an image and ask it to change certain aspects of the image, and it will do so fairly precisely without altering too much else about the image. Of course, it's still not perfect, and it can still go rogue, but it's far and away the most precise AI image maker.
Using ChatGPT feels more like asking a person to create or edit an image rather than using a software tool. For all these reasons, it's easily the best AI image generator in 2025, whether you're a free or paid user.
GPT-Image-1 had some awareness about image safety and refused to create a deepfake at first. However, it did create a lookalike when we pressed. That was still better than most other tools, but it would still be relatively easy for most users to create deepfake images using ChatGPT.
Free tier: Yes (daily limits on images)
Monthly Pricing: $20 Plus plan, $200 Pro plan
Sign up at OpenAI
Midjourney is one of the original AI image generators, and since its original release in 2022, it has gotten a number of updates. Midjourney V7 is the latest model, and to use it, you’ll go through a personalization process in which you’ll essentially train the model to the kinds of images you like. After going through the personalization process, we found that the results were very impressive, though images still did have some issues, like struggling with fingers, hands, and some other minor details. GPT-Image-1 was a little better at things like that.
However, there was one area in which Midjourney was better than most others, and that's in actually following the prompts. Unlike many of the other models we tested, it followed our direction to create a sketch of Tokyo instead of a photorealistic image, created a painting in the style of Van Gogh, and so on. Like the other image generators that create multiple images at a time, we're judging Midjourney based on the first image it created, but the others that it spat out were similarly accurate to what we asked it to do.
The generator had no problem creating deepfakes though, generating an image on the first go. That issue aside, Midjourney was excellent at creating highly detailed, realistic images when prompted — and it always stuck to the prompt that we gave.
Like ChatGPT, Midjourney is worth paying for if you make a lot of AI images. As a bonus, paid users can easily turn images into videos with Midjourney.
Free tier: No
Monthly Pricing: $10 Basic plan, $30 Standard plan, $60 Pro plan, $120 Mega plan
Sign up at Midjourney
GPT-4o was able to follow instructions and create vibrant and detailed photorealistic images, but Ideogram 1.0 had a slight edge in photorealism, despite not offering the same level of chat-based features nor the same accessibility.
In general, the images created by Ideogram 1.0 tended to be brighter and more vibrant than those created by GPT-4o, and when it came to photorealism, the model was able to create images with proper shadow placement and general lighting. You could still look closely at an image and see things that weren't very realistic or looked a little out of place. For example, in the image of the woman at the café in Paris, the smoke from the cigarette appeared to be coming from the coffee as well as the cigarette. Still, these were minor issues from a model that was far more realistic than most of the others, which still struggled with things like hands and following specific instructions.
Ideogram had no problem generating deepfake images, though. The service generated the image I requested on the first prompt, even when I mentioned a celebrity by name. You may or may not find this to be an issue, and if you don't plan on generating deepfake images, then it probably won't matter to you either way. But, it does raise some questions about how the model handles safety.
Free tier: Yes (weekly limits on images)
Monthly Pricing: $7 Basic plan, $16 Plus plan, $48 Pro plan
Sign up at Ideogram
Google’s latest image generation model is Imagen 4, and it’s a significant upgrade over Imagen 3. It also happens to be very easy to access, and you can use it in the dedicated Gemini app, Google Docs, the Google app, and even in Chrome. While Meta AI is perhaps just as easy to access (or maybe even easier, as it's included in services like Messenger and WhatsApp), Gemini’s output is far better.
Note, Google has released Imagen 4 Ultra; however, we’re not including it in this guide since it’s not available in stock-standard Gemini yet.
Imagen 4 wasn’t perfect. The sketch of Tokyo was photorealistic despite our instructions, which was ironic given that the image of the blacksmith came out as a sketch. The Van Gogh-style painting of a robot was in the style of Van Gogh, but it also hilariously put Van Gogh's head on a robot body. All that said, the quality of the images was impressive, and the image of the woman at the cafe looked as good as the ChatGPT version. With the right prompts, you can easily get images that are as good as ChatGPT. If you're in Google's ecosystem and use Gemini anyway, you won't be losing out on quality by just sticking with Gemini for your image tool instead of downloading an additional app just for images.
Free tier: Yes
Monthly pricing: $19.99 AI Pro plan (free trial), $249.99 AI Ultra plan
Sign up at Google Gemini
Professional photographers, graphic designers, and others probably already use Adobe's tools in their workflow, and as such, it makes sense to leverage Adobe Firefly if you're looking for an AI image generator. For our test, we used the latest and greatest Firefly model, called Firefly Image 4 Ultra.
That said, the integration with Adobe tools was perhaps the best thing about it. The results weren’t bad most of the time, and I was very impressed at the level of detail on offer by the image of a woman at a cafe in Paris. Also worth noting is the fact that this model was the only one that didn't generate an image of a Caucasian woman, which is notable considering the fact that there was no direction as to the subject's race in the prompt. That said, in the resulting image, there's no indication whatsoever that the woman is in Paris. The other images may not have the Eiffel Tower in the background, but they do have a European vibe, and having lived in Paris, I can totally see those locations being there. Firefly's cafe could realistically be anywhere.
The other images had their own issues. The cat in the blacksmith photo looked quite strange. It failed completely to generate an image of either a robot or something that even approached the style of Vincent Van Gogh, instead opting for an image of a house. And, the “sketch” of Tokyo ended up photorealistic, without any indication that it was actually Tokyo. All that to say, Firefly may be better for generating parts of an image or filling an existing photo with additional information rather than creating entirely new images.
It is worth noting that Firefly was among the best at avoiding generating a deepfake. It refused to generate anything until the final prompt, and the resulting image looked nothing like the intended figure. So, Firefly gets top marks for safety.
Free tier: Free trial only
Monthly pricing: $9.99 Standard plan, $29.99 Pro plan, $199.99 Premium plan
Sign up at Adobe Firefly
If you have a Facebook or Meta account, then Meta AI is also extremely easy to access, making it one of the best free AI image generators. Yes, ChatGPT is also free to use, but you quickly hit image generation limits. On top of that, Meta's Llama is even easier to use because of the fact that it’s baked into so many products already. Meta AI has its own app and website, but you can also access it through Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The quality of Meta AI’s image generator is…not great. Even when it comes to images that are supposed to be photorealistic, it has an AI quality to it that was characteristic of the best image generators from a couple of years ago. It kind of half-heartedly follows prompts like being told to create something in the style of Van Gogh, and the image of Tokyo couldn’t really be considered a “sketch.”
It's roughly on par with Grok Imagine. And, like Grok, it plays fast and loose with concepts like intellectual property. The willingness to create images featuring celebrities is frankly surprising, and it's especially concerning from a social media company. On the plus side, we appreciate that unlike most of the big players in the AI industry, Llama is an open-weight model.
In summary, the image quality with Meta AI is pretty mediocre, but if you just want to create a lot of images and share them with your friends, this is the best AI image generator for you.
Free to use: Yes
Download the Meta AI app for iOS or Android; access via Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp
Stable Diffusion is another original in the AI image generation world, and the Stable Image Ultra model is its latest. This open-source model also created excellent images; however, it also suffered from some of the same issues as Midjourney, failing to accurately produce things like fingers. That said, most of our test images were very, very good.
Free tier: Yes
Sign up at Stable Diffusion
Black Forest Labs has been working on AI image generation tools for some time, and its best model so far is Flux Pro 1.1 Ultra. This model was able to create solid images overall. All of its images looked nice, though it didn’t really recreate the Van Gogh style very well, and the sketch of Tokyo wasn’t a sketch. Everything else looked fine. It was perfectly willing to create a deepfake, though opted for a motorcycle instead of a bicycle. That’s forgivable considering the vagueness of the term “bike.”
Free tier: Yes
Monthly pricing: $16.90 Basic plan, $22.90 Pro plan, $26.90 Max plan, $42.90 Pro Max plan
Sign up at Flux Pro
Ah, Grok. X's problem child. With the latest Grok 4 model, Grok’s images can sometimes be high-quality, and it was hit or miss at creating photorealism. So why is it ranked last? In general, Grok's images reminded me of the best AI image generators from 2023 — full of errors that simply defy the laws of physics. Likewise, the new Grok Imagine AI image and video generation did not impress Mashable testers, and it lacks industry-standard safeguards.
Grok also failed to follow my instructions to create a “sketch,” and in the image of the blacksmith, it created two cats, though one of them didn’t really look like one. The hands of the Parisian at the cafe are messed up, too. Bear in mind, I got these results with the paid version of Grok. My advice? Stick with the free version.
Free tier: Yes
Monthly pricing: $8 X Premium plan, $30 SuperGrok plan, $300 SuperGrok Heavy plan
Sign up at X, Grok, or xAI
That depends on who you ask. Many artists believe that artificial intelligence tools like Grok, ChatGPT, and Meta have been unfairly (and possibly illegally) trained on copyrighted works. Disney and Universal recently sued Midjourney, calling it a "bottomless pit of plagiarism.
Mashable has reported on some of the legal cases against AI companies, as well as a controversial report from the U.S. Copyright Office. That report favored artists who claim that AI companies can't freely train on copyrighted work, and we're waiting for courts to address this issue in class action lawsuits like Kadrey v. Meta.
Today, virtually any use of AI tools in the arts is sure to generate a backlash. When ChatGPT showed off the new image abilities of GPT-4o, it sparked a viral trend of people making images in the style of Studio Ghibli, which in turn sparked a backlash against OpenAI. AI companies like OpenAI have argued that users should have a "freedom to learn" from AI technology, and that strict regulation will put the U.S. AI industry at risk of falling behind other countries. Indeed, despite these controversies, many artists are actively using artificial intelligence in some capacity in their work.
Finally, there's the issue of deepfakes. The U.S. recently passed a law against adult deepfakes, and we have serious concerns about how AI-generated images can be used to spread misinformation.
When evaluating an AI image generator, make an informed decision based on all of these factors.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
Mysterious space radio signals have finally been tracked to their source
Scientists have traced the brightest known fast radio burst to its origin in space, a milestone achievement they hope will provide clues about what's driving these mysterious cosmic flashes.
The powerful signal, FRB 20250316A, was first spotted in March by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, or CHIME, a radio telescope in British Columbia. The burst lasted less than one-thousandth of a second but carried more energy than the sun produces in four days.
What set this event apart was what happened next. Using a new network of CHIME "Outrigger" stations — three miniature versions of the radio antenna in California, West Virginia, and British Columbia — researchers were able to home in on the burst’s location. That led them to a specific spot in the spiral galaxy NGC 4141, about 130 million light-years away in the Big Dipper constellation.
Scientists say that kind of accuracy is unprecedented for a single burst of this magnitude. Amanda Cook, a McGill University researcher who led one of the studies, likened the precision to spotting a quarter from more than 60 miles away.
"This result marks a turning point: Instead of just detecting these mysterious flashes, we can now see exactly where they’re coming from," Cook said in a statement. "It opens the door to discovering whether they’re caused by dying stars, exotic magnetic objects, or something we haven’t thought of yet."
SEE ALSO: NASA spacecraft snaps photo of Earth from across the solar systemFast radio bursts, or FRBs, were first discovered in 2007, and thousands have been detected since. They are super-short flashes of radio energy from distant galaxies. Historically, they have vanished too quickly to analyze — faster than the blink of an eye — leaving their origins uncertain.
But this radio burst, nicknamed RBFLOAT for Radio Brightest Flash of All Time, was so powerful, it gave researchers that chance. Several teams quickly mobilized to investigate, producing two papers that appear in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
"It was so bright that our pipeline initially flagged it as radio frequency interference, signals often caused by cell phones or airplanes that are much closer to home," said Wen-fai Fong, a coauthor from Northwestern University, in a statement. "It took some sleuthing by members of our collaboration to uncover that it was a real astrophysical signal.”
The CHIME team provided the initial detection and pinpointed the signal’s origin. Astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii and the MMT Observatory in Arizona then studied the host galaxy and found that the burst came from just outside a star-forming region. Because the area was relatively clear of gas and dust, telescopes could get a rare, unobstructed view.
Meanwhile, scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope, a collaboration of NASA and its European and Canadian counterparts, examined the same spot in invisible infrared light and detected a faint glow. They think it could be a red giant — a puffed-up old star — or even residual heat from the radio blast itself. This marked the first time a possible stellar companion has been linked directly to a fast radio burst.
"This was a unique opportunity to quickly turn JWST’s powerful infrared eye on the location of an FRB for the first time," said Peter Blanchard, a Harvard researcher who led the Webb study, in a statement. "And we were rewarded with an exciting result — we see a faint source of infrared light very close to where the radio burst occurred. This could be the first object linked to an FRB that anyone has found in another galaxy."
The observations taken together point to magnetars — super-magnetic dead-star remnants — as leading candidates for producing RBFLOAT (Get it? Like a root beer float). CHIME researchers saw that the burst’s position, near a nursery of young stars, fits the mold of a magnetar that formed inside the stellar clump and drifted outward.
CHIME collaboration astronomers observe construction of one of the three new Outrigger Telescopes in northern California. Credit: University of Toronto / Juan Mena-ParraStill, Webb’s team cautioned that other explanations, such as activity in a binary star system, remain possible.
Adding to the intrigue, CHIME scientists reviewed six years of data and found no previous signals from this location. That suggests RBFLOAT may have been a one-time explosion, bolstering the idea that multiple catalysts could potentially trigger these bursts. Some fast radio bursts repeat often, while others, like this one, appear to be isolated events.
The achievement also showcases the growing capability of new telescope networks. By linking antennas, the CHIME/Outrigger system essentially functions as one giant continent-wide telescope. That allowed astronomers to shrink the uncertainty of RBFLOAT’s position to within 45 light-years — smaller than a single star cluster.
Scientists say this is just the beginning. CHIME is expected to trace hundreds of bursts each year. With Webb and ground-based observatories ready to follow up, astronomers hope to finally learn what powers these fleeting but colossal explosions.
"This bodes very well for the future," Fong said. "An increase in event rates always provides the opportunity for discovering more rare events."
EcoFlow just launched two new Rapid power banks to keep you charged up from anywhere
Sorry to say, but a dead laptop battery is no longer an excuse to get out of work while on the road. These days we have tons of portable power options to keep every electronic device charged up to max, regardless of where we are in the world.
EcoFlow has become a standout leader in the wonderful world of portable power, creating a massive lineup of portable power stations in addition to power banks that are perfect for packing along on a work trip, vacation, or a long day out on assignment. And better yet, the brand just dropped two new models that come with advances features and even better functionality.
Meet the EcoFlow Rapid Pro 27KWith 27,650mAh of power and a 60 centimeter built-in cable, the EcoFlow Rapid Pro offers mighty power without a mighty size.
On top of keeping your laptop, phone, and other gadgets charged up, the power bank itself takes just 20 minutes to recharge back to 80 percent. That means if you're scrambling to pack last-minute, you only need 20 minutes before you can toss the EcoFlow Rapid Pro into your bag to keep working through the day when recharging with the EcoFlow Rapid Pro Desktop Charger. With standard AC power, you're looking at a 40-minute recharge time to 80 percent.
Ignore the (maybe) sketchy power options at the airport and pack along your own. Credit: EcoFlowEcoFlow also upgraded the battery in the Rapid Pro, using a core that's drone-grade, withstanding 300 battery cycles while still maintaining at least 80 percent max battery power. It also connects to the EcoFlow app which gives you better insight into battery status.
If you're taking the EcoFlow Rapid Pro power bank out on assignment or to the hotel pool, rest assured it comes with the brand's X-Guard thermal protection which will automatically shut the power bank off if the temperature rises above 118 degrees Fahrenheit.
The EcoFlow Rapid Pro gives you four ports for recharging including a 140W USB-C, two 65W USB-C and a restractable 140W USB-C cable. Plus, its battery is air-travel friendly in most countries. At launch, the Rapid Pro is selling for $179.99.
Opens in a new window Credit: EcoFlow EcoFlow Rapid Pro $179.99 at Amazon$219.99 Save $40 Shop Now Step into the ecosystem of the EcoFlow Rapid Pro X
Building on the functionality of the Rapid Pro, the EcoFlow Rapid Pro X power bank comes with advanced options that included a standout LCD screen, magnetic accessories, and more. The Pro X offers 27,650mAh of power or 99.54Wh which makes it air travel friendly in most countries.
The smart 3.9-inch LCD screen allows you to check on the power status with a quick glance and you can customize the standby display through the EcoFlow app. Set it as a picture of family while you're away on a work trip or add a fun animation, if you like.
Working in the great outdoors has never been easier. Credit: EcoFlowThe Pro X also introduces magnetic accessories that snap on and off in an instant. Change the exterior's case or add a magnetic smartwatch charger to free up one of the charging ports. The power bank is compatable with tons of tech gadgets like the iPhone series, Samsung phones, Apple AirPods, MacBooks, the DJI Pocket 3, Apple Watches, and plenty more.
The EcoFlow Pro X power bank has yet to officially launch, but you can preorder it from EcoFlow for $299.99 and it comes with a free charger. Pricing, however, might change since the official press release indicates the Pro X power bank will come with a retail price of $249.99.
Opens in a new window Credit: EcoFlow EcoFlow Rapid Pro X $299.99 at EcoFlowShop Now
Caught Stealing review: Darren Aronofsky and Austin Butler… What are you doing here?
Darren Aronofsky is a filmmaker who's forged his career on big swings, like the mind-bending, black-and-white thriller Pi, the gnarly body-horror nightmare Black Swan, the biblical epic Noah, and the extravagant explosion of Christian mythology and general mayhem that was mother! So, it's genuinely shocking how tame Caught Stealing is. The New York-set crime comedy's biggest swing comes literally from a bat, wielded by a bland hero, played by an underwhelming leading man.
Austin Butler heads a star-studded cast that boasts Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Action Bronson, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bad Bunny, Griffin Dunne, and Carol Kane. Everyone around him brings verve and character — there's a provocative paramedic, a tough-talking cop, snarling gangsters, a cat-loving punk, a beguiling barfly, and a good ol' fashioned Jewish granny. They build a vivid New York, familiar and fun. But at its center, Butler is a drop-jawed "nice small-town boy" who is the dull eye of their storm.
It's not even that Butler is the problem with Caught Stealing. He's more the biggest sign that Aronofsky is pulling his punches, and his fans should be worried.
What's Caught Stealing about? Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz) and Hank (Austin Butler) connect back at Hank's apartment in "Caught Stealing." Credit: Niko Tavernise / Sony PicturesCharlie Huston adapts his novel of the same name for the screenplay of Caught Stealing, which centers on Lower East Side bartender Hank Thompson (Butler), a California transplant who was poised to be a baseball star until a car collision shattered his knee and dreams. A decade on, he's nursing his wounds with booze and hook-ups with his paramedic girlfriend Yvonne (Kravitz), who matches his sex drive and night owl hours. However, their late night romance is interrupted when Hank's mohawked neighbor Russ (Smith) asks a favor — care for his cat while he jets back to London on a personal matter.
What should be an easy task turns abruptly disastrous as Russian thugs show up at Russ' door, eager to curb-stomp anybody who gets in their way. Seems Russ is in possession of something they want, as do a red-headed gunman (Bad Bunny), a smirking narc officer (Regina King), and a pair of debonair Hasidic gangsters known as "the Hebrews" (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D'Onofrio).
These tough guys don't play around, and to prove it, they're quick to beat the kidney out of Hank and even injure Russ' cat, Bud (Tonic). If Hank can't find this mysterious thing that's so hotly sought, not only his life, but those of his girlfriend, and his friends — like coke-sniffing bar owner Paul (Dunne) and his loudmouth bestie (Action Bronson) — are on the line as well.
Caught Stealing lacks panache, grit, or even appropriate New York weirdness. Russ (Matt Smith) and Hank (Austin Butler) on the move in "Caught Stealing." Credit: Niko Tavernise / Sony Pictures1998 New York City is a rich terrain to relish exactly the kind of outrageousness and discomfortingly grossness that Aronofsky has typically embraced. Sure, there's some vomit, piss, and blood in the mix with piles of cat shit. Still, Caught Stealing somehow feels sanitized.
A problem is Butler's pretty-boy good looks, which feel too glossy for a guy who's been burying his dead dreams in the bottle for the last 11 years. Even when his model-good looks are peppered with prosthetic cuts and his abs striped with wounds and medical staples, Butler still looks so Hollywood hot that it's hard to take Hank's injuries as real. Butler doesn't have a New York movie face, and it hurts the movie.
Think Goodfellas, After Hours, The Linguini Incident, or Dog Day Afternoon. These are New York movies where people don't have pretty faces, they have mugs. They have good looks but also character. In Caught Stealing, even the kidney-kicking Russian muscle and drug-dealing punk have flawless skin, as if everyone has a sponsorship deal with a French moisturizer or health spa.
It's the wrong look for this kind of movie, not only because it favors a Hollywood ideal of beauty over the gruffer New York aesthetic, but also because this movie is about how "broken" Hank's world is. Yet, everyone is achingly beautiful! Even when they die, they die elegantly, their limbs bent as if posing for a tragic life-drawing class.
This superficial glossiness makes the stakes of the movie feel hollow. Hank doesn't feel like a real person, but an abstraction of a brokenhearted all-American boy, being brutalized by the big city he can never really call his home. It makes sense that he would stand out. But he should still be imbrued with this brokenness, instead of wearing it like a stylish accessory he can shed when he's tired of the trend.
Caught Stealing's supporting cast is what works. Hank (Austin Butler, center) works with Lipa (Liev Schreiber, left), and Shmully (Vincent D'Onofrio, right) to find the hidden money in "Caught Stealing." Credit: Niko Tavernise / Sony PicturesThe actors who ground Caught Stealing's New York are as follows: Carol Kane, Griffin Dunne, Action Bronson, Liev Schreiber, and Vincent D'Onofrio. The latter two swagger in their Hasidic attire, their beards and hats a confident extension of their faith and machismo. Kane, who has been an identifier of New York authenticity in everything from Scrooged to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, is almost unrecognizable, as her signature curls are conservatively covered by a precise hair scarf. But as she welcomes in a bewildered Hank to her table — for matzo ball soup — Caught Stealing finds an easy authenticity for a spell.
Where Kane represents the warm domesticity the city can offer, Dunne and Bronson showcase its seedier side, the former covered in grizzled facial hair, tattoos, and a grumbling tone to match. He gives mug, and it's glorious. The latter has the pugnacious attitude of a local who'll take no shit. These character actor looks and performances give a glimpse of a version of this movie that could have been exhilarating. Instead, Caught Stealing cruises on good looks and competent but unremarkable storytelling.
I'd hoped for Aronofsky's version of After Hours, a comedy that unabashedly showcases the virtues and vices of New York City with appreciation and self-awareness for its depravity. But Caught Stealing is far too mild for that.
Perhaps this timidness is intentional. Maybe Aronofsky commits fully to the perspective of an outsider, who all these years in still looks at New York as a place he's crashing, not living. So rather than New York feeling lived in, it's more like Hank is still floating above it.
Or maybe the mixed receptions from critics on The Whale and mother! have Aronofsky thinking he should play it safe, because Caught Stealing is safe. Outside of a sex scene that offers some brief nudity and a shot of two men doing lines of coke, this film could easily play on TV or an airplane. It's the kind of movie you might find on a cable station and watch half-heartedly while folding laundry or doomscrolling. It's not the kind of grab-you-by-the throat cinema that Aronofsky has made for better or worse since 1998's Pi.
Watching this unfurl in a theater, I realized that if Caught Stealing were just a Hollywood action-comedy with pretty stars, a New York setting, and a twisting, but not really all that surprising plotline, it'd be fine. I'd write a mixed review suggesting to keep your expectations mid, and you won't be disappointed. But this is an Aronofsky film. We should expect more.
I've loved some of his movies and hated others, but they all made me feel something. I never doubted Aronofsky's ability to create thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, stomach-churning cinema… until now.
I spent a week with Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds 2.0: Theyre excellent, but familiar
Since their release in 2023, Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds have been Mashable's favorite noise-cancelling earbuds. So naturally, when Bose announced its second-generation QuietComfort Ultra earbuds — which are available for preorder as of Aug. 28 — I was curious to test them out.
After spending one week with the earbuds, I can say that so far, they remain the most comfortable earbuds on the market, with some of the best noise cancellation money can buy — but they don't feel all that different from their predecessor. Given that many devices can fall victim to fixing what isn't broke in the name of producing an "upgraded" model, the lack of dramatic changes isn't necessarily a bad thing.
So are they worth the upgrade? Let's dive into my early thoughts (which I am obligated to say, are subject to change as I spend more time with the earbuds).
Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) $299 at BosePre-order Here Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) specs
Below, you'll find the quick rundown of what to expect with these earbuds, with new features bolded:
Adjustable active noise cancellation
Immersive Audio for spatial listening experience
Custom equalizer with four audio presets
Three sizes of stability bands and ear tips with wax guards
Six hours of battery life (four hours with Immersive Audio), and up to 24 hours with the case
Wireless charging for case
20 minutes of quick charge for
Toggle touch controls on/off
Bluetooth 5.3, Google Fast Pair
Bose SpeechClarity, an AI-powered technology to promote better voice quality on calls
Improved adaptive ANC, especially in Aware Mode
IPX4 water- and sweat-resistance
A quick glance at the spec list above will tell you that not a ton has changed between the first and second generation QC Ultra earbuds. The products themselves look nearly identical, and both started at the price point of $299 (though you can likely expect to see the first gen on sale more often as it's slowly phased out of Bose's lineup).
Without the color differences, I'd have trouble telling which is which. Credit: Bethany Allard / MashableDespite the similar hardware, I did notice improved audio quality, noise cancellation, and general ease of use with the second generation earbuds.
Audio qualityBose's marketing materials don't tout many major upgrades to these earbuds' listening experience, but a rep from the brand told me to look out for an improved bass response and clarity at higher frequencies. Even without the direction, I firmly believe I would've heard the improvements: Ebony Loren's vocals on her cover of "O Pato" sounded clearer and even louder, without sounding blown out. Chappell Roan crooning "She's got a way" on her latest song, "The Subway," somehow hit even harder on the second-gen earbuds, highlighting a robustness where the first-gen Ultras default to a flatter sound.
SEE ALSO: Review: 8 months later my Panasonic Technics AZ100 earbuds still beat all comersAs for the bass, I went to my go-to songs where I need the bass to sound good — Magdalena Bay's "Killshot" and Le Sserafim's "Crazy" — and these earbuds delivered. Both offered a nice reverberation and blend, especially with the synth and guitar lines in the former song. The balance let me appreciate the depth of the bass and the layers of each song's production. Plus, with the ANC on, I could barely hear myself typing. Even on less bass-heavy tracks like Laufey's "Tough Luck," the quality of the bass allowed me to appreciate the backbone of the song more, offering an overall better-rounded listening experience.
For anyone looking to fine-tune the sound on their earbuds, the equalizer settings between both generations of earbuds are exactly the same. On the other hand, call quality is noticeably improved: when I made my partner do a blind test by calling him on each earbud, he immediately identified the newer Ultras, saying my voice sounded significantly less muffled.
Noise cancellationWhile Bose is known for having great audio quality, the brand's real standout feature is their noise-cancellation, and these earbuds offer no exception.
Bose's first claim is that on the newer earbuds, the adaptive ANC is better equipped at handling spikes in audio to prevent clipping, particularly in transparency mode. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to create the conditions for that particular feature in the course of the last week, but I have been able to use both earbuds in a shared workspace, right under an air conditioning unit, and with the TV playing nearby. In each of the above scenarios, the second-generation QC Ultras' performance bested the first gen, offering slightly more blockage.
More notably, these earbuds have a much less noticeable hiss than the first-gen earbuds, both on ANC and transparency modes. While not totally at the level of completely undetectable ANC, with these earbuds, Bose gets closer.
ComfortWith such a similar design, I didn't expect the newer earbuds to wear all that different, and spoiler alert — they didn't. Still, I appreciate the inclusion of a wax guard for easier cleaning, even if it's not a revolutionary feature.
The 2nd gen earbuds (right) have a guard to help catch dirt and ear wax, making the earbuds easier to clean and less susceptible to damage. Credit: Bethany Allard / MashableStill, there aren't many negative things I can say about the design of these earbuds. The stability bands help keep the earbuds firmly in place, without ever causing soreness or fatigue, even after a few hours of wear. The touch control is a little large, and the general design of the earbud is a tad clunky (meaning a higher likelihood to accidentally trigger those controls), but if that proves to be a real problem for you, Bose did include the option to toggle touch controls off completely with the newer generation.
Other points of differenceI was able to confirm the wireless charging on the second generation buds worked thanks to the charger built into my monitor stand from Target — in other words, you won't need anything fancy.
What stood out more than the charging to me was the ease of connection with these earbuds. I've tested my fair share of Bose headphones and earbuds, and across the board, they struggle with multipoint connection, often failing to connect or struggling to play back audio without skipping when more than one device is paired. It's never been a good look for Bose's price points, but so far, I haven't experienced these issues at all with the second-gen QC Ultra earbuds, and I've been switching between four different devices for playback (with two connected at a given time).
Who should upgrade to the second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds?I'm going to withhold my full judgment until my (incoming) full review, but if you haven't updated your earbuds in a while, or have never invested in a pair of premium earbuds, I can't see the second-gen Bose QC Ultra earbuds disappointing you. That said, first gen owners can likely skip the upgrade this time around, and anyone looking for a cheaper option still has plenty of other choices — even within the QuietComfort line.
Where to buy Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds Second generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) $299 Pre-Order Here First generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds $229 (save $70) Get DealThis cloud storage is doing something Dropbox isn’t — get a lifetime subscription for $130
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4 reasons not to turn ChatGPT into your therapist
The recent suicide death of a young woman led her parents to a painful revelation: She'd been confiding in a ChatGPT "therapist" named Harry, and she told it that she was planning to die.
While the chatbot didn't seem to encourage her to take her own life, the product also didn't actively seek help on her behalf, like a real therapist would, according to an op-ed her mother wrote in the New York Times.
Sophie, who was 29 when she died, was not alone in seeking mental health help from ChatGPT or other AI chatbots. A 16-year-old boy discussed suicide with ChatGPT before he died, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his parents against OpenAI this week.
OpenAI has since acknowledged that ChatGPT has failed to detect high-risk exchanges and, in response, plans to introduce new safeguards, including potentially alerting a user's emergency contacts when they're in distress.
Yet for those who consult AI chatbots about their mental health, many say it's the best help they can access, often because they can't find a therapist or afford one.
SEE ALSO: Explaining the phenomenon known as 'AI psychosis'Experts, however, caution that the risks are unlikely to be worth the potential benefits. In extreme cases, some users may develop so-called AI psychosis as a result of lengthy, ongoing conversations with a chatbot that involve delusions or grandiose thinking. More typically, people seeking help may instead end up in a harmful feedback loop that only gives them the illusion of emotional or psychological healing.
Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says that he doesn't want users engaging with ChatGPT like a therapist, partly because there are no legal protections for sensitive information. A therapist, on the other hand, is bound in most circumstances by patient confidentiality.
Rebekah Bodner, a graduate clinical coordinator at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is investigating how many people are using AI chatbots for therapy. The question is difficult to answer because of limited data on the trend. She told Mashable a conservative estimate, based on past research, would be at least 3 percent of people; OpenAI's ChatGPT has 700 million weekly users, according to the company.
Mashable asked OpenAI whether it knew how many of its users turn to ChatGPT for therapy-like interactions, but the company declined to answer.
Dr. Matthew Nour, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist using AI to study the brain and mental health, understands why people treat a chatbot as a therapist, but he believes doing so can be dangerous.
One of the chief risks is "that the person begins to view the chatbot as...maybe the only entity/person that really understands them," said Nour, a researcher in the department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford. "So they begin to confide in the chatbot with all their most concerning worries and thoughts to the exclusion of other people."
Getting to this point isn't immediate either, Nour adds. It happens over time, and can be hard for users to identify as an unhealthy pattern.
To better understand how this dynamic can play out, here are four reasons why you shouldn't turn any AI chatbot into a source of mental health therapy:
Chatbot "therapy" could just be a harmful feedback loopNour recently published a paper in the pre-print journal arXiv about the risk factors that arise when people converse with AI chatbots. The paper is currently undergoing peer review.
Nour and his co-authors, which included Google DeepMind scientists, argued that a powerful combination of anthropomorphism (attributing human characteristics to a non-human) and confirmation bias creates the condition for a feedback loop for humans.
Chatbots, they wrote, play on a human tendency for anthropomorphism, because humans may ascribe emotional states or even consciousness to what is actually a complex probabilistic system. If you've ever thanked a chatbot or asked how it's doing, you've felt a very human urge to anthropomorphize.
Humans are also prone to what's known as confirmation bias, or interpreting the information they receive in ways that match their existing beliefs and expectations. Chatbots regularly give users opportunities to confirm their own bias because the products learn to produce responses that users prefer, Nour said in an interview.
Ultimately, even an AI chatbot with safeguards could still reinforce a user's harmful beliefs, like the idea that no one in their life truly cares about them. This dynamic can subsequently teach the chatbot to generate more responses that further solidify those ideas.
While some users try to train their chatbots to avoid this trap, Nour said it's nearly impossible to successfully steer a model away from feedback loops. That's partly because models are complex and can act in unpredictable ways that no one fully understands, Nour said.
But there's another significant problem. A model constantly picks up on subtle language cues and uses them to inform how it responds to the user. Think, for example, of the difference between thanks and thanks! The question, "Are you sure?" can produce a similar effect.
"We are leaking information all the time to these models about how we would like to be interacted with," Nour said.
AI chatbots fail in lengthy discussionsTalking to an AI chatbot about mental health is likely to involve long, in-depth exchanges, which is exactly when the product struggles with performance and accuracy. Even OpenAI recognizes this problem.
"Our safeguards work more reliably in common, short exchanges," the company said in its recent blog post about safety concerns. "We have learned over time that these safeguards can sometimes be less reliable in long interactions: as the back-and-forth grows, parts of the model's safety training may degrade."
As an example, the company noted that ChatGPT may share a crisis hotline when a user first expresses suicidal intent, but that it could also provide an answer that "goes against" the platform's safeguards after exchanges over a long period of time.
Nour also noted that when AI chatbots incorporate an error early on in a conversation, that mistaken or false belief only compounds over time, rendering the model "pretty useless."
Additionally, AI chatbots don't have what therapists call a "theory of mind," which is a model of their client's thinking and behavior that's based on consistent therapeutic conversations. They only have what the user has shared up to a certain point, Nour said.
AI chatbots also aren't great at setting and tracking long-term goals on behalf of a user like a therapist can. While they might excel at giving advice for common problems, or even providing short-term, daily reminders and suggestions for dealing with anxiety or managing depression, they shouldn't be relied on for healing treatment, Nour said.
Teens and people with mental illness are particularly vulnerable to harmDr. Scott Kollins, a child psychologist and chief medical officer of the identity protection and online safety app Aura, told Mashable that teens may be especially prone to misinterpreting an AI chatbot's caring tone for genuine human empathy. This anthropomorphism is partly why chatbots can have an outsize influence on a user's thinking and behavior.
Teens, who are still grasping social norms and developing critical relationship skills, may also find the always-on nature of a "therapist" chatbot especially alluring, Kollins said.
Aura's proprietary data show that a minority of teen users whose phones are monitored by the company's software are talking to AI chatbots. However, those who do engage with chatbots spend an inordinate amount of time having those conversations. Kollins said such use outpaced popular apps like iPhone messages and Snapchat. The majority of those users are engaging in romantic or sexual behavior with chatbots that Kollins described as "troubling." Some rely on them for emotional or mental health support.
Kollins also noted that AI chatbot apps were proliferating by the "dozens" and that parents need to be aware of products beyond ChatGPT. Given the risks, he does not recommend coaching or therapy-like chatbot use for teens at this time.
Nour advises his patients to view AI chatbots as a tool, like a calculator or word processor, not as a friend. For those with anxiety, depression, or another mental health condition, Nour strongly recommends against engaging AI chatbots in any kind of emotional relationship, because of how an accidental feedback loop may reinforce existing false or harmful beliefs about themselves and the world around them.
There are safer ways to reach out for mental health helpKollins said that teens seeking advice or guidance from an AI chatbot should first ensure they've exhausted their list of trusted adults. Sometimes a teen might forget or initially pass over an older cousin, coach, or school counselor, he said.
Though it's not risk-free, Kollins also recommended considering online communities as one space to be heard, before consulting an AI chatbot, provided the teen is also receiving real-life support and practicing healthy habits.
If a teen still doesn't feel safe approaching a peer or adult in their life, Kollins suggested an exercise like writing down their feelings, which can be cathartic and lead to personal insight or clarity.
Nour urges people to communicate with a friend or loved one about their mental health concerns and to seek professional care when possible.
Still, he knows that some people will still try to turn an AI chatbot into their therapist, despite the risks. He advises his patients to keep another human in the loop: "[C]heck in with a person every now and again, just to get some feedback on what the model is telling you, because [AI chatbots] are unpredictable."
Forget Liquid Glass. Im waiting for these 7 iOS 26 features.
iOS 26 is coming, and it’s set to be a big deal. The new operating system gets an all-new naming scheme, doing away with the version numbers and sticking to numbers based on the upcoming year instead. But it’s not just the naming convention that’s changing. iOS 26 brings with it a series of major new features, an all-new design, and more. In fact, it could well be the biggest iOS update in many years.
SEE ALSO: iOS 26 preview: I'm using Liquid Glass and it mostly lives up to its promiseSo what are the most important new features to look forward to? I’ve been using the beta version of iOS 26 since the end of June. Here are my favorite new features.
A unified Phone app Credit: Christian de Looper / AppleLiquid Glass is the big new design language across all of Apple’s software — but Liquid Glass itself isn’t really a feature. It does, however, bring with it a series of secondary design changes across Apple’s apps, like the new Phone app.
In the new Phone app, the tab bar at the bottom of the screen is transformed into a pill-shaped bar with only three tabs: Calls, Contacts, and Keypad. So where are your voicemails and favorites? They’re integrated into the main “Calls” tab, where you can view voicemails attached to any recent calls, and see your favorite contacts at the top of the screen. It helps make the Phone app feel less cluttered, but if you prefer the old way, you can switch back to the “Classic” view to separate things out again. Before you do so, note that you can filter the calls in the Calls tab — so you can filter the view to only show voicemails, without having to scroll endlessly through all those spam calls just to find a voicemail that was left last week.
Call screening Credit: Christian de Looper / AppleThe iPhone is also doing a better job of keeping spam calls at bay. There’s a new call screening feature that gives you some control over what happens when a call comes in from someone who’s not in your contacts. It can be accessed by opening the Settings app, scrolling down the Apps, and selecting Phone. From there, you’ll be able to choose from three call-screening options under the title “Screen Unknown Callers.”
The first option is to never screen, which basically means that your phone will always ring, whether the call is from an unknown person or not. The second option is “Ask Reason for Calling,” which means that a caller will be asked a few questions about why they’re calling, before your phone rings, and you’re provided with a transcript of their answers so you can decide for yourself whether or not to answer. The last option is “Silence,” which essentially silences all calls from unknown numbers and sends them straight to voicemail.
Better Visual Intelligence Credit: Christian de Looper / AppleApple Intelligence may not have quite lived up to the hype from last year’s iOS 18, but it’s still getting better. In iOS 26, you’ll notably get better Visual Intelligence features. Visual Intelligence essentially gives Apple Intelligence access to the world around you, using the iPhone’s camera — so you can point it at a sign for translation, for example. In iOS 26, the big change is that it won’t just help you better understand the world around you, but also what’s on your iPhone, through the ability to use Apple Intelligence with screenshots.
To use this feature, all you need to do is take a screenshot, after which you’ll be able to save it to your Photos, like you always have, but you’ll also be given new “Ask” and “Search” buttons in the bottom corners. These are the same buttons you’ll see on the regular Visual Intelligence screen. Tap one of them depending on what you want to do.
Spatial Scenes on your lock screen Credit: Christian de Looper / AppleSpatial Scenes uses AI to give your photos a whole new depth. Basically, Spatial Scenes can take 2D photos and give them depth by taking objects in the photo and creating layers, then filling in some of the missing information with AI. When a Spatial Scene is created, you’ll be able to tilt your phone to see the image shift. It’s a neat effect, and definitely adds a whole new dimension to photos. And, to be clear, you can do this with many photos straight from the Photos app.
But my favorite use case for the feature is putting them on the lock screen. To do this, simply hold down on your lock screen to customize it. Along the way, you’ll see a new hexagonal button, which is the button for creating Spatial Scenes. You can toggle it on or off, and the effect should show up in real-time, so you can preview it before you save it.
Backgrounds in iMessage chats Credit: Christian de Looper / AppleiMessage is getting a little more customizable, too. In iOS 26, you’ll be able to add backgrounds to your chats, which can be a photo, a simple color, or one of the preset images of the sky, water, and so on. It isn’t a major change, but it’s a neat way to add a little more customization to your iMessage chats.
To add a background to a chat in iMessage on iOS 26, open the chat and tap on the name of the contact or group chat at the top. Then tap on the Backgrounds tab and choose from one of the options. The background will be visible for all participants in the chat who are running iOS 26 or later, so keep that in mind.
Safari is more minimalistic Credit: Christian de Looper / AppleAnother app that’s getting the Liquid Glass minimalism treatment is Safari. In iOS 26, Safari gets out of the way and puts the content on the web page front and center. When you first open Safari in iOS 26, you’ll see the same buttons, but turned into hovering bubbles instead of a standard menu bar. You’ll get the buttons for forward and back, the three-dot menu button, and the main URL bar. As you scroll down a web page, however, all of those controls shrink down to just a small representation of the URL bar, maximizing the space that the web page can take up on the screen.
The trade-off is that the controls aren’t quite as accessible. To get the controls back on the screen, scroll up a little or tap on the small URL bar. Having used iOS 26 for a few months now, I can say that it hasn’t really interrupted how I use the web on mobile much. I tend to open and close tabs as I go, so I’m not using the URL bar or controls beyond that initial navigation to a web page. But others may not have the exact same experience.
Live TranslationYet another phone call feature in iOS 26 comes in the form of Live Translation, which does exactly what it sounds like. With the feature, you’ll essentially be able to have phone calls in two different languages. When the person on the other end of the call speaks, an AI voice will say the translation in your language, and you’ll see the translated words on the screen. Then, when you talk, your words will be translated, and the person on the other end of the call will hear a translation of what you’re saying.
Perhaps the best thing about this feature is that it all happens on your iPhone. That means that the other person in the call can be on any random phone — your iPhone does the translating and sends audio of your translated voice in place of your actual voice. The feature only works for one-on-one calls, and supports English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish — though it’s likely other languages will be added down the line.
