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The U.S. team did not make the World Cup final, but "The Star-Spangled Banner” apparently did.

On July 14, FIFA announced that Grammy award–winning singer and talk show host Jennifer Hudson will perform a “special rendition” of the anthem before the World Cup final on Sunday, July 19, at New York New Jersey Stadium (better known as MetLife Stadium).

The announcement immediately left some soccer fans asking the same question: Why is the American anthem being performed at a game that does not include the United States?

The answer is less about the two teams playing and more about where they are playing.

Why is Jennifer Hudson singing the U.S. national anthem?

Jennifer Hudson is performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" as part of FIFA's pre-game ceremony in New Jersey — a separate event that takes place before the match itself begins on the field.

The event, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET, 90 minutes before kickoff at the stadium in New Jersey, is designed to celebrate the tournament's journey across three host countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Since the final is being held on American soil, Hudson’s performance is meant to represent the host country before Spain and Argentina take the field.

Not everyone online is convinced by that explanation. After all, the United States is sharing hosting duties with Canada and Mexico, which has left some fans wondering why their national anthems are not being performed, too.

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After Hudson's performance concludes, the match will proceed with the standard international soccer protocol. Both Spain and Argentina will still perform their own national anthems before kickoff.

Hudson is one of several celebrities participating before kickoff. The pre-game event will be headlined by Post Malone. Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, Laura Pausini, and streamer IShowSpeed are also scheduled to perform, while Tom Cruise will make a still-unspecified special appearance.

The idea of performing the national anthem at the World Cup isn’t completely unprecedented (though rare). When the U.S. last hosted the men's World Cup in 1994, saxophonist Kenny G played “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the closing ceremony before Brazil and Italy faced off in the final.

Even so, the online confusion makes sense, especially from the perspective of the elaborate production FIFA has built around the final match, especially regarding the halftime show.

Who is headlining the halftime show?

Madonna, Shakira, BTS, and Justin Bieber will headline the first World Cup halftime show in history: an 11-minute performance, which was curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Burna Boy, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay, and characters from Sesame Street and The Muppets will also participate.

The performance supports the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is raising money to expand access to education and soccer programs for children.

The reported extension has drawn criticism from soccer fans who see it as another attempt to import the structure of American sports into the World Cup.

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FIFA has already faced complaints during this tournament about entertainment-heavy opening ceremonies and hydration breaks, which some viewers believe are being used to create additional television advertising opportunities.

That push makes more sense when you look at what FIFA stands to gain in the United States — FIFA expects to generate a record $13 billion during the current World Cup cycle. There is a lot of money riding on getting American viewers, including people who do not normally watch soccer, to tune in.

So far, that strategy appears to be working. Fox’s group-stage broadcasts averaged more than 5 million viewers, nearly double the audience for the same stage in 2022. The U.S. team's matches also drew much larger Spanish-language audiences on Telemundo and Peacock than they did during the previous World Cup.

In that context, Hudson singing the American anthem feels less random. The American team may be out of the tournament, but the American audience, and the money attached to it, are still very much in the game.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. How to watch the World Cup final and closing ceremony

Spain and Argentina will play in the World Cup final on Sunday, July 19, at New York-New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The closing ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. ET, while the match is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. ET.

English-language coverage will air on Fox and stream through Fox One and the Fox Sports app.

Spanish-language coverage will be available on Telemundo and Peacock. Peacock has confirmed that all 104 matches, including the final, are streaming live in Spanish.

Astronomers found the missing giant architect of a famous young star system — a world that lines up almost eerily well with what theorists had predicted but had never seen. 

This exoplanet, about 63 light-years away in space, appears to be the long-hidden sculptor of the Beta Pictoris system, carving up the star's surrounding junkyard of dust, rock, ice, and gas. 

For years, models of the system hinted that something big was creating a sharp inner edge of the debris disk — something other than the two exponentially larger planets known to be circling the star based on direct images. That's what makes its detection all the more impressive: The key wasn't searching for a faint dot on the outskirts of a bright star with a camera. They found it by the chemistry of its atmosphere.

The results prove astronomers can discover an exoplanet just by comparing its detailed light fingerprint to known planetary patterns in places where imaging fails. That approach opens a new avenue to detecting worlds buried in dusty, high-glare places, said Jean-Baptiste Ruffio, the principal investigator of the first observations used for the study. 

"There was an unexpected bright source of light within the Integral Field Unit imaging, but we've learned not to trust bright blobs in [space] images," said Ruffio, a University of California at San Diego research scientist, in a statement. "By obtaining a spectrum at the same time as the image, we were able to quickly confirm our suspicions."

SEE ALSO: Astronomers find a needle in a haystack 18,000 light-years away

A spectrum is the pattern you get when you spread light out into its component colors or wavelengths — a detailed rainbow that reveals what an object is made of.

Astronomers found the planet, Beta Pictoris d, in data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope while they were trying to study another planet in the system. Webb didn't just take a picture; it broke the star's light into thousands of colors, turning the scene into a grid of tiny rainbows.

The discovery of Beta Pictoris d. Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Ralf Crawford illustration

In that sliced-up light, the team saw tiny dips at the exact colors where gases such as methane, carbon monoxide, and water vapor absorb light in a giant planet's atmosphere. That pattern didn't look like dust or random noise, said Aidan Gibbs, lead author of the paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

"We weren't looking for a new planet," Gibbs said in a statement. "Then, this telltale signal appeared in the data where we didn't expect it."

The way these scientists uncovered Beta Pictoris d could shape how future planet hunts are done. Traditional searches lean on powerful cameras and masks, known as coronagraphs, to block the star's glare, but those broad images can struggle mightily with a bright, dusty disk. 

Another facet to this story is that, at roughly the same time, a separate team, led by Ben Sutlieff of the University of Edinburgh and Markus Bonse of the European Southern Observatory, found the planet with the Very Large Telescope in Chile. They're calling their detection the faintest exoplanet ever imaged from a ground observatory. While their success may seem counterintuitive, the ground-based telescope had an advantage to snap a clearer photo than Webb because it used a unique infrared filter. Their work, an achievement in its own right, also appears in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Beta Pictoris d is perhaps just double Jupiter's mass. Sitting at roughly a Neptune-like distance around its own star, the planet had escaped everyone's notice for quite some time. The Webb team observed that the planet's speed matched an object bound to the star, Beta Pictoris, not a background star. Follow-up observations with another Webb instrument sensitive to longer wavelengths confirmed the signal and helped narrow down the planet's relatively cold temperature and distant orbit.

Earlier studies suggested such a planet could jostle dust and icy bodies into tilted orbits and help create a bright clump of carbon monoxide gas in the disk. The new detection doesn't solve every detail, but it strongly supports the idea that a single hidden giant has been shaping much of what astronomers see in the famous system.

Adding a third giant world puts Beta Pictoris in rare company. Out of thousands of known exoplanets, only a handful of systems have more than one planet that astronomers can actually see in images. Until now, only the HR 8799 system was confirmed to have more than two. 

"This discovery adds another piece to an already fascinating planetary system," Gibbs said. "Beta Pictoris has long served as a laboratory for understanding how planetary systems form and evolve, and now we have another planet helping us tell that story."

When Christopher Nolan announced that he'd be following up Oppenheimer with The Odyssey, I viewed it as him doing a full 180.

SEE ALSO: 'The Odyssey' review: Christopher Nolan turns an epic myth into a movie masterpiece

On the surface, the works couldn't be more different. The former: a biographical film examining the most devastating technological development of the 20th century. The latter: an adaptation of Homer's seminal poem, teeming with monsters, gods, and adventure. The Odyssey represented something new for Nolan, an opportunity to explore epic fantasy and wind the clock back thousands of years before any of his other films are set.

Yet despite these drastic shifts in genre and setting, Nolan has managed to craft the perfect companion piece to Oppenheimer. In his hands, and especially in the film's conclusion, Odysseus (Matt Damon) comes to occupy a similar space to Cillian Murphy's J. Robert Oppenheimer, both ingenious men reckoning with the horror of what they've wrought on the world.

Christopher Nolan puts Odysseus and Oppenheimer in conversation. Matt Damon in "The Odyssey." Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures

Even though the character of Odysseus is thousands of years old, he's right in the mix with Nolan's lineup of male leads, including Oppenheimer. Like any Prototypical Christopher Nolan Man, both are brilliant and highly competent. Odysseus, more so than Oppenheimer, also joins Inception's Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Interstellar's Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) in the Nolan club of men fighting through impossible odds to get to their families.

For Oppenheimer and Odysseus alike, the most famed example of their intelligence is a scheme that ends a war. Oppenheimer's invention of the atomic bomb marks a key step on the road to the conclusion of World War II. Odysseus puts a definite stop to the Trojan War with his ruse of the Trojan Horse.

SEE ALSO: Should you see 'The Odyssey' in IMAX?

But another hallmark of the Nolan Man is that his brilliance is bound to become a burden. Such is the case with both Odysseus and Oppenheimer. Yes, they manage to stop a large-scale conflict. Yet in doing so, both have broken the world.

With The Odyssey and Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan looks to the apocalypse. Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures

Throughout The Odyssey, Nolan emphasizes the importance of Zeus' Law, which demands that hosts treat all guests with respect, as any of them could be a god in disguise. At the same time, he also highlights a new threat sweeping across the Mediterranean: the mysterious Sea Peoples, who have been terrorizing coasts since the Trojan War ended, and who were real-life groups of Bronze Age seafarers whose role in the collapse of the Bronze Age is a source of debate among historians.

Nolan brings these two ideas together in The Odyssey's revelatory conclusion, in which Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, tells his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) the truth of the Sack of Troy. It is no heroic legend, like the bard's (Travis Scott) speech that opens the film. Nor is it a war hero's rousing tale, like Menelaus' (Jon Bernthal) description of the events to Telemachus (Tom Holland). Instead, it is a pained recollection of brutal destruction, which has weighed on Odysseus for 10 years. His visions of Athena (Zendaya) are not of the goddess counseling him, but rather, her taking the form of a slaughtered Trojan priestess as a punishing reminder of his actions.

Entering Troy as a gift and then killing its inhabitants represents the absolute violation of Zeus' law, Odysseus tells Penelope. In turn, that has broken civilization's social order. The men from the sea aren't unknown enemies. They're Odysseus, his men, and the rest of the Greek army, burning villages and terrorizing their inhabitants in their desperate journey home. For Odysseus, this wave of violence signals the beginning of the end of the Bronze Age, and it all comes down to him and his trick.

Odysseus' penitence eerily echoes Oppenheimer's conclusion, in which Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) discuss the construction of the atomic bomb, years after its devastating impacts on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"When I came to you with those calculations, we thought we might start a chain reaction that would destroy the entire world," Oppenheimer tells him.

"I remember it well," Einstein says. "What of it?"

"I believe we did," Oppenheimer says.

Cue the film's haunting final sequence: a montage of missiles and explosions devouring the whole world, while Oppenheimer watches. Compare it to the last shot of The Odyssey, in which the Trojan Horse goes up in flames, signaling the destruction of Zeus' Law and the burning of the world as we know it.

With each ending, Nolan considers the apocalypse. Not what comes after, but rather its slow, unavoidable arrival. Not by natural forces either, but by human hands: dangerous technology that's used for the greatest harm, or a trick that fractures every code humanity holds dear.

The common thread of humanity's penchant for self-destruction turns The Odyssey into a sequel of sorts for Oppenheimer. In turn, that same thread likewise binds Oppenheimer to its own Nolan predecessor, Tenet.

In that film, the Protagonist (John David Washington) works with the secret organization Tenet to prevent a future apocalyptic attack. Tenet agents use code phrases to identify one another, opening with the line, "We live in a twilight world."

The phrase suggests the sun is setting on the world as the agents know it. They live in constant anticipation of the oncoming night brought on by the future attack. The same can be said for Oppenheimer, staring into a future of nuclear destruction he helped bring on. Or Odysseus, leaving a world he tricked into crumbling, chasing the sun west into a literal twilit world.

The three-film run of Tenet, Oppenheimer, and The Odyssey serve as Nolan's unofficial apocalyptic trilogy, especially the last two. (You can also throw in Interstellar and its tales of climate crisis for good measure.) In each movie, he asks, how does humanity live knowing we are the architects of our own demise?

There is no easy answer — not for Oppenheimer, not for Odysseus, and not for Nolan. Yet as he considers these questions in film after film, one thing becomes clear: It is better to acknowledge the problem, painful as it may be, than to push it down. One cannot be Oppenheimer, compartmentalizing his role in an atrocity. One cannot be Odysseus, eating lotus flowers and forgetting. One has to face the future, dark though it may be, head on.

The Odyssey is now in theaters.

TL;DR: Pay $29.97 instead of $219.99 for a lifetime Microsoft Office Professional 2021 license and own Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more — this offer ends in two days.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License $29.97
$219.99 Save $190.02   Get Deal

This is your last chance to ditch Microsoft 365’s subscription fees for good. Until July 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can grab a lifetime license to Microsoft Office 2021 for 86% less than its usual retail price. Simply pay once, download the full software suite, and never worry about renewals again.

We know what you’re thinking, but rest assured, this isn’t some stripped-down lite version either. It’s the real deal. Whether you’re writing reports, crunching numbers, building presentations, managing emails, or wrangling databases, the lifetime version of Microsoft Office has you covered.

Mashable Deals Be the first to know! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Get editor selected deals texted right to your phone! Loading... Sign Me Up By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Thanks for signing up!

It’s a one-time download for one Windows PC, so once it’s yours, it’s yours. The full pro-level toolkit, minus the stress of a subscription. Plus, with instant license delivery and free customer support, getting started is as painless as your new spreadsheet workflow.

No more “trial expired” pop-ups. No more surprise charges. Just the latest versions of Microsoft’s best apps, ready to support all of your work and personal needs.

Download Microsoft Office for Windows while it’s on sale for a one-time $29.97 until July 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT (reg. $219.99). No coupon is needed.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: This ASUS router delivers Wi-Fi 7 speeds, built-in security, and a 10G port for $166.99 (reg. $249.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: ASUS ASUS RT-BE92U Tri-Band WiFi 7 Router (Refurbished) $166.99
$249.99 Save $83   Get Deal

The fastest internet plan in the world can only do so much if your router is struggling to keep up. The refurbished ASUS router with AiMesh is built for busy homes with multiple connected devices, delivering Wi-Fi 7 speeds of up to 9.7Gbps for smoother gaming, streaming, video calls, and downloads. Get it while it’s available on sale for $166.99 (reg. $249.99).

Wi-Fi 7 brings several improvements over previous generations, including Multi-Link Operation and wider 320MHz channels that help reduce congestion and improve performance when lots of devices are competing for bandwidth. Whether someone is streaming 4K or 8K video, gaming online, or working from home, the router is designed to keep connections fast and stable.

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The hardware is built to match as the 2.0GHz quad-core processor powers the router, while one 10G WAN/LAN port and four 2.5G Ethernet ports provide ample bandwidth for gaming PCs, network-attached storage, and other high-speed wired devices. Adaptive QoS can also prioritize traffic, helping reduce lag during bandwidth-heavy activities.

Coverage is another spectacular feature. ASUS AiMesh support lets you pair compatible ASUS routers to create a seamless whole-home network if you need additional range. Older will devices get support too, since the router remains compatible with Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, and earlier wireless standards.

The AiProtection Pro, powered by Trend Micro, helps guard connected devices against malicious websites and network threats, while support for WireGuard, OpenVPN, IPSec, and other VPN protocols gives users flexibility when securing their internet traffic. Parental controls are also included for households that want to manage screen time or filter content.

This refurbished model has a Grade A rating and should arrive in near-mint condition with minimal to no visible cosmetic wear. If you’re ready to upgrade an aging router, the ASUS RT-BE92U is available for $166.99 (reg. $249.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

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

Samsung is set to capture the tech world's attention next week when it hosts its next big mobile launch event.

The Korean tech giant is hosting a Galaxy Unpacked event in London on July 22, and Mashable will be there, reporting live on all of the big announcements. We're fully expecting to see at least five new devices from Samsung, including the latest batch of flagship foldable phones. As per usual with Samsung, these devices haven't been leaking so much as flooding.

So, as we prepare for the big show, here's everything we know (and everything we think we know) about the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event.

When is the next Galaxy Unpacked?

The next Galaxy Unpacked Event takes place on Wednesday, July 22 in London. The livestream will begin promptly at 9 a.m. ET. We expect all the new devices to be available for pre-order immediately after the event.

Mashable will be attending the event and hosting a live blog, so check back next week to unpack all of the day's news with us.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: What's actually new (and what's not) Three new foldables are arriving, including the Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, and Z Fold 8 Ultra. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Samsung's new foldable phones typically debut during a summer Galaxy Unpacked event, and Samsung recently confirmed that it will be announcing new details about its next-gen foldables on July 22.

We don't have official confirmation on which devices will be announced, but all reports indicate that three new foldable phones will arrive at Galaxy Unpacked 2026:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 (previously known as the Z Fold Wide)

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

This is where things get a little confusing. You'd think the Z Fold 8 Ultra would be the new addition to the lineup, but recent reports indicate that the Z Fold 8 is actually a new device this year. Rumors for months have pointed to Samsung releasing a wider foldable this year, and it sounds like that phone will take the Z Fold 8 name, while a true successor to the Z Fold 7 will be called Z Fold 8 Ultra.

The new phones will probably arrive with price increases

Again, we don't have any official details, but it's very likely the successors to the Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 will indeed cost more. Most early reports and leaks indicate a price increase of $100, which is in line with the price increases we've seen from Motorola. The global memory crisis has led to price hikes for laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, and virtually every product that requires memory, and Samsung probably won't be the exception.

Recently, South Korean outlet SEDaily reported that the starting price of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will be $2,099, a $100 price increase over the Galaxy Z Fold 7. The same outlet reported the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide model will start at $1,899.99. Finally, according to leaker Lanzuk (as reported by PhoneArena), the new Galaxy Z Flip 8 will likely have a starting price of $1,199, or $100 more than its predecessor.

TL;DR: Thanks to RAMageddon, do not be surprised to see year-over-year price increases for all of the new devices.

A new Z Fold 8 to compete with the iPhone Ultra Fold

Rumors indicate that the new Z Fold 8 will potentially have a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.8-inch inner display when unfolded. With a 4:3 aspect ratio, it will be a book-style foldable. These dimensions are very similar to the rumored design of the still-unannounced foldable iPhone, suggesting Samsung wants to introduce this third foldable as a direct competitor to Apple's upcoming device. It's the latest salvo in the ongoing Apple iPhone vs. Samsung Galaxy battle for smartphone dominance.

Featured Video For You More Folding iPhone Reports and Rumors

The Z Fold 8's rumored specs, via PhoneArena:

• Processor: Snapdragon Elite 8 Gen 5 for Galaxy

• RAM: 12GB

• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB

• Main display: 7.6 inches

• Cover Display: 5.5 inches

• Cameras: 50MP primary lens, 50MP ultra-wide lens, 10MP selfie lens

The new flagship: Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra The Galaxy Z Fold 7 (pictured here) was surprisingly thin and lightweight. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

As mentioned above, we think the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra will actually be a successor to last year's Z Fold 7, which we enjoyed testing. This new foldable should have a new chip and a stronger 200MP main camera on the back. Samsung is also said to have done some work to make the crease on the folding display less visible this year. Finally, a Korean news report indicated the Z Fold 8 will be slightly lighter than the Fold 7, which was already impressively thin and lightweight.

At this point, pretty much all of the specs for the upcoming devices have leaked. So, while none of these details are official, we think the Z Fold 8 Ultra will have the following specs, via PhoneArena:

• Processor: Snapdragon Elite 8 Gen 5 for Galaxy

• RAM: 12GB or 16GB

• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB

• Main display: 8 inches

• Cover display: 6.5 inches

• Cameras: 200MP wide, 50MP ultra-wide, 12MP telephoto

This week, Samsung revealed that its new foldables (which it didn't mention by name, unfortunately) will feature a new Flex Titanium technology. In short, a titanium-alloy film and a titanium plate will better support the phones' flexible display, creating a more durable device and a less noticeable crease. Samsung said more details will be revealed on July 22.

The new Z Flip 8 will look very familiar Last year's Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 on display. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

If the rumored specs for the new Galaxy Z Flip 8 are correct, this year's flip phone-style foldable will look a lot like the Z Flip 7, but with a better processor and a less visible crease.

Until recently, the rumor mill indicated that the Z Flip 8 would get a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. However, leaker WinFuture (as reported by 9to5Google) claimed that instead, the flip phone will get a new Samsung Exynos 2600 processor.

And here are the rumored specs:

• Processor: Samsung Exynos 2600 or Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

• RAM: 12GB

• Main Display: 6.9 inches

• Cover Display: 4.1 inches

• Storage: 256GB or 512GB

• Cameras: 50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP selfie

New Galaxy Watches are also on the way

Samsung usually uses this summer event to showcase its latest smartwatch advancements, and 2026 looks no different. This year, we expect to see two new Samsung watches:

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 9

• Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2

It's generally accepted that both of these watches will see fairly incremental changes from before. There will surely be new health-tracking features, and some small design changes, with the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 in particular said to incorporate classic numbers on the watch face, a thinner bezel, and better side buttons. Most importantly, for some, it sounds like Samsung is skipping out on a new Galaxy Watch Classic this year. You'll get a base model and a premium model, and that's it, as far as anyone can tell.

Finally, don't forget that Samsung is all-in on artificial intelligence, so we expect major upgrades to the Samsung Health app and the watches' overall health-tracking features.

Could we see Galaxy Glasses make their big debut? The upcoming Galaxy smart glasses as designed by Gentle Monster (left) and Warby Parker (right). Credit: Samsung

Lastly, Samsung's long-awaited smart glasses could also make their debut at Unpacked in July. Most likely called Galaxy Glasses, we expect these specs to work similarly to the ones Meta has been releasing for a few years now. We saw a preview of these specs at Google's recently developers' conference, and we know Samsung is working with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on the designs.

These smart glasses will not include any augmented reality or heads-up display features, focusing instead on on-board cameras and a built-in AI assistant, courtesy of Google Gemini, to provide information about what you're seeing, should you ask. We expect the first generation of these glasses to arrive in 2026, and we're holding out hope that the glasses will get a shoutout or even a proper introduction at the London Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22.

It should be a pretty packed showcase, so stay tuned for all of our coverage as we get closer to Galaxy Unpacked.

Remember: Mashable will be attending the live keynote in London, and we'll have a live blog with real-time updates on all the day's news. Don't miss it!

TL;DR: Fandango has expanded its free streaming service by introducing guest viewing, so you can now watch thousands of movies and TV shows without creating an account or signing in.

If you've used Fandango before, you probably know it as the place to buy movie tickets or rent digital movies. Now, the company is bringing those services together under one brand while making its free streaming platform much easier to use.

The biggest update is guest viewing. You no longer need to create an account or sign in to start watching free movies and TV shows. Just open the site, pick something to watch, and press play. Fandango has also introduced a new Watch Now option that lets you jump straight into free content with a single click, instead of navigating through multiple menus.

According to Fandango, the strategy is already paying off. The company says monthly active users on its free streaming service have grown more than 300% year-over-year, while viewing hours have increased by more than 200%.

What can you watch for free?

The service now offers more than 3,500 hours of free programming, including hit movies, popular TV series, fan-favorite franchises, and live sports. Like other free streaming platforms, the service is supported by ads, so you don't need a paid subscription to watch.

Do you still need an account?

Only if you want one.

You can now watch free movies and TV shows as a guest, but creating an account still unlocks extras like building a watchlist, syncing your purchases across devices, and accessing movies you've rented or bought through Fandango. If you're simply looking for something free to watch, you can skip the signup process entirely.

Ready to watch? Start streaming free movies and TV shows on Fandango — no account required.