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If it seems like products are usually cheaper on Amazon than at retailers like Walmart, Home Depot, and Chewy, that's no accident. According to a bombshell filing in an ongoing antitrust lawsuit from the state of California on Monday, each of those companies was a victim of Amazon's illegal price fixing.

Amazon, which topped Walmart to become the U.S.'s largest retailer in 2025, got there in part with a pattern of bullying and colluding, the filing says. In some cases it outlines in detail, merchants such as Levi Strauss and Allergan were told by Amazon to make products (such as khaki pants and eye drops) more expensive at Walmart.

SEE ALSO: Tired of Amazon Prime? Best Buy's annual membership is on sale for just $25

In other cases, Amazon leaned on rivals directly, as when it allegedly forced Home Depot to raise its fertilizer prices so Amazon would be cheaper. And in all cases, California appears to have brought receipts in the form of emails.

"The company is price fixing, colluding with vendors and other retailers to raise costs for Americans beyond what the market requires," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. "Amazon is illegally working to rake ⁠in the profits by making sure consumers have nowhere else to turn to for lower prices."

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Amazon denies the charges and is vigorously contesting multiple price-fixing lawsuits. In its statement, the online retailer emphasized its "pride" in having the lowest prices across a broad range of products.

But if these emails are to be believed, Amazon's pride is the pride of a mob boss with mighty companies under their thumb.

"I'm really hoping we can show this as a proof case so we can resolve issues going forward," one Levi's employee wrote meekly to an Amazon executive, according to the filing. Amazon had expressed "concern" that Walmart was selling Levi's khakis for just over $25. Levi's then allegedly persuaded Walmart to raise the pants' prices by nearly $5.

Even if true, however, the wheels of justice are grinding slow on this one. Bonta's antitrust lawsuit was filed in 2022; a trial will not take place until January 2027 at the earliest. It remains to be seen if the bad publicity from this filing will have any effect on consumers, many of whom shrug and plan their next Amazon delivery regardless of price-fixing news.

Apple's first foldable iPhone, unofficially dubbed the iPhone Fold, is expected to debut in September. Now new leaks show how the phone will likely differ from the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup.

Apple is several years late to the foldable smartphone market, but don't count Apple out based on speed. After all, the company was late to MP3 players and smartphones — and the iPod and iPhone were the results.

Leakers with decent track records are showing dummy cases for the iPhone Fold on X. And that gives us a clear sense of how this foldable will set itself apart from the competition.

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iPhone Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Design differences

Most flagship foldables have roughly the same width and length as a regular smartphone when folded, but earlier leaks suggest Apple has adopted a wider design.

You can see that in the latest photos of alleged iPhone Fold dummy units and cases, from @MajinBuofficia on X (via Android Authority).

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Meanwhile, Samsung seems set to introduce a new version of its flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold Wide, that will have similar dimensions as the iPhone Fold. Recent leaks from Android Headlines show what the Fold Wide could look like. Still, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will likely retain a similar design and proportions as last year's Z Fold 7.

Square edges on last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Early photos of the Z Fold 8 lineup show phones with sharper corners, like the Z Fold 7, while Apple appears to be embracing more rounded edges.

Both phones are expected to be ultra-thin, with an unfolded width under 5 mm, just like the Z Fold 7.

Samsung and Apple foldables: Other key differences

Apple will reportedly place the volume buttons on the top edge of the iPhone Fold, with a power and Touch ID button expected along the right edge.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 unfolded. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable A hypothetical rendering of the iPhone Fold. Credit: Mashable

The iPhone Fold will be running iOS (presumably iOS 27), while the Galaxy foldables will be running the latest version of Android.

More importantly, the iPhone Fold appears to have only two rear cameras, while the Z Fold 8 is expected to have three rear cameras. Leaks of the Z Fold Wide show two cameras, matching the iPhone Fold.

The iPhone Fold could have one big advantage over the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — it will fit more easily in pockets.

In design, Apple's device sits somewhere between flip-style foldables and tablet-style foldables. Overall, it looks more like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which wasn't particularly well-received by our reviewer — or by the tech world at large.

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Againm we're mostly working from leaks and rumors at this point, and we don't know what we don't know. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a highly trusted name in this realm, recently reported that the iPhone Fold is on track for a 2026 launch, while the new Galaxy Z Fold smartphones are rumored to launch July 22.

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For book fans, book-to-screen adaptations can be a sore subject of changed endings and miscastings. But authors aren't as precious about them. In the final panel of BookCon 2026, authors Andy Weir (Project Hail Mary, The Martian), Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven), May Cobb (The Hunting Wives), and Robinne Lee (The Idea of You) were joined by moderator Jason Blitman (host and producer of the Gays Reading podcast) to discuss the the joys and limitations of bringing a book to the screen.

Cutting straight to the heart of the topic, Blitman kicked things off with the ultimate question: What makes a successful adaptation? Across the panel, there have been varied adaptations. Weir's Project Hail Mary and Cobb's The Hunting Wives had mostly faithful adaptations, while The Idea of You and Station Eleven are larger departures from the source material.

St. John Mandel answered regarding the adaptation of Station Eleven, saying, "They changed every single plot, but they did retain the spirit of the original."

Lee added, "How can I be true to what readers fell in love with and still create something that's going to appeal to a wider audience?"

A potentially surprising sentiment shared by all four authors is that, regardless of their involvement in the adaptations, there was a lack of preciousness toward the projects. That's not to be confused with enthusiasm, however, as everyone on the panel echoed wanting to be champions and cheerleaders for the adaptations.

Novels, television, and movies are such widely different media that change is inevitable in an adaptation, as Weir says, "There are things you can do in a visual medium that are very difficult to do in a narrative medium."

On screen, when you don't need to spend pages filling in interiority or describing scenes and settings, there's room to play and expand characters. Cobb found this to be true in The Hunting Wives as "The husband that takes out the trash is now running for governor."

Lee made the most apt analogy of the panel, saying, "You are going to look at your book as your baby, but you have to look at any adaptation as a kind of distant relative." She went on to say, "When you go to that adaptation, suddenly other people are taking it over, and people are owning those characters. People judging the film, to me, doesn't feel as personal. It doesn't feel like a judgment of my work."

While there's often an adversarial relationship between fans and adaptations of their favorite books, authors enter these projects with an open mind. "I feel like I'm almost like pathologically welcoming of changes in the adaptation process," said St. John Mandel.

Cobb, who first met The Hunting Wives producer, Rebecca Cutter, when she came to visit Texas, recalls driving through the back woods of East Texas. She said Cutter pitched Cobb on her vision for the TV show, describing how she wanted to change the ending, which Cobb met with excitement, saying, "Where were you when I was writing the book?"

In fact, Weir said in his book Artemis, which has been on the adaptation backburner for several years, that when there is movement on the project, he has a list of changes ready to go: "I have identified a bunch of problems in Artemis that I feel are places where the writing is weak. I'm gonna give the directors and the people who are pitching it to studios, I'm going to give a bullet point list of an alternate plot sequence for Artemis."

The panel was the final of BookCon, which returns in 2027 on April 10 and 11.

Blend yourself some midnight margaritas, because the Owens sisters are back!

SEE ALSO: 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' trailer promises plenty of Star Wars-level action

The witches at the heart of 1998's Practical Magic return for a sequel almost 30 years in the making, directed by Susanne Bier and written by Akiva Goldsman and Georgia Pritchett. Practical Magic 2 is based on the final novel in Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic series, The Book of Magic.

Practical Magic 2 takes place 25 years after the first film. By this point, Sally and Gillian (Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman) are still practicing magic in Massachusetts alongside their aunts Frances and Jet (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest). They're also still cursed when it comes to matters of love.

Taking an even bigger role in Practical Magic 2 are Sally's daughters, played by Joey King and Maisie Williams. In the original film, the characters of Kylie and Antonia Owens were played by Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip. Wood confirmed she was not asked to return for the sequel, and that the role was being recast.

As Sally's daughters' begins to develop, ancient family secrets come to light that will force three generations of Owens sisters to fight back against their ancestral curse. Their journey will take them from Massachusetts to the United Kingdom.

The teaser trailer for Practical Magic 2 is full of Practical Magic greatest hits, including Harry Nilsson's song "Coconut," which plays during the midnight margaritas scene in the first film. It also introduces new characters, including Lee Pace as a new companion for Sally and Gillian's travels.

Practical Magic 2 hits theaters Sept. 11.

SAVE $100: The Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow robot vacuum and mop is on sale at Amazon for $899.99, down from the list price of $999.99. That's a 10% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Roborock Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow robot vacuum and mop $899.99 at Amazon
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Mashable's resident vacuum expert Lead Stodart has tested over 25 models of robot vacuums that also mop. She hadn't written off robot vacuums that have a roller mop, but she was yet to be impressed by performance. However, the Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 impressed, and lucky for us, it's on sale today.

As of April 20, the Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow robot vacuum and mop is on sale at Amazon for $899.99, marked down from the usual price of $999.99. That's a 10% discount that takes $100 off the price.

In Stodart's testing of the new Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow, it did a damn fine job at every challenge she tossed its way. While it has 20,000Pa suction power, it picked up sprinkles off a deep carpet as efficiently as the 35,000Pa Dreame X60 Max Ultra Complete. "Though the Dreame vacuum is significantly stronger with 35,000 Pa of suction power, I honestly think that the Curv 2 Flow did just as good a job — the pickup rate of both was almost perfect. When I got down on eye level to see if the Curv 2 Flow cleaned up crushed chips on my tufted living room rug, it was spotless aside from a single long hair," noted Stodart.

SEE ALSO: Narwal Flow 2 robot vacuum review: The most insightful AI mess detection yet for a decent price

The roller mop was also impressive in its ability to clean corners, something that doesn't seem physically possible with a robot roller. "The roller sits in a sliding case that visibly extends an inch or two past the vacuum's circumference when an edge is sensed," according to Stodart. "The Curv 2 Flow has provided an extremely close scrub against walls, including the wall of my bathtub, where there are always tiny pieces of hair and kitty litter dust stuck in dried soap droplets."

While this powerful do-it-all model is sitting at a sale price, offload the task of cleaning the floors and enlist the Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow robot vacuum and mop to handle the job.