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It's hard to believe, but we've hit the tail end of July, when Netflix's new releases run dry until the calendar flips into August, when a new season of Alone: Australia lands alongside Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy, in which comedian Mo Gilligan eats nothing but fried chicken for a month.

For some social media users, Facebook may feel like an app left behind in an online era of the past. However, for others, Facebook has reinvented itself as the modern-day Craigslist with Facebook Marketplace.

Meta seems to have taken notice and is now releasing a standalone app for the Facebook Marketplace power users who keep the platform going: It's sellers.

The new app, aptly named Seller, launched on Friday and provides Facebook Marketplace sellers with tools to list their wares and manage their current listings. 

Like Facebook Marketplace itself, the Seller app is free for users. Meta monetizes Facebook Marketplace with ads and does not take any percentage of its users' sales. Users will be able to download the app and login with their Facebook account starting today.

Credit: Facebook

Seller provides a tool to post new listings, a dashboard to manage their existing ones, an in-app inbox to reply to prospective buyers, and analytics for all of their old listings. 

Seller also introduces a few new tools for sellers as well. According to Facebook, Seller users will be able to scan their products with their smartphone, and AI will fill-out the listing details automatically.

In an interview with the New York Times, Facebook head Tom Allison said that the app would be the Marketplace seller equivalent of a video editing tool for content creators. Allison also explained how Meta is experimenting with more standalone products for Facebook's power users, which include Marketplace Sellers and Facebook Groups administrators.

As social media users move to competing platforms like TikTok and Meta's own Instagram, Facebook has found new life within specific, once-niche features on the platform. In May, Facebook launched a standalone app called Forum for its Facebook Groups power users. Now, the company is doing the same for Facebook Marketplace sellers.

Meta says that one-third of young adults who use Facebook also use Marketplace. And, every month, more than 420 million items are listed on the Marketplace platform. 

A member of the Ferrell family is going viral, although this time, comedy has very little to do with it.

Magnus Ferrell, the 22-year-old musician and oldest son of Will Ferrell, is reaching a wave of new listeners (and arguably becoming social media's summer boyfriend) through "Asleep Talking," his bedroom-pop single about being unable to stop thinking about someone, even while asleep.

"I AM SO HAPPY!" he captioned a July 3, 2026 TikTok, calling the number of new people showing love to the song "absolutely mind boggling."

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Released April 24 (but gaining fresh momentum this summer), "Asleep Talking" features understated piano and guitar production as Magnus returns to the song’s central idea: someone has occupied so much of his mind that he talks about them in his sleep. Its official video has received more than 400,000 views on YouTube and has over 600,000 streams on Spotify.

The track is also reaching some of the internet’s largest music-reaction creators. The Morning Shift Show, which has more than 1 million followers on the platform, listened and reacted to "Asleep Talking" July 23, introducing the song to its own audience — one commenter arrived on Magnus’ page writing "sent here by ma boys The Morning Shift," adding that the track was already "on repeat."

The song received another endorsement on July 1, when Ferrell appeared on Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson’s IMO podcast. Will played "Asleep Talking" for the hosts, and Obama gave the song a round of applause.

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For those unfamiliar with the Ferrell family tree beyond Will, Magnus is the oldest of the actor’s three sons with his wife, Swedish auctioneer Viveca Paulin. The couple, who married in 2000, also shares sons Mattias and Axel.

Magnus began playing piano as a child and later became interested in jazz, which gave him more freedom to improvise and develop his own approach to music. He has frequently collaborated with his longtime friend Gabe Yaron, who co-wrote the viral song.

By the time Magnus enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC), his father’s alma mater, he and Yaron were roommates, posting covers and original songs online. Magnus later took a leave of absence from USC to focus on music full-time and signed with Republic Records.

In a 2025 interview with Atwood Magazine, he described his approach as "groove therapy," or a way to share his love of music while allowing listeners to take their own feelings from it.

On TikTok and X, listeners have been finding their own ways to describe its dreamy, nostalgic sound. One called it "dancing in the kitchen making dinner sipping wine music," while another heard "Super 8 rom com vibes."

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Like many celebrity children (or "nepo-babies") pursuing careers of their own, Magnus has acknowledged that his father’s fame inevitably affects how audiences first encounter his work.

"I’m not someone who’s going to pretend it’s not a thing," Magnus also told the publication. "Most definitely, it is. I’m not going to hide it."

"Asleep Talking" may be introducing Magnus to a much larger audience, but it’s far from his first release. His earlier catalog includes tracks like "Drinks on Me," "Life or Death," and "Miss Me Vendetta," along with the EP Hasn’t Even Started. He’s also no stranger to the stage, having performed at the 2025 Summer Bash in New York and the MTV Video Music Awards that September as a solo artist.

One of Magnus’s earlier tracks made its way into a project starring his father. He and Yaron wrote "Slow Down" while trying to break out of a creative rut, then sent it to Will during production of the 2025 Prime Video comedy You’re Cordially Invited. The song eventually landed in one of the movie’s party scenes. Later, at his band’s first live performance—a 2022 Cancer for College benefit—his father joined him onstage with a cowbell, recreating the instrument at the center of his famous Saturday Night Live sketch.

The father and son generated another viral moment the following year when Will DJed a USC fraternity tailgate at Magnus’ invitation. With Magnus beside him, the actor played tracks including Survivor’s "Eye of the Tiger" for the crowd.

Magnus later explained that he simply asked his dad whether he wanted to take over the music for a few minutes. Will agreed, and another Ferrell family video began making its way across social media. When asked where he learned to DJ, Magnus joked, "I got my chops from my pops."

"Asleep Talking" is producing a different introduction. This time, Will Ferrell may provide a familiar name, but Magnus has given TikTok a song it cannot get out of its head.

San Diego Comic-Con, the annual gathering for all things comic books and nerd culture, is here. This year's event kicked off on July 23 and runs through July 26, so you'd best prepare for a weekend of big reveals and new movie trailers.

This year's edition of the long-running pop culture showcase features panels from all over the world of movies, TV, video games, and maybe even a comic book or two, here and there. Our friends at IGN created an excellent rundown of the weekend's schedule of events, but there are a few announcements in particular we're looking forward to. (Mashable and IGN are both owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis.)

So, here are some of the biggest panels and announcements we expect this weekend at SDCC 2026.

SEE ALSO: 'Supergirl' review: Better than the comic, but not DC's best Somehow, Spaceballs returns

Comedy legend Mel Brooks just celebrated his 100th birthday, and he still has jokes to tell, as a long-awaited sequel to his old Star Wars parody, Spaceballs, is in the works. Spaceballs: The New One comes out next April. There's a panel at SDCC on Friday featuring the cast and crew of the new movie, where they will discuss the project in detail, and maybe even give us a real look at it, since it's only been shown in brief teaser form thus far.

Prime Video shows off its Blade Runner and Lord of the Rings shows This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Earlier on Friday, you can expect some new info from Amazon about two of its higher-profile streaming TV projects.

First, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set to return for its third season, after season two took the series to new heights all the way back in 2024. Amazon's panel will feature a look at season three of the expensively produced and divisive fantasy epic.

Beyond that, Blade Runner 2099 will make its debut at this panel. The new Prime Video series stars Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer and returns viewers to the bleak techno-dystopia that somehow became a nearly 50-year-long media franchise.

A look at the future of Apple TV

Apple is holding a panel focused on original Apple TV programming, which has really hit its stride recently with shows like Silo and Widow's Bay. Apple's official description for this panel is very vague, but hopefully, we'll get updates on the streaming app's best new shows. Check in on Saturday if you want to hear more about the next moves for Apple TV.

Some fresh God of War: Laufey insight

SDCC is not generally a big gaming show, especially with Gamescom coming up in August. But PlayStation will have a presence at the show, and that includes a God of War: Laufey panel on Friday night.

And finally, the MCU returns with Doomsday

You may have heard that there's a new Avengers movie coming out. I mean, there usually is, but this one seemingly has way more guys in it than usual. It also features the MCU debut of fan-favorite villain Dr. Doom, played by returning star Robert Downey Jr.

Saturday night will see a Comic-Con panel featuring Kevin Feige and other "special guests," and they should give us an idea of what to expect not just from Doomsday, but from the next year or two of the MCU.

The best TV deals to shop this weekend: Best Art TV deal Hisense 65-inch S7 Canvas Hi-QLED 4K TV $899.99 (save $1,100) Get Deal BEST RGB TV deal Hisense 65-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV $1,299.99 (save $700) Get Deal Best OLED TV deal LG 65-Inch C6 OLED 4K TV $1,799.99 (save $900) Get Deal Best cheap TV deal LG 55-inch 75B QNED 4K TV $379.99 (save $220) Get Deal

While it's not traditionally the best time to buy a TV, I did some digging and found plenty of TVs from our favorite brands — Hisense, Samsung, LG, etc. — in all shapes and sizes for cheaper than usual.

If you've recently realized your TV is on its last leg, now's as good a time as any to make the investment in something better. With a new NFL season on the horizon and a ton of new series and movies coming to streaming, you'll be glad you upgraded.

We've rounded up the best TV deals to shop this weekend at Amazon and Best Buy below, so you can weigh your options.

Best Art TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 65-inch S7 Canvas Hi-QLED 4K TV $899.99 at Amazon
$1,999.99 Save $1,100   Get Deal Why we like it

Hisense's 2026 version of the highly popular Canvas TV features a Hi-QLED display with an AI RGB ambient light sensor. So, not only does it offer deeper color accuracy and richer hues, but it can also auto-adjust brightness and color temperature based on the lighting in the room. It also added a motion detection (and energy saving) feature that can wake up your display when you enter the room and fade when you walk away. Otherwise, it still packs the same 144Hz refresh rate, Hi-Matte design, teak frame, and free digital art library that transforms your TV into fancy artwork. As of July 24, it's down to $899.99 at Amazon, just $51 away from its record low.

Best RGB TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 65-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV $1,299.99 at Best Buy
$1,999.99 Save $700   Get Deal Why we like it

Hisense finally launched its highly anticipated RGB TVs in early June, and just a month later, there are deals on both the UR8 and UR9 at Best Buy. The UR8 is the more affordable option (about $400 cheaper at the time of writing) and can reach a peak brightness of 3,500 nits, has a 180Hz refresh rate, and offers a panel of four HDMI ports. Of course, it also features new RGB technology that utilizes pure red, green, and blue LEDs for seriously precise lighting and color vibrancy. The entry fee for this technology can be steep, so a savings of $700 is a pretty sweet deal.

Best OLED TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 65-Inch C6 OLED 4K TV $1,799.99 at Amazon
$2,699.99 Save $900.00   Get Deal Why we like it

The C6 is LG's mid-range OLED model for 2026, so its price tag and performance are a bit more modest than the flagship G-Series. Still, it's a pretty awesome value, especially now that it's $900 off its list price. At $1,799.99 for the 65-inch model, it's just $200 more than the entry-level B-Series and $3 more than its best-ever price. Mashable's sister site PCMag calls the C6 the "best midrange OLED TV out this year," highlighting its brilliant picture, strong streaming features, hands-free voice control, 165Hz refresh rate, and, of course, its price.

More of the best TV deals this weekend

• Hisense 58-inch QD50 QLED 4K TV — $199.99 $399.99 (save $200)

• LG 55-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $379.99 $599.99 (save $220)

• Insignia 85-inch Class F50 Series 4K Fire TV — $599.99 $899.99 (save $300)

• Insignia 85-inch QF QLED 4K TV — $629.99 $1,099.99 (save $470)

• Hisense 50-inch S7 Canvas Hi-QLED 4K TV — $647.97 $1,299.99 (save $652.02)

• Amazon 55-inch Ember Artline QLED 4K Art TV — $699.98 $899.99 (save $200.01)

• Hisense 85-inch QD6 Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $749.99 $1,099.99 (save $350)

• Samsung 55-inch The Frame Pro Neo QLED TV — $1,297.99 $1,497.99 (save $200)

• Hisense 65-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,299.99 $1,999.99 (save $700)

• Samsung 65-inch S85H OLED 4K TV — $1,497.99 $1,997.99 (save $500)

• LG 65-Inch B6 OLED 4K TV— $1,599.99 $1,999.99 (save $400)

• TCL 75-inch QM8L SQD-Mini-LED QLED TV — $1,698.99 $2,999.99 (save 1,301)

• Hisense 65-inch UR9 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $1,699.99 $2,199.99 (save $500)

• Samsung 65-inch S90H OLED 4K TV — $1,797.99 $2,697.99 (save $900)

• Samsung 77-inch S90F OLED 4K TV — $1,799.99 $3,499.99 (save $1,700)

• Hisense 85-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $2,199.99 $3,499.99 (save $1,300)

• Hisense 85-inch UR9 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $3,499.99 $4,499.99 (save $1,000)

Before Cindy Pham became a New York Times bestselling author, she spent years building an audience on YouTube as Read With Cindy, where nearly 600,000 subscribers tune in for her thoughtful book commentary. In today's publishing industry, that's the kind of platform many authors dream of, one that can help sell books long before readers crack open the first page.

But Pham has always been wary of turning creativity into a commodity.

She still works full-time as a graphic designer, deliberately keeping writing and content creation separate from the job that pays her bills. It's a choice that gives her the freedom to write slowly, chase ideas that genuinely excite her, and resist the pressure to create for algorithms or sales numbers.

SEE ALSO: BookTok creators share the reading essentials they actually use

That philosophy shapes every part of her career, from the way she approaches YouTube to the way she wrote her debut young adult novel, The Secret World of Briar Rose, a sapphic reimagining of Sleeping Beauty that asks one haunting question: What if Sleeping Beauty didn't want to wake up?

For this edition of Creator Playbook, Pham reflects on balancing three careers, navigating the blurry line between author and influencer, and why she believes the goal isn't representation — it's resonance.

Cindy Pham wants her work to outshine her platform Credit: Ian Moore/Mashable/Kokila

Mashable: Before nearly a million people followed your book recommendations on YouTube and TikTok, what was your relationship with books and reading growing up?

Cindy Pham: I actually wasn't a big reader growing up. I started reading avidly after I graduated from college, and I think part of it was that no one was telling me I had to read anymore. Once it became something I chose for myself instead of an assignment, I became much more interested in it.

Writing actually came first. I'd been writing since elementary school as a form of escapism. Reading came later, and thankfully, that made my writing a lot better. You're probably not going to become a good writer if you aren't reading a lot of books.

I definitely came to reading later than most people. I missed the Twilight era, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter — which, in retrospect, maybe missing Harry Potter wasn't the worst thing. But once I started a YouTube channel dedicated to talking about books, it made me much more conscious of the stories I was consuming. It helped me understand what I loved, what I didn't, and ultimately the kinds of stories I wanted to write. It was a little backward, but everything came together in the end.

What came first: the YouTube channel or the idea for The Secret World of Briar Rose?

The writing always came first. In elementary school, I'd get obsessed with a video game or TV show and write novelizations of it. In middle school, I wrote fanfiction. By high school, I was writing original fiction, and during my senior year, I wrote the first draft of The Secret World of Briar Rose. Then I went to college and put writing aside to focus on becoming a designer.

After graduation, I started reading a lot more. I was reading so much that I needed somewhere to talk about the books because posting a photo on Instagram just wasn't enough. I wanted to rant about whatever shenanigans had happened in the story, so I started a YouTube channel. Honestly, I thought I'd lose interest after a week or a month. It was just something to do. But people started watching, commenting, and subscribing, and that encouraged me to keep going.

The channel really grew alongside my interests. I've always approached content creation by making videos about whatever I'm genuinely excited about, rather than thinking, I need to make a video about this because it'll perform well. As I became more immersed in books and storytelling, my brain kept returning to that novel I'd written in high school. Only this time, I had a fully developed frontal lobe. I was more socially conscious, more politically conscious, and much more widely read.

The core of the story stayed the same. I'd always wanted to write about depression and suicidal ideation, using Sleeping Beauty as an allegory. But revisiting it as an adult gave me the tools to tell that story with a lot more depth. Reading a lot of books doesn't necessarily make you a better writer. I think it makes you a more purposeful one. It helps you figure out what you actually want from a story instead of chasing whatever the average person thinks makes a good book.

Opens in a new window Credit: Kokila / Penguin Random House The Secret World of Briar Rose $15.59 at Amazon
$21.99 Save $6.40   Get Deal

One thing that really stood out to me is that you still work a full-time job as a graphic designer while writing books and making YouTube videos. A lot of creators wrestle with when, or whether, to quit their day jobs.

I like my job being just a job. It gives me financial security, which means I can write books and make videos because I genuinely enjoy doing them, not because I need them to pay my rent or because I need strangers on the internet to like me to make a living. That balance has been really important for me.

I see similar pressures with full-time creators and full-time authors. When your creative work becomes your entire livelihood, everything feels heavier because it's your whole world. I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket, especially living in New York. It becomes harder to enjoy what you're making when it's fully monetized, and you're constantly worrying whether you can live off it.

I'm also a very slow writer. I like to sit with ideas. I like to experience life and let that inform the story. That isn't always compatible with what publishing wants, so I'd rather create on my own timeline than someone else's.

I'm always amazed by someone like Brandon Sanderson, who's somehow writing thousand-page books every other year.

[Laughs.] That's definitely a particular kind of creative personality. I'm the turtle in that race. I like taking my time, and right now I'm also juggling three jobs: designer, content creator, and now author. That's been its own challenge.

One of the biggest buzzwords in the creator economy is authenticity. The creators who build the strongest communities are usually the ones who are the most authentic to themselves. Reading your book, it feels like that same philosophy applies here. This story feels deeply personal — not just because it draws from your experiences, but because it's rooted in the themes and worldview you wanted to explore.

I think there's definitely a lot of overlap. Being a content creator for so many years before becoming a published author helped shape that mindset. It thickened my skin when it comes to public perception, but it also reinforced something I've believed for a long time: I never want my livelihood to depend on whether people like me.

I want to create because I'm genuinely interested in something. If other people connect with it, that's wonderful. If they don't, that's OK too. I don't want validation, or my ability to pay rent, to depend on strangers enjoying my work. That's the attitude I've tried to bring into publishing as well.

Unfortunately, writers can't really just disappear into a room and write anymore. So much of publishing is now tied to your public identity. I think that's a shame, even if it's something that's ultimately worked in my favor.

We've written about that at Mashable — the way BookTok and social media have pushed authors to become content creators and marketers. Publishers increasingly want authors to have an online presence, to promote themselves alongside the book. You were already ahead of that curve because you had built a community before publishing.

I think it's a flawed system. Authors shouldn't have to become marketers. The book should be able to speak for itself.

At the same time, I recognize that I benefit from that system while also critiquing it, so I try to make the most of that privilege. One way I do that is by spotlighting other debut authors who don't have the same publisher investment or platform that I do. When The Secret World of Briar Rose debuted at No. 1, I made a point of highlighting other books that released the same day because there are so many incredible authors whose work deserves attention. A bestseller list isn't a pure meritocracy. It's also a reflection of which books publishers are willing to invest in and promote.

There's another downside, too. Because my name is so closely associated with the book, I don't think the novel will ever completely stand on its own. If someone thinks my videos are annoying, they'll probably approach the book with those assumptions. If someone loves my channel, they may expect the book to be a masterpiece before they've even opened it. Neither is really fair to the reader or the writer.

That's why it's so important for me to always come back to my North Star: why I wrote the book in the first place. It can't be about external validation or the credibility of being an author. It has to be about self-expression and writing something that would have mattered to my younger self, not writing for a market or an impossible standard. A lot of this is really about building the mental fortitude to resist the pressure of numbers, sales, and validation. I think creators and authors are fighting a lot of the same battles.

At least publishing gives you a team whose job is to worry about those numbers.

Exactly. [Laughs.] They're the ones who can worry about sales. I'm just here to have fun. The other thing that's been really meaningful is that everyone involved in the creative production of this book is a South or Southeast Asian woman. I'm Vietnamese. My editor is Pakistani. My cover artist is Filipina. My cover designer is Taiwanese. My interior designer is Black and South Asian. The imprint itself focuses on marginalized voices. So when something good happens to the book, it isn't just a win for me. It's a win for everyone who worked on it. Whenever I start getting too self-conscious, I try to think about the ripple effects. It's never just about me.

Maybe you should judge this book by its cover. Credit: Kokila / Penguin Random House

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I have to say: it's a gorgeous cover.

In this case, I absolutely think people should judge the book by its cover. I was lucky enough to have a lot of creative control over it. I got to put my designer hat back on and be really specific about the direction, even choosing the cover artist. That ended up being one of the most fun creative parts of the whole process.

I read your People essay, which is beautiful, and you describe how public conversations around your book made you more self-conscious about your own identity and queerness. Looking back, do you think the internet made it harder to figure yourself out, or did it ultimately push you to ask questions you might not have otherwise?

I think it's both. The internet helped me become more socially and politically conscious. Honestly, I don't think I would've realized I was queer without it. I was exposed to more queer media and more conversations about identity and diversity, which changed how I understood both myself and the stories I wanted to tell.

Before that, my writing was very heteronormative. It was very colorblind. Becoming more aware of those things changed the way I approached storytelling. I was also the only "straight" person in my friend group for a long time. I met my girlfriend through the book community online, and even before I realized I was queer myself, I was participating in queer culture through friendships and allyship.

At the same time, being perceived publicly comes with its own pressures. Early on, people assumed I was a straight woman writing a queer story, and those conversations made me second-guess myself. I started wondering, What if they're right? What if I'm exploiting something I shouldn't be? I knew why I'd made those creative choices. The queer relationship wasn't there for representation alone — it reinforced the book's themes of escapism and the oppressive forces the characters were trying to escape. But the internet doesn't always leave room for that kind of nuance.

When my girlfriend first confessed her feelings for me, I didn't have an answer right away because I'd spent so much time compartmentalizing that part of myself. Even after we started dating, I worried I was somehow "queerbaiting" her. That's such an internet thought. A normal person who's never been online wouldn't think, "Oh my God, I'm queerbaiting someone." That's something that comes from living inside internet discourse.

Overall, though, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. As I've gotten older, I've become better at separating public speculation from who I actually am. People are always going to make assumptions about you online, but they don't really know you. That's why it's so important for me to have a balanced life and relationships outside the internet.

One thing you wrote that really stayed with me was the idea that your goal wasn't representation so much as resonance. What's the difference?

I completely understand why representation matters. When I see queer stories now — or Vietnamese women in books — that means something to me. But I don't think any marginalized group is a monolith. There's no single story that can represent every queer person or every Asian person. That's why I prefer to think about resonance. I'm not trying to write a story that represents everyone. I'm trying to write something that feels true to me.

If that resonates with another queer person, or another Asian reader, that's incredible. And if someone doesn't necessarily feel represented but still connects with the emotional truth of the story, that's meaningful too. For me, that's the priority. When I'm writing, I start with the character and the themes. Once I understand who this person is and what role they play in the story, then I ask how their identity adds another layer to those themes. I don't usually start with identity and build outward from there. I know other writers do that beautifully, but resonance is the framework that makes the most sense to me.

Looking back now, after more than a decade with this story, how does the finished book differ from the one you first wrote in high school?

It really grew up alongside me. The core idea was always there. I always wanted to write about depression and mental health. But high school Cindy didn't know herself or the world the way I do now. Living life, going through depressive episodes, going to therapy, growing older... all of that gave me the emotional intelligence to write richer characters.

Even when I wasn't actively working on the manuscript, I was still writing it in a way because I was living the experiences that eventually shaped it. The first draft was mostly interested in the personal. As an adult, I realized those personal choices are political, too. If your story is about characters escaping oppressive systems, then asking what it means to ignore politics is itself a political question. Those were ideas I never would've understood as a teenager.

I think of that original manuscript as a seed. Over the years, it just kept growing new branches as I learned more about myself and the world.

I love the central question of the novel: What if Sleeping Beauty didn't want to wake up? Even as a teenager, that's such an emotionally rich question to ask.

Thank you. I also think it's important that YA stories are allowed to be dark. I was a depressed, angsty teenager, and this is exactly the kind of book I would've wanted to read. Before you can get to hope, you have to acknowledge the darkness. Hearing platitudes like "It gets better" never really resonated with me because nothing is guaranteed.

I think it's more honest to say that there are objectively awful things in the world, and we still owe it to ourselves and to each other to stay here and help one another. Holding both of those truths at once is what growth looks like.

Smart plugs are a great way to make dumb devices smart. As long as your dumb device will start up without any additional button presses, you can use a smart plug to turn it on and off remotely, just like any other smart device. There are some cases, however, where using a smart plug is not a great idea.

Smart plugs are a great way to make dumb devices smart. As long as your dumb device will start up without any additional button presses, you can use a smart plug to turn it on and off remotely, just like any other smart device. There are some cases, however, where using a smart plug is not a great idea.

Smart plugs are a great way to make dumb devices smart. As long as your dumb device will start up without any additional button presses, you can use a smart plug to turn it on and off remotely, just like any other smart device. There are some cases, however, where using a smart plug is not a great idea.

Every modern motherboard has a USB-C port that might be more exciting than it looks at a glance. (Hard to tell from the get-go, though, as USB-C ports are downright confusing.) Depending on the board, that USB-C port might move data at 20Gbps or 80Gbps, drive an 8K monitor or drive nothing at all, and charge a laptop or barely charge anything. The port shape is the same in all of those cases, which is the whole problem.

Every modern motherboard has a USB-C port that might be more exciting than it looks at a glance. (Hard to tell from the get-go, though, as USB-C ports are downright confusing.) Depending on the board, that USB-C port might move data at 20Gbps or 80Gbps, drive an 8K monitor or drive nothing at all, and charge a laptop or barely charge anything. The port shape is the same in all of those cases, which is the whole problem.

Every modern motherboard has a USB-C port that might be more exciting than it looks at a glance. (Hard to tell from the get-go, though, as USB-C ports are downright confusing.) Depending on the board, that USB-C port might move data at 20Gbps or 80Gbps, drive an 8K monitor or drive nothing at all, and charge a laptop or barely charge anything. The port shape is the same in all of those cases, which is the whole problem.

Where to preorder the new Samsung Galaxy phones Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 $1,199.99 at Samsung Pre-Order Here Amazon Galaxy Z Flip 8 $1,199.99 at Amazon (get a $200 Amazon gift card) Pre-Order Here T-Mobile Galaxy Z Flip 8 $1,199.99 at T-Mobile (save up to $1,100 when you add a new line) Pre-Order Here Amazon Galaxy Z Fold 8 $1,899.99 at Amazon (get a $350 Amazon gift card) Pre-Order Here Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 $1,899.99 at Samsung Pre-Order Here T-Mobile Galaxy Z Fold 8 $1,899.99 at T-Mobile (get it for $0 with eligible trade-in) Pre-Order Here AT&T Galaxy Z Fold 8 $1,899.99 at AT&T (get it for $0 with eligible trade-in) Pre-Order Here Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra $2,099.99 at Samsung Pre-Order Here Amazon Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra $2,099.99 at Amazon (get a $350 Amazon gift card) Pre-Order Here T-Mobile Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra $2,099.99 at T-Mobile (save up to $1,100 when you add a new line) Pre-Order Here

New Samsung phones are here. At Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026, three new phones were announced: the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. The new phones are successors to the Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7, so if you're ready for a new phone, get ready to preorder these devices.

We've been anticipating the new models for weeks, vetting rumors of what's to come with the latest foldables. Now that we're here, we can finally confirm exactly which models are available and just how much each will cost.

Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, and Z Fold 8 Ultra pricing breakdown

Here's the pricing breakdown:

• Galaxy Z Flip 8 (pink, graphite, cream, mint) — starting at $1,199

• Galaxy Z Fold 8 (lavender, graphite, cream, pistachio) — starting at $1,899.99

• Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra (violet shadow, graphite, cream, green shadow) — starting at $2,099.99

Both the Z Flip 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra are $100 more than last year's models; no surprise in the face of the global memory crisis. All of the new models are up for preorder as of July 22 and will be available Aug. 7.

If you've previously owned the Z Flip and Fold series, the successive models are slightly different. So here's what you need to know about the new Samsung smartphones.

About the Galaxy Z Flip 8 The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is the successor to the Z Flip 7. Credit: Joseph Maldonado / CNET Group

The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is the successor to the Z Flip 7. It folds down into a pocket-sized square, flipping open to a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display. The display is phenomenal and extremely impressive, the crease of the phone indistinguishable when flipped open. It comes with a dual lens camera with up to 10x zoom and 4K video, filming at 60 fps. It has 12GB of RAM (more than some computers) and either 256GB or 512GB of storage space.

The Z Flip 8 comes in four different colors: pink, graphite, cream, and mint (online only). It starts at $1,199.99.

Galaxy Z Flip 8 $1,199.99 at Amazon
  Pre-order Here at Amazon Pre-order Here at Samsung Pre-order Here at T-Mobile About the Galaxy Z Fold 8 The dimensions of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 are suspiciously close to the leaked foldable iPhone. Credit: Joseph Maldonado / CNET Group

Apple has yet to release a foldable iPhone, but Samsung has already come out with a phone destined to compete. Rumors were floating about this model, with some thinking it would be called the Galaxy Z Fold Wide. Now we know it's actually the Galaxy Z Fold 8, a new model with a fullscreen ratio of 4:3.

It's a midrange option between the Z Flip 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra, with a 5.5-inch folded screen and a 7.6-inch full-size screen. Like the Flip, it has a dual lens camera, but is able to film in up to 8K at 30 fps. You can go for models with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage, or a model with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

The Z Fold 8 starts at $1,899.99. It comes in lavender, graphite, cream, and pistachio (online only).

Galaxy Z Fold 8 $1,899.99 at Samsung
  Pre-order Here at Samsung Pre-order Here at Amazon Pre-order Here at T-Mobile About the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra The successor to the Z Fold 7 is the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Credit: Joseph Maldonado / CNET Group

If you've previously seen or used the Z Fold 7, its successor is the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. It's the largest phone among all of Samsung's foldables with a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch full screen. It's the only foldable with a three-lens camera, letting you film in up to 8K with 3x optical and 30x space zoom.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra comes in violet shadow, graphite, cream, and green shadow (online only). It starts at $2,099.99.

Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra $2,099.99 at Amazon
  Pre-order Here at Amazon Pre-order Here at Samsung Pre-order Here at T-Mobile

GET A FREE $200 GIFT CARD: Pre-order the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 for $1,199.99 at Amazon by August 6 and get a $200 gift card for free.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 Unlocked Cell Phone + $200 Gift Card, 256GB Graphite $1,199.99 at Amazon
  Pre-order Here at Amazon

Getting a new phone is almost never cheap. But if you're already planning to upgrade to Samsung's latest flip phone, you might as well get paid to do it.

SEE ALSO: T-Mobile is giving away the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 for free — how to claim

Right now, if you pre-order the 256GB Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 in Graphite at Amazon for $1,199.99, they'll throw in a $200 Amazon gift card. You just have to place your order by August 6 (its official release date is August 7).

The Z Flip 8 features a 6.7-inch main screen and a 4.1-inch cover screen (which Samsung calls the FlexWindow). It lets you check notifications and send messages without opening your phone. As for the cameras, you get a 50MP wide lens and a 12MP ultrawide lens on the back, plus a 10MP front camera. Thanks to the folding design, you can set it down half-open on a table to take hands-free photos or shoot Super Steady video — no tripod required.

Considering a $200 gift card basically covers your screen protectors, a durable case, and a few other things in your cart, this is a pretty good pre-order bonus.

Having access to a 3D printer means you’re always looking for little life hacks to improve the space around you. While many of us have printed gadgets for functional areas like the kitchen and bathroom, there are plenty of models you can print for the bedroom too.

Having access to a 3D printer means you’re always looking for little life hacks to improve the space around you. While many of us have printed gadgets for functional areas like the kitchen and bathroom, there are plenty of models you can print for the bedroom too.

Oura isn't the only one with a new smart ring. RingConn, a subscription-free alternative, just dropped its Gen 3 smart ring. It measures all the essential biometrics you want in a smart ring, and works around the screen-free design with a new innovation: a vibration motor.

The announcement of the new RingConn Gen 3 also comes the same week as Garmin announced the Cirqa, a tracker that looks noticeably similar to Whoop's health trackers.

About the RingConn Gen 3 Smart Ring The new RingConn Gen 3 comes in 10 sizes and five finishes. Credit: RingConn

What sets RingConn apart from fellow smart ring maker Oura is that it is subscription-free, meaning once you buy the ring, there's no recurring cost. The new Gen 3 comes in 10 sizes (6 to 16) and five different finishes, including silver, gold, black, brushed silver, and brushed rose gold.

The new ring claims outstanding battery life, up to 14 days, one of the longest of any fitness tracker we've seen. However, it's a bit shorter if you have vibration turned on. The vibration motor is a new addition to the Gen 3, notifying you of health alerts, sedentary reminders, and low battery.

When Oura launched the Oura Ring 5, its slimmer design was the headline, and the RingConn Gen 3 is only slightly bigger. It has a thickness of 2.3mm and a width of 6.8mm, while the Oura Ring 5 is 2.28mm thick and 6.09mm wide.

Take the RingConn Gen 3 with you in the water as its waterproof up to 100m. Credit: RingConn

The Gen 3 now detects blood pressure and sleep apnea, although neither feature is FDA-cleared. It's water-resistant, waterproof up to 100m.

Included with RingConn Gen 3 models is a travel charging case, which provides over 150 days of battery life.

The RingConn Gen 3 starts at $349 (brushed finishes cost $369) and is now available to order from RingConn and Amazon.

RingConn Gen 3 $349 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at RingConn

Oura isn't the only one with a new smart ring. RingConn, a subscription-free alternative, just dropped its Gen 3 smart ring. It measures all the essential biometrics you want in a smart ring, and works around the screen-free design with a new innovation: a vibration motor.

The announcement of the new RingConn Gen 3 also comes the same week as Garmin announced the Cirqa, a tracker that looks noticeably similar to Whoop's health trackers.

About the RingConn Gen 3 Smart Ring The new RingConn Gen 3 comes in 10 sizes and five finishes. Credit: RingConn

What sets RingConn apart from fellow smart ring maker Oura is that it is subscription-free, meaning once you buy the ring, there's no recurring cost. The new Gen 3 comes in 10 sizes (6 to 16) and five different finishes, including silver, gold, black, brushed silver, and brushed rose gold.

The new ring claims outstanding battery life, up to 14 days, one of the longest of any fitness tracker we've seen. However, it's a bit shorter if you have vibration turned on. The vibration motor is a new addition to the Gen 3, notifying you of health alerts, sedentary reminders, and low battery.

When Oura launched the Oura Ring 5, its slimmer design was the headline, and the RingConn Gen 3 is only slightly bigger. It has a thickness of 2.3mm and a width of 6.8mm, while the Oura Ring 5 is 2.28mm thick and 6.09mm wide.

Take the RingConn Gen 3 with you in the water as its waterproof up to 100m. Credit: RingConn

The Gen 3 now detects blood pressure and sleep apnea, although neither feature is FDA-cleared. It's water-resistant, waterproof up to 100m.

Included with RingConn Gen 3 models is a travel charging case, which provides over 150 days of battery life.

The RingConn Gen 3 starts at $349 (brushed finishes cost $369) and is now available to order from RingConn and Amazon.

RingConn Gen 3 $349 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at RingConn

Oura isn't the only one with a new smart ring. RingConn, a subscription-free alternative, just dropped its Gen 3 smart ring. It measures all the essential biometrics you want in a smart ring, and works around the screen-free design with a new innovation: a vibration motor.

The announcement of the new RingConn Gen 3 also comes the same week as Garmin announced the Cirqa, a tracker that looks noticeably similar to Whoop's health trackers.

About the RingConn Gen 3 Smart Ring The new RingConn Gen 3 comes in 10 sizes and five finishes. Credit: RingConn

What sets RingConn apart from fellow smart ring maker Oura is that it is subscription-free, meaning once you buy the ring, there's no recurring cost. The new Gen 3 comes in 10 sizes (6 to 16) and five different finishes, including silver, gold, black, brushed silver, and brushed rose gold.

The new ring claims outstanding battery life, up to 14 days, one of the longest of any fitness tracker we've seen. However, it's a bit shorter if you have vibration turned on. The vibration motor is a new addition to the Gen 3, notifying you of health alerts, sedentary reminders, and low battery.

When Oura launched the Oura Ring 5, its slimmer design was the headline, and the RingConn Gen 3 is only slightly bigger. It has a thickness of 2.3mm and a width of 6.8mm, while the Oura Ring 5 is 2.28mm thick and 6.09mm wide.

Take the RingConn Gen 3 with you in the water as its waterproof up to 100m. Credit: RingConn

The Gen 3 now detects blood pressure and sleep apnea, although neither feature is FDA-cleared. It's water-resistant, waterproof up to 100m.

Included with RingConn Gen 3 models is a travel charging case, which provides over 150 days of battery life.

The RingConn Gen 3 starts at $349 (brushed finishes cost $369) and is now available to order from RingConn and Amazon.

RingConn Gen 3 $349 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at RingConn

Wet and dry vacuum mops have made a lot of progress over the last few years, but most of them still ask you to do the same annoying dance: vacuum, then mop, then tend to the spots that didn't quite come clean the first time. Roborock's new F25 Steam is built around a simple idea. If a machine can generate real steam and provide strong suction, one pass should be enough, even for dried-on stains that usually need a scrub.