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SwitchBot has smart deals on smart home products this Prime Day

How-To Geek - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 18:00

Prime Day is one of the best times of year to invest in smart home tech, and SwitchBot's 2026 lineup gives you plenty of reasons to pay attention. From June 23 to 26, the brand is offering discounts on a range of its most popular devices, including automated window coverings and AI-powered door locks.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Supergirl review: Better than the comic, but not DCs best

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 18:00

At the end of 2025's Superman, she was a high-energy scene-stealer, perfectly paired to her chaotic pup, Krypto. Now Supergirl gives Kara (Milly Alcock) an adventure all her own.

Set far from Metropolis, and based on the comic book miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, this DC movie launches fans into the cosmos, where the violence and villains are more random. Yet there are evils here that have strong, disturbing parallels to those on Earth. So it's absolutely satisfying to watch a petite but powerful Supergirl dish out attitude with the grudging determination of a lunch lady and kick ass like only a pissed-off superhero can.

Supergirl is better than Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Milly Alcock is Supergirl and Matthias Schoenaerts is Krem. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Screenwriter Ana Nogueira took the bones of the DC miniseries, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and dropped its less cinematic elements. The story still follows Kara (Alcock) from her boozy birthday revels in space to a quest for vengeance, sparked by a young girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley). Together, they will hunt down the villain Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), a member of a band of vicious criminals known as the Brigands. However, Nogueira's version dumps much of Ruthye's tedious narration from the comics, allowing Supergirl to be more centered. Plus, she loops in Lobo (Jason Momoa), a bounty-hunting antihero with big personality, a devil-may-care attitude, and a roaring motorcycle.

Also, taking a page from 2025's Superman, Supergirl leans hard on the cosmic cuteness of Krypto, the flying dog. Supergirl begins where Superman left off, with Kara retrieving her canine bestie. Together, they trek to a red-sun system, where her superpowers vanish, so she can get properly intoxicated. Far from the noble boy scout her cousin Kal-El is, Kara is drowning her agony over the loss of their family and home planet in any booze she can get her hands on. (A flashback reveals why the loss was harder on her. And heads up, comics fans, it's different from the book.)

It's in a dangerous bar that she meets Ruthye, who's seen her entire family slain by Krem, and is now offering her father's sword to whoever will help her spill Krem's blood with it. Kara is not interested in a quest. But when a hulking alien steals the blade, she can't help but intervene — drunkenly. This becomes the pattern for Kara. She retreats to distractions with her pup, but can't help but step in for the underdog. However, this mission gets personal when a run-in with Krem results in Krypto being poisoned by the Brigand leader. Not only does this sideline the superdog from most of another DC movie, but it also puts a ticking clock on their quest. If Kara can't find Krem — who carries the antidote — in three days, Krypto will die.

Milly Alcock is Supergirl and Eve Ridley is Ruthye. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

That still doesn't mean she wants to help a child murder a guy, though. Reluctantly, she brings Ruthye along, equipping her with a Rick and Morty-like suit of protection. In their pursuit of Krem, they will save the day for others, including a bus full of travelers, and slew of girls who've been abducted by the Brigand. In another major shift from the comic, the Brigands aren't just a violence-seeking gang. Here, they have their own sex-trafficking operation, abducting girls from various planets to spawn new Brigands. (There's a line about how the Brigand race has no women, so this is how they procreate. Which makes zero sense, even in a world in which Kryptonians can fly under the yellow sun. Anyway, moving on...)

By essentially creating DC's version of Epstein island, this change adds another layer of threat to Supergirl by recognizing the real-world dangers of rape that women and girls face all too often. Referred to by the Brigand as "the brides," these girls are stolen from their family, robbed of their autonomy, and made objects by their powerful male abductors. In this setting, having a surly, short blonde woman be their savior feels thrilling, because aside from her superpowers, Kara is just like them. Yet it's not her strength that drives her to save them.

Another difference from the book is that Nogueira emphasizes the final wishes of Kara's mother in a thought-provoking way. Rather than simply "be good," Alura In-Ze (Emily Beecham) advises her daughter not to be "nice" but to "be kind." This is a message that suggests not creating a superficial facade of civility, but doing the work, offering the sacrifice demanded to truly express kindness to others. It's a powerful message and an infuriatingly timeless one. It's just a shame these messages don't permeate the execution of the film.

Despite Milly Alcock's terrific performance, Supergirl's girl power message feels sanitized by its director. Milly Alcock stars as Supergirl. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Within the script, Nogueira creates opportunities to display Kara's complexity. In some scenes, she seems a carefree party girl. But when she's alone with her dog, her grief throbs. In front of Ruthye, she tries to keep it together. Having her upbringing disrupted by the end of her world means that Kara's not great at playing with others. She's pugnacious but smart, reckless but kind. And Alcock masterfully swerves from one side of Supergirl to another, making her a crackling and compelling character onscreen — certainly more dynamic than the Woman of Tomorrow comic's depiction of an ever-stoic hero who abruptly curses.

Nogueria finds other ways to work more women into the plot line as well. For instance, the abducted girls create a focal point for the spreading malignance of the Brigand — and in the third act, some of these captives will get a chance at revenge. But even little details, like swapping a dragon out for a trio of female raiders as adversaries, bring greater representation to this DC offering. (Women can be villains too!)

However, Supergirl lacks the presentation of lived experience seen in Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, where Diana got to be delighted by babies and ice cream while also being a powerful warrior, or Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey, where an action sequence has a brief beat so one heroine can hand off a hair tie to another mid-fight. This movie yearns for such moments of specificity.

Jason Momoa is Lobo. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Director Craig Gillespie has made a dazzling array of movies, from the sexy, better-than-the-original remake of Fright Night to the Tonya Harding biopic/comedy I, Tonya to the fabulously fashion-forward Cruella and the GameStop short squeeze dramedy Dumb Money. He's shown a skill for crafting character. And it's not like Supergirl is flat. If anything, it feels like Gillespie got out of the way of Alcock, Schoenaerts, and Momoa. Alcock is not falling into the social pressure to be a (super)girl who smiles to appease. She even gets a beat where she plays up a valley girl voice to undermine a man she assumes will be placated by that. Schoenaerts oozes with sleaze, whether he's murdering innocents or snarling at kidnapped girls, and Momoa has the chaotic himbo energy that's made him such fun on red carpets and in Fast X. (He's so much better suited to Lobo than the nautical saga of Aquaman.)

However, there's just something lacking, keeping it from knitting it together beautifully. The action scenes are full of stunts. But none of the blows hit as hard as when Krypto gets shot in act one. The costuming by Michael Mooney and Anna B. Sheppard is surprising, as Supergirl wears a T-shirt, jeans, and trench coat for most of the film as opposed to her signature supersuit and cape. That it's a Blondie tee feels a bit reductive, as if Blondie is a band for girls. This shorthand is echoed in a soundtrack that includes songs from female-fronted bands like Wet Leg and Rilo Kiley, standards sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Winnie Ama, and a cover of Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle," performed by Kelty Greye and KidMotel.

The issue is not these acts or these songs, but that this approach to capturing girlhood or sisterhood feels like a "nice" superficial exterior to Nogueira's more challenging screenplay. For instance, "The Middle" cover falls into the cliché that's become rampant in movie trailers, where the memorable song is slowed down and song softly, as if that inherently gives it a new or deeper meaning. Its use makes Gillespie's choices feel strategically pandering to a female audience instead of organic to Kara's story.

Matthias Schoenaerts is Krem. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Watching Supergirl, I wasn't able to fully enjoy the ride, because these details kept snagging my attention. I was jerked out of the movie by cosmetic choices that felt not exactly out of place, but certainly not smoothly integrated. Still, there's a lot of great stuff in this DC spinoff.

Alcock is captivating as the conflicted Supergirl, who's not sure if she's a hero or of her place in the universe. Schoenaerts is spectacularly creepy as Krem of the Yellow Hills, while Momoa is snarling fun as Lobo. The story runs more smoothly, dramatically, and satisfyingly than the comic. It shows more often than it tells and creates a greater complexity to its title character. And Nogueira does a sublime job of balancing Kara's processing of grief with comedic moments that allow for breath and laughs. So, this movie won't be bogged down by mourning like a series of the MCU ones post-snap.

But, in the end, while I enjoyed myself, I was never really blown away by this superhero movie. I left pleased, but not in awe, not craving a chance to see it again immediately. Still, if Warner Bros. greenlit a sequel, I'd be game to give Kara and her crew another go.

Supergirl opens in theaters on June 26.

Categories: IT General, Technology

The best Prime Day deals on noise-cancelling and open earbuds: shop AirPods, Bose, and picks under $100

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 17:57
The best Prime Day earbud deals at a glance: Best Apple Deal Apple AirPods Pro 3 $179 (save $70) Get Deal Best Bose Deal Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) $249 (save $50) Get Deal Best workout deal Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 $179.95 (save $70.04) Get Deal Best Sony deal Sony LinkBuds Clip $178 (save $51.99) Get Deal Best budget earbuds deal EarFun Air Pro 4 $50.51 (save $29.48) Get Deal

Amazon Prime Day is here and so are the earbud deals. This year's Prime Day runs June 23 to 26, but the sale was hot before it even began.

The actual start date felt like a bit of a formality after the AirPods Pro 3 hit record low prices twice this week. They even dropped to $169 at Walmart on June 18, knocking $80 off the normal $249 price.

SEE ALSO: The ultimate Prime Day Apple deals guide: We're tracking prices on AirPods, MacBooks, and iPads

Other notable buds, like the Sony XM6 earbuds, second-gen Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, and Nothing earbuds, are all on sale. Below, we've rounded up all the best Prime Day earbud deals you can grab right now.

Looking for over-ear headphones? Check out our guide to the best Prime Day headphones deals. And be sure to follow along with all other categories and deals in Mashable's Prime Day hub.

Best noise-cancelling earbuds deal Apple AirPods Pro 3 $179 at Amazon
$249 Save $70   Get Deal at Amazon Get Deal at Walmart Why we like it

The Apple AirPods Pro 3 dropped down to a record low price of $179 ahead of Prime Day, but then the price dropped even lower before the sale's official start. According to the price tracker camelcamelcamel, the Pro 3 buds got down to $169 at Amazon, but at the time of writing, that specific deal is gone. Now that Prime Day has officially started, you can still find them for $179 and in stock at both Amazon and Best Buy. If the price drops back down to $169 again, we'll be sure to sound the alarm.

Read our full review of the Apple AirPods Pro 3.

Best noise-cancelling earbuds deal under $100 Opens in a new window Credit: EarFun EarFun Air Pro 4 $50.51 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $29.48   Get Deal Why we like it

The EarFun Air Pro 4 are the best earbuds you've probably never heard of. They're our top pick for noise-cancelling earbuds under $100 on a normal day. Now that they're down to just slightly over $50 for Prime Day, we can't recommend them enough. We struggled to find the flaws of these budget-friendly buds upon testing. They offer excellent battery life and noise cancellation (which has manually adjustable levels), multipoint connectivity, a well-rounded sound profile, and obviously, a price that's hard to beat.

More noise-cancelling earbuds dealsBest open earbuds deal Sony LinkBuds Clip $178 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $51.99   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

The Sony LinkBuds Clip give the ultra-popular Bose Ultra Open earbuds a run for their money. In my head-to-head testing of the two pairs of earbuds, I found that while the Bose buds generally lean louder, the Sony earbuds have a more detailed sound profile, making for an overall superior listening experience. They also have a longer battery life, delivering nine hours per charge, where the Bose earbuds deliver seven. With both earbuds on sale, there's only a 99-cent price discrepancy between the two, but if you don't anticipate using these earbuds in many noisy situations, the Sony earbuds are likely the way to go.

Read our full review of the Sony LinkBuds Clip.

More open earbuds dealsEven more Prime Day earbuds deals
Categories: IT General, Technology

Amazon just dropped some rare Prime Day camping deals on Yeti and Coleman gear

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 17:37
Best Prime Day camping deals at a glance: Best Yeti Cooler deal Yeti Hopper M Series Portable Soft Cooler $227.50 at Amazon (save $122.50) Get Deal Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 $399.99 at Amazon (save $399.01) Get Deal Lightning Deal Coleman Sundome Dark Room 4-Person Camping Tent $74.99 at Amazon (save $75) Get Deal Best campsite lighting deal BioLite Luci Solar Inflatable Camping Lantern $21.26 at Amazon (save $8.69) Get Deal Best campsite shelter deal Shibumi Park Vista Sun Shade Canopy $192 at Amazon (save $48) Get Deal Best LifeStraw deal LifeStraw Personal Water Filter $10.95 at Amazon (save $4.54) Get Deal Best cooler deal Coleman Snap N Go Collapsible Hard Cooler (45 quarts) $153.99 at Amazon (save $66) Get Deal Best tent deal Marmot Crane Creek 2P/3P Tent $160.30 at Amazon (save $68.70) Get Deal Best portable solar panel deal Jackery SolarSaga 40W Mini Solar Panel $99 at Amazon (save $30) Get Deal Also Consider Yeti Hopper M Series Backpack Soft Cooler $206.25 at Amazon (save $68.75) Get Deal

Without a doubt, camping is one of the best highlights of summer. Now that we're almost to July, you've probably checked on the condition of camping gear and noticed if anything needs upgrades to finish out the summer. While most of us shop for tech deals during Prime Day, Amazon is showing up for us outdoorsy folks this year. I've found great deals on items that make camping just that much more enjoyable.

SEE ALSO: These Prime Day outdoor deals will get you prepped for summer

From packing along your own shade to a portable power station that'll keep phones charged up, Prime Day has some excellent deals for your next camping trip. I've studied the sale, and these are the top products I'd recommend if you're in the market for camping upgrades during Prime Day.

We will be regularly updating this guide with the best camping deals, so keep checking back. You can also visit our Prime Day 2026 hub for all the latest updates and price drops or our live blog for the most up-to-date deals, news, and stock alerts.

Best Prime Day deal on a camping tent Opens in a new window Credit: Coleman Coleman Sundome 4-Person Camping tent $74.99 at Amazon
$149.99 Save $75.00   Get Deal Why we like it

Experienced Prime Day shoppers know that Amazon always drops some epic deals on Coleman camping tents during Prime Day, and 2026 is no exception. You can also find savings on a Marmot camping tent. However, be warned, some of these deals are one-day only.

More deals on tentsBest portable power station deal Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Solix Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 $399.99 at Amazon
$799 Save $399.01   Get Deal

Read Mashable's full review of the Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2.

Why we like it

If you've never packed a portable power station along on a camping trip, prepare for a massive upgrade. Amazon Prime Day has the Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 on sale for $399.99, down from the list price of $799 for a sweet 50% discount.

The Solix C1000 Gen 2 has 1,024Wh of battery capacity for keeping phones charged up as well as earbuds, tablets, the campsite lights, and even the electric griddle. Plus, it can get a full recharge in under 50 minutes, so you're not in huge trouble if you don't remember to charge it up until you're packing the car.

Best solar panel deal Opens in a new window Credit: Jackery Jackery SolarSaga 40W Mini Solar Panel $99 at Amazon
$129 Save $30   Get Deal Why we like it

Keep small electronics charged up while camping with zero effort when you pack along the Jackery SolarSaga 40W Mini Solar Panel. It has USB-A and USB-C ports and an IP68 waterproof rating that makes it worthy of any camping or backpacking trip. Plus, it's compact, folding into the size of a book, and it weighs just over four pounds.

Best campsite shelter deal Opens in a new window Credit: Shibumi Shibumi Park Vista Sun Shade Canopy $192 at Amazon
$240 Save $48   Get Deal Why we like it

You woke up at dawn to book the campsite reservation back in February, and when you arrive, it's nothing but full sun. Instead of dealing with a weekend of sunburns, the Shibumi Park Vista Sun Shade Canopy provides portable shade. It's intuitive to set up, weighs under five pounds, and it comfortably seats four people in the shade. The UPF 50+ sun protection is perfect for long summer days at the campground.

More Prime Day camping deals
Categories: IT General, Technology

Climate.gov staff relaunch site after Trump killed it

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 17:31

It's been exactly a year since the Trump administration axed the "climate.gov" domain, the former federal hub for climate change information which now redirects Americans to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate page.

But former members of the Climate.gov team and NOAA scientists — many of whom were fired by federal leaders in the wake of President Donald Trump's “Restoring Gold Standard Science” executive order — have brought it back to life.

SEE ALSO: Influencers reportedly faked winning Polymarket bets

Announced today, Climate.us is an entirely independent, volunteer-run, nonprofit website dedicated to reestablishing up-to-date and trusted climate science to the public. It houses 15 years of climate news, blogs, reports, classroom materials, and other data, including the Fifth National Climate Assessment — materials all formerly accessible on Climate.gov.

The initiative is run by more than 80 volunteer scientists and was partially funded by a grassroots donation campaign that raised $250,000 from 2,500 donors.

"Trusted climate information should not disappear when politics change," said Climate.gov's former program manager Rebecca Lindsey. Lindsey is now the managing director of Climate.us. Last year, Lindsey told NPR that the current presidential administration was shuttering the website to curb discussion of climate change as part of its denialist agenda.

The Trump administration's attack on environmental regulation hasn't slowed. Last week, the Justice Department issued a letter pressuring a Mississippi court to drop a case against xAI that alleges the company's data centers are violating the Clean Air Act and polluting Black neighborhoods. The notice argued the case (and others like it) constitutes a national security threat because it could impede the Department of War’s AI-powered operations.

Categories: IT General, Technology

The best Prime Day streaming deals right now: 10+ subscriptions for less than $1

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 17:19
The best Prime Day streaming deals at a glance: Best long-term deal HBO Max Standard annual subscription $132.99 (save $52) Get Deal Best add-on deal Paramount+ Premium $0.99/month for 2 months (save $26) Get Deal Best music streaming deal Amazon Music Unlimited free for 4 months (save $47.96) Get Deal Best premium Prime Video add-on deal Apple TV $5.99/month for 2 months (save $14) Get Deal Best audiobook streaming deal Audible Standard free for 3 months (save $26.97) Get Deal Best slept-on streaming deal AMC+ Premium (Prime Video add-on) $0.99/month for 2 months (save $20) Get Deal

Last year, Amazon surprised us by dropping a boatload of Prime Day streaming deals for the first time. In 2026, it's basically rinse and repeat. And that's not a bad thing.

Prime Day isn't just for deals on TVs and headphones anymore — it's also a great time to load up your digital libraries with streaming subscriptions, so long as you're a Prime member. (Not yet a member? Sign up here.) One of the biggest perks of having a Prime account is gaining access to Prime Video, Amazon's own streaming service. While Prime Video itself isn't on sale, tons of subscription add-ons are, including premium options like Apple TV, AMC+, and Paramount+.

In the days leading up to the official Prime Day kickoff (which takes place June 23 through 26 this year), HBO Max also dropped a killer deal. It quickly took our top spot for the best Prime Day streaming deal.

I'll be keeping an eye out for you, and updating this list if any new streaming deals roll in. I'm not expecting much to change throughout Prime Day, so be sure to jump on these deals ASAP. This will likely be your only chance to snag a steep discount until the end of the year — so, act fast if you see a deal you like.

Best Prime Day long-term streaming deal Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max 40% off annual subscriptions Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: HBO Max HBO Max (Prime Video add-on) 40% off annual subscriptions Get Deal Why we like it

HBO Max always gives us one of the best streaming deals for Black Friday, but this is the first time it's decided to hop aboard the Prime Day express. And it's kicking off its Prime Day deal debut with a bang: new and returning subscribers can get any annual subscription for 40% off. Yes, that means this deal isn't just limited to the ad-supported tier like it is on Black Friday.

Typically, HBO Max annual subscriptions cost $109.99 for the Basic with ads tier, $184.99 for Standard (no ads), and $229.99 for Premium (no ads + 4K). Through July 15, however, you'll only pay $78.99, $132.99, or $164.99, respectively. After your first year, your subscription will revert to full price unless you cancel. Still, that's 12 whole months of streaming for 40% less than usual.

Psst: If you don't want to deal with logging into another streaming service, this deal is also available in the form of a Prime Video add-on.

Best Prime Day streaming add-on deal Paramount+ streaming deals: Standalone deal Paramount+ Premium $0.99/month for 2 months (save $13/month) Get Deal prime video add-on Paramount+ (Prime Video add-on) $0.99/month for 2 months (save $13/month) Get Deal Roku add-on Paramount+ Premium (Roku add-on) $0.99/month for 2 months (save $13/month) Get Deal Why we like it

Like clockwork, we can always count on Paramount+ to dish out one of the best streaming deals during major shopping events. The streamer has resurrected the exact same streaming deal from last Prime Day for 2026, only this time it's technically a better offer since Paramount+ raised its prices earlier this year. Typically $13.99 per month for a Premium subscription (that's the ad-free tier with Showtime), you'll get two months for just 99 cents a piece. That saves you $26 total.

The Paramount+ library is surprisingly robust. Premium subscribers can enjoy Paramount+ Originals like Landman and RuPaul Drag Race All Stars, Showtime series like Dexter Resurrection and Yellowjackets, CBS shows like Survivor and Big Brother live, UFC fights, and nostalgic shows from Nickelodeon and MTV. That's not even counting the massive movie lineup (including Paramount Pictures movies straight from the theater).

The discount is only valid through the end of Prime Day on June 26, so be sure to sign up before then. You can grab the deal directly through Paramount+ itself or as a subscription add-on via Prime Video or Roku.

Best Prime Day music streaming deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Music Unlimited Amazon Music Unlimited free for 4 months (save $11.99/month) Get Deal Why we like it

If you're not committed to a music streamer, now's a good time to check out Amazon Music Unlimited without spending a cent. Through June 29, new subscribers can secure four free months. Typically $11.99 per month for Prime members, that's a total of $47.96 in savings. Amazon Music Unlimited unlocks a massive music catalog that you can listen to on-demand, ad-free, and in the highest quality possible. Beyond music itself, Unlimited subscriptions also include "the most ad-free podcasts" of any of the major music apps, as well as one free audiobook per month via Audible. Even if you do already subscribe to another music streaming service, it's worth it to take a pause from payments for four months and lock in this deal.

More Prime Day streaming dealsPrime Day streaming stick deals
Categories: IT General, Technology

We found 10+ Prime Day deals on MicroSD and portable SSDs for a brief respite from RAMageddon

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 17:06
Best Prime Day MicroSD and portable SSD deals Best MicroSD Card deal Samsung T7 MicroSDXC, 1TB $239.99 (Save $80) Get Deal Best portable SSD deal Sandisk Portable SSD, 1TB $135.99 (Save $24) Get Deal Best for Switch 2 Samsung P9 Express MicroSD, 256GB $39.99 (Save $40) Get Deal

Thanks to the global memory crisis known as RAMageddon, prices on memory products like hard drives, MicroSD cards, and portable SSDs have gone up, up, and up. Experts interviewed by Mashable say the memory crisis will get worse before it gets better, so this is a rare opportunity to find deals on these products.

MicroSD and portable SSDs are a staple of Prime Day and more relevant than ever in light of RAMageddon. We found the best deals in the memory category, so now is the time to take advantage of these microSD and portable SSD offers, with Prime Day deals from Lexar, Samsung, and SanDisk.

SEE ALSO: Prime Day 2026: Get live updates on Amazon deals from Apple, Bose, Lego, and Sony

So, if your Nintendo Switch 2 or hard drive has been dangerously full, now's the best time to restock.

Best MicroSD Card deal Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung T7 MicroSDXC 1TB $239.99 at Amazon
$319.99 Save $80   Get Deal

If you're maxing out device storage, enough is enough. The Samsung T7 brings an immense amount of storage space (1TB to be exact) in a tiny package. It can store your favorite games and capture high-res photos and 4K video in real time. It pulls a lot of weight and right now, you can pay just $239.99 for the MicroSD card, saving you $80 during Prime Day. For some slightly cheaper microSDs, check out Lexar's SD cards during Prime Day.

Best portable SSD deal Opens in a new window Credit: Sandisk Sandisk Portable SSD, 1TB $135.99
$159.99 Save $24   Get Deal

A portable SSD provides an immense amount of storage in a portable package. This Sandisk portable SSD is made for people on the go with a loop on it for easy attachment to a backpack or belt loop. With 1TB of storage, Sandisk claims excellent performance with up to 800MB/s speeds. Get it for just $135.99 and save $24 during Prime Day.

Best deal for Switch 2 Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung P9 Express MicroSD, 256GB $39.99 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $40.00   Get Deal

If you're in the market for a microSD card for your Nintendo Switch 2, you can grab the Samsung P9 Express MicroSD for 50% off during Prime Day. It has transfer speeds up to 800MB/s and 256GB of storage, so you can store games on it in a safe spot.

More MicroSD and Portable SSD deals

MicroSDs

Portable SSDs

Categories: IT General, Technology

GTA VI price revealed: What you get for the $99 ultimate edition

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 17:05

If you were looking to lock down a Grand Theft Auto VI pre-order this week, Rockstar Games just released some very important information about that.

Specifically, Rockstar finally gave us a price for the game. There is a standard edition for $79.99, making GTA VI the first game since Mario Kart World to start at that price. That's not terribly surprising, nor is the fact that Rockstar is also charging $99.99 for an Ultimate Edition of the game.

SEE ALSO: Amazon Prime Day is here: We found 75+ deals on Apple, Sony, Kindle, and Lego favorites

What exactly does that price get you? According to Rockstar, it's an "exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action around every corner." The official website for the game has some more specific information on that front. The Ultimate Edition of GTA VI includes:

  • Several exclusive vehicles

  • Exclusive weapons

  • A bevy of shops for fashion, vehicle mods, and tattoos that only exist in the Ultimate Edition

Locking outfits and even vehicles behind an Ultimate Edition purchase is pretty normal stuff for a game like this, but putting several shops in the game that can only be accessed by players who bought the more expensive version is...innovative, though maybe not in the way people want GTA VI to be.

It should also be noted that Rockstar emphasized in its news drop on Wednesday that GTA VI is, for now, a single-player experience. Barring the unexpected, there will not be an online portion of the game available at launch. That was also true of GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2. Both of those games got multiplayer modes later, with V's being a cornerstone of Rockstar's financial success for the last decade.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I test e-readers, and Ive found the best-ever Kindle deals to shop on Prime Day

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 17:03
The best Prime Day Kindle deals: Best Kindle Deal Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition $144.99 (Save $55) Get Deal Best Colorsoft Deal Amazon Kindle Colorsoft $159.99 (Save $90) Get Deal Best Scribe Deal Amazon Kindle Scribe (32GB) $379.99 (Save $120) Get Deal Best Kids Kindle Deal Kindle Colorsoft Kids $179.99 (Save $90) Get Deal

Testing Kindles and e-readers is my job, but it's also my passion. I use my Kindle Paperwhite every day — unless I'm testing a new e-reader — and it's accompanied me on many a summer adventure. So, while I spend a lot of time convincing Mashable readers to buy my favorite e-readers, I also track the best times to buy one.

Amazon Prime Day 2026 is now in full swing, and Kindle deals are back in a big way. Several models have dropped to record-low prices, and the newer Kindle Scribes are finally seeing discounts, too.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2026

So TL;DR, if you're eyeing a Kindle, now is the time to buy. Here are the very best Kindle deals to shop during Prime Day.

Best Prime Day Kindle deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition $144.99 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $55   Get Deal Why we like it

My absolute favorite Prime Day Kindle deal is on the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. It's the e-reader that I use everyday, and it just hit a new all-time low price of $144.99. That makes it cheaper than the Paperwhite at full-price, but it also makes it the same price as the currently on sale Paperwhite without ads.

However, the Signature Edition is far more bang for your buck as it comes with twice the storage, an auto-adjusting front light, and wireless charging. It's an exceptional deal and the device's new lowest-price ever.

Interested in a different Kindle model? Explore all the Kindles on sale during Prime Day.

More Prime Day Kindle deals

Kids Kindles

How do Kindle prices compare to previous sales?

Having tracked prices on Kindles for years, I have a pretty good sense of how much Amazon's e-readers cost during a sale. So how are Kindle deals this Prime Day?

We tracked the prices on the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite over the past four sales to predict this years prices. Credit: Mashable

The Kindle Paperwhite's lowest price ever is $124.99, which the device dropped to during Black Friday, Prime Big Deals Days, and of course, last year's Prime Day. This year it's back down to $124.99. The Signature Edition on the other hand reached a new low of $144.99, just $20 more for a boatload of extra features.

The deal I'm most disappointed in is on the basic Kindle, which previously dropped to $79.99. This Prime Day, it's $5 more for $84.99. New deals this Prime Day include the latest Kindle Scribe and Scribe Colorsoft, both getting their first price drops since being released.

Categories: IT General, Technology

The Steam Machine is a computer for no one

How-To Geek - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 17:00

The Steam Machine has been revealed in its final retail form, and we know what the price is. At a starting price of $1,049, it's much more expensive than the PlayStation 5 Pro, yet the base model is less capacious than a standard PlayStation 5. The PS5 also comes with a controller, whereas with the Steam Machine you still need to add the price of a controller to your budget.

Categories: IT General, Technology

When does Prime Day end? Heres how long the sale lasts in 2026.

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:57

Prime Day 2026 has started out with a bang, offering the deep discounts we've come to expect over the years.

But it won't last forever! And people seem to be aware of this fact, as we've seen a spike in people asking exactly when Amazon Prime Day will end this year. No one wants to deal with FOMO when it comes to saving hundreds of dollars on the best Prime Day deals.

So, mark your calendar: Prime Day 2026 ends on Friday, June 26.

SEE ALSO: Prime Day 2026: Get live updates on Amazon deals from Apple, Bose, Lego, and Sony How long is Prime Day 2026? When exactly does it end?

Amazon Prime Day 2026 started at 3:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 23. The Amazon sale will come to an end at exactly 2:59 p.m. ET on Friday, June 26, 2026 (or 11:59 p.m. PT). At that point, you can expect most deals on major brands like Apple, Lego, and Amazon's own devices will have ended. As of this writing, we're on day two of the four-day mega sale.

Some price drops do tend to linger once the sale is technically over, so it's worth checking to see if the products you've had your eye on are still available on sale. It's a bit of a gamble at that point, though, so we recommend grabbing deals sooner rather than later.

Best things to buy on Prime Day

Like Black Friday, Prime Day only comes around once a year — though there are other sales to be had year-round from Amazon. So it's definitely a bummer to think you may have missed one of the most lucrative events of the year when it comes to saving money.

SEE ALSO: The best anti-Prime Day sales 2026: Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and more

The good news is that you still have plenty of time to find a bargain. Below, find a selection of some of the best Amazon Prime Day deals Mashable has curated for our readers. And be sure to follow along in our Prime Day hub for the latest and greatest price drops during (and after) the event.

Apple deals

AirPods deals

Apple Watch deals

Ipad deals

MacBook deals

Streaming deals

Streaming services

Streaming sticks

Amazon device deals

Echo deals

Kindle deals

Fire TV deals

TV deals

65-inch TVs

75-inch TVs

85-inch TVs

Categories: IT General, Technology

How I turned a Raspberry Pi into an automatic podcast downloading server

How-To Geek - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:45

I love a good podcast, but there are so many available that it can be hard to know what to listen to next. I decided to build my own podcast server using a Raspberry Pi, which would automatically download the latest episodes of my favorite podcasts.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I track TV prices all year: Here are the Prime Day TV deals that are actually worth buying

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:31
The best Prime Day TV deals at a glance: Best 55-inch TV deal Hisense 55-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K Fire TV $529.99 (save $320) Get Deal Best Frame TV deal Samsung 55-inch The Frame Pro Neo QLED TV $1,267.99 (Save $230 + get a free Echo Show 11) Get Deal Best 65-inch TV deal TCL 65-inch QM8L SQD Mini LED 4K TV $1,497.99 (save $1,002) Get Deal Best 75-inch TV deal Hisense 75-inch U7 Mini LED 4K TV $999.99 (save $1,000) Get Deal Best Amazon TV deal Amazon 65-inch Ember Artline 4K QLED Fire TV $799.99 (save $300 with code SAVEFTV) Get Deal

Prime Day season is one of the best times of year to buy a TV on sale. Usually in July, Prime Day is here earlier than usual, running June 23 to 26. Maybe Amazon knew that the World Cup would make everyone realize they were in need of a new TV.

Leading up to Prime Day, the TV deals were hot as we saw savings over $1,000. Now that Amazon's flagship sale is officially underway, we're seeing even bigger discounts on already great deals. Not to mention, Amazon is running a stellar bundle on Frame TVs and the Echo 8.

So let's get into all the best TV deals to shop during Prime Day. Be sure to check back throughout the sale for updates and follow along with all other categories in Mashable's Prime Day hub.

SEE ALSO: 15+ streaming services you can get for 99 cents, plus more early Prime Day streaming deals Best Prime Day TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 75-inch U7 Mini LED 4K TV $999.99 at Amazon
$1,999.99 Save $1,000   Get Deal Why we like it

Hisense finally launched its highly-awaited RGB TVs on June 2. While both the UR8 and UR9 RGB TVs are on sale at Best Buy, there's another 2026 Hisense TV with a much wilder discount: The 75-inch Hisense U7 Mini LED TV is just $999.99 exclusively for Prime members after a massive 50% price drop from its usual $1,999.99.

Just released in March, the Hisense U7 series has a pretty incredible lighting system for its price range. Its backlight benefits from full-array local dimming, which uses clusters of tiny LED bulbs that can fully turn themselves on or off for more precise contrast during any scene or livestream. Other impressive numbers include a peak brightness of 3,000 nits (great news for FIFA fans trying to watch a game during the daytime) and a native 165Hz refresh rate (great news for gamers on a budget).

Best Frame TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 55-inch The Frame Pro Neo QLED TV $1,267.99 at Amazon
$1,497.99 Save $230 + get a free Echo Show 11 Get Deal Why we like it

Samsung's latest Frame TVs just got their first discount during Prime Day and if that wasn't enough, Amazon is sweetening the deal. The new Frame TVs come with Neo QLEDs, a Micro HDMI port, and that signature art display.

But during Prime Day, Amazon is offering an even bigger discount. The Frame Pro is $230 off, its first discount, bringing it down to $1,297.99. That's 15% savings, but there's more. You'll also get a free Echo Show 11 with your purchase if you add it to your cart from the promo page. That's a $219.99 value, totally free.

This deal is available on both the Frame TV Pro and regular Frame TV.

Best Amazon TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon 65-inch Ember Artline 4K QLED Fire TV $799.99 at Amazon
$1,099.99 Save $300 with code SAVEFTV Get Deal Why we like it

It's not Prime Day without record-low prices on Amazon's own gadgets. The 65-inch Ember Artline TV, which was just released at the end of April, got its biggest discount ever right before the Prime Day festivities kicked off. Now that we're in the trenches of the sale, Amazon has knocked an extra $100 off for select Prime members. Click on "Redeem" under the Prime Day logo to score the extra savings or enter the code FTVSAVE at checkout to get this model for only $799.99.

Think of the Ember Artline as Amazon's dupe of The Frame. It's designed to look like a painting on the wall, with a matte screen, an assortment of frame options, and a gallery of 2,000+ free works of art. Basically, if you have The Frame taste, but you're on a bit tighter budget, this is the deal for you.

Deals on 43-inch TVs and underDeals on 50-inch to 55-inch TVsDeals on 65-inch TVs Deals on 75-inch to 77-inch TVsDeals on 85-inch TVs
Categories: IT General, Technology

PowerToys replaced tools I used to install on every Windows PC

How-To Geek - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:30

I've been using Raycast for Windows since shortly after the public beta launched last November, and I still think it's a good program. It gave Windows the kind of fast app launcher and command bar experience I'd been missing, especially when I wanted to open apps, jump into actions, or avoid digging through menus. For a while, it felt like one of those small utilities I'd automatically install on every Windows PC I used.

Categories: IT General, Technology

The Oura Ring 4 is at an all-time low price for Prime Day — save over $200

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:27

SAVE OVER $200: As of June 24, the Mashable-tested Oura Ring 4 has dropped to a new low price of $214 at Amazon, with prices varying based on the size. That's a 38% discount from its usual $349 price.

Oura Ring 4 $214 at Amazon
$349 Save $135   Get Deal at Amazon Get Deal at Best Buy Get Deal at Target

We're officially into day two of Amazon's four-day-long Prime Day sale, and there's still plenty of exciting offers catching our attention. One of our favorite fitness trackers, the Oura Ring 4, has hit a new all-time low price at Amazon.

As of June 24, this popular smart ring is available for as little as $214 on Prime Day 2026. Normally it's listed with a full price of $349, so this deal offers significant savings.

Multiple Mashable reporters and editors have tested this model of the Oura Ring, and across the board, they've had very positive experiences. One of our reporters even wore this smart ring while training for and then running the New York City marathon. Our testers praise its abilities as both a fitness and sleep tracker, and there's a reason it's beloved by pro and amateur athletes alike.

Multiple members of the Mashable team have tested and loved the Oura smart ring. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable SEE ALSO: Everything to know about Amazon Prime Day: Dates, competition, and the best deals to shop

If you want a tracker without a screen, the Oura Ring 4 is an easy choice. Powered by Smart Sensing technology, this stylish smart ring tracks a variety of health metrics right from your finger, including sleep, stress, activity, heart health, and even metrics specific to women's health. It also boasts a solid battery life that can last you up to eight days.

It's among our favorite fitness trackers and our favorite overall smart ring, though it's since been eclipsed by the new Oura Ring 5. After testing the ring, Mashable's Kimberly Gedeon wrote, "the Oura Ring 4 is a wellness powerhouse with a sleek design and cutting-edge AI that takes personalized health tracking to the next level."

This Prime Day deal won't last for long. Act fast to save on the Oura Ring 4 while it's still on sale at Amazon.

Pro tip: If you're not sure of your size, order the Oura Ring Sizing Kit. The kit is available for Prime members for just $8.49 with overnight delivery in many locations.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Slate reveals pricing for its affordable electric pickup

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:22

Remember Slate Auto, the minimalistic, made-in-America electric truck that went viral in 2025? Originally, the car was supposed to start at $20,000 after federal incentives.

Now, official price has been revealed and it's not exactly that, but it isn't too bad either.

SEE ALSO: BMW's new i3 is so hot, the company opened preorders months ahead of schedule

The official starting price for Slate Auto is $24,950, though that doesn't include a destination charge, taxes, and other potential fees. Those federal credits that Slate hoped would push the price below $20,000 no longer exist thanks to Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill", so hoping the price would be so low was unrealistic, anyways.

For the price, you get the Blank Slate edition, which comes with a nice surprise: a slightly larger-than-announced 63kWh battery with 205 miles of EPA range. Other highlights include a single, rear-mounted 135kW motor with 181 hp, a 20-80 percent charge in 30 minutes on a DC fast charger, a 1,550lb max payload,and a towing capacity at around 2,000lb. The 0-60mph time is a flat eight seconds, and top speed is 90mph.

In terms of safety and comfort, you get traction control, electronic stability control, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, a backup camera, and remote keyless entry, among other amenities (see full specs on Slate's website).

The Slate Auto starts pretty basic, but you can add a bunch of goodies to it to make it unique. Credit: Slate

The car remains highly modular. You can choose between 100 color wraps with most costing an additional $499, and turn the Blank Slate variant into the Slate SUV variant which has a full roof (Fastback and an Open Air variants are also available). The pricing for those upgrades, however, hasn't been revealed yet.

While the price was expected, the big news here is the battery and the 205 miles of range, a pretty big increase from the originally announced 150 miles. Also, the car has an NCAS charging port, making it compatible with Tesla Supercharger network. The charging speed at 120kW is not the best out there but it's still plenty fast, especially on a battery of this size.

Slate said it received 180,000 reservations for the car so far, and deliveries start in the fourth quarter of the year.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Why this convertible remains the best budget sports car in 2026

How-To Geek - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:15

Sports cars have become increasingly complicated over the last decade. More power, more technology, and endless performance metrics have pushed many modern machines into territory that feels inaccessible, both financially and emotionally. As prices continue to climb, the idea of an affordable driver's car seems to be disappearing.

Categories: IT General, Technology

The best Prime Day AirPods deals — AirPods Max 2 have never been cheaper

Mashable - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:08
The best Prime Day deals on AirPods: Best AirPods deal Apple AirPods 4 $99 (save $30) Get Deal Best AirPods Pro Deal Apple AirPods Pro 3 $179 (save $70) Get Deal Best AirPods Max deal (and a new record-low price) Apple AirPods Max 2 $399 (save $150) Get Deal

Need a new pair of AirPods? You can always find Apple's earbuds and headphones on sale for cheaper than usual during Amazon's Prime Day event — not just on Amazon, but at competing retailers, too.

Prime Day 2026 is live now through June 26, and so far, the top AirPods deal involves the over-ear AirPods Max 2. They're currently marked down to a record-low price of $399 on Amazon, or a whopping $150 off. (They only just came out in April, mind you.) Amazon's inventory is starting to dwindle as we approach the midway point of Prime Day, but Walmart still has a few colorways in stock at the same price; it's running a sale of its own this week.

SEE ALSO: Amazon Prime Day is here: We found 75+ deals on Apple, Sony, Kindle, and Lego favorites

Meanwhile, the entry-level AirPods 4 and noise-cancelling AirPods Pro 3 are both on sale for up to $70 off this Prime Day. Neither model is matching its biggest discount on record, but given Apple's plans for price hikes in the near future, these are probably going to be their best deals for a while.

Read on for our rundown of the best Prime Day AirPods deals available. If you're a brand loyalist, be sure to check out our dedicated guide to the top Prime Day deals on all Apple products.

Best AirPods deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods 4 $99 at Amazon
$129 Save $30   Get Deal Why we like it

The vanilla AirPods 4 are our No. 1 Apple earbuds for budget buyers. In our testing, they sounded fantastic, fit comfortably, and worked seamlessly with other Apple devices. We saw them drop all the way down to $69 last Black Friday, but $99 is their best price so far in 2026. Save $30 at Amazon and Walmart. (PSA: Walmart also has pre-owned AirPods 4 on sale for just $65.)

The AirPods 4 are also available with ANC. That pair is on sale for $148.99 (normally $179) at Amazon, Walmart, and Costco. For reference, their record-low price is $99.

Read Mashable's full review of the AirPods 4 with ANC.

Best AirPods Pro deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Pro 3 $179 at Amazon
$249 Save $70   Get Deal

The AirPods Pro 3 are our favorite AirPods across all price points, offering great ANC, an eight-hour battery life, plus extra fixings like a built-in heart rate monitor. They're also more water- and sweat-resistant than the regular AirPods 4, making them better for working out. They were only $169 on Amazon last week, but at the time of writing, they were sitting at $179 there. Walmart was price-matching them.

Read Mashable's full review of the AirPods Pro 3.

Best AirPods Max deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Max 2 $399 at Amazon
$549 Save $150   Get Deal

Apple's newly updated headphones have better ANC than the original AirPods Max from 2021. They run on the same H2 chip as the AirPods Pro 3, so they support the same software features (such as Live Translation and Conversation Awareness). In one of the best and most unexpected Prime Day deals thus far, they're on sale for just $399 this week — a new all-time low. Amazon had them in stock at that price in midnight at the time of writing. They're price-matched at Walmart in blue, purple, and starlight.

Read Mashable's full review of the AirPods Max 2.

We will be regularly updating this guide with the best Prime Day AirPods deals, so keep checking back. You can also visit our Prime Day 2026 hub for all the latest updates and price drops.

Categories: IT General, Technology

I turned my old Android phone into a dashcam, and it was a mistake

How-To Geek - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:00

As our phones have become more powerful, they have evolved into much more than devices for making calls. However, just because our phones can do something does not mean they are the best tool for the job. As someone who turned an old Android phone into a dashcam, I can say that I regret doing it and will be switching back to a dedicated dash camera.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Talos: Scaling rare disease diagnosis with automated, iterative genomic reanalysis

Microsoft Research - Wed, 06/24/2026 - 16:00
At a glance
  • Talos is an open-source tool for automated, iterative reanalysis of genomic data in rare disease. It efficiently re-examines stored sequencing data as scientific knowledge evolves and flags variants with newly actionable evidence.
  • Talos is tuned for a low false-positive rate: across a validation set of nearly 1,100 patients, it recovered 90% of in-scope diagnoses while flagging only 1.3 candidate variants per patient for expert review. This is essential to making reanalysis sustainable at scale.
  • Deployed across a prospective cohort of almost 5,000 undiagnosed patients, Talos delivered 241 new diagnoses (5.1% additional yield). An average of only 32 days passed between supporting evidence becoming public and the resultant diagnosis.
  • On monthly iterative cycles, analysts only needed to review one new variant per 200 patients, demonstrating that frequent, systematic reanalysis can be run sustainably.
Why genome reanalysis matters

Genomic testing has transformed the diagnosis of rare disease, but even with this advancement, more than half of patients remain undiagnosed after their first test. This is because our knowledge of the genome is still incomplete. Researchers are learning more every day about the function of specific genes and how they relate to disease.

However, unlike most diagnostic investigations, genomic data has a unique property: it can be stored and reexamined indefinitely. Because our understanding of the genome improves constantly, simply rerunning the analysis later can yield a diagnosis that was impossible to make the first time. This is because there are hundreds of new gene–disease associations and thousands of new variant classifications reported every year.

Reanalysis of the genomes of undiagnosed patients is the solution; a meta-analysis of nearly 9,500 undiagnosed patients found that reanalysis lifted diagnostic yield by about 10% over roughly two years. However, the problem is that reanalysis today is overwhelmingly manual. It depends on motivated clinicians, scarce laboratory staff, and inconsistent reimbursement, so the vast majority of stored genomes are never revisited and the data keep accumulating. Automation has long been proposed as the answer, but the developers of automated machinery must navigate hard trade-offs between sensitivity, specificity, how many candidate variants a human must review, and how often the analysis is rerun.

Talos (opens in new tab), developed through a collaboration spanning the Centre for Population Genomics, Australian Genomics, the Broad Institute, and Microsoft, was built to resolve those trade-offs and to demonstrate, at international scale, that systematic reanalysis is both feasible and valuable. We have recently published a journal article (opens in new tab) detailing how Talos functions and evaluating its performance on multiple rare disease cohorts.

How Talos works

Talos re-interprets a patient’s existing variant calls against the latest community knowledge each time it runs. It draws on two continuously updated public resources: PanelApp Australia (opens in new tab) for gene–disease relationships and modes of inheritance, and ClinVar (opens in new tab) for variant-level pathogenicity. It then applies a variant-prioritization algorithm designed to surface variants most likely to meet ACMG/AMP criteria for clinical reporting.

Figure 1 – Talos overview. Talos operates in multiple stages, first collecting unchanging information about genetic variants and the patients who possess them, then applying up to date knowledge to filter and prioritize variants that are likely to be clinically relevant, then finally surfacing those variants to clinicians alongside supporting evidence. 

The pipeline uses newly discovered information to tag and filter variants, then refines the candidate set using family structure (for example, mode of inheritance and de novo status) and, when available, the patient’s phenotype. Talos can be used to interpret single-nucleotide variants, small insertions/deletions, copy number variants, and large structural variants from exome or genome data.

Two design choices distinguish Talos. First, it is deliberately conservative, optimized to return a small set of high confidence variants rather than a long ranked list, because in real-world genomic reanalysis the limiting factor is human review time, not algorithmic recall. Second, on repeat runs, Talos returns only variants whose supporting evidence has changed since the previous cycle, allowing clinicians to focus exclusively on findings that aregenuinely new.

Validated against expert manual analysis

We benchmarked Talos on two independent cohorts that had already undergone careful manual analysis: the Australian Acute Care Genomics (ACG) cohort of critically ill infants and children, and the U.S.-based Rare Genomes Project (RGP) cohort of families with prior uninformative testing. This included 1,089 probands in total.

On ACG trios, Talos recovered 90% of in-scope diagnoses while returning a median of just 1.3 candidate variants per family. The diagnoses it missed were largely a direct consequence of its conservative strategy, for example, recessive variants lacking ClinVar support that human analysts had classified using trans configuration or functional studies.

Crucially, Talos held the same operating point on the very different RGP cohort, agroup of families who had previously had uninformative clinical testing, with probands ranging up to 82 years of age. On RGP trios, it recovered 87% of in-scope diagnoses (47 of 54) at a median of 1.3 candidate variants per trio, showing generalizability across cohorts.

We then benchmarked head-to-head against Exomiser, a widely used prioritization tool. Talos matched its overall sensitivity for small variants, but at a very different operating point: Exomiser ranks and returns a broad list, while Talos returns a short, highly specific one. In a paired comparison, the two tools were statistically indistinguishable when all of Exomiser’s ranked variants were reviewed, but Talos came out significantly ahead once review was limited to a realistic budget—the top five (p = 0.017) or top one (p < 0.0001) ranked variants. Notably, the two tools surfaced different variants, so they are complementary and should ideally be used together in diagnostic workflows.

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Discover more about research at Microsoft through our AI-powered experience

Start now Opens in a new tab Deployed on an international scale

The experiment we were most excited about was a tested-but-undiagnosed cohort of 4,735 individuals, drawn from Australian Genomics research studies and a single diagnostic laboratory. Most patients were singletons with neurodevelopmental, cardiac, renal, and/or neurological indications.

Talos produced 241 new diagnoses in 238 individuals—a 5.1% additional yield, with every single likely-causative variant subsequently confirmed as pathogenic or likely pathogenic by accredited labs.

The sources of those diagnoses illustrate why reanalysis is such a powerful paradigm:

  • 32% came from new gene–disease relationships discovered since the original test,
  • 22% came from new variant-level evidence (reclassifications), and
  • 45% came from improved filtering and analysis—including variant types such as CNVs and structural variants not examined originally, phenotype filters that had been set too narrowly, and other sources.

Yield was consistent across clinical areas (roughly 5–6% for neurodevelopmental, cardiac, and renal indications) but the reasons differed: new gene associations and CNVs dominated neurodevelopmental diagnoses, while variant reclassification drove most cardiac ones. Genome data outperformed exome (6.1% vs 4.8%), partly by reaching non-coding diagnoses such as RNU4-2 and a deep-intronic MRPL39 variant. A recurring theme was the lag in conventional knowledge bases: 59% of the new gene–disease diagnoses were not yet curated in OMIM at the time of reanalysis, underscoring the value of drawing on a rapidly updated resource like PanelApp Australia.

From a one-off event to a continuous program

We then ran Talos for 29 monthly iterative cycles. Most diagnoses (92%) came on a cohort’s first pass, but the iterative design proved its value on two fronts. First, it demonstrated the scalability of ongoing reanalysis: because later cycles return only newly actionable evidence, they surfaced an average of just one variant per 200 cases over the program. Second, it showed how quickly we can move from scientific discovery to diagnosis: on average just 32 days passed between new knowledge appearing in a public database and a patient receiving a diagnosis, with the fastest case turning around in a single day. Figure 2 provides timelines for three example patients showing how continual reanalysis can bring answers to families within weeks of new scientific findings. The whole pipeline is cheap enough to run continuously: annotating 1,000 genomes cost about $11, and a monthly reanalysis pass ran for a few cents per cohort.

Figure 2 – Diagnostic odyssey for three example patients. Each patient spent years after genetic sequencing waiting for a diagnosis. For Patient 1, the scientific discovery enabling their diagnosis happened one month after their testing, but no diagnosis was made until the first time their genetic data was reanalyzed using Talos. For patients 2 and 3, diagnoses were made within a month of the relevant scientific findings because the patients were already in the reanalysis pipeline.  Looking ahead

Talos reframes genomic reanalysis from a rare, labor-intensive event into a continuous, automated program that can keep pace with the science. By optimizing for specificity, it respects the real bottleneck of expert reviewer time, and by drawing on openly shared, frequently updated resources like PanelApp Australia and ClinVar, it turns the global community’s accumulating knowledge into diagnoses for individual patients, often within weeks.

We believe we’ve established a foundational capability, and we’re excited to see how the community builds on it. In particular, as more advanced AI models for understanding and predicting the consequences of genetic variation become available, we’re looking forward to leveraging them in the reanalysis of unsolved rare disease cases.

Talos is open source and straightforward to deploy in cloud environments like Azure. Our results offer a practical blueprint for health systems aiming to deliver frequent, scalable reanalysis to the many patients still searching for diagnoses.

GitHub Nature Publication Opens in a new tab

The post Talos: Scaling rare disease diagnosis with automated, iterative genomic reanalysis appeared first on Microsoft Research.

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