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Last week, Silo Season 3 delivered its most shocking episode so far. But now, with the finale, Graham Yost's adaptation of Hugh Howey's book series may have outdone itself.

A lot happens in the closing episode of Season 3, which knits our post-apocalyptic silos of the present day with the flashback storyline that's followed congressman Daniel Keene (Ashley Zukerman) and journalist Helen Drew (Jessica Henwick). The main thing we're left with? Questions. Many, many questions.

From the ominous goings-on in Silo 1 to terminology like "The Project" and "The Directive," we've done our best to unpack everything below.

SEE ALSO: 'Silo' showrunner Graham Yost breaks down the Season 3 finale's massive Silo 1 reveal What happens in Silo Season 3's finale?

First, a recap. After Season 3, episode 9 showed us the start of the apocalypse — a nuclear explosion on the launch day of the silo project masterminded by Per Stensen (Colin Hanks) and Senator Thurman (Laura Innes) — that sends Daniel and Helen running towards Silo 1 and Silo 18, respectively. We know that event took place hundreds of years before the present-day silos, but the finale opens with another shock: Daniel is still alive. Like other key members of Silo 1, he's been cryogenically frozen, woken only to deal with major security incidents around the silo complex. Now a specialist known as Troy, he seems like a different person, listening to a briefing from (also still-alive) psychologist Victor (Matt Craven) before ordering the killing of Silo 17's rebels with disturbing detachment.

His sister Charles (Jessica Brown Findlay) is alive too. She's now known as Susan, and she is a senior drone commander who Daniel/Troy appears not to recognise. Clearly, his memory has been wiped, but he still has flashes of Helen, even though he no longer knows who she is. Before he goes back into cryogenic sleep, he asks Victor about her. The doctor promises to look into it and give Daniel/Troy an answer when he next wakes up. But when he puts the note in Troy's file, we see many other notes just like it.

Back in Silo 18, Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) and her allies do their best to clamp the pipe that's used to deliver the "safeguard" (i.e. poisonous gas) to the silo, while Camille (Alexandria Riley) attempts to negotiate with the algorithm to stop their silo from being poisoned. Here, we finally learn that the algorithm's voice is actually that of Victor back in Silo 1, which answers a question that's been hanging over the show since the end of Season 2.

Thankfully, Silo 1's attempt to safeguard Silo 18 doesn't work. Camille deceives the algorithm/Victor and switches sides, giving Knox (Shane McRae) and Shirley (Remmie Milner) time to clamp the pipe. Victor orders Daniel/Troy to be woken back up and then dies by suicide, leaving him a video recording to tell him that the name of the woman he's been glimpsing when he wakes from cryogenic sleep is Helen Drew.

Finally, back in Silo 18, Juliette visits the pipe at the very bottom of the silo and speaks with the algorithm, now voiced by Daniel/Troy. He tells her that if they make no attempt to contact other silos, Silo 1 will stop trying to kill them. She agrees.

What will happen next in Season 4?

We have many questions, but what comes next feels like the most pressing one. Something that seems pretty certain, though, is that Season 4 will focus on the people of Silo 18 going up against Silo 1.

SEE ALSO: When is 'Silo' Season 4 coming out?

"They're expecting us to prepare to defend ourselves, right?" Juliette whispers to the others in the episode's closing moments. "Which means they won't be prepared to defend themselves against us. So if we get to them first, we could protect everyone. We need to take out Silo 1."

Mashable's Belen Edwards spoke to showrunner Graham Yost, who confirmed that Season 4 will follow Juliette on the warpath while also spending more time with Silo 1's characters. He also said we'll learn what happened to Helen, so it sounds like more flashbacks may be on the way.

Is the air outside the silos actually poisonous?

Throughout Silo, the characters have been imprisoned by the fear of a supposedly poisoned atmosphere that exists beyond the safety of their underground bunkers. But is it actually poisonous after all?

The answer appears to be no. In the opening sequence of Season 3's finale, when we watch from Silo 1's perspective as Daniel orders the murder of Silo 17's rebels, the people are outside the silo for some time. It's only when Silo 1 launches a drone attack using a "compound" that they start to die.

Does this mean that every person who's been sent out to clean has actually been murdered by Silo 1's drones, flying high enough to be invisible and targeting them with the same compound? It suddenly seems likely.

What is The Directive?

When the newly murderous Daniel enters Silo 1's control room to deal with Silo 17's rebellion, he uses something called "The Directive" to justify his actions.

"The top priority, per The Directive, is to prevent contamination between silos," Daniel says, before referring to it again later when he addresses his drone operators. "The citizens of Silo 17 have chosen to go outside. They are beyond The Pact, but they're not outside The Directive."

So we've got The Pact, The Order, and now The Directive — but what's this latest one? Well, while The Pact is the public law memorised by silo citizens, and The Order is a secret rulebook for the head of IT, it seems that The Directive is yet another rulebook exclusively for Silo 1. Perhaps it's a framework that they use for keeping the rest of the silos in check?

What is The Project?

We don't see Per Stensen (Colin Hanks) in the finale (more on that later), but we do see Senator Thurman. She's now known as "Madam Director," and she's also still very much alive thanks to Silo 1's cryogenics. During her conversation with Daniel/Troy and Victor, she mentions another term we're not familiar with: The Project.

Speaking about Susan/Charles, who earlier disobeyed a direct order from Daniel/Troy, Thurman says Susan's punishment would typically be "neutralization." But in this case, that's not an option.

"Susan's skills will play a critical role at the end of The Project," she says.

Later, when speaking with Daniel/Troy about the memories he's been experiencing, Victor references The Project again. "The whole purpose and design of The Project is to free us from the past," he says.

It's pretty clear that The Project is the concept of the silos themselves, orchestrated by Stensen, Thurman, and Victor all those centuries ago. What we still don't know is the real why behind The Project, and what the mysterious end — referenced by Thurman — will look like. Why will Susan/Charles' drone piloting skills be so important?

We don't yet have the answers, but we do have one more clue. It comes in the answer Victor gives to Camille when she asks the why question posed to her by Juliette.

"The human species was in a terminal cycle of self-annihilation," Victor says. "The silo was the last, best hope to ensure the survival of the species."

It's a little unclear, but it sounds to us like Victor is saying that the silo's founders decided that The Project needed to begin. Rather than using the silos as a last resort, is it possible they orchestrated the apocalypse to put the wheels of their own plan into motion? If that's the case, then presumably they also have an end goal in mind.

Where is Per Stensen?

Speaking of the Founders, where is the world's richest man who financed the entire project? There's no mention of him in the finale, and the fact that Thurman is referred to as "Madam Director" sort of implies that she's the top dog. Of course, it's been hundreds of years since the founders first entered Silo 1. A lot of stuff could have happened in the meantime. Maybe Per Stensen died somewhere along the way?

Is Helen Drew related to Juliette Nichols?

We know that Helen is pregnant when she runs into the shelter of Silo 18. It would seem like a very strange narrative choice for her not to be related to someone in the present-day silos, but who is her distant descendant? Juliette seems like obvious choice here. She has the same no-nonsense rebellious streak as Helen, and there's a moment at the end of the finale when Daniel/Troy stares at a close-up of Juliette's face on his giant Silo 1 screen. Wouldn't it make their upcoming war even more tragic if they were, in fact, long-lost relatives?

The good news? We won't have too long to wait for answers. Season 4 has already been filmed and is set to premiere on July 9, 2027. In the meantime, you can read Mashable's interview with showrunner Graham Yost for more clues.

Silo Season 3 is streaming now on Apple TV. Season 4 premieres July 9, 2027.

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UPDATE: Sep. 4, 2026, 1:36 p.m. EDT This article has been updated with further information on Season 4's release date.

After three seasons of mystery, Silo has finally unveiled what's inside Silo 1: most of the characters from its past timeline. Also, elevators!

The Season 3 finale reveals that Daniel (Ashley Zukerman) survived episode 9's devastating nuclear blast. So did his sister Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay). However, they aren't the same people they once were. Their memories have been erased, and they now go by Troy and Susan. Even worse, they're cryogenically frozen for long periods of time, waking up every few years to carry out a shift in the silo.

SEE ALSO: 'Silo' Season 3's twisty ending, explained

The first shift we see Troy/Daniel carry out is horrifying. Overseen by Dr. Victor (Matt Craven), he clinically orders the mass poisoning of the Silo 17 rebellion, both answering the question of what wiped out the silo and raising more questions about Silo 1's insistence that the silos do not interact with one another. In an interview with Mashable, showrunner Graham Yost broke down the long-awaited introduction of Silo 1, from its aesthetic to the dehumanization of its inhabitants.

We finally get to see Silo 1 this episode, and it's visually so different from all the other silos. How did you and your team shape the look for Silo 1?

Graham Yost: I'd originally thought one thing, and then quickly realized no, we've got to go cool. We've got go, "What's the most fun, interesting, weird [idea] that still fits in the Silo world? What's a silo that doesn't look like the other silos, but still is a silo?"

What [production designer] Nicole Northridge came up with was that everything's curved, and it's all very well maintained. In the other silos you're seeing cracks in the walls and destruction and overgrowing. There's no plants. There is this weird tree in another set that you'll see in the next season, but it's a fake.

SEE ALSO: When is 'Silo' Season 4 coming out?

The other silos were designed to be lived in for 500 years with succeeding people. Silo 1 is the same people, so they need a sense of continuity. It needs to be the same shift by shift so that they can do their jobs, and it needs to be well maintained, so they're not spiraling into depression. Then we talked about the big screen. The big screen in the other silos shows the outside world, and it's dead and horrible. And for Silo 1, we thought, "What if it's just pictures of Earth?" My thing was there should be no or very little human stuff in it. It should be more just nature.

I was so intrigued by that whole setup, like those big futuristic mouse pads for the controls.

There were so many discussions about that! And there's stuff that we used in the finale episode of Season 3 that you won't see again in Season 4 because we decided enough time has passed that they've figured out a better design.

Sticking with that control room, we get to see the murder of the citizens of Silo 17 through Troy/Daniel's eyes. Tell me about showing this brutal moment through his eyes.

We wanted to show the dehumanization that's happened in this silo, and how he's no longer Daniel.

We knew it would be really interesting to see what happened to Silo 17 because we've seen all the bodies as Juliette walked through. We saw this hand holding this flagpole and this tattered flag, and we know that that was the sheriff, but how did it get there? So there was this sort of retconning that Amber [Templemore], the director, had to do to get Ross [McCall] to land in such a way that his hand would be on the flag, so it would make sense from the beginning of Season 2. Seeing him, seeing his face, seeing his wife's face, seeing their their son, it really humanized them as this horrible shit's about to happen. All of that was in service to see Daniel — now Troy — doing it without apparently having the least qualm. That's his job and that's what he does. Charlotte — now Susan — has a different reaction, and that was important to us.

I am so fascinated by that. I'm also fascinated by Victor monitoring them and checking to see how much they remember of each other.

It was fun to create this character that we look at as being sort of a secondary character in the first part of the season, who then steps up. There's a reason that I got Matt Craven to play him.

But in his reaction [to the Daniel and Charlotte scene], he's not only clocking them; he's just watching Daniel/Tory do this horrific thing, and there's a part of him that's dying. When he leaves that message to Daniel saying, "When they capped the safeguard in Silo 18, there was part of me that was relieved," it's clear he doesn't want to be a part of this anymore. His life has run its course. There's no point.

We thought it would be interesting and hopefully emotional to see a character that we learn to love over the course of the season, Daniel, become this absolute amoral, completely untethered [person], just doing his job and killing people. There's a line that [finale writer] Fred [Golan] wrote where he says, "Let's get those numbers down, people." The numbers are people. It's just like, "Let's make more dead bodies." That's a big setup for Season 4 as well, just understanding the level of the lethality of this project.

The interview above was edited for length and clarity.

Silo Season 3 is now streaming on Apple TV. Season 4 premieres July 9, 2027.

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UGREEN wants to be sure your home studio has network-attached storage that's always up to the job—even if you're juggling multiple tasks at once. The company has come to IFA 2026 with two NAS units, the NASync DXP6800 and DX8800 Ultra, that are meant for everyone from individual creatives through to fast-growing shops.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

Hard to get out of a shirt.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

STAIN

Hurdle Word 2 hint

To capture.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for September 4, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

CATCH

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Related to a raccoon.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for September 4, 2026 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Meanings for each word for Sept. 4, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

COATI

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Found in the deep sea.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

DIVER

Final Hurdle hint

To wow.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

AMAZE

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier if you skateboard.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight, and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Hit by pitch

• Green: Seen in a Tony Hawk game

• Blue: Iconic swimmers

• Purple: The draft

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Nail a Batter with a Pitch

• Green: Skateboarding Tricks

• Blue: Swimmers with 10+ Olympic Medals

• Purple: Draft___

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #711 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Nail a Batter with a Pitch: BEAN, DRILL, HIT, PLUNK

• Skateboarding Tricks: 900, HEELFLIP, MANUAL, MCTWIST

• Swimmers with 10+ Olympic Medals: DRESSEL, LEDECKY, PHELPS, THOMPSON

• Draft___: CLASS, LOTTERY, ORDER, PICKS

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

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

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalog.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for September 4, 2026

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for September 4, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for September 4 Pips

Number (7): Everything in this red space must add up to 7. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this red space must add up to 4. The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally; 4-6, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for September 4 Pips

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally.

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 3-1, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed vertically; 3-1, placed horizontally; 1-0, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally; 1-0, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for September 4 Pips

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically; 5-5, placed horizontally.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 6-0, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 5-6, placed horizontally.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 3-6, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed vertically.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-2, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this red space must add up to 4. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 0-2, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this red space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-6 placed horizontally; 3-3, placed vertically; 1-3, placed horizontally; 3-2, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this red space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this red space must add up to 4. The answer is 6-2, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this red space must add up to 2. The answer is 3-2, placed vertically; 0-5, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Looking for spoiler-free NYT Connections hints or just wondering why Connections is trending today? We've got what you need to understand the clues for today's puzzle without spoiling any of the answers.

Of course, Mashable has also provided daily hints and answers for Connections, Wordle, and Strands for years, so we can help you if that's also what you need.

While we are focused more on meanings than hints in this story, sometimes learning that many of the words have completely unrelated meanings is a clue in and of itself. Connections frequently includes clues that involve words within words and other visual clues.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 4, 2026 Cringy meaning

Causes embarrassment or discomfort.

Opine meaning

To state an opinion.

Stied meaning

Confined a pig in a pigpen.

That's meaning

Points to specific people, things or ideas.

Cake donut meaning

A small, holed round baked treat.

Candy corn meaning

A triangular orange and yellow treat, often associated with Halloween.

Cherry tomato meaning

A small, sweet red vegetable.

Pizza pie meaning

A large, round baked Italian dish.

Conger meaning

A large eel.

Gulper meaning

An eel with a large mouth used to swallow its prey.

Moray meaning

A family of large eels.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Ribbon meaning

A piece of satin used to tie things together.

Bowling ball meaning

A spherical object used to knock down pins.

Eye meaning

The organ used for sight.

Moon meaning

Earth's natural satellite

Orange meaning

A bright citrus fruit, commonly grown in Florida.

Have you learned the meanings and still want the things? Check out the hints and answers for today's NYT Connections puzzle.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

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

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're fashionable.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for September 4, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Well-rounded

• Green: Tasty

• Blue: Sea creatures

• Purple: They throw a fit

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Spherical things

• Green: Food whose name is two foods

• Blue: Kinds of eels

• Purple: Accessories inside starting and ending letters

Play our Big Guessing Game: Make your predictions now for a chance to win a new Apple Watch. Time's running out!

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1177 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Spherical things: BOWLING BALL, EYE, MOON, ORANGE

• Food whose name is two foods: CAKE DONUT, CANDY CORN, CHERRY TOMATO, PIZZA PIE

• Kinds of eels: HOT WHEELS, MATCHBOX, MICRO MACHINES, TONKA

• Accessories inside starting and ending letters: AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, SUM

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

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

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're a comics fan.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for September 4, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: To the rescue

The words are related to being superhuman.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe extraordinary traits.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

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NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Heroes.

NYT Strands word list for September 4

• Courageous

• Fearless

• Heroes

• Lionhearted

• Intrepid

• Brave

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're a gambler.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 4, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for September 4, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A bet.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter J.

Play our Big Guessing Game: Make your predictions now for a chance to win a new Apple Watch. Time's running out!

The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

WAGER

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

There are some products that are so successful that the brand name becomes the default term for that product. Brands such as Band-Aid, Photoshop, and Scotch tape are often used for any products of that kind, and the same is true of Kindle. While the Kindle has been the dominant force in the eReader market for a long time, a tiny eReader makes me believe that things are starting to change.

The Pixel Tag gives Android users their first true first-party rival to Apple's AirTag, backed by Google's massive Find Hub network. But after looking into how it actually works, one omission stood out immediately, and it's the single feature I've wanted from an Android tracker for years.

When Even Realities introduced its G2 smart glasses, there were some fair criticisms of its interface limits and performance. However, I had the opportunity to try them on at IFA 2026 — and they've found new purpose at a time when the backlash against Meta's camera-equipped glasses is fiercer than ever.

ESP32 boards are cheap and versatile, making them highly popular in the maker community. Setting them up isn't always that simple, but there's a tiny OS you can run on an ESP32 that allows you to use one as if it were a very small PC.

The streamers are loading up on new and returning shows to kick off the month, giving viewers plenty of options for weekend streaming. Netflix has two shows that made the cut for this list. One is a reality show featuring an extremely popular influencer, and the other is the second season of a Guy Ritchie show. Elsewhere, a British motoring show returns for an all-new season on Prime Video.

Intel has had a colorful history over the years. While many people have made the switch to AMD Ryzen, plenty still remain loyal to Intel—and for good reasons.

Dyson's beauty lineup may be most famous for its multi-styling Airwrap and luxurious hair dryer, but the product range doesn't stop there.

In fact, it's growing. At the Dyson Unveiled event on Sept. 3, the brand announced two new beauty products: the Dyson AirSmooth dryer brush and the Corrale CoolShine straightener.

The products aren't available to purchase just yet, but we've gathered everything to know about them so far.

Dyson AirSmooth dryer brush: Price, release, what's new The Revlon One-Step finally has a Dyson analogue. Credit: Dyson

The Dyson AirSmooth dryer brush will retail for $249 and be available to purchase starting Tuesday, Sept. 8. The brush is the first dedicated dryer brush released by Dyson. Before this product, anyone looking to get a dryer brush experience from the brand would have to invest in a Dyson Airwrap.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best Dyson Airwrap dupes under $300: This underappreciated multi-styler deserves consideration

Dryer brushes have been an option from other brands for quite some time. One of the most popular budget options (and an early Airwrap dupe) was the Revlon One-Step. T3's AireBrush and Drybar's Double Shot are both options priced more in line with Dyson at $149.99 and $155, respectively, but both have dropped down to near $100 in the past.

So what makes the Dyson brush special? According to the brand, that'd be the PivotFlex and anti-snag tech behind the brush's design and bristles that allow for the smoothest possible styling (literally and figuratively). The bristles themselves can flex up to 90 degrees, while the open base allows for optimal diffusion of the air. Rounding out the experience is intelligent heat control that monitors the temperature 100 times per second, and universal voltage for easy travel.

Dyson Corrale CoolShine straightener: Price, release, what's new The Dyson Corrale CoolShine straightener. Credit: Dyson

The Dyson Corrale CoolShine straightener will retail for $329 and be available starting Sept. 15.

The original Corrale straightener (not to be confused with the Airstrait) dropped in 2020, with a cordless look designed to optimize the straightening experience. At the time of writing, the Corrale is available for $539.99 and on sale for $399.99.

This new Corrale seems to want to combine the heat-minimizing Airstrait tech with the efficacy of the original Corrale. As the name suggests, cooling is built into the process, thanks to a cool attachment that houses heat-extracting pipes. The effect is that hair is cooled immediately after it's styled with heat, which can help reduce heat damage and lock in styles. Unlike the original model, this Corrale will feature a cord, so charging is no issue.

Cloud-based smart homes have been the norm for over a decade now. There are inherent problems with cloud-based smart devices though, with privacy being at the forefront of those issues. UGREEN just surprised everyone and announced the first turnkey local smart home hub that actually matters.

Just how much will the foldable iPhone Ultra cost? That's the biggest lingering question ahead of Apple's big iPhone launch event on Sept. 9.

Leaks point to a price of $2,000 or more, and now, a new report from the analysts at the market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC) projects an average selling price of $2,550. The IDC has a solid reputation and is well known for its mobile market research in particular.

The foldable iPhone Ultra is a brand new product category for Apple, so there's no baseline to say how much it could cost. However, the latest IDC report backs reports that the iPhone Ultra will launch at above $2,000.

We should note that the iPhone Ultra won't necessarily set you back $2,550. The average selling price could be quite a bit higher than the starting price, as many consumers will pay more for configurations with more storage. Despite the high price, the IDC projects that Apple will sell more than 17 million iPhone Ultras by the end of 2027 and bring in more than $45.7 billion from the foldable.

"Apple’s entry into the foldable market has done more than reignite growth in a category that was losing momentum," said Nabila Popal, Senior Research Director of IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker in a statement. "It has fundamentally altered the market’s trajectory. Without Apple, foldable shipments would have declined at a double-digit rate year over year." 

The $2,550 estimate gives us a clearer idea of what to expect from the iPhone Ultra. Some Apple analysts have projected a $2,399 launch price for the iPhone Ultra, and it could cost up to $3,000 with more storage.

IDC projects that Apple will capture around 40 percent of the global foldable market and account for more than half of the total value of foldables.

According to the IDC, the iPhone Ultra is expected to be such a hit that it will propel the foldable market forward as the only mobile category that experiences growth in 2026. The firm expects the rest of the global smartphone market to decline this year due to higher prices driven by ongoing global memory shortages.

"Perhaps most notably, Apple is positioned to challenge Huawei and Samsung for leadership in markets where they have long dominated, an extraordinary outcome for a product expected to be less than two years into its lifecycle," Popal said.

Top Apple Deals we found this week:

• Apple AirTag 2 (4-Pack) — $79.99 $99 (save $20)

• Apple AirPods 4 — $99 $129 (save $30)

• Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M4) — $649 $749 (save $100)

• Apple iPhone Air (256GB, unlocked) — $849.99 $999.99 (save $150)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,849 $1,999 (save $150)

• Shop all the best Apple Labor Day deals

A year after the launch of GPT-5, OpenAI has announced the arrival of GPT-6 Astra, which will begin rolling out immediately. The AI company called Astra "the world’s most intelligent and aligned model."

OpenAI Astra marks a new generation of models for the AI company, but also carries new risks.

The day before Astra's launch, OpenAI confirmed that Astra had been deemed a "critical" cybersecurity risk, but that the company would move ahead with a launch with safeguards in place. The company's Preparedness Framework tracks risk in three domains (chemical/biological, self-improvement, and cybersecurity), and an OpenAI spokesperson confirmed to Mashable that Astra is the first OpenAI model to be designated a critical risk — the highest threat level — in any domain.

Strangely, in its blog post announcing Astra, OpenAI did not call Astra its most advanced model, but only "the most capable model we have ever broadly deployed." The company also released a detailed system card outlining the model's training and safety risks.

How to try GPT-6 Astra

OpenAI will be rolling out GPT-6 starting today, though it may not be available to everyday users right away.

OpenAI said that GPT-6 Astra will be available at launch to select organizations, but that it will be available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users "over the coming days." It will also be available via the OpenAI API and AWS.

The API pricing will be:

• $10 per million input tokens

• $50 per million output tokens

You can learn more about pricing and availability at the GPT-6 Astra webpage.

GPT-6 Astra: Cybersecurity and safety

OpenAI wrote that "with the right tools and access, GPT‑6 Astra can find previously unknown security flaws and develop new ways to exploit them across many well-protected systems without a person guiding each step." As a result, Astra's most advanced cybersecurity skills will only be available to a select group of testing partners, and OpenAI said it's tightened security around the model as well. Per OpenAI, these safeguards are designed to prevent two outcomes:

• Stopping malicious actors from using Astra to develop new exploits or carry out cyberattacks against critical systems

• Stopping the "model itself [from] causing cyber harm when taking an unauthorized (or misaligned) action"

On the ExploitBench cybersecurity benchmarking test, OpenAI reports that GPT-6 achieves a perfect 100 percent score, even at its lowest-tested reasoning level. On the ExploitGym Honeypot benchmarking test, OpenAI reported a perfect 0.0 percent score.

GPT-6 shows significant improvement over GPT 5.6 Sol on the ExploitBench benchmarking test. Credit: OpenAI

Despite posing existential cybersecurity risks, OpenAI said in its announcement that GPT-6 is generally safer than its recent predecessors. In particular, the company said, "GPT‑6 Astra is significantly safer in higher-risk scenarios."

The GPT-6 Astra system card reports better scores on safety evaluations measuring risks such as promoting emotional reliance in users, engaging with self-harm requests, and inappropriate responses to users under 18.

OpenAI says Astra achieved higher scores than other recent models in safety evaluations (higher scores are better). Credit: OpenAI

At the same time, OpenAI admitted that "GPT‑6 Astra’s monitorability has decreased relative to GPT‑5.6 Sol," meaning that the model may be more difficult to understand and control.

"We have found that GPT‑6 Astra is more capable of controlling its own [chain of thought] CoT than GPT‑5.6 Sol, and less likely to include incriminating information in its CoT," reads an OpenAI blog post. "In adversarial settings (where we push the model to evade our monitors) we find that the model is able to remain undetected when strategically underperforming in evaluations (sandbagging) and can sometimes evade our internal monitors when asked to perform certain sabotage tasks."

GPT-6 Astra: Hallucination rate

OpenAI provided fewer details on the hallucination and factuality rates of GPT-6. In previous system cards, OpenAI provided specifics about its models' propensity for inventing facts or repeating users' own misinformation.

That being said, the system card states that GPT-6 has made strides in this regard, generating fewer mistruths and hallucinations than GPT-5.6 Sol and other recent models.

Credit: OpenAI

"We find that Astra makes substantially fewer factual errors than GPT-5.6 Sol and is significantly less likely to reproduce user-reported hallucinations. These improvements are particularly pronounced at very low latency and reasoning settings."

Hallucinations remain one of the most stubborn problems with AI models.

GPT-6 Astra: Benchmark performance

OpenAI released benchmark scores for GPT-6 Astra, showing marked improvement on most common benchmarking tests compared to both GPT-5.6 Sol and Fable 5.1, which Anthropic released earlier this week. Notably, GPT-6 Astra scored lower on Humanity's Last Exam (with tools).

Highlights include:

• Terminal-Bench Science 0.1: 64.6 percent

• FrontierMath Tier 4 (v2): 97.6 percent

• GPQA Diamond: 96.0 percent

• Humanity's Last Exam (w/ tools): 57.2 percent

• ExploitBench: 100 percent

• Exploit Gym: 42.4 percent

• ARC-AGI-1: 98.5 percent

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.