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The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you have a sensitive nose.

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.

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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.

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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 May 29, 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: Seas

• Green: Bad odors

• Blue: Found in an estate

• Purple: Acronym

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Oceans

• Green: Sources of distinctive smells

• Blue: Kinds of rooms in a mansion

• Purple: What "PA" might refer to

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 #1083 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Oceans: ARCTIC, ATLANTIC, INDIAN, PACIFIC

• Sources of distinctive smells: AMMONIA, BO, DURIAN, WET DOG

• Kinds of rooms in a mansion: BILLIARD, DRAWING, POWDER, READING

• What "PA" might refer to: FATHER, PENNSYLVANIA, PROTACTINIUM, PUBLIC ADDRESS

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 29, 2026

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

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 today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're an animal lover.

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 May 29, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: E-I-E-I-O

The words are related to animals.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe barnyard animals.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Farm Animals.

NYT Strands word list for May 29

• Cows

• Farm Animals

• Goats

• Chickens

• Sheep

• Horses

• Ducks

• Pigs

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 today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if have a good ear.

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 May 29, 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 May 29, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A sharp sound.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter C.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. 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...

CLANG

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.

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 today's Wordle.

DJI officially launched the Avata 360 this March, expanding its camera drone lineup with the company's first 360-degree offering. The latest addition to DJI's popular Avata series, the Avata 360 is a direct rival to the Antigravity A1 360-degree drone released last December. Yet while Antigravity was first off the launch pad, it's still the new kid on the block. DJI has been a favourite of drone enthusiasts for years, with many having eagerly awaited the brand's first 360 drone.

Now that the DJI Avata 360 has finally arrived, the question is whether the wait was worth it. 

SEE ALSO: Hands-on: GoPro's new Mission 1 Pro bridges the gap between action and cinema cameras DJI Avata 360: Build Credit: A. Yeo

At first glance, the Avata 360's build bears strong similarities to the DJI Avata 2 released in 2024. Both sport solid, lightweight bodies made from high-quality grey plastic, with few moving parts aside from their camera gimbals and four propellers. Guards around these propellers help to protect them from damage, adding another layer of security on top of the Avata 360's obstacle avoidance system. Measuring 246 millimetres x 199 millimetres x 55.5 millimetres, the Avata 360 is longer but slimmer than the Avata 2, with three anchor points attaching its propellers to its body instead of two. 

The Avata 360 feels sturdier than the significantly smaller Antigravity A1 as well, with the latter featuring foldable arms and unshielded propeller blades. While the A1 isn't flimsy, the Avata 360 certainly seems more likely to hold up in a collision if the two were to go head-to-head. It even has a removable lens protector to shield it during storage.

Credit: A. Yeo

However, this superior durability comes at a cost to the Avata 360's weight and classification. Unlike the Antigravity A1, DJI's 360-degree drone requires registration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly, as it weighs in at around 455 grams. Meanwhile, the A1 just squeaks in under the FAA's 250-gram limit — no doubt an intentional design choice to make life easier for budding drone pilots.

The Avata 360 is still lightweight enough that it isn't more burdensome to carry about than the portable A1. Each drone can be bundled with a padded sling bag, though the Avata 360's isn't quite large enough to comfortably fit both its folded landing pad and the optional DJI Goggles N3 (more on this below). 

Even so, having to register the Avata 360 is a nuisance. Whether the hassle is worth it will depend on what you want out of your drone. Newcomers and hobbyists may not want to bother with such matters, while serious drone users are less likely to be put off by the extra step needed to fly the Avata 360.

Featured Video For You 3 simple tips to optimise your ChatGPT search DJI Avata 360: Image quality Credit: A. Yeo

The Avata 360's allure is clearly its 360-degree video capability, with a top resolution of 8K at 60fps (though reduced to 4K once reframed to 2D in the DJI Fly app). The drone also allows you to switch to a single-lens mode for more traditional filming, which reaches up to 4K at 60fps.  For comparison, the Antigravity A1's highest 360-degree video resolution is 8K at 30fps — half the Avata 360's frame rate. DJI's higher frame rate is particularly attractive for producing smooth, beautiful slow motion footage, which is a notable strength for a camera drone shooting wide landscapes.

Both drones use two lenses and two sensors to achieve their 360-degree recordings. However, the Avata 360 has slightly larger 1/1.1-inch square CMOS sensors compared to the A1's 1/1.28, enabling greater dynamic range and low-light performance.

The Antigravity A1's video quality is already impressive enough for the average person, and certainly nothing to complain about. However, for professionals and prosumers who are looking to squeeze the most out of their footage, the DJI Avata 360 offers a welcome little upgrade. 

A screenshot from DJI Avata 360 footage. Credit: A. Yeo

As always, 360-degree video is a double-edged sword. It allows you to frame and edit after the fact, meaning you don't have to decide exactly what to focus on while filming. However, this also makes editing the footage more complex and time-consuming. The Avata 360 aims to streamline this process through the DJI Fly app, which enables you to trim, add keyframes, apply filters, and otherwise edit your footage. 

DJI Fly also includes an in-app tracking feature, which will allow you to draw a box around a subject and have the frame automatically follow it. Though it did lose track of a bird when it flew directly above the Avata 360, Mashable found that the DJI Fly app's tracking largely does a good job of keeping the subject centred. It isn't exactly the eye of an auteur, but it gets the job done with minimal fuss, leaving you free to finesse other aspects of your footage.

DJI Avata 360: Controls and performance Credit: A. Yeo

While the Antigravity A1 can only be operated using its included headset and motion controller, the DJI Avata 360 offers two control options. Pilots can use either the DJI RC 2 remote controller, which features two joysticks and a screen that displays the drone's point of view, or connect the Avata 360 to the DJI Goggles N3 and RC Motion 3 controller. Released a few years ago, both options can be purchased separately or in a bundle with the Avata 360. They are also compatible with previous DJI drones, offering added versatility for those interested in building a fleet.

Flying the DJI Avata 360 with the RC 2 controller is fairly straightforward. Touchscreen options allow you to automatically launch and land the drone, while buttons on either side enable quick recording. Two joysticks control the Avata 360's elevation, orientation, and flight direction, enabling a smooth flight. 

Credit: A. Yeo

Mashable was surprised to find that, though we found the Antigravity A1's motion controls the most intuitive for users without much experience with drones, we actually preferred the RC 2 controller to the DJI's motion controller and goggles. While headsets have the benefit of providing a clear, glare-free viewing experience, they can be a hassle to put on and take off. Importantly, they can also hinder visual line of sight, which is an FAA requirement when flying drones for recreation. The RC 2 is a quick grab and go option, can be used without a spotter, and at 700 nits the screen is bright enough that it's clearly visible even in direct sunlight.

It's also worth noting that the DJI Goggles N3 can't be adjusted for your glasses prescription, though fortunately it is large enough to fit over glasses. In contrast, Antigravity A1's headset has diopter adjustment supporting prescriptions ranging from +2.00 to -5.00, as well as interpupillary distance adjustment. 

Both Antigravity and DJI's goggle designs are comfortable to wear. The A1 goggles' configuration is admittedly more fussy than DJI's, requiring you to hang the battery from your neck like a necklace and run a wire up to the headset. However, this setup does make the A1's headset delightfully light, and is easily forgotten during operation. DJI's more streamlined design doesn't look as dorky, mounting its battery on the strap at the back of the head to balance the weight of the front, but is heavier and more likely to slip.

Credit: A. Yeo

At 42GB, the Avata 360 has more than double the A1's modest 20GB of onboard storage. Both also offer a microSD card slot if you want extra space — which, if you're shooting a significant amount of 360-degree video, you'll probably need.

DJI states that the Avata 360's swappable batteries handle approximately 23 minutes of flight per charge, though Mashable found this to be a generous estimate. Fortunately the drone will automatically return to its launch site to land if its power drops too low, but you'll likely want spare batteries on hand if you want longer flying time. We swiftly chewed through our spares during testing, ending flying sessions sooner than we'd have liked — though this is also a testament to how much fun it was to fly the Avata 360.

Credit: A. Yeo

Interestingly, the DJI Avata 360 had some trouble sticking the landing during Mashable's testing. Though placed in the centre of its bright orange landing pad for take off, it repeatedly missed the mark when instructed to return home. Instead, the drone would gently lower itself a few feet from the target, landing in the grass near the landing pad. In contrast, the Antigravity A1's automatic landing returned it to its much smaller landing pad every time, even deploying adorable landing gear.

It isn't a reassuring indication regarding the precision of the Avata 360's navigation, and gives us pause about relying too heavily on its automatic anti-collision or homing features. Even so, the drone's off-centre landing isn't a fatal flaw, as you'll typically want some safe, clear space around your entire launch area regardless. You should be keeping your drone within visual line of sight as well, so you can intervene if it does choose an inappropriate landing spot. 

DJI Avata 360: Pricing  Credit: A.Yeo

Though the DJI Avata 360 began rolling out globally from April, it still isn't available on the company's official U.S. website. The U.S. government's hostile stance toward DJI has significantly hindered the company's business, making it difficult for those in the country to get their hands on many of its devices. As such, getting a DJI Avata 360 in the U.S. will require going through an unofficial third party at present.

This availability issue gives the Antigravity A1 a notable edge over the DJI Avata 360 for U.S. consumers. However, the considerable difference in cost does a lot to mitigate this apparent advantage.

Though there is no official U.S. pricing, in Australia the DJI Avata 360 costs $AU799 ($574) for the drone and one battery, and $AU1,159 ($833) for that plus the DJI RC 2. The $AU1,619 ($1,164) Fly More Combo also includes a sling bag, charging hub, and two more batteries, while the Motion Fly More Combo is the same but swaps out the RC 2 for the DJI Goggles N3 and RC Motion 3 controller. Meanwhile, the Antigravity A1's base bundle with headset, motion controller, and one battery costs $1,599 — several hundred dollars more than the Avata 360's most expensive bundle. 

The A1 is still a great option particularly for new or casual drone pilots, and its lower weight means it's subject to fewer flight restrictions than the Avata 360. But if you're after a more affordable, heavier-duty 360-degree drone that's suited to prosumers and professionals, hunting down the DJI Avata 360 may be worth it for you.

Every year, Apple reveals a big new iOS update at WWDC that brings tons of new features to your iPhone. And we're fully expecting to learn about iOS 27 at WWDC 2026, the final Apple developers conference of the Tim Cook era.

When the iPhone 18 launches in September, it's widely expected that it'll ship alongside iOS 27, as is usually the case with every new iPhone and every new iOS iteration. Apple still hasn't officially shown off iOS 27 yet, but there have been plenty of reports and leaks about what to expect from the mobile OS update. Here's everything you need to know about iOS 27 right now.

SEE ALSO: The latest iPhone 18 news, leaks, and rumors iOS 27: Which iPhones will support it?

To start, we should establish which iPhones will actually be able to run iOS 27. Every year, Apple phases out an older generation of devices, and a recent leak suggested that the following phones will be phased out this year:

• iPhone 11

• iPhone 11 Pro

• iPhone 11 Pro Max

• iPhone SE (second generation)

That means anything older than an iPhone 12 is probably not going to be able to run iOS 27. It's a tough business, but that's just how it works. Apple can't keep everyone happy forever.

In addition, iOS 27 is sure to bring updates to Apple Intelligence, including a new AI Siri. Keep in mind that not all iPhones support Apple Intelligence, which is only compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, and newer Apple smartphones.

iOS 27: All about AI Siri

Easily the biggest feature coming to iOS 27 that we know of right now is the long-awaited AI-powered overhaul of Siri, Apple's iconic voice assistant. It was supposed to happen a long time ago, but internal delays have pushed its most likely debut timeline to the launch of iOS 27.

On a basic level, what's changing here is that Siri is going to be turned into an AI chatbot with its own standalone app and with the ability to incorporate what's on the screen and personal context into responses, with the additional ability to perform actions between and within apps themselves. It'll be powered primarily by Google's Gemini model, though rumor has it that users will be able to use third-party models for Siri and other Apple Intelligence features, too, if they so desire.

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While Siri is getting its own app, that doesn't mean the way you interface with Siri will change that much, necessarily. A report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman indicated that Siri in iOS 27 can still be activated by a wake word or by holding down the power button, same as ever, but there will also be a new interface built into the iPhone's Dynamic Island. You'll be able to make queries by swiping down from the top of the screen, and an additional swipe will bring you straight to the new chatbot interface for Siri.

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Gurman's report included some more tidbits about how Siri will play with the Photos and Camera apps, too. For instance, Photos will get the ability to use generative AI to add elements to photos that aren't already there, while the users will be able to snap a photo in Camera and instantly reverse image search it on Google. In summary, Apple is looking to catch up to the competition when it comes to having a sophisticated AI chatbot that lives in your phone, and it sounds like iOS 27 might finally bring us to that point.

iOS 27: Other AI features

Apple's new iOS revision might focus largely on integrating Siri into the Apple Intelligence ecosystem, but what about the already existing Apple Intelligence features in iOS? It turns out some of those will be improved with iOS 27, too.

For example, a separate Mark Gurman report claimed that Image Playground and Genmoji will both get significant boosts to image quality in iOS 27. There will even be a new feature allowing users to generate custom phone wallpapers with AI. Outside of image generation, it sounds like there will also be a way for users to create custom app shortcuts using natural language prompts with Siri.

Beyond that, Writing Tools will apparently be infused with more AI juice. It'll supposedly be better at offering feedback for things like syntax errors, not just basic spelling mistakes. We'll need to see this in action to truly judge how well it works, though.

iOS 27: What about Liquid Glass?

Last year, the Liquid Glass design language introduced in iOS 26 really ruffled some feathers. That said, you should probably not expect any major changes on that front.

This information comes, once again, from Gurman at Bloomberg. He says Apple is not planning on making any sweeping changes to Liquid Glass, which isn't terribly surprising. While plenty of folks may not be huge fans of the design language, that fact doesn't appear to be driving people away from iPhones to any significant degree. In fact, the opposite is happening; iPhone sales are better than ever right now.

All of that is to say that Apple might add some more customization options to Liquid Glass, but don't expect to be able to turn it off or anything like that.

iOS 27: App changes

As always, iOS 27 is certainly going to bring some other miscellaneous changes to various first-party apps. We don't yet have a comprehensive list of every change to expect, but there are a couple of intriguing reports out there.

For instance, users will apparently be able to create custom widgets within the Camera app, giving them more fine control over which buttons appear on screen by default when opening the app. Weather is also getting a "Conditions" panel when looking at a page for a specific location. You'll be able to flip between information panels on things like wind and rain there.

The Wallet app is also reportedly getting a pretty interesting new feature that will allow users to create custom passes. It's called "Create a Pass," and it will allegedly be able to scan photos of things like movie tickets and gym memberships in order to create a digital pass that lives in the Wallet app. While lots of services have built-in support for the Wallet app, there are also plenty that don't, and this feature could help bridge that gap.

iOS 27: Don't forget about the iPhone Fold

Lastly, we'd be remiss not to mention the iPhone Fold. There isn't a lot of concrete information yet about how iOS will adapt to the long-rumored device, but one has to assume that iOS 27 will, to some extent, work a little differently on the foldable iPhone. Actions like app multi-tasking, for example, will probably be possible on the iPhone Fold, meaning iOS 27 will need to natively support that sort of thing.

Not every iOS revision is a big overhaul, but if nothing else, it sounds like iOS 27 will drastically change how users interact with Siri. In that sense, this could be one of the biggest iOS updates in a while.

A year ago, Ninja debuted the latest iteration of the Ninja Creami, the Swirl, which brought soft-serve home. Initially, I loved the ice cream maker, reviving the fervor of the 2000s frozen yogurt craze that I didn't know I still had in me. Now, a full year later, how do I feel about the ice cream maker?

In the past year, the ice cream maker has gone through some minor updates. It has a new name, the Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl, and comes in new colors, including stone & gold and sage green. It hasn't changed in price, still $349.99, though usually you can find it on sale for just $299.99.

But how has the Ninja Creami Scoop and Swirl made itself at home in my kitchen? Here are my thoughts a year later.

I got a sneak peek of the Ninja Scoop & Swirl at the brand's event in February 2025 and was reliving the froyo craze. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable A year later — do I still use the Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl?

Testing products for a living, there's a lot of tech coming in and out of my house, some more memorable than others. The best earn a permanent spot in my rotation, like the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, Bose QuietComfort headphones, and the Ninja Luxe Café Premier Espresso Machine. But what about the Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl?

The Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl was a staple on my counter through last summer. I loved using it when we had friends over on a sweltering summer evening. Not only was it a delicious post-dinner treat, but a fun activity for everyone to take a turn swirling their own soft serve. But once summer turned to fall, I packed the Scoop & Swirl away for the winter, and I probably won't be bringing it back out this year, unless it's for a special occasion.

For me, it's about counter space. The Scoop & Swirl takes up about twice the space as the original Creami, which just makes it too impractical for my apartment kitchen. If I had a bigger kitchen with a lot more storage, it might earn a permanent spot, but it isn't practical enough to be a kitchen staple for me.

I still think the Creami Scoop & Swirl is a delightful gadget for ice cream lovers, especially if you have the space for it. Read on for my complete thoughts on the ice cream maker.

How does the Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl work? Place the pint on the left side of the machine, and you'll have fresh soft serve within seconds. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The Ninja Scoop & Swirl builds off of the original Creami technology. Each Scoop & Swirl comes with two pints to mix up your concoctions. Once filled, the pints must be frozen for 24 hours before you can "spin" them. You can think of the spinning process as a reverse blender. Instead of the blade sitting at the bottom, it comes down from the top, cutting and spinning through the ice cream until it's as creamy as what you buy from the store.

Each Creami has a variety of settings, including ice cream, lite ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, gelato, and milkshake. Plus, there are settings to re-spin if your mix is not the right texture or you want to add mix-ins.

The Scoop & Swirl adds a new feature for dispensing soft serve. The pints that come with the Scoop & Swirl all have a dispensing feature, which is utilized when you place them in the left-hand dispenser. Then, you pull the lever, and the machine pushes the ice cream out.

How is the Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl different than the regular Creami?

The most significant difference between the Scoop & Swirl and the standard Creami is the ability to make soft serve. The regular and deluxe Ninja Creami produce scoopable ice cream or frozen drinks, and the Scoop & Swirl can do all of that, plus make soft serve. Part of the soft serve process is the inclusion of a soft serve dispenser that feels like you're working at an ice cream shop, with a handle to pull and everything.

SEE ALSO: TikTok is in love with the Ninja Creami, but am I?

The biggest difference between soft serve and regular ice cream is air. Soft serve adds more air to achieve a light and fluffy texture compared to denser ice cream. In standard ice cream making, air is added during the churning and freezing process; however, the Ninja Creami brings air into play during the spinning process.

The Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl features a setting that adds more air to the product so it's ready to dispense as soft serve.

It's creamier than ever The Ninja Scoop & Swirl (right) spins pints to creamy perfection compared to the standard Ninja Creami (left). Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

When I was first introduced to the Ninja Scoop & Swirl, I was intrigued by the brand's claim that this new device added more air to the spinning process to replicate classic soft serve or froyo. I was cautiously optimistic about this but still hesitant. My previous experience with the Ninja Creami was that getting the right texture, one that's genuinely creamy and easy to scoop, requires at least one re-spin, but often more.

So when I first used the Ninja Scoop & Swirl, I wanted to try my go-to Creami recipe for chocolate hazelnut froyo. I mixed plain Greek yogurt with a chocolate hazelnut spread and let it freeze for over 24 hours. When it came time to spin the pint, my jaw was on the floor when, after one spin, it turned out to be the smoothest ice cream (pictured above, right) I'd ever seen from a Creami. Usually, getting anywhere near that consistency requires multiple spins, and even then, it's still a little too thick (pictured above, left).

Ninja has clearly improved the technology between models and has struck gold. The spinning process is more powerful than ever on the Ninja Scoop & Swirl, regardless of whether you're making soft serve or scoopable ice cream.

You never have to leave the house for soft serve again

There's nothing I love more than leaving the house on a late summer evening to indulge in a cone of soft serve. It's something you can't get at home, unlike a pint of ice cream you buy at the grocery store. But now, with the Ninja Scoop & Swirl, I don't have to leave the house for soft serve.

Using the Ninja Scoop & Swirl's soft serve feature is impossibly easy. After spinning your pint on the soft serve setting, install the soft serve lid attachment and install the whole pint into the dispensing portion. Then, using the lever on the right side of the machine, release the ice cream.

Despite being non-dairy, the pineapple whip I made was exceptionally creamy. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

I tried a couple of different recipes for the soft serve mechanism, both dairy and non-dairy. The creamiest was, unsurprisingly, the dairy-based froyo, which dispensed evenly without any air pockets to disrupt the flow of dispensing. The fruit whip I made, an ode to a Dole whip, still faired pretty well in the machine. It looked really smooth and silky after spinning, so I had high hopes when I went to dispense it.

It had a less consistent flow than the dairy recipe I made. Ninja warns users that they might hear some popping during the soft serve dispensing, just air pockets getting pushed out. I definitely experienced quite a lot of popping with the fruit whip, which resulted in a less consistent flow. My swirls weren't as pretty as they were with the froyo, but the ice cream's texture was fine while eating it. It just might not look as Instagrammable as other recipes.

That being said, using the soft serve dispenser is just straight-up fun. Pulling the lever and swirling the ice cream feels like you're back in the froyo shop.

It's made for meal preppers and protein maxxers

The Ninja Creami became an internet sensation through creators in the health and fitness space. Users see the device as a way to enjoy ice cream while still hitting their daily macros. At the Ninja event I attended, the brand doubled down on the Scoop & Swirl's spot in the health space, collaborating with health and fitness creator John Jung to highlight the new Creamifit setting.

Creamifit is designed to work best with recipes that include protein powders or shakes, which is a huge draw for users already tapping the Creami to make protein-focused desserts.

SEE ALSO: The best fitness trackers you can buy in 2025: From smartwatches to rings

I had an issue with the Creami in my first review: the pints require 24 hours of freezing before use, so it's not like you can just have some ice cream on a whim. That remains the case for the Ninja Scoop & Swirl, so it's best fit for meal preppers who want to prep a few pints at the beginning of the week so they're ready to go when the mood strikes.

It isn't great for single servings — or a crowd

The only real drawback I've found to the Ninja Scoop & Swirl soft-serve feature is that it's not great for single servings or a crowd. At 16 oz, it's best used to produce four four-ounce servings. At the Ninja event, I noticed the Ninja team needed to swap out the pints after about four people served themselves. So, if you're planning on serving a crowd, prepare to have some backup pints ready.

If it's just you enjoying the soft serve, you'll have leftovers. The issue here is that the ice cream dispenses directly from the pint in which it's frozen. It gets pretty messy during dispensing, so it's not great to throw it back in the freezer like I would with the pints I used in the standard Creami.

That being the case, I found myself reaching for the Scoop & Swirl a lot less during the week. When it's just me and my partner, we don't want to polish off a pint, just the two of us, and we don't want to deal with the messy leftover pint. So, I waited until we had a couple more people over before using the soft serve function.

If you want to enjoy the soft serve in single servings, I recommend having a clean pint on hand and moving your leftovers there after use.

It's still way too loud — and even bigger than before

The number one complaint you will hear about the Ninja Creami is its volume. Imagine a powerful vacuum and then crank it up a couple of notches — that's how loud the Ninja Creami is. This makes it less than ideal for parents looking to sneak in a late-night snack when the kids are asleep, apartment dwellers sharing a wall with their neighbors, or pet owners. My cat seriously hates the Ninja Scoop & Swirl, even if he begs me for the fruits of its labor.

Unfortunately, the Scoop & Swirl is just as loud as the Creami, as you can hear from the video above. While it's a total pain hearing it go on for six minutes, it's an unavoidable part of the Creami experience.

The Ninja Scoop & Swirl takes up valuable counter space. Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Because of the addition of the soft serve dispenser, the Ninja Scoop & Swirl is a lot bigger than the Creami. As an apartment dweller with already limited counter space, I may not be able to justify making the Scoop & Swirl a permanent fixture in my kitchen. However, if you have endless counter or storage space or just really love ice cream, making room for it is a worthy sacrifice.

Is the Ninja Scoop & Swirl worth it? Should you indulge in soft serve at home? Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Yes, the Ninja Scoop & Swirl is worth it as long as you have the counter space. Having tested both the standard Ninja Creami and the Ninja Scoop & Swirl, the Scoop & Swirl is the better investment as an ice cream maker. It has improved performance, requiring fewer re-spins to achieve a creamy consistency. Soft serve or froyo fiends will love the new dispensing feature, which is exceptionally easy to use and, not to mention, really fun.

There are certainly drawbacks, such as its size and how loud it is to use, but if you're prepared for both, there's no reason that it will inhibit your experience using it.

It will cost you $349.99; however, with the capability to make both soft serve and scoopable ice cream, it's the best-valued Creami device yet.

Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl $299.95 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $50.04   Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Ninja Kitchen Shop Now at Walmart

Fans of The Handmaid's Tale will spot several familiar faces in sequel series The Testaments, from Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) to Rita (Amanda Brugel) and June (Elisabeth Moss). But The Testaments' Season 1 finale features the mother of all Handmaid's Tale cameos: the author of the novel herself, Margaret Atwood.

SEE ALSO: 'The Testaments' review: 'The Handmaid's Tale' sequel finds new power in its YA perspective

Atwood plays a jailer to Becka (Mattea Conforti), who murdered her abusive father in the show's penultimate episode.

"I was so fortunate to be in that scene with her when she made that cameo," Conforti told Mashable in an interview alongside castmates Lucy Halliday and Rowan Blanchard.

"She was an incredible actress," Conforti continued. "I really think that she should pursue that side of her career, maybe. But it was so surreal, being able to have the opportunity to work with the woman that created this world that we are all working together on was so incredible, and she had such wonderful insight to offer as well."

Halliday recalled seeing Atwood on set, having lunch with her, and even watching The Testaments' first three episodes alongside her.

"What I really loved is they had all these snacks laid out [for the screening], and I remember being like, 'If no one takes any snacks, then I'm not gonna take any snacks,'" Halliday said. "Whereas she sat down and immediately picked up a bunch of popcorn, and I was like, 'Okay, we can all eat now,' and that was a joy. But she's so animated, so if she found something funny, she was roaring with laughter, and if she was shocked, you really felt everything that she went through watching it."

Watch the full interview above to hear Halliday, Conforti, and Blanchard dive deeper into the season, including their hopes for their characters in the now-confirmed Season 2.

All episodes of The Testaments Season 1 are now streaming on Hulu.

Based on a strange clue, astronomers have found a collection of young red dwarf stars in space that may have gobbled up rocky planets — perhaps similar worlds to Earth.  

Like sniffing a teenager's breath for alcohol or cigarette smoke, researchers noticed the stars had more lithium in their atmospheres than they should. That could mean they still had the stench of their last meal on them. 

A red dwarf is a small, cool type of star, and lithium is a lightweight chemical that stars eventually destroy through nuclear reactions. In stars like these, lithium usually disappears early in life because the stars' hot interiors incinerate it. By the time these stars reach adolescence — around 50 to 200 million years old — astronomers expect little to no trace of lithium.

But a team found six stars out of thousands surveyed that broke the rules in a new study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. These stars contained much more lithium than other stars of the same age in their clusters, said Robin Jeffries, lead author of the paper, from Keele University in the United Kingdom. The lithium-rich stars made up only about 2 to 3 percent of stars in that temperature range, making them rare but not flukes.  

"Even a small amount of lithium stands out clearly in these stars — a bit like throwing paint onto a blank canvas," Jeffries said in a statement. 

Astronomers already knew stars could swallow planets, but the evidence has usually come from faint, debatable chemical detections. This study may have found a much clearer signal: young red dwarf stars somehow regained lithium, likely by swallowing several Earths' worth of rocky planet material that contains the element. 

SEE ALSO: This could be the most 'naked' giant black hole ever found

The findings suggest planetary systems — especially around red dwarfs — may go through a far more tumultuous childhood than astronomers realized. Instead of forming neatly and staying put, rocky worlds may regularly collide, scatter, or spiral into their stars during the first few hundred million years. 

That matters because red dwarfs are the most common stars in the Milky Way and host vast numbers of Earth-size planets, including many in potentially habitable zones, where temperatures are not too hot or cold for liquid water on their surfaces. If those rocky exoplanets are sometimes eaten by their stars, that may mean some Earth-like worlds die before they could have a chance to spark life. 

Researchers identified the red dwarfs with high lithium levels from the Gaia-ESO Spectroscopic Survey, conducted using the FLAMES instrument on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Credit: ESO / H.H.Heyer

Other than the presence of lithium, the stars looked normal. They sat in the same locations as other cluster members, moved through space the same way, and appeared to be about the same age. That ruled out the possibility that they were just younger stars mixed into the sample.  

The researchers did consider other explanations for the chemical. One idea involved magnetic activity because strong magnetic fields and starspots can sometimes slow lithium destruction in young stars. But that explanation wasn't a good fit because most of the lithium-rich stars spun slowly; fast rotation usually links to stronger magnetic activity.  

Another idea suggested the stars kept feasting from their birth disks for an inordinate length of time. But the team thought that scenario probably wouldn't preserve enough lithium. That left planet swallowing as the leading explanation. Rocky planets contain lithium, so devouring them would temporarily spike the lithium level in the star's outer layers.  

The team estimated each star may have swallowed material equal to about three to 10 Earths.  

That may sound extreme, but astronomers already know many red dwarf stars host compact systems packed with rocky planets. Computer simulations also show that young planetary systems often become chaotic. Gravitational interactions can fling planets inward until the star engulfs them.  

Researchers think these events likely happened after the stars stopped rapidly destroying lithium. Depending on each star's mass and inner workings, their lithium signatures could now remain for millions of years. 

SCORE FREE TOOLS: Shop the Lowe's Craftsman Days sale to save up to $300 on Craftsman riding lawn mowers, push mower, tools, and more. Buy a Craftsman V20+ battery starter kit and get a free bare tool worth up to $140.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lowe's Lowe's Craftsman Days save up to $300 and get BOGO tools Shop Now

Need to upgrade some tools before diving into summer projects? Now's a great time to consider what you'll need to tackle home and yard projects. In addition to Home Depot's Ryobi Days sale, check out the Lowe's Craftsman event.

Lowe's is hosting the Craftsman Days sale which sees major discounts across Craftsman items like lawn mowers, power tools, storage systems, and more. One of the best offers is Lowe's deal to buy the Craftsman V20 battery pack with charger for $99 and get a free Craftsman tool worth up to $139.

SEE ALSO: The Anker Solix C300 power station is ready-made for summer — save $80 at Amazon

Lowe's is going all-in on the Craftsman deals this year, making it possible to snag nearly anything you might need at a discount. From tools for DIY projects to tool cabinets and leaf blowers, the Lowe's sale hits every corner of the Craftsman selection.

If you're hoping to take advantage of the BOGO offer, go with the Craftsman V20 battery pack with charger kit for $99. From there, you can select a free Craftsman tool like a Craftsman Pole Saw, Hedge Trimmer, or the Craftsman String Trimmer.

Lucky for us, the BOGO Craftsman offer at Lowe's doesn't expire until July 29. However, we wouldn't be surprised to see some of the free tool offers sell out, so consider shopping sooner rather than rather.

SAVE UP TO $218: Shop the Home Depot Ryobi Days event to get a free tool worth up to $89 when you buy the Ryobi One+ 18V Battery Starter Kit. The kit is on sale for $99, down from the normal price of $228.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ryobi Home Depot Ryobi Days $99 at Home Depot
$228 Save $129 get a free Ryobi tool with purchase Shop Now

Welcome to home improvement season. Now that we're no longer in winter hibernation mode, you probable have a list of home and yard projects to tick off this summer. If you could use some new tools to get those jobs done right, listen up to this Home Depot news.

The Home Depot Ryobi Days event earns you a free tool with purchase of the Ryobi One+ 18V Battery Starter Kit. The kit is on sale for $99, marked down from the list price of $228 for a savings of $129 on the battery kit. The free tool option lets you pick one from 13 Ryobi items.

Remember when BOGO sales used to be good? The Home Depot is resurrecting our faith in getting something for free that's actually good. The Ryobi Days event makes perfect sense. Buy the Ryobi battery kit while it's 57% off and get a free tool that can be used in conjunction with one of the batteries in the kit.

SEE ALSO: The powerful Aiper Scuba X1 robot pool cleaner is $500 off at Amazon with coupon code — how to redeem

The free items that qualify for this deal are plentiful. Go with the Ryobi Cordless Compact Workshop Blower or the Ryobi Cordless Hybrid Whisper Jobsite Fan. If you don't need the Ryobi battery kit, you can choose your main item as the Cordless Battery String Trimmer to qualify for the additional free tool.

Before the free tool options sell out, check out the Ryobi Days sale at Home Depot. You can save big on an essential battery kit and get a free tool you'll actually use.

Apple may not quite be the world's most valuable company at the moment — that's Nvidia — but it is still by far the world's most scrutinized.

Thanks to a robust set of supply-chain leakers revealing every aspect of new Apple products before they arrive, an Apple launch event can often seem robbed of surprise. And in a normal year, Apple's annual World Wide Developers' Conference (WWDC) is no exception.

But WWDC 2026 is not a normal year, and an unusual air of mystery still clings to the keynote. That's not just because we don't know whether Tim Cook, in his last WWDC as CEO, will hand the baton over to CEO-in-waiting John Ternus during the event.

Will Ternus get on-the-job training, keynoting side by side with Cook? Or will he take a lesser role, like he did introducing the iPhone Air last September?

Beyond that mystery, here are our three big burning questions for the Apple WWDC keynote, which kicks off at 10 a.m. PT on Monday, June 8, 2026.

SEE ALSO: The latest iPhone 18 news, leaks, and rumors Will we see the iPhone Fold (or Ultra) at all? A hypothetical rendering of the iPhone Fold. Credit: Zain bin Awais / Mashable

The last we heard about the iPhone Fold, Apple's late-to-the-party entry into the foldable smartphone market, its official launch date had been pushed back, likely until the holiday season. Given a global memory chip shortage, analysts have warned that the company may not have enough supply to satisfy demand until 2027.

Still, iPhone Fold prototypes exist (or iPhone Ultra, if one report is to be believed — the dueling names being just one example of Apple exerting an unusual amount of lockdown). Cook may reason that it makes sense to wow us with an early look at one, and end that confusion about the name.

After all, that's what Steve Jobs did with the original iPhone: gave us a sneak peak in January 2007, long before the official summer launch.

The Jobs strategy would make sense here, given that Apple is already late to the foldable game — and is effectively leapfrogging competitors with its larger folding screen. Cook may also want to cement his association with the Fold/Ultra, given that he led the company during its development.

What better way to do that than to bring back, just this once, a Jobs-like "one more thing"? Ternus takes over on September 1, so any future iPhone Fold/Ultra launch event will be his baby. Does Cook want the world's first official look at the Fold/Ultra to be in Ternus' hands?

Then again, Cook's lack of ego has been one of the defining features of his tenure. So he may be perfectly fine letting his chief product guy take the credit (or, if the Fold/Ultra fails in any way, the fall).

Will the new AI Siri surprise us? Credit: Apple

During the Cook years, Apple has struggled with a delicate balancing act on the subject of AI. On the one hand, Cook is clearly a skeptic about the tech industry's tendency to overhype LLMs — and given that bombshell white papers coming out of Apple's research arm show plainly that even so-called reasoning models can't reason, he has every reason to think that way.

On the other hand, consumers have every right to expect that they could treat Siri, Apple's creaky old AI chatbot, like it has the intelligence of models like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini.

And that's what we're expecting to get: A Gemini-powered Siri voice assistant, along with a new Siri app and an AI agent app store, that fulfills the company's long-deferred promise of Apple Intelligence. Reportedly, you'll be able to choose third-party AI tools too.

Upgraded Siri will also likely feature in the camera app, offering editing options and other forms of "Visual Intelligence." And it will reportedly be ad-free and more focused on privacy than its AI rivals, with features like auto-deleting chat logs.

SEE ALSO: Siri’s big Google upgrade: What iPhone fans are waiting for

OK, but how does Cook (or Ternus) effectively demonstrate the AI power of the new Siri? Here the company may run into a boy-who-cried-wolf problem.

Thanks to Apple's, um, overly enthusiastic marketing after the original Apple Intelligence announcement, showcasing features that didn't exist, the company had to settle a class-action lawsuit.

How, then, can an ad within this keynote showcasing Apple Intelligence capabilities not give us skeptical vibes, even if they do exist this time around?

The biggest Siri surprise of all would be a live demo — but given that Apple hasn't done that in keynotes since 2019 (Cook went pre-recorded in 2020), don't hold your breath.

Will iOS 27 be lighter ... and less Liquid? Credit: Apple

The real star of the WWDC show, of course, is Apple's latest iteration of its signature iPhone operating system. But iOS 27 has more riding on it than most upgrades.

That's not just because of the new Siri, or the foldable software supposedly stuffed into iOS 27. It's because iOS 26 was a controversial upgrade, to say the least.

Reports of low adoption numbers turned out to be exaggerated. But the unease was undeniable. Many users expressed outrage on Reddit that iOS 26 felt like "bloatware" that slowed down the keyboard, among other features.

Most controversial of all: the Liquid Glass aesthetic that made app icons look like cheap gel stickers, as some saw it. Certainly the hurried departure of the design chief behind Liquid Glass doesn't suggest it was a hit inside the company.

So how different will iOS 27 look? Is the cool glowing animation promoting WWDC 2026, reportedly the Siri redesign hiding in plain sight, a harbinger of good things to come? Did Apple engineers spend the last year effectively filleting the bloat, or making it worse? Will it end support for the iPhone 11?

Join us on the series finale of Tim Cook's Apple keynotes to find out!

Ways to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup at a glance: Fox One (3-Month Subscription) $39.98 (save $19.99) Get Deal Fox One (Monthly Subscription) Free 3-day trial, then $19.99/month Get Deal Fox One (Prime Video Add-On) Free 3-day trial, then $19.99/month Get Deal YouTube TV Free 10-day trial, then $67.99/month for 3 months Get Deal Best Buy Essentials Ultra-Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna $24.99 Get Deal ESPN and Fox One Bundle $39.99/month (save $9.99/month) Get Deal

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the biggest edition of the global tournament to date and it's almost here.

Not only is it hosted by three different countries for the first time (United States, Mexico, Canada), but there's also more teams competing than ever. With 48 teams going head to head across 16 different host cities (11 in the U.S.), it's going to be absolutely epic.

Want to tune in live in the U.S.? Here's everything you need to know about streaming the 2026 World Cup at home.

When is the World Cup?

The 2026 World Cup tournament takes place from June 11 through July 19. The first day of tournament opens with live coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET as Mexico welcomes opponent South Africa.

The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) opener vs. Paraguay falls on June 12 in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET, but you can tune in three hours early for a pre-game special starting at 6 p.m. ET.

What channel are World Cup matches on in the U.S.?

The entirety of the 2026 FIFA World Cup — all 104 tournament matches — will be aired live on Fox and FS1 for those with cable access. A record 40 matches will air in primetime. That's over one third of the tournament.

"Our broadcast schedule affirms FOX is truly going to be America’s home for the beautiful game over a span of 39 incredible days," said Eric Shanks, CEO & Executive Producer, FOX Sports.

What streaming service has the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S.?

Lucky for soccer fans, Fox's own streaming service launched last year and now makes watching every match live in the 2026 World Cup tournament a breeze for cord-cutters. Previously, your only option for watching live Fox channels without cable was through a pay TV provider like YouTube TV or Fubo. Now, Fox One is your one-stop shop for the entire Fox TV portfolio, allowing you to stream live local Fox stations, as well as Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, and more.

Yes, that means a Fox One streaming subscription will grant you live access to all 104 FIFA World Cup matches in the U.S. It costs $19.99 per month after a free three-day trial and you can sign up directly through Fox or through Prime Video as an add-on network.

It's also worth noting that Peacock ($10.99/month) will be streaming all 104 World Cup matches, but only in Spanish. Plus, Tubi will be streaming the opening match on June 11 between Mexico and South Africa, as well as the USA's opening match against Paraguay on June 12, for free. All 102 other matches will require access to Fox.

Are there any Fox One streaming deals?

There aren't as many deals for Fox One as other streamers, but that doesn't mean there are zero. For a limited time, the streamer is offering a three-month subscription — perfect for watching the World Cup — for just $39.98. A $59.97 value, that essentially gets you a full month for free. The deal ends July 19.

Opens in a new window Credit: Fox One Fox One (3-Month Subscription) $39.98
$59.97 Save $19.99   Get Deal

You can also score Fox One for free if you sign up for Verizon home internet, if you happen to be in the market for a new provider. The only other real way you can save on a Fox One subscription is by signing up for an annual subscription or a bundle deal.

An annual Fox One subscription will cost you just $199.99. That's $39.88 cheaper than paying for 12 months individually. You can also bundle Fox One with ESPN Unlimited for the ultimate sports package for $39.99 per month, saving you $9.99 per month. If you want to watch more live sports than just the World Cup, these are both deals worth considering.

Opens in a new window Credit: Fox One Fox One (Annual Subscription) $199.99
$239.88 Save $39.89   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: ESPN / Fox One ESPN and Fox One Bundle $39.99/month (save $9.99/month) Get Deal More World Cup streaming options in the U.S.

If you want to watch the World Cup as well as other live sports this season, you could also opt for a cable replacement service like YouTube TV (10-day trial), Fubo (one-day trial), Hulu + Live TV (three-day trial), or Sling. These option will give you more than just Fox networks, but they'll also cost more. You could exhaust as many free trials as you see fit to make the most of your World Cup watching experience, but we'll leave that up to you. Just be sure to cancel before the trial is up or you'll be hit with a hefty monthly subscription cost.

Free live TV trials:

• YouTube TV — 10-day trial, then $67.99/month for 3 months

• Fubo Sports — 1-day trial, then $45.99/month for 1 months

• Hulu + Live TV — 3-day trial, then $89.99/month

You can also utilize a VPN to livestream the 2026 FIFA World Cup from anywhere in the world for free. Check out our worldwide watch guide for a deeper dive into which platforms and VPNs we recommend.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention digital antennas as an alternative way to watch. A digital antenna gives you access to your local Fox station (as well as CBS, NBC, and ABC) for free. As long as you live decently close to your local TV station broadcast towers, you'll be able to watch for free — just be sure to check the distance and range before making a purchase. You won't be able to watch FS1, but you'll be able to tune into 70 out of 104 matches on Fox.

Our friends at PCMag (which is owned by Mashable's publisher, Ziff Davis) have a few recommendations, including this basic one from Best Buy that retails for only $24.99. It's reversible to match your decor, multidirectional, and has a range of 50 miles.

Opens in a new window Credit: Best Buy Best Buy Essentials Ultra-Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna $24.99
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An advertiser paid for editorial consideration of this deal. Our editorial experts vetted the deal using their independent expertise. Because we determined that the deal will save money for the consumer, we wrote the content.

TL;DR: As of May 29, Mashable readers can get 55% off annual plans at Incogni by using the code MASHABLE at checkout.

Opens in a new window Credit: Incogni Incogni: 55% Off Annual Plans With Code MASHABLE   Get Deal

If you spend a lot of time online, whether it be for work or personal reasons, it's important to make sure your private information stays private. If you're worried that some of your information may be exposed, Incogni can help erase it and bulk up your online privacy.

And as of May 29, Mashable readers can score a 55% discount on Incogni annual plans by using code MASHABLE at checkout.

Incogni offers four different plans to choose from, depending on the type of protection you're looking for: Standard, Unlimited, Family, and Family Unlimited. Each provides you with automated data removal, but the Unlimited, Family, and Family Unlimited plans come with some extras if you want further removal or more people added in.

Here's what comes with each plan, and what this discount brings their annual prices down to:

Standard — $86.29 $191.76 (save $105.47)

• 420+ data broker sites covered

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• Everything from the Standard plan, plus:

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Family — $172.69 $383.76 (save $211.07)

• Everything from the Standard plan, plus:

• Up to five members

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Family Unlimited — $248.29 $551.76 (save $303.47)

• Everything from the Standard plan, plus:

• 2,000+ additional sites covered

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Incogni is helpful for targeting numerous online threats by getting rid of your personal data online. If there's been a data breach at a website you frequently use, it can help prevent your personal information from being recirculated. It can also help put a stop to cybercriminals who target you with annoying things like phishing emails or scam calls. In general, it's reassuring knowing your personal information isn't just floating around the internet.

If one of the plans above suits the kind of coverage and removal you're looking for, don't miss out on this excellent opportunity to get 55% off annual plans at Incogni by using the code MASHABLE at checkout.

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

TL;DR: Visual Studio Pro 2026 is Microsoft’s latest IDE, and a lifetime license is on sale for $35 through May 31.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 $34.97
$499.99 Save $465.02   Get Deal

Developer tool subscriptions aren’t cheap. Visual Studio Professional through Microsoft’s standard licensing runs hundreds of dollars a year, and that’s before you factor in the cost of other tools in a typical dev stack, but that’s also not your only option anymore. A lifetime license for Visual Studio Professional 2026 cuts that recurring cost down to a single payment, and it’s on sale for $34.97 right now (reg. $499.99).

Visual Studio Pro 2026 gives you the tools to write code faster and catch problems earlier, with AI doing a lot of the work that used to slow you down. IntelliCode reads your codebase and completes entire lines or blocks based on patterns learned from your own code, not generic suggestions. AI-assisted refactoring cuts down on boilerplate and flags bugs before they compound. CodeLens surfaces recent changes, commit history, test results, and references directly in the editor, so you always know what’s happening in your codebase without jumping between windows.

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

For teams, Live Share is one of the more practical collaboration features available in any IDE. Teammates can join a session, edit, and debug in real time without cloning the repo or setting up their own environment. Access controls and personalized settings keep things organized, whether you’re doing code reviews, pair programming, or bringing someone new up to speed.

The build capabilities are broad. Visual Studio 2026 handles .NET and C++ apps targeting Windows, Linux, and containers, with cross-platform mobile and desktop through .NET MAUI and responsive web UIs via Blazor. Hot reload applies code changes to running apps without restarting, which saves real time across a workday. Azure, GitHub, and other DevOps workflows are integrated directly.

There’s no reason to keep paying hundreds to license a tool you can own outright.

Until May 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can get a Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2026 lifetime license for just $35.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Lock in 100TB of permanent space with this lifetime subscription to Internxt Cloud Storage, on sale now for $974.97 (reg. $9,900) through May 31.

Opens in a new window Credit: Internxt Internxt Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription: 100TB $974.97
$9,900 Save $8,925.03   Get Deal

What happens when our digital lives outgrow our smartphones and laptops? If you’re tired of paying a small fortune renting space from a cloud storage service month after month, it’s time to check out something more permanent.

Internxt Cloud Storage lets you own your storage space, and right now you can lock in 100TB for life for just $974.97 — less than the cost of renting 12TB of iCloud storage for 18 months.

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

Whether you’re the resident family photographer or you’ve simply amassed a massive digital library over the years, the need for cloud storage will continue to grow. If you’re looking for a more permanent solution, it’s Internxt Cloud Storage.

With an ample 100TB of space, Internxt Cloud Storage provides storage you can grow into. Not only does it give you plenty of space, but they also make sure your data is secure. Internxt’s end-to-end encryption means that not even the company itself can see your files, a far cry from competitors who not only access but also profit from your data.

Internxt is GDPR-compliant, audited, and verified by Securitum. It’s also open-source, with the code available on GitHub whenever you want to access it.

Transferring your data from your existing cloud storage provider is a breeze, with Internxt offering cross-platform compatibility that lets you store, share, and send from any device or operating system. You can also take advantage of the apps available for Android, iOS, web browsers, and desktop.

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As AI gets integrated into every facet of our lives, AI hallucinations remain a stubborn and intractable problem. Yet in the two-hour Google I/O keynote, where Google introduced a massive expansion of AI search and a new default model, Gemini 3.5 Flash, hallucinations didn't warrant a mention.

Likewise, the Gemini 3.5 Flash system card contains no references to hallucinations. Sycophancy is also conspicuously absent. This is especially notable given that both Anthropic and OpenAI publicly report data on metrics such as how often their models hallucinate, encourage delusions, or act sycophantically.

So, as Google makes AI Mode and AI Overviews even more visible in Google Search, users may not realize just how likely an answer is to contain hallucinations and confident mistakes.

Google AI tools do sometimes include warnings such as "AI responses may include mistakes." But there’s no disclosure to searchers that Gemini and AI Mode responses may only be accurate 68.8 to 83.8 percent of the time.

Those are the results from Google's most recent data on Gemini accuracy.

In response to Mashable's questions, a Google spokesperson said that the company plans to publish more information about the newest models' safety evaluations alongside the release of the rest of the Gemini 3.5 model series, which is expected in June.

Credit: Google How accurate is Gemini, AI Mode, and AI Overviews? It's at the top of a failing class.

Google doesn’t report the honesty, sycophancy, or hallucination rates of its latest models. However, in December, it published a study of their accuracy based on the FACTS Grounding test, a benchmark created by Google DeepMind to measure accuracy.

FACTS "comprehensively evaluates the ability of language models to generate factually accurate text," and Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 2.5 Pro top this benchmark.

Google reports that Gemini 3 Pro has an overall accuracy score of 68.8. In many classrooms, this would be a hard "F" grade, though it's considered a high score for an AI model.

On the FACTS Search benchmark, which measures a model’s skill at "generating factual responses by interacting with a search tool," Gemini 3 Pro scores 83.8 percent.

Credit: Google

The FACTS Search benchmark also measures models' "hedging rate," or how often they decline to answer a question, which is the desired outcome when an answer is unknown. Gemini 3 Pro has a significantly lower "hedging rate" than GPT-5, Claude 4.5 Opus, Claude 4.5 Sonnet, and even its predecessor Gemini 2.5 Pro. 

What does Google say about AI hallucinations?

A single reference to hallucinations does appear in the Gemini 3 Pro system card published on Nov. 18, 2025. "Known Limitations: Gemini 3 Pro may exhibit some of the general limitations of foundation models, such as hallucinations. There may also be occasional slowness or timeout issues."

This boilerplate language is similar to what’s included in the Gemini 2 series system cards, which acknowledge additional problems. “Gemini 2.0 Flash may exhibit some of the general limitations of foundation models, such as hallucinations, and limitations around causal understanding, complex logical deduction, and counterfactual reasoning.” (Emphasis added.)

Hallucinations are actually a feature, not a bug, of the way large-language models work. They're probabilistic algorithms predicting the next token in a sequence. By definition, they're predicting, not "knowing" or "reporting."

"Hallucinations can only be reduced and never eliminated,” Niranjan Krishnan, Head of AI Solutions, FPT Software, told Mashable. "Large language models are penalized if they sound uncertain or tentative. They don’t know what’s true, but know how to sound true. That bias drives confident errors. Models don’t know their limitations and do not know when to stop."

Krishnan added, "Trying to eliminate hallucinations is the wrong goal. The ultimate challenge is building systems that know when to say, 'I don’t know.'"

“I think users are entitled to that information, especially considering the fact that if you're using an AI chatbot, for example, like Claude or ChatGPT, you're opting into that experience...But when you're on Google, not everyone opts into getting an AI Overview, or engaging with AI mode. They're opening up a search engine that they've always used, and now the experience is different." - Klaudia Jaźwińska, Tow Center for Digital Journalism

So, why doesn't Google report hallucination or sycophancy rates like its chief rivals?

Gary Marcus, scientist, author, and the AI Cassandra of Silicon Valley, told Mashable that "One could guess that their performance there wasn’t groundbreaking or we would have likely heard about it." He added, "Some candor about these things, as with nutrition labels, would certainly be a good thing."

By ignoring AI hallucinations, Google is depriving users of information they could use to evaluate AI output.

Mashable reached out to Google to ask about the lack of hallucination data in the Gemini system cards. In response, a Google spokesperson said, "We take a rigorous approach to defining and measuring persona attributes like helpfulness, tone, and sycophancy. Our goal is to train models to provide objective, direct responses that avoid flattery or simply mirroring a user's views, while keeping the system highly steerable for developers."

The spokesperson also said:

Improving model factuality and managing persona are ongoing, scientific efforts for us. While balancing a model's creativity with factual accuracy remains an industry-wide challenge, hallucination rates have steadily fallen as core model capabilities advance...To continuously guard against incorrect outputs, we invest heavily in robust safety policies, pioneering automated quality-check systems like FunSearch, and open-source evaluation benchmarks like FACTS Grounding to track and improve factual accuracy over time. 

Why does this matter?

Billions of people rely on Google to find information on everything from random celebrity trivia to life-altering medical diagnoses. And Google has long said it looks for expertise, authority, experience, and trustworthiness (or E-E-A-T in Google jargon) for "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL) topics.

These YMYL topics include anything "that could significantly impact the health, financial stability, or safety of people, or the welfare or well-being of society." Now, users are learning about these topics directly in Google Search or the Gemini app, a tool that's only accurate up to 83.8 percent of the time.

AI hallucinations are also poisoning our collective body of knowledge. Fortune recently reported on a study that found 4,000 AI-fabricated references in nearly 3,000 medical research papers. Likewise, lawyers around the world are being sanctioned for including hallucinated decisions in their briefs. One database tracking legal hallucinations includes 1,497 cases and counting.

Google's AI transformation is also having an outsized impact on the publishers who produce the information that Gemini relies on.

As Google has shifted to AI search, traffic to news websites has fallen off a cliff, a phenomenon that’s been described as a “Traffic Apocalypse” and the "AI armageddon" for publishers.

Once upon a time, back when Google prided itself on its "Don't be evil" ethos, the company defined success by how quickly users left Google. "We may be the only people in the world who can say our goal is to have people leave our website as quickly as possible." Now, Google wants users to spend as much time as possible in its walled garden.

To be clear, all of the actual reporting — the interviews, the research, the photography, the videography, and the old-fashioned sleuthing — is still performed by human journalists. But instead of leaving Google to read about the Iran War in the New York Times, Gemini and AI Mode will brief you right on the search page.

In any other context, journalists call this plagiarism. And as Mashable has reported previously, AI chatbots like Gemini are particularly bad at parsing breaking news, which is when misinformation spreads quickly.

Klaudia Jaźwińska, a journalist and researcher for the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, told Mashable that Google should do more to inform users of its AI's limitations.

“I think users are entitled to that information, especially considering the fact that if you're using an AI chatbot, for example, like Claude or ChatGPT, you're opting into that experience,” Jaźwińska said. “But when you're on Google, not everyone opts into getting an AI Overview or engaging with AI mode. They're opening up a search engine that they've always used, and now the experience is different. And I think for that reason [Google] should be even more transparent about what it can and can't do and what its limitations are.”

In the absence of regulation on AI safety and transparency, Google could commit to publishing data on Gemini's hallucination, sycophacy, or honesty rates, as OpenAI and Anthropic do.

In the meantime, don't forget what Google says in its AI terms of service: "Use discretion before relying on, publishing, or otherwise using content provided by the Services."

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

After a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and a stint in theaters, The Moment is coming to HBO Max. But what can fans of Charli XCX expect from this comedy that's masquerading as a documentary?

First off, let's not flat-out call this a "mockumentary." While that's not the wrong term for writer/director Aidan Zamiri's film, the popularity of the term typically used for Christopher Guest parodies and The Office might have moviegoers expecting a comedic romp. The Moment is far more dry and cutting than wacky. But make no mistake, it's awesome. 

The British singer/songwriter who redefined "brat" plays herself in a compelling, often unvarnished look at what it means to achieve massive fame at breakneck speed. Beginning in September 2024, The Moment kicks off at the tail end of "brat summer."

With her sixth studio album becoming a massive hit that inspires memes, TikTok dances, and controversy, Charli XCX has her first arena tour ahead of her, pinned to brat. An eye-jittering montage of news clips and internet videos is intercut with flashing neon-colored production company logos, and Charli thrashing around in a feral dance under strobe lights. Right off, Zamiri captures the nonstop energy that is this 365 party girl's image. But once the montage stops, The Moment pauses on Charli, who practically collapses from her dance when "Cut!" is called. Just like that, she goes from fantasy to reality, and she's utterly exhausted. 

What's The Moment about?  Charli XCX and Alexander Skarsgård star in "The Moment." Credit: A24

Charli XCX is credited with the original story behind Zamiri and Bertie Brandes' screenplay, which follows the pop star through business deals, meet-and-greets, and tour rehearsals to a last-minute retreat to Ibiza, and onto the stage. Now, plenty of musicians have allowed camera crews behind the scenes for concert docs that reveal the human frailty behind the epic shows. But The Moment has more in common with St. Vincent's The Nowhere Inn, a 2020 mockumentary/psychological thriller that blended fact and fiction to explore the strangeness of being famous for your music. 

The plot of The Moment is Charli prepping for the tour, initially eager to collaborate with her trusted creative director, Celeste (Hailey Benton Gates), who envisions each show turning the arenas into a nightclub, complete with strobe lights and flashing graphics that include the word "cunt." However, this hard party energy clashes with the vision of documentarian Johannes (Alexander Skarsgård), who's been hired by a snarling record exec (Rosanna Arquette) to make the brat moment last forever with a concert doc that'll appeal to the mainstream and "dads."

This battle for creative control seems simple at first. Everyone from those above to Charli's timid manager Tim (Jamie Demetriou), her make-up artist Molly (Kate Berlant), and her famous friends, like Rachel Sennott (playing a comically shallow version of herself) insist Charli has the final say. But as pressure from the record company grows more intense, Charli realizes how little power she actually has, and struggles to make sense of what's best for her and brat. 

Far from finger-wagging or self-pitying, The Moment is electrifying.  Charli XCX takes a call in "The Moment." Credit: A24

The faux documentary Zamiri has made is not presented as Johannes' concert doc. That faux documentarian is an antagonist to Charli, pushing her to change her image, her signature green color, and even "brat" itself, daring to capitalize the B. 

Yet within the film's logic, it's unclear whose movie we're watching. The camera crew and director stay out of frame. However, through the persistent strobe effects — which mirror the opening title cards and Celeste's vision for the brat tour — it seems the film is from Charli's perspective, even as she is intruded upon. The cameras invade squabbles with Charli's team, doing cocaine in a nightclub bathroom, and an emotional breakdown in a private resort. And whereas in a narrative film people would ignore the camera, those around Charli look right into the lens, audibly alarmed. The pop star doesn't look, implying that Charli has gotten so used to being watched that she doesn't even notice them anymore. 

This reflects the message at the core of The Moment. In a tearful phone message, Charli recounts how she made brat the way she wanted to. It was hers, and now everyone else acts as if it is theirs, as if she is theirs, and as if they are entitled to tell her what to do next. 

Rather than enjoying the success she dreamed of, she's being relentlessly pushed to make big decisions. Will brat define her for life? Will she cling to it or let it go to look for something new? Will it be destroyed by capitalism's insistence on making all art into a commercial opportunity? 

And yet, Charli is not painted as a pitiable victim of her own success or a noble heroine for creative freedom. The portrait she and Zamiri offer is more complicated and refreshing. She shares personal insecurities about her hair and body, showing herself flushed and without make-up next to a meticulously made-up Kylie Jenner, who is in a bikini to boot. Beyond creating space for the venting of her frustrations, The Moment also shines a light on the bad calls made when caving to studio pressure. Thus, Charli demystifies the glory of being a pop star by uncovering some unflattering truths about commercial compromise, even when you are the moment.

The Moment has a dry, razor-sharp wit.  Rachel Sennott plays herself in "The Moment." Credit: A24

Not a romp or a laugh fest, this is the kind of movie where a laugh escapes you like a gasp or a scream, booming and deliciously surprising. There's cringe humor, like Sennott's scene, which plays like her HBO Max satire, I Love L.A., probing a particularly venal element of self-promotion. There are inside jokes that will only hit for Charli's fans, like a brief but biting appearance from Julia Fox as herself. For his part, Skarsgård is frightfully convincing as a faux-feminist douchebag. Then, there's Gates, whose bristled creative director is wickedly funny in her rage. Her delivery of the phrase "metaphorical cocaine" is sublimely absurd. 

Rather than broadly skewering the rich and famous, The Moment shrewdly targets the corporate side of making art for a living. Through celebrity cameos, a succinct yet riveting story, earnest emotion, and biting humor, Charli XCX's mockumentary captures something real about the battle of art versus commerce. How does one hold onto themselves when hit by an avalanche of more, more, more, for better or worse? The Moment shows one answer, urging audiences to find their own.

The Moment is streaming on HBO Max.

UPDATE: May. 27, 2026, 2:12 p.m. EDT "The Moment" was reviewed out of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. This article was originally published Jan. 30, 2026, and has been updated to include current viewing options.

TL;DR: The new Motorola Razr Fold is available for free with T-Mobile. Claim this offer by activating a new line on Experience Beyond.

Opens in a new window Credit: Motorola Motorola Razr Fold Free when you activate a new line on Experience Beyond. Shop Now

Foldable phones are taking over in 2026. We've seen plenty of rumors about a potential iPhone Fold, but for now, the focus is firmly on the new Motorola Razr Fold.

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to make the jump, T-Mobile has launched an enticing offer on this brand-new handset. For a limited time, the Motorola Razr Fold is free with T-Mobile. Yes, you read that correctly. To qualify, all you need to do is activate a new line on Experience Beyond. There's no trade-in required for this offer.

Before claiming this deal for yourself, it’s important to understand the contractual small print. T-Mobile doesn't simply hand over a $1,700 smartphone. Instead, the full retail value of the phone is financed across 24 consecutive monthly statements. Each month, T-Mobile applies an equal promotional bill credit that brings your device charge down to $0.

If you decide to close your account, switch networks, or pay off the phone early to upgrade to whatever comes next from the world of folding phones, the remaining unpaid balance will be due immediately.

You will also need to pay taxes and a $35 activation fee, but that's always the case with these "free deals." Does that make this phone totally free? We guess not, but it's a grey area.

Score the Motorola Razr Fold for free with this latest offer from T-Mobile.

I wasn't prepared for Pressure. Walking into the World War II drama, which stars Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser, I knew it was about the lead up to D-Day. As such, I braced myself for a serious, stiff-upper-lip drama about soldiers and the cruelty of war. And it's not that Pressure isn't about those things. Rather, adapted from David Haig's 2014 stage play of the same name, Pressure comes from an unexpected angle in exploring war strategy.

Andrew Scott stars as Group Captain James Stagg, a Scottish meteorologist for the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, who was assigned to aid American ally General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) by figuring out the forecast for the beaches of Normandy for D-Day.

Now, you might be thinking that weather and war don't sound like rich terrain for laughs. But Pressure's humor comes from the crackling cultural conflict between this no-nonsense Scot and the American general in desperate need of a sunny day.

Pressure is as much about social pressure as it is weather and war. Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott in "Pressure." Credit: Alex Bailey / Focus Features / STUDIOCANAL

Pressure begins with bloodshed in 1944. Before the Allies carried out the biggest seaborne invasion in history (aka D-Day), there was a test run known as Operation Tiger, which failed miserably. Pressure begins in the immediate aftermath of this disastrous exercise, where a boyish young man in uniform stares blankly into the sky, blood washing around his prone body as the tide comes in.

Up and down the beach, there's a scramble among the survivors to aid whatever soldiers may be saved. Eisenhower looks on, stricken, cursing under his breath. With one brief yet brutal scene, director Anthony Maras, who adapted the screenplay with playwright David Haig, has succinctly established the life-or-death stakes of planning an invasion.

Six weeks later, Eisenhower is in a remote country estate filled with U.S. and UK military, all planning to launch D-Day in 72 hours. The fatal failure of Operation Tiger hangs over him, whether he's being barked at by a brash British field marshal (Damian Lewis), cajoled by his Irish aide, Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon), or placated by the American's lead meteorologist, Irving Krick (Chris Messina).

While the energy of these allies ranges from stern to abrasive, patient to bombastic, they're all pushing for D-Day to launch on Monday morning. Then, on a Friday arrives Stagg, who warns major storms could sink D-Day out the gate.

Introduced in his home in the midst of a cozy morning ritual, Stagg prepares breakfast for his very pregnant wife (Tamsin Topolski), gently assuring her he has time for this bit of intimacy. He is a man of few words, and this will come to frustrate his colleagues as the pressure builds. No sooner does he reach the estate than he's making curt commands. He points out errors in his men's work, dismisses the directives of another meteorologist, and is visibly vexed to discover Summersby in his office.

To borrow from reality TV, Stagg is not here to make friends; he's on mission. Like in Conclave, another excellent Focus Features release, there's a brilliant humor that erupts when this very serious setting collides with cutting replies to arrogance.

Krick is Stagg's foil, a suave American who literally performs a lively song and dance ("Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy") to amuse his troops. Stagg, by contrast, demands the piano be taken away, and literally hits a bad note when slamming its cover closed.

Where others swoon over Krick's easy-going attitude, name-dropping stories, and retellings of professional glory, Stagg simply stares, seeming to resent the wasting of time. Later, when arguing against Krick's proposed forecast of beautiful sunny weather, Stagg flatly calls the man "moronic." And when Krick complains that Stagg is insulting him to his face, Stagg responds sharply, "I'm not insulting you. I'm describing you."

In this ruthless honesty, there's an exciting — and yes, funny — rejection of social norms. And maybe even the thrill of vicariously being so good at your job that you don't need a charm offensive to be heard.

Pressure is competency porn. Andrew Scott and Chris Messina in "Pressure." Credit: Alex Bailey / Focus Features / STUDIOCANAL

Fun fact: I'm the person who introduced this bit of slang to Pressure's leading men. In an interview with Scott and Fraser, I explained how Pressure reminded me of HBO Max's hit series The Pitt, because both feature people who are so dedicated to their work, and so skilled at it, that it's deeply — almost orgasmically — satisfying to watch.

Featured Video For You Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser talk 'Pressure' and competency porn

While it's tempting to flatten Eisenhower, Krick, Summersby, and Stagg into symbols to make them broader critiques of American attitudes versus British ones, Pressure bristles against such simplicity. For one thing, Stagg is Scottish, Summersby is Irish, and Eisenhower and Krick are two very different representations of American masculinity. The former is a tall, stern man, haunted by his failures. The other is a dynamic hero, held up by his wins and charm.

Looking at the two of them, it's tempting to think Krick gives Eisenhower the sunny forecast to please him. But in Messina's intensity opposite Stagg, it's easier to believe that a soldier with so many victories may be blind to his own potential defeat. None of these people are stupid or lazy or incompetent. But, as Stagg declares almost as soon as he arrives, it's incredibly difficult to determine the weather in Northern Europe for sure, more than 24 hours in advance. No matter how much these military leaders want the answer to be something else, Stagg won't bend on being certain.

Here's where the tension becomes satisfying and humane. This is not one man's battle to be heard in a realm where he's surrounded by fools. Pressure presents people who are the best at what they do. Their forces combined, we might think it's easy to see how D-Day was a success, marking a major turning point in World War II. But Stagg, staunch and soft-spoken, is like a mountain, unmovable as he reminds them that nature, that science, cannot be bellowed at or bullied into submission.

There's a glint in Eisenhower's eyes that reminds us of the dying boy on the beach without the need of a flashback. The stakes are clear. It's electrifying to witness humans who are determined to do the hard, right thing, while having to face that we're not as in control of the world as we wish to be. So, who will make the tough call, stay or go?

Andrew Scott is remarkable in Pressure. Andrew Scott and Kerry Condon in "Pressure." Credit: Alex Bailey / Focus Features / STUDIOCANAL

There's an incredible restraint in Scott's performance that allows the humor to reverberate without feeling forced. It's not that Stagg is trying to be funny or cutting. Scott gives no wink or smile to suggest Stagg enjoys dressing down Krick (though who could blame him?).

Whether caressing his wife or arguing his position against the towering wrath of Eisenhower, Stagg is a man who values time and truth above all else, and so will waste none of the former with a denial of the latter. Because Messina's boogie woogie American is scripted as the dashing dynamo, Scott suppresses the sultriness and mischievousness that made fans of Fleabag and Sherlock go wild. He holds in the throbbing heartache that made All of Us Strangers radiant in its grief, and the anchoring empathy of Blue Moon. He plays none of the biting barbs as punchlines or reads. Resolute and restrained, he is nonetheless riveting, perhaps especially as Stagg's anti-social tendencies irk those around him.

Maras smartly sets Stagg apart from his peers with a hint of color. Cheers to Maras and his cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay for rejecting the contemporary obsession for desaturated palettes. In Pressure, a rich saturation brings depth to ornate rooms filled with soldiers in brown, khaki, and more brown. Flesh is allowed to flush red in frustration. But most notably, Stagg, in a crisp blue dress shirt, is visually in opposition to the troop of brown around him. Even in a group shot, even with his back turned, this simple choice of embracing color and a simple choice from costumer Liza Bracey, makes him stand out. Perhaps to remind us of how he feels alone in this fight. Or perhaps, stripped down from his dress jacket in moments of high stress, this blue shirt is meant remind us that these icons of history are also just men, as flawed and fearful as they may be revered and brave.

Created with care and great humanity, Pressure explores the hard work, intense co-operation, and tricky social dance of warfare, in a way that is enlightening and entertaining. Maras is respectful without ever falling prey to a stony reverence that would make his characters statues instead of people. Fraser is committed and suitably stern as Eisenhower. Condon balances warmth and clarity as the middleman between Eisenhower and Stagg. Messina is delightfully smarmy. Along with Scott, they create portraits that don't feel stiff, but are pulsating, precious, and alive.

Pressure is outstanding cinema, propelled by passion, intellect, and spirit. Don't overlook it.

Pressure opens in theaters May 29.

Hooking up is hard enough as it is. And that's before you've thrown in the minefield of online dating and all its nuances into the mix.

It adds all kinds of complications around app etiquette, how to know when you're vibing, and how to move offline. Not to mention concerns over protecting your digital privacy. And yet, people repeatedly sabotage their own chances of success with common online dating mistakes — which can prevent you from finding that all-important match.

If you're a loyal AdultFriendFinder user and want to use the site safely and effectively, here are three things we recommend you should keep off your profile.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdultFriendFinder AdultFriendFinder   Learn More Public-facing NSFW content

AdultFriendFinder is very permissive when it comes to NSFW content — you could even say it's kinda the whole point of AFF — and many of its members take advantage of this freedom by posting explicit material upfront. That said, we advise against it, especially if you also plan on sharing pictures or videos of your face.

Always use non-nude content for your profile photos. Because once you post naked content online, you lose all control over it – where it ends up and what it gets used for. That doesn't mean you can't share nudes, but there are more private ways to bare all.

SEE ALSO: Adult Friend Finder vs. Tinder: How they compare as hookup apps

It's not just a matter of your own safety but also the impression you give. While some people will be turned on by upfront nudity, others may be put off. So, if you want to maximize your chances at making a connection, you're better off leaving something to the imagination. You finding other subtler ways to be sexually suggestive.

Unnecessary personal information

Oversharing is another major security concern that people can overlook. No, your potential hookups don't need to know what you do for a living, at least not from from just scanning your profile, and they certainly don't need to know specifics about your employer, your address, or your marital situation. 

SEE ALSO: All your Hinge questions, answered

Think very hard about what you choose to share and how certain information can lead back to you or even compromise you in the wrong hands. It's not that every person you meet on AFF will be a bad actor — chances are, most of your interactions will be totally genuine — but this is the internet we're talking about here and there are bad actors all over it, just waiting to strike.

Online safety 101: Share the bare minimum, and if you do choose to open up to a specific person, make sure you've vetted them and that they are who they say they are. There are common sense rules that you can follow.

Sexual boasting

Hookup sites in general, and AdultFriendFinder in particular, can be littered with profiles bragging about their sexual prowess, often in very crude terms (mostly men in our experience).

We understand the impulse to boast, especially when you're trying to connect with another human being on a sexual level, and in an environment centered on sex, but bragging is just a turn-off. Take note, fellas, and save your sexual boasting for one-on-one convos after a rapport has been established and you have a sense of the other person's turn-ons.