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SAVE $400: The Antigravity A1 360 drone bundle is on sale at Amazon for $1,199, down from the normal price of $1,599. That's a 25% discount and the lowest price we've ever seen at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Antigravity Antigravity A1 360 drone standard bundle $1,199 at Amazon
$1,599 Save $400   Get Deal

For so many reasons, owning a top-tier drone and being proficient in flying it is a great skill. Checking out the neighborhood, getting real-estate footage, or content for TikTok are just a few of the reasons why someone would want a drone. If you've been shopping for a drone other than a DJI, check out this Amazon deal.

As of Aug. 17, the Antigravity A1 360 drone bundle is on sale at Amazon for $1,199, down from the normal price of $1,599. That's a 25% discount and the lowest price we've ever seen at Amazon.

You know you're in good hands with an Antigravity drone since the brand is an offshoot of Insta360, one of the premier 360-degree camera companies. Adam Doud reviewed the Antigravity A1 drone for Mashable and noted the high price point as one of the only negatives. Otherwise, he wrote, "While most drones are cameras that you can fly, the Antigravity A1 is a 360-degree camera that you can fly."

Doud also mentions the immersive googles are a big benefit with this Antigravity model, as is the remote control. Unlike most drones, the Antigravity eliminates the need to both fly the drone and point the camera in the direction of the footage you'd like to capture. Since the Antigravity A1 films in 360-degrees, you get to pick your content later.

SEE ALSO: Best Buy is turning 60: Celebrate with massive weeklong deals on iPads, laptops, and TVs

On that note, Doud explained, "As a content creator, all you have to focus on is putting the drone near the event you want to capture, and it takes care of the rest."

Since it's sitting at the lowest price we've seen at Amazon, now might be a great time to upgrade to the Antigravity A1 360 drone bundle. There's still plenty of nice fall weather to spend becoming an expert on this drone.

SAVE 24%: As of Aug. 17, you can get the DJI Mini 3 for $319, down from $419, at Amazon. That's a 24% discount, or $100 in savings.

DJI Mini 3 $319 at Amazon
$419 Save $100   Get Deal at Amazon Get Deal at Best Buy

Becoming a drone enthusiast is an admirable, albeit expensive, hobby. But that doesn't mean you should put your dream of piloting on the shelf. Sometimes, you can find a really good deal on drones at Amazon (granted, you have to be careful about who you buy from — beware of third-party sellers!).

SEE ALSO: The FCC banned foreign routers, drones, robots: What it means for you

Right now, DJI has its Mini 3 drone on sale for $319, down from $419, at Amazon. That's a 24% discount, or $100 in savings. It's not the lowest we've seen for this model, but we can't really expect holiday-level prices in August. So, this is the best deal you're going to get on this drone right now.

The DJI Mini 3 is ideal for first-time fliers. It's so light (under 249 grams) that you don't have to register it with the FAA or use a Remote ID if you're just flying it for recreational purposes. It also has a 3-axis gimbal, captures 4K HDR video, and offers 38 minutes of battery life. Add in its Level 5 wind resistance and up to 10km of HD video transmission, and this little guy is ready to go on just about any adventure you have planned.

Windows gets blamed a lot for high RAM usage, and sometimes that's fair. However, if you've ever watched Task Manager fill up with processes from Slack, Discord, and VS Code all running at the same time, the operating system isn't really the culprit. Those are Electron apps, and each one quietly loads an entire browser engine into memory just to run a chat window or a code editor and eats up RAM.

In the battle of the giant Halloween animatronics, Lowe's comes out on top this year.

The home improvement retailer's 2026 Halloween collection includes a new $429 Talking Lighted Skeleton Watcher hoisting its skull 15 feet in the air, complete with LED eyes, side-to-side movements, and spooky voice lines. It's the biggest Halloween prop on the market this season, standing even taller than "Skelly," the Home Depot's viral 12-foot skeleton. (The Home Depot previously sold a 15-foot Worricrow and Galli-Crow for $399 each, but didn't revive them for 2026.)

As of Aug. 17, the Lowe's full Halloween collection of animatronics, inflatables, and decorations is now live. A company rep told Mashable that most of the collection will be available both in stores and online. Each item's product page shows its availability based on the shopper's location, they said.

Shop Lowe's 2026 Halloween collection: Haunted Living 15-ft Talking Lighted Skeleton Watcher Motion Activated Animatronic $429 Shop Now Haunted Living 7-ft Lighted Reaper Band Singer Motion Activated Animatronic $299 Shop Now Haunted Living 6-ft Motion Activated Ice Scream Skeleton Animatronic $269 Shop Now Haunted Living 6-ft Motion Activated Talking Lighted Witch Animatronic $129 Shop Now Haunted Living 5.9-ft Lighted Motion Activated Rotton Candy Girl Halloween Animatronic $299 Shop Now Haunted Living 5.7-ft Motion Activated Bluetooth DJ Lighted Skeleton Animatronic $299 Shop Now Haunted Living 4-ft Motion Activated Howling Lighted Dragon Halloween Animatronic $199 Shop Now Disney 4-ft Motion Activated Minnie Mouse Mummy Halloween Animatronic $199 Shop Now Disney 3-ft The Haunted Mansion Big Jake Dog Blow Mold Tombstone $69.98 Shop Now Bluey 3-ft Lighted Bluey Witch Halloween Inflatable $34.98 Shop Now

Other additions to this year's Lowe's Halloween lineup include a Bluey Witch inflatable, a 5.7-foot skeleton DJ, a rockin'-out reaper band, a four-foot Howling Lighted Dragon, and several creepy clowns. There's also a new Disney collection featuring talking animatronics of movie characters, like Monsters, Inc.'s Mike Wazowski, plus replicas of tombstones from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride. Prices start around $30.

Like the Home Depot's rivaling props, Lowe's Halloween offerings will probably sell out quickly. At the time of writing, only 111 Watchers were left in stock for shipping. One Haunted Mansion tombstone, a nine-foot Gaslight Ghoul animatronic, and a three-foot Growling Lighted Werewolf animatronic were already out of stock online.

For its part, Home Depot launched its own Halloween collection in mid-July. Summer Halloween drops might sound premature, but research shows that consumers have a healthy appetite for early shopping. According to the National Retail Federation's 2025 Halloween spending survey, almost half of Halloween shoppers began buying décor and costumes before October last year. Respondents cited their excitement for fall, love of the holiday, FOMO, and desire "to avoid the stress of last-minute shopping" as the reasons for their proactivity, said the NRF.

People aren’t exactly thrilled about Flock’s growing surveillance network. Communities are canceling contracts, protesters are taking down cameras in increasingly creative ways, and activists have built a crowdsourced map showing where the devices are hiding in plain sight. Even Flock has announced new privacy restrictions as the backlash grows.

Now, drivers can search some of those records for themselves.

A website called Have I Been Flocked? lets you enter your license plate number and check whether it appears in publicly released records of searches conducted through Flock Safety’s system. As of Aug. 17, the website had compiled nearly 242 million searches involving more than 4.6 million plates.

The need for that kind of transparency isn’t hypothetical. A recent Washington Post investigation found that at least 50 law enforcement officers had been charged with or accused of misusing license plate readers, including to stalk women without their knowledge or consent.

The concerns extend beyond individual officers. Public records reviewed by 404 Media documented more than 4,000 Flock searches conducted by local and state police at the request of federal officials, as informal favors, or for potentially immigration-related purposes. Flock says ICE cannot directly access its system, but the records show how local agencies can search the network on the federal government’s behalf.

Have I Been Flocked? won’t reveal everything Flock knows about your car, and finding a match doesn’t necessarily mean you were investigated. Nevertheless, here's how to run a search — and understand what the results actually mean.

How to check whether your license plate was searched

Go to HaveIBeenFlocked.com, enter your license plate number in the search box, and click “Search.”

If your plate appears in the database, the results may include when it was searched, the agency associated with the query, the person who conducted it, and the reason provided for looking up the plate. Some of that information may be incomplete or redacted.

The website is part of Footnote4a, an independent editorial project focused on mass surveillance and government contracts. Its database is built from Flock audit logs released by local governments through transparency portals or obtained through public records requests.

Those audit logs document searches made within Flock’s system. According to the website's FAQ, the license plate and stated reason shown in the results are information that a Flock operator manually entered.

What does it mean if your plate appears?

A match means a Flock user queried the company’s database for that license plate. It does not necessarily mean that your car was stopped, that you were suspected of committing a crime, or that you were formally investigated.

The person conducting the search may have been a police officer, but the website notes that not every Flock user is a member of law enforcement. Businesses, schools, homeowners associations, and other private organizations also use Flock’s technology.

The reason listed alongside a result may provide more context. An operator could say the search was related to a stolen vehicle, traffic stop, missing person, or another investigation. However, because users supply those explanations themselves, they should not be treated as an independent account of what happened.

The website also does not show whether the search produced a match inside Flock’s system or reveal exactly what the operator saw.

No result doesn’t mean you haven’t been searched

Have I Been Flocked? has collected hundreds of millions of records, but its database is still incomplete.

The project depends on public records released by individual government agencies, and relatively few make their complete Flock audit logs easily available. The records that are released can also be heavily redacted or out of date.

"There can be a significant delay — months or even years — between when a search occurs and when it appears on this website," the project explains on its site.

That means an empty result does not prove that nobody has ever searched for your plate; it only means the number does not appear in the website's current records.

Operator names can also be incomplete. Flock’s audit logs often shorten an operator’s name to a first initial and the first three letters of a surname — turning a name such as Kevin Zachary into "K. Zac" (an example provided by HaveIBeenFlocked.com). That can make it difficult to determine exactly who performed a search. The website compares these partial names with public police rosters and employment records to identify a likely match, but warns that the results are not definitive.

Have I Been Flocked? also attempts to match those partial names with public employment records, but warns that its identifications are probabilistic and should be independently verified.

If you find a search that concerns you, the project recommends filing a public records request with the agency linked to it. It also advises anyone who believes they were subjected to improper surveillance to speak with an attorney.

The plate lookup is only one part of the website — visitors can also browse searches by agency and explore reports involving immigration enforcement, First Amendment activity, low-level offenses, noncriminal activity, and searches apparently intended to "develop probable cause." After years of drivers being kept in the dark, the website makes at least some of Flock’s surveillance visible.

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Apps such as Apple's Find My and Google's Find Hub make it easy for friends and family to track your real-time location. The problem is that if you use these apps, your location is exposed every second of the day. I decided to ditch always-on location sharing and use NFC tags to share my location when I wanted to.

Things are heating up on Furious as the FBI is closer than ever before to Catherine (Lola Petticrew). In episode 6, agent Alice Black (Emmy Rossum) is in the same shelter as the serial killer, and her colleagues have taken Catherine's fiancé Alden (Steve Way) in for questioning. And amid life-or-death stakes and a nerve-shredding police corruption subplot, it's Way who makes this episode consistently laugh-out-loud funny.

Far from being intimidated by FBI agent Frank Choi (Rob Yang), Alden taunts him repeatedly. He makes jokes about his mobility issues to fluster the agent. He uses his wheelchair for physical comedy that makes Choi the punchline, and he flagrantly chants, "Fuck the police," while NYPD detective Danny Kelly (Scoot McNairy) looks on. 

SEE ALSO: How 'Furious' delves into a world of sex and violence without being exploitative

Fans of Ramy will recognize Way. But it wasn't his work on that comedy series that caught the eye of Furious creator Elizabeth Meriwether, who also co-created the critically praised tragicomedy series Dying for Sex. In an interview with Mashable, she shared how she first met Way, and how that shaped Furious in a major way. 

Steve Way's role on Furious was written with him in mind.  Steve Way plays Alden on "Furious." Credit: Hulu

Sitting down with Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko, Meriwether said, "So, Dying for Sex was coming out as I was in the writers' room for Furious. And we were research[ing] female serials as caretakers. Catherine kind of became a nurse, and then [I] was like, 'Okay, who is she nursing?' And we were going through a lot of different ideas. [Then, because of Dying For Sex,] I did a panel about showing caretaking in TV. And Steve was on the panel."

The panel, titled "Storytelling About Gender, Work, Family, and Care in Uncertain Times," was held by the SAG-AFTRA foundation on May 5, 2025. It is available on YouTube. 

"The entire panel," Meriwether recalled, "I was just cracking up; he was so funny.  His running bit in the panel was that he needed work for health insurance. And I was  just like, 'He needs work. I need this character.' The next day, I walked into the writers' room, and I was like, 'It's this guy, Steve Way. We're building this whole character around him.'" 

She continued, "I felt so privileged to get to work with him and collaborate with him. I learned so much. We would do the table read, and then he would like stay after and talk to me for like an hour at a time, and just go through and add specifics. He's doing great physical comedy [in the show], and a lot of that came from his specific ideas about how his wheelchair moved, and like what people don't know about wheelchairs and things like that."

Meriwether noted the humor Way brings is "an important part of the show," adding that he creates a release to help balance "a lot of heavy subjects" that Furious tackles. 

Way also becomes an unexpected source of wisdom, delivering a message about love that speaks to the show as a whole. 

Did Catherine kill Alden's mom?   Scoot McNairy, Rob Yang, and Steve Way co-star in "Furious." Credit: Hulu

In a separate interview with Petticrew, Puchko asked about a big episode 6 moment, in which Danny tries to get information about Catherine out of Alden by arguing the love between them isn't real. 

First, Danny points out that Catherine went by Vanessa when she worked with Alden. "You two are in love, and you don't even know her name?" Danny pushes.

 "Oh, that's the best love," Alden counters, noting that whatever her name, she sees him as he is, and not his wheelchair. "She doesn't pity me."

"You don't think she fucking used you?" Danny presses. 

"I don't fucking care. I don't care. My entire life I've been told I'm never going find someone. I'm not worthy of love. And the one time I find it, you want to take it from me," Alden argues, adding, "You think love is only when people do everything you want them to do. That's fucked up." 

Finally, Danny tries one more time to turn Alden, by suggesting that Catherine killed Alden's mom, then used her fentanyl to kill others. To this, Alden replies, "No one's perfect."

Lola Petticrew is Catherine/Vanessa in 'Furious.' Credit: Hulu

Petticrew has previously shared their thoughts on why Catherine killed Becky but spared Mira. So, do they believe their character murdered Alden's mom before kicking off her vengeance-seeking killing spree? 

"I don't think she did," Petticrew said, "I mean, just me, as a viewer… I think I would watch it and think that she didn't. I don't think that she would have a reason to. I think she has a pretty clear ethical/moral code." 

But for Petticrew, whether Catherine killed Alden's mom is not as important as his response to the possibility of it. 

Petticrew said of Alden's response, "I think it's a very wonderful Liz Meriwether way of getting to the heart of the entire piece. So often, we are forced into presenting perfect victims. It happens in film and TV, and certainly in life, and when people seek justice for things, you have to play the role of a perfect victim. You're not allowed to be in any way gray or complicated. And that is just not life, and that is just not true [to life].

"These women in this show," Petticrew continued, "are allowed to be gray and hard and difficult and complicated, because everybody is. And if you have to be a perfect victim in order to deserve any pity or justice or help, what you're saying is there are some people who deserve this to happen to them, and I certainly don't believe that that's true." 

Asked what it was like working with Way, Petticrew gushed, "Steve is phenomenal. Getting him as a scene partner for those moments was just unreal. Getting to go in and work with him every day, he constantly surprised me and pulled things out of Catherine. I think that relationship is so important in the show. I think that Alden is someone that — while, in a way, he's almost completely reliant on her — he actually doesn't expect anything from her at all, or want anything from her at all. And I think that that is really beautiful. And I think that she really appreciates that and feels safe. To have a space in this world, in this show, where she feels that was just like a sigh of relief. And I think casting Steve was one of the best decisions they made in the show, because he just has an ability to break your heart and make you laugh side by side. And he's also an awesome human being who it was a delight to go to work with every day. So, how lucky am I?"

Furious is now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes every Monday through Aug. 31. 

Anthropic has begun building a watermark into text generated by future Claude models, a change the company says is meant to help identify whether a given piece of writing was likely produced by its AI. This new feature, implemented to comply with EU rules, is meant to be indistinguishable to the human eye, without changing Claude's normal writing output.

The company laid out the mechanics and rationale behind the feature in a post published to its website.

How does the watermark work?

According to Anthropic, the watermark exploits the countless small, low-stakes decisions a language model makes as it generates text. Rather than using a truly arbitrary random number to make that pick, the watermarked version of Claude bases the decision on a cryptographic key combined with the preceding text.

SEE ALSO: Researchers watched OpenAI, Anthropic models take extreme measures in hacking test

The result, Anthropic says, is a subtle statistical pattern spread across a response that's invisible to a human reader but detectable to anyone with the matching key, which allows them to estimate the probability that Claude generated the text.

Does it cost more or slow Claude down?

Anthropic was clear in that the change carries no cost to output quality. The company said internal testing turned up no measurable difference in the creativity, accuracy, or readability of watermarked versus unwatermarked responses, and pointed to findings from Google DeepMind's original research on the underlying technique — the method Claude's watermark is based on.

SEE ALSO: Claude Code’s auto mode will be on by default, Anthropic confirms

The company also said that its researched showed no statistically significant shift in user satisfaction when a similar watermark was tested on live traffic. Anthropic also said the feature adds no extra tokens, meaning it doesn't slow Claude down or make it more expensive to use.

Where does the watermark break down?

Like with all tools, the watermark has limits. Anthropic explained that it only works when a model is choosing among several equally valid options, so text with little room for variation, such as hard factual statements, precise code, or math answers, carries a much weaker or nonexistent signal.

Detection also grows less reliable on very short passages, since there's simply less pattern to analyze. So you'll get a much clearer read on Claude's likely involvement in longer-form text. And because the watermark tracks only the words Claude itself selects, lightly edited or proofread human writing may carry little to no detectable trace, since most of the original wording remains unchanged.

SEE ALSO: Why is OpenAI losing so many executives?

A sufficiently heavy rewrite, the company noted, can remove the watermark entirely. At that point, per Anthropic, it becomes debatable whether the resulting text is still meaningfully AI-generated.

Can the watermark identify my organization or me?

Anthropic stressed that the watermark can't be traced back to a specific user, account, or conversation, and that it doesn't establish authorship or ownership over content. All it can tell you is the likelihood that Claude was involved in producing or editing it at some point.

The company also distinguished the approach from third-party AI-detection tools, which typically rely on spotting stylistic patterns in AI writing rather than checking for an embedded signal tied to a private key.

Why is Anthropic doing this?

The rollout is tied to regulation rather than a purely voluntary move: Anthropic said it signed the European Union's Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content in July 2026 alongside roughly 190 other signatories, following an EU AI Act requirement, effective Aug. 2, that AI providers mark generated text.

Because the company doesn't yet have a reliable way to apply the watermark only within the EU, Anthropic said it's rolling out the feature globally and plans to extend it to older Claude models over the coming months.

The company also said it will soon offer a separate API allowing anyone to check whether a piece of text carries Claude's watermark.

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

Samsung might borrow a good Apple feature soon.

And you might not even need new hardware to use it. Leaker Fahad Ali Javed (via AndroidAuthority) posted screenshots of the upcoming One UI 9.5 update, which included several new features for Samsung devices. Perhaps the most noteworthy one, though, is the seeming addition of app mirroring. This feature allows iPhone users to receive notifications and otherwise control their phones using a linked Mac computer.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 month-long review: is it worth it? This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Javed's post suggests that this will be possible soon between a Samsung phone and a linked laptop, as long as you're logged into the same Samsung account on both devices. Any iPhone/MacBook owner can tell you this is a great, time-saving feature that people in other device ecosystems should want.

Less significantly, it also looks like One UI 9.5 might bring over the horizontal app bar found on Samsung foldable phones, complete with an always-visible search bar. That works well on phones with bigger displays, but it remains to be seen how it will adapt to regular phones.

Regardless, app mirroring would be a very nice feature for Samsung owners.

Mac users, if you haven't updated your MacBook or desktop Mac computer in the last week or so, install that latest update now.

The most recent Mac update from Apple includes a patch for a major vulnerability that could allow an attacker to take over a targeted Mac.

The exploit involves an authentication bug in Mac's Screen Share functionality, Ars Technica reported. An unauthorized party can exploit the bug to take control of a user's keyboard and mouse when screen sharing is enabled.

The vulnerability is being tracked as CVE-2026-65400. Apple's own explanation of the security update warns users that this security issue could allow an attacker on the network to access a Mac without valid credentials.

The Netherlands National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned about the vulnerability last week after the exploit was initially made public.

Cybersecurity firm Calif recently shared how they reverse-engineered Apple's recent macOS patch as it "piqued our curiosity." As Calif explained in a blog post, "Apple does not ship an update out of band unless something is critical."

From there, Calif researchers uncovered the Screen Share vulnerability. The firm posted a video demonstrating the attack.

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

According to the NCSC report on the vulnerability, the exploit results from "insufficient state management during the authentication process." If Screen Share is activated on a Mac, the macOS firewall exposes port 5900 to third parties over the internet. In turn, unauthorized access can occur via authentication attempts that wouldn't usually be accepted.

The NCSC reports that it has received notice that the exploit has been observed in the wild. The vulnerability has reportedly been used to obtain root access on an affected system. In this case, a Monero crypto miner was installed by the unauthorized user.

The first researcher to discover the exploit found roughly 40,000 Macs with Screen Share enabled and reachable from the internet, which gives a sense of just how many potential targets were out there at any given time.

Apple released the patch last week for macOS Tahoe, Sequoia, and Sonoma. Mac users are urged to install the latest security update.

PC monitoring usually means staring at performance graphs, percentages, and numbers. A Reddit user gave their computer an old-school way to show what’s happening under the hood. They saved a pair of analog gauges from heading to the e-waste bin and turned them into a real-time PC monitoring system. The secret to this is an ESP32 development board doing the heavy lifting between a modern PC and decades-old analog hardware.

Samsung only committed to providing four years of Android updates for the Galaxy S22, but don't worry: there's now a way to keep it relevant past its effective February 2027 expiry date. The LineageOS team has released a new version of its unofficial Android firmware that finally supports Exynos-based versions of the Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra.

SAVE $470: The Bluetti Elite 100 V2 portable power station with a 100W solar panel is on sale for $629 at Amazon, down from the list price of $1,099. That's a 43% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bluetti Bluetti Elite 100 V2 portable power station with a 100W solar panel $629 at Amazon
$1,099 Save $470   Get Deal

August is coming to a close and that means the perfect camping weather is coming up. Summer used to the the ideal camping season, but now that summer feels like a sauna, fall is a great alterative. If you'll be heading to the campsite in September, October, or even November, check out this deal on a portable power station at Amazon.

As of Aug. 17, the Bluetti Elite 100 V2 portable power station with a 100W solar panel is on sale for $629 at Amazon, marked down from the list price of $1,099. That's a 43% discount that takes a major $470 off the price.

If you're using a portable power station at the campground, pairing it with a solar panel is a pro move. The Bluetti Elite 100 V2 is an excellent model to pack along, coming with 1,024Wh of capacity and plenty of ports. There's four AC ports, two high-powered USB-C, and two USB-A ports. Bluetti says the solar generator can keep a 10W light on for almost 52 hours or keep a mini speaker going for almost 40 hours.

SEE ALSO: Mammotion's Luba 3 robot lawn mower is down to its best-ever price at Amazon — save over $800

The included 100W solar panel is travel-friendly, weighing under 10 pounds. The dual kickstands allow for easy maneuvering to find the ideal sun angle while the ETFE coating ensures the solar panel is UV-resistant while allowing 95% of light to be transmitted to the panels.

For even more versatility, the Bluetti Elite 100 V2 is great to use during a power outage at home. When outputting under 600W, Bluetti says this model will only reach 30 decibels, making it quiet enough to keep in the room while sleeping.

Since we're heading into peak camping season, consider the benefits of snagging the Bluetti Elite 100 V2 with a 100W solar panel. As long as you have access to sunlight, you could get unlimited power while camping off-grid.

SSDs have gotten faster, but hard drives, for better or worse, haven't. There's a reason why they haven't, and that's mostly due to to the way they work. So any attempts to make hard drives faster would need to get around that.

Back in the day, buying a charger for your phone was as simple as ensuring the cable used the same port as your phone. However, as phones have evolved, so have the fast-charging protocols that come with them.

TL;DR: Starbucks' iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) officially returns on Tuesday, Aug. 25, along with an expanded lineup of new drinks like the Iced Banana Bread Latte and Chaider.

If you've been in any department store lately, you've probably noticed pumpkins, faux leaves, and Halloween decorations are already stocked on the shelves.

SEE ALSO: Starbucks is bringing back the Unicorn Frappuccino (but only for one weekend)

Now, Starbucks is joining the madness. The coffee giant just announced that it's bringing its iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) back to the menu on Aug. 25, along with an expanded lineup of brand-new seasonal drinks. (I could honestly go the rest of my life without tasting another pumpkin spice anything, but to each their own.) Of course, if you can't wait until late August, the pumpkin creamers are already in grocery aisles at Target and other retailers.

Here's what you can expect to see on Starbucks' 2026 fall menu:

• Pumpkin faves: You can get the PSL hot, iced, or blended, or order one of Starbucks' other pumpkin-inspired drinks like the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai, or the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino. New additions to its pumpkin lineup include the Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso, Pumpkin Spice Chai, and the Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha.

• Pecan is back: Returning favorites include the Pecan Cortado, Iced Pecan Crunch Latte, and the Pecan Crunch Latte.

• Banana bread is making a cameo: Starbucks is introducing the Iced Banana Bread Latte and Iced Banana Bread Chai to its menu.

• Chaider is the new cider: The Chaider is a cider-inspired twist on chai. It's supposed to taste like autumn in a cup.

• Food and sweet treats: The food menu will also include a Chicken Bacon Protein Pocket, Hedgehog Cake Pop, and, of course, the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin.

According to new data compiled by Yelp, PSL season has kicked off earlier than ever this year. Apparently, internet searches for "pumpkin spice latte" and "pumpkin latte" increased by 301 percent and 256 percent, respectively, in July. July! (I credit all the Gilmore girlies and my sister for these stats.)

This is ridiculous. I wrote about this in 2016 — premature pumpkin spicing should be a crime. But now we've got silly little "pre" holidays like "Summerween" and "Augtober." Call me old-fashioned, but I cannot stand it when marketing teams try to rush my seasons through. I like to enjoy each season as the universe intended: late August is for squeezing out the last drops of summer, not sweating into a wool sweater while sipping liquid nutmeg.

Insta360 launched the Luna Ultra this year, issuing a direct challenge to the DJI Osmo Pocket's dominance amongst handheld gimbal cameras. Convincing consumers to give the new kid on the block a chance is a significant task, particularly when DJI is releasing the Osmo Pocket 4 and 4P at around the same time.

Fortunately, Insta360 seems well aware of the challenge it's facing, and has come out swinging. 

SEE ALSO: Insta360 launches X6, its flagship 360-degree 8K camera Insta360 Luna Ultra: Build The Insta360 Luna Ultra has two lenses, courtesy of a partnership with Leica. Credit: A. Yeo

The Insta360 Luna Ultra immediately distinguishes itself via its dual lenses, a feature it shares with DJI's professionally-targeted Osmo Pocket 4P. However, the Luna Ultra's lenses come courtesy of a collaboration with high-end camera company Leica, a brand which holds cult status amongst photography enthusiasts.

Specifically, the Luna Ultra includes both a Leica Summicron lens with a one-inch 8K sensor and a telephoto lens with a 1/1.3-inch sensor, which are positioned side-by-side on the gimbal in a horizontal orientation — a look that's reminiscent of Disney's WALL-E. Both lenses have wide apertures, sitting at f/1.8 and f/2.0 respectively, which allows them to take in more light and helps produce a shallower depth of field for a more cinematic look.

A look that's reminiscent of Disney's WALL-E.

The other standout feature of the Luna Ultra's build is its detachable two-inch touchscreen and controls. This allows users to remotely operate and monitor the camera, doing everything from zooming in to moving the gimbal, and switching between recording modes. This turns the Luna Ultra from a nifty handheld camera into a super flexible vlogging tool that can capture more angles with ease, and is particularly attractive for solo shooting. 

The detachable touchscreen remote is a standout feature. Credit: A. Yeo

The lightweight remote fits easily in the palm, with the physical controls well away from the rotatable 1000-nit OLED screen so it isn't obscured by users' fingers. Despite its relatively diminutive size, the remote still feels spacious and thoughtfully designed for an enjoyable shooting experience, with its array of physical controls putting the Luna Ultra's most frequently used operations at your fingertips. When not being used remotely, the panel clips to the Luna Ultra's handle and acts like a regular control setup with no apparent compromises.

Mashable loved the convenience of this remote, and found that having it so easily on hand encouraged more creativity and experimentation when shooting. Rather than having to dig the remote out from a bag, users can detach and use it while the Luna Ultra is still recording. Being an integrated piece means it's always readily at your disposal, and there's no fussing with connecting to an app if you want to operate the Luna Ultra remotely. However, you'll want to be careful not to lose or damage the remote, as the camera won't work without it and it isn't sold separately. The remote can also only be charged while attached to the Luna Ultra's main body, and has a relatively small battery. As such, it's more suited to short shots than extended remote viewing even with its liberal power saving settings.

The Luna Ultra comes in two colourways: the more subtle Cosmic Black and the attention-grabbing Stellar White. Mashable tried the Stellar White version, and while we haven't had it long enough to see whether it will go grubby, on initial inspection it doesn't seem as though the material will be prone to discolouration.

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Insta360 Luna Ultra: Settings and performance The camera includes physical controls for recording, zooming, and moving the gimbal. Credit: A. Yeo

The Insta360 Luna Ultra boasts maximum video resolutions of 8K at 30fps and 4K at 120fps, while the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P tops out at 4K at 60fps. Though filming in 4K is typically enough for the average user, the Luna Ultra's 8K resolution offers more flexibility when it comes to editing, allowing users to crop and zoom in on their footage without visible loss of quality. It's a useful option that allows people to edit 4K horizontal and vertical content from the same footage, helping to streamline workflows.

Insta360's gimbal camera also offers up to 12x zoom, giving users high resolution at a wide range of focal lengths. The Luna Ultra's main Leica Summicron lens handles 1x and 2x lossless magnification, while the telephoto lens takes care of 3x optical zoom, 6x lossless, and up to 12x zoom via digital cropping. As such, not all magnifications are available at all resolutions, with the Luna Ultra having a maximum 6x zoom at 8K.

The Luna Ultra's rotatable screen can be used in both landscape and portrait modes. Credit: A. Yeo

Mashable testing found the Luna Ultra's focus a little hit and miss. It's hard to fault in wide, well-lit shots, and its preference for people makes it easy to whip out and immediately start vlogging. However, it seemed to lack an "intuition" for figuring out what we wanted to focus on at times, particularly when filming close ups of objects (as opposed to people) or when wanting to shift focus in a moving shot. The Luna Ultra's focus tended to search and jump around in such scenarios, which was amplified when dealing with dark objects or dimmer lighting. The UI also offers limited feedback and no persistent focus box when using standard tap-to-focus, which can be stressful when trying to monitor your recording on the Luna Ultra's small screen.

The AI-powered auto tracking performs better, which is handy if you're looking to stay on a subject rather than use focus pulls. Users can set a focus box by holding and dragging on the Luna Ultra's touchscreen. This keeps their subject in frame and in focus, though it does still search from time to time.

It's easy to detach the Luna Ultra's remote from its body, then clip it back once done. Credit: A. Yeo

In addition to the Luna Ultra's Standard Video and Standard Photo modes, its shooting modes include PureVideo (for low light), Timelapse, TimeShift (essentially Timelapse but with the camera moving), Pano (the gimbal automatically rotates to take photos and stitch them into a 360-degree image), and Slow-Mo. While the Pocket 4P's slow motion mode can record 240fps at 4K, the Luna Ultra only goes up to 120fps at the same resolution. It can reach 240fps, however this requires bumping the resolution down to 1080p.

The Luna Ultra accepts microSD cards, but it also has 47GB of internal storage that allows you to start filming right out of the box, without having to shell out more cash for increasingly expensive memory cards. The Luna Ultra's capacity may be less than half of the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P's 103GB, but it's still enough to mitigate the stress of pulling out your camera only to find that you've misplaced your external storage.

Depending on its settings, Insta360 states that the Luna Ultra can run for up to 240 minutes. This should be more than enough run time for most use cases, though it can be extended further with the camera's 1000mAh battery handle accessory (more on this below). 

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Image quality A screenshot of footage from the Insta360 Luna Ultra, filming the Sydney Opera House at 3x zoom. Credit: A. Yeo

The Luna Ultra produces clear footage with good fidelity, delivering results that are at least similar, if not better, than most high end smartphones. Though not as rich or cinematic as footage captured with a mirrorless camera, video from the Luna Ultra doesn't look completely out of place when mixed into the same edit, which is definitely an achievement. The camera's automatic settings such as exposure, white balance, and focus are generally smooth and user-friendly, targeted toward ensuring you always have a usable shot, while colour profiles and resolutions help you tune in the look you want.

The Luna Ultra does offer some depth of field to play with for those blurry background shots that make a subject pop, but don't expect anything too drastic. DJI's Osmo Pocket 4P produces a more pronounced blur effect at the same reported focal length, creating even more separation between background and foreground than the Luna Ultra. 

The Luna Ultra produces clear footage with good fidelity, delivering results that are at least similar, if not better, than most high end smartphones.

Even so, this classically "cinematic" effect is hardware limited by sensor size and lens composition. As the Luna Ultra and 4P have similar specs in this regard, the difference is fairly minor and only apparent when you really push the effect, such as when filming a subject that's close to the foreground. It's nice to have some depth of field capability for such shots, however, these cameras are primarily aimed at quick and fuss-free capture of life's moments rather than carefully curated mise-en-scène. The Luna Ultra delivers on that brief splendidly.

The Luna Ultra's ISO tops out at 6400, less than the Osmo Pocket 4P's top of 51200 in low-light mode. In fact, the Luna Ultra's ISO is more comparable to the Pocket 3's standard, non-low light ISO range. Yet despite this, the Luna Ultra's low-light performance is still impressive, managing to capture details even in very dark conditions. This performance is likely thanks to the camera's onboard processing, which is handled by Insta360's Triple AI Chip system. This system consists of two imaging chips dedicated to low-light performance, while a third 4nm AI chip powers everything else. 

Footage filmed in dim environments does appear noisy and artificially brightened when viewed on the Luna Ultra's screen, looking more like a night-vision shot than a true-to-life rendition of the scene. Fortunately, this doesn't hold true once the footage is taken off the camera, delivering usable footage from a wide range of shooting conditions.

A screenshot of footage from the Insta360 Luna Ultra, filming the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay, Sydney. Credit: A. Yeo

The auto exposure appears to adjust more gradually on the Luna Ultra than on DJI's gimbal cameras, which seems to be an intentional choice. While the Luna Ultra allows imperfect exposure on some frames, it's a reasonable trade off to prevent excessive fluctuation when quickly moving between sun and shade. The Luna Ultra did, however, tend to have more drastic swings in exposure when shooting low-light, as it worked to brighten and bring out detail in very dark conditions.

If you want to enhance your footage but aren't interested in fussing with too much post-production, the Luna Ultra offers several digital filters you can apply while filming. This includes three colour profiles familiar to Leica fans: Leica Natural, Leica Vivid, and Leica Chrome.

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For those who do want to dive into the more technical side of filming, the Luna Ultra can record in I-Log, Insta360's proprietary log profile. Though footage shot in log appears flatter and more washed out when recorded, it actually captures a wider dynamic range, This enables more flexibility when colour grading in post, opening up the potential for stunning results. (If you want to try shooting in I-Log, it's natively supported in popular free colour grading software DaVinci Resolve. You can also download free LUTs, essentially log post-production presets, from Insta360's website to help you get started.)

The Luna Ultra can also film in Dolby Vision. While the average user is unlikely to benefit from the standardised HDR format, its inclusion is reflective of Insta360's goal to position its gimbal camera as a tool for pro and semi-pro creators.

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Accessories The Luna Ultra's battery handle has tripod feet for a little bit of extra utility. Credit: A. Yeo

Like the Osmo Pocket, the Luna Ultra has a battery handle accessory which includes a 1/4" thread mounting hole. Both cameras also have smaller handles which have threads but not batteries, despite featuring USB-C ports. However, Insta360's handles also come equipped with handy little wire tripod feet that fold out. They're a great addition that adds extra utility, though their small footprint means they're also less stable than a proper tripod attachment.

Unfortunately, the Luna Ultra's other accessories could use some improvement. Insta360 appears to have taken inspiration from the Osmo Pocket 3's hard protective cover, using a similar cradle design for its own cover to protect the length of the Luna Ultra on its screen side.

Insta360 does improve the cover's design by adding a nifty hinged door to encase the gimbal, giving it extra protection. Even so, the Luna Ultra's case runs into the same issue that the Pocket 3 does, in that its bulk makes it cumbersome to use and irritating to carry around. With the Osmo Pocket 4 having ditched the cradle cover for a small gimbal clamp and protective soft bag, the Luna Ultra's design feels dated in comparison.

Its protective case is bulky, but does the job. Credit: A. Yeo

Insta360 sells an alternative $10 sliding case, which is installed by prying off the Luna Ultra's wind shield and attaching it in its place. Sliding the cover down is meant to activate the camera, allowing for quick and easy one-handed use. However, Mashable found it loose and prone to sliding down when carried in a pocket, leaving us glad to have a more secure option in the original protective case. The sliding protective case also doesn't have storage for the black mist filter and wide-angle lens, making it an incomplete replacement.

The Luna Ultra's Mini Fill Light feels under-engineered. This accessory consists of a small rectangular USB-C rechargeable light that magnetises to a thin plastic bracket, which in turn slides onto the back of the gimbal hinge where it's secured with a fiddly plastic ring. Unfortunately, it feels flimsy enough that users might hesitate to toss it in their bag. While the ability to use the light independently gives the fill light some versatility, it's clunky and inelegant for its primary purpose, particularly when compared with the Osmo Pocket 4 and 4P's hot swappable fill light.

Should you buy the Insta360 Luna Ultra? The Insta360 Luna Ultra is a flexible gimbal camera with a lot to offer. Credit: A. Yeo

The Insta360 Luna Ultra starts at $769.99 for the Standard Bundle, which includes a protective cover, 1/4" thread handle, wrist strap, and its attached wind guard. In comparison, while we don't have official U.S. pricing for the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P, its Standard Combo bundle is priced at £529 in the UK (approximately $706).

Whether it's worth springing the extra cash for the Insta360 Luna Ultra depends on your needs, and whether or not you've already invested in either brand's ecosystem. If you already have other DJI products such as their Mic 3, you may prefer to pick up an Osmo Pocket 4P simply for ease of compatibility (although DJI mics can still work with the Luna Ultra via their receiver).

On the other hand, if you tend to shoot solo and could use the convenience and flexibility of a removable remote, or if you're chasing the highest resolution available in the gimbal form factor, it's hard to go past the Luna Ultra.

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I tested its features, accuracy and battery life, and this is Samsung’s best watch yet. But it’s also the most expensive. Here’s who should splurge on the Ultra 2 and who’s better off with the Galaxy Watch 9.

I've spent the past few weeks with Lenovo's brand-new Wildcat Lake-powered IdeaPad Slim 3i laptop, featuring Intel's latest Core 7 350 processor. While I really want to love this laptop, it feels like modern hardware housed in a design from several years ago—and I have mixed feelings about that.