Feed aggregator

We are a scant few months away from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 launching, and the rumor mill is already ablaze with plenty of information for enthusiasts to pour over. We’d like to lend a helping hand by rounding up all of the rumors that we’ve heard so far about Samsung’s upcoming foldable flagship. 

For starters, it’ll almost certainly be announced in July. This is a pattern for Samsung. It announced last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 in July 2024 and the Z Fold 5 in July 2023. Additionally, while releasing info on bone conduction headphones that may also be debuted at the event, noted leaker Ice Universe said that the event would be held in July once again. 

That’s only the beginning. There are plenty of other rumors about the actual details of the Galaxy Fold 7, so let’s go into them. 

Design

The phone’s design hasn’t been confirmed, but there are some computer-generated renders floating around. Leaker OnLeaks collaborated with Android Headlines to generate the renders and it tells us a few things about how the device might feel compared to last year’s model. 

For starters, the dimensions are 158.4 x 143.1 x 4.5mm. Based on the measurements of the Z Fold 6, that would make the Z Fold 7 1.1mm thinner when unfolded, and the outer screen would be 11mm wider than the Z Fold 6. Additionally, three cameras adorn the back, housed in an island similar to the Z Fold 6. 

In short, it’ll look quite similar to the Z Fold 6, except it’ll be slightly wider and thinner than its predecessor, with a camera array on the back that looks similar to the one found on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. 

Leaker Setsuna Digital also claims that the Fold 7 will include a better screen, an improved hinge, more optimized internal structure, and will feature improvements to water and dust resistance. 

SEE ALSO: Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Which foldable is best for you? Camera

Speaking of the camera, it too is set to get some sizable upgrades from last year’s Fold. Per Gadget360, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is expected to get the 200 MP main shooter that came on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, which was exclusive to Korea and China last year. This would be a significant increase in resolution from the 50 MP camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 6. 

Reports also suggest that the Z Fold 7 will get a new under-display camera, which will be located under the internal screen. The specifics of the under-display camera are unknown, but it is expected to be better than the 4 MP camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 6. 

Android Headlines suggests that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will ultimately house the same camera array that was in the Z Fold 6 Special Edition, which includes a 12 MP ultrawide camera and a 10 MP telephoto camera in addition to the others. 

Specs and battery

The specs are still mostly a mystery, but we can infer a little bit from context here. In 2024, the Fold 6 used the same chipset as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, so it would make sense if the Fold 7 had the same power under the hood as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. 

There aren’t any rumors to suggest this, but unless Samsung goes with a Dimensity chip like its latest tablets or returns to Exynos, the Fold 7 will almost certainly have the same Snapdragon 8 For Galaxy chip as the S25 Ultra. 

Moving around to the back of the device, multiple outlets have reported that Samsung won’t be changing the battery size for 2025. The Fold 7 should come with the same 4,400 mAh battery as the Fold 6 with no demonstrable change in charge speed reported among the leakers. 

S-Pen and others

The S-Pen is rumored to be different for the Fold 7 compared to prior years. Currently, Samsung uses a digitizer to interface with the S-Pen. Rumors from ET News suggest that Samsung will do away with this method and instead use something different. This correlates with the rumor of a thinner Fold since removing the digitizer would allow Samsung to do just that. 

As 9to5Google reports, the removal of the digitizer would allow Samsung to reduce the thickness by up to 0.6mm. S-Pen fans can relax, though, because the pen will still work with the Fold 7. Samsung may just end up using something similar to the Apple Pencil, where the S-Pen itself would be relaying signals to the device instead of using a built-in digitizer to do it. 

There is no word as to whether the Fold 7’s S-Pen will lose Bluetooth functionality like the one on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but if Samsung does indeed go with something like the Apple Pencil, Bluetooth connectivity should still be intact.

Three arguments for taking progress toward artificial general intelligence, or A.G.I., more seriously — whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist.

Who among us hasn't used earbuds to help them quiet an overly active brain (or a snoring partner) when going to bed at night?

Personally, bedtime is when I'm most likely to be using earbuds in the course of my day. Prior to this review, I used my first-gen AirPods Pro for listening to podcasts and video essays as I drifted off to sleep — on my more mindful nights, I opted for Loop earplugs. While I knew sleep earbuds existed, I never got on board with the idea they'd offer anything that different from my existing system (even though my existing system often meant I could only wear one AirPod comfortably as a side sleeper and that I often woke up to that AirPod dying).

Thankfully, the universe knew I deserved better, so when the chance to test out the Ozlo Sleepbuds came up, I took it.

SEE ALSO: The best noise-cancelling earbuds include the most comfortable buds I've ever tested

As someone who's tested many (and owned a pair of) Bose headphones, my curiosity was piqued by Ozlo being founded by former Bose engineers — especially considering Bose discontinued its Sleepbuds line. After a few weeks of testing them nearly every night under my belt, I've ended up more of a sleep earbuds convert than I expected — let's get into why.

The sleep earbud market

If you've Googled "best sleep earbuds" anytime recently, you'll likely see a rotation of the following: sleep headbands from Amazon, the Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds, Loop earplugs, and of course, the Ozlo Sleepbuds.

If you don't like the idea of a headband and if you're sticking to more recognizable brands (not Amazon keyboard smash brands), you'll soon realize that sleep earbuds are one of the less saturated product markets out there. They also tend to be a market where if you want under-triple-digit prices, you'll be making some sacrifices: in my research, I couldn't find a budget pair that promised at least eight hours of battery life.

The Ozlo Sleepbuds... Credit: Ozlo Compared to the Bose Sleepbuds II. Credit: Bose

That market space for sleep earbuds that could deliver a more premium experience (and battery life that actually lasts the length of a full night of sleep) is the reason the Bose Sleepbuds came up in the first place. With the Bose earbuds discontinued, the Ozlo Sleepbuds tried to take the passive noise cancellation and comfortable design that made them great and add in the ability to stream your own audio and track data around your sleep.

SEE ALSO: For gym rats and picky audiophiles alike, these are the 7 best headphones of 2025

At the time of writing, the only other sleep earbuds that claim to perform similarly are the Soundcore A20 earbuds — interestingly, the Soundcore earbuds are also about $120 cheaper, retailing at $150. I haven't tested them (yet), so I won't be comparing them head to head in this review, but it's worth knowing that while the Ozlo Sleepbuds don't have a ton of competitors, they aren't totally unique.

Here's why you might want to invest in the Ozlo Sleepbuds.

Comfort: Arguably the most important factor

First and foremost, the Ozlo Sleepbuds are incredibly comfortable. Their wingtips kept the earbuds in my ears without ever making me feel sore, and they sat at just the right point in my ears so that I could sleep on both sides without issue.

SEE ALSO: The most comfortable headphones we've ever tested will take care of your ears

Once I found the right tip and wing size out of the four sizes included in the box, I never experienced any issues with them falling out. In other words, they absolutely blew my experience with my AirPods out of the water, making a strong starting case for why someone might want to switch to sleep earbuds.

The choice of four different wingtip sizes made it easy to find the right fit. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable A streaming experience catered to actually sleeping

I also appreciated that the experience of using these earbuds truly felt tailored for falling and staying asleep. Ozlo could've relied on the side sleeper-friendly design for doing the heavy lifting, but it went a step further with how the earbuds stream audio and sleep sounds.

With the app, you can select your preferred "Sleep Sound," with options like Fireglow, Misty Rain, and Into the Woods that mask sounds in your environment to assist with the earbuds' passive noise cancellation. (I was partial to the default "Crimson Cloak" sound).

In addition to these sounds, you could stream your own audio and toggle when you'd like your sleep sound to kick in. You can delay it for any time between 15 minutes to two hours (within 15-minute increments) or choose a Beta feature that switches to your sleep sound once the earbuds recognize you've fallen asleep. I selected the Beta option for about a week of my testing period, and only woke up to a YouTube video once. (As a side note, streaming with Bluetooth does require that you keep your phone at least within 10 feet of the smart case for it to work, but that never presented any issues for me).

Plenty of alarm sounds are available. Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo Users also have a decent amount of choice for sleep sounds. Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo

The app also has a feature that stops any sound from your audio — streaming and white noise alike — at 15-minute increments all the way up to seven hours and 45 minutes.

The sleep timer in the app offers flexibility on how (and when) you want any audio to stop. Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo Alarm feature

Though not the most unique feature among sleep earbuds, I still have to give the alarm on the Ozlo Sleepbuds a shoutout. Working with an East Coast-based team while living on the West Coast has made me intimately familiar with the guilt of setting an alarm that my partner probably wishes was a tiny bit later. This simple feature basically solved that problem, alleviating my guilt and giving him another hour of sleep back. The snooze feature was also useful and reliable.

The Ozlo alarms function almost exactly the same as your phone's built-in alarm. Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo No Bluetooth necessary

In my heart of hearts, I know I get better sleep when I don't fall asleep to videos. That's part of the reason I initially invested in Loop earplugs — I wanted the noise cancellation provided by an earbud without the temptation of YouTube's autoplay feature keeping me up.

While part of the Ozlo Sleepbuds' appeal is in their ability to stream whatever you want, I also really appreciated that the earbuds are completely functional without the app, giving them the flexibility of being more like a really fancy earplug. All you need is to connect them to the app during initial setup, but after that, the earbuds can be set to play white noise as soon as you take them out of the case. For anyone trying to sleep with their phone outside of their bedroom, this is a very useful option.

And while there were a lot of positives about the Sleepbuds, there were also a few shortcomings.

No sleep data (yet)

Currently, the Ozlo Sleepbuds offer no sleep metrics. Maybe you have a fitness tracker or Oura Ring (or even a bed) that takes care of that for you, so the lack of this feature isn't a big deal. However, for $279, I would've expected some sort of sleep analysis features. After all, the much cheaper Soundcore earbuds offer them.

The Ozlo app has a "My Sleep" tab, which says an update will unlock sleep data in the future. Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo

With that said, the app does indicate that some sort of update for sleep data is in the pipeline. I reached out to Ozlo's team to see if they had a more specific estimate as to when and I will update this review once I hear back.

Battery life could be better

The earbuds themselves have exactly the battery life most people will need for a nightly basis. The case, on the other hand, could use an upgrade. I found that after two nights, I would need to recharge the case to juice the earbuds back up.

The workaround for this is leaving the case plugged in 24/7, but if that's not an option, I did find it a little too easy to forget to plug the case back in after it felt like I'd charged it up recently.

Leaving the case plugged in helped me get around its shorter battery life. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Connecting the earbuds wasn't a flawless experience

In the roughly three weeks I used these earbuds, there were only a couple of times that I had trouble connecting them, but those nights do stick out to me.

Generally, you connect the earbuds by opening up the case and waiting for the blinking lights below each earbud to appear solid, indicating that they're ready for playback. It takes a little longer than a standard pair of earbuds, but no more than 10 seconds. Once they're ready, you pop them in, and your app switches from the connection screen to the main page where the settings live.

Before... Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo ...and after successfully connecting the sleepbuds to the Ozlo app. Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo

On the two nights I had trouble connecting the earbuds, I struggled getting the solid light to appear and then getting the app to talk to the earbuds. One night, after closing and opening the case a few times, it worked, while the other night, I could not make it happen. As I was going to bed a little late and already tired, I decided to sleep earbuds-less that night.

Only once did I see these screens while trying to connect my earbuds. Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo Credit: Screenshot: Ozlo

To give the benefit of the doubt, that night, I also needed to update the earbuds for around 30 minutes, but I didn't see that until right before bed, so I decided to use them as is. My theory is that ignoring the update might have interfered with the connection.

While it was annoying, there is a silver lining: the update changed it so the Sleepbuds stay in a connectable state in the case, if the case is connected to power. While I've only used them for a couple of nights since updating them, they do connect much faster and without issue, so Ozlo does seem to be interested in improving its existing product.

On the expensive side

At the end of the day, these are pricey sleep earbuds. Directly from Ozlo's site, they'll run you $279, while from Amazon, they'll cost you $299. For comparison, the original Bose Sleepbuds and their second generation cost $250. Sure, the Ozlo buds have a couple more features, but a main critique of the Bose earbuds was that they were light on features you'd expect at $250, like audio streaming and sleep data.

While the Ozlo Sleepbuds are definitely an improvement, their lack of sleep data features does feel a bit like following a similar pattern. Ozlo also sells a travel case you can purchase separately for $30, which again, feels like something you should just get with the core product if you're shelling out nearly twice the price of a competitor that has similar features.

All of that said, you can purchase these earbuds with an HSA or FSA, or rent a pair for $22 a month through Ozlo if you want to try them out before committing.

Are the Ozlo Sleepbuds worth it?

The Ozlo Sleepbuds were a strong introduction to the world of sleep earbuds, and I can definitely see a world where I'd take the plunge and invest in them. Their streaming capabilities actually help me fall and stay asleep, and they successfully block out everything from my heating unit to cars on the street outside. Ninety-nine percent of the time, they performed exactly as promised.

If the Soundcore A20 earbuds didn't exist, it'd be very easy to say the Ozlo earbuds are absolutely worth it. Again, while I can't personally speak to the A20s' performance, it is hard to completely discount how many features these two earbuds have in common for vastly different price points, especially with the generally favorable reviews I've seen around the Soundcore buds' performance.

SEE ALSO: The 5 best budget wireless earbuds vetted by our headphones experts

For the time being, I'll say that Ozlo seems like a company committed to improving its product over time and is starting from a really solid baseline. The inclusion of sleep features could do a lot for their value, and the experience they offer does feel premium. Most importantly, at the end of the day (literally), these are now what I reach for most when I'm going to sleep. If you have the $279 (or the $22 to check them out), you likely won't be disappointed with how they perform.

However, if streaming audio or white noise isn't as important to you, something like the Loop Quiet 2 or Dream earbuds will more than do the job. If it is, and you can't quite swing the price, the Soundcore earbuds might be the place to look instead.

Ozlo Sleepbuds $299 at Amazon
Shop Now

It was a perfect moon landing.

Although no easy feat, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander descended in a controlled fashion, and without mishap, to the lunar surface on March 2, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to have a fully successful landing on the moon. And NASA cameras affixed to the bottom of the robotic craft filmed footage of the descent and dusty touchdown.

The NASA instrument, called Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies, or (SCALPSS), captured 3,000 frames during the operation. This "first-of-its-kind" imagery will inform future landing missions — both crewed and robotic — about how plumes of moon dust behave as thrusters file into the lunar regolith, and how such plumes impact nearby craft or infrastructure.

SEE ALSO: Why landing a spaceship on the moon is still so challenging

The view shown in the NASA video below begins when the squat Blue Ghost craft — 6.6 feet tall and 11.5 feet wide — is 91 feet, or 28 meters, from the lunar ground.

"As the descent continues, the interaction becomes increasingly complex, with the plumes vigorously kicking up the lunar dust, soil, and rocks — collectively known as regolith," NASA explained. "After touchdown, the thrusters shut off and the dust settles. The lander levels a bit and the lunar terrain beneath and immediately around it becomes visible."

The shadow of the Blue Ghost spacecraft on the lunar surface, with Earth in the distance. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

While this landing went smoothly, landing on the moon still remains daunting, largely because it's a world with virtually no atmosphere to slow spacecraft down. A craft must plummet to the surface almost perfectly, as thrusters fire to slow its descent onto a surface teeming with pits and craters. Although Chinese and Indian craft have had recent landing successes, the U.S. commercial spacecraft Odysseus sustained damage while landing awkwardly in 2024, and another of the company's landers fell to its side in 2025. In 2024, a Japanese craft landed upside down, on its head.

Blue Ghost's mission was funded by NASA as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which it hopes will set the stage for a U.S. lunar presence. In the coming years, NASA intends to land astronauts on the moon, too. The space agency currently expects to bring astronauts to the moon in mid-2027, wherein they'll spend a week exploring eerie craters of the moon's resource-rich south pole.

For nearly 76 percent of Americans in 2019, this was a typical workweek: Wake up, get dressed, pile into a car alone, work, drive home, sleep ... and repeat five times.

But starting in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced many employees who weren't essential workers to switch to internet-enabled remote work, that routine shattered. For many, it would never be the same again. 

While remote work grew gradually in the four decades leading up to the pandemic, it "surged" in 2020, according to a working paper from the U.S. Labor Department. In 2022, after vaccines reduced previously staggering death rates, the U.S. Census reported that the share of American workers driving alone to work was 68.7 percent. On the surface, that is just a 7 percent reduction in solo commuters — but it also represents millions of people no longer driving alone by car twice a day.

While the number of people who take public transit to their workplace or walk or bike there has also shrunk significantly since COVID, the shift to remote work and its related reduction in vehicular miles driven is a rare silver lining of the pandemic.

The average passenger vehicle emits about 400 grams of CO2 per mile, according to the EPA.

Fully remote workers can have a 54 percent lower carbon footprint than onsite workers, according to a 2023 study from Microsoft and Cornell University.

Researchers found that even hybrid workers, those splitting their time between home and office work, contribute to a significant drop in carbon emissions. That makes sense considering the average passenger vehicle emits about 400 grams of CO2 per mile, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Increased home use of computers, phones, and internet services has a negligible effect on carbon emissions, according to the study. Still, the benefits of remote work are not perfectly linear.

The Cornell researchers found that Americans’ personal car usage — such as driving to errands or social events — actually increases the more days they work remotely. Those who work a hybrid schedule often live farther from the office than those fully onsite — so the days they drive, they expend more carbon than those going into the office full-time.

Still, even with those caveats, the reduction in driving from remote work yields environmental benefits for all, regardless of whether they drive to an office every day or not.

Are bosses getting sick of Zoom?

When CEOs like JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and Tesla's Elon Musk advocate for a return to the office, environmental trade-offs are likely low on their list of considerations.

Dimon, who mandated his employees report to the office five days a week starting this month, hasn’t weighed in on remote work’s carbon effects but did express that in-office workers are good for business.

"I completely respect people that don't want to go to the office all five days a week," Dimon told CNBC last month. "But they should respect that the company is going to decide what's good for the clients, the company, etc., not an individual."

Musk told CNBC that remote work is "messed up" and questioned its morality, saying it was unfair that blue collar workers didn't have the same telework options as their white collar peers. As part of his position at DOGE, and apparently with President Trump’s backing, Musk demanded in February that nearly all federal workers return to their offices full-time.

"Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave," Musk wrote on X (a website he runs, along with Tesla and SpaceX, mostly remotely).

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

How many people does Musk's mandate effect? A 2024 report from the White House Office of Management and Budget reports that 1.1 million federal workers were eligible for hybrid work, with 228,000 working fully remote (the report appears to be scrubbed from the White House's website, but was previously reported on by Reuters).

The environmental aspect of many of these people getting back into gas-powered cars every day does not appear to be a concern for the Trump administration (the move was probably motivated by a desire for some of these workers to quit). Since federal workers are not limited to the Washington, D.C. area, the environmental ramifications would be felt nationwide.

"Returning federal employees to full-time office work would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions," Fengqi You, an engineering professor at Cornell University, recently told Euronews. 

Going back to the office? You can reduce your footprint

Even if the federal government and the nation's largest companies aren't interested in reducing emissions, anyone can take individual action. For anyone returning to the office, either by choice or compulsion, there are ways to limit the effect on the environment.

1. Take public transit or walk or bike to work. E-bikes are also a good option for those not ready to commit to pedaling to work every day.

2. There's also carpooling. Nearly 9 percent of American workers were sharing rides to work in 2019; by 2022, that number had rebounded to 8.6 percent after taking a hit during the pandemic.

3. If you do drive solo to work, commit to leaving your car in the work garage or lot during the day. Walk to lunch or errands if possible, which will provide exercise and, in some cases, a Vitamin D boost.

4. Bring snacks, lunch, and reusable utensils and mugs to work. One study found that many office workers believe they use more plastic (forks, spoons, tops of coffee cups) and packaging for their meals than those working and eating from home.

5. When leaving home, shut off all lights and energy sources, including heating and air conditioning units. There's an economic argument for this, not just an environmental one: As the U.S. Department of Energy points out, shutting off lights yields longterm savings and even offers a calculation to figure out how much you could save.

Despite splitting the difference between stage and screen in dazzling ways, Duke Johnson’s The Actor is all shine and no substance. Starring André Holland as an amnesiac stage performer piecing together his past, the part-thriller, part-love story fails to alchemize its many flourishes, leaving only a dull, hollow core.

Adapted from Donald Westlake’s novel Memory — which was written in 1963, but only published in 2010 — Johnson’s second directorial effort features flashes of brilliance that never quite cohere. Like its lead character, the film meanders aimlessly when it should have at least hints of purpose; his issues of identity feature mild hints of metaphor for losing oneself in everyday malaise, but they’re never fully articulated. Its methods also call to mind better works about memory, and a few similar films about midlife crises turned to surrealism (some of which Johnson even worked on, like Anomalisa). 

SEE ALSO: 'The Actor' trailer: Charlie Kaufman produces this memory-centric mystery

These unavoidable comparisons only kneecap The Actor further by highlighting its failings. Add to this the fact that its race-blind casting leaves a gaping hole in its telling, and what you’re left with is a cinematic misfire on far too many fronts for something this ambitious and picturesque. 

What is The Actor about? Credit: EF NEON

In a prologue styled like The Twilight Zone — appropriate, given the story’s 1950s setting — touring actor Paul Cole (Holland) receives a blow to the head from the jealous husband of the woman he’s seeing. He wakes up with no long-term memory, and only knows his name (and his Manhattan address) from the ID card in his wallet. On the advice of local police, who want to persecute him for sleeping with another man’s wife, he leaves, only to end up in an anonymous small town with no money to his name.

As Paul tries to rebuild some semblance of a life, supporting actors are cast in multiple roles in his vicinity — a distinctly stage-like flourish employing heavy-hitters like Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Olwen Fouéré, and Tracey Ullman — though this is largely for the audience’s benefit. The reappearance of these actors never results in any confusion or suspicion, if Paul even notices. Perhaps this trick of casting is intended to reflect his confusion, or his memory’s fluidity, but nothing in either Holland’s performance, or the film’s editing, ever indicates this. In reality, these encounters might be spread out over days or weeks, but since Paul seems to skip through time with little recollection of the interim — we’re only made privy to the details he retains— they seem to occur right after one another. According to the film’s own language, they ought to stick, but they don’t, turning the repetitions into a flourish with no purpose.   

While working at a tanning factory to earn enough for a bus ticket back to New York, Paul meets and gradually falls for a local woman named Edna (Gemma Chan), to whom he doesn’t reveal his lack of memory (and his lacking sense of self), even though he’s begun to recollect a handful of flashes about who he used to be. The more Paul discovers who he once was, usually through information he’s given by others, the less he likes the answers. Old friends and acquaintances paint him as a pretty nasty person, but learning this is not something he really reckons with in any meaningful way (he usually just moves on to the next turn of the plot). Paul never actually confronting his past, despite seeming curious to discover it, robs him of any sense of motive or objective — things that are, in theory, fundamental to this new, cookies-cleared version of him. 

The central drama, at first, appears to be about Paul being torn between his new life with Edna and putting together the puzzle of his past, but these things are only nominally (and temporarily) at odds. In going from one to the other (and back) as the plot progresses, Paul loses practically nothing — certainly not time, a resource that becomes infinite through his perception. The way he moves through the world is temporally oblique in ways that we, the audience, notice, but Paul is almost always a mere passenger to the movie, its techniques, and its structure, never bristling against them in an effort to regain autonomy.

It’s a recipe for boredom in any movie, but especially one in which the protagonist is a blank canvas. There is, however, no denying that Johnson and cinematographer Joe Passarelli paint his physical form quite beautifully.

The Actor is a visual treat, but brings to mind better films. Credit: EF NEON

As pithy as the movie is beneath the surface, it would’ve been so much worse had it not provided such an alluring and intuitive understanding of Paul’s predicament by way of its direction. Light moves across the frame in oblique and ethereal ways, as stage spotlights interact with both the actors and the lens, causing flares that dance in tandem with every bit of blocking and camera movement.

There’s a rhythm to The Actor that few works of Hollywood surrealism manage to match. As Paul moves between scenes, lights fade in and out to mark the passage of time, or to disguise the changing of sets, creating a sense of continuity about the character alongside a simultaneous discontinuity about his surroundings. Other times, these jagged disconnects come courtesy of sudden bursts of sensory input — light, sound, dialogue, always something memorable — as if to simultaneously re-orient and disorient the viewer in time, à la Christopher Nolan’s memory thriller Memento. (The comparison becomes unavoidable when Paul begins leaving himself scribbled notes.)

However, those who might notice this similarity are also likely to recall that Memento’s protagonist had both a lucid motivation and an active relationship to his surroundings at all times. Holland, unfortunately, has no such luxuries as an actor, and has to conjure the illusion of drama and desire from thin air. In that sense, his work is remarkable, but he isn’t given the opportunity to play in the movie’s sandbox. Another film that may come to mind is the Anthony Hopkins dementia drama The Father, a stage adaptation whose ingenious use of redressed sets and its re-use of actors induced a sense of paranoia. In The Actor, these things are merely worth a shrug. They leave the frame, and cease to matter, no sooner than they appear.

SEE ALSO: 'Anomalisa' review: More than just cinema's best puppet sex scene

Worse yet, it’s especially hard not to compare The Actor to Johnson’s own first film (co-directed by Charlie Kaufman), the stop-motion midlife crisis drama Anomalisa, in which self-centered protagonist Michael saw Tom Noonan in every person he came across. The two films have a similar ethereal glow, but their use of perspective differs wildly. In Anomalisa, what we see, what the character sees, and more importantly, how he sees, tells us more about him than anything he says. In The Actor, the similarities of everyone around him may as well be coincidence.

The biggest point of comparison is likely to be the most unfortunate for Johnson going forward: Kaufman’s directorial followup, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, a similarly surreal work of nostalgia and memory (a mostly live-action work, on which Johnson contributed to some of the animation). If one were to split Anomalisa through a prism, one refraction would resemble The Actor — a film that captures the glistening surfaces of the two men’s collaboration — while the other would resemble Kaufman’s solo efforts, like Synecdoche, New York, and the aforementioned I’m Thinking of Ending Things, whose respective tones are much more effective at externalizing complex elements of psychology, the way they’re personified in Anomalisa. It's hard to deconstruct any creative partnership mathematically, but The Actor can’t help but feel like a Kaufman facsimile.

It is also, unfortunately, a historical facsimile, given the lack of adjustments seemingly made in the wake of its casting.

The Actor suffers from race blindness. Credit: EF NEON

Ryan Gosling was once attached to star in The Actor. Plans and deals change all the time, so this is no shocking revelation, but what is surprising is how little attention appears to have been paid to the subtext of casting Holland in a part written for a white actor, a role that originated in the 1960s, and continues to be set in the 1950s.

On one hand, casting Chan as Edna, seemingly the only Asian face in her entire town, adds to the character’s sense of isolation (and perhaps, to what draws Paul to her in the first place). However, Paul being played by a Black man leads to more incongruity, beginning with his police persecution for sleeping with a white woman, a historical precedent with an incredibly charged racial subtext, but, in the film, an incident that’s only discussed in the context of infidelity.

That Paul is constantly surrounded by white characters in a rural town, some of whom look upon him with suspicion, does little to impact the character’s sense of self, though, as he's a Black person living through a fraught period of American history, one would think it certainly would. On one hand, crossing these racial lines has long been common when casting for the stage, so it’s at least in tune with the film’s M.O. On the other hand, this has traditionally been an outcome of the geographical and financial limitations of theatre, a problem cinema doesn’t usually have, and Paul’s is not the kind of role that remains in stasis when he’s played by a Black performer, given the specifics around him.

A key problem with The Actor is that it very much is the story of a Black man traversing through rural backroads and encountering police at a time when this would’ve been especially dangerous for him. Paul may not have a past, but he has an outward present, one that every character around him sees. Ironically, his lack of identity bleeds into the film at large. Like Paul, the movie lacks a distinct sense of self in the process, and comes off as nearly inhuman in its unveiling of this particular story, with this specific cast. All the lighting cues in the world can’t make up for a story about a person granted no personhood by the camera.

The Actor is now in theaters.

TL;DR: Have a scanner on hand at all times with SwiftScan VIP, now $41.99 (reg. $199) with code TAKE30 through March 30.

It's surprising how often we need to keep track of a receipt, make a copy, or digitize an important document. Though they are hard to track down these days, scanners can really come in handy.

Since most of us don't even have a printer that is easily accessible, SwiftScan is there to fill the massive multitasking-printer-sized void in our lives. And right now you can enjoy a lifetime license for just $41.99 with code TAKE30 through March 30. 

Arm your smartphone with a scanner

SwiftScan turns your smartphone or tablet into a scanner, letting you create high-quality scans in seconds via a user-friendly app. It detects the edges of the page for precise scanning and makes scanning multiple pages and turning them into a single document a breeze. 

The app actually improves upon our old-school scanners. It enhances the scan quality with color filters, auto-optimization, and blur reduction, making it a great option for professionals who need to scan items for work. 

Once you're done scanning, turn a page into a PDF or JPG. Then, choose between sending it as a fax or email attachment or uploading it to iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, or another trusted cloud service with seamless integration. Scanned items are also saved and organized by SwiftScan for easy retrieval.

Scanning something you need to work with? SwiftScan also lets you edit PDF files, so you can annotate, redact, or sign after scanning. Your clunky old scanner definitely couldn't do that. 

Take a digital copy of anything with this handy lifetime subscription to SwiftScanVIP, now only $41.99 with code TAKE30 through March 30. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: SwiftScan SwiftScan VIP: Lifetime Subscription $41.99
$199 Save $157.01 Get Deal

TL;DR: Make presentations impactful with Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional, now just $14.97 (reg. $249) for a Windows license.

Still using the same app for work presentations you did in college? That's sort of like still drinking Four Loko or showing up to a meeting in pajama pants. 

It's time to spice up how you present data with Microsoft Visio. If you want to change things up, a lifetime license for Windows is available now for only $14.97. 

Help your presentation pop

For less than the price of a pizza, you can step up your presentations and stand out in front of colleagues and bosses. Microsoft Visio offers dozens of pre-made templates, diagrams, and stencils to help articulate your points.

There are over 250,000 shapes available in their online content ecosystem, ready to make your ideas memorable and dynamic.

If you're looking to save some time, you can automatically generate org charts, process maps, floor plans, and more via data from Excel, Exchange, or Microsoft Entra ID. Or, if you're stumped on something, you can utilize Visio's brainstorming templates to help you work out ideas in real time. 

Hoping to flex your creative muscles? Visio also lets you draw your own creations, using your finger or a pen to draw directly on touch-enabled devices. This also works great if you're looking to annotate existing diagrams. 

This deal for a Windows license Microsoft Visio Professional 2021 license is only available to new users and includes all of the features from Vision Standard, plus more templates, shapes, and collaborating features.  It requires a Microsoft 365 subscription or a Microsoft SharePoint subscription to get going. 

Boost your productivity and create stunning visuals with Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional for Windows, now only $14.97 (regularly $249).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional: Lifetime License for Windows $14.97
$249 Save $234.03 Get Deal

TL;DR: Bring home a MacBook for just $229.97 (reg. $999) with this limited-time deal through March 30. 

Been laptop shopping lately? Sticker prices are enough to cause shell shock. That's why you might want to act fast on this 13.3" Apple MacBook Air deal. 

It's on sale for just $229.97, which is $770 off, but not for long. Not only do these have a high risk of selling out, the deal is only running through March 30.

This deeply discounted MacBook Air comes packed with perks

Weighing in at under three pounds, this model makes toting around a laptop much more enjoyable. But don't think that low weight means Apple skimped on their usual bells and whistles.

 This MacBook Air includes a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor with speedy performance. And despite that slim casing, it includes 128GB of flash storage to save important data right there on your computer.

The 13.3" widescreen display offers Intel HD Graphics 6000, which makes this model great for work or play. Stream your favorite shows thanks to the super smooth video streaming, get in some gaming, or enjoy high-quality images on your morning Zoom meeting. 

Connectivity isn't an issue with this device, it offers both WiFi so you can sign on from anywhere and Bluetooth so you can easily transfer files as needed. 

Another great perk? You won't have to waste time searching out an electrical outlet because this MacBook boasts an impressive 12-hour battery life. 

If you're wondering how you're securing that discount, it's because this particular model is refurbished with a grade A rating. That means it will arrive on your doorstep in near-mint condition, with virtually no sign of prior use with all the benefits of a refurbished price tag. 

Secure one of these Apple MacBook Air 13.3" models for just $229.97 (reg. $999) now through March 30, while supplies last. 

StackSocial prices subject to change. 

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air 13.3" (2017) 1.8GHz i5 8GB RAM 128GB SSD Silver (Refurbished) $229.97
Get Deal

TL;DR: BitMar Streaming Content-Finder lets you enjoy millions of shows and movies at your fingertips for life for a one-time price of $14.99 (reg. $150) with code BITMAR5 through March 30. 

Are you sick of shelling out a small fortune on streaming services monthly and still having trouble finding something to watch? BitMar could be the answer to your prayers. 

This next-generation content finder aggregates millions (yes, millions) of free movies, TV shows, videos, songs, and more from all over the internet, making it impossible to be bored. And this service is now available for life for just $14.99 with code BITMAR5 through March 30. 

This smart platform is like an entertainment all-you-can-eat buffet

BitMar uses artificial intelligence for good, hunting down filter-free content streaming all over the internet, worldwide, for your enjoyment via a Bing-powered search. And despite using powerful technology, its interface is super straightforward and user-friendly. 

By seeking out free content, BitMar can deliver more movies and television shows than cable, satellite, Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Peacock, and Hulu combined. There are also more music options than Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, and Apple Music combined. 

Aside from the vast content options, BitMar also includes perks like watching videos without ads, which especially comes in handy with content from platforms like YouTube. 

Worried BitMar sounds too good to be legal? Rest assured, BitMar complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and its content-finding model allows content creators and owners to monetize via the free traffic BitMar brings them. 

Since it's legal, you may also be curious why it's so affordable. BitMar is available at a one-time low price because you're paying for the platform, not all that content. Think of it as an all-you-can-eat buffet for your entertainment. 

Make sure you always have something to watch with this lifetime subscription to BitMar, on sale for just $14.99 (reg. $150) with code BITMAR5 now through March 30. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: BitMar BitMar Streaming Content-Finder: Lifetime Subscription $15
$150 Save $135 Get Deal

Nicole Kidman headlines the trippy mystery Holland, Mimi Cave's follow-up to the psychological thriller Fresh. Named for the picture-perfect town in which it is set, the movie aims to recapture an era of American innocence before tossing its characters into a downward spiral of disillusionment and violence. 

Watching Kidman play a happy homemaker in a pretty suburban town might swiftly recall Frank Oz's underrated 2004 comedy remake of The Stepford Wives, which Kidman starred in. Or perhaps seeing Kidman surrender her body to a hot husband who sexually bores her might recall Halina Reijn's erotic thriller Babygirl.

Unfortunately, while Holland is constructed with interesting pieces, Cave's vision is murky and her pacing is agonizingly slow. Amid an intriguing world with a Lynchian threat of villainy lurking under a serene suburban surface, Holland struggles to come together to become greater than the sum of its parts.

But admittedly, the parts on their own are intriguing. 

Holland plays as a pre-9/11 allegory. 

At first glance — or from the trailer — you might think Holland is set in the heyday of American conservative nostalgia, the 1950s, a time when housewives wore prim dresses while tending to their pretty homes and their men brought home the bacon to 2.5 well-behaved cherry-cheeked children. However, screenwriter Andrew Sodroski pivots from this expected setting to the year 2000. 

The cozy town of Holland still looks '50s idyllic in many ways, like the charming Tulip Time festival celebrating its Dutch roots with wooden clog dancing and traditional costumes. Happy homemaker Nancy Vandergroot (Kidman) routinely makes meatloaf for her optometrist husband Fred (Succession's Matthew Macfadyen) and her blonde grade-schooler Harry (Jude Hill). And for added saccharine, the shared hobby between father and son is building a model train set, complete with tiny houses, teeny figures of people, a towering windmill, and the teeniest tulips. 

However, elements of a more modern world creep in, like the use of cellphones, the mall rat hairstyle of tutor Candy (Rachel Sennott), and the comedy classic Mrs. Doubtfire playing on television. These elements cleverly tug at the central tension of the film — a perceived "classic" way of American living and the messy modern elements that threaten to ruin this perfect facade. In that vein, the first action Nancy takes in the film is to accuse Candy of stealing from her, tossing the girl into a panic before being cast out of the house (and, sadly for Sennott fans, out of the movie). In response, young Harry curses his mother out, a jarring reaction from a little boy who looks like the Precious Moments figurines on the glass shelving behind him. 

Like in Olivia Wilde's underwhelming Don't Worry Darling, Holland's heroine tries to ignore the fact there's something wrong with her seemingly ideal life. But she is plagued by bad dreams, images of her son slipping away from her as strangers fall dead at her feet. These visions are not blatantly tied to 9/11, and yet the chronological setting of the film plays as another clue that something big and traumatic is around the corner, ready to smash this cozy yet fragile sense of American safety to smithereens.

Nicole Kidman and Gael García Bernal are a mismatched comedy duo. 

Occasionally, Holland asserts that Nancy does have a job outside the home, teaching home economics at the local high school. There, she befriends fellow teacher Dave Delgado (Gael García Bernal), a caring newcomer to Holland, who — unlike her husband — hears out her suspicions. Could Fred be cheating on her? In her quest for answers, she grows closer to Dave and a truth that will change her family forever. 

While the mystery element aims for tension, Cave and Sodroski paint Holland as a satire, mocking the glossy American concept of idyllic small-town life with a vibrant color palette and beaming, oblivious locals. However, while you can see Blue Velvet influences in Cave's approach to unearthing the bloody underbelly of such a seemingly quaint place, her visual style isn't heightened enough to keep us entranced. Likewise, the quirky comedy of Kidman and Bernal never quite lands, as their dynamic isn't that of a clown and a straight man, but rather two awkward people trying to repress their lust for each other. Odder still, their attraction — while inevitable — feels inert. 

This disconnect is particularly clear in a sequence where Dave is attacked by a local drunk, who hurls racial slurs at him. While Ben confronts his attacker, Nancy hides, not wanting to be seen with a man who is not her husband. As such, the scene not only reveals once again how Holland is not the friendly Eden that Nancy imagined, but also that she is craven. And yet the scene comes and goes so fast with no consequence that it ultimately feels like an afterthought.

In general, there's an agonizing lifelessness to Holland, which means by the time Cave actually gets to her juicy reveals, the film is already dead in the water. Everything that follows, whether it gets gory, weird, or tragic, doesn't shock or awe. Perhaps part of the problem is that the big twist is so obvious that its reveal is disappointing. More than anything else, the reveal exposes Holland to be little more than a cliched Lifetime movie led by A-listers — and not in the fun way of Will Ferrell's A Deadly Adoption.

Holland just isn't strange or shocking enough to live up to its influences. The jokes don't land. The horror doesn't penetrate, and the twists don't thrill. Like a postcard, Holland is intriguing and pretty, but ultimately flat. 

Holland was reviewed out of its premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. The movie premieres on Prime Video on March 27.

Late Night host Seth Meyers has continued to take aim at President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's "desperate and embarrassing infomercial" for Teslas at the White House, presenting several clips of the former explicitly disparaging electric cars over the past couple of years.

SEE ALSO: Seth Meyers gleefully roasts Trump and Musk's Tesla ad

Tesla staged a personal showroom for Trump on the White House lawn on Tuesday, with the president making a show of buying a new Model S Plaid in response to the company's falling stock prices. Trump's purchase and promotion of the cars was a deliberate show of support for his close ally and Tesla CEO Musk. As Meyers noted, it also flew in the face of the anti-electric vehicle stance Trump has maintained for years.

"Not only was this flagrantly corrupt," said Meyers. "But this entire gambit, it all depends on Trump convincing his MAGA supporters to buy Teslas after spending months telling them on the campaign trail, 'Electric vehicles suck.'"

He then proceeded to play a collection of clips of Trump doing just that, with the now-president claiming that "they don't go far, they cost a fortune," and "they don't work in the cold."

"Oh yeah, these people definitely sound like they're gonna buy a Tesla," Meyers quipped in response to a crowd at a past Trump rally booing electric vehicles.

iRobot could soon be out of business, the Roomba's creator admitting that there's "substantial doubt about [its] ability to continue as a going concern." It's a drastic fall for the company whose Roombas were once synonymous with robot vacuums in general. 

Revealed on Wednesday, iRobot's dire assessment came as part of its financial results for Q4 2024, which showed that revenue had fallen by 44 percent compared to the same time the previous year. Comparative results for the full financial year weren't quite as bad, with revenue dropping a little over 23 percent from $890.6 million in 2023 to $681.8 million in 2024. Still, those aren't numbers iRobot wants to see shrink at all.

SEE ALSO: iRobot just completely overhauled its lineup with 8 new Roombas for 2025

Of course, iRobot has been attempting to address the problem for a while. Acknowledging the company's struggles, iRobot noted that since a January 2024 restructuring it had cut over half its staff, decreased spending on marketing, reduced inventory, and lowered the price of its products by overhauling its research and development model. 

The company also pointed to the recent unveiling of its 2025 lineup, with CEO Gary Cohen calling it the "largest product launch in iRobot's history." Even so, iRobot admitted that its future could very well depend upon how this lineup performs over the next year.

"[T]here can be no assurance that the new product launches will be successful due to potential factors, including, but not limited to consumer demand, competition, macroeconomic conditions, and tariff policies," wrote iRobot. "Given these uncertainties and the implication they may have on the Company's financials, there is substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date of the issuance of its consolidated 2024 financial statements."

The news sent iRobot's stock plummeting, ending 35 percent down when markets closed on Wednesday. The fall continued on Thursday, with iRobot's shares closing nearly a further 25 percent down. As of writing, iRobot's shares are priced at $3.06, less than half of their value on Tuesday before the financial results were released.

iRobot's poor financial results follow the collapse of a $1.4 billion acquisition deal with Amazon last January. Initially signed in 2022, both parties terminated the deal due to antitrust concerns from the European Union. In a statement at the time, iRobot said that the acquisition had "no path to regulatory approval in the European Union, preventing Amazon and iRobot from moving forward together." Now it seems iRobot may not be able to move forward at all. 

The company is hopeful that its overhauled lineup of robot vacuums will facilitate revenue growth and help get it back on track. However, iRobot's financial struggles will likely cause potential customers to think twice before picking up a new Roomba. If it can't turn itself around, some people may end up without access to support or spare parts for their brand new gadget.

A lot happens in Severance Season 2's penultimate episode, but as things heat up with Mark's (Adam Scott) attempted rescue of his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman), there's also a weird moment between Helly (Britt Lower) and her dear old dad.

No, not the mildly disturbing egg scene at the beginning — their brief interaction in the Lumon offices right at the end.

So what does Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry) say, and why does he say it? Let's recap.

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' is borrowing a brilliant idea from 'Terminator 2' What happens at the end of Severance Season 2, episode 9?

Towards the end of the episode, Helly (Britt Lower) is in the Lumon offices on her own, memorising the directions to the exports hall, which Irving (John Turturro) hid for Dylan (Zach Cherry) to find on the back of a poster. Suddenly, Eagan pops up behind her in the doorway like some creepy old ghost.

"You tricked me," he whispers. "My Helly."

Helly shoves the note under her keyboard and turns to him, looking more baffled by his presence than anything else. The scene ends with her muttering, "What the fuck?"

She has a point. Why is Jame Eagan on the Severed Floor, and what does he mean when he says that she "tricked" him?

Why does Jame Eagan say Helly "tricked" him?

At first it seems that there are a few possible explanations for Jame's comment. The first is that he knows what Helly is doing; he's seen her memorising the note, and he knows she has something planned. But if that's the case, why would someone as high up as he is go all the way to the Severed Floor to confront her himself? It also briefly crossed my mind that Helly might actually still be her Outie in this scene going undercover again, and that Jame knows she's pretending to be her Innie. But this feels too convoluted to be true — that twist has already happened once, after all — and the fact that he calls her "Helly" (coupled with her reaction to seeing him there) implies that she is still the Innie Helly we know and love.

Is it possible that Jame's main motivation is just to see his daughter in her severed state? To try and make some sense of why she did what she did in the Season 1 finale? This seems the most likely explanation, but we won't know for sure until next week.

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.

TL;DR: Unblock SpankBang from anywhere in the world with a VPN. The best service for unblocking porn sites is ExpressVPN.

Do you want to retain access to all your favorites sites, wherever you are in the world? We've got you.

Online restrictions exist for a reason, but there is also something to be said for protecting your right to online freedom. And that applies to porn sites. There is a time and place for visiting these sites, and when the time is right, you don't want any hassle. Fortunately, there is a quick and easy hack for securing your access to sites like SpankBang.

If you want to unblock sites like SpankBang for free from anywhere in the world, we have the information you need.

How to unblock SpankBang for free

VPNs can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure server in another location. This straightforward process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can access sites like SpankBang from anywhere in the world.

Unblock SpankBang by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location that supports access to SpankBang

4. Visit SpankBang

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for unblocking porn sites are not free, but most do offer free-trial peiods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can unblock porn sites like SpankBang without actually spending anything. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you the opportunity to temporarily retain access to SpankBang before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for SpankBang?

ExpressVPN is the top choice for unblocking porn sites like SpankBang, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast streaming speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Unblock SpankBang for free with ExpressVPN.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for March 14 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: To require a fee

• Green: Small items near a cash register

• Blue: Movies with different spans

• Purple: Same second word

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Impose, as a penalty

• Green: Checkout line impulse buys

• Blue: Movies of various lengths

• Purple: ___ Road

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 #642 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Impose, as a penalty: ASSESS, CHARGE, FINE, LEVY

• Checkout line impulse buys: CANDY, CHAPSTICK, CHARGING CABLE, MAGAZINE

• Movies of various lengths: EPIC, FEATURE, FILM SERIES, SHORT

• ___ Road: DIRT, HIGH, ROCKY, SILK

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 March 14

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

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

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

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

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 today: Hints and answers for March 14 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's The Mini crossword answers for March 14, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A section.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter e appears twice.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter P.

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...

PIECE.

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.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 14

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 yesterday's Wordle.

Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's a hint for today's Connections Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Reasons a flag is thrown

• Green: Used in field events

• Blue: Skiing events

• Purple: Scoring without help

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Football penalties

• Green: Track and field equipment

• Blue: Freestyle skiing forms

• Purple: Scores worth one point

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

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

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections Sports Edition #172 is...

What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition today

• Football penalties - FACE MASK, FALSE START, HOLDING, OFFSIDE

• Track and field equipment - BATON, DISCUS, HURDLE, STARTING BLOCK

• Freestyle skiing forms - AERIALS, CROSS, HALF-PIPE, MOGULS

• Scores worth one point - EXTRA POINT, FREE THROW, ROUGE, SOLO HOME RUN

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.

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

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

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

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands 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 March 14 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for March 14 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Fillin' good!

These words are related to desserts.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

The words are delicious in crust.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is ClassicPies.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for March 14

• Blueberry

• Pecan

• Pumpkin

• Apple

• Cherry

• Peach

• ClassicPies

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

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

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

Rosamund Pike and Josha Stradowski are joined by The Wheel of Time cast and showrunner Rafe Judkins to do a deep dive of the show's most exciting relationships of Season 3.

The Wheel of Time Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video.