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With Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event around the corner (on July 10, to be exact), we're expecting to see a bunch of phones unveiled, including the new Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6, and the Galaxy S25 series of devices.

Typically, we'd expect to see the Samsung Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra launch at the event, but a recent rumor from Android Headlines said there would be no "plus" model this year. The report cited filings in an IMEI database that don't mention the S25+ variant, only the S25 and S25 Ultra.

That would be a pretty big departure from the norm, given that it's been Samsung's practice to launch three variants of its Galaxy S flagship device for years (the division between the "regular" S, the S Plus, and the S Ultra started in 2020, with the launch of Samsung Galaxy S20).

The report may have been premature, though. According to SamMobile, which cites "multiple sources," the Galaxy S25+ is still very much in development.

With no other details in either report, it's tough to figure out who to trust, though we're leaning towards Samsung staying the course it set years ago; in any case, we'll know for sure in a week when Samsung makes it official.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 leak in new pictures

Notably, little has leaked about the Galaxy S25 series of devices this year, though we did hear they're getting pricier compared to last year's models, due to the addition of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip. On the other side, leaker Evan Blass recently shared images of both the upcoming Z Fold 6 and the Z Flip 6, so we can be fairly certain that those phones are, indeed, coming.

Deleting duplicates, bad shots and other unwanted files makes it easier to find the good pictures — and gives you room to take more.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for July 3 SEE ALSO: 'Wordle' today: Here's the answer hints for July 3

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Wednesday, July 3, 2024:

AcrossDefrosts

• The answer is thaws.

Event with barrel racing and bull riding

• The answer is rodeo.

"Gosh darn it!"

• The answer is aw man (no space).

Rocker who plays himself, as a murder suspect, on Only Murders in the Building

• The answer is Sting.

Have the ___ for (be attracted to)

• The answer is hots.

DownTotally awful, in slang

• The answer is trash.

Words on many self-help books

• The answer is how to (no space).

Confess

• The answer is admit.

Gradually introduces to solid food

• The answer is weans.

Best Original ___ (Oscars category)

• The answer is song.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Getting a new Apple Watch is fun, but learning how to clean your Apple Watch is not — unless you're getting easy-to-follow tips from Mashable.

We're going to tell you how to clean your Apple Watch properly, so you don't have to think about getting a new smartwatch just yet.

SEE ALSO: 7 best Apple Watch apps to download now
How to clean Apple Watch screen

Besides wanting to earn style points for a sleek and stylish timepiece, cleaning your watch and band regularly and thoroughly to get rid of build up of dirt, bacteria and grime is just good hygiene.

Credit: Mashable

To keep the display squeaky clean and "like new," you’ll need a nonabrasive lint-free cloth (so your screen isn’t scratched or damaged). And remember: never soak your watch or dry them with heat. 

1. Turn off your Apple Watch and remove it from the charger.

2. Remove your band, especially if it’s leather.

3. Dampen (not soak) your cloth with water. Do not use soap.

4. Gently wipe down the screen with the aforementioned cloth.

5. Dry your watch with a dry cloth.

How to clean Apple Watch band

There are different kinds of Apple watch bands, which means they all have slightly different instructions for cleaning. 

Credit: Mashable

Before you do anything else, remove your band from your watch. 

Leather bands and Hermès knit bands:

1. Wipe with a cloth.

2. If needed, lightly dampen the cloth with water. Don’t use soap and don't soak the band.

3. Let it air dry completely before wearing it and keep it away from heat, high temperatures and direct sunlight.

Solo Loop, Braided Solo Loop, Sport Band, Sport Loop, Ocean Band, Alpine Loop, and Trail Loop, Hermès Rubber bands:

1. Wipe with a cloth.

2. If needed, lightly dampen the cloth with water. You can also use a mild hypoallergenic hand soap.

3. Dry the band with a cloth.

Woven (Apple brand and Hermès), Magnetic link and Buckle bands:

1. Create a cleaning solution: 1 tsp or 5 mL of liquid laundry detergent and 1 cup or 250 mL of water.

2. Dip your cloth into the solution and gently rub the cloth on your band for one minute.

3. Clean with a separate damp cloth.

4. Dry the band with a cloth and make sure to remove excess moisture.

5. Make sure you let your band dry for one day before using it again.

Don’t forget to check if your band is water resistant (woven bands and leather bands aren’t). If your band type is not listed, just stick to cleaning with a non-abrasive, lint-free cloth, dampen if necessary — and dry with another, lint-free cloth (or follow the cleaning instructions that came with the band).

It's recommended that you wash your Apple Watch band as often as you do laundry: about once every one to two weeks.

Apple Watch $300.00 at eBay
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Meta has already changed how AI-generated content is labelled on its platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

In a statement released on July 1, the tech giant said it relied on "industry standard indicators" to make an informed decision on how to approach AI content. Previously, the label read "Made with AI", but will now say "AI Info", a broader title to encompass how AI is used to create photographs and videos posted on Meta apps.

SEE ALSO: Reports that Apple and Meta in talks for an AI partnership disputed

The change comes after backlash from creatives and photographers, and general user confusion, about what "Made with AI" actually means on Meta platforms.

"Like others across the industry, we’ve found that our labels based on these indicators weren’t always aligned with people’s expectations and didn’t always provide enough context," reads the updated blog post.

The new label will indicate content made and/or modified with the use of AI.

There's a new version of macOS coming, but your laptop might not get every new feature.

When macOS Sequoia launches later this year, it will introduce a variety of new features, including iPhone screen mirroring to MacBooks. Importantly, according to MacRumors, it will be compatible with any MacBook that currently supports macOS Sonoma, meaning an upgrade may not be necessary. Or will it?

Cutting to the chase, there are a couple of features you'll miss out on if you don't have a MacBook powered by Apple silicon. That means your MacBook needs to have at least an M1 chip inside of it, if not a newer one. So what exactly does macOS Sequoia bring to the table? Let's dive in.

SEE ALSO: iPhone X and first-gen HomePod are now 'vintage' Apple products macOS Sonoma features that won't come to Intel MacBooks

The two macOS Sonoma features you won't get on Intel MacBooks are, unsurprisingly, related to artificial Apple Intelligence.

1. Live audio transcriptions in Notes

The new macOS is getting the ability to record notes within the Apple Notes app and have AI automatically transcribe what is said in them. Well, it's getting that ability if you have an M1 MacBook or better, anyway.

Per MacRumors, this is one of the features you won't get with an Intel MacBook. Live audio transcription can be very useful, so Intel folks will be missing out.

2. Apple Intelligence

Intel MacBook users will be missing out on Apple Intelligence. Apple's AI initiative, which includes partnerships with ChatGPT and possibly Google Gemini, will only work on Apple silicon. (This is due to Intel chips not having a neural engine.) That means people with slightly older iPhones and iPads are out of the picture, too. It's not great, but hey, that's technology.

A U.S. reconnaissance plane swooped through Hurricane Beryl — the earliest-recorded Category 5 storm to ever form in the Atlantic Ocean basin.

The powerful hurricane capitalized upon anomalously warm sea surface temperatures and favorable atmospheric conditions to intensify into a powerful cyclone, with winds reaching some 165 mph. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent a hardy four-engine turboprop aircraft through the tempest in a mission to gather valuable storm observations. Meteorologists then feed this data into complex computer simulations to forecast the storm's future track and intensity.

On July 2, the agency posted images the mission captured as it flew through the hurricane's eye. In the views below, you're looking at a grandiose "stadium effect," showing Beryl's towering stack of clouds.

SEE ALSO: If a scary asteroid will actually strike Earth, here's how you'll know

"OVER THE CARIBBEAN - Inside the eye of Category 5 Hurricane #Beryl!" NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center wrote on the website X, formerly Twitter. "NOAA WP-3D Orion #NOAA43 'Miss Piggy' continues operations into Hurricane #Beryl to collect data for hurricane forecasting and research."

A NOAA hurricane hunter craft flies through the eye of Hurricane Beryl on July 2, 2024. Credit: NOAA The "stadium effect," as seen by hurricane hunters in the eye of Hurricane Beryl. Credit: NOAA Tweet may have been deleted

Although the eye of a hurricane is relatively calm, the storm's strongest winds are located in those cloudy walls, called the eyewall. Strong rotating winds create these iconic, if not unsettling, hurricane eyes.

Though a number of factors influence the formation of strong hurricanes (a lack of opposing winds that can break apart storms, moist air, etc.), a vital influence is warm sea surface temperatures of over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius). Warm oceans act as jet fuel for hurricanes, storm scientists explain. That's because warmer oceans fuel tropical storms as more water naturally evaporates into the air, giving storms energy and moisture to intensify.

Tweet may have been deleted

In the coming years and decades, increasingly warmer oceans may play a role in boosting the odds of rapidly intensifying hurricanes, which pose a great risk to people in hurricane country. Beryl, for example, intensified from a tropical depression (winds of 38 mph or less) to a major hurricane (111 mph or above) in under 48 hours. That's fast.

The extremely absorbent oceans soak up over 90 percent of the heat that humans, due to fossil fuel burning, trap on Earth. And there's no sign of ocean warmth slowing down. Today, Atlantic hurricanes are already twice as likely to develop from a milder storm into a major hurricane.

Beryl, now churning through the Caribbean, is expected to remain a powerful hurricane this week and will bring "Life-Threatening Winds and Storm Surge to Jamaica on Wednesday," the National Hurricane Center said.

The 4th of July is just days away, and that means the best 4th of July deals are up for grabs. Check out our picks for some of the best laptop deals you can find ahead of the holiday:

Overview Best Laptop Deal Lenovo IdeaPad (AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $479.99 at Best Buy (Save $320) Get Deal Best Chromebook Deal HP Chromebook Plus x360 14c (128GB SSD) $509.99 at HP (Save $280) Get Deal Best Gaming Laptop Deal Acer Nitro V 15 (Intel Core i7-13620H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $849.99 at Amazon (Save $150) Get Deal

Laptops can be huge purchases. That's why it's a good idea to shop for them around sales holidays when you can potentially save some serious cash. The 4th of July is just a couple of days away, but there is already a wide selection of laptops on sale to choose from at a variety of retailers.

Whether you want a daily driver, a gaming laptop to play some of the year's hottest releases, or a Chromebook to handle the kids' homework, there's something out there for you. You just don't need to pay full price when there are sales events everywhere right now – including the upcoming Amazon Prime Day, where you can also expect to see price cuts across just about every category.

We've rounded up several of our favorite deals that you can pick up right now ahead of the holiday. Be sure and grab yours quickly, because they won't last long.

Best laptop deal Opens in a new window Credit: Best Buy Lenovo IdeaPad (AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $479.99 at Best Buy
$799.99 Save $320.00 Get Deal Why we like it

This affordable IdeaPad is a great overall pick for anyone in the market for a new laptop. It boasts a large 15-inch touch display, powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and 16GB of RAM with a 512GB SSD. It weighs just 3.53 pounds, and at just 0.7 inches thick, it's a great pick to take along with you or leave at home as your desktop replacement. Plus, it comes with a webcam as well so you can take all your work calls and hang out with friends and family straight from your computer. And if you need physical media, it even has an SD card reader built-in, a rarity these days.

Best Chromebook deal Opens in a new window Credit: HP HP Chromebook Plus x360 14c (128GB SSD) $509.99 at HP
$789.99 Save $280.00 Get Deal Why we like it

This 14-inch Chromebook comes packed with useful AI features that can help you figure out what to write next, edit photos, and create your own wallpapers. Most importantly, it's perfectly portable and lightweight so it makes for a good on-the-go computer or daily driver for work or play. It has an excellent keyboard, a variety of accessible ports, and plenty of RAM to handle just about anything you throw at it. For a Chromebook under $600, it's an excellent option — and maybe something to give any of the students for their homework needs.

Best gaming laptop deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Acer Nitro V 15 (Intel Core i7-13620H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $999.99 at Amazon
Get Deal Why we like it

This budget gaming laptop took home our Mashable Choice Award thanks to its low price and range of fantastic features. Not only does it boast a powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU and an Intel Core i7 H-series processor, but it's able to run just about every one of the latest titles available now, plus it's capable of handling the other games coming down the pipeline. It's an attractive computer at that, with 16GB of RAM to back up the power it's got under the hood. If you've had your eye on a gaming laptop for some time, you really can't go wrong with this one for the price.

More laptop deals:

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (Apple M2, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $849 $999 (save $150)

• HP Envy x360 15t-fe100 (Intel Core Ultra 5 125U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $629.99 $999.99 (save $370)

• HP Envy 17t-da000 (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $849.99 $1,299.99 (save $450)

• Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1, 14-inch (Intel Core 5 120U, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $609.99 $819.99 (save $210)

• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i, 16-inch (Intel Core 5 120U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $639.99 $849.99 (save $210)

• Lenovo Legion Slim 5, 16-inch (AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $899.99 $1,349.99 (save $450)

• Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1, 14-inch (AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $819.99 $999.99 (save $180)

• Samsung Galaxy Book4 (Intel Core 7 150U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $599.99 $899.99 (save $300)

• Acer Swift Edge 16 (AMD Ryzen 7 7840U, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $999.99 $1,299.99 (save $300)

• Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (Intel Core i7-13620H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,099.99 $1,449.99 (save $350)

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (Apple M3, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $949 $1,099 (save $150)

• Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $949.99 $1,099.99 (save $150)

• Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 (Intel Core Ultra 7, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,099.99 $1,499.99 (save $400)

• LG gram SuperSlim (Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $999.99 $1,399.99 (save $400) + free 16-inch LG gram +view IPS Portable Monitor

TL;DR: Pay only $19 for the Steam key to World War Z and slay zombies on your PC.

Remember the days when zombies were almost everywhere in pop culture? Nearly every company had its own version of the undead. But truth be told, only a few managed to leave a lasting bite, and one of those was World War Z.

If you're still not over Brad Pitt's zombie-slaying spree, you can step into his shoes with the World War Z video game. Even better, the Steam key for PC gaming is on sale for $19 (reg. $29.99). Inspired by the blockbuster Paramount Pictures film, it promises fast-paced gameplay that should keep you on edge and, probably, yelling at your screen.

This co-op third-person shooter allows up to four players, taking you on a global zombie-killing tour from New York to Moscow, Japan, and Jerusalem. Your main goal? Outlive the dead (obviously) by battling swarms of zombies. But these aren't your typical brain-dead walkers; the in-game zombie hordes are designed to move like real crowds and get progressively harder to defeat as you advance through the game.

While you can always tough it out and play solo, where's the fun in that? The game allows for teaming up with friends in PvPvZ modes. You can choose your class, level up to different classes with distinct perks and play styles, and unlock weapon upgrades to tackle even tougher challenges.

Now's your chance to take on the zombie apocalypse, Pitt-style. Normally retailing for $29.99, you can score the Steam key to World War Z on sale for just $19 — no coupon necessary.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Aspyr World War Z: Steam Key for PC Gaming $19.00 at The Mashable Shop
$29.99 Save $10.99 Get Deal

TL;DR: Effortlessly convert your documents with a lifetime license to PDF Converter Pro, on sale for only $24.97 (reg. $99) through July 21. 

Opens in a new window Credit: Acethinker PDF Converter Pro: Lifetime License $24.97 at The Mashable Shop
$99.99 Save $75.02 Get Deal

When you need a high-quality PDF, this all-in-one converter and creator software makes it easy to convert PDF documents into several formats or processes. PDF Converter Pro's software preserves original layouts, texts, images, and hyperlinks without compromising the document's clarity.

Effortlessly convert your documents with a lifetime license to PDF Converter Pro, on sale for only $24.97 (reg. $99) through July 21.

Converter Pro gives you the ability to convert to and from PDF to several document formats, including MS Word, JPG, Excel, and more. The built-in OCR technology lets you extract text from image-based PDF documents with the original format and graph when converting scanned PDFs. 

Other features include merging multiple PDFs into one document, splitting, and compressing. Easily extract JPGs and PNGs from PDFs in a single click. Whether you’re an at-home or professional user, there comes a time when we all need a document signed, converted, or edited, and this PDF document conversion tool makes it simple. 

With PDF Converter Pro, you’ll never have to worry about the security of your documents. Lock or unlock your PDFs with password protection encryption and rest easy knowing your data is secure. 

Upon purchase, you’ll get a lifetime license to PDF Converter Pro for desktop access on up to devices. Be sure your system requirements are updated to Windows 8/10/11 or macOS X 10.8 or later. 

Get a lifetime license to PDF Converter Pro for just $24.97 (reg. $99) through July 21. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Enjoy a lifetime subscription to HostVerge and get your websites up and running conveniently for only $178.99 (reg. $699) for a limited time. 

Opens in a new window Credit: HostVerge HostVerge: Lifetime Subscription (Tier 4) $178.99 at The Mashable Shop
$699.00 Save $520.01 Get Deal

Having a website is a crucial part of running a business. Even if your business has a physical location or shop, it's your digital storefront that informs potential customers about you before they even walk inside. So if you're trying to get your new venture off the ground or bring your old one into 2024, it's probably time to make a website. And HostVerge is there to make hosting plans for that website much more convenient. 

HostVerge offers top-tier hosting services, ideal for e-commerce businesses, entrepreneurs, and agencies alike, in one convenient spot. And right now you can secure a Tier 4 subscription to host an unlimited number of websites for life for just $178.99 for a limited time. 

There are numerous perks to using HostVerge, like unlimited SSD storage and bandwidth for your website, a free Content Delivery Network that helps your site load faster, and SSL certificates that help your future websites load quickly and stay secure. And one-click installation means your sites will be live in no time, as it works with popular platforms like WordPress, Joomla, OpenCart, and more. 

This Tier 4 lifetime subscription includes unlimited websites, so you can create them both now and in the future for a one-time low price. There's also unlimited storage offered, so you can utilize as many files, databases, and media as you want in your site. 24/7 customer service and WordPress support is all included as well, so if you need any help it's just a few clicks away. 

Host online for life with this lifetime subscription to HostVerge, now $178.99 (reg. $699) right here for a limited time. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: 1minAI puts AI models from OpenAI, Meta, Google, and more at your disposal to generate text, images, or edit audio, and you can get it for life for $39.99. 

ChatGPT was a huge deal when it dropped, but it's not the only big AI model on the playground anymore. GPT-4 is pretty fancy, but it's not always the best option for every type of content you want to create. The only problem is if you want more options, that often means more subscriptions. At least, it would if you didn't have the option to get multiple AI models for life in one place by getting 1minAI. This lifetime subscription gives you access to GPT-4, Mistral AI, and a lot more for just $39.99. 

What does 1minAI do?

One AI hub where you can access models for generating text, images, and editing audio seems a little too good to be true, so here's the catch. There's a finite amount you can generate every month, but you get 450,000 free credits per month, and unused credits roll over. If you're using 1min for work, that means your vacation time isn't wasting credits you've already paid for. 

The list of AI models included with 1min is seriously impressive. Check it out: 

• GPT-4o, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4, GPT-3.5 (OpenAI)

• Claude 3 Opus, Claude 3 Sonnet, Claude 3 Haiku, Claude 2.1, Claude Instant 1.2 (Anthropic)

• Gemini Pro 1.5, Gemini Pro 1.0 (GoogleAI)

• Llama 3, Llama 2 (MetaAI)

• MistralAI

• Command (Cohere)

The AI writing tools are super versatile. Working on an SEO project? Save time doing keyword research. Can't remember what passive voice is? One can be helped by an AI grammar tool. There's even a paraphraser for research and a ton of social tools for writing Facebook, LinkedIn, and X content. 

Not all of these AI models are for generating text. You can generate images, turn text to speech or speech to text, enhance videos, or even use AI to look over a PDF file. Now, instead of skimming a whole long document, you can just ask AI to answer your questions for you. 

Your AI team

You don't have to subscribe to every big AI tool. 

Just get a lifetime subscription to 1minAI for $39.99. 

StackSocial prices subject to change. 

Opens in a new window Credit: 1minAI 1minAI: Lifetime Subscription $39.99 at The Mashable Shop
$234.00 Save $194.01 Get Deal

The Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, bordering Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, was a flurry of activity. Staff lugged cases of wine upstairs and placed branded hand fans on the pews. Rayne Fisher-Quann, the 22-year-old Canadian TikTokker turned writer of Internet Princess, a Substack newsletter, stood at the back of the church surveying in a poofy red dress and black sling-back heels. She apologetically abandoned set-up to speak with me. 

SEE ALSO: Celebrity-voiced erotica is the new frontier in online celeb thirst

It's two hours before Fisher-Quann's first live show in New York City, organized for her paid subscribers in collaboration with Substack. The event conveniently brought together a roster of other Substack writers — Eliza McLamb, Mackenzie Thomas, Marlowe Granados, Terry Nguyen, and P.E. Moskowitz, as well as Dead Weight author Emmeline Cline — for a night of secrets, shame, and confession. Each writer, including Fisher-Quann, read another writer's essay revealing a secret aiming for anonymity, although attendees described the writer of each essay as "obvious." None of the essays were published before, or will ever be, ephemeral in a way that Fisher-Quann's online work isn't.

There's not much privacy in a church, and with all the private rooms already in use for the event, the church's point person offered us the organ pit. We walked up the stairs to a balcony overlooking the ornate gold apse and the dark wooden pews. She paused to photograph the view on her iPhone, and we sat down in two black folding chairs next to the large green organ.

Some internet personalities might have chosen a church as the setting of their live event because of its "aesthetic shock value." But for Fisher-Quann, the meaning lies in its relationship to the night's subject matter. "A church is a place where you can have these emotional, intimate moments that might seem unacceptable or cross a certain line in the outside world," she tells Mashable. "It felt really beautiful to take this space that has meant so much to me in positive ways and a space that has also been complicated for me and use it to celebrate shame and secrecy." Growing up Catholic, her relationship to shame and guilt has always been tied to religion, and her hope for the event was to reclaim it from the right wing and create a space of "leftism and pride" without shame.

A church, the physical locus for celebrations of the defining parts of birth, life, and death, is also a location fit for Fisher-Quann's aim: to seek something real in her amorphous and intangible internet fame. 

Distancing herself from TikTok

Fisher-Quann first came to prominence on TikTok for her conversational, feminist takes. Her videos were part of a larger moment that established the social media platform as a potential home of Gen Z cultural criticism. But exhausted from the constraints of the algorithm and wanting to write long-form, Fisher-Quann left after cultivating an audience. 

On TikTok, she felt that everything she and her peers tried to do was challenged by the platform's mechanisms. Her videos were constantly reported, and her account was taken down for "talking about feminism." TikTok would have permanently deleted her account if her manager hadn't stepped in.

"You'll get so many people saying the stupidest shit you've heard about the things you're saying."

"There was a point where I [realized] I am dedicating so much of my time to generating profit for this third party that doesn't care about me. I don't own any of my work," says Fisher-Quann.

It wasn't just the restrictions on her videos and financial implications that steered her away from the platform but also the algorithm. Rather than people opting into her content, the algorithm sent viewers to her page indiscriminatly, resulting in what she describes as a unique kind of "brain rot."

SEE ALSO: How 'blue comments' turned the TikTok algorithm into a protest tool

"You'll get so many people saying the stupidest shit you've heard about the things you're saying," she says. Moving over to Substack allowed her to write for an audience that engages with her work in good faith, empowering her to take more creative risks. Instead of being served on indiscriminate FYPs, her thoughts are delivered exclusively to paying subscribers.

Fisher-Quann hasn't been on TikTok in over a year. "It was making me a little dumber," she explains. Although she acknowledges that creators on TikTok introduced her to books, art, and even some of her closest friends, she thinks those are instances where people trumped the way TikTok was supposed to work. "Every time that I felt myself falling into what TikTok wanted me to do — the mindless scrolling — I felt my attention span getting smaller, I felt my world getting smaller," she adds.

Creators working against the grain of TikTok and making thoughtful, challenging content are trapped between social media's limitations and the harassment it enables. Many followed in Fisher-Quann's footsteps and left the platform. Yet, it may be young people who suffer the future consequences. At a lecture at McGill University last year, she was approached by two tenth-grade girls who were inspired to look up Karl Marx during her talk. Where will teenage girls learn about radical politics if people like her move behind paid events and subscriptions?

Now freed from TikTok's discourse of the day, Fisher-Quann spends most of her time on Instagram and X, preferring Reels to her TikTok FYP. "[Reels is] always giving me Southern Protestant women talking about how they need to serve their husbands," she says. "[TikTok's algorithm] had me so down, and I found it quite scary. Reels is less scary because they haven't quite nailed it yet. It's a comforting thing to have a bumbling overlord."

A fitting location for her event. Credit: Anna Maria Lopez Becoming the Internet Princess

On her Substack, she was an early critic of how women are encouraged to brand themselves online into highly readable "eras." Since her essay, "standing on the shoulders of complex female characters," published in 2022, women defining themselves in this superficial way have exploded and have since evolved from eras into types of "girls."

"Women are pressured to brand themselves and to shape themselves in accordance to the desires of another from the day that we're born. That's something that's exacerbated online," she explains. "It is really easy, especially online, to tie up every facet of your worth with the way that people perceive you and to distill yourself down to this list of identity markers and consumable objects."

SEE ALSO: 2023's girl dinner, girl math, girlhood: What did we gain from a year of girl trends?

Often approaching her subjects as a participant rather than an observer, she first tackled the way women are encouraged to brand themselves online because she personally struggled with the pressure to define herself in that way but found it a dangerous venture. 

Making her living as an internet personality in the years since the essay was published, Fisher-Quann grappled with her relationship between art and her presentation of self online. "For me, it comes down to thinking a lot about whether I love the things I love because of how they make me feel, or whether I love these things or promote my consumption of these things because of how I want people to perceive me, or because I love how I think I might be perceived for being seen with those things," she says, as Madonna's "Like A Prayer" blasts through the church's sound system in preparation for the night's event.

"This is so funny," she laughs.

Building an online-to-IRL audience

Ahead of her lecture at McGill, she was convinced no one would show up. Building her career online at the beginning of the pandemic made it challenging to grasp if her audience had an appetite for in-person events. "When people are just numbers on a screen, it's impossible to know who's going to show up. You can get a lot of likes or a lot of followers and have nobody want to show up to an event that you do," she says.

SEE ALSO: Unlearning loneliness: How TikTok is rewriting the rules of connection

The Internet Princess Substack event only solidified her readers' hunger for in-person events. The church was at full capacity, with 400 to 500 people sitting in the pews. Fisher-Quann joined me on Zoom a week later to reflect on the evening. "I have a lot of trouble sometimes trying to hold onto concrete meaning on the internet because everything feels so ephemeral, but [it] also feels devoid of meaning, overly commercial, aesthetic, meaningless, and intangible. [The event] felt like something to hold on to, like a real thing," she adds.

By the end of our conversation at Holy Trinity, the church was bathed in pink light. Fisher-Quann left with one final thought: "I have to put on some chainmail."

I slipped out the side entrance 45 minutes before the doors opened, yet a crowd of diehard fans had already begun to form in front of the church's red doors. I saw on Instagram that the line later wrapped around two city blocks. The young women dressed in the uniform of daily posters: a black slip dress over a pink lace long sleeve, low-slung jeans and a tight white baby tee, and a blue-and-white dress with puff sleeves. They were there not just for a glimpse of an Internet Princess but for a piece of the real, tangible community she built.

Max shared a video of the "House of the Dragon" cast reacting to comments from fans. Watch.

Google just released its annual sustainability report on Tuesday, and the numbers aren't great. The company revealed its greenhouse gas emissions have increased by almost 50 percent over the last five years, which hasn't been helped by AI's considerable energy consumption. It looks like Google has a long way to go before its anywhere near its goal of net zero emissions by 2030.

SEE ALSO: Here's how Google thinks AI should be regulated

The most egregious statistic in Google's 2024 Environmental Report is the tech giant's whopping 48 percent increase in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2019, the base year against which the company's progress is tracked. That's a 13 percent increase year on year, amounting to 14.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

For comparison, the average car produces 4.6 tonnes per annum, meaning Google emitted more greenhouse gas than over 3.1 million cars last year. 

Google's report blamed this jump primarily on "increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions." In short, it comes down to artificial intelligence — an unsurprising culprit considering Google's AI search summaries alone use 10 times the amount of energy as a standard Google search (as do ChatGPT queries). Like many tech companies, Google has been rapidly implementing AI in practically every area of its business, from its Translate tool to its Photos app.

"As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment," read Google's report.

Despite having no intention to slow its AI integration, Google seems blissfully unconcerned about whether it can realistically continue its current course and still reach its 2030 net zero goal. The tech giant stated that it expects its greenhouse gas emissions to temporarily rise before falling, though provided little practical explanation for how the company intends to achieve this. Google even acknowledged that some issues keeping it from its net zero target just don't have solutions right now. 

Those bars should be getting lower, not higher. Credit: Google

That, it seems, is a problem for future Google.

"Our approach will continue to evolve and will require us to navigate significant uncertainty — including the uncertainty around the future environmental impact of AI, which is complex and difficult to predict," wrote Google. "In addition, solutions for some key global challenges don’t currently exist, and will depend heavily on the broader clean energy transition."

The company did note that while its total emissions have increased, they've done so at a slower rate than the past two years. Still, pointing out that you aren't polluting as much as you could have been feels like a feeble defence. If Google continues to progress as it has been, it could very well double its greenhouse gas emissions rather than reach net zero by 2030.

Google further cited a 2021 report by Boston Consulting Group claiming that AI has the potential to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by five to 10 percent. Specifically, the report stated that AI can cut emissions by analysing areas such as production and transportation to improve efficiency. However, it paid significantly less attention to the emissions cost of AI technology itself. The report was also conducted by members of BCG GAMMA, which sells AI solutions to companies.

In any case, 10 percent is pretty inconsequential when compared to 48 percent.

Google's 2024 Environmental Report isn't all bad news. The company stated it replenished around 18 percent of freshwater used by its data centres and offices, tripling the percentage from 2022. It's still a far way off from Google's 120 percent goal, but substantially better than six percent. Packaging for new products launched in 2023 were also 99 percent plastic-free, an improvement of three percent.

However, Google backslid in other areas. Food waste diverted from landfill decreased from 85 to 82 percent, while the amount of recycled plastic in Google products fell from 41 to 34 percent.

Funding for A.I. firms made up nearly half the $56 billion in U.S. start-up financing from April to June, according to PitchBook.

TL;DR: Through July 21, you can get Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional for Windows for just £15.77 (reg. £197.38).

Opens in a new window Credit: Retail King Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional for Windows £15.79 at the Mashable Shop
£197.40 Save £181.61 Get Deal

If you're someone who works with large or complex data sets, you don't have to go it alone. Microsoft Visio is a diagramming tool to help you visualise big data, and it's on sale right now.

Through July 21, you can get Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional for Windows for just £15.77 (reg. £197.38). This deal is only available to new users.

Visio helps users create a wide variety of diagrams, such as flowcharts, organisational charts, floor plans, network diagrams, and more. It is designed to simplify complex information using visual representations, making it easier to understand, communicate, and analyse data.

It offers a wide array of ready-made, customisable templates that make it easier to get started. You can also choose from 250,000 shapes and generate org charts from data sources such as Excel, Exchange, and Microsoft Entra ID.

One of Visio Pro 2021's more popular features is its ability to link diagrams to real-time data. This allows you to visualise data dynamically, making information easier to understand and act upon. By connecting diagrams to live data sources, you can gain valuable insights and make better-informed decisions quickly.

This program also gives you template options to help brainstorm ideas via visualising problems and mapping possible solutions.

Get Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional for Windows for £15.77 (reg. £197.38) through July 21 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game 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 July 1's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

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.

Tweet may have been deleted

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.

Tweet may have been deleted

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 categories

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

• Yellow: No wrong answers

• Green: Easy Pieces

• Blue: Not fake

• Purple: "Stage," "enact," and "toss" are all synonyms for...

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: DEVELOP, AS IDEAS

• Green: KINDS OF CAKE

• Blue: TANGIBLE

• Purple: THINGS YOU CAN THROW IN METAPHORS 

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 Connections #388 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• DEVELOP, AS IDEAS - BRAINSTORM, IDEATE, SPITBALL, WORKSHOP

• KINDS OF CAKE - BIRTHDAY, CRUMB, MARBLE, POUND

• TANGIBLE - CONCRETE, MATERIAL, REAL, SOLID

• THINGS YOU CAN THROW IN METAPHORS - CURVEBALL, PARTY, TANTRUM, WRENCH 

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.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers 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 June 29's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

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.

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

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 used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

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.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Inner leg.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

H appears twice.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter T.

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 Wordle #1110 is...

THIGH.

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.

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

Beverly Hills Cop 4 is a terrible idea on paper. Sure, the 1984 action-comedy and its sequel Beverly Hills Cop II were massive hits, proving Saturday Night Live's Eddie Murphy had made the leap to leading man. But 1994's Beverly Hills Cop III was a flop with critics and audiences, effectively knocking the franchise out of commission for 30 years. On top of that, the funny franchise's conceit is now potentially problematic: A cocky cop solves crime while cracking rude jokes and breaking all the rules. With countless news headlines about police brutality and insensitivity, how do you bring back Axel Foley for a modern audience? Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is how. 

I myself was deeply dubious about the possibility of a Beverly Hills Cop 4 being anything but groan-inducing. So, it is with great pleasure that I tell you I was wrong, and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is outstanding. 

Eddie Murphy is as good as ever as Axel Foley.  Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Netflix

Axel still knows how to outfox crooks and land a punchline. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F proves this efficiently with a rousing opening sequence at a hockey arena. Sitting with a white colleague, Axel talks hockey with the irreverent jokes that play to his signature speedy patter. The difference here is that this Axel only punches up, mocking white fragility instead of employing tired stereotypes. Rather than feeling like a compromise in fear of so-called cancel culture, these jokes support the undercurrent of his journey. Axel has always pushed back on power structures, be it wealthy white men who felt they were above the law or police commissioners who felt public relations was more important than public safety. So it makes sense that as he grows older, his humor grows toward bolstering this previously established ideology. 

Screenwriters Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten set up the pins with this sharp self-awareness, and Murphy knocks them down with the brute force of that trademark smile and expert comedic timing. Five minutes into Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, I was already grinning ear to ear, and there hadn't even been any action yet. Incredibly, the screenwriters have a sophisticated strategy for this too. 

In many action movies featuring aging stars, awkward cuts are employed to avoid showing how their bodies or their mobility may have changed, but Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is too smart to be slowed down. The 63-year-old Murphy isn't going to be running around like he did three decades ago, so the screenwriters came up with a clever and comedic accommodation: commandeering increasingly ridiculous vehicles. Axel leaps from snow plows to meter maid trolleys to helicopters, and each setup isn't a dodge but an opportunity for visual gags — like being maced by a meter maid. Plus, each of these choices reaffirms how Axel still thinks on his feet. Lucky for us, Murphy's not the only one radiant in their return. 

Axel F reunites us with Paul Reiser, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Bronson Pinchot.  Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix

The premise of this fourth installment follows a familiar framework: An unsolved crime puts one of Axel's loved ones in trouble, pulling him to Beverly Hills to investigate on his own. This cozy setup allows for Reiser, Ashton, and Reinhold to reprise their role as Axel's embattled cop buddies. The former two have risen through the ranks and are now the desk-bound blowhards Axel rails against. Meanwhile, Billy (Reinhold) is a private detective who is chasing a lead that leads to him going missing. 

The nostalgic thrill of seeing this band back together is undeniable. Ashton is once more gruff but lovable, Reinhold sweet with a twang of chaos, and Reiser practically radiates with a tooth-gritting affection, even as Axel gives him hell. But the return that had me literally squealing with excitement is Bronson Pinchot as Serge. The unexpected breakout character has grown to be more than a cheap gag about a certain brand of flamboyant LA man. 

Director Mark Molloy has laced in terrific montages that deftly establish the luxurious lunacy of Los Angeles, including a pearl-wearing dog being hand-fed sushi at an outdoor eatery. But Serge is a celebration of all this absurdity rolled into one loud, beloved package with plenty of panache. Pinchot's inexplicable accent and crackling comedic chemistry with Murphy makes for one of the movie's funniest sequences, aided by Nasim Pedrad as an over-sharing real estate agent. Here, the energy in a garish mansion has a spontaneity that turns the silly scene into a tennis match, with jokes coming so hard and fast you might be left breathless from laughing. But Pedrad is not the only new addition making her mark on Axel F. 

Taylour Paige and Joseph Gordon-Levitt ground Axel F's crucial dramatic arc.  Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Netflix

Amazingly, what sets this fourth movie apart is a plotline that sounds achingly cliche: Axel comes to the aid of his grown child, who is facing deadly criminal forces in pursuit of justice. But far from some sloppy attempt to hand the franchise off to a younger generation, the screenwriters introduce Jane (Taylour Paige), Axel's defense attorney daughter who is working pro-bono for an alleged "cop-killer." The tension between this cop dad and his public defender daughter often runs at a high pitch — a weakness that's played like a fiddle by Axel's antagonist, a slick and snarling LA cop (Kevin Bacon). But what's most moving about this is not their ideological differences but the father-daughter frustrations that are almost achingly common. 

Where Axel might be the best when it comes to finding clues, he's clueless with how to reconnect to his estranged daughter. Instead of playing her role as a pale imitation of Murphy's iconic character, Paige lays out a headstrong heroine of her own — one whose soft spot is her dad. Arguments over who's to blame for the distance between them are charged in authenticity, recognizing not only the careless ways family members can wound each other but also the difference in how millennials and their boomer parents communicate about feelings. Where Axel is quick with a joke, Jane is unblinkingly direct, as is her ex-boyfriend, a young detective (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who calls Axel out with a firm yet empathetic tone. 

Where the villain of this movie will snark about how the "current landscape" is a place where you can't say anything anymore, these characters all prove it's not what you say but how you say it that matters. And it's frankly exhilarating to see a comedy nail this distinction while still being incredibly funny. Better yet, these new kids on the block aren't treated as finger-wagging nags in regards to the movie's action or comedy. While they often play the straight man to Axel, Paige and Gordon-Levitt shine alongside him, whether glowering at an enemy or giving a sheepish reaction that is laugh-out-loud funny. 

All this comes together piece by piece, forming a cleverly constructed sequel that manages to plumb the best bits of the original trilogy while working in new elements that give it renewed life and relevance. Even the soundtrack does this, mixing in classic rock tracks like "The Heat Is On" and "Shakedown" with newer jams like Coi Leray's "Players" and Lil Nas X's movie theme "Here We Go!" The combination of all this makes for a movie that is classically fun but freshly exciting. 

In the end, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F isn't just a great sequel, or an awesome action-comedy, it might just be the most entertaining movie of the year. If you can see it in a theater, do it. If you — like most of us — watch it at home, turn up the volume, so that theme song swallows you up and welcomes you back to the world of Axel Foley and friends. 

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F premieres on Netflix July 3 and in limited theaters.