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PRE-ORDER NOW AND GET $27 OFF: As of Oct. 2, you can pre-order a Jack Skellington Echo Dot bundle for just $62.98, down from $89.98. That's 30% off.
Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Our pick: Echo Dot (5th gen) + Jack Skellington shell $62.98 at AmazonSpooky season is officially here, and what better way to get into the spirit of Halloween than by inviting the Pumpkin King himself — or at least his digital counterpart — into your home?
As of Oct. 2, you can pre-order a special Echo Dot bundle with the Echo Dot (5th gen, 2022 release) and a limited-edition Jack Skellington shell on sale for $62.98. That's 30% off the original price of $89.98. According to Amazon, the item will be released on Oct. 8 (the first day of Prime Big Deal Days), just in time for All Hallows' Eve.
SEE ALSO: Home Depot's 12-foot skeleton gets more upgrades and friends in its huge Halloween dropRemember, Jack's face is just a shell, so you can take it off or switch it out whenever you want. If you already have an Echo Dot (4th or 5th gen), you can buy the Jack Skellington shell separately for $39.99.
The Echo Dot itself is Amazon’s best-sounding smart speaker to date, with improved audio and Alexa capabilities for hands-free voice commands, setting timers and alarms, and listening to music without picking up your phone. Happy Halloween!
GET $60 OFF: As of Oct. 2, Prime members can score a Fire TV Stick and Luna controller for just $69.98, down from $129.98 at Amazon. That's 46% off.
Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Our pick: Fire TV Stick and Luna Controller $69.98 at AmazonWe’re officially one week away from October Prime Day, and Amazon’s already dropping prices on some of its most popular devices. One of the best deals we’ve seen so far is on a Fire TV gaming bundle.
As of Oct. 2, Prime members can score a Fire TV Stick 4K Max streaming device and Luna controller — which normally retails for $129.98 — for less than $70. That's 46% off. (This deal is not available to non-members.)
SEE ALSO: Creating an Amazon wishlist is our go-to Prime Day shopping hackThe only kicker is that if you don’t already have a Luna+ subscription (Amazon’s cloud gaming service), you’ll need to sign up for one, which’ll run you $9.99 monthly. (You can get a seven-day free trial, though.) But even with that additional cost, you're still getting a great deal on some solid streaming and gaming tech. All you have to do is set it up, and you’ll have access to hundreds of pick-up-and-play games from the cloud.
The Fire TV Stick is a fun add-on, too. This little streaming stick can hold 16GB of storage, double what most streaming sticks offer.
If you don’t have a smart TV or just want to upgrade your setup while the deals are hot, this bundle is a great way to do it.
Stuff Your Kindle Day started as a grassroots event organized by authors to get more books to readers. It's a magical 24 hours where authors drop prices on e-books, some cost a few dollars while others are totally free. While the official Stuff Your Kindle Day has come and gone for 2024, a new event is here, and it's for the horror lovers.
Terrify Your Tablet Day began last year, organized by Horrorsmith Publishing, a publishing house founded in 2022 specializing in horror. The event debuted for the first time in 2023 and is coming back this year. The titles available during Terrify Your Tablet Day have yet to be announced, but here's what we know so far:
When is Terrify Your Tablet Day?Terrify Your Tablet Day is a fairly new event. It debuted last year on Oct. 31, 2023. This year's event runs for 24 hours, kicking off on Oct. 3, 2024. That way you can load up on spooky, scary books to read all month long in anticipation of Halloween.
Who can take part in Terrify Your Tablet Day?While Stuff Your Kindle Day sounds hyper-specific to Amazon's e-readers, it actually applies to pretty much any e-reader. The same is true with Terrify Your Tablet. As the name implies, you can access the free and discounted books across all e-readers including Kindles, Kobos, iPads, and Nooks.
Don't have an e-reader? You can also access books on your smartphone via the Kindle app, Apple Books, or Google Books.
However, an e-reader will seriously upgrade your reading. Having tested the best e-readers, I think the Kindle Paperwhite is the very best out there. It's just the right size, has a matte anti-glare screen, and is waterproof. If a tablet is more your speed, go for the iPad Mini. It's similar in size to a Kindle but gives you all the perks of streaming or gaming on tablets.
Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite $149.00 at AmazonWe love a good sale, and Amazon offers up some of the best. Amazon kicks off Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. 8, a two-day event that'll offer discounts on Amazon devices, kitchen equipment, tablets, Apple products, robot vacuums, and plenty more.
But if you're aiming to keep your spending as low as possible, Amazon also has some free offers in store during the October Prime Day event. Here are some awesome free deals you can score already.
Prime Day deals that cost $0 Best free reading deal 3-month subscription to Kindle Unlimited $0 at Amazon (save $35.97) Get Deal Best free music deal 4-month subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited $0 at Amazon for Prime members (save $39.96) Get Deal Best free audiobook deal 30-day trial of Audible Premium Plus $0 at Amazon (save $14.95) Get DealFree is everyone's favorite price. If you're wondering how you'll pass the time this fall and winter, Amazon has some free entertainment offers in store during October Prime Day including audiobooks, music streaming, and Kindle books. Here's how to score these free deals.
Best free reading deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Our pick: 3-month subscription to Kindle Unlimited at AmazonFree access to Kindle books is truly one of life's greatest hacks. If you're new to Kindle Unlimited, sign up today to get three months of free access to millions of Kindle books, saving a total of $35.97 over the three-month period.
Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program includes over 4 million Kindle titles, including some bestsellers and popular series. Not only does the plan include unlimited reading, you also get access to thousands of audiobooks and the pleasure of browsing magazines.
If you don't already have a Kindle, check out the Mashable guide to the best Kindles to help you decide which model will suit you best.
Best free music deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Our pick: 4-month subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited at AmazonMusic with no ads? It doesn't get any better. Amazon typically offers new subscribers a free one-month trail of the ad-free Amazon Music Unlimited, but as a treat during October Prime Day, you can sign up for four months of free access. However, this deal is limited to Prime members only, so you'll want to be signed up and logged in to grab this deal.
Amazon Music Unlimited comes with total control of what music you stream and when, all with no ads. You'll get unlimited access to listening while offline or skipping songs. The subscription also includes access to ad-free podcasts.
Best free audiobook deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Our pick: 30-day trial of Audible Premium Plus at AmazonAudiobooks can really save the day. Whether you're stuck sitting in traffic, out walking the dog, or recovering from a cold, tuning into an audiobook can be the perfect way to relax and tune into something other than your own life. During October Prime Day, Amazon is offering a free 30-day trial to Audible Premium Plus, which typically costs $14.95 per month. The trial means you'll have free access to the Audible Plus catalog of audiobook and podcasts, some of which are exclusive to the service. The free trial of Premium Plus also comes with credit to purchase one title from the Audible premium selection.
October Prime Day is less than a week away and Amazon is ramping up the deals. As usual, you don't need to wait until the official start of the event to score big savings — especially on Amazon's own gadgets. We've rounded up three of the best deals you can grab at the mega retailer on Oct. 2 if you prefer to shop early.
Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. If these deals don't speak to you, take a peek at our picks from yesterday, Oct. 1. Those discounts are still live, including the Echo Buds at their record-low Prime Day price. Be sure to check back tomorrow as well for all new picks and follow along with all of our Prime Day content as the shopping extravaganza nears.
Our top pick Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Echo Amazon Echo Hub $124.99 at AmazonThe newest member of the Amazon Echo family, the Echo Hub is basically your smart home's brain. Rather than keeping control of your smart devices locked inside of someone's phone, it offers a full-featured control panel with instant access to all of your gadgets — smart lights, cameras, switches, doorbells, thermostat, etc. Anyone can play music, stream videos, ask Alexa questions, dim the lights, adjust the temperature, or see who's on the other side of the door in one central spot in your home. It's regularly $179.99, but it's down to just $124.99 for the first time ahead of October Prime Day. That's 31% off.
Opens in a new window Credit: Shark Shark FlexStyle $249.99 at AmazonIt's no secret that we love Shark's beauty tech. The FlexStyle, in particular, is our favorite Dyson Airwrap dupe on the market. "[It's] hard for me to imagine a reason why you'd opt for the [Airwrap] unless you're into big purchases for the sake of big purchases, or if you're especially loyal to Dyson," Mashable Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard wrote in her review of the device. Ahead of Prime Big Deal Days, the FlexStyle is on sale for just $249.99 in both the curly and coily hair system and straight and wavy hair system. That's $50 off the usual cost. While that's not the lowest price it's ever been, it is the first time the hair tool has gone on sale since last Prime Day. The curly system comes with a diffuser, two 1.25-inch auto-wrap curlers, a styling concentrator, and a round brush, while the straight system swaps out the diffuser for a paddle brush.
Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon 55-inch Omni QLED Fire TV $415.99 at AmazonThe best-looking TV in Amazon's Fire TV lineup, the Omni QLED is like a more affordable version of Samsung's The Frame TV. It features an "Ambient Experience" mode that can display artwork, photos, or handy Alexa widgets soy our screen doesn't just look like a black rectangle when you're not watching it. It also features local dimming, an Adaptive Brightness feature, and support for Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive. The 55-inch option is on sale ahead of Prime Day 2 for $415.99 — that's 31% in savings. While that's not the lowest price we've ever seen, it's still $184 you get to keep in your pocket.
None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.
GET TWO FREE KINDLE BOOKS: Amazon Prime members get two free Kindle e-books with Amazon's First Reads program during the month of October. No Prime membership? Get these books for $1.99 to $4.99 each.
Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Two free Kindle books with Prime membership Non-members can score Amazon First Reads for $1.99 to $4.99 each Get DealFall is here, and if you're planning to spend much of it snuggled up in a blanket with a good book, you're in luck. Amazon's First Reads program has you covered, helping you enjoy the cooler weather as you lounge around inside with some free books.
The First Reads program lets Amazon Prime members choose two totally free Kindle books from a selection of nine books to read without paying a dime. Normally, you just get one, making October's two-book selection a nice little bonus. Choose from a variety of genres, from horror to historical fiction and more, with options hand-picked by Amazon editors. You can also get a free short story: Joe Hill's Ushers, an Amazon original.
SEE ALSO: October Prime Day is just around the corner. Here's what to buy, and what not to.Prime members can sign up for the Amazon First Reads program for free to choose your two October books. If you aren't a Prime member, you'll pay anywhere from $1.99 to $4.99 for each of these picks — still a bargain. They're great on Kindle, but you can read them anywhere you can log into the Kindle app. So whether you have a shiny new e-reader or you'd prefer to read on your phone, you can still get the free books and enjoy them throughout the season.
You have all month to score your free reads, but don't forget to check back for more free and cheap books as each new month arrives. Plus, don't forget to scope out the best Kindle deals ahead of Prime Big Deal Days next week.
GET 35% OFF: As of Oct. 2, you can get a three-pack of eero 6+ mesh WiFi routers for just $194.99, down from $299.99, at Amazon. That's $105 off.
Opens in a new window Credit: eero Our pick: Amazon eero 6+ mesh Wi-Fi router (3-pack) $194.99 at AmazonIf you’re tired of sluggish internet speeds and staring at a blank screen as you frantically wait for a webpage to load, it might be time to upgrade your WiFi setup.
As of Oct. 2, you can get a three-pack of eero 6+ mesh WiFi routers for just $194.99, down from 299.99, at Amazon. That’s a 35% discount or $105 off — it’s also just $0.99 more than this product's all-time low price. This is just one of the many early Prime Day deals we're seeing ahead of Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. and 9.
SEE ALSO: Creating an Amazon wishlist is our go-to Prime Day shopping hackThese little mesh WiFi routers can cover up to 4,500 square feet and connect to more than 75 devices, so the entire family can enjoy fast, reliable WiFi without any dead zones or buffering. With WiFi 6 and TrueMesh technology, you’ll be able to stream, game, and work without interruption.
Plus, it’s easy to set up (like, even your technophobic relatives who still use AOL could manage it) and has a built-in smart home hub that you can connect to compatible Thread and Zigbee devices.
I thought I had the best iPhone camera settings simply because I have the iPhone 16 Pro Max — the latest and greatest smartphone offering from Apple.
However, I was humbled quickly when I saw Mashable's professional photographer, Joe Maldonado, shooting out in the field with a highly tuned iPhone 14 Pro. Although we were taking the same photos, and despite using the best handset out of Cupertino, Maldonado's photos turned out more crisp, sharper, and more vibrant than mine.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableAt first, I thought a dirty lens was the problem. But even after carefully cleaning the sensors with a microfiber cloth, Maldonado’s photos were still far superior to mine.
Finally, I asked, "Wait, how does your iPhone 14 Pro take better pictures than my iPhone 16 Pro Max?"
"It's all about the settings," Maldonado said.
Best iPhone camera settings, according to an expertSo how do you get the crème de la crème of photo quality out of your iPhone? Follow these steps — and thank Maldonado later.
Total TimeStep 1: Go to 'Settings'
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableStep 2: Tap on 'Camera'
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableStep 3: Tap on 'Formats'
Here, make sure "High Efficiency" under Camera Capture is ticked as well as "24 MP" under Photo Mode. Plus, make sure "ProRAW & Resolution Control" is toggled on.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableStep 4: Tap on 'Pro Default'
Ensure there's a checkmark next to "ProRAW Max (Up to 48MP)" as well as JPEG-XL Lossy (the latter is only available for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max).
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableStep 5: Go back to 'Camera' menu and tap on 'Preserve Settings'
Make sure the following are toggled on: Camera Mode, Creative Controls, Macro Control, Exposure Adjustment, Night Mode, Portrait Zoom, ProRaw & Resolution Control, Live Photo. Like the menu name suggests, this ensures that your current settings are preserved every time you open the Camera app.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableStep 6: Return to 'Camera' menu
Enable 'Grid' and make sure 'Level' is toggled on. According to Maldonado, these settings help him line up his shots. Plus, ensure that 'Portraits in Photo Mode,' 'Prioritize Faster Shooting,' 'Lens Correction,' and 'Macro Control' are enabled.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableAnd that's it as far as the Settings app is concerned.
While you're actually in the Camera app, Maldonado suggests that users toggle "Raw MAX" on.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashablePlus, while shooting, make sure you're hitting "1x" (the main sensor known as the wide camera) to get the best-quality photos.
Now, go out there with your newly tweaked iPhone and let us know in the comments if you notice a difference.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max $1,199.00 at Apple.comMoo Deng, the baby hippo that oozes cuteness and attitude, is all over the interwebs, including a 24-hour live stream of her habitat in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand.
And when something is as viral as Moo Deng is, it is only a matter of time until someone creates a memecoin with the same name.
Most often, these memecoins are drowned with the thousands of others that appear daily, and never reach stardom. But because this is Moo Deng we're talking about, the memecoin is of course doing exceptionally well.
SEE ALSO: Why we’re all in love with a little hippo named Moo DengFor those not following the recent crypto scene, memecoins are cryptocurrencies residing on crypto ecosystems like Solana or Ethereum, which typically promise very little and are mostly traded by speculators. In the vast majority of cases, their value never exceeds a couple hundred dollars total before they vanish into the annals of blockchain.
But Moo Deng is a bit different. According to Dexscreener, Moo Deng currently has a market cap of over $227 million (a cryptocurrency market cap represents the total value of all available coins at current prices). Given that it started from virtually zero, some speculators have gotten rich by buying Moo Deng and not selling it for a few weeks
Tweet may have been deletedIf you're thinking of doing the same, be warned: These memecoins are incredibly volatile and are prone to suddenly losing all value within days or even hours. Just because Moo Deng is currently in its "pump" stage, does not mean a "dump" isn't coming.
Moo Deng, the actual baby hippo, probably does not care about Moo Deng, the memecoin. Heck, I bet she doesn't even have a Solana wallet. But that also means she's certainly not about to lose money on it. Good for you, baby pygmy hippo; good for you.
It’s officially that time of year when watching The Holiday on a Sunday huddled under a blanket on the sofa is not only acceptable but compulsory. There's a chill in the air, which means one thing: cuffing season is here. Your Instagram feed will soon be awash with couples cosying up at festive markets, and festive soirées together, it can feel like everyone apart from you has done the unthinkable and found someone to love.
What is cuffing season?So, what exactly is cuffing season? And is it a real thing, or merely a marketing slogan designed to get singletons swiping while they lie under a blanket watching Gilmore Girls for the 10th time? If you, like me, reside in the camp of single, flirty and (mostly) thriving, you may find this time of year either overwhelming or mentally strenuous. Cuffing season typically starts in mid-October and ends after Valentine’s Day, with the term originally coined in 2011 when it began appearing in college newspapers. The term comes from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), stemming from the term "cuffed" which means you’re dating someone. This was around the time it was entered into the Urban Dictionary, too.
Dating app Bumble told Mashable that this time of year sees an influx of users logging in and swiping to find a match. So if your dating app profile is suddenly popping off, this could be why.
What's behind this sudden surge in swiping? This need to couple up and find a mate in the colder months comes down to our biology, too, with a drop in serotonin levels causing us to seek out connection. In the northern hemisphere, our days are getting shorter, nights are longer, and temperatures are dropping. Historically, the colder seasons are when humans would be looking for an additional mate or people to spend that time with, as strength came in numbers to forage for food and get through the tough months with.
SEE ALSO: Welcome to the 'Lover Girl' dating era. It's time to embrace romance.The shift in seasons can also trigger Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) for some people, a type of depression people experience when the seasons change due to the colder, darker weather. This change in weather and temperature can influence how we feel, due to the fact that our serotonin and melatonin levels change. Serotonin is the ‘happy’ chemical our body produces, so a lack of this could mean we feel lonelier and thus pursue more companionship or physical touch from others. Researchers think that this drop in serotonin could be linked to why we go in search of a mate, and why cuffing season has become commonplace in modern dating.
Whilst using apps to date and find a match has become the most common method of meeting someone, that doesn’t mean it’s made it any simpler. Eimar Draper is a dating coach and believes this time of year can see us run the risk of settling for situations that don’t serve our true needs and desires.
"If you're looking for something serious, don’t deviate from that path," Draper says. "It's tempting to agree to just hook up with someone new for the sake of getting to know them, but if you know it’s not what you want long term, then your emotional and mental capacity for handling something casual potentially isn’t quite there."
SEE ALSO: Is Seasonal Affective Disorder impacting your sex life? Here's how to cope. Avoiding situationships during cuffing seasonIf you’ve been in the dating sphere for the last few years, you’ll know all too well either through lived experience or watching friends go through it that it’s very easy to find yourself a situationship — whether that's what you're looking for or not. With the language of heartbreak more focused on that of people coming out of long-term relationships, the pain of post-situationship heartache is something that doesn't get the validation it deserves.
In fact, almost 65 percent of singles surveyed by the dating app eHarmony admitted to having their heart broken from a short-term relationship or situationship, with 56 percent sharing that their situationship heartbreak was equally or more painful than what they experienced after ending a longer, committed relationship.
SEE ALSO: How to move on after a situationship endsDraper believes this is due to the fact that we allow things on our deal-breaker list to fall by the wayside when we enter dynamics that lack clear boundaries and expectations. "Sometimes if you're entering into a situationship with the hope of it turning into commitment, you’re not really living in alignment with your values," she says. "I think going against what our needs and wants are from a relationship creates quite a bit of shame for us, which is a difficult emotion to process and one we’re reluctant to honestly share."
Why do we seek connection during the colder months?So, why does this time of year cause us to seek out and form attachments that perhaps don’t fully serve our needs emotionally? "It's ingrained in us to seek that human connection, but there’s also loads of different societal pressures in the world of dating now, too," Draper explains. "I feel like there's a lot of pressure on women especially now to stand strong in their independence and claim they don't need anybody, and at the same time, there’s an equal pressure for them to be okay with something casual and surface level. Yet, we’re still slut-shamed and judged for doing so."
"It's ingrained in us to seek that human connection, but there’s also loads of different societal pressures in the world of dating now, too."Open communication and spending time with yourself, she believes, is key to making a healthy and happy relationship dynamic come to fruition. "Spend some time with yourself to figure out and get clear on what it is that you expect out of a relationship," she says. "Unpacking that will naturally give you the boundaries that you are going to need or want to achieve."
Boundaries also go beyond what you expect from someone face-to-face. Placing digital boundaries is also key to forming a healthy connection. Caitlin Begg is a sociology researcher, with a vested interest in how our communication and digital lives impact our relationships.
"The way we communicate now is over-saturated and blurs the lines between real life and hyperreality," she says. "Hypercommunication is the notion that the amount of excess inbound and outbound comms we consume is impacting our brains and social behaviours. Which in turn, impacts how we navigate our relationships, too."
SEE ALSO: It's time to reclaim singledom as a symbol of powerBegg’s work has led her to believe that the excessive way we connect now has put our dating timelines in reverse. "Take dating in the '60s, let's say. You had maybe two channels maximum to communicate with someone — the telephone, or through a letter," she says. "Now, there are so many different channels to do so that we’ve fallen into cycles of overcommunication. This causes us to form attachments and ideas of a person before we even meet them, rather than getting to know them in person first and then figuring out their digital communication pattern."
Cuffing season, Begg believes, is a time of year where we collectively focus on the expectations, thinking ahead to how the relationship we form will end up, rather than staying focused on the connection with the individual.
"The way we speak to one another when it comes to dating has changed so much thanks to the advancement of technology," she says. "We need to be careful about how much we let our online presence and perceptions intercede our relationships in real life. Don’t let notification culture force you to project something private that you’re still figuring out into the public sphere just to be seen as successful."
Dating with intentionCuffing season isn’t just for flings and surface-level connection, though. There’s still an opportunity to seek out a match who’s looking for the same thing as you. Dr. Caroline West, Bumble's sex and relationships expert, believes the low pressure and focus on the fun of the season could see us ending up with a genuine connection, no matter how long it lasts.
"If you’re dating with intentionality, this time of year is a great opportunity to date and meet new people without the pressure of making it a long-term thing," she says. "Even short-term relationships can be a fulfilling and positive experience, so if you can, I’d recommend trying to see breakups in a new light."
Whilst short-term flings can be fun and serve a purpose, this time of year also brings with it a suddenly very heavily laden social calendar. From family events to work Christmas parties, sometimes the time to date and pursue multiple people is actually hard to find.
"The pressure to not be seen alone at these events can lead people to enter into situationships, just so they don’t feel embarrassed in front of loved ones.""People can feel pressured around this time to have a plus one, and having a consistent partner — no matter how long they’ve been on the scene — can make them easier to navigate," West says. "The pressure to not be seen alone at these events can lead people to enter into situationships, just so they don’t feel embarrassed in front of loved ones."
But being alone doesn’t hold the same negative connotations the romcoms would lead you to believe. Recent research from Bumble reveals that many people are now embracing a "Consciously Single" mindset when it comes to dating, with over half of them (53 percent) realizing that it can be empowering to be alone after a breakup.
Regardless of what your goals are for dating right now, the most important thing is to remember that nobody will see you as "less than" if you rock up to the pub solo for festive drinks. Your great aunt at the family Christmas party is only asking if you’ve met someone because she’s curious about your life away from home, and your friends who are coupled up and in love aren’t showing off, they’re just happy. So don’t let the green-eyed monster or fear of being alone lead you down the path of forced connections and half-baked intimacy with someone new for the sake of getting cuffed.
This article was first published in 2023 and republished in 2024.